The place resembled a swamp which had been littered with flat but wobbly stones which one needed to step on to cross to the other side. The exit on the other side was not visible from where Mriga was standing. But the advantage of arriving late at this place was that the perilous side-effects of falling into the marshland were clearly visible. Apparently there were some sort of irritants in the mud pool causing acute discomfort to the participants falling in them.
But wait, this wasn't all!
Wooden poles had been placed and fixed on the stones where one was supposed to step on. These poles were no taller than six feet and massive beehives were placed on each of the poles. As soon as a person stepped on the shaky platform, it was easy enough to catch the attention of the bees buzzing around their colony.
Some people were moving cautiously, placing their feet on the stones in slow careful movements while others were braving out by trying to cross the hurdle by jumping from one stone to another. Unfortunately, neither strategy seemed to be particularly successful.
Some had managed to attract the wrath of the entire beehive and now were holding their swollen faces.
Abhirath looked at the residual algae in his hands and rubbed it on his face cautiously again.
Mriga, in the meanwhile, had bent down and was looking closely at the vegetation which was visible at the side of the swamp. Since the entire place had been covered from all sides, there was hardly any light percolating in there.
Ignoring the exclaims and chaos around her, Mriga got up slowly and came close to Abhirath's side. She tugged at his sleeve and pulled him down, bringing his ear to the level of her lips.
For a second, Abhirath's rationality and senses deserted him despite the chaos around them. His eyes shut gently of their own accord. It was only when Mriga started to move away did he panic and pulled her back.
"Sorry, I couldn't hear what you said just now. Can you repeat it please?" he whispered.
"Don't try and run into or out of the place. We don't need the organisms in here to become any more agitated than they already are. More importantly, avoid falling in the swamp and even if you do, try your best and not brush against any plant. I recognise at least one of the shrubs placed in there. It is poisonous and causes severe rashes and itchiness," she said, pointing out to a harmless looking plant in the mud.
As she saw Abhirath's gaze follow hers, she continued with her words, "That is called bichchoo buti*. Usually found in the mountains, even a small touch can make you want to scratch your arm out. Usually its antidote grows right next to it but I can't seem to find godi* here. So, let's do our best and avoid it."
The guy's blank reaction to the names which she was spouting, had a smug smile spreading across her face for a moment.
"Nevermind. Just follow my lead and stick close to me," with that, she waited patiently for a spot to open up.
"If you and I step on it together, the stone won't wobble as much, right?" she asked him.
At his nod, they put a foot each on the opposite side of the same stone and waited till it felt stable to them. Making eye contact, they raised their other foot off the solid ground and brought them to the stone. One down, dozens more to go.
Vindhya and her friend were amongst the first ones make it to the other side. Even though her face was swollen badly, Vindhya didn't stop nor did she let her partner take a break. She had used her steely determination and not let the scratching or the pain to stop her. Even though her partner was whimpering in near torture, she didn't pay much heed to it and climbed out of the blasted swamp.
The acrobat, Yuvati had managed to cross the suspension bridge the fastest but she lay in the mud right now, badly scratching herself despite her skin already turning raw under the onslaught of her fingernails. Her face had a dazed expression on it, almost beyond pain.
When Mriga saw her, she was tempted to stop and help her. She turned to look at Abhirath who gave a stern, negative shake of his head. Biting her lip morosely, Mriga made her way cautiously across the next stone. There wasn't much that she could have done anyways.
Had the earlier participants not made so much noise or tried to run, this hurdle would not have been this bad. But it couldn't be helped. The stones had been laid in such a manner that the bees' hives were meant to be disturbed. It was a stampede like situation existing in here except that it was occurring in the swamp. Mriga suddenly saw Vaishali, who was easily a head taller than her, go past her crossing the stones by taking long, quick strides. It seemed that she had figured out a way to remain unaffected or unfazed by the dangers in the room as well.
Though she didn't have any algae on her, the bees didn't seem to be swarming around her, either. How?
The previous night and early this morning, Vaishali had made sure to soak herself and her partner in potent garlic extracts. To top it, she was carrying a few vials of powdered garlic tied to her upper arm which gave off a pungent smell, deterring the bees. Garlic was also a pain reliever and even though Vaishali hadn't known what lay ahead, she had come prepared.
Mriga could almost see the exit flap now that she and Abhirath were halfway. Till now, they had managed to stay unscathed and she inhaled in a sigh of relief.
But it seemed that she had counted her blessings a bit too soon!!
*Bichchoo buti - Nettle leaf
Godi - Dock plant