Tranav - Chapter 7

                                                     TRANAV NOVEL

(Malikat Bloodline)

CHAPTER 7

1957 AD,

It was a quiet and dark evening in the town, and another body had been discovered in the same manner as the previous victims. Police were conducting their investigation, questioning people if they had seen anything unusual. Mohan was busy asking questions to the victim's family, while Dhruvya stood at a distance, his gaze fixed on the hanging corpse, lost in his own thoughts.

After the questioning, Mohan approached Dhruvya and said, "It turns out you were right. The killers are following the same pattern. This man's zodiac sign was karka, and the cuts on his body match exactly." Dhruvya didn't respond; he remained quiet, lost in his thoughts about Shravani.

"Mr. Dhruvya, is everything okay?" Mohan asked. "You've been quiet for a while. Is something bothering you?"

Dhruvya replied, "I'm sorry; I was thinking about something else. It's not important."

"Are you sure?" Mohan asked, concerned.

Dhruvya assured him that he was fine and asked Mohan what they had discovered so far. Mohan replied, "Nothing. No hints, no clues. The killers are following the same exact pattern. The victim was kidnapped from his own house while his family wasn't present at the time. How is it possible to be kidnapped from your own home? It's like some kind of ghost is kidnapping them."

"Maybe," Dhruvya responded in a tense voice.

Mohan chuckled. "You're serious, aren't you? Don't tell me you believe in this supernatural stuff."

Dhruvya asked, "Tell me, Mr. Mohan, do you believe in God?"

Mohan nodded in affirmation.

"Then you should believe in everything," Dhruvya continued. "Whatever is happening here is not normal. Whoever is behind all this might be very dangerous, and we know nothing about them. Sometimes, there are things that exist, but we don't believe in them because acknowledging them would make us vulnerable. Already, four people are dead, and eight more will die soon if we don't catch them first. I have to go now; there's something I remember I have to do. I'll meet you later." With that, Dhruvya left.

Mohan watched him leave with thoughts swirling in his mind, wondering what Dhruvya was talking about and why he seemed so sudden, as if he knew something but was keeping it hidden.

…

Rudra carried some food to the cage where Shravani was being held captive. He gently placed the food down and slid the plate toward her. "Here's some fresh elk meat. You might need the protein," he said, but she didn't respond. She simply sat there, avoiding eye contact with him. She hadn't spoken a word to anyone since she had been locked up in the cage. Despite their attempts to engage her in conversation, she remained silent, lost in her thoughts.

Rudra sat down near the cage and tried to reason with her. "You have to eat something, or you might become weak. I know you don't want to be here, but I had no other choice."

Suddenly, Dhruvya stormed into the basement in anger and shouted at her, "Alright, enough of this! Tell me who you are and why you're killing those people. What is your motive?"

For the first time, Shravani smiled wickedly and said, "Are you afraid of us?"

Dhruvya laughed sarcastically, "Oh, so now you can speak, and you think we're scared? Dream on. Look, whoever you are, if you don't start talking soon, I'll kill you. The only reason you're still alive is because of Rudra. He made us promise not to harm you, but that promise won't hold if you don't provide us with answers. If I don't get the answers I want, I'll be the one to sever your head."

Shravani responded, "I think you already know what we're doing. I can see the fear hidden behind that anger on your face. And nothing can stop us now."

Dhruvya grew increasingly frustrated and lost his temper. He was about to open the cage to confront her physically, but Rudra intervened. Dhruvya glared at Rudra in anger and left the room.

…

The room was shrouded in darkness, illuminated only by the soft glow of a few candles. Daksh, surrounded by snakes, fed them a concoction of milk. He spoke in a hushed tone, "They don't take kindly to your presence in this room, you know."

Vajraksha, concealed in the shadows, replied, "I don't care, and I think neither should you. Did you find her?"

Daksh shook his head, frustration evident in his voice. His relentless search for Shravani, who had been abducted, had yielded no results. "No, there's been no sign of her. Maybe she ran away."

Vajraksha inquired, "What did she tell you when before she went out on the day she got abducted?"

Daksh replied that she shouted at him for asking and warned him that it was none of his business to inquire about it when he ask her where she was going. Vajraksha couldn't help but chuckle. "She's quite the enigma, isn't she?"

Daksh, perplexed by Vajraksha's unwavering trust in Shravani, inquired further, "I still don't understand why you trust her so much. What did you see in her, and where did you even find her?"

Vajraksha revealed that he had found Shravani three years ago. She was a victim of circumstances, born into a world she hadn't chosen. She was just as desperate as they were to open the gate, and someone was waiting for her in Nag-lok. "Do you think someone might have kidnapped her?"

Daksh considered the possibility but quickly dismissed it. "No, I doubt any human would have the power to capture a Narasim. And besides, who would dare to kidnap her?"

Vajraksha proposed an alternative theory. "What if the one behind this is not human? What about that person Rudra, the one Shravani told us about? Who is he? Have you found anything?"

Daksh provided some information about Rudra and his two brothers, Abhimanyu and Dhruvya, who had arrived in the town a month ago. Abhimanyu worked at the hospital, Dhruvya with the police, and Rudra's activities remained mysterious he just stand and watch construction site what exactly he do he had no idea. "They don't seem dangerous. Other than that, I did come across a Dayan in town, but my investigation yielded nothing."

Vajraksha connected the dots. "Abhimanyu, Rudra, and Dhruvya. I think I've heard these names before, though I can't recall where. But that person, the one Shravani was going to kidnap, might be the key. She mentioned that Rudra saw her face and called her Nitya, as if he recognized her or knew that face."

"Nitya?" Daksh whispered, troubled by the revelation. "And one more thing, I haven't seen Rudra since the day Shravani went missing."

Vajraksha knew that something was seriously amiss. He emphasized the urgency of finding Rudra to uncover the truth and break the curse. "We need to find her quickly, and we have to break the curse."

Daksh, reluctant to let Vajraksha leave just yet, suggested another approach. "Can't you track her down? I mean, if you can appear here, can't you just appear in front of her?"

Vajraksha, was actually in his astral form, clarified the limitations of his powers. He was a powerful sorcerer from Nag-Lok and also the uncle of Daksh's father, a naga. He could only travel to Earth in his astral form and only places he knew. "There are limits to my abilities. That's why we must break the curse," he explained before vanishing into thin air.

…

Ashok entered Abha's cabin, where Abhimanyu was busy with his work. Abhimanyu greeted Ashok and mentioned that Abha was in Dr. Batra's cabin. However, Ashok's expression was unusual, and he seemed to be staring at Abhimanyu intently. Concerned, Abhimanyu asked if everything was alright and how he could assist Ashok.

Ashok adopted an interrogative tone and inquired, "Mr. Abhimanyu, do you mind if I ask why you were so insistent on inquiring about the Nagas that day? Why couldn't it wait until morning? What was the urgency?"

Abhimanyu smiled and explained that he had been reading about Nagas and had become engrossed in the topic. He couldn't sleep without satisfying his curiosity, and that's why he had asked Ashok about it.

Ashok persisted, "But why were you specifically reading about Nagas? Why not any other subject? Most people don't even know what that word means, and it's not a common topic of discussion like the Ramayana or the Mahabharata."

Abhimanyu found Ashok's questions puzzling. He replied, "What you're saying, Dr. Ashok, doesn't make sense. I was merely going through old books and came across the term 'Naga.'"

Ashok continued his line of questioning, "Which books were you reading, Mr. Abhimanyu? Let me rephrase it: in which book did you encounter the term 'Naga'? I mean, you asked me about Nagas that day, correct, Mr. Abhimanyu?"

Abhimanyu began to suspect that Ashok might know something. He decided not to beat around the bush and asked Ashok directly what he wanted to know.

Ashok responded, "Alright, then I'll ask you directly. Is it just a coincidence that the symbols found on the victims' bodies are not symbols at all, but rather notes written in Nagbhasha, the ancient Naga language? And out of the blue, you were asking about Nagas. This can't be a coincidence. What are you hiding, Mr. Abhimanyu?"

Abhimanyu's curiosity grew, and he asked, "How did you know it was Nagbhasha?"

Ashok revealed, "That means you know something. And as you ask how i know because I have translated it."

Abhimanyu eagerly requested, "What does it say? Can you show it to me?"

Ashok, however, responded, "That wasn't my question, Mr. Abhimanyu. How do you know about this, and who are you? Why weren't you able to come to my house that day?"

Abhimanyu looked into Ashok's eyes and ordered him to show the paper with the translation. Ashok complied, but as Abhimanyu touched the paper, his hand began to burn, as if something was on the paper. The paper fell to the ground, and Ashok picked it up, saying, "Three brothers—Abhimanyu, Rudhraksh, and Dhruvya—always come to this town every 50 years and leave after 10-15 years to avoid suspicion. People won't notice that they never age. Nice try, Mr. Abhimanyu, or should I say Rakshash."

Abhimanyu asked, "How..."

Ashok interrupted, "I did my homework and my family has been in the business of hunting monsters and documenting creatures that have existed on Earth for more than 5,000 years. When I researched you, it became clear that you were the reason all of this began. I should have understood earlier when no one else could control patients who occasionally went berserk, how could you handle them so easily? But after reading about you, I understood—you were hypnotizing them, manipulating their minds as if they were puppets. I know you'll try the same on me, but it won't work because i came prepared. Now, tell me why you're here and what you know about these murders."

Abhimanyu smiled slyly and responded, "If you know so much about me, you also know that I could easily kill you, and no one would ever know."

Ashok smiled back and said, "Yes, I know, but you won't, because right now, we have a bigger problem on our hands." He showed the page to Abhimanyu.

"What does the translation say?" Abhimanyu inquired.

"It's actually a warning for the entire human race," Ashok explained. "It predicts that the Naga kingdom will rise again on Earth, leading to a great war that will ultimately bring about the end of humanity."

"They're really planning to open the gates, aren't they?"

Ashok nodded and said "now why did you ask about nagas, were you hiding something"

Abhimanyu nodded in agreement and admitted, "We found one of them. She's from Narasim tribe and locked in our basement."

"Please don't tell me that you've locked a Narasim Naga in your house," Ashok said with concern. "If she transforms, she has the power to single-handedly destroy this entire town, and no one can stop her."

Just then, Abha entered the room and asked innocently, "Hi, what are you two talking about?"

Abhimanyu quickly replied, "Nothing important. We were actually about to leave. I wanted to show him something... right, Mr. Abhimanyu?"

"Yes, yes, you're right. We'll see you later, Miss Abha, I mean Abha," Ashok added, and they both left the room.

…

A meeting had just concluded at the police station. Mohan had taken charge of the search team and implemented several changes to enhance the task force's effectiveness. Throughout the meeting, Dhruv had sat in silence, lost in his thoughts.

As the meeting adjourned, everyone left the room, leaving only Mohan and Dhruv behind. Mohan, curious about Dhruv's earlier statement, decided to ask, "Mr. Dhruvya, I have a question. How are you so sure that these killers plan to target 8 more people?"

Dhruv glanced at Mohan and replied, "Zodiac signs. They've already taken the lives of 4 individuals in a sequence, and there are 8 more to go. The next victim will be a Sinh. Why can’t we inform the townspeople and focus our protection efforts on those at risk?"

 

Mohan contemplated the suggestion but then shook his head. "No, we can't possibly provide protection to everyone in town. Our task force isn't large enough, and if we reveal the existence of a psychotic killer group, it could incite panic. People tend to behave irrationally when they're scared. We need to find another way."

Dhruv questioned further, "Have we thoroughly searched all the places where they might be hiding?"

Mohan hesitated and admitted, "Almost. There are a few locations where they denied us access. It seems they know the law, and without a warrant, we can't investigate private property. Getting a warrant in this small town can be time-consuming."

Dhruv nodded, understanding the dilemma. "But we can't afford to sit and wait for a warrant. We don't know when the next murder will occur. We have to discover their hideout as quickly as possible."

Mohan pondered Dhruv's words, then mentioned, "Dr. Ashok mentioned those Asur dates. If we can determine the next date, we might be better prepared. But we have find a plan for finding their hideout?"

Dhruv leaned in, his eyes gleaming with determination. "What if we conduct our investigations covertly, without revealing our true identities?"

“That might be the best way”

…… ॐ ……