A Single Breath – Part 4

Geet ran as fast as she could.  She had no awareness of where she was going.  Where is the city she did not know. She was just running.  She had to reach the city before Maan arrived. 

Geet got tired of running. She was hungry and thirsty.  But Where does she get water in the forest here? Just then, she saw smoke from far somewhere . She ran in the same direction, thinking that it was probably a village. But when she reached, she balked. 7-8 men were sitting there burning log fire. 

All stared at Geet and then looked at each other with a crooked smile. Geet moved back. Everyone started moving towards her.  Geet knew that she had been caught among wild humans. She remembered Maan’s letter. 

She ran as fast as she could from there.  All men started chasing her. Geet was panting badly. She was already tired, and it seemed impossible to run more. She hid behind a thick clump.

“Where did she go?” Asked one.  Everyone was looking for her all around. Geet was holding her breath. That’s when she heard the footsteps behind. Her heart started beating harder. Before she could look back and see, someone closed her mouth with hands. 

“Mmmm ..” Geet tried her best to remove that hand but the grip was very strong. In the same turbulence, Geet got a wood somehow. She swung the wood backward. The wood hit the man’s head hard and the grip became weak. This was the right opportunity. Geet ran away from there. But that man was no less too. He caught her hand. 

Geet saw it was Maan. She tried hard to get his hands off, but Maan started pulling her away. “Leave me” she shouted.

Maan left her hand.  “Okay, go where you want to go. Those wolves in the whole forest is looking for you. If you get saved from them, I will not have any problem in finding you again.” Saying so he walked off. 

Geet kept looking at Maan. She could not understand what to do. “Geet, what are you thinking? All these are same. I have to reach Uncle somehow.” Thinking as she turned, she found that all the men were around, very near.

She could not fight with them alone. She looked at Maan. He still had not disappeared from her sight. “Oh God, what shall I do”

“That’s the girl” then one shouted.  Everyone looked at Geet. She ran away from there.  By now Maan had also left. Geet was being run wildly.  Then she saw a jeep. She hid in it. Suddenly the jeep started.  Even before Geet could understand it, the jeep went inside the dense forest.

All the men left behind.  Geeta got some relief but who is driving the jeep? Who is taking the jeep towards more dense forest. Geet peeked secretly from behind.  It was Maan again.  

“Stop the jeep” she shouted from behind. “Otherwise I will jump.”

Instead of stopping, Maan increased the speed. Geet could not even stand properly. Geet decides to jump. “Maan I will really jump if you don’t stop”

Maan was very angry now, he stopped the jeep. As Geet stepped in to escape, Maan quickly grabbed both her hands and started pulling her away.