She began typing, but found that she just could not concentrate with the sounds of panic coming from outside. The sound of people trying to get home; of people honking their car horns and of people shouting at others to get out of their way. As soon as the Sun set, she suddenly felt an ominous silence descend. It was as if some giant unseen hand had just pressed the `mute' button on the world. Hina peeked out through the curtains and saw that everyone on the street had stopped to look at the setting Sun.
Then it began.
The first sign of the chaos that was to come was the sound of guns being fired. There was a police station nearby and she figured the cops were trying to keep things under control. Then she heard screaming, and then the guns stopped firing. She had opened a new bottle of wine and finished her glass in a long swallow, her heart hammering as she wondered what would come next. People on the road were running now, and several were screaming. There were desperate cries for help outside her home, and Hina wanted to do something to help. But what could a frail, old woman possibly do?
Her home was an old colonial style house with two floors that would in today's market cost a fortune to buy. Her study was on the second floor, and she looked out the window to witness a scene that would forever be etched in her mind. There was a mob of people; no creatures would be a more appropriate description, transformed by the infection to mindless wild animals. They all seemed to be wearing black turbans, men and women alike, and with their tattered clothes, yellow skin and bloodied bodies, looked nothing like the people they must have been just a day ago. They wandered through the street in their stiff, loping gait and every time they saw anyone, they would attack like a pack of wild animals, surrounding their prey and scratching and biting till they brought them down. Hina saw one or two young men try and fight back, and she watched in horror as they were killed, their necks broken by their crazed attackers.
She watched a young girl, perhaps no more than fifteen, who was running from one house to another, pleading with the occupants to let her in, to give her some refuge. But there was no safety anywhere today. The creatures had entered several homes along the road and the screams coming from inside them told Hina what the fate of their occupants would have been. The young girl was now directly below Hina's house, and while Hina had turned off all the lights in her home, she saw her peeking out the parted curtains.
`Please let me in. Please help me.'
Hina looked straight at the girl's eyes and then saw four of the creatures moving towards her. Hina could have gone down and let the girl in, but then the creatures would no doubt see her. She stayed rooted where she was, paralyzed by fear, as the girl tried to run, only to be encircled and then brought down by several of her attackers. Crying at her weakness and ashamed at having done nothing to help, Hina hid under her study table, praying that they would think there was nobody home. When the sounds of the attack outside abated after about five minutes, Hina worked up the courage to part the curtains and look down. The girl was lying there, curled in a fetal position, blood all around her. Suddenly, her body twitched and spasmed and then after a sudden, violent jerk, lay still again. Then the girl suddenly sat upright and looked at Hina. Her face was yellowed and bloodied, and her eyes narrowed in hate. She scrambled around herself, as if looking for something, and then tore off a portion of her black skirt to tie around her head. Hina's heart was pounding. Everyone had said that the infection took one day to transform its victims. It seemed that the effects were now taking hold of their victims in ten minutes or less, transforming healthy, decent people into bloodthirsty, crazed killers. No wonder so many countries had gone under so fast. The girl pointed straight at Hina and emitted a shrill, ear-piercing scream. Several of the other creatures started to come towards her. Hina knew that she was trapped and with no way out.
Less than two kilometers away, Mayukh's mother was struggling to start the car, dropping the keys again because of her badly shaking hands. Mayukh saw that his mother was on the verge of a breakdown, and took hold of her hands.
'Mom, let me drive.'
She handed over the keys without any protest. His mother had believed that they would be safe in their government colony, with the armed guards who normally did duty outside. However, by evening, it was clear that she had been badly mistaken. When Mayukh had gone out at about four to see what was happening outside, he saw that all but one of the guards had left their posts. The remaining man had shrugged at Mayukh.
'They all have families. I can't blame them for wanting to get home before Sunset.'
The TV channels had reported that as the Sun slowly set over Asia, the darkness took hold over one country after another. The pattern was the same. As soon as the Sun set those who had been infected transformed into bloodthirsty creatures who savaged anyone in sight.
Mayukh inserted the keys and they left the colony. They had packed their car with as many provisions as they could, and Mayukh had the loaded handgun next to him. His father had called earlier in the day saying that if their colony did not appear safe then they were to try and get to the old Kotla stadium, which was being heavily fortified as a safe haven. Mayukh's mother had waited till the last moment, perhaps too long, to decide that they were better off trying to reach the stadium instead of staying at home. The Sun was about to set and Mayukh turned to look at his mother. He had often hated her for her nagging, but now he saw that she was looking to him to lead the way. Seeing his mother so vulnerable scared him more than anything else, reminding him that things were well and truly out of control now.
Mayukh was jolted back to reality by the repeated staccato sound of guns firing nearby.
'Mom, the firing seems to be coming from the police station. We can't go that way any more. Let's try and find another route.'
His mother just nodded.
While he did find another road, it meant he had to drive through a narrow road crammed with houses and narrow alleys on either side. That was why he never saw the three men who ran into their car. His mother screamed as the window on her side shattered and a yellow, bloodied arm reached in. Mayukh slammed his foot on the accelerator and their attackers were left behind as their car shot ahead. Another infected man came right in front of his car and Mayukh made the mistake of trying to swerve out of the way. The car hit a small shop on the sidewalk and Mayukh was temporarily winded as his head hit the steering wheel. He could hear his mother shouting.
'Hurry up, they're coming!'
Mayukh reversed the car, feeling the thump of an impact as he hit someone or something, and then resumed down the road. There were now people running all over the street, many of them pursued by screaming attackers.
A group of five infected men emerged from the shadows to their left and Mayukh turned the car into a gut-wrenching turn and sped into one of the alleys to his right. As he exited the alley on the main road, just a hundred meters to the right, attackers were beginning to break down the front door of Hina Rahman's house.
***
David came out of the Osprey, his rifle at the ready. In the fading light, he tried to make out if anyone was there at the airfield, but it seemed deserted. On their way in, the young pilot had tried to make contact with the Indian Air Force base at Hindon, just outside Delhi and also the International Airport. But both had been closed to all traffic, in anticipation of the chaos that was to unfold at Sunset. Instead, he had been advised to put down at the Safdarjung airstrip in central Delhi, which was used for microlights and gliders of flying clubs. With the ability to land vertically, the Osprey had no issue putting down. But now, David and the pilot, whose name he hadn't even asked, had to somehow make their way to the US Embassy. David wondered if that would provide any real safety, but it was better than taking one's chances on the streets.