Page 124 - Love Story of a Commando

instructions in Urdu. The teens fanatically started looking around and
suddenly one of them bent down to look at the bushes.
Then, right then, the commandos, including Virat, opened fire,
spraying the militants with bullets, shredding their bodies and sending blood
and bone flying everywhere. They did not even have a chance to use their
Kalashnikovs. The protesting whimpers in my mouth emerged as a scream
when a shredded hand fell near me. And then silence engulfed the scene of
carnage, the hiss from the rifles giving way once again to the sounds of the
jungle and the wind blowing across it. I was sobbing hard now and at one
point, running away crossed my mind, except, I could not, in my transfixed
state.
The pool of blood, bones, tissues, disintegrated body parts, eyes
bulging out of their eye sockets or the disintegrated bodies did not make any
impact on the commandos, they did not even flinch. They waited for a few
more minutes and then came out of their position only to poke around the
dead bodies with their rifles, also checking their wallets, mobile phones from
bloodied pockets, while the others reloaded their rifles.
It was a brutal and disgusting sight.
Even if they were enemies, how could they disrespect the dead? Was
this what one meant when they said—‘everything is fair in love and war’?
But who defined these primal rules and can we really judge the ethics of
fighters or armies?
Especially when the instincts to survive overpower the morals of
conscience?
Virat bent down and offered me his hand, but I was too disoriented
by the sudden turn of events and could not muster any courage to take his
hand. The bushes suddenly felt like a safe haven.
Hell was right before my eyes.
I closed my eyes to escape the horrible sights and felt him pulling me
out. I somehow cooperated with him before I puked. All of them turned
towards me and Virat. I was shivering and burning. Virat, suddenly
conscious of the other men’s presence, strode towards me and hugged me.
My eyes were closed but I could sense the smirks and muffled laughs. I
pushed him away, wiped my tears and said slowly, ‘I am okay.’
Instinctively he shot the others a stern look. He intensified his gaze,
raised his eyebrows, and a wild grin broke upon his face. They all had a
collective laugh while a trace of a smile played on my lips.
‘Okay! I get it but don’t forget we are still behind enemy lines and
we should leave this area as soon as possible. Connect me to the
headquarters now,’ Virat said.
Vaibhav brought out a mobile phone from one of his many pockets
and Virat said, ‘No! No mobile phones! Destroy the chips and keep it back