This choice: Three Humvees that were racing towards them, driven by armed mercenaries. • Go Back...Chapter #5Ambushed! by: Unknown Three Humvees were racing towards them through the jungle. Each vehicle had three or four men hanging off of them, wearing camouflage outfits. Several of the men were carrying AK-47s, a couple had shotguns, and one was aiming a large machine gun mounted to the top of the truck. They were about 1000 feet away and closing fast.
"What the hell?!" Peter exclaimed. "Who are they?!"
Peter turned around, but Nikhil was nowhere to be seen. He looked to either side, trying to find him. 'How could I lose track of a twenty-foot tall thirteen year old?' he thought to himself.
Suddenly, he saw a black flash dart out of the woods right in front of him. It was the panther, and Nikhil was riding on top of it. They were coming towards him, and Nikhil leaned over to the side, his arm outstretched. "Grab on!" he shouted.
Instinctively, Peter reached out for the large arm coming towards him, which was almost the same size as Peter himself, and grabbed on to it as they raced by. Peter was surprised by how thick the arm he was holding onto was; he could barely get his own arms around the rippling muscles. Even though he was afraid for his life, he was slightly comforted by its strength and warmth.
With virtually no effort, Nikhil pulled Peter up onto the back of the panther. "Hold on to her fur!" he said. Peter did as he was told, lying down right in between the shoulder blades and taking a fistful of fur in each hand. The panther’s fur was smooth, with just the right amount of coarseness so that Peter could keep a tight hold on it.
After Peter got situated and a little comfortable, he looked back to see what was going on. The Humvees had caught up, and were now only a few dozen feet away. The men were now firing at them, wildly. Luckily, they were not great shots.
Nikhil was hanging on with on arm behind Peter, turning around and taking aim at the vehicles with what looked like a blow gun. WHOOSH! WHOOSH! A couple of darts flew out and struck the front tires of two of the vehicles, causing them to blowout. The men screamed and jumped to the ground as the vehicles crashed into a couple of trees.
Peter was impressed. “Nice shot!” he said.
Nikhil turned to face back forwards. “Don’t celebrate yet; I’m out of darts. Kalima! Shighra!”
The panther, who Peter guessed was named Kalima, started running faster, dashing around trees. Peter looked back, and saw that the remaining Humvee was still on their tail, and it was the one with the mounted machine gun. The merc aiming the gun let of a few rounds, and the bullets spread wildly.
A couple of bullets struck Kalima in her backside, and she let out a yelp of pain with a little leap that knocked Peter off balance. He lost his grip on the fur, and began to fall off to the ground, crying out “Whooaa!!”
As he flew through the air, he felt a hand wrap around him and pull him back. He looked up at Nikhil, who gave him a quick smile. “You got to hold on a little tighter than that!”
Peter chuckled, but another burst of gunfire from behind them caused the levity to stop. He looked back at the pursuing Humvee. “How are we gonna lose those guys?” he asked.
“Don’t worry,” Nikhil responded, “I’ve got one last surprise for them. Look,” he said as he pointed forwards.
Peter leaned up and saw what Nikhil was pointing at: they were approaching a large gorge, at least two hundred feet wide, stretching out on either side into the distance. He could hear the sound of a rushing river below.
“Are--are you gonna--” Peter struggled to form the correct words; he was hoping his eyes were deceiving him.
“Yes!” Nikhil replied. “Don’t look down!”
With one powerful motion, Kalima leapt into the air, and everything seemed to go in slow motion for Peter. Majestically, they flew in a perfect arc over the gorge. Though he had his eyes closed, Peter couldn’t help but take a peak at the raging rapids five hundred feet below them.
After what seemed like an eternity, they landed on the other side, clearing the gorge by five feet. Kalima stopped and turned around, and Peter saw the Humvee screech to a stop on the other side of the river, nearly plunging down to the waters below. The men looked at them furiously, aimlessly shooting their weapons, to no avail.
Nikhil sat straight up and put his hands next to his face, sticking out his tongue as he did so. “Ha ha!” he shouted in a taunting manner. “Janma kā pāgala!”
The mercs made obscene gestures at them, but Nikhil simply laughed, and slapped Kalima on her side, signaling it was time to go.
As they moved on, Peter said, “Who were those guys? Why were they trying to kill us?”
Nikhil simply answered, “They’re the bad guys. And they weren’t trying to kill us. They were trying to capture me.”
“What?” Peter asked.
Nikhil brought his finger up to his mouth, saying, “Shhh! It’s not safe to talk here. I’ll explain when we get home. Kalima! Ghara!”
Kalima quickly but silently moved on through the jungle. For ten minutes, neither Nikhil nor Peter said anything. Finally, Kalima stopped, and Nikhil jumped off of her back. He reached out his hand for Peter to stand on, and said, “We’re here.”
Peter crawled over to Nikhil’s hand, which was large enough for him to stand on comfortably. Slowly, Nikhil lowered Peter to the ground, and Peter stepped off. He looked around him, and saw that they were at what appeared to be a village in the middle of the jungle, with several huts forty feet tall made out of mud and logs, all at the base of very large trees stretching much taller than the trees in the rest of the jungle. But what surprised Peter most about it all was that ...  | Members who added to this interactive story also contributed to these: |
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