Deadly Encounter
'Beep Beep', chimed the alarm clock.
It was so annoying that Daya pressed the snooze button with a snap. His bed was indeed very warm and cozy and he had no intention of getting up. Five minutes later, his alarm went off again. He shut it and stood up instantly remembering something. He flexed his muscles and immediately started getting ready. It was 4 in the morning. He had to go on an important mission.
Daya had deliberately selected Shreya for this mission. True it was a very dangerous one but that would give him an opportunity to spend some quality time with her away from everybody else.
An hour later at 5 am, Daya stood near a huge helipad waiting for Shreya to arrive. He was dressed in black T- Shirt and military trousers. He was armed with a shotgun and a rifle gun.
Shreya arrived carrying a heavy backpack and looking sleepy. She too carried a shotgun.
They heard the helicopter approaching and they moved back as it descended on the helipad. A strong gust of wind whipped their faces.
A man got out and shook hands with them.
'Good morning! I am Jeffrey Connors. Hope we didn't arrive too early!' he said.
'No not at all! In fact I'll say the sooner we leave, the better', said Daya.
'Great. So ready to go sir?' asked Jeffrey.
'Yeah' said Daya and Shreya together.
'They sat in the helicopter and fastened their seatbelts. They took off and Shreya could see the clouds changing their colour from bluish to vivid hues of orange. It dawned earlier in the Amazon perhaps. Their journey lasted only for 15 minutes. Shreya heard sound of gushing water and she looked down. A huge waterfall came into view as they descended lower and lower towards the ground.
'Wow!' she exclaimed looking at the crystal white water bouncing off the haphazard rocks.
'Natural wonder it is! Dunno from where all this water comes from! Never dries up this one!' said Jeffery.
They got down and stood admiring the waterfall for a few minutes.
Finally Daya cleared his throat.
'Okay. Let's get back to work.'
'Yeah, so this will be your starting point', said Jeffery point out a huge opening into the forest right next to the waterfall.
'And then we follow the directions on the map', said Daya.
'Right. But I am afraid you'll have to walk in there coz there is no path. Just rocks and trees. Vehicles can't go in there.' said Jeffery.
'Yeah, we were aware of that', said Daya.
'Then you will come across the Jurassic Lab which is apparently totally destroyed as informed by our sources when they were alive. From there you have to collect the animal DNA samples and head towards extraction point which is just a few miles away from the Jurassic Lab', said Jeffery.
'Are these monsters real? I mean dinosaurs existed a million years ago but it's all over news that a dinosaur has been spotted in the Amazon rainforest!' said Shreya.
'A team of scientists were conducting some secret experiments with some animal DNA in there. But then one day something terrible happened and the genetically engineered animal was set loose. He destroyed the entire lab and killed all of them. A voice recording was found by some journalists from whom dinosaur sounds could be heard. They found some huge eggs too. That's why the news channels are going gaga over it. But no one alive has spotted a dinosaur till date', said Jeffrey
Shreya gulped.
'Local residents staying in towns nearby gave their own version of how they hear low animal snarls in the night. Some also experienced tremors', said Daya.
'Yes, but no one knows the truth. Such news always give way to rumour mongers', said Jeffrey
'All right. We won't find out till we go inside and have a look', said Daya.
'Once you reach the extraction point, enter the code in the machine and the helicopter will be there to rescue you within 15 minutes. And in case of emergency just press the red button on the remote handed to you. The device will help us track your location and we'll send help right away', said Jeffrey.
'Got it', said Daya.
'All the best for you mission!' said Jeffrey.
'Thank you', said Daya and Shreya and waited till the helicopter was out of sight.
'Ready for a wild journey? I hope you are not scared!' said Daya smirking at Shreya.
'Of Course I am not scared! Let's go!' she said.
Slowly they stepped inside the forest. The air was damp and cool. The sickly smell of rotten wood was getting stronger. They could hear different sounds of humming insects, chirping of birds, hostile screeches from animals, animals scurrying in the underbrush, and slight ruffling of the trees.
Tree trunks were covered with moss. And the chirping of crickets was nonstop. Small streams could be seen here and there. Some of them ran downhill to meet larger streams. A slight fog had settled even in broad daylight. The forest was beautiful yet a disturbing aura existed, the fear of the unknown hidden dangers was constant.
Daya and Shreya followed the forest trail listed in the map. They were on constant lookout for any danger lurking nearby. Finally after walking for about two hours, Shreya sat down on a wooden log.
'Let's rest for some time please. I just can't walk any further.'
They drank water and had few sandwiches.
'According to the map, we should have come across the treehouse by now. And we've been walking for about half an hour', said Daya.
'Are you sure we are on the right trail?' asked Shreya.
'Positive', said Daya
They continued their journey further into the depths of the forest but the treehouse was nowhere in sight.
Now Shreya had started panicking a bit.
'I think we are lost! I think we've missed this turn here', she said pointing at the map in Daya's hand.
'We are not lost! We are not there yet! And there wasn't a turn. I didn't see any turn' said Daya confidently.
'How can you see a turn in this fog? Face it Daya we are lost!
'Oh stop nagging me lady!' said Daya.
'Hey! I am not nagging you! I am telling the fact!' said Shreya.
Daya shrugged his shoulders. 'Okay! Let's not quarrel over this now!' he said.
An hour later, they had again sat down for rest. It was past noon. They were sure that they had missed an important direction. He wondered how they got lost when they had followed every place marked in the map very carefully.
Darkness crept in very quickly in the forest. The canopy of trees did not allow the sunlight to penetrate into the forest.
'Let's go. We have to find the lab before it gets too dark', Daya urged her.
Shreya got up reluctantly and they switched on their flashlights.
'Look! I can see tents there!' said Shreya pointing a few feet ahead.
They rushed to the spot. It was not a pretty sight.
The tents and sleeping bags were ripped to shreds and traces of dried blood could be seen. The stink from the rotten food was unbearable. Shreya wrinkled her nose in disgust.
'My god! It's an arm!' she said suddenly in a loud voice. Daya felt bile rise in his throat as he saw a rotten human arm in the corner.
'What the hell happened here?' Shreya asked covering her mouth.
'I guess this might be the place when the Scientist's camped. The lab won't be far from here. Come on', said Daya.
They marched forwards and as Daya had rightly said they came across a huge mangled glass building.
Daya and Shreya stared at it in amazement. The saw a wooden hanging cracked in the middle.
WELCOME TO JURASSIC LAB
Two mid- sized 3D dinosaurs which were partially mutilated now stood at the entrance.
They entered the lab. The building was made of glass but it was almost broken. Computers, chairs, wooden partitions, man-made dinosaur skeletons lay on the floor in broken condition. Partially burnt papers were strewn across the floor. The place looked like it had been struck by an earthquake. It was totally devastated.
Shreya spotted the cold storage room. They went inside. It too was in a bad condition. Only one deep freezer lay intact. 'I hope the DNA samples are safe', said Daya.
Shreya checked the freezer.
Her heart skipped a beat.
'It's there!' she said in an excited voice.
She withdrew six small bottles. A sticker with - 'ANIMAL DNA. KEEP IN A COOL AND DRY PLACE' was pasted across them.
'My goodness! I don't believe this! What must have happened? What if the dinosaurs are really back on earth?' said Daya.
'I hate to even think about it. If it is true, then consequences would be deadly for mankind', said Shreya
'I feel so bad about this people who were working here. All this hard work went down the drain. I hope this DNA helps in continuing their research further', said Daya.
'Okay. Let's get out of here. We haven't had a chance to meet the dinosaur and I defiantly don't intent to see him', said Shreya.
'Yeah let's go', said Daya.
They came out of the lab and began to walk ahead.
The ground was wet, soft and mushy.
They walked in silence for a few minutes. Shreya stopped walking abruptly as a thick concrete and metal superstructure came into view. It was broken.
'Oh my! What the hell is that?' she asked pointing a shaking finger at the huge cage.
'Whoa it's a cage! It's so huge! Did they really keep that animal captive here? I think the dinosaur news they were broadcasting was for real! The giant monsters are back!' whispered Daya.
Suddenly the floor shook beneath their feet. Shreya watched in terror as ripples were created in the small water puddles at her feet.
She clutched Daya's arm.
'What was that?' she mouthed trembling slightly.
They had to wait only for a second to find out the answer.
A huge Tyrannosaurus Rex came through the clearing of the forest spraying them with spit. His coal black eyes stared straight at them. The entire forest shook and trembled as he let out a furious roar. Shreya stood rooted to the spot staring Trans fixedly at the beast. She had never seen anything so creepy and huge in her life.
Knowing they had seconds before getting attacked, Daya pulled Shreya roughly and screamed, ' Shreya run!'
'Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!' screamed Shreya as she snapped back to reality. They began running wherever they found the way. Often they hid behind giant trees and Daya fired shotgun at the creature. But the tiny bullets seem to have no effect on the ferocious beast. The bullets merely ricocheted off his giant body making no damage at all.
T- Rex matched their pace without much effort. He kicked whatever came in his way and Daya and Shreya had to duck now and then to avoid getting hit by rubble and tree logs. Shreya started pelting stones at him. But all her attempts were futile. One stone hit the monster particularly in the eye and he let out an angry growl.
'What the hell are you doing?' Daya yelled at her.
'I don't know what I am doing. It's just that I don't want to die!' said Shreya terrified.
'Stop throwing things at him! You will make him more aggressive! Just run!' said Daya.
They turned left, then right and then left again, running for their lives. T - Rex had fallen behind but they knew he would find them soon.
'Shreya I wanted to tell you something since ages', shouted Daya panting.
'What?' Shreya yelled back clutching her chest.
'I love you!' Daya shouted.
Even though he couldn't see her face in the dark, he knew she was blushing.
'What? You are ridiculous! Is this a way to propose a girl? We are being chased by a Tyrannosaurus Rex for heaven's sake!' she said.
'I always prefer unique ways of proposing! It's totally cool', he said.
'Not funny! And neither do I find it cool in any way! I don't know whether we are going to get out of this forest alive or not! I really don't feel romantic at the moment!
A huge boulder came crashing down from Daya's left side.
'Daya watch out!' Shreya yelled over the din.
Daya ducked his head just in time.
'Just tell me do you love me or not? We don't have much time before we are gobbled up by this beast!'
'I had imagined a much quieter and a very different situation for this but it's alright! I love you too! I would like to spend my entire lifeeeaaaaaaaahhhhhh!' screamed Shreya as her foot slipped and she tumbled down a small hill.
'Shreyaaaaa... Damn! Hold on I'm coming', yelled Daya and jumped in after her. He kept rolling for a few minutes and then he spotted Shreya ahead.
He stopped at the bottom of the hill.
'Shreya! Are you alright?' he asked panting.
'Ye... Yess…' she replied coughing.
They heaved a sigh of relief. Apparently T - rex had not noticed them falling down the hill. He had lost them.
'That was close', whispered Shreya looking at him.
They were lying on a soft leathery dark green grass.
Daya removed the burrs stuck in her hair gently.
'So you love me', he said smiling at her.
Shreya came closer. 'Yes... I love you and I want to spend my entire life with you', she said returning his smile.
Their hearts were racing.
Daya moved closer and kissed her lips softly. She enjoyed his calm human touch and let his tongue play with her lips. When they broke off, she opened her eyes and stared at him blushing heavily.
'Don't worry we'll be fine. We'll get out of this alive.' said Daya.
'Yeah. Then we'll start a new life together', said Shreya kissing him deeply.
Suddenly Daya's eyes grew wide in terror. He grasped Shreya's hand tightly. She turned to look behind her.
A big bright yellow eye was staring at them unblinkingly. Shreya started shivering uncontrollably when Daya nudged her and pointed to the ground. She looked around and realised for the first time that the soft leathery grass they had been sleeping on was not earth but body of a huge dinosaur.
They were frozen in place and were unable to react.
'Aaaaaaaaarghggggnoooooo!' their howls echoed off the eerie forest as huge teeth penetrated their skins, tearing them apart.
O-o-o-o
'Daya? What happened?'
'Sir are you alright?'
'Daya... Were you dreaming?'
Hundreds of questions were thrown at him.
Daya blinked. He was sitting in CID bureau. All his colleagues were gathered around his desk and looking at him with worried faces.
'Wha... What happened? What did I do?' asked Daya.
'You were screaming! Literally yelling your head off! We don't know what happened!' said Abhijeet aghast.
'What? I had dreamed it all? T - Rex chasing us, the kiss, and the last fatal attack of the beast?' thought Daya.
'It was a dream!' Daya yelled suddenly.
'What dream? Are you alright?' asked Abhijeet.
'Yes. I am perfectly fine. Where is Shreya?' asked Daya.
Shreya came forward looking perplexed.
'Thank god you are safe! We both are safe!' Daya exclaimed.
Everyone was surprised by Daya's behaviour.
'Sir what are you talking about?' asked Shreya with a questioning look.
'Are you going to explain something?' asked Abhijeet.
'I had a terrifying dream!' said Daya.
'In broad daylight of CID bureau?! That's Interesting!' exclaimed Abhijeet.
'Wow let's hear the frightening tale from Daya sir himself', said Sachin.
'Please sir', Purvi urged.
'Okay okay' said Daya and began narrating the dream.
Everybody listened intently as he spoke but later they all were laughing hysterically.
After he was done, Abhijeet was laughing hard.
'I guess you watched too many Jurassic Park movies! Chased by dinosaurs...haha!'
Daya smiled.
Then he looked at Shreya and said, 'Even if it was a dream I was so scared of losing you... I love you Shreya! I really do! Will you marry me?' he asked.
'What kind of a person are you Senior Inspector Daya? I was waiting for you to propose me since ages! And you needed a T- Rex in your dream to kill us in order to realise your love for me? No I won't marry you!' said Shreya.
'No wait! I am sorry I kept you waiting! Marry me!' he said.
'No Daya', said Shreya stubbornly but Daya saw a faint smile across her lips.
Daya smiled. He knew she would say yes eventually but he would have to make some efforts.
'But it's fine! It's anytime better than dealing with a T- Rex!' thought Daya happily.
*** THE END ***