"I feel ashamed, for this fool we had to use this kind of strategy to catch him," one of the men said.
"What are they talking about? I have never heard their voices. What did I do to them? Every time they put a flashlight in my face to make me lower my guard, they attack me. I need to run from here. Because of the darkness I can't tell which way leads back," Manu thought to himself.
While Manu was thinking, someone asked, "What do you think — how should we take him to the boss?"
"Let's break a few of his bones; then we can carry him easily. Otherwise he'll make a scene," another man suggested.
Suddenly a flashlight focused on Manu's face.
"What are you doing?" one of them asked.
"Yes this is the opportunity. The person holding that flashlight hasn't moved from the start. I need to grab the torch from him so I can escape from this people trap," Manu thought.
Then Manu got on his feet, closed his eyes against the light, and ran toward it.
"No — why is he coming at me? What do I do?" the man holding the torch wondered.
Manu was a step away from grabbing the flashlight when fingers shot out from his right and someone grabbed his lower face, slamming him to the ground.
"Mhhhh… muhhhh," Manu screamed in pain, but he couldn't shout loudly because the man's hand covered his mouth.
"You fool — what are you trying to do?" the man holding Manu's face barked.
"Sorry, I turned on the flashlight by mistake," the torch-bearer stammered.
"Wait — I heard his voice somewhere," Manu thought.
Then the man switched off the flashlight.
"What happened to the other guy? Where is he?" another man asked.
"He's in the town," the torch-bearer replied.
"Yes, I remember now — he was one of the people who attacked us outside the settlement. Ravi," Manu thought.
Then Ravi switched off the flashlight .
The other person came near manu
"Okay, now I should bring him here, right?" he said angrily.
"No — I will bring him," Ravi said, voice shaking.
"If they're talking about the other person, it means it's Srini. No — I must do something. I must escape," Manu thought desperately.
He grabbed the hand that covered his mouth and tried to pull it away.
"Oh — resistance. Showing strength," the man said, then tightened his grip on Manu's mouth with full force. "Now what are you going to do?"
"Don't play with him. Break few of his bones; if you put too much pressure his jaw may break. What if he dies?" the man who was behind said warned.
"I don't know. With this much pressure I could dislocate a jaw, but I can't do it now," the man holding Manu's mouth replied.
Ravi stood there, looking at Manu and remembering the previous encounter.
"Aiii, you're still standing? Are you going now?" the man taunted.
"Yes, yes, I'm going," Ravi said, and he switched on his flashlight and started to move.
"If I don't do something now, Srini will be in danger. I feel like my lower jaw is going to crack. I need to get away from this grip," Manu thought frantically.
Suddenly Manu's heart began beating faster, as if something inside his chest was rushing at full speed. At the same time, small cracks began appearing on Manu's hands, emitting a faint green light.
Seeing the green light, the man who had pinned Manu to the ground went silent with shock. "What is this? What is happening here?" he thought.
"What are you waiting for? Break his bones, we need to hurry!" the man behind him shouted.
Then, suddenly, the man who had been pinning Manu screamed in pain.