Six Days - Hari

Day 3 (7:04pm)

It’s been 2 days; almost the entire city’s been reduced to rubble. It all just happened so unexpectedly. We’re running out of supplies. Despite the entire city being shut, and most people are either dead, hiding, or run away. Shops have already been emptied out by other survivors, or the consumables have been ruined beyond use in the attacks. Medha’s leg seems to get worse all the time. She can’t walk, so we’ve decided to camp in one of the underground subway stations. Darsh, Aakash and me went out twice today, scouting for food, water and other necessities. We picked up whatever we could lay hands on, or whatever we could find. Scared we were, that the odds of us getting killed were stacked, but Anam, Naina, Medha and Kanika pretty much depended on us. Medha was still coping with Sahil’s death yesterday. He died in front of her. She would’ve died too, if she hadn’t jumped into that sewer. We all felt weak after Sahil. His spirit was strong as a rock, and he naturally led us since the first day of the attack. He was a good man, and always the brother I never had.
We managed to find a shop next to a petrol station. We put together whatever we could find, and whatever was usable enough, and came back to the subway station. Naina carefully applied Medha’s badly torn calf with some antiseptic which we found. She screamed. And then she cried herself to sleep. Sahil was her life’s love, and she watched her love die.

Day 4 (10:37pm)

It rained this morning. That was a relief. It doused all the fires that seemed to go on incessantly. Everyday, we wake up with some hope, that the forces might come rescue us. Its not like the forces never came. On the day this monster first attacked, the army and the air force sent tons of troops. But they couldn’t really slow down the thing. Where the hell did it even come from? I still remember, how we were all celebrating Anam’s birthday, and suddenly the earth shook. We thought it must be an earthquake, but then we heard explosions, and buildings being pounded on. Everyone ran out to the street. What we saw was just bizarre. Stuff that comics and movies are made of. A huge, hideous monster, pretty much just hammering and stomping at everything that came in its way. What it couldn’t wreck, it flung into the city. It was chaos all around. We didn’t know where to go. Everyone just ran, or took cover. Its strange how or why this creature came to this city, or why it is destroying everything it sees. And it doesn’t seem to want to go away. The army bombed it with tanks and heavy artillery guns, with no apparent effect. The airforce sent in missiles on it, and they just didn’t seem to affect it. What is this thing? What does it want? We just want to get out of this place, but it seems too big a risk to step out for long, for the monster seems to destroy anything that moves. And we just cant risk each other’s lives. I guess that’s why neither of us wants to suggest this.
We stayed indoors all day. The water fountains in the subway, thankfully, are still functional. The supplies might last us the night. Its been awfully quiet all day. Has it left?

Day 5 (8:12pm)

We woke up to the sounds of massive explosions and jets. It hadn’t gone.
We could hear its angry growls. We heard what seemed like it hurling a helicopter down. Every angry step it took shook the city. We feared the subway might collapse, but the monster was a bit far from where we were. Then we ran out of food. Medha’s condition seemed to get worse. Anam was running a fever. She tried to sleep all day, shivering. Kanika sat in the corner. She would burst out sobbing every now and then, or she would just stare into space, blankly. She was always the meek one. Naina was their pillar. She went up to each one and consoled them. We sat around, tried building a small fire to keep us warm. The rain had also brought a cold chill. We’ve run out of food as well. We could hear the monster roar outside all day, even after the sounds of the jets had stopped around noon. We decided it was too risky to go out, even after all the sounds stopped outside. Everyone seems to get more worn out with each passing minute. But there wasn’t much we could do, than to wait.

Day 6 (1:15pm)

The sounds of the jets and bombs woke us up again. Then the monster. Even its resilience seemed to be wearing out. Its roar seemed diminished, and more like a cry. Maybe the forces are going to get some results soon. But would we last till then? It sounded like a war outside. But who’s war is this anyway? We haven’t seen any sign of human life ever since the past three days. Has anyone survived? Were we right in staying back? We thought it would go away, but it stayed. But we also saw the monster fling an entire row of evacuation trucks across the city with one sweep. Maybe we’l get through this. We don’t really have an option. Either way, we might just perish right here, in this station. Darsh couldn’t hold it much longer. Impatient as he always has been, he decided he would walk through the subway line, see if he could get to some other part of the city, or probably some other station and find some supplies. We tried to stop him, but he just ran off into the lines. I went after him, but he wouldn’t stop and reason, so I decided I’d leave him to himself. The subways seemed safe enough, as long as he didn’t venture out.

Day 6 (11:28pm)

Darsh has still not come back. Anam’s fever has worsened, she hasn’t woken up all day. She’s been mumbling things deliriously in her sleep. Kanika’s been weeping inconsolably, ever since Darsh ran off. Even Naina seems to have given up. She just walks around, putting cold towels on Anam, or changing Medha’s bandage. We haven’t eaten for almost two days. We haven’t talked either. We exchange distant looks, as helpless as it gets. First Sahil, now probably Darsh. Maybe we’re all in line. We’re just waiting for our turn now. We have absolutely no way to contact anyone outside. The mobile phones have been defunct since the very first day, the payphones are dead, there are no computers, no radios. Nothing.

Day 7 (11:41am)

We woke up today, hoping that Darsh would’ve come back, but there was still no sign of him. It’s been awfully silent outside since yesterday evening, and we’re too hungry to go on like this. Aakash and me are going out now, to scout for food and possibly medication. Hopefully, we should come back alive. Lest the bombing starts again. Or possibly worse.

Day 7 (12:34pm)

Darsh came back! We returned with some food and medicines, to find almost everyone smiling. Darsh had come back about an hour after Aakash and me went out. He came back with a lot of medicines and some food. And a woman and her child. He found them hiding in some other station, hungry and almost unconscious. So he had stayed back there for the night, nursing them. Better still, they’re a blessing. The woman has a satellite phone, so we called a few people we knew, and they contacted the authorities and notified them of our location. They’re coming by noon tomorrow! Its been quiet outside, but we aren’t sure if the monster’s gone, or just waiting. But either way, they said they’re planning to flatten the city, and the monster with it, with bigger bombs. That seems to be their only option, now that the city has been ruined beyond repair. But they’re getting us out, they’ve called us and coordinated it all! Everyone seems so much better.
Tomorrow, we escape…