"Hmm, I think I might have an idea to tackle this issue but it's not entirely risk-free. What do you say?" Prakash pondered for a plan of action that might solve both of their objectives at the fastest possible speed.
"Let me hear it first," Vikram hesitated for a second before agreeing to hear him out. He had a faint sense of foreboding as he gazed at the serious pondering face of Prakash that looked to be weighing all of the options available to him.
Merchants were never to be trusted, this was a saying that was prevalent in their household and was something he had heard so many times that he felt aversion to the mere mention of the word 'merchant'.
This was something his grandmother used to say to him every day after one of her bed-time stories which usually revolved around how cunning merchants were as they deceived all sorts of people ranging from the poor common folk to even the king, all in order to earn more money. The ironic part of this was that their family was from a long line of merchants that had lived the path of merchants for centuries.
Everyone in their family, except Vikram, had a knack for business. For example, the company headed by Anita and Prakash that primarily focused on trading raw materials for fabrics.
They weren't on the level of national conglomerates, but their business was a giant when compared to the other state-level business companies. Recently, they even began to expand their reach to the various corners of their country and even set their sights on foreign markets.
Vikram's parents had their ongoing family business that primarily focused on the iron and steel industry. They manufactured products that ranged from utensils to machinery parts. Hence, their annual profits alone were enough to lavishly feed three generations.
But, Vikram was the sole exception in their family that felt averse to the idea of going into business. His interests primarily lay in gaming and painting. He mostly stayed low-key in his household and went about enjoying his life to the fullest.
It wasn't like he had to earn money to uphold the household or anything since they were rich, so Vikram hadn't developed a businessman's mindset to wring the people dry for personal objectives which was something everyone in his family possessed to variable extents.
After Prakash had reenacted the supposed plan in his head numerous times and had perfected it to the best of his abilities, he told them to Vikram.
"Impossible! Dozens of people would die if not hundreds," Vikram bellowed in rage. The plan Prakash proposed was something he wouldn't want to use even if he was forced into a corner.
"Are these people you met yesterday more important than your own sister?" Prakash bellowed back in anger.
"And, it's not like I'm sending them to their deaths. Sure, they might face some risks, but do you dare say that anywhere is safe for us in this world? Moreover, I too will be there with them, if anything, I'll be the first to die." Prakash retorted in anger. Veins had popped on his neck while his face was flushed red; any longer, and he might seriously hit Vikram. To him, the well-being of his wife and son mattered the most.
He wasn't the type to sit back and watch people suffer but he also wasn't the type to go out of his way to help people when his own family might be in mortal danger.
"I won't accept this. I'll search for my sister on my own and also save the people trapped in the cinema halls," Vikram said as he walked away. His mind was embroiled in a war of emotions that impacted his rational judgement.
On one side, he desperately wanted to save his sister, but on the other hand, he wanted to safeguard the people in his base. He had formed a connection with everyone there as they fought their way to survival.
And moreover, he knew one fact with certainity; the moment he left the base, the battle strength of the base would take a severe hit. They would then begin to exponentially lose warriors after each subsequent battle until eventually, they might get completely wiped out. This was one fact that didn't sit well with him.
There were also the pigeons that numbered in the 20s along with 3 eagles and a woodpecker camping before the cinema halls. Anytime, they could come and attack the base. Without him, they would probably get massacred within a couple of minutes until not a single soul survived.
His vision cloudy, mind hazy, and feet wobbly, Vikram faltered with each step he took until he crashed into a wall and fell on the ground.
"Ha..ha ha….ha ha ha," A self-deprecating laughter leaked out of him while tears streamed out of his eyes. He felt confused as to what he should do next. On one side was his beloved sister who meant the world to him, on the other side were companions with whom he had forged a bond after numerous life and death struggles and mostly depended on him for survival.
A series of footsteps sounded as a pair of feet walked towards a certain secluded location in the base and stopped before the figure of a handsome youth who lay on the floor in defeat and bawled like a baby.
"It was a mistake to allow Vikram to fly with the pigeon. I should have just dragged him with me the moment he said he wanted to search for Anita; but now, he began to think about the safety of the people in the base. Maybe I shouldn't have pressured him so much," After his anger had called down, Prakash sighed as he thought about how his thoughtless actions would affect the mental state of Vikram.
Now, whether he decided to come with Prakash, or stay behind at the base, his conscience would weigh on him for the rest of his life. He would begin to feel guilty at the fact that he left one of the two sides to die and chose the other. The guilt would continue to tear at him until finally, his mind would break apart.
Prakash brushed his hands on the soft fur of the pigeon that had a vacant look in its eyes and seemed to be in an inanimate state.
'Slap'
Prakash sent a vicious slap to his cheeks and plunged his head into a bowl of water placed near him. As the water in the bowl washed over the slap mark on his cheek, a sizzling sound was produced as the slap mark was instantly healed.
"Water….water….water everywhere…" With his head still submerged in the water, Prakash gazed at the bottom surface of the bowl that looked to be quite near to his face and wriggled in an unstable form as the water rippled in accordance to his head movements.
"Guah," After a long time had passed in silence, Prakash lifted his head out of the water and took a deep breath of fresh air. After having dipped his head in the water, his mind felt revitalised and clearer than when he was clouded with the thoughts of saving Anita.
"Yes, my previous plan put too many people at risk for a search of two tiny people in the vast flooded regions where we could be besieged by all sorts of birds and devoured in a matter of minutes," As Prakash gazed at the freshwater that splashed within the bowl and formed all sorts of patterns, a sense of inspirations embraced his head.
"Eureka!" Prakash shouted in excitement as he had almost glossed over a crucial fact. Vikram and the others wouldn't have experienced it since they were on the fourth floor of the shopping mall but he had experienced it once today morning when he was running away from a school of fish.
It was their ability to retain their breath underwater which was almost on the level of aquatic animals. Even though they couldn't breathe underwater, they weren't all too disadvantaged in an underwater fight if they had the appropriate transformations. And he just so happened to possess an ability and an ally that were the perfect fit for this task.
Purple smoke gushed out of his body and condensed into the body of Ugly Shaggy that seemed to have grown slightly bigger as compared to before. On his mental input, Ugly Shaggy entered into the body of the pigeon and breathed sentience into the birded creature.
Clutching the silk rope that Vikram had carefully weaved around the neck of the pigeon, Prakash motioned for the pigeon to take off. On his command, the puppet pigeon flapped its wings and flew out of the base and eventually sat on one corner of the roof of the shopping mall.
Prakash stepped down and walked to the edge of the roof and gazed below while transforming his eyes into that of a dog's. After shaking his head sideways, Prakash climbed atop the puppet pigeon and flew to a different corner of the roof of the shopping mall before gazing at the scenery below once again. He then repeated his actions until finally, he gazed at the all too familiar block of concrete that was half-submerged in the murky waters.
The puppet pigeon carried him from the roof of the shopping mall that spanned five stories all the way to the bottom and stopped near the edge of the concrete block, just a foot of distance away from the murky waters.
"Time for you to shine once again pal," Prakash muttered as Ugly Shaggy entered the murky waters and proceeded to slither towards the very depths of it.
After he felt a connection get established between him and the entity below, Prakash took a deep breath and sent another mental input to Ugly Shaggy.
After his mental input, Prakash gazed at a thin stream of blue smoke that flowed through the tail section of Ugly Shaggy attached to his heart and gush into his body.
"Guh," Prakash gritted his teeth as his body began to burn under the sun. His skin was turning to a light shade of blue while thick black smoke rose from all over his body and an intense odour permeated the surroundings.
Even the fishes under the murky waters that had been silently gazing at the direction of Prakash scurried away at the emergence of the foul odour that didn't seem to be obstructed by the water layer in its travel.