2 Getting out of the City (1/2)

”Oi! Isn't this a really bad idea?” I asked in panic as I saw his climbing down the pipes.

”Not really. We used to do this all the time when we're kids. Don't tell me you're gone soft after all these years.” He mocked after reaching the bottom of the pipes.

”You know that's not what I'm talking about.” I caught the pipe firmly and slid down to the bottom in one full motion at a faster speed than him.

'How dare he say that I've gone soft.' I cursed in my mind. But I knew that my pride was not the most important thing right now.

”Rahul. Aren't you going to pay the bills of the hospital?” I asked as I observed the surroundings. It was a rather dark environment with a few light bulbs here and there. I saw four line of cars in the dark room which told me that we're in the underground parking lot.

'Why does he wants to go home in such a hurry? What is he afraid of?' I thought.

Earlier when I told him that we had to pay the bills and wait a while longer before he could be discharged from the hospital, he got irritated and said that he wanted to get back home as soon as possible.

So we ran to the back of the hospital where no one would be able to see us and climbed down from the pipes.

”Isn't what we're doing kinda… bad?” Indeed, running out of the hospital without paying the necessary bills in a bit more than just bad. I'm pretty sure we're breaking some kind of law right now.

I looked around and realized that we're in the underground Parking lot of the Hospital.

Rahul stopped fiddling around with the car and turned around to look at me deeply.

He looked at me with a complicated emotion. As if fighting the urge to tell me something. But then, he shook his head and closed his eyes. When he opened his eyes once again, there was a hint of aloofness in them as he said in a tone filled with mockery ”You've really gone soft. And here I thought that you still had some courage in you.”

'Oi oi oi. What do you even mean by that. Wasn't it always you who stopped me from doing mischievous things time and time again. Wasn't it always you who reprimanded me for setting up a bad example for little Neha. Isn't what you're doing right now even worse than the mischiefs that I caused back in the school.'

Tock! I heard a sound and was shocked as he opened the door and entered the car.

'Wait! Did he just break into that car.' I was shocked by his actions once again. And while I was having such thoughts, he quickly searched inside the car and found the spare key after which he started at engine and looked at me with a mocking smile.

”You're gonna sit or not. Soft Boy.”

'Did you just call me a Soft Boy? How dare you. I'll show you who's soft.' I murmured and went around and sat on the seat next to him.

I suddenly had the feeling that I was somehow be fooled into forgetting something important, but I was too mad to consider such things anymore. How dare he call me Soft.

But then again. Stealing someone's car was pretty hardcore. I felt a sense of exhilaration as he pushed the accelerator and went out of the underground garage with a Vhoom! sound.

”Rahul. When did you learn how to drive a car?” I asked as he drove the car to the main highway. ”Why didn't you take me with you to learn as well.” I suddenly had the feeling that there were a lot of things I didn't knew about him.

'Was he really a businessman.' I suddenly had a thought in my mind

'What kind of businessman knows how to break into a car in 2 minutes.' I thought in puzzlement. 'He's not working for some kind of underground organization is he?' I scrutinized his face closely, trying to pry into his secrets.

After all, this was the first time I had seen this side of him.

”Rahul. I never knew you're capable to such things. You really hid yourself well.”

”Haha. You're observant.” Rahul laughed in wiped the sweat off his forehead. I wondered what he's thinking right now.

'He's looking really suspicious ah.' I thought but suddenly I realized that something was wrong.

I looked outside and realized that the world had suddenly become a bit darker.

'Oi Don't tell me it's going to rain or something. Wasn't the weather perfectly clear when I entered the hospital.'

I looked up and realized that there were no clouds in the sky.

”What the hell is going on?” I asked myself.

”It's a solar eclipse.” I heard Rahul's voice but, the voice had a grave tone to it.

I looked at his face and realized that his expression had gone dark as well. For some reason, it gave me a bad premonition.

”Solar eclipse. Such a dark solar eclipse. How come the news didn't report about anything like this.” I looked out of the car once again and asked.

”Call little Neha” Rahul said in a grave tone instead of answering my questions.

”Why?” I asked. ”What does this has to do with her?”

”Don't ask so many questions. Just call her.” He replied with an annoyed expression.

”Alright.” I replied and dialed her number in my smartphone.

After I passed the phone to Rahul, I looked outside the window and suddenly felt that the atmosphere had become a bit colder.

'Well, it's just a solar eclipse. It should subside in a few minutes.' I thought.

—————

Half an hour later

”Oi Rahul what are you taking all these supplies for?” I asked in puzzlement as I looked at him buying miscellaneous things like first aid kit, pain killers, vitamin supplements, high calorie food, antibiotics, bleach, etc.

But I got reply in return. He just continued to buy all the stuff with a grave expression. He had used almost all of the money from his bank account but I could tell that his grave expression was not because of a concern for money.

When our parents died, we often had to go through money problems. But even in those dire moments, he never showed such an expression in front of me and Neha.

It was not the first shop he had stopped in either. I looked at the back seat of the car. It was filled things like tracking bag, thin blankets, matches, ropes, one person tents, basic cooking equipment and so on.

”Are you planning on going on tracking or something.” I asked to lighten the heavy atmosphere even though I could tell that he was not buying these for tracking. It felt like he was preparing for something instead.

I looked up and the sky which was still as dark as before. For some reason, the solar eclipse had lasted for an entire 30 minutes.

'I thought that solar eclipses only lasted for a few minutes before this event. This is really strange.' I thought and shivered a bit. The temperature had fallen a bit more in the past ten minutes.

'Maybe I was just ill informed?' I thought to myself but deep down, I knew that such was not the case. I could feel that something bad was happening. I didn't knew what it was just yet but I could feel it.

Something bad was coming. And a single look at Rahul's grave face confirmed my suspicions.

I looked at the news reporter in the TV speaking as she read the report.

”Indian Meteorological Departmenthas just reported that this is a type of solar eclipse that only happens once in a million years. It has been reported that it will stay like this for an unknown amount of time.”

”People are suggested to stay in their houses as 68 cases of thieves and robbery has been reported in the last half an hour in Delhi.” She spoke calmly but I feel a hint of fear in her voice.

'What I she afraid of?' I thought to myself but suddenly, I heard a loud crashing sound coming from the other side of the streets.

I squinted my eyes and saw a few hooligans breaking into a Smartphone store.

'What the hell. Aren't they a bit too bold to be performing robbery so openly. What the hell is the police department doing.'

”Ignore them.” I heard a voice coming from behind me. I turned around and before I could speak anything, I was handed a big polythene bag filled to the brim with medical stuff.

”Keep that in the back of the car. Be quick.” He said and headed to start the car.

”Sir you haven't paid for the supplies.” I heard the store manager's voice coming from behind me as I kept the polythene bag in the back seat and then sat down on the front seat beside the driver's seat.

After a few moment, I looked back at the store and found that the Manager had fallen on the ground and was trembling in fear for some reason. Rahul came to the car and started the engine following which, we quickly left the area.

'This is not a matter of being softcore of hardcore anymore. This is pure robbery. What's Rahul thinking?' I looked at him but he was solely focused on the road.

Although I felt pity for the Medical Store Manager, I felt even more worried about our own situation.