LOVE, LIVE, DIE | A TREASURE HUNT STORY

He smiled

"Laura, Dada where are you..?" Ravi whispered to himself, he didn't want any animal or bird to hear him. With the torch in his hand, he kept moving forward.

Something hit his head, a small, hard rock. He saw Laura and Dada hiding behind a clump of bushes. Laura motioned Ravi to be quite and pointed to a place on the left of Ravi. He turned, all he could see were tall bushy trees. He made his way through it, escaped the maze of trees to see a small camp set up. A fire was burning in the middle of the camp. A tent near it. He heard a noise and saw a horse, tied on one corner of the place. Someone is obviously here.

Ravi crawled back to Laura and Dada and saw their donkeys, all tied up near them.

"We fed them and let them sleep, so they won't make noise." Laura said as she carefully saw the camp again.

"Someone is here, and I don't like it." Laura said.

"Can he be a hunter?"

"You see that flag tied up there?" Dada asked Ravi. Between the tent and the fire a flag flew steadily.

"East India Company." Ravi said as he backed up. The red white flag waved strongly in the night winds, its long shadow then disappearing inside the woods. "Its not a coincidence they happened to be hunting where we are going." Laura whispered to Ravi, "The question is what do we do now?"

"I say come back with Parth and others, then do something." Dada said.

"He may escape, looking at how he's set up his camp, he's travelling, like us or maybe for us." Laura said sounding obvious.

"We wait then." Ravi said.

"If you didn't notice we're doing that already, and thanks but it's not working." Dada said.

"You see that fire? It's going to burn off real quick now, and if he's not sleeping, which he won't be, then he'll come out." Ravi said.

"That's a good observation." Dada said to Ravi.

They were arguing and talking when as expected by Ravi, the person did come out.

They all paused whatever they were doing and saw what the man was upto. He was short in height, not too short but shorter than average soldiers height. He had a pistol wrapped in his belt and his cap on his head, it was hard seeing his figure from where they were.

He stretched his arms and legs, and then went to his horse, patted him in the back and then adjusted his pistol in his belt.

Laura whispered to both of them, "He's going away somewhere, Dada you are on the lookout while I and Ravi search the place." Being a shy person at the meeting no one expected to see Laura command like this. Dada eyed her and when Laura asked "What?" He said "Okay, go." Laura nodded and went first and before Ravi could follow, Dada held his sleeve and said, "Beware and take care, don't let your guard down."

"You suspect her?"

"Of being a Britisher? Not yet. I think she's lying, you take care. DON'T play your games."

"What are you saying?" Ravi laughed.

"What are you saying?" Dada imitated him, raising his hands and laughing, "I've seen you around girls. You go total awkward mode Ravi. She looks like she can kill you."

"I think you mean to say I have a 'charm' around wome-" Dada pushed him out of the bushes and shook his head. "What an idiot." He laughed as he ran quickly towards Laura.

The man escaped into the woods and after a second or so. Dada ran near the place the man disappeared, hiding and waiting for his return. He gave a thumbs up as Laura made her way inside the tent and Ravi searched the outside.

"Woah!" Laura said.

"Is there anything inside?" Ravi asked coming inside.

"Wow, this thing's awesome!" He said. The tent wasn't a usual sleep-in tent but full of transferrable and small weapons. Knives, arrows and bows, small grenades and binoculars.

"That guy doesn't even know that we're here stealing his stuff, while he's out there roaming around." Ravi said as he helped Laura with the bow and arrows, guns and pistols.

..

The man spied through a tree branch. He saw Rajeev sit near the fire. "Found you." He said. He smiled.