[ D day - 3 ] [ 10 H : 30 M : 40 S ] [ County city N ]
Flying with wings did not come easy, at the same time, it wasn't extremely hard. It seems the wings did come with some sort of natural instinct. However, the muscular strength needed for using these wings is extremely high.
Thankfully, there was an enhancement that could store fat inside the muscles, which increased the endurance for the muscles. Vikram had no idea about many such passive enhancements until later. It would become an integral part of the education, but that is for later.
For now, he soared over the mountains, enjoying the view of the virgin forest full of flowers. This is winter, for other countries, but for India, it's the flowering season.
All water sources are about full with water, while almost all flowering trees are flowers and prepared for fruiting. The fruits start arriving one after another just as summer arrives. They continue till monsoon season begins, when almost all fruits and flowers are destroyed.
This kind of lushness is rarer these days, given how many parties are trying to hunt and poach illegally in these woods.
As he flew, he soon flew to the county city.
There was only one portal.
The county city is considered somewhat small in scale for usual county cities. Given it's terrain, the mountains forbid too much construction, while the lack of water stops any further development.
Thus, the county has a population above hundred thousand, below two hundred thousand.
Vikram did not think much of it.
He saw a portal. He entered it habitually.
Obviously he was camouflaged and everything, after all, all portals have some sort of surveillance.
Only…
The portal's beast is a cow.
Now, many of you would ask what's the big deal …
If one did not get it by the name, Vikram is a hindu.
Moreover, he was born in a peasant landlord kind of family, where having land to farm was considered best of all options as late as a decade ago.
That means, every harvest festival in his childhood memory, his grandparents hired a groom to decorate their best bull, with all the old sarees and dhotis, both of which are unstitched clothes worn by women and men respectively, then, the bull will roam the entire village in a procession.
This procession used to be the most fun memory of his childhood.
Killing a cow ?
With his own hands ?
It's impossible.
For those of you who still don't have it in perspective, it's like knowing eating your own shit could cure cancer.
Will you eat it because it cures cancer ?
Vikram is the type who would rather die.
It's alright to drink kopi luwak, or some such coffee derived from some random animals' shit. Why? We are conditioned to think it's alright, similarly, we are conditioned to think the shit is dirty.
Just like that, he was conditioned to not be able to harm cows willfully.
However, going out of the portal is also not a possible solution.
In the first place, he had been too reckless. The damned county city is named 'Bull pen', albeit in a very fancy sanskrit way.
What animal could be there but the bull ?
He should have known.
What's the use of cursing now ? he is stuck.
Thus, Vikram hung limply on the ceiling, alternating between self blame and escapism.
He could obviously walk out, but every man who walks out of a portal increases the power setting of a portal. If a normal man walks out, it might be alright. If Vikram, who has become a mutant now, walks out, then the difficulty will be raised sky high.
If at least part of the town's populace was getting saved before, now not a single one could be saved.
Worst part of it ? The bulls won't even need to stampede the city to kill people. Just the landslides caused by aftershocks of their running could kill plenty of people.
This is the fault of the terrain.
The county city is nestled in a crook just like his hometown. Unlike his hometown, were terrain is hard earth and earthen hills, the county city is loose wet earth terrain, nestled in between rocky mountains.
The granite stones are loosely held together by this wet earth, and a precarious counter balance of weights.
In fact, this 'This damn boulder will roll down and kill me any minute ' were the most attractive scene for tourists.
Those,and the gigantic hundred feet bull statue.
Yep, the damn city is known for cows - Why did I forget it ? Vikram scolded himself for the thousandth time, as he looked at the cow herd roaming leisurely in the portal.
Finally, after two hours of precious time was wasted dawdling, Vikram came up with an idea.
'It's an ankylosaurus! anchioSaurus ! Look again … there's a spread out skin on it's neck … there's only one nostril, ' Vikram told himself, as he covered his right eye, and squinted his left eye.
Damn ! all the vision enhancements of sparrows, foxes and the lizards are in his eyes. Though the genes did not specifically say vision enhancements, the combined strength of these vision enhancements allowed him to have infrared vision, binocular vision, zooming style tunnel vision.. And other damned things that refused to let him succeed.
He could still see an entire cow, with perfectly sculpted muscles like a Spanish bullfighter still grazing happily on the grass.
'Damn! If only I could order a McBurger ! Then I will call this cow a Cannibal cow and kill it. Vikram groused to himself.
It's not that he doesn't know how important it is not to waste time here, it's just that he just couldn't find it in him to abandon the portal, nor to kill the cows with his own hand.
Just as he was about to throw in the towel, a group entered the portal.
Not Hindus, Vikram could tell by the attire.
Vikram stopped where he was, observed the gang to figure out what they were going to do.
It is not that cow killing doesn't happen in India. After all, the country is one of the major beef exporters. It just happens away from the eyes of most people.
It is considered that meat is the prized product in any country, however, it's not the same in India.
The skin was considered the more prized part.
The men seemed to be at least somewhat humane in their actions at the beginning.
They lead a cow away, then shoot with tranquilized guns, before escorting it to a tent they set up in the corner, where they seem to be doing the butchering.
Vikram prayed for the souls of beasts, but he wanted this portal to vanish. He would not be saving any cows today.
Just as he opened his eyes from his prayer, the group tugged on a little calf.
Vikram frowned.
Wasn't the group targeting adult cows ?
…
..
.
Damn it ! the guys were not targeting adult cows from the beginning. They were taking the calves away, forcing the mother cows to follow, then killing the both together.
Some of these cows made distressed shouts tugging at their calves.
The sounds tugged at Vikram's conscience !
" Damn it ! " He cursed to himself.
Anything but this.
There are not many religious tenets Vikram keeps. This is one of the very few tenets he does keep.
Just as he thought if he should go down and kick those men aside, a gunshot rang inside the portal.
Everyone was startled at the sound, not just Vikram.
" You got a gun ? " Yusuf asked his friend Ali besides him.
" Yep. Momon got it for me. " The one called Ali gestured towards the man who was standing in the back of the crowd.
Vikram frowned.
Muslims in India are known for their fair complexion. However, it's not always true.
The muslims in southern states looked no different from any other denizens, with a fairly dark complexion, not so sharp features.
However, the man who was called Momon, he alone was of too fair a complexion, too sharp features, and colored eyes.
Not a single person on either side shared any physical feature in common with the man, neither complexion, nor their facial features.
On top of that, the man moved about with a certainty that believed in his superiority. He is very familiar with guns.
All of these pointed towards a single conclusion.
This Momon was a spy.
Yet… yet,what in the world could he be doing here ?
This country city is not a first tier or second tier city. Hells, it even barely made the list to a third tier city.
Even if an enemy chooses to penetrate, this is just the wrong kind of location to do it.
Every person, muslim, hindu or otherwise, know each other from the time they are in diapers.
They would mark someone new all too fast.
What could they achieve by putting an agent in a place as … backwards as this ? It's not like you are going to just get a few fake passports.
Just as he was thinking, the men with guns shot about half the herd.
"MOOOOOOOOOO........" A Loud shout rang in the distance.
The boss Bull is finally joining the fray.