Coming out of the building, they all ran across the street, before stopping to see where they were being held.
"For an empty building, this doesn't really look run down," Ahana commented. She was expecting a falling apart building or at least something that was situated far from civilization. But they were captured here, a nice enough building in the middle of a residential area and with lots of shops surrounding it.
"Doesn't matter where we were held. Let's ask around for a phone first. I will contact Ravi and ask him to come and get us," Sameera said.
"Yeah, but for him to come here, we need to know where we are," Gyaan muttered.
"Hey! Look at the building. It is a laboratory, but has the same name as the hospital," Neer pointed out.
"Oh yes!" Ahana exclaimed happily, before a frown came over her face, "but this doesn't look like the same street, and the hospital is also nowhere to be seen."
"But it has to be nearby. They have the same name, so it is a part of the hospital for sure. Moreover, for transporting five of us from hospital to here stealthily, it is possible that they chose a place near the hospital," Gyaan said thoughtfully, as he looked over the entire street.
"Let me go and confirm," he said, before waking over to a group of teenagers who were standing nearby.
"Wait," Sameera stopped him, before focussing her powers on him.
"What are you doing?" Gyaan asked, baffled as air picked around him.
"Smells travel through air. So I am trying to divert the air particles, otherwise the teenagers would die from the stinky smell," she answered.
"Thanks," Gyaan said with a frown on his face. Although he was grateful for help, no one liked being called stinky on their face.
"Go now," Ahana muttered with a wave of her hands.
Gyaan huffed but turned to move. The street was more or less empty as it was afternoon time. It was just those teenagers standing there, talking about random things.
Gyaan approached them with a smile. But his smile was received with horror. One look at his face, they all ran away screaming.
Gyaan looked back at the elements bewildered, mouthing what just happened.
"Weren't we portrayed as heroes in the news? Why would they run off as if I was going to harm them?" Gyaan asked, coming back to the elements.
"Doesn't matter if we are heroes or villains. Powers are intimidating," Ahana answered.
"Anyways, I think it's best that we don't show our faces to other people. They might shoot our video and we might get captured again," Neer said.
"True," Gyaan agreed, "sorry I didn't think of it before."
"It's okay, bhaiya. Just because you are smart, it doesn't mean that you have to be at your best each and every time," Avan comforted him in his cute voice.
Gyaan smiled and ruffled Avan's hair. before trying to think of a solution.
"I have an idea," Sameera said, before covering her face with the drape of her saree.
She saw two men walking near the building they came out of. Not wanting to waste the chance, she crossed the street as fast as she could.
"Excuse me, sir. Sorry to disturb you, but can you help me find this address please?" Sameera said in a pleading voice.
"Yeah sure," one of them said, while the other nodded in response.
"I was told that there was a hospital nearby. I saw the hospital's laboratory but couldn't find the hospital at all. Please help me, I need to urgently see a doctor," Sameera requested, faking a pained voice.
"Oh, that hospital. That is on the other street. It will take at least 15-20 minutes for you to reach there," the second man informed.
'15-20 minutes? Then it was a long route. How come no one noticed us being taken away then? At least one person could have seen something unusual happening,' Sameera thought to herself.
"It's your bad luck actually," the first man said, earning Sameera's attention.
"If it was one week ago, you would have reached the hospital in one minute itself. But now you will have to travel so much in pain," he said, pitying the woman.
"One minute?" Sameera asked.
"Yes, there is a short cut from the laboratory. The main gates of the laboratory and hospital are on two different streets, but the back side is joint.
"There's a narrow passage that directly takes you to the hospital. Unfortunately the laboratory has been closed since last week. So you will have to take the long route," he informed.
"Do you want us to call you a cab?" The other man asked, feeling bad for the woman. 'Someone must have given her the address with the short cut in mind, but now she had to suffer more because of the long route,' he thought.
"No, it's okay. I will find it myself. Thank you so much for your help," Sameera said with gratitude.
She waited for the men to leave, before going and informing the elements about the news.
"Just one minute. That was what it took to capture us," Ahana muttered, as her fingers curled into a fist.
"The laboratory was closed just so that no one could find what was happening to us," Gyaan said, understanding why that building was so empty.
"We should hurry and find a phone," he said, noticing the time. "The dogs would be out anytime soon and then it wouldn't take much time for the doctors and staff to know that we have got away.
"Before that, we need some masks to hide our identity," Ahana said, before asking if anyone had money.
"They took the wallets out," Gyaan said, patting his empty pockets.
It went the same for Neer. The bigger pockets that once held his mobile and wallet were empty.
"Wait let me check," Neer said, moving weirdly as he criss-crossed his fingers to find something in the small, almost invisible pocket of his jeans.
"Tadaa!" He shouted in joy as he waved a washed out five hundred rupee note.
"Wow Bhaiya!" Avan's wide, sparkling eyes looked at him with wonder, as he asked, "Do you also have the power to make money?"
"No, he has the power to keep the money and forget about it for weeks," Ahana replied instead.
"Don't taunt me. We would have been penniless if not for my bad habit," Neer grumbled.
"Sameera, go and bring some masks for us," Neer said, handling her the money as she was the only one who could hide her identity right now.
"Benefits of an Indian outfit," Ahana muttered, glaring at her top and jeans which were of no use.
"Anyways," Ahana said, coming out of her problem with the outfit, "Sameera, make sure to go buy masks from the shop that has male employees."
"Huh!" Everyone else was confused by her sudden advice.
"To lower the risk, idiots," Ahana muttered, with a roll of her eyes as she explained, "Any other woman might lift Sameera's ghunghat (face covering) if she feels suspicious of her—"
"But a man would be beaten up by the nearby people, if even thinks about it," Gyaan finished, nodding at Ahana appreciatively.
YOU ARE READING
Nature in Hiding
FantasyBook Two of Nature's Series. (Sequel to Nature's Comeback) The glass was cracked yet it was still surviving. But Now it was Shattered!! Elements were already scarred from their past. It had taken a lot of courage and hope for them to become close w...
