“Give me a Vimal.” barked the burly, khaki clad, pot-bellied cop.
The boy behind the counter sped swiftly into action, searching amongst the hanging tobacco packets, as the man of the justice was not to be kept waiting. He was a small mouse like boy, in baggy clothes, not at all fitting on the mal-nutritioned frame of his body. His forehead beaded in perspiration as he deftly worked in the overstuffed cabin on this sweaty night.
He handed over three packets of the said carcinogen to the cop along with a Bristol and matchbox. The other guy was seething in anger as he was sidetracked by this cop.
After gulping down a bottle of desi liquor, he demanded a pouch of cool water without being kept waiting, not to be pushed aside by this cop and now who was not giving a trifle of attention to his self-righteous anger.
“Hey, mister.” So unsteady was his cerebellum, that his poster was that of a swirling man, clearly indicating a job opportunity for the smoking cop.
He slapped hard across the pale face of the thin man, who fell down due to the thrusting impact and an unstable mind. As a result his image which had been blurred cleared immediately as sky clearing of mist. He now saw the uniform and prayed to god to be merciful.
“Aye” Then with the help of his large vocabulary, spoke an unpostable word, “you have the tenacity of drinking hooch in front of cop. You god-damn have the cheek.” He jerked the man up by the collar of his shirt, held the strands of his hair, slapped hard on both the cheeks, if this did not made the man regain his composure, god knew what did.
“Sahaab, please forgive me. I…I didn’t knew. Sorry to behave in that rude manner, but who was to know that your august presence was to have his needs fulfilled at this dingy lorry.” He looked with mock- disgust at the boy who was watching the whole proceedings, with a detached air. The boy shrugged his shoulder. “Sir lets go to a place I know that happens to be far better than this one, which very much becomes you.”
The fermented cop relaxed his grip from the thin man’s head. “Don’t people like you know that liquor is banned in this state? Don’t they teach you that you should be far away from this vile liquid?”
“Sahaab, I didn’t have the climate to have good teachings as you do. I am born in a poor family my parents were illi…….”
“How much have you got?” The cop asked, cutting him in between.
“Sahaab, I am from a poor family, I was really stressed out of the marital-problems, so I decided to…”
“Take out your wallet.”
“What?”
“Police station is waiting for people like you; it will take good care of you.”
The man immediately fished out the wallet. He opened up and was counting the money, when the cop snatched it from his hands and took out the whole content. He pocketed the whole content of money which amounted to a reasonable price. “No money you say, huh?”
“Well sir….”
“Ah, your wife is very beautiful.” The cop remarked, looking lustily at the photo which he got from the purse’s content.
“And sahaab, reason of all ruin.” Said the man, who was by now a crumpled being, having all what he had swiped off in a single jiffy.
He pocketed the photo.
“Get lost.”
“What sahaab?”
“Get lost. And the next time I see you drunk, more than money will be lost.” He fingered at his pocket.
The man was horrified, he ran at his at most speed, while the cop laughed and the boy smirked.
“Sahaab, you taught that boisterous anguthachaap a good lesson. He would come here every day and give orders to do this and that. If his wishes are not fulfilled immediately then he would start wreaking havoc.”
This gave the already gas-ballooned policeman more hydrogen air. “Okay, okay, stop. Give me another Bristol. And switch on the radio.”
The boy fulfilled his desires with agility.
The radio, being a reminiscent piece from the 1975 war, took some time to settle on a good station. The boy increased his haste as he saw that the cacophony of the untuned radio distressed the servant of the citizen very much.
“LOVEGURU, AAPKI SAARI LOVE PROBLEMS KO DOOR KARTA HAI, ONLY ON RADIO FUN 91.2 FM. KYA AAPKI GIRLFRIEND AAP SE DOOR REHTI HAI, KYA AAPKE RELATIONSHIP MEIN TANAV AA RAHE HAI, TO CALL KEJEYA IS NUMBER PAR 223333564, AAP KA RATON KA HAMSAFAR AAP KE SAARE PROBLEMS DOOR KAREGA……”
“Stop this stupid nonsense, change the station. Saale, what has happened to today’s girls and boys, wherever you go, you see them stuck as if by fevicol. Gardens, cinemas, museums, even they don’t let a zoo to be a public place. Ghore kalyug. The world is indeed on the brink of destruction.”
The boy changed the station and let the blare of bollywood chart settle on the moist air of a warm night.
“Increase the volume.” The cop ordered. He then began to tap his feet along with the tune. The boy meanwhile busied himself with closing off the cabin; it was almost the next day. He began to pack the chocolate boxes inside, this being a tactic on his part as to mention the sands of time to the cop, without offending his ego.
“Saale, why are you closing your shop so soon? It’s hardly 12.”
“Sahaab, my mother is waiting. I haven’t even eaten a morsel of food grain. So, if you please bear the inconvenience and let me go, you would do me a great favor.” He replied this as respectfully as he could muster.
“Okay then, young lad. This time I let you go.” Saying this he mounted his blue jeep. He crunched the cigarette in his left hand, starting the ignition with his right and he zoomed off towards his station.
The boy meanwhile locked the doors of the cabin. He picked up today’s earnings, placed it safely in the inner pocket of his tattered underwear. Times are tough and they indeed call for tough measures. He then began to walk in the direction in which the jeep went, as he lived in an old shack, behind that old broken down haveli. It indeed gave him pains when he thought of his hut. The inconvenience it caused during the rain, it was difficult to imagine in this dry and not so healthy summer, it would get filled with dirty, stagnant water from top to the very brim, where flies would be squatting, searching the very blood of your body. They again would have to migrate to some relative’s shack, every time facing the disdaining look of the bhabhiji’s as she saw them eating their food and living in their huts. This gave him an unbearable slap on the face of his ego. But dang it, he was helpless. His mother would not think of going to live away, as her clients were so very nearby from that haveli. She worked as a domestic help to quiet a few houses, and between them they managed to earn quite a booty which was spent on her medicines and his brother’s education. That lousy git would spent the whole time watching T.V., loafing around flirting the girls who were quite bigger than his age on the name of going to the tuition classes, while he worked his sweat out, earning swears and jeers and taunts and threats while his day at his workplace. But his amma turned a blind eye to all his complains, that he put forward to, regarding his lazy brother. In her eyes would flow the milk of kindness and affection of sagar ghee, when she looked at her younger son, while she busted her knees overworking and underpaid for him. “One day he will be a big officer, and than we would indeed be lucky. Then, you only will come to say that, ma you were quite correct, Lakshmi maa has indeed stepped inside our durbar.”
It was then he would curse secretly his brother who profited from every ounce of their work. Well, not that he has not tried to, he has indeed slapped his younger brother hard, when her mother had to do a night-on at her employer’s house, he beat the shit out of him, when such opportunities presented itself and make him understand the reason that he would have to work hard, so that their standard of life would increase, he would then tempt him with the dream of cars and mobiles and bungalows and servants to order around. This would indeed make him trod on the right path for few days, but due to the cuddling of his mother he would again become that adamant, lazy lout. He indeed thought that his brother needed a daily dose of his beatings. Plus he had to think about his step sister’s marriage. She had to be married in a suitable home, if not then his father’s soul would not have peace of mind. Mother already had a grudge against her, so it all rested on his shoulder. It was she who did all the task of their household, when they both went to work. She never demanded anything of him, not like his stupid real brother. She would tie a rakhi on his wrist and pray for his well-being. He would at least have to pay a decent dowry. But blasted, where is money?
As being in the midst of such miserable thoughts, he was not quite able to hear the metallic hum of the car which closely followed him.
The area which the boy thus entered and as a result the car followed, was not to say the least was totally empty of the human outpourings of groans and grunts and snores of the sleeping bodies, streetlights could no longer walk along the boy as they were grossly tired and inefficient, the greatest shrieks would not even carry to the nearest human habitation as they were far off from such places as it was such a semi jungle sort of thing, as the boy marched on the aisle of the pot-holed road.
So when the boy cried his throaty cry, no one till two or three miles at least, would have heard it.
*************
It was entirely his fat luck that the minister’s son had visited the city, he was called of to maintain and regulate his overall security body. The boy might have some connection with the nether world crime, and in the heat of argument he must have angered some local don, so a supari has been passed against him, and since then he had been simpering with fear about his booze filled life. Just as the navazjada was attending the party in the Rinky night club, he was outside managing the raucous security men, who chose the moment to talk about their unpaid bills. He had to slap two or three of them with his master class backhand and threatened them with the charms of prison air.
It was a tiresome, bloodsucking and non paying job, that minister was abusing his power to the very core. It was good that his son was preparing for the IAS exam he might be able to score a point with few of them.
The jeep was speeding on the empty road that passed between the shrubberies and gutter water on the two sides.
He was in a deep reverie as to how to make his stubborn wife understand where he was stuck up. He was supposed to attend a marriage party instead of guarding the mongrel of the bloody minister. The speed-o-meter showed 80 km per hour. He was diluting his concentrated anger by revving up his car, so when he approached the crumpled bloody body, he was completely taken by surprise, he jammed the brake, skidded past the body and then was totally thrown into the deep gooey shit that the gutter presented on the right side of the road.
It took him some time to regain his senses; the first sense that nauseated his brain was the smell emanating from the wheel beneath. Now he will be believed a murderer, god dang it, a full blown crasher. The first thing whatever the consequences, he had to get rid of the body.
He could see the charge sheet against himself, and the status of the cop snatched away, even after his not being guilty. Well, there happened to be no injury to be noticeable, he got out of the car, pouring his legs into the black, vile and viscous liquid.
He cursed the municipality; he cursed that idiotic minister and the bastard of his son.
Having no alternative, he had to walk through it, then balancing against the upturned ground; he jumped the boulder, and flopped on the grey asphalt. It was a slow process, his kicking his legs against the air to balance him bulky body, while his brain went fuzzy. At last he managed to; he heaved a sigh and got up. The body was placed exactly in the centre, and he could clearly observe the print of his jeeps screeching wheels, he has by far not even touched the body, which lay in the bloody pool of itself. So there are more than good chances of his getting acquitted. If he ran away now, his countenance would be doubted, and he would have to live in hiding, penniless for the crime he did not commit. So he decided to make a clean sheet of the entire incident. So he got rid of his initial, spur of the moment thought. The body should be placed exactly where it was. He went towards the body, and without touching it, he examined the wound.
It chilled his thick spine. There were no marks as to indicate that any vehicle bumped into the boy. The only source of blood from where the blood was gushing was from the puncture in the neck. The area of contact was somewhat mucous green in color, a lot like the growth of algae on the stagnant pond. And from there, the blood seemed to be coming out of the two deep cuts, as if marks of some predator’s teeth. And as it to guarantee it, he felt the sudden repugnance from the body, in addition to the blood someone urinated on the body. The cop had many hairs in his chest, so they did not take it long to stand up. Nearby his nose, as the body was flopped in downward direction, waves were formed in the blood, the boy was still breathing. So the cop fished out his large sweaty handkerchief and tied around the boy’s neck to stop, or at least to inhibit the flow of blood. He then straightened the body. The face was so far unmarked. It was very pale blue, and it did not take him long to identify that it was the boy from the lorry. So one thing that was clear in his mind was that this boy was in this situation from one hour, or had been? Because he happened to be no doctor but even a layman can say that if blood was to pour out at that rate for about one hour, then the boy had, regardless of the doctor, had no chance of living. It must be fresh, and that animal was nearby. It must be. Keeping his right hand near the hostler, he stood up and scanned the perimeter. Yes, someone was watching them. He could feel it in his guts. That stench was unmistakable, that smell of old oxidized blood, that furious breath, and his animal instinct favored him in his discovery. He took out his gun.
He walked few paces away from the boy. He could feel it in his guts. Something very primal had attacked the boy. And it was nearby, calculating his every move, as if drawing a plan of attack. If you go by sound or sights nothing would wager the cop’s apprehensions.
He fired the gun in air so that he could drive the animal away. “COME OUT YOU FILTHY BASTARD. I CAN SENSE YOU, NO NEED TO HIDE.”
He felt somewhat stupid at what he was doing, as if the animal could understand the human cry. Still, to still his fears he had to try all sort of gimmicks. The moon as such allowed the world to be scanned naked. His car was uttering a miserable grunt as the life was being slowly but surely being sucked out of it. The front lights of the car were shaded by the sand boulder in front of it. Its tires dug in muck. And due to the ongoing spluttering of light as in resonance with the dying motor, it gave the image that someone was moving. Was that the only reason that he felt that someone moved? He doubted that. That feeling had more to do with his sub-conscious. Like you turn back, when you feel that someone was following you. The light was flickering in a very odd way. Just when it began the whole cycle of dying and resisting, it sort of glinted, nearby where the left headlight took it behind the shrubs. He looked closely.
What he looked, did not gave him even a speckle of confidence. He was not dealing with an animal. Because, just behind the shrubs, hidden by its color of darkness, was hidden a motor so fine that his salary of ten years and bribe could not afford. So of course his arriving at the conclusion that the primal beast he had considered was actually a primal human beast the one that his daughter adored was elementary.
He closely observed the motor. All right the guy must have paid booty to get a car like that, but it did not change the fact that the guy was outright criminal. He decided to wager a chance, it was foolhardy. It might ideally be his line of duty to check the maniac, probably, a monster, but he can’t place his butts on the fire all alone on this blasted night. But still it was better to go in front of the monster than to be stalked by the monster when he would be whimpering on his road home.
“Come out with hands on your head.” His gun pointed straight on the front side of the car, as he was stepping in the muck. From his position he could see that no one was in the car. It was a very wrong move on his part.
Hardly had he approached towards the car, than someone groped at his neck, from his back. The man kicked at the leg pits, so he was forced to buckle down on his knees. The hands were of solid frame as they strangled his neck. He flayed his arms wildly in air, the gun falling on the ground besides him. Suddenly the grip loosened, and the cop began to take heavy breathe. But before his body could return to normalcy, the man grabbed him by his collar. Unable to control, his head fell on the ground with a thud. His vision blurred, as he felt wincing pain against his cheeks and the sound of slaps.
“So, our dear cop, protector of the weak, goes out to nose my business, huh?” the monster asked. His voice was silky, coming in an odd sort of sounds, as if its unconscious mind didn’t knew how it used its larynx. He continued slapping him. “Even those white fellas knew better than to poke in my business.”
The cop didn’t even have a moment to breath. It was as if he had drowned in water, swinging his arms in absolute breathlessness. By purely random chance, his left hand hit the vampire’s jaw.
“Ahhhh…….”
The slapping stopped. The cop tried to regain his stance, but a tight iron hand held his face. Before he could do anything, the cop again hit his jaw with the elbow.
The vampire fell back, writhing in pain.
The cop took his gun, stood up and pointed it in the direction of the vampire.
“Legends exaggerate you.” He looked menacingly at the fallen vampire. Green bouts of liquid were oozing out of the two canine teeth. He glowered at him with disgust. His teeth were all rusty red. And the belt on his trousers was unbuckled. The cop didn’t feel the fear that overwhelmed him before. He felt he was looking at a grotesque animal, shaped like a human being, with nothing so attractive about him.
“I would surely teach you a lesson, you pissing, blood-drinker” Saying this he hit the vampire on the head with the butt of his pistol. The animal stopped his motion.
It had turned out to be a very hectic night for the cop. He called the police station.
******************
The devil. The perfect degenerate out of the vile underworld, the boy had lost his mind.
Clad in a white overall of the hospital, empty syringe in his hand, standing on the bed in a highly frenzied state, the boy was not letting the doctor operate on his puncture.
“He is hyper excited, he has to be given a shot, only then we can operate on him.” The doctor explained the cop. The cop was the only father figure to the boy in this situation; his mother and sister were a sob story.
“Haay, Haay, what has happened to my Raja Batu?” The mother, clad in a typical orange sari was smacking her hands against her head. The noise seemed to disturb the boy. He snarled in his mother’s direction.
The mother suddenly stopped. The sister was looking at her brother with a sort of awe and admiration, something which the cop felt must not be in a sister regarding his brother.
“Chaal, come down. Don’t waste everybody’s time. You are not the only important thing.” The cop ordered.
But the boy only gave a dark, angry stare. He did not felt obliged to obey the commands. The nurse was trying to take back the syringe, but was little bit apprehensive as the boy was holding an empty syringe. The boy seemed to have forgotten all modes of communication, and he could only follow the rules written down in the grammar of growls, barks and snarls.
“You would have to hold him.” The doctor said, looking at his watch. The cop felt angry towards him, he was not the only one doing his duty.
The cop signaled his hawaldaars, and the other few male nurses came forward. The boy was growing highly uncomfortable as they violated his territory, which he had already marked by pissing, he began to bark loudly. The barking was incessant, throaty affair, entirely unhuman in noise. The boy in addition to a new language has also learned a new way of controlling his voice-box. One nurse, being impatient shot his hand towards boy’s hand in which he was holding the syringe.
The other volunteers very near him now, they were proceeding slowly but cautiously but before they could do anything, the boy bit the man’s hand.
“AArrrtrrrgggg…..” The man leapt in pain. He tried to slap the boy with other hand but he was stuck on his hand like a leech.
A pandemonium resulted in that ward. The volunteers were trying to get rid of the boy from the hand, but to no avail.
“Beat the bastard.” The orders were immediately followed.
“Oh, God please relieve me from this pain. Mummy, oh aaaaaaaaaaaaa!” The shriek of the man continued, as he could not bear the pain. The boy was being jerked away, but this resulted in more stretching of the nurse, as a result more pain. The boy also had a tight grip on the syringe, so many of them did not proceed from that side. Meanwhile the doctor prepared another syringe, and was deciding from which side he had to give a shot.
“Come on fucker, do him in.” The cop barked at the doctor, the time for formality was passed.
The doctor, increase his speed, shot at the other wrist which was carefully held by the volunteers. It was little difficult as the boy was offering resistance, but the doctor was practiced, as he had faced other rabid patient also. Finally the patient grew silent, and let go of the hand.
“Sister, give him the booster dose.” The doctor signaled in the direction of the injured fellow. He stared angrily at the cop. “There was no need to bad mouth, you asshole.”
The cop looked down sheepishly. “Leave it Kumar. I am sorry. It was just, just that I got very scared of him. He had eyes exactly as that of the other sucker. It scared the crap out of me.”
The doctor intently studied the cop. “Mangal, you had a tough night, now you go and sleep, I will look at his gash, and give him a dose.” Then he smiled.
“I want to torture that bastard.” The cop said maliciously.
“No, no. You know that you don’t need excitement. Your blood pressure is on a rise. You have to calm down your mind. Get rid of those evil thoughts. You have already caught him.”
“Well, I think you are right. Do you still think that he got rabies? I just can’t believe that you think that it is all due to a blasted dog. You haven’t seen the green pus.”
“Blast it. That is the only plausible alternative. It even may be some sort of green algae, the way you described. His canine may be sharp. The main problem is that, the fool didn’t get himself injected. But some of the things even I could not understand. Where the hell, is he anyway? I thought you might have brought him here.”
“Some top VVIPS came along with the constables. The flicked their cards on me. It was really high class affair. They ordered around, and told me that I had done a good job, and took him away. It was after the ambulance took the boy away.”
“So you got the problem off your hand. Was that guy that interesting?”
“I think so. I am really afraid for the boy.”
“Don’t be. I really think that some pest virus is in his body.”
“If you say so.”
The doctor again becomes prickly about time. “Well, my dear friend, I have other patient to operate, if you excuse me.” Having told so, the doctor went out of the ward. The cop was left alone with the unconscious patient and the sobbing females. He thought that he must say something to sooth them.
“Your son would be alright. I have complete faith in this doctor. He saved the life of my wife during a critical delivery. When he says that it is all due to a blasted dog, it must be so. Haven’t we got perfect solution for a dog bite, in this case a man bite due to a dog?”
“Sahib, you are the savior of my dear son. If you trust the doctor, we have no reason to complain. But once my Tapu, my younger son was bit by a mongrel, he didn’t behave like this.”
“Do you doubt the doctor’s judgment?” The policeman snapped.
“No sahib, not at all. Who am I to judge…”
Cutting off, he went away. It was nearly morning. He was frustrated by the whole business. All he could see was a warm wonderful bed.
Alienman 
