It was nightfall by the time Monica reached the hotel. When she walked in the hotel, she half expected the people there to wonder where she had disappeared to. She seemed to have forgotten that this really wasn’t her home. The day’s events coupled with the injury had drained Monica of all her energy. Making her way into the room, she flopped onto the bed, face down, without even turning the light on and immediately slipped into deep sleep.

By the time Monica woke up again, she had lost track of where she was or what time it was. The room was pitch dark and it took Monica good few minutes to remember what happened. She grabbed onto the phone that was lying on the bed with her and quickly checked for time. She breathed a sigh of relief to learn that she was only asleep for five hours and not five days.

A sharp pain cut into the side of her abdomen once again, making her squeal. She should have known better than to sleep right on her injury. She quickly got up on her feet and began looking for the light switch. While it was pitch dark, Monica never had a problem seeing in the dark after her powers manifested.

With the lights on, she walked before the dressing room mirror where she slowly pulled off her Chudidar top. She observed the Chudidar to see that the knife had torn it a little, but someone had stitched it close. Monica smiled involuntarily before putting the top aside and beginning the inspection of her wound. It was covered by a bandage which Malini had instructed not to remove at least for a day, but Monica didn’t listen. She slowly peeled the tape off the bandage before removing the gauze that covered it. Underneath the gauze, the skin had turned red. A scar ran down from just beneath her liver. It was stitched neatly, and the wound was clean and dry. But the skin around the wound quickly began to burn. “Damn it!” she cursed loudly.

Monica had to wait for five minutes for the bell boy to arrive with a pack of ice. She was easily able to withstand the burning, it was something Monica had trained herself to do. She took the pack of ice from him and tried to tip the bell boy a small amount, but he rejected it saying he wasn’t allowed to take tips, before disappearing down the hallway. Monica was a little surprised for she knew tipping wasn’t common but never knew that companies had policies against it.

She quickly retreated to her bed where she was finally able to place the ice pack on the wound. The effect of it was immediate. The burning had subsided quite a bit and she was finally able to relax for the moment. She was still drowsy, felt as though she could fall asleep any moment. But her mind kept wandering, distracting her from sleep. She had been on calls since evening, everyone was trying to make sure she was okay. She expected at least a few to ask some questions but it appeared as though Malini had cleared all their doubts. She had made up her mind to visit the office tomorrow and informed them about it. They had tried to persuade her to take more bed rest, but she politely turned down the offer.

She couldn’t help but contrast her life with that of the others she had stayed with for past few days. Her life felt so easy and luxurious, compared to theirs. Anything she wanted, it felt like it was just an arm’s reach away. Everyone around her seemed so nice to her and seeing all the venom being spewed at the others for no good reason enraged her. But she knew there wasn’t really anything she could do about it. There was no way she could change people’s mind so easily; she simply lacked the capability to bring about change in such large state.

Monica always had a bad habit of keeping herself distracted with such thoughts. But today the medicine kicked into high gear and sleep won the ultimate battle.

***

Gurunath’s little cabin was filled with little oddities. It was clear as daylight that this man was religious. He seemed to have everything, from mini-idols of various gods to sacred objects lining his shelves and table. Despite the busy nature of the room with all the pieces of interest and filling cabinets overflowing with folders, it was neat and well maintained.

Monica who had been waiting for him in his cabin, was constantly distracted by the items. She recognized many of the gods and sacred objects around his room. She was no stranger to the world of religion even though she was somewhat disconnected from it.

Gurunath pushed his way through the door and said, “sorry to keep you waiting”. He quickly hopped over to his seat. He was a short man with thick arms and legs which were accompanied by a pot belly. His skin was deep brown and patchy while his receding hairline and wrinkled skin showed his old age.

“It’s alright. I arrived only five minutes ago,” Monica replied.

“Great, would you like tea or coffee?”

“No please. I had some just a while ago,” she replied putting her right hand up. She proceeded to put the files she was holding onto the table and the two quickly began discussing details of her analysis. The conversation concluded very quickly as Monica didn’t see any problems with the records and was satisfied with the answers Gurunath gave to her questions.

“That was some pretty fast work,” Gurunath complimented. “My boys would have taken two days to get through those.”

“Thank you,” Monica replied with a smile, “I have a knack for numbers.”

“That is good. Pretty important skill for your future.”

She began packing her items when she asked, “what was the thing with rats? Got an infested delivery?”

“Indeed. We got cargo from one of the suppliers, it was teeming with rats. One of the boys accidentally dropped it just four feet above ground and it broke, unleashing those bloody rodents into the warehouse. Took two entire days to clean up.”

“What was in the cargo?”

“Tires. Suppliers had cheated the buyers by selling them old stock. I do not know how they thought they would get away with it. Well, it is a problem for the buyer and seller to deal with. Buyers are thankful we caught it beforehand. Usually, we do not open the cargo, just deliver them.”

“Well, they could have been more thankful by paying for the damages.”

“Don’t expect such generosity in this business,” Gurunath replied with a smile, “they asked us to sue the sellers. Company doesn’t want that headache at the moment.”

Monica finished packing and was about take her leave when she noticed Gurunath’s anxious face. “Is something wrong?” she asked.

“Well… Malini told us everything about the incident, so we didn’t bother you with questions. But we still don’t know what happened after you left the hospital. Did you pursue the attackers or find out who he was?” Gurunath asked.

Monica already had the conversation with Dinesh about the events that followed, but she felt she had to keep these people informed as well. “I did find out who was. It was a local shopkeeper. He had problem with the people of that community.”

“So, you just let him go?”

“Not really. I wanted to file a case against him but dropped it at the last second.”

“Why?”

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“Thought it was too much of a hassle and also felt like I was lighting a fuse to a bomb.”

“You are right about that,” he said. He fell quiet for a moment as he gathered his words and continued, “listen. I, in no way am saying you don’t deserve justice. But it is a good thing you dropped the case. There is a lot of hate going around here and I do not wish to see a girl like you get tangled in their ugly business.”

Monica remained expressionless. She nodded her head and replied, “yeah. I understand that.”

***

It was evening soon, and Monica found herself walking on the streets of the city as she slowly made her way back to the hotel. Her job in the city was done but the company let her stay for a few more days, which was kind of them even though she was paying for the rest of the stay from her pockets. Money wasn’t really an issue for her at the moment and she could use a few more days of rest, so she accepted.

Monica wanted to return to meet Malini and the others. They lived just around the corner but the fading daylight and the fact that she was going to be staying in the city a few more days made her think otherwise. Her pace slowed down as her thoughts continued to fight each other.

Suddenly, a loud siren shocked the street she was at. She looked ahead to see a fire truck hurrying past her, weaving its way through the traffic. Looking behind her, she spotted a crowd forming a few blocks away. Monica knew the people who lived there, the thought of which made her jump a little. Looking a little more to her right, she could see plumes of smoke rising into the sky. Without a second thought, she dashed towards the crowd.

The entry was blocked by a crowd of people, making it hard for anyone to enter. The crowd did nothing, just stood by the side and watched the action unfold. The fire truck stood before the gate way and firemen quickly got out of the trucks and began ravelling the hose. Two men went ahead, pushing the crowd aside. “Move! Make way!” they shouted. But their voices were drowned out by the crowd and the raging fire inside. As they struggled to cut through the crowd, a woman, no taller than a small boy forced the people of the crowd to move. She grabbed onto three people and threw them off their feet. They fell to the ground cursing but were quickly shut up when a few more were thrown over them. The commotion got the attention of the crowd, who seeing the firemen fighting their way through, quickly cut a path. Monica dashed through the opening and into the fire.

The community had comfortably nestled into a pocket where it was surrounded by concrete on all four sides. The houses of the community, however, were built off anything the people could find. Waste overflowed the commercial district and much of it contained useful material. The scavengers picked up whatever they found useful and filled their small homes with them. These items would be made of anything from plastic to wood to steel. With so much fire hazard concentrated in one place, one might argue that it is only a matter of time. Yet it took five long years for a disaster to brew.

As Monica made her way down the stairs, men, women, and children fled the flames as they ran for the exit. She pushed herself to the side, making way for the fleeing crowd. As she reached the base of the stairs, she spotted Malini guiding the crowd towards the exit. Malini too spotted her. She moved towards Monica, holding out her hand as she tried to grab her. But Monica twisted her body away and headed in. “Don’t go in there!” Malini shouted. Monica did not listen.

Monica wasn’t sure how long the fire had been raging. She ran through the lanes between the houses and found them to be empty. But Monica did not stop. She ran past every house, making sure no one was trapped inside. The heat of fire was only getting worse as it began to irritate her skin and stinge her eyeballs and nose. At the end of one of the lanes, she saw someone. Moving in closer, she found a man desperately trying to pull the door of a house open. “Get out of there!” she shouted. The flames had consumed the house and he was dangerously close to the fire.

As she foresaw, embers of the fire jumped onto the man’s shirt, setting it ablaze. He quickly let go of the handle and began to try and put out the fire but only made it worse. His scream pierced Monica’s ears as she ran towards him. Her mind raced ahead, trying to figure out how she was going to put out the fire. ‘Faster!’ Monica told herself. He was nearly consumed by the fire. Looking past him, she saw a row of concrete wells. It was where the women of the community washed the clothes.

On reaching him, she grabbed him by his burning shirt and threw him into the well. He crashed into the water and remained underwater for a good few seconds, smothering the flames. Monica finally breathed easy, but the period of calm didn’t last long. As her heart calmed, her senses sharpened. What started as whispers quickly became louder and clear. Monica understood immediately what was going on. She hopped off the well and ran to the door which was now consumed in fire. She tightened her fist, which was still dripping wet, and slammed it into the wooden door, breaking it in one quick blow. “Get out!” she screamed as she ripped the burning wood out of the frame. Two kids and an elderly woman exited the house. Soot covered their bodies, but she couldn’t tell if they had any injuries. “Are you okay? How did you get locked inside?” she asked.

“We don’t know,” the woman answered.

“Fine,” Monica replied shaking her head, “run now. Get out of here.”

They didn’t wait for her to complete, quickly making their way towards the exit. Monica turned around to see the man climbing out of the well. She got over to him and helped him get out. She could see that his skin was charred in places. “You can walk?” she asked.

He simply nodded and slowly made his way towards the lane where two firemen appeared. “Help!” she called out to them and saw them respond immediately. She let him walk towards them as she turned left and continued her search.

She was reaching the east face of the community. Her senses were sharp as ever and she didn’t hear anyone. If anyone was locked, they would have long perished. Firemen were making their way and she felt as though there was nothing more she could do. As she closed in towards the final lane, where the homes looked untouched by flames, she noticed something move in the shadows. She came to complete standstill and focused her sight on the last row of houses. The bright flames nearly blinded her, but she made out a figure standing at the edge of a house. “Is someone there?” she shouted.

A head popped out of the corner. It was covered in a shawl with openings for the eyes which were looking straight at her. Monica froze seeing the figure. The person quickly threw a stick of fire at Monica and ran away from the buildings and towards the east wall. Monica, meanwhile, brushed the burning stick aside. She gritted her teeth as she ran behind the stranger.

On reaching, what appeared to be a dead end, the stranger quickly began to scale the wall. Looking through the dense black haze, Monica was able to spot a gap on top of the wall, nestled between two buildings. She quickened her pace, reaching him just as they reached the top.

He sat atop the wall, ready to hop down the other side. He felt great relief as he was finally out of the furnace and out of the grasp of the girl. His co-conspirators were waiting for him around the corner, far enough from the incident to escape notice.

“What are you waiting for?” a friend called out to him from the edge of the alleyway.

“I am coming,” he replied and then, vanished.

Smoke began to fill the alleyway, making it hard for his friend to see. Nevertheless, there was no sign of the man which quickly made him nervous. “Sidda?” he called out to him. There was no response.

Siddaram wasn’t sure what happened. He felt the world spin for a moment, and everything went blank. The next thing he remembered, he fell hard onto the ground, only it was on the wrong side of the wall. Fire was burning everything around him, and smog covered the air, burning his eyes and nostrils. His skin felt the scathing heat he had help start.

“You,” the woman in front of him said. He knew who she was. He had tried to flee from her just a moment ago. He remained quiet, just stared back at her with his big eyes.

Monica, on the other end, looked at him furiously. Her anger burned as hot as the inferno they were in. All his actions combined didn’t bother as much as his silence did. He gave no justification for his actions, nor did he spout racist remarks. He just stared back with seething hate.

“Can’t speak? Forgot how to?” There was no response. “Doesn’t matter. No way you are getting out of this one.”

“Why do you help them?” he asked.

Monica was taken aback but a smile appeared on her face. “Ah! So now you choose to speak… I helped them because you and your little gang have been torturing the poor folk.”

“They aren’t innocent. You know what they do?”

“Out compete you in business?”

“They are like leeches. They have no right to come into our lands and steal our food!” he was almost shouting at this point.

“It has been long since this was just your land. Times have changed, there is no you and them, only us.”

“You expect me to live with thieves?”

“Well now! It is that hard for thief and a murderer to do that?” she asked.

He did not answer. Monica squatted down and looked him in the eyes and said, “the world is a terrible place. You think you can save it by cleansing it off a few people? It is only a matter of time before somebody think you and your people are the problem. It never ends.”

A fireman approached the two of them and asked, “what are you still doing here?”

“Aren’t you going to put out the fire?” she asked.

“No use. We have to let it burn itself off. Leave. I will get him out of here,” he instructed.

“Don’t worry, I will gladly do it myself,” she replied.