Nine: Vengeance of the Warrior (8 page)

Akash picked up his phone, hoping it was Tara or Zubin. The first message was from Raakin to warn him that there were people keeping tabs on him.
Yeah, yeah, the usual nagging
. However, the second message made him sit up. Tara had received a warning from the spirit world that the big bad warrior was all set to attack.
Jeez, what the fuck!
All this stress and he hadn’t even finished his cuppa! He sent Tara a message telling her to take care of herself.

Reflecting on Tara, he chuckled—she was one strange gal. A real softie on the inside and on the outside, always taking life too seriously. She hated to admit she was scared. It was a man’s world, she claimed. So she had to prove to herself that she was as strong as the guys. She didn’t realize that guys were as soft or sometimes even softer than the average woman. Akash enjoyed teasing Tara and getting her worked up, and found it amusing to watch her expressive face as she narrowed her eyes, pursed her lips and looked at him as if she would punch him. She replied. He responded with a short message.

Cathy knocked. ‘Come in, darling!’ Akash called out. His assistant looked agitated. ‘Okay, give it to me,’ he sighed, aware that he could not procrastinate any further, especially under her stern gaze. She gave him a list of business matters that required his personal attention and placed some files in front of him. Akash thanked her and glanced at the reply Tara had sent. He grinned, responded, then got down to work.

An hour later, the wail of a distant siren caught his attention. The sound of the approaching fire engine grew louder. Akash felt his adrenalin surge. His feet tingled as if in response to the emergency. There was trouble brewing in the vicinity. He had to go and help. The implant in his ear was warm.

Akash left his desk. Cathy sensed his eyes on her. ‘Is everything all right?’ she asked.

He gave her a sheaf of papers. ‘Please take care of these for me, I will be back soon,’ he said, heading out before she could protest.

Akash took to the back streets, where hardly anyone loitered. He skimmed the ground as he moved in giant strides. Careful that no one saw him, he leaped to the roof of the office block. From there he had a bird’s-eye view of the area. In the distance, he could see plumes of black smoke. He moved swiftly from roof to roof. As he came closer to the inferno, he realized that the building which was burning wildly was actually a school.
Shit!
Orange spirals of fire rose into the air. Police pushed people further back. The heat was intense. More screaming sirens from fire engines and police vehicles. Firemen unrolled lengths of hoses, while others aimed the bursts of water at the blaze. The water hit its target but didn’t seem to curb the spreading fire. There were people standing around, watching the scene unfold.

The adjacent building was a recreational centre. A few women standing outside it were crying that there were children still trapped within. The fire was spreading swiftly to the centre. Akash still had a chance to go inside and save the kids. The firefighters were breaking down the front door. Before his eyes, the ground floor suddenly burst into flames. Immediately, he decided to get inside the building through the roof. He moved sideways, sneaked into a side street and swiftly got in through the back entrance of the recreational centre. The onlookers didn’t even notice him. Their eyes were peeled on the horrific scene. He pulled down the emergency ladder and climbed up a few steps towards the top of the burning building. The fire hadn’t reached the upper levels of the four-storey structure. There was a ten-foot distance between rooftops. He could scale it easily to get to the school.

Akash took a deep breath and jumped. Making a perfect landing on the roof of the school, he stayed low.
Shit, it was bloody hot!
He was wearing a long sleeved T-shirt, jeans and a blazer. Besides the harsh bristling sounds of the fire, crackling sounds of breaking glass caught his attention. He hurried towards the door that would lead him inside the building. He removed his blazer, used it to clutch the door handle, and pulled. It was stuck. Akash cursed and used all his strength to pull harder. The door was burning hot. Akash tried again with all his might; it gave. He pulled the door wide open. A blast of hot air hit him first. He moved inside and felt like he was in an oven.
It was hotter than hell!
Akash gritted his teeth and descended cautiously. Holding his blazer to his nose and mouth, Akash found it increasingly hard to breathe. His eyes began to water as he walked further inside.

If Tara were connected with him right then, she would be cursing him for being so disorganized and putting his life at risk. Instinctively, he touched his left ear. The chakra implant was buzzing. He knew why—he was connecting with the power of the Nine. He had moved out of the sensory input and was now connecting with the collective. Abruptly he stopped. He closed his eyes to channel his energies. He, like his buddies, was capable of tapping into the powers of the others. He moved faster. The blazing fire was now moving upwards. He heard the cries for help. He was on a landing. It was coming from the left. Akash hurried forward, keeping his arms up, head bowed. The fire on the lower levels was visible from the corridor. It was a small cafeteria, now it looked like a furnace in hell. He knew the layout of the building—he and his friends had sometimes played basketball in one of the sports halls. But soon his throat started to burn, he was feeling the effects of the toxic fumes released from melting plastic and concrete. Akash knew that despite his discomfort, he would have to get the others out fast. He searched frantically. The halls and art rooms were empty. Smoke was seeping into every corner, the paint on the walls bubbled as the fire crept up from all sides. Despite the crackling, crushing sounds of the fire, the voices were still faintly audible.
Damn it!
He didn’t have much time. He hurried towards the rest rooms. He checked the ladies’ ones first. No one. Suddenly, a large beam fell from above, crashing into Akash’s shoulder and pushing him to the floor. His right arm bore the brunt. The pain was intense and he felt the fire singe his right side. Scrabbling out from under the burning log, he managed to slap the fire out. Parts of his bare arm and neck were wounded. He dismissed the throbbing pain and, with his left hand, managed to push open the men’s rest rooms. He dashed inside, calling out. Through the swirls of smoke a young boy reached out for him. ‘We are trapped here!’ Akash followed him towards a storeroom, it was furthest from the licks of the spreading fire. Inside, huddled in the corner were five children aged between ten and twelve. ‘You know a way out of here?’ one of the girls sobbed. ‘I don’t want to die.’

‘Calm down, no one’s going to die.’ Akash grabbed a sheet of cloth and wrapped it around his aching arm. Wincing as he tried to move it, he looked determinedly at them. ‘Don’t worry, we’ll make it out of here.’ He kneeled down. ‘Now tell me, are there any other people around here? Any adults?’

One of the taller boys replied, ‘It’s just us. I checked some of the rooms and found these kids in the activity centre. I got them up here before the fire spread. I couldn’t check every part of this building. After the explosion the fire spread so fast that there was nowhere else to go.’ As if on cue, they heard crackling wood, then saw smoke curling in from under the door. There was no time to waste.

‘What’s your name?’ Akash asked. The acrid smell was making it hard to breathe.

‘Chris,’ the boy said, coughing violently, holding a cloth to his face. ‘The fire has blocked all the exits and we are stuck here. Can we go out the same way you came?’

‘Not any more!’ Akash realized that he had managed to make it before the beam fell and crashed through to the lower floor. It would be impossible to make it past. Akash felt like an idiot when he realized he had left his phone back in the office.
Jeez, how could anyone have picked him to be one of the Nine?
Even he wouldn’t trust himself.

‘Anyone of you got a mobile?’ Akash asked, his eyes tearing up as the smoke curled into the room. The hissing and crackling sounds were getting louder. The fire raged wildly and would reach them any minute. The ache in his shoulder was turning into a stabbing pain.

Each of them pulled out a gadget from their pockets. ‘Doesn’t work,’ Chris said. ‘You got a plan?’

‘Yeah, I got a plan.’ Akash looked at the young frightened faces. He had no plan. For all his superhuman abilities, he was pretty bad with normal human organizational skills. Planning was Tara’s responsibility. ‘Now listen to me, all of you. We have to be strong and we have to be sensible. We will get out of here but first we have to protect ourselves. Take all the towels you can find, wet them and wrap yourselves as much as possible, especially your faces. I’m going to search for a way out.’

Akash stepped out slowly. He scanned the men’s room. The fire had seeped inside from the main entrance and had spread to the front area. He found the fire extinguisher and did his best to beat down the flames. His arm ached like a bitch. Towards the back, he checked each one of the shower cubicles. There were no exit windows or exhaust fans in the wall. Then he found a window in one of the toilets.
Great! Couldn’t they have thought of a bigger window?
And the worst part—it was ten feet above the ground.

He found a mop in the storeroom. ‘I found a way out. Wait. I will be back. I must first break the glass.’ He raced towards the toilets and wedged the door so it would stay open. Hovering above the window, he struck it a number of times until the glass cracked. He ran back to the storeroom. ‘Okay guys, in here!’

Akash hadn’t realized that Chris had caught sight of him hovering in mid-air. The children rushed inside.

‘Hey Chris, help me here!’ Akash called out, trying to push the locker cabinet and place it beneath the window. The boy gaped for a few seconds. Akash caught the look of awe and realized Chris had discovered his secret. As they pushed the cabinet, Akash looked at him. ‘You have to keep it a secret, okay?’

Chris didn’t reply. ‘Okay?’ Akash repeated. ‘I will explain later.’

‘Okay,’ the boy said reluctantly. ‘But why do you hide it? You’re like Superman!’

‘Shhh!’ Akash kneeled down and faced the boy. ‘Because bad scientists will want to experiment on me and I will not be able to help people again. It is very important that you keep this a secret. Okay?’

Chris’s face fell. His excitement on discovering Akash’s ability trumped his anxiety about the fire. ‘Can I meet you again? What’s your name? I can be your sidekick if there is anyone who needs your help.’

Akash stopped short of rolling his eyes. ‘I own a pub down the road. Ask for John.’

‘Your name is John? But you look Indian.’

‘Chris! We have to get out of here. We will discuss this later. But for now, you have to keep the secret. Okay?’

‘Okay.’

‘Scout’s honour?’

‘Scout’s honour.’

Akash climbed on top of the cabinet and held the mop outside the window, waving it frantically.

They heard someone yell, ‘Look! Up there!’

Within minutes there was a ladder reaching up to the window and a fireman was facing them. ‘Stand back!’ he shouted and rammed the window sill until the brick crumbled. The opening was big enough for them to slide through.

‘Hurry!’ one of the kids called out. Behind them, the fire had blasted through the door. The smoke made them cough and their eyes watered.

‘Hold on!’ The fireman leaned against the sill and looked inside. ‘Come on, let’s get a move on. Don’t panic, we will all make it.’ The kids climbed up the cabinet and scrambled through the opening as the fireman hauled them out one by one. There was a crowd below, cheering as the kids emerged.

Shit!
Akash thought. The kids had seen his face. And once he got out, worst of all, he would be questioned. He turned around but there was no way he could go past that raging wall of fire. And it was moving in fast. A blast of heat hit him. The blaze was wild and angry. There was no other way out. He could say that he was already inside when the fire broke out. But the media would have him on the news and he didn’t want that.
Shit! Shit! Shit!
As he made it out of the hole, down the ladder, he heard Chris calling him. And a roar of cheering went up.

Akash covered his face as he landed on the soft earth. He moaned as the firemen helped him up. He pointed to his arm: the cloth was stained black and he knew his arm must be as bad as it felt. The kids’ parents were hearing stories of his bravery. Akash heard shouts. ‘He’s the one who saved us!’ The children, streaked in black and suffering from smoke inhalation, were energetic enough to shout and point at him.
Damn kids!
Akash caught sight of Chris whispering to someone and gesticulating with his hands about his ability. Akash turned away as cameras whirred in his direction; the reporters called out questions.

Akash used a cloth to cover his face. He turned away, trying to avoid the attention. He grabbed a passing fireman. ‘I’m feeling dizzy …’

The fireman conveyed that to the police officer who sternly pushed back the press and the crowd of onlookers. ‘Move on, let’s give the injured some space.’

Akash was led to a medical van. The medics placed an oxygen mask over his face and treated his burns. Akash lay back. Tears rolled down his cheeks while the medic cleaned his burns and applied antiseptic. His soothing voice didn’t help. Akash was a big baby when it came to pain. And he wanted to cry out loud. ‘You got any painkillers?’ Akash asked. The crowd outside continued to grow while the fire trucks monitored the building, ensuring the fire had been controlled. Akash felt like his whole body was burning up. The medic handed him the meds. ‘Rest here for a while. We will take you to the hospital.’

‘Thanks,’ Akash mumbled and closed his eyes. The last thing he wanted was to go to the hospital.

Two more television vans arrived and began filming the charred building. The fire had been brought under control. The building looked like it had ugly, black muddy water dripping from the empty windows. He heard one reporter reveal that two men had died inside. One was a janitor and the other a security guard. The cause of the fire was under investigation. The news reporter went on to say that luckily, six young children were saved by a mystery man.
Shit
, Akash thought. He didn’t want to hear more.