Stepping out of the inn, the cold air hit me again, almost biting. The world outside was silent, blanketed in white.
Though before, due to adrenaline rush, I ran all the way to the mountains and then came all the way back, but now my legs ached.
I looked around, hoping to find anything that could help me travel faster. When, in the backyard of the inn, I found a hovercycle. It seemed to be one of the older models.
. . .
After the war, nuclear radiation was everywhere, and it was very harmful for both humans and the environment, so the government gave more importance to eco-friendly vehicles. Many models came, but this one stands out from all of them.
A Solaver, it came in year 34 or 35. This model was the first to levitate above the ground, the very first working hover cycle, its total length around 2.5 m. It works on solar energy, and if solar energy is not available, it can even move mechanically like an old-time bicycle.
. . .
I dragged it out, checked if the hovers and solar plates are still working. Gave the pedals a weak spin, to my surprise, they are all in movable condition, not top, but enough.
I adjusted the seat, took a deep breath, and started the hover motors.
KHHA….KHAA….KHAK.
Though it did not started on the first try, second try, but on the third try.
SSSHHHHNNNNNN
It started levitating above the ground. With its handle in my hands, I moved towards the forest.
I rode farther away from the inn, the fan of the hover pushing the snow away from the way as the building slowly disappeared behind the trees.
. . . . . . . .
But inside, back in the inn, something stirred. A faint creak echoed through the empty halls, followed by the soft rustle of movement. The vines on the walls shifted slightly, as if breathing.
No one was there to see it. No one to hear. Hira was already too far to notice.
. . . . . . . .
I kept riding deeper into the forest, the cold air cutting against my cheeks. My head and eyes are protected by the helmet.
The trees around me grew denser, their branches twisting together like dark veins against the pale sky.
After a 7-8 km ride, something felt wrong. In the entire stretch, I hadn't seen a single sign of life. No deer, no wolves, no birds, no footprints, not even the rustle of an animal in the bushes.
It was as if the whole forest was holding its breath.
The silence pressed against my ears, heavy and unnatural. My instincts screamed that something was off, that this wasn't just emptiness, it was absence. A kind of void.
I slowed down, my eyes scanning the snow-covered ground, the endless wall of trees ahead. I felt truly alone.
A while later, the darkness envelops the forest in her arms, making the presence of the forest more eerie.
SSSHHNNN . . . SSHHN. . . . .SHN.
Due to the absence of sunlight, the Solaver also stops levitating. I have to change its mode from hover to bicycle.
Though my legs were not completely okay, but to move forward, I started pedalling.
I had only ridden for 2-3 km when the numbness in my legs turned into a dull ache.
GRWWW
In all this silence, a sudden sound was heard, not of some wild animal, but mine. By my stomach.
That's when it struck me, I hadn't eaten anything. Not since…I couldn't even remember when.
My stomach tightened painfully, a hollow reminder that I was still just a human, no matter what had changed in me.
I stopped the bicycle and leaned it against a tree, my breath clouding in the cold air. There was nothing around me, just endless snow and silence.
I pushed myself up, deciding to keep moving, forcing myself to ignore the hunger gnawing inside me.
After riding for what must've been two or three kilometers, the silence around me broke again.
GROWL
This time, a low, guttural growl echoed through the trees, definitely belonging to some wild animal. The sound was deep, primal, the kind that made every instinct in your body go still.
My hands tightened around the handlebars, legs ready to pedal anytime.
GROWL
Then, another growl, this time even closer. My pulse spiked. Whatever it was, it was big… and it had already found me.
. . . . . . .
As I was scanning my surroundings, trying to locate the source of that growl, something moved behind me, fast.
Before I could react, a wild animal lunged out of the shadows.
Instinct took over. I slammed my foot on the pedal and pushed the cycle forward with all my strength.
I barely went a few meters ahead, then made a sharp U-turn, looking at the creature that tried to attack me.
A wolf. But not an ordinary one. It was huge, bigger than any I had ever seen. Its eyes glowed faintly blue in the cold darkness. Its fur mixture of grey, white, and black.
There was some blood on his claws, definitely not his, and a deep wound on his back, made by a sharp weapon.
It growled again, the sound vibrating through the ground. Then, in a sudden blur of movement, it leaped straight at me.
I pushed the bicycle hard to the side, and it skidded across before I fell on the ground.
dodged again.
The wolf snarled, furious, its breath visible in the freezing air.
"GRWIE YRWU HUMARR". It growled again.
This time, his growl seemed different, like he was saying something.
But it didn't give me a chance to give any thought to its growling.
He pounced, aiming for my head. I moved a little backwards. Its massive paw struck my helmet – claws screeching across the surface, leaving deep marks.
The impact knocked me down again, the edges of my vision blurring. Blood trickled down from beneath the helmet, warm against the cold wind.
For a moment, I thought this was it, that I was done.
Again. Again, I am in a situation where my life and death were not in my control. And I hate it. I hate myself for being this helpless, powerless against the nature.
A.N. - The word BHIMA means 'big' or 'giant'. VKA is used for 'wolf' in the Sanskrit.