Saurav- Jeb Lysander

The car accelerated to a very high speed. Jeb gripped the musket tightly and yelled at the top of his voice "Look out!" Captain Mortan brought the car to a halt. It was a close call. Jeb was flung out of his seat and he landed on his left arm which tore apart badly. He screamed in agony. The searing pain gripped him. His head started throbbing violently. Blood oozed from his hands. He fell senseless onto the hard ground.

Jeb woke up with a start. Probably he had been dreaming. His cellphone was vibrating beside him. 

It was the alarm. "Aaargh!" Jeb complained. He looked around and saw that he was in his tent. A soldier's tent. He realized that he had been fighting against the insurgents the previous night. They had set up an ambush for the soldiers in the middle of the forest. He slowly recollected how they had been outnumbered by the great number of insurgents and had decided to flee the spot. They were being chased by the insurgents while Jeb was firing at them to slow them down. Then abruptly his chain of thoughts came to a halt and he forgot what had happened next.   

Out of the blue, a searing pain gripped him. He fell down holding his left arm.

His left arm!

He felt his head pounding. It was hurting him very much. Jeb groaned.

But if there was an actual accident, then why was his cellphone vibrating? It was certainly not the alarm. Then what was it?

*

"He was the hero of the day" said Collet. "Whom are you talking about? Tim was the hero of the day" said Bezu. "Nay, it was Captain Mortan. He killed forty insurgents single-handedly! He was the last one to occupy a car to flee from the battle. He saved Jeb Lysander after the accident. The way he drove was brilliant." replied Collet. "But Tim was a martyr. Moreover, Mortan could have saved Tim by a little effort. I appreciate Mortan's way of fighting but I commiserrate with Tim. Poor soul, he had been a daring fighter" Bezu said.

Captain Mortan entered the room. "Good evening boys. Sorry to say that Jeb will be now unable to fight. He has received a bad wound." "Damn it! I think we are nearing our end," Collet said shocked. "Now, don't become a pessimist. Have confidence in yourself; we will win," Mortan said and strode out of the room towards Lysander's tent.

*

It was a phone call from an unknown number. Lysander picked it up. "This is Jeb Lysander," Jeb struggled to speak without giving notice of the strain in his voice. "Hello, Jeb, listen to me without interfering. Follow what I tell you to do. Don't do anything foolish.Don't tell anyone about this call. Your life is in great danger."

*

Captain Mortan walked towards Lysander's tent. He had many things in his mind which he wanted to tell to Lysander. The last night had been a terrible one. He had led his troop into the ambush. They had suffered a heavy loss. Captain Mortan was shrouded with despair.

*

"Who are you?" Lysander asked. "I am speaking from the British Intellgence and there is a very urgent message for you," the voice said.

A message from the Intelligence on a private mobile phone? Something was terribly wrong.

*

Captain Mortan was two hundred yards away from the tent when somebody called out his name. It was Bezu. He came up to him and said "There was a call from the defence department." "What was the message?" Captain Mortan eyed him.
"It's a bad news. The insurgents are moving forward very fast and they will soon overtake us." Bezu said.

"How much time do we have?" he asked.

"Less than an hour."

*

"What I am going to tell you will be shocking for you. But I am telling you this because you are the only one who can save your troop from a disaster. There has been an infiltration," Jeb was startled, "A what?"

"An infiltration," the man repeated. Jeb asked "Who is the man?"

After a deepening silence, the man spoke.When Jeb heard the name, he was awestruck.

"Captain Mortan."

*

Get the troops ready? We are leaving? Bezu thought that Mortan was out of his mind. Jeb Lysander was in no way fit to travel. They couldn't leave him behind. Help would arrive only after two days. That was too long. They had only an hour. Bezu thought that the most probable step at this stage would be to get ready to fight the battle. He had even planned an ambush. But it all drained away when Mortan asked him to get the troops ready and get him his gun so that they could start off immediately.

Bezu took the musket and ran to Mortan thinking of suggesting him the plan of an ambush before getting the troops ready.

Captain Mortan was on the phone. "Whose call was it?" Bezu asked when Mortan hung up. "My wife's." Bezu sensed that Mortan was lying.

"What do you say of an ambush?" Bezu asked as he handed him the gun.

"Get the troops ready. My command is that we are going. That's a command!" Captain Mortan said.

*

"What are you saying?"

"Captain Mortan joined the troop recently and reached the highest rank in a matter of a few months. Only a trained person can do that. His early life says that he has received no training under the British government. Then where did he get trained? Among the insurgents. The attack was a pre-planned one and Mortan knew about it. Yet, Mortan took his troop through that route. It only reveals that he is infiltrated. Another instance, he ran away from the battle spot in the last car and yet he got far ahead of the attackers. It reveals that the attackers were made to travel slowly so that Mortan could get away. He performed an incredulous spectacle by killing forty insurgents single-handedly. It is not so big a feat if your opponents are actually favoring you. Tim was put into useless danger. Such an audacious fighter got killed due to Captain Mortan. The last example is a true one which you have gone through. He tried to take your life and he almost succeeded."

Lysander's mused. "What do you want me to do?"

"Well, I advise you to call Mortan to your tent and shoot him."

*

Mortan moved briskly towards Lysander's tent. He did not want everybody to know that Lysander was dying. That was why he had lied to Bezu about the call. Lysander had called him and said "Mortan, I am feeling that my end is coming. Come quick! I have urgent news from the intelligence. But tell no one about it."

"What is it? Wait! I am coming. Here comes Bezu. Hold on!" Then he hung up.

When he reached Lysander's tent, he saw that Lysander was lying wide awake.

He stepped in. "Are you okay?" "I am glad that you have come. Listen... The insurgents are coming in ten minutes! They have found our trail. They are moving fast. Get ready quickly! Fight to your deathbeds!"

*

Bezu felt that Mortan was doing the wrong thing. He suspected Mortan. He acted as if he was walking away but as soon as Mortan walked briskly towards Lysander's tent, Bezu began following him. But Mortan was very fast. Bezu had not even reached the tent when Mortan stepped inside. Bezu stopped short and reconsidered his move. He was utterly terrified.

It was the first time that Bezu had witnessed Mortan speaking a blatant lie. He would soon find out.

*

Suddenly, Jeb reached out for his musket and shot twice.

Mortan staggered and fell back, clutching his chest. "No... Lysander... it can't be!" he said breathless.

His body turned rigid and he died in an instant.

It was a true aim.

*

Bezu jumped. He was sure he heard a gunshot. Had Mortan killed Lysander to get rid of a burden? Bezu hesitated in approaching the tent for he had begun fearing Mortan.

At last, he took out his gun and stepped forward.

*

Lysander jumped from his bed and struggled to move the corpse aside. He froze when somebody yelled "Stop!" It was Bezu.

"It was Mortan who came towards me with a dagger! Thank God that I kept a musket nearby," Lysander said.

"What proof do you have?"

"Can't you see? It is all vivid. Mortan led us into the ambush, killed Tim, tried an assault on me and then seeing that I had not died, he tried once more, though he was unsuccessfull."

"So you killed him?"

"I had no other choice. I have been informed that an attack is probable within the next ten minutes! We have to get ready for it! We don't have time!"

"I will take care of you later," said Bezu.

*

The caller smiled. The attack had now become a lot easier. With the dangrous rival gone, they could easily overthrow them. Jeb Lysander was really a fool.

British intelligence? What a tactic!

The radio transmitter began blinking. "Lysander has been killed. He was very ferocious. It cost us twenty men. He was acting like a wounded tiger," said the voice. The man smiled. It doesn't matter how many lives are lost. The only thing that matters is that Lysander is dead and we are nearing a revolution.

"Well done. Get the boys back. The country will now weep and we will rejoice," he said contemptuously. "But there is more," the voice hesitated.

The man’s eyes narrowed. What more can there be?

"I wanted to ask how many soldiers were there when you counted. I thought that you had said thirty-five," the voice said. "Yes, there were thrity-five counting Mortan," said the man. "But we have found only thirty-three corpses. Counting Mortan, it becomes thirty-four. This means that..."

Our hideout has been revealed.

The radio fell from his hand.

The man stared, eyes wide open. "Run for your lives."

*

Ten days later, Bezu led the army into the forest. He smiled with a scorn.

 Vengeance is sweet.