ATTJC - Chapter 7

We had a great stroke of luck in discovering the gold chain. We had shifted our search back on our side of the river. The search was now shifted to a spot just east of the bend in the river. The width of the river at that spot was perhaps less than anywhere else – hardly 25-30 meters. It was a hot summer and the water in the river had receded considerably. And there was a flat stretch of ground on the other side of the river before we got to the mountains which changed the direction of the river. It was basically made by the corroding effect of river on the mountain. And it was almost noon when I thought I saw something glinting on the other side of the river on that flat stretch. It was only a fleeting glimpse and for a moment I thought I had imagined it. Then I brought my rifle’s telescopic sights to my eye. After adjusting the lens for a while I saw that glint again. It was a gold chain that lay some 50 meters from the river’s edge on the other side. I brought the thing to Naren’s notice and we decided to investigate the matter. The river wasn’t shallow enough for us to cross over there. So we moved on along the river towards south. Then almost immediately after the bend we found the water shallow enough to cross the river. This spot I noticed was almost where we had made our search after the first kill. We crossed over to the other side and moved towards the place where I had seen the chain. We found the chain not so long after. It wasn’t the whole chain actually. Some of the trinkets in the chain were missing as if it was torn away by force. We set about trying to find the missing links of the chain. And only a few meters to the north we found some of them. We continued to move in the same direction. It brought us to a very narrow crevice in the rock face. It was wide enough only for 2 people to cross at a time. At once Naren felt a bit wary. I didn’t. Though at first it looked like a death trap, it was actually impossible to attack in that small gap. It was smoothly uphill on either side and the only way to get at us would have been from either end. And we could have easily covered both the ends. We decided to go ahead. Although I was pretty sure that we were safe it was a dreadful feeling in that small gap. We felt as if the cliffs on both the sides will start to close in on us at any moment. But after 5 minutes or so of walking with our hearts in our mouth we came upon an open area. About 100 meters or so in front of us we could see a rocky mountain honeycombed with small caves.

We made a cautious approach to one of the lower caves. And as we got nearer a stench of rotten flesh filled my nostrils. And I wrinkled my nose in disgust. When we reached it I peaked inside and was appalled at what I saw. The rotten remains of humans undoubtedly mauled in an animal attack were scattered all over the place. And in a far corner there was a mound of human bones. I felt repulsed and backed away. With a great stroke of luck we had found out where the Cannibal took his unfortunate victims. Now, all that remained for us to do was find out where we could sit over and wait for the Cannibal to make an appearance. But that proved to be a tricky issue. There wasn’t any obvious and safe place to conceal ourselves. Indeed, with no trees around we didn’t find any place where we could hide effectively. It would have obviously been very foolish to be out in the open. This was a unique situation. We knew where the kills would be taken but we had no way to make an attempt on the Cannibal’s life there. I pondered on the situation for a while. Then a thought struck me. The only way to enter here seemed to be through the narrow opening. There was no place to sit out on this side of the river. But, the opening wasn’t very far from the village’s side of the river. With the telescopic sight on my rifle, I could shoot accurately for a distance of nearly 350 meters. So we could identify a tree on that side of the river to sit out and wait for the Cannibal. So, we went back the way we had come and identified a suitable tree for our purpose. The Sun had begun its descent so we decided to go back. It was going to be a moonless and dark night so we saw no point in coming back that night.

The news of our expedition was received with enthusiasm. It seemed to cheer everyone up. In fact, compared to the gloom that had descended upon us, the atmosphere was almost festive. Finally, finally it would be all over. It was just a matter of time. I felt happy but I still slept badly.

On the next day, when we were about to leave we received a message that there had been a kill in village 16. It wasn’t that far away. We made our way towards the village. The Cannibal had now taken a predictable route through the grasslands towards the river. He had a head start of about half an hour and because we would have to go around the grasslands he would gain another half an hour at the least. So we decided to skip the trail and make our way – as fast as possible – to the position we had identified to keep watch over the opening.

We made the distance almost on a run and settled ourselves immediately. The crack wasn’t visible to the naked eye so I trained my telescopic sight on the spot and sat waiting for the Cannibal to grace the occasion with his appearance.

But, like a spoilt movie star, he didn’t. We sat over for the entire day but didn’t get a sight of as much as his whiskers. Perhaps he had made it before we were in position. But, he was bound to come out of his hiding place and I wanted to be there when he did so. I wanted to come back in the night but to come back in the dark would have been risky. The Cannibal could come out while we were away and could be waiting for us in the jungle. I reluctantly made my way back. This was going to be a problematic situation. There would always be a time when we won’t be in position. We discussed the possibility of rotation of sharp shooters with the headman. He pointed out that I had the only rifle which could fire at such a distance. I reluctantly suggested that the rifle could be shared. I didn’t want the rifle to be shared actually. Multiple users always meant mishandling and that meant I could never again have the same confidence while using the rifle. But as it was the only way out, I had suggested it. But, the rifle proved a handful for the local sharp shooters. They learned to focus the telescopic sight quickly enough but even then found it almost impossible to shoot accurately at a distance comparable to the one they had to actually shoot at. I could understand their problem. Guns are tricky at the best of times. To quickly learn to fire accurately from a gun you are not used to, experience and expertise are required. The locals lacked both. I had enough ammunition with me to kill a tiger but not enough for the locals to practice their shooting skills.

An idea was floated around according to which a group of strong, broad shouldered men with axes should be sent to the caves we had found. Whenever the Cannibal makes an entry they will take him out – it said. A group can always manage it – it reasoned. It was a stupid idea. A group of people had as much chance of escaping detection as a beautiful girl on a boys’ hostel. And once alarmed, the Cannibal may never return to that place and we would have to start from scratch again. But most likely using the terrain which was his home, he would surely pick the group off one by one. The idea gained instant approval but was fortunately scrapped as sense prevailed. So, finally it was decided that we – I and Naren – would try and sit over as much as possible and see how it goes. It was reasoned that it may take time, but the Cannibal was bound to make an appearance while we were in position at some point or other. And so, we sat out day after day looking at the tiny crack.

We kept at it for 2 weeks. But we never caught even a glimpse of the Cannibal. Everybody was apprehensive but they thought that it was just a matter of timing. But I had a suspicion that something was wrong. There had been 5 kills during that period. 3 of them at a time when we were in position. We should have seen the Cannibal enter or leave the small opening at least 2 to 3 times. A week and 3kills later, people were now more than apprehensive. They weren’t superstitious people but now they began to believe that the Cannibal was a ghost. All the joviality when we had found the caves had disappeared. People were panicking like they hadn’t in the past 2 years. My situation wasn’t getting any better either. Sleep remained as elusive as the Cannibal himself. Often while watching the opening my mind would wander off. I would wonder who else was getting killed while I sat there watching that damn crack. I needed the sleep, I needed the peace. Desperation had now reached new highs or lows – whichever way one looked at it.

And then I had had enough. We abandoned our position and made our way to the caves. I was feeling reckless now. On our examination we found fresh – comparatively – victims. It merely confirmed what I had been thinking. There was another way of getting in. I wanted to comb through the caves and find it but Naren forbid me. It was too dangerous – he said. I didn’t care much. But it would be dangerous that I knew and I abandoned the plan knowing full well that I would be risking his life as well. On our way back I thought that though the Cannibal didn’t use this way to enter, there was no doubt that he had to cross the river at some point. All the trails that we had followed led us to roughly two points for crossing the river. By this time we had searched nearly every bit of the riverbed and I was fairly certain that the water had been shallowest at those two points. We had used one of the two to cross the river ourselves – the one near the bend. The other was far to the east. And now I could see what should have been obvious from the start. Whenever the Cannibal made a kill in one of the western villages, he crossed the river at a point near the bend. Whereas whenever he made a kill in one of the eastern villages he used the other point far on the east to cross the river. It was – I observed acidly – one of the greatest pieces of deductive work. I managed it without somebody writing it in big, bold and shining letters on a roadside banner and putting up pointers along the way. Now the thing to do was to put up parties on both the points to sit it out. Nobody would need a telescopic sight to shoot at such short distance. On our way back when we crossed the river I even climbed up a few trees to check which one offered the best view. After this little exercise, we resumed our journey back home. Despite the rise of the new possibility I felt down and tired. I needed sleep – badly. Otherwise I was pretty sure I would go crazy.

Once back in the village, we discussed the matter with the headman. He said he would arrange for the men in the morning. He would have to ask for the best men from other headmen. I couldn’t sleep well that night, too. So, I lay on my bed, thinking. I tried to reason out which point the Cannibal was more probable to visit next, so that we could head there in the morning. It was difficult because nighttime was reserved by my conscience to keep bothering me. And I was so exhausted that I could not nurture two separate threads of thoughts. I forcefully tried to suppress my conscience – a singularly most difficult thing to do when you are fighting fit. And when you are exhausted, well, it’s almost impossible. Both the thoughts kept fighting for space in my head. For a while when my conscience took rest, I thought I had a vague idea on how the Cannibal decided where to attack. But I couldn’t put an order to the randomness. I just let the thought perish and tried my best to sleep. But before I could as much as wink it was first light already. I didn’t need anybody to wake me up. I got to my feet and sleepwalked through my daily routine. Some hot tea put a bit of life in my body. Soon it was dawn and I was ready. But I had no idea which point to go to. I was spared the burden to decide though by a message. A sighting was made in village 10. I was immediately wide awake and alert. Village 10 was closer and it would take maximum 15 minutes to reach. We immediately hurried and reached there in lesser time. Like the message said, a sighting was made. The Cannibal was seen going towards west. We were shown to the spot where he had been seen. There were distinct pugmarks and there was no doubt that the sighting had been genuine. And right on cue we received another message. A kill had been made in village 7. I immediately started running towards village 7. I had had enough trouble at the hands of Cannibal and I wasn’t about to pass on this opportunity in the name of caution. All those dead people deserved justice. I ignored Naren’s shouts coming from behind me. But, I knew he was coming after me. The shouts ceased in a bit but the sound of his footsteps was right behind me. For an old man, he was fast. But I was younger and faster. I saw a group of agitated and tense people as I approached village 7. I stopped near them and in between trying to catch my breath shouted, “Where?”

They didn’t need to know what or why. They pointed in north western direction. I knew it. He was making for the bend in the river. Naren had caught up with me. As I started my run in the pointed direction, one of the men shouted, “Please hurry, he is alive!”

I didn’t stop. I kept on running. I had been running for almost 10 minutes now but I didn’t feel tired. Right then I felt I could sprint forever if it meant getting a shot at the Cannibal. And after running a while I came up to the grasslands. Predictably he had cut across the grasslands. If I tried to skirt around the grassland I could have lost him. I stood undecided. And in that instant Naren caught up with me. He grabbed my hand and shook his head, “No” he said.

And it was then that we heard a blood curdling cry. We both looked towards the direction from where the sound had come. I made up my mind. I looked at Naren and said, “He is alive. He must be terrified. We can still save him.”

He looked at me uncertainly. I took advantage of that moment’s hesitation and wrenched my hand free and dashed into the grass even as he started after me. There was another cry. I ran faster. I knew I could not outrun a tiger, but he was carrying a kill – still alive. It must slow him down. And I didn’t really need to catch up with him; I just needed a glimpse. I ran faster still. After running like crazy for a while I realized that cries had stopped. I was late but I could still save many more. But there was something else – something that was bothering me. And as soon as I realized what it was I stopped dead in my tracks. There were no trailing footsteps. I had been aware that Naren was running after me. But for last few moments his feet had stopped making any sound. I hesitated, should I go on ahead or check Naren? Somehow I knew something was wrong – far wrong. That I had made a terrible mistake. We had deliberately avoided going through grasslands till today because they rendered a human absolutely defenseless. You had no visibility anywhere around you and it was ideal camouflage for a predator like a tiger. A tiger could smell and locate his prey even without visibility. And the way we were running, we made enough noise to let the whole world know where exactly we were in all that grass. Today I had decided to do away with all the usual precaution because I didn’t want to pass on this opportunity in the name of caution, I thought wryly. I started running back towards the direction I had come from not bothering about the noise I made. Because I knew that the Cannibal could easily take me down if he wanted to, even if I used all the stealth in the world. Right now it was important for me to find the man whom I had led into great peril. Because of the trampled grass it was easy to follow my own trail. And I found him, not too far away. I had known what to expect but still I wasn’t prepared for what I saw. It was almost frightening. He lay there with his head at an impossible angle from his body. Clearly he was killed by breaking his neck. The only good thing was that it was probably painless. I sat there looking at him. There were 2 small blots of blood on his beard. Those were probably the spots where the Cannibal had sunk his teeth in Naren’s throat. He still held his axe in his right hand. I wondered if he even had time to think about using it. I tried to free it from his hand but his grip was firm as always. But, I needed the axe. Because I knew the Cannibal was watching me. So, like a cold hearted bitch I hammered my rifle butt mercilessly on his hand and shattered his dead fingers. It was then easy to free his axe. I strapped my rifle to my shoulder, held the axe in my right hand and stood up. I wielded the axe in my hand to check its balance and weight. Once I thought I had its measure I stood still with the axe at the ready. Breathing slowly and deeply I steadied myself as much as I could and then closed my eyes to concentrate on my hearing and waited. I knew only my ears could save me in case there was an attack. I stood like that for what seemed like an eternity. But, the Cannibal just left me standing there and went away. I was surprised but I was also beginning to understand. I sighed and opened my eyes.

I grabbed the collar of Naren’s kurta with my free hand and started dragging his body out of the grassland towards the nearest village. I felt totally devoid of any emotion. My conscience had run out of its capacity to feel any guilt or fear. It took me almost an hour to reach the nearest village which turned out to be village 7 itself. The group of men I had seen had not dispersed. There were sounds of wailing from the house near which the group stood. I dragged Naren’s body towards the group and let go of the collar once I had reached them. They looked at me, wide eyed. I just went up to a verandah of a house nearby and sat down. The group was probably appalled by my indifference.

“Can I get some water to drink?” I asked without getting up.

“Is it.. is it Naren ji?” So, that’s what others called him, I observed irrelevantly. I nodded and noticed that none of them had made a move to provide the lady with some water. They were still in shock.

“What happened?” the same man asked in a quivering voice.

“The Cannibal got him.” I said matter of factly.

“How can you be so.. so..” the quiver had now given way to indignant anger. But apparently the words failed him.

I only shrugged and looked at the whole group now. He was probably echoing the sentiments of the group when he had spoken. “You have a dead body lying at your feet.” I reminded them. “At least have it moved inside a house and cover it up before we move it to Ramchandra ji’s house.” That brought them out of their state of shock. Immediately they started moving in a confused manner. Initially everybody tried to grab some part of the body and then everybody pulled out. In the end sense prevailed and two men lifted the body to move it inside the house. As they moved in the wailing stopped momentarily. “I could also use some water you know.” I again reminded them. Then one of the remaining men hastily went in and brought me some drinking water.

Then another one of them – probably the headman of the village – ordered for some men to be summoned to move the body. Soon, the men came armed with their axes. And with their help I moved Naren’s dead body to the Village. And finally, I slept well that night.