Chapter: 01: On a Journey
Author: Tarun.
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The sky was the color of a fresh bruise, a sickly purple that devoured the light. Where the water met the horizon, the clouds seemed to slump into the sea. The wind didn't blow; it lashed out, striking from three different directions in as many seconds, enough to make any boat lurch with a violent, jarring motion. A patch of water a mile out began to churn violently, appearing suddenly flat and dark, as if a giant invisible hand was pressing and torquing it all at once.
"Hey, Shunya!"
"Yash!"
"Where are you? Can you hear me?" Vibho unleashed a loud scream filled with mounting tension and concern for his friends. He screamed again and again.
But the dazzling, jolting cannonade of the storm made it impossible for anyone to hear him. It sounded like a massive door slamming shut, a sickening tear in the fabric of the sky—a constant sound of thunder and pressurized air.
Simultaneously, a bolt of brightness: A jagged fork of violent, silver light tore open the clouds. It was beautiful and utterly lethal, blinding anyone and making it nearly impossible to see anyone or anything beyond a few feet.
Vibho was flailing, but all he saw was water—waves everywhere tossing him like a ragdoll. The stormy air and thunder battered the clouds, and several bolts struck the ocean mere yards from him. He desperately tried to scream for them one last time: "Shunya! Yash! Can you hear me? Answer me! Hey—"
But a massive thunderbolt hit something right beside him, and the shock shattered his control. He began to sink, the dizziness flooding his vision. He tried to focus, but a massive wave seized him, dragging him relentlessly into the deep ocean with its flow.
And suddenly, another bolt slammed down next to him.
Spluttering, Vibho woke as some water splashed on his face.
"What? Help me! I'm drowning—" He stopped abruptly, realizing the terror was gone. "A bizarre dream that was. Looks like last night's waterspouts all vanished in my sleep, hahaha..."
Vibho laughed happily, the surreal difficulty of the previous night instantly forgotten.
He looked around at the calm, surrounding water. He intensely studied the thing he was floating on, then reached out to touch it. It was soft and warm.
But who woke me up, and why am I resting on this soft bed? The question echoed in the sudden silence.
"Timy... timy..." a soft voice drifted from somewhere nearby.
"H-who was it?" Vibho stammered, looking around curiously.
Suddenly, the soft surface he was on trembled, and the same voice came again: "Timy... timy..."
"Oh!" Vibho exclaimed, a grin spreading across his face. "So you are the one who saved me! Thank you."
The soft mass he rested on responded once more, "Timy... timy...," speaking in an unknown, gentle language.
"Oh, so you are Timminy, a whale!" Vibho exclaimed. "You found me when I was floating and are taking me towards the island port where your friend is?"
"Timmy... timmy..." Timminy shook his head happily.
"Oh, you want to know what I was doing out there?" Vibho started, trying to find the right words. "We are on a journey…" but a loud, undeniable GRRROOOOWLL from his own stomach interrupted him.
"Hee-hee," Vibho chuckled at the sound. "Did you have something to eat? I'm very hungry." He stroked his protesting stomach.
"Timmy... timmy..." Timminy responded, the sound a little lower and softer this time.
Vibho leaned in close to the whale's soft surface. "So you haven't eaten either, but your friend has food, and she can help me?"
"Timmy... timmy..." Timminy shook his head, clearly agreeing.
Vibho's face lit up. "Then take me to her!" he declared, scrambling to his feet and pointing emphatically toward a distant direction.
"Timmy... timmy..."
But instead of moving where Vibho indicated, Timminy veered sharply in the opposite direction. The unexpected shift sent Vibho toppling onto the soft mass. Timminy was so vast, however, that Vibho merely slid rather than falling into the water.
"Hahaha!" Vibho laughed, totally amused by the whale's playful maneuver.
As Timminy swims towards an island.
***
On the island port
The air cracked with her furious voice.
"What!
Can't you understand?
We can't pay you anymore than this! We don't have anything more than that!"
The fair-skinned young woman stomped her foot furiously on the grassy soil of the beach, the sharp sound a physical punctuation mark to her rage. She stood clutching a letter tightly between both hands, glaring at the two men before her.
They were a picture of low-rent menace, wearing identical, dirty old green T-shirts and ripped pants that reeked of stale beer. With their arms idly crossed, they looked exactly like the cheap-suit mob bandits one might find online, and they stood there, leering and silent, awaiting her response.
She clamped down on her anger, knowing that this negotiation was far too crucial to be derailed by an outburst.
With a furious mood,She lowered her eyes to the letter and read all of it again, but the figures remained immutable, fueling her cold fury. "That's not what we agreed on," she stated in a voice stripped of warmth. She then lifted the document, her gaze pinning the numbers. After a silence, she spoke again, flatly: "It's double the price we agreed on."
"Ha, what did you say? I don't hear you."
One of the men drawled lazily, his fingers raking through his slovenly hair as he flashed a shady smile—a clear display of their rough-hewn character.
She stared at them. Their ragged and threadbare clothes, their seedy character, and the men's mean, lazy posture vexed her, but she swallowed her immediate retort. She fought to control herself, forcing the words out again, her voice tight: "It's not the price we agreed on. It's double the price."
She held up the crumpled letter for them to see. "Look." Her voice dropped, sharper now. "I already paid you half of it."
The atmosphere between them was growing thick and tense as the minutes passed, amplified by the midday heat. The sun blazed directly overhead.
Attracted by Mira's sharp voice, the other man snorted, rolling his eyes. Irritated by her tone, he took a menacing step forward. "No," he growled, his voice full of his gritty character. "Our boss told us to collect the whole money in one go."
He let a selfish smile spread across his face, his demeanor becoming instantly more coarse. "We will take the full payment, or we can also take all your packages you're going to deliver."
He jabbed his finger toward a pile of packages: ten or fifteen large boxes, sealed tightly with black tape.
Mira's fury ignited as she spoke. "No! You can't do that!" she screamed. "These are important packages I need to deliver! Don't you dare touch them!" Her voice was sharp and loud, her control stretched past the breaking point.
The man stretched his arms, shedding his pretense of laziness. "Of course, we can do that. We are hunters." He grinned broadly, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a card and flashed it right in front of Mira's face.
Mira's face drained of color; she was furious, yet utterly paralyzed. She clenched her teeth, forcing the words through the narrow gap:
"Fine. Take them and leave me alone. And don't come near me again."
Her gaze, however, was a searing weapon: cold, red eyes burning into them. Her anger was a rising tide, but she could not move.
The two men exchanged a knowing glance. Their expressions instantly shifted to a wide, vile grin. Their greedy eyes were now locked onto the packages, and smiling broadly, they began to advance slowly toward the sealed boxes.
But suddenly, a loud BOOM!—like a cannon firing or a massive shell detonating—ripped through the tense air.
Mira and the two men were visibly startled, all three reeling from the shockwave.
The blast was immediately followed by a voice, jovial and slightly annoyed:
"Woooah! Didn't you say you would throw me lightly?"
The men's expressions faltered, their earlier greed instantly replaced by naked fear. They swiftly spun around, their eyes darting wildly to locate the source of the voice, every nerve ending strained.
"Hahahaha!"
A booming, carefree laugh cut through the tense air. It was Vibho, crashing down from the sky straight toward the two terrified men. His expression wasn't serious; instead, he was bouncing with exhilaration, laughing loudly as he looked downward, clearly enjoying the terrifying height and speed of his descent.
Both men snapped their heads back, spotting Vibho high above, but it was far too late.
Vibho grinned widely and bellowed in a loud, echoing voice: "Ver-Dan; Antaraṇ!"
His body began to bulge and distort instantly, swiftly changing into a colossal, serpentine Wyvern. The creature, nearly the size of a city bus, descended with terrifying speed and slammed onto the two men in a catastrophic crash.
Just as the massive creature crashed, a suffocating cloud of dust and pulverized earth instantly engulfed the atmosphere, rendering everything invisible.
Stunned by the sudden, brutal entrance, Mira stumbled backward. She raised her hands, frantically waving away the dirt, but the dust had choked the air and blurred her vision. She squinted into the swirling void, her voice strained and shaky as she demanded, "Who are you?"
"I am Vibho Vānara, and I am going to be the best hunter!"
The declaration cut through the dissipating dust—a loud, steady, and utterly confident voice.
As the dust finally subsided, Vibho was revealed, sitting cross-legged with impossible ease atop the two unconscious men. The land beneath them was visibly cracked and fractured from the colossal impact. Yet, Vibho was simply laughing loudly, completely pleased with himself.
"Hahahaha!"
_-_ End_-_