Neel Dervin and the Dark Angel (26 page)

His house was a sprawling bungalow in the modern style, with a garden decorated with
beautiful pots and statues, a few of which they had personally broken. It was the very
opulence of the house that mildly intimidated Neel and Priyanka, but they still had fond
memories of playing there.

Aryan led them into the living room, where they were greeted by his parents.
Mr. Malhotra was a tall man who exuded an air of quiet refinement. In all the times Neel had
known him, he had never been anything but polite and kind towards Neel. But Neel had
always been aware of authority behind those dark eyes, lined with wrinkles after many hard
days spent getting his company to its current position.

“Good to see you both.” he welcomed themwith a smile. “We haven‟t seen you around
in quite sometime, Neel.”

 

“I was a little busy,sir.” Neel said, returning the smile. “I‟ll be around more often now,
hopefully.”

“Good.” Aryan‟s mother said,
turning to him after hugging Priyanka. Her smile was as
warm as ever. It was clear from a glance that Aryan got his wavy soft hair and laughing
brown eyes from her. “And I‟m so glad you‟re feeling better after your accident, Neel. You
two can go to Aryan‟s room if you want, but I‟d rather you didn‟t go out too far tonight. The
people behind outside have become a little unruly.”

After exchanging good wishes the three went up to Aryan‟s room, Prince right behind
them. Priyanka turned to Aryan and asked,“What people?”

“Just the people from the back of the colony.” Aryan said with a shrug. O
utside, they
could hear the explosions on the streets, some of which seemed pretty close to the house.
There were parts of the colony that belonged to people with somewhat dubious reputations,
and lately their presence had been increasing in the community.

“Apparently, they were drinking all day, and now most of them are throwing cracker
bombs around. They must have some leftover from Diwali. I saw a couple of fights outside
too, down the street. I think one of them thought the other guy stole his bottle, and that the
best way to get him to admit it was to throw a rocket bomb at him. I saw the bomb blow up in
his hand. Last I heard he was screaming for the other guy to save him.” The three laughed as
they entered Aryan‟s room.

The room was more than twice the size of
Neel‟s. The king sized bed was pushed
against the wall, leaving a lot of room in the middle of the room where Prince slept. In a
corner of the room was Aryan‟s computer, on which his brother was busy playing games.

“Hey, Ryan.” Priyanka and Neel called out to him in greeting.

Ryan turned. He was four years younger than Aryan. He had his
mother‟s wavy hair and
light brown eyes as well. Buthe had not inherited their father‟s sharp features, and his face
was distinctlymore ordinary than his brother‟s. His glanced at them with a brief“Hi.” then
turned back to the game.

“Okay, that‟s enough for now, get out.” Aryan said, strolling over to him.

 

“But I haven‟t finished yet.” Ryan objected.

 

“You can come back later.” Aryan turned the game off, despite Ryan‟s protests, then
steered him firmly to the door.

 

“That wasn‟t very nice, Aryan.” Priyanka said disapprovingly.

 

“Come on, I had to do it.” Aryan protested. “He‟s been playing for almost four hours.
He‟ll go blind if he doesn‟t stop for a while.”

 

“I seem to remember you playing Halo 2 for five hours once.” Neel said mildly.

“That was different.” Aryan said, waving the fact aside. “I
was in that gravemind level. I
couldn‟t stop then. Besides, I couldn‟t sleep all night because of it. It‟s a good thing dad
won‟t buy him his own computer.”

“Not sure Ryan sees it that way.” Neel remarked, settling down
comfortably on the bed.
“I wish we could‟ve gotten here sooner. But Priyanka had another one of those face pack
things on she had to wash off. Must‟ve been like three layers. I bet she was so hungry from
the diet she forgot which part of the fruits she was supposed to eat and which to put on.”

“It was
just one layer.” Priyanka retorted. “And it‟s why I have much better skin than
you. And at least my diet gives me energy so I‟m not always tired and sleeping all day like
you.”

“
Very well put.” Aryan said. He looked at Neel sorrowfully. “He‟s been acting so
strange these days.He‟ll make fun of your diet, but say one thing about him being a short
crybaby, and he‟ll-”

Priyanka laughed as Neel grabbed Aryan and tackled him to the bed. He held him
pinned and started stuffing the bed sheet in his mouth. “You wanna say that again?”

Aryan was laughing even as he tried to sp
it the sheet out. “Come on, that was obviously
a joke.” He gasped. He turned to look at Prince, stretching out his hand. “Your master is in
need of aid. Come to me, Battlecat!”

Prince came forward and obligingly started licking his face. Priyanka started tickling
Aryan‟s neck, and he twisted around, trying desperately to avoid the multiple attacks.

“Okay, that‟s it.” he gasped in between laughing. “Time to end this. By the power of
Grayskull!” He lifted him arms hard to knock Neel off, like they had done countless times
before. But this time, he couldn‟t manage it. “Neel, how fat are you?” He gasped in surprise
as he strained unavailingly.

“Just a bit more.” Neel said, getting off of him quickly. “Been eating more and
exercising less.I‟ll get back in shape soon.”

They rose, laughing and panting, and settled on the bed again. Prince had been sitting in
front of them, thumping his tail as he looked at each of them in turn. Suddenly he stiffened,
his nose flaring. His turned his head around the room in all directions.

“What wro
ng, Prince?” Aryan asked, looking down at him. Prince got up and started to
walk around the room, his nose pressed to the ground. Suddenly he stiffened again, sniffing
near Aryan‟s bed, staring under the bed, then staring up at Aryan, thumping his tail
vigorously. Prince was the most well behaved dog Neel had ever seen, and even though his
vocal chords were completely fine, for some reason he very rarely made a sound. Now it was
easy to guess what he was trying to convey to them.

Aryan bent down and peered under the bed where Prince had stopped. “What‟s up? Did
a mouse gethey.”

 

He looked up at Neel and Priyanka, “There‟s something moving under here. Priyanka,
get my flashlight from the shelf.”

Priyanka got up to get the light, while Neel came to kneel beside Aryan. He peered
under the bed. His eyesight was much more powerful than Aryan‟s, and he could clearly see
the back of something which looked like a large rat, except that it had a furry tail.

Priyanka gave the flashlight to Aryan, who swung the powerful beam of light under the
table. The light hit a small furry figure with large, shining eyes, which was pressed up against
the wall.

“It‟s a baby kitten.” Priyanka said softly, as the kitten closed its eyes, shivering slightly.
“It‟s so cute.”

“Y
eah, but how did it get here?” Aryan said, frowning.
“The tree growing on the sidewalk behind your room.” Neel said, they had climbed the
tree toAryan‟s room many times when they were younger. “It probably climbed up from
there.”

“Up a twenty foot tree?” Aryan asked disbelievingly. “It‟s just a little kitten. How could
it have climbed up to here?”

 

“It must have been scared.” Priyanka said quietly. “It‟s so loud outside today. It might
have climbed up out of pure fright.”

Just then, they heard the sound of a cracker bomb in the distance. The three of them
jumped at the sudden noise. The kitten pressed itself harder against the wall. A shiver ran
through its entire body. It opened its mouth in a mewl, its voice almost too low to be heard.
Neel could hear its heart thumping desperately.

“Come on.” Priyanka said abruptly, getting up off the floor. “We need to get it out from
under the bed.”

Aryan and Neel rose from their knees as well, and the three circled around the bed. Neel
pushed the bed away from the wall, while Priyanka and Aryan tried to coax the kitten out
with words and gestures. Prince continued to peer under the bed curiously.

The kitten looked fearfully at Aryan and Priyanka, starting at the grinding noise coming
from the moving bed. It moved away from the wall, and shot suddenly out from under the
bed, right between Aryan‟s legs. At full speed, it ran to the table on which the computer was
kept and nestled behind one of its legs, Aryan and Priyanka in hot pursuit.

Neel joined them, and the three formed a circle, blocking any exit for the kitten Priyanka
knelt down slowly towards the kitten, speaking softly. Very slowly, she reached out a hand.
The kitten stiffened, but did not draw away. Priyanka stroked its head lightly, still speaking
soothingly. Slowly, the kitten relaxed. Priyanka reached out and gathered the kitten in her
palm. It was black and white in color and barely bigger than her hand. She brought the kitten
out from under the table and held it between the three of them in the light.

Neel drew in his breath in shock. The kitten‟s coat was dirty and unkempt. There were a
couple of bare patches of skin on its coat and an ugly burn. One of its ears seemed to have
been chewed up and stuck out at an odd angle.

The three stared at the little shivering figure in Priyanka‟s hand. Neel grabbed an old
magazine and spread it on the bed. Priyanka lowered the kitten on top of the magazine. Prince
gazed at the figure curiously and came forward to investigate. But a sharp command from
Aryan and he stopped immediately, keeping away from the bed. The kitten continued to keep
its large eyes trained apprehensively on Prince.

“I‟ll get some milk.” Aryan said, getting up to go to the kitchen. Priyanka and Neel
continued to study at the kitten. Priyanka touched itsinjured ear gently. “Whocould‟ve done
this?” she wondered quietly.

“Probably a dog.” Neel said quietly. “There are so many
strays running around on the
streets. See this burn?” he pointed to one of the patches of skin, where there was a small burn
near the fur. “Someone probably threw a cracker at it too. It must‟ve barely escaped by
climbing the tree.”

Priyanka continued to stroke its head slowly. Aryan returned with a saucer and a jug
full of milk. They gathered around the kitten on the bed. Aryan poured some milk into the
saucer and placed it in front of the kitten. It sniffed cautiously at the milk, tiny nostrils
flaring, and crawled slowly towards the saucer. It was a skinny little thing and Neel could see
the bones jutting out at the places where the skin was showing. Its fur was dirty, and looked
even more unkempt next to Prince. It stared at the milk for a second, then began to lap it up
greedily. Aryan got up and stretched. The other two relaxed as well. Prince saw the tension in
the room reduce and came closer to the bed to examine the strange little creature more
closely. But he remembered Aryan‟s command and kept a respectful distance.

Aryan set the jug on the table and sat on the edge of the bed. He stared at the kitten.
“You know, this doesn‟t look like an alley cat. The coat‟s pretty dirty but it looks purebred.
Maybe someone lost it, or maybe it escaped.”

“Ormaybe someone threw it out.” Priyanka said coldly. “Thathappens all the time. It‟s
a good thing we found it.”

 

“Yeah well, now that we‟ve got it, what do we do with it?” Neel asked, sitting on the
chair near the computer.

 

“We should probably get it checked by a vet or something.” Aryan said vaguely. “It
might have some disease.”

 

“Do we tell your mom and dad?” Neel asked. “They can send it to the shelter or
something.”

“I guess we should.” Aryan said, looking at the kitten. “I‟ve been to the animal shelter,
and it‟s pretty awful, but I guess they‟re the only ones who can take care of it properly.” The
three gazed at the small kitten, which was still busy with the milk.

Just then, another explosion shook the house, as though someone had thrown a bomb
directly against the outside wall of the room. All three of them jumped. The kitten sprang up
as though it had received an electric shock. The next moment, it had sprung off the bed and
streaked through the door out of the room. The three sat frozen in surprise for a moment, then
sprang to their feet together to run after the fleeing figure. Prince was right behind them. Neel
had to restrain himself from using his full speed as they hurried out.

As they came out of the room they saw the little figure scurrying along the floor. They
chased after it down the stairs. As they rounded a corner into the living room, they lost sight
of the kitten. It was not in the next room, which left only the main entrance door. They ran
out of the house, but there was no sight of the little figure.

“He could‟ve gone anywhere.” Aryan said, scanning the area around them.
There was one road leading either way from Aryans house, and one road leading
directly opposite. They had played along those roads often in the past.

 

“We need to split up. I‟ll take the left road.” Priyanka said. She swung to the left, and
was gone before they could say anything.

 

Aryan started down the road opposite to his house. But then hesitated, glancing back to
where Priyanka had disappeared.

 

“What?” Neel asked, sensing his unease.

Aryan shrugged. “Nothing. J
ust some of the guys I saw fighting earlier could still be
around. But this is a safe neighborhood. And it‟s a well lit area. I‟m sure she‟ll be fine.” He
swung towards the road in front, Prince right beside him. Soon, he had disappeared as well.

Neel stood alone on the road. He glanced at the road on the right, the one he was
supposed to take. Perhaps because of the turn his life had taken recently, but he felt more than
a little worried by Aryan‟s words, even standing on the familiar road where they had spent so
many happy days playing. Aryan had prince with him, and it was unlikely anyone would
want to mess with the huge dog. But Priyanka…