Falling into the dark ocean, her heart still ached from the heavy burden of her first verbal betrayal. The brightness of the surrounding view didn't increase at all. A chill crept her spine. Her imagination ran wild. She pictured colossal, mythical creatures lurking in the darkness, their eyes fixed on her. Inches away from her feet; inspecting her for being edible or not.
Only a dim illumination of the day was the source of light for her. A looming shadow came into view. It grew wider with each passing second, freezing her breath. In no time, a dark object emerged—with the shape of a whale.
Her strokes seemed futile against the opposing current. But she kept pushing, so, if she dies there won't be an argument with Krishna, that she didn't try her best. Hoping for a miracle, she pressed almost every area of her SL.
"That fish's hunger is powerful than my luck. Krishna! Tell her I am vegetarian!"
The SL might have good endurance, but it couldn't help her fighting the water current. Finding no hope in stroking her way out—she believed in the same endurance. It had chances closer to zero, but there's a possibility that the whale would puke her out. To increase the chances, even by a percent—she shut her eyes and clasped her hands for the final chant.
"ॐ कृष्णाय वासुदेवाय हरये परमात्मने॥ प्रणत: क्लेशनाशाय गोविंदाय नमो नम:॥"
A powerful grip tugged at her abdomen. It pulled her backward. She hesitated to open her eyes, afraid of the gruesome sight of the whale's inside. The echo of waves crashing and waterspouts swirling wrapped her ears. Probably the stomach acid.
The intensity of the light on her eyelids increased. Either the whale had a bulb in her stomach or heaven was nearby. She opened her eyes. Her breath quickened, and her scream echoed through the vastness, lost like a whisper in the wind and chaos of waterspouts. She was ascending towards the sky with rapid speed. "Not again!" Within a minute, she was on the brink of falling again into the ocean, where ferocious whales lurked, ready to strike. "Can anyone hear me? Yash?" Tears welled up in her eyes. "I need your whale repellent music!"
Right amidst her cry for help, she heard a distant sound that pierced through the silence. A song, a classic one, closing in on her. Her gaze fell over a powerful wake. It was cutting through the oceanic waves, but it was still distant from her and unknown.
The sound of whales cuddling reached her ears. Her thighs glowed with circular patterns. She touched them, but nothing happened. "Come on!" She repeatedly pressed each of them, then she pressed them together. A secure direction to fly away from a dreadful disaster appeared before her.
"How will I fly?" as she pulled back her hands from her thighs, multiple fabric panels materialised between her arms and legs; provided her with an imbalance wingsuit. "Should have gone to the gym than eating the pizza."
A surge of adrenaline rushed through her veins. The challenging path ahead and the wingsuit helped soothe her nerves. With a powerful push from the wind, she redirected her path and ascended into the air.
"See ya! You freakingly big sea creature!"
She soared through the sky, experimenting with playful movements, dancing mid-air. The waterspouts that had once frightened her were now an awe-inspiring sight. The invisible layer around her face irritated her, robbed her of the sensation of the wind against her skin. Yet, the aroma of the ocean was spellbinding. Her body quivered with excitement.
She was aware of the dangers of joining a team, yet she became a part of one and failed. "Alone again. Flying towards the unknown. Without a single clue about you, mamu," she whispered."Like you used to say, leave everything on Krishna and just keep falling forward—"The classic song interrupted her and the wake from before was moving towards her.
With a low technical sound, the trajectory of the path—disappeared. "Is it low on battery?" Once refreshing wind—had turned unnatural. With each passing second, she started losing control over the wingsuit.
"What's wrong with you? Can't you stay stable?" She took a deep breath.
The wind, her newfound friend since equipping the wingsuit, now seemed determined to taunt her into a sudden descent. And the wingsuit also vanished—took away her last hope of survival. She swayed her hands, but no magic happened.
A few metres away from the ocean floor, she could still hear the echoes of the song in her ears. "I don't want to die!" The sound of powerful splashes filled the air. Something was tearing through the waves and getting closer.
"Please Krishna! Not another sea creature! Please."
The enormous waves surrounded her. With no other option, she took a dive formation. In the blink of an eye, a dark object manifested right behind the wave. Her lips let out a gasp as fear tightened its grip on her. "J-Jai Shri…"
"Krishna!" a male voice said.
***
Her eyes struggled against the gleaming ocean floor. Adjusting to the sunlight, she found herself on a small metal platform, floating over the infinite expanse of the empty ocean.
A gentle breeze carried the salty scent of the sea, filling her nostrils and ruffling her hair. With a sudden jolt, she sat upright, her chest heaving with inhales. Her eyes swept across the surroundings. She giggled. "Not again. Where the hell am I now?"
Her heart skipped a beat as a painful scream pierced the air, shivering her spine. Just as she was about to locate its origin, the sound of warships and turret boats grew louder. They were far, but approaching her from each direction.
"Are they friend or enemy?" From behind, a creeping shadow descended upon her, casting darkness over the platform. With her heart racing, she clenched her fist and turned around. The sight of a warship looming behind made her flinch. "Shit!" As she rushed to dive off the platform, she collided with a gleaming golden layer, which propelled her back. "You've got to be kidding me!"
Another blood-curdling scream from the warship beside snapped her out of her thoughts. A wounded creature, bearing a striking resemblance to the mercenaries, was fighting to climb over the railing of the warship. With intense fear in his eyes, he glanced behind and rushed off the railing, but just as the smile of freedom appeared on his face, a sudden force pulled him back into the pool of screams.
Amidst the roar of the warship's engines, faint voices were pleading for mercy. Every plea filled with fear and desperation.
The surrounding barrier stood firm, immovable against the chaos unfolding around her. However, among it all, a faint feeling of affinity washed over her, providing hope that the platform would keep her safe from harm.
Before long, the warships had formed a circle around the area. The air filled with the rhythmic thud of helicopters approaching. In the blink of an eye, a group of tough-looking men resembling humanoid mosquitos descended upon the warship beside her, giving a test to its hull, creaking with each step.
Pressing, scratching, or joining the patterns on forearms didn't transform them into a weapon. The uncertain barrier of the platform became her only source of protection, leaving her helpless.
In a split second, a loud collision echoed through the air, and the head of a mercenary passed through the ship's hull, followed by dozens more. One of them created a gaping hole in it, allowing water to rush in. With every passing second, the warship sank deeper into the ocean, its front tilting downward. As it descended, her tongue dried; dozens of mercenaries were laid motionless on the warship's floor.
The helicopters unleashed a relentless barrage of gunfire, their target fixed on a specific location on the warship. Explosions caused smoke and debris to billow into the air.
"Just what are they targeting?"
Several mercenaries launched into the air as though struck by a tank. Several suffered violent crushing against the helicopters. Their lifeless corpses dropping into the ocean. Few of them left behind trails of blood as they brushed past the golden barrier. Sooner the trail vanished.
"Who is there?" Manya said. "Wait—it can't be. Did they really come back to save me? I had told them it wasn't my fault. It was his girlfriend who attacked first."
A thick cloud of smoke covered her vision. A faint hissing sound made her whip her head. Through a gap in a smoke, she glimpsed at missiles. Some of them collided with the warship positioned behind her. Within a fraction of a second, a missile slammed into the golden barrier, causing her to recoil and squeeze her eyes closed.
After a few breaths of relief, she summoned the courage to open her eyes. She sighed; the barrier was still intact; not a single scratch. Although she avoided the missile attack, she again became trapped beneath a dense cloud of smoke.
Few minutes into the smoke, a pair of white sneakers landed on the other side of the platform's barrier—as if smoke had feet now. Slowly, smoke started to disperse. She lifted her gaze, taking in the legs that attached to the shoes, revealing the labour that someone had dedicated to them. White shorts. His abs were visible just above, peeking out from under a white shirt with sleeves that reached halfway, gracefully moving with the wind.
"Is he coming straight from a beach?" Manya whispered.
The shirt's fabric moulded to his spine, highlighting a posture that was both relaxed and determined. His well-defined chest and arms were evidence of a healthy lifestyle.
His well-maintained beard framed a smile, forcing her lips to curve upward. Like the endless horizon, his eyes were a deep shade of brown. And a smooth white turban was gracing his existence. Placing one hand on the edge of the barrier—he leaned forward. "Jai Shri Krishna," he said in his resonant voice—the sound that tore her heart into pieces of immense happiness and cleared out the entire smoke.
She pressed her body against the barrier. Tears welled up in her eyes. It was driving her crazy, not being able to figure out her feelings and not able to touch him. Who is he? Why was she crying? And why she wanted to touch him? His presence made her feel at ease and secure, like being embraced by a close friend.
He pushed the barrier, splitting the platform in half. "Here." He threw a handkerchief through the barrier. "Wipe them."
While she found comfort in his presence, a simmering anger stirred within her because of the partition. "Why can't you do it?" She regretted her words.
He smirked. "Allergic to weak and disoriented beings."
Her eyes widened as she took in the sight of the missiles hurtling towards her and the egoistic man standing beside her. She braced herself, expecting a hit, but to her shock, the missiles missed them. While her heart still pounded, the man beside her was standing calm and composed, as if he had expected this twist of events. She concealed her emotions, determined not to appear weak.