Read Chapter 6
She
picked up the fallen bat and saw that, as she had suspected, it was not a real bat but
a mechanical one. She handed it to Param, who had followed her. He shook it and
then dismantled it. It had electronic parts. They went out and approached the
monsters. One of them bent and boomed. Though she knew it was Udit playing
pranks, still it was scary. She went near slowly and touched the monster. She
felt something wet and solid. She looked at her hand. Because of the
floodlights, the visibility was better. She saw her hand was white and foamy.
She smelt it, and was pleasantly surprised to smell detergent. She touched the
monster again and realised that the smell of detergent was quite overpowering.
What
was the solid within? She moved to a side where the light was strong. She wiped
the foam off and saw something rubbery. She frowned, angry at having been fooled
by this innocuous balloon. She punched it and saw it wobble, sprinkling foam on
her. She looked for something sharp and pointed. She took a slide from her hair
and punctured it. She had to move away as the deflating monster rained water
and foam. Suddenly she heard a dull thud. When the balloon had deflated completely,
she explored the reams of material and found something solid on the ground. She
picked it up to see a cracked equipment.
“Looks
like a drone,” Param commented, examining it closely.
“What
do they need all this for!” Sulekha mused loudly. “Let’s see what’s in that
truck,” she said pointing to the truck by the compound wall. “Did you inform
Sandeep uncle? Call him and find out where he is,” she instructed her son as
the two went towards the truck.
“Uncle?
Param here. Did you get my message,” Param spoke on the phone. “No, I was not
playing a prank. We are stranded in a strange place. Wait…” He took a photo of
one of the erect monsters and sent it to his uncle.
He
explained quickly their adventure and asked for help.
“Uncle
told us to try and leave this place as quickly as possible,” he informed his
mother who was looking around the truck, trying to find a way in. Udit and
Manasa also joined them. Seeing the top was open, Sulekha hauled Udit into the
back of the truck with great difficulty, complaining that he was becoming
overweight.
He
came back within minutes. “Crates, tightly sealed. Let’s hope my car works and
let’s leave. The guys were banging the door hard,” he said and they headed for
the gate.
Sulekha
was reluctant to leave. “I want to know what is happening,” she said
stubbornly. The children were curious too, and truth be told, so was Udit.
Having endured so much, it was hard to leave this place without the mystery
being solved.
Udit
had locked the front door. There was nothing he could do about the balcony
door, but doubted if the men would risk jumping down two floor.
It
was an hour before the police arrived. In fact, they were followed by the
military as well. This surprised the four, who were snacking on biscuits,
praying all the while that the doors held. It seemed to have, so far.
Everything
was a haze after that, but at the end of the operations, the culprits had been
apprehended, a plot to smuggle bombs to a malicious neighbouring country
unearthed and Udit, Sulekha, Param and Manasa were declared heroes.
“Why
the balloons?” Sulekha asked frustrated.
“To
scare the villagers and keep people at bay. This township had been built to
clear slums in the city. But the owners sold it and continued to live in slums.
Nobody realised that the same person was buying up all the houses under
different names. Once he had taken possession of the place, he connected the
different floors from inside and there is a big manufacturing unit on one side
and warehouse on another.
“To
keep people away, they created these monsters. Though the local police had
heard complaints about the monster from one or two who strayed here, they found
nothing to support the claims. If you had not messaged us a photo, we wouldn’t
have believed you either,” admitted the senior most office.
What!
This quiet, quaint apartment had such a complex story to it!
Well,
Sulekha was glad that they had come out of it unscathed. Except their car,
which was still stubbornly not starting. They got a ride back to the city, and
were they glad – the lonely track went deep into the woods before it emerged on
to a kuccha road and joined the main road.
“How
did you even find us!” Sulekha asked surprised.
“We
had had our suspicions before, but nothing concrete,” admitted the policeman.
Their
misadventure had turned out to be a boon. “But next time, heed to road
signals,” the policeman cautioned them smiling.
They
were seen off with great honour, and with a promise of a reward to boot.
Concluded
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