The Blood-Seed Killers

“ Hi my lovely followers, how’s your day going?” screeched a young woman looking into the camera attached to a selfie stick. “ Our day is fabulous. So the ‘ Jungle Geniuses’, that is us, are in Assam which is the home to the thickest rain forest in India”. She then covered her face with her palm and said, “ Do you guys see that shiny little thing on my finger? I am engaged to this philocalistic weirdo”. Sid added mockingly, “ Well only weirdos could love weirdos”. Aarya Nudged him with her elbow and grinned. He continued, “ We are here in search of a legendary cave that is fabled to house a huge and mystic diamond called Kaalmani. Kaal means death. So wish us luck guys, we will meet you there”. Saying so he shut his camera and kept it in his bag. They held hands and continued walking in the thick and damp forest which seemed to have been devoid of any human interference and was in its purest and impenetrable form.

“ It's been a week, Aarya. Shall we take a day off and then continue?” asked Sid. Aarya replied, “ Buckle up, Sid. We are almost there”. Sid smiled and mumbled, “ It’s your never give up attitude that makes me fall for you every day”. “ Sid, there is a statue of the goddess Kali there. Let’s check it out”. Saying so, she pulled his hand and began walking ahead but slipped into a tunnel covered with leaves. They landed on a hard surface. It was pitch dark and stinking. Sid tried feeling the walls of the tunnel, it was soft and slimy. Suddenly, the slimy thing began moving, it was a cobra. He yelped and shot out his elbow at the cobra, which died an instant death. They began walking ahead and entered an underground cave. Unlike the tunnel, the cave was well lit with lanterns hanging on the cave walls. The cave was gigantic and smelt of jasmine and sandalwood. There were traditional Indian sculptures of sensual heavenly female dancers called Apsaras and male warrior nymphs carved in human size, one over the other in rows all around the walls of the huge cave from the bottom till the roof. They were awestruck by its beauty. In the centre of the cave was a Shiva Linga made out of black stone, which is the representation of the Hindu deity of destruction, Lord Shiva. It was a semi-circular stone placed on an oval base and was decorated with flowers. All of a sudden they could hear rhythmic and melodious yet intriguing chants coming from a distance. As the chanting became louder, they saw a group of muscular, tall and well built ascetics clad in orange cloth coming towards them. They were none other than the fabled warrior ascetics protecting the diamond. 

Sid and Aarya were frightened, they began walking backwards. One of them came ahead and spoke in Sanskrit which they couldn't understand. Another ascetic walked up to them and said in English, “ We are a secret society of ascetics, not dacoits. Don’t be afraid of us. We never stopped people from coming here. If you are here for the sacred water emerging from the head of the Linga which goes ahead to form the stream called Apaha, you can carry it with you and be our guest for a few days. I am Sadashiv, an engineer and suffered from chronic depression, living here among them has made me feel one with the almighty”.

Sid folded his hands into a namaste and asked, “ Guruji ( Spiritual teacher) , How can this be a secret society if they admit newcomers?”. Sadashiv replied, “ Every once in two-hundred years they let in a newcomer through a series of tests. This secret society has remained concealed for thousands of years. Once you leave, you will forget all about us.”

Aarya interrupted and said, “ But we are here for the diamond Kaalmani. Where is it?”. Sadashiv replied, “ The diamond is under the Linga. However, it shouldn't be shifted from there. Kaalmani belongs to Devi Shakti, the consort of Lord Shiva. It signifies the power of nature over man. If any man tries to overpower nature, overcome by greed and takes Kaalmani, the Earth will face an apocalypse.” 

“Apocalypse? What will happen, Guruji?” asked Sid. Sadashiv replied, “ If the Kaalmani is moved, all the dead will wake up for revenge against the living and yearn to eat human flesh. They..”

“Oh, you mean Zombies”, Aarya interrupted. “ They are Zombies, but with the powers of the mythical Demon Raktabeej(meaning blood-seed) who was killed by Goddess Kali ( Avatar of Goddess Shakti). If one drop of blood of these Zombies falls on the ground it gives rise to another Zombie”, replied Sadashiv.

A week had past, Aarya and Sid hadn’t left the Ashram( Hermitage) . Aarya said, “ Sid, we have to dig out the diamond. We have announced on our video post that we will find it. We can't stop midway by believing those myths”. Sid replied, “ It may be a myth Aarya, but we cannot disrespect them. They have taken utmost care of us during these days and we can not disobey the one rule they impose on us. We shouldn’t be greedy and must respect their emotions”. “ Sid, they told us not to move the Kaalmani. We can however dig it up and see it”. Sid got irritated and walked away, he sat beside Sadashiv and asked him to translate the preaching of their head, Sage Dadhichi from Sanskrit to English.

A few hours passed, Sid looked towards the cave and saw Aarya walking with a spade in her hand. He looked at Sage Dadhichi, but he just smiled and continued meditating. 

He ran towards her and tried to stop her. “ I'll just dig it up and see, I won’t move it”, she explained. Two muscular ascetics were standing with swords in their hand, right in front of the Linga. She passed between them undisturbed. Sid asked, “ Won’t you stop her ?”. The ascetic replied in Sanskrit. Sadashiv had reached by then and translated, “ We are trained to fight with the outcomes of the apocalypse, not the outcomes of greed. Greed should be curbed by oneself. Outside influences can just physically stop you from acting on your greed, but the nagging mind would drown you in greed unless you control it yourself. We meditate everyday, to nullify the effect of Kaalmani. Once it is etched in your head, you keep getting voices, till you dig it out.”

Sid could hear voices too, but he escaped it’s clutches and yelled, “ Let it go, Aarya ''. Aarya had moved the Linga and was digging mechanically, as if she was hypnotized. He ran forward, but by then a little part of the diamond was exposed. Kaalmani reflected even the smallest quantum of light falling on its surface, lighting up the whole area with blinding light. All the sculptures of the dancers and warriors came to life, and began dancing on an eerie tune. It was a magnificent scene and Sid gaped with his jaws dropped.

Aarya was still hypnotized and didn't stop digging, she pulled out the Kaalmani from the ground before Sid could notice.

All of a sudden, all the Apsaras stopped dancing, their eyes became red, skin began melting and blackening. Their dresses tore till they were nude and their bodies got disfigured. Their melodious voices turned into a monstrous growl. All of them circled around Arya and jerked their palms forward emitting a white light and turned Aarya into just one of them and bowed to her. Sid couldn't process what he was seeing, his whole body shivered as he saw his fiancé turning into a zombie. The ascetics signaled to each other and within a few minutes a bloody war had begun between the ascetics and the zombies. Drops of zombie blood that shed on the ground gave rise to new human-size zombies. The number of zombies began growing exponentially and the whole scene became a sight of bloodshed and pain. The zombies had huge crooked teeth, with which they tore off the flesh of the ascetics who were fighting against them. The ascetics who were skilled in martial arts used their swords, tridents and mazes to control the zombies and sprinkle the water of the stream Apaha, which was the only way to kill them. Sid was moved to a secret hideout on the instructions of Sage Dadhichi. The zombies ripped apart the body parts of the warrior ascetics alive and gnawed onto them. The previously dead ascetics rose from their graves and limped towards the battle field with a maniacal laugh. The zombie fathers ripped the hearts of their own sons and chewed their flesh. The ascetics could stop these most powerful zombies from moving ahead for only a few hours, but the dead were rising all over the world. Some of the ascetics who didn't die completely, themselves turned into disfigured zombies. All this while, Zombie Aarya sat majestically on a rock instructing the other zombies.

Sid skipped a heartbeat when he saw a zombie enter the hideout. He knew that if he tried to kill this zombie shedding it’s blood, thousands of zombies would rise again. He ran around hysterically while he was being chased by a heartless zombie. He finally made it out of the basement and saw Sadashiv’s hands being held by two zombies who were gnawing onto his flesh. Sadashiv saw Sid, struggled his hand out of the zombie's grip, pulled out a bamboo bottle with Apaha’s water in it. He had kept it to kill the zombies who were holding him but threw it on the zombie chasing Sid, burning it to death. Sadashiv yelled, “ Go to the other end of Apaha, you will find a solution. You..”, before he could finish, a Zombie snapped Sadashiv’s neck from behind, pulled it out of the socket and began chewing it. Sid shrieked in horror and ran in the direction of the stream.

Meanwhile in New York:

“ I now pronounce you as husband and wife, You may kiss the Bride” , said the priest and smiled. “ Grandma!”, shouted Caroline, the Bride with a shock. The whole crowd looked at the entrance and gasped as they saw a woman with ash-black skin, twisted body, crooked teeth and messy hair limping towards them mechanically. She growled and headed straight for the bride, her eyeballs were white and she had a bloody mouth. Her long nails were dripping with blood. The father of the bride ran towards her and said, “ Mother! How are..”. The old woman, without a second’s delay grabbed his neck, thrust him on the ground, bent over him and dug her teeth deep into his neck. The crowd shrieked in horror and began running haphazardly. The grandma zombie, later lifted her head up from his neck and roared. She then limped towards the bride. The bridegroom grabbed a vase nearby and hit her, severing her head. The blood drops which fell, magically turned into new zombies. The crowd was mad with horror as these zombies, unlike the zombies they have seen in movies, couldn't be killed by damaging their brain. Each drop of blood produced new human-sized zombies. These newly produced zombies however did not crave for revenge, they craved flesh. These zombies pounced upon the guests, tearing their body limb by limb and ravening their prey. The maimed guests who tried to limp outside, were forcefully dragged in by the blood-thirsty zombies and feasted upon. Those whose heads were ripped off lay dead, whereas those who died due to pain rose up again and joined the walking dead army. The priest quickly guided the couple, her mother and a few others to the basement and locked the door. The zombies were growling and pulling the guests by their legs and chewed upon their toes. There were screams everywhere and blood spilled all over the floor. Those who had turned into zombies attacked their own family members. A young boy screamed, “ Mom, it's me. It’s Sam, pl...”, his mother held him by his hair and pierced her nails in his neck. The Grandmother was searching frantically for her daughter-in-law. She reached the basement and began pounding the door and growling. The ones inside were petrified. The grandmother signaled a few other zombies who arrived and began banging the door with full might. The bridegroom called up the police and yelled, “ Emergency!”. By the time he could complete the door broke upon and hundreds of zombies with blood-dripping mouths stormed inside. The grandmother went up to Caroline’s mother and dragged her by her hair. Caroline’s mother begged, “ Sorry, I know I put you through a lot..”. All of a sudden the grandmother pushed her up against the wall and dug her head into her stomach gnawing onto her flesh. One of the zombies pulled the Bridegroom by his leg and a tens of zombies pounced on him all together. Caroline was dodging them using a stick. The priest moved towards her. She looked at him asking him for help. All of a sudden he pounced on her. She swung her stick, throwing him away. She then saw her grandmother walking towards her, she yelled with fright. She then looked around and saw her husband. “ Honey, please”, she whimpered. He walked towards her and brought her mother along. She looked at her grandmother and said, “ Grandma, I was the only one who cared for you in the house. I would get you food,spend time with you, read the newspaper for you and even clean your room. Why me?”. She then looked at her mother and said, “ Mom, it’s me your daughter, your baby”. She looked at her husband tearfully and said, “ Honey, you promised me that this day would be the best day of my life”. The next moment her husband grabbed her neck and thumped her on the floor, within seconds the whole basement pounced upon her to feed on her flesh.

By then, The SWAT team arrived in helicopters and were hovering around the church. Few of the guests who had hid in the cupboards ran to the entrance hoping to get rescued. Some of them were dragged by the zombies on the way while the rest had almost reached the entrance. The SWAT team had fast-roped from the helicopter and landed on the ground. The guests rushed towards them feeling a great sense of relief as they knew they would be airlifted from that horrendous place. A young boy neared one of the members and next moment he was lifted in the air and flicked on the ground. The SWAT team closed the gate behind them, growled and limped inside, finally pouncing upon them.

Sid had sprained his leg due to continuous hours of running through the thick rainforests. He was lucky enough that no zombie had seen him leaving the place and there were no dead humans buried in that area of the rainforest. He had travelled miles towards the east from Assam ,without break following that stream. He suddenly saw the stream sinking into the ground and disappearing into an ancient and intriguing temple with creepers crawling all over its pillars. The stone temple’s walls had detailed carvings of different scenes from Ramayana, the holy book of the Hindus. It was pitch dark and he decided to search for the solution after sunrise and slept under the shelter of the temple. The next day, when he got up he was surprised to see ripe fruits placed in front of him. In the center of the temple, he saw a priest, meditating and wearing an orange dhoti ( garment worn in India), reaching much above his knees. He had an orange cloth around his shoulders with which he had covered his face below his eyes. This priest was majestic, colossally built and seven feet tall. His body was hairy and had a deep long scar in the middle of his chest. Sid sat in front of him waiting for him to come out of his meditative state. The learned looking priest was reciting, “ Ram, Ram”. Shri Ram is a Hindu God and the protagonist of the book Ramayana. After an hour, the priest opened his eyes and smiled through the cloth. He said, “ Siddharth, I know the reason for your pain, son” . Sid was shocked, and said, “ How do you know me, Guruji?”. The priest replied, “ My name is Chiranjeevi. I travel the world, son. I have waited here for you, for years” . Saying so, he stood up and his huge dark body shined in the mild sunlight entering between the dense canopy. Sid observed a small bump on his lower back, wrapped under his dhoti. He then picked his bronze maze( Ghada) kept on his side, raised his hands into a namaste clutching his maze between his palms and called out loudly with a deep majestic voice, “ Jai Shree Ram”, meaning Praise Lord Ram. Strong winds began blowing, birds began crying, the snakes slithered and raised their hoods, the squirrels came rushing and screeched and the monkeys hopped, appeared there and bowed their heads. Loud thundering began and the water in the stream of Apaha began forming whirlpools. The whirlpools gradually raised into the air and with a sudden gush dashed the maze and magically vanished inside the glowing maze. The stream vanished. The gush of air sweeped the cloth covering the priest’s face exposing his monkey face and his tail unfurled from behind.

Sid fell to his feet and mumbled, “ You are Hanuman, the ardent devotee of Lord Ram. You have been given the boon to be immortal till you wish to die, hence you are called Chiranjeevi (immortal in Sanskrit)”.

Hanuman replied, “This is the only weapon that can kill her. Kill the queen son, all will die”. Sid rose to have one good look but Hanuman had vanished. He lifted the maze and leaped forward to kill his fiancé.