The Forsaken Wilderness by Vivaan Shah

Author:Vivaan Shah
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: S&S India
Published: 2023-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

chapter six

The wreath-robed procession of haggard, long-haired men soon emerged from the edge of the cliffside. They marched on down from the summit to join us at the temple. By now, even the two sadhus had come out from the innards of the temple which seemed to nurse some sort of trapdoor that led to a nether chamber.

Shera hurried up to me, vaguely revived from whatever form of hypnosis he was under.

‘What the hell is going on!’ I shook him vigorously by the shoulders. ‘Did you see what happened to the Professor?’

‘W-what happened to him?’ he mumbled.

‘He went down into the mountain. He’s gone.’ I tried with all my might to arouse his alarm, or even his concern.

He batted his hand in the air in reply, and turned his shoulder aside, clearing it from my grasp. ‘The Professor has gone down to do what he came here to do,’ he grimaced.

‘And what is that, may I ask?’

‘I told you, didn’t I? Absolution. He’s cleansing his sins.’

‘Nonsense!’ I screamed. The gathered company paid me no more than a passing shrug. ‘What are you talking about Shera? You’re sounding crazier than that old lady…’

‘Don’t say anything about Ms Bodh!’ he warned me.

‘So you know her from before?’

‘I’ve only heard of her. She’s a legend in some circles.’

‘Why did the Professor bring the both of us up here with him, Shera? To accomplish what? Was this all some sort of an elaborate hoax? All these fire-worshippers,’ I scorned our surroundings. ‘And deformed carnivorous birds, that peculiar water body and mine-shaft stolen deep away in some remote corner of the interior of Ranibaug. This demoniacal temple. WHAT is the meaning of this, Shera? This is not what I signed up for.’

‘You didn’t sign up for anything,’ he corrected me. ‘This isn’t some voluntary mission or construction job you’ve undertaken. You have no contractual obligation. You can leave here anytime you like…’

‘What’s the matter with you now, Shera!’ I glared at him in reproof. ‘You’re sounding just like them.’

‘We’ve come to find something here. And we’re doing everything we can to reach there.’

‘Even if it means conquering death?’ An illusion I still found difficult to fathom. ‘And feigning telepathy with a simple background check. Accusing me of witchcraft, of heresy, of telekinesis.’

‘You saw the Professor that day at the temple before Sahastradhara, didn’t you?’

‘I did. But what does that have anything to do with this?’

‘It was a full moon night; he was having one of his spells…’

‘You are sounding increasingly like a crackpot now, Shera!’

‘Hysteria! What doctors cannot diagnose and sermons cannot cure. It is a terminal condition. And the Professor is at present engaged in doing whatever he can to restore his mental faculties.’

‘In some underground laboratory or hospital?’

His lips broadened into a faint laugh. ‘It isn’t like that! It takes months, years sometimes to be redistributed into the environment. Take for instance that tree we encountered on our way up. What makes you think that tree wasn’t endowed with human capabilities?’

‘Plenty! Common sense for one.

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