The paramedics ran down with the stretcher and Samar stood back, gaping, as the girl he had handed over to the enemy with his own hands was carried to safety, beaten and brutalised. Packed in warm clothing and first aid, as they carried her, and Atharva limped beside her to go to the chopper, Samar pulled out his burner phone. A message had popped up.
SS
4.33 am
I spared him only for you dr dang :*
He deleted it, along with all the ones before it. Then he ejected the SIM card and crushed it between two fingers. He tore it with his teeth and spit it in the snow left by the storm. Samar looked up into the sky, face hardened. He wasn’t used to feeling guilt. He wasn’t used to not being right. Never had he faced a situation where he had to question his own decision, its legitimacy or righteousness. He knew he was right in doing things his way, he always had. He wasn’t used to committing sins.
With Iram and Atharva, he knew he had committed the goriest of them. And didn’t know where to begin resolving the tangles he had knotted.
Sufiyaan Sheikh, you betrayed me.
26. Atharva, Iram, Fahad and Samar are being airlifted…
Atharva, Iram, Fahad and Samar are being airlifted from Matayen. They will land at Sher-i-Kashmir and be transported to Paras Health.
Amaal ran.
She got into the first Innova she found and drove like she had never driven in her life. Durganag was not too far, Dalgate was within reach, the morning traffic did not slow her, and yet the speed felt crawling. She gripped the steering wheel tight.
Their train was hijacked and Iram was kidnapped. Atharva and Samar went after her.
Amaal raced the car through the hospital gate, scratching out her old Press card from her purse as the security ran to stop her. She flashed him the card and pointed to the KDP sticker of the car before parking it and running up the atrium. She walked straight to the Help Desk.
“Atharva Singh Kaul, Iram Haider, Sam…”
“Yes, they have been airlifted and sent to Emergency.” The nurse pointed towards the elevators, apparently aware of their VIP status. Amaal sprinted to the busy elevators and ran smack into Fahad.
“Fahad!” She gasped, holding onto his shoulders. “Oh my god! Are you ok? You are ok!”
“Fine…” he was panting. “Fine. I need to go to…” he pointed in some direction. “…accounting… go to first floor ICU.”
“Where are they?”
“Iram is still being looked at…” he panted, pressing a pass into her hand. “Atharva Bhai and Samar Bh… in ICU.”
An elevator pinged open and like a crazy psychopath she ran through the waiting crowd. She got looks and murmurs but Amaal stared straight ahead. The door pinged open and she ran again, crashing into the people waiting outside. She didn’t care. The ICU’s Waiting Room was dense with people. She meandered through them and ran to the Help Desk outside.
“Atharva Singh Kaul and Samar Dixit.” She flashed the ICU pass.
“Inside.” The nurse pointed to the door. Amaal pushed it open and froze. The chilled air and heavy scent of antiseptic of the deserted alley arrested her feet. She jerked her footwear off like everybody else’s there and ran, her feet slapping the floor. Murmurs ensued around the corner and she turned it, frightened of finding what was there on the other side.
And then she saw him.
Standing, talking to a doctor.
Amaal ran faster than she ever had in her life, faster than she had through the hospital atrium and this alley. Samar looked up, and he didn’t even have the time to catch her as she crashed into him, throwing her arms around his neck. Amaal didn't know what would happen, what was accepted and what was not. But a second later, his arms came around her and she found herself lifted into his shoulder. She buried her face there and huffed, sobbing in relief, without tears. Her body rattled, spitting it all out. And his arms kept tightening around her back, squeezing it all out.
“You are ok, you are ok, you are ok…” Her hands crossed and held the back of his head tight. His hands found the back of her head, and he nodded. Her lips puckered into whatever there was beneath them. Cloth, skin, him.
“You are fine.” She finally caught her breath.
“Hmm.”
Amaal grinned, having never heard a better word in her life. She pulled away and found herself settled back on her feet. And she saw into a Samar she had never seen. His face was tired, gaunt, his eyes not meeting hers behind those specs. Amaal caught his cheeks and lifted his face enough for his eyes to meet hers — “Where is Atharva? How is Iram?”
He remained still, silent, staring into her eyes. She smiled, her thumbs caressing the tired, warm skin of his cheeks. A swallow worked through his throat.
