The Chronicles of Shamballa

Chapter XXXI: The Hard Chief

Far away in the valley and deep in some jungle lay the camp of the Thugs. Their Chief was a strong middle aged man dressed in the traditional black clothing. He watched in horror as the corpses of twenty of his best men lie in front of him while their relatives mourned their deaths. These people were killed during the train attack. It was the Chief who had sent them on the mission to find Kali as per the message he received from the Indian chief. But the loss he incurred only made him furious. He never thought that there would be an army waiting to ambush them, his men and their crude weapons stood no chance. There was only one thing left to do now- revenge for his fallen comrades- find the men who did this and treat them the same way.

“Chief! What do you want us to do now?” asked one of his men.

“We shall not perform their last rites until we have the heads of the men who killed them,” replied the Chief.

“But Chief?”

“Do as I say, find the train- and the army who did this, bring me their heads- take as few men as possible- use your skills, Go Now!” ordered the Chief.

The man who was his commander, wasted no time and took ten of his elite soldiers with him. They were out for blood and this time, they carried their deadliest weapons along with them. The Chief was the head of the Thugs of the Kathmandu valley, notorious for being an expert in guerrilla warfare and for his brutality- he never spared his enemy’s life and followed the strict code of the Thugs, which is why he was called the Hard Chief, feared by the locals and dreaded by his enemies. After sending his men, he himself took two of his most trusted soldiers and went out hunting for the rogue Kali. No Thug was allowed to break the code lest he should pay for with his life. Kali betrayed his brethren and disobeyed a direct command from his chief, this was enough for the Hard Chief to make an example of him and take off his head. Within an hour or so, the Hard Chief and two of his soldiers took off on their horses looking for Kali, for he was the reason many of his men died…

Back at the village Raza looked on in horror as the mob of mad villagers took Carey and the group hostage. He felt relieved for a moment that he was not with them but soon he realized that if they died, then all his efforts and planning would be in vain. But what was he supposed to do? Cause a distraction?

The villagers took Carey away somewhere and the others were tied up to wooden poles. Carey couldn’t help but yell for help. He was soon stripped off of his shirt and bathed in cold water. Some weapon coloured his body with a red and blue paint and tried to feed him fresh fruits. He strongly resisted and refused to play along and kept asking them to stop this madness in as many languages he knew. He tried Hindi, Sanskrit, English- nothing helped- these were savages and they were about to sacrifice him. With no other option left, he tried to force his way out but the women were so strong that they twisted his arm which made him scream in agony. The Princess couldn’t bear this anymore and looked at Kali for help but the ropes were too tight to move and they were watched by the villagers with sharp spears. The Princess saw some of them preparing huge bowls and fires- she understood what it meant-

“They aren’t going to sacrifice anyone- they are cannibals, they are going to eat us and Carey is the main course!” remarked the Princess.

Ram Babu almost fainted as he heard those words and Kali grinded his teeth in anger. Carey sat inside the shack, helplessly looking at the women who continue to care for him but wouldn’t let him escape. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath and prayed to the almighty for help, he couldn’t die in such a horrible manner. His mind went back to the visions he had and slowly his fears began to dissipate. He prayed to whoever was listening to help the Princess and the others to escape even if it meant sacrificing his life. He hoped that the heavens would grant him a miracle and help them if not him, he was ready to die- alone, only wishing that the Princess would be safe…

The winds began to rise, the clouds grew dark and it seemed that a storm was coming. The villagers grew worried as the fires they lit were extinguished by the strong winds- their feast was about to be ruined. Soon a lightning struck a nearby tree and it caught fire. The mob of villagers scattered in fear leaving the Princess and the others tied to the poles. Thunder rolled in the skies and the winds grew fiercer. Carey was going in a trance, his eyes were still closed but his mind was not in his body. He was still praying for some miracle, unaware of what was happening around him. The women in the shack began to run out to help the others, leaving Carey unattended. He was seated in a meditation posture and was lost in another world and it would seem that the weather was helping him or maybe he was controlling the weather?

Raza took this opportunity to rescue the Princess and the others. He quickly ran towards them from his hiding place and untied them and then they began to look for Carey. But some of the villagers saw this and attacked them with their crude weapons but they were no match for Kali and the Princess and were immediately taken down one by one. But that did not discourage more of them to attack- they were aiming for their heads and they wanted their pound of flesh. The winds were making it impossible for them to fight but they did not give up. On the other hand, Carey had transcended to the spirit realm- a bright halo was circling over his head.