Chapter 4: The Invaders

  Time has passed, and everyone in the forest was living peacefully. Deer, Monkey, Elephant, peacock, sparrow, ducks, swan, fish, lion, leopard, wolves, and all the animals and birds are co-living with each other, creating a balance in the forest.

  The season of winter is about to come to an end. Winter was very cold this time, which of course made life a little difficult for the animals and birds in the forest. But they all still manage to survive in this. Their survival instinct helped them survive this time. In the winter, the animals conserve energy by not going on long migrations or wandering. Some animals grow hair on their skin that serves as a coat, helping them stay warm in cold weather. Most animals find food and shelter, and don’t travel much for energy conservation. Animals often find shelters where the winter cold doesn’t reach easily, like bushes and areas surrounded by big trees, which stop the cold winter breeze. All the animals and birds enjoy the light and warmth of the sun in the winter season, as they all sit and conserve their energy in an open area where they get the warmth of the sun.

  Reptiles and cold-blooded animals, like snakes, turtles, crocodiles, and lizards, also become less active and bask in the sun to raise their body temperature. These animals find shelters in burrows; crocodiles often stay out of the water in the muddy area to avoid the cold water.

  Winter season is the season when the forest observes guests, yes, guests. In the winter season, when thousands of birds travel from Siberia, Europe, Central Asia and colder regions to this forest to escape harsh northern winters, and find shelter for winter here. Birds like Greater Flamingo, Greylag Goose, Northern Pintail, Pochards & Ferruginous Duck, Brown-headed Gull, Bar-headed Geese, Red-breasted Goose, Rosy Starling (Rosy Pastor), and some Eagles and Kites, come to this forest to find shelter and survive in the winter. Forest always welcomes them and gives them shelter in its nature.

  But this winter, not just birds came; this winter came a danger too. Far, in a remote place in the forest, there are lots of humans who have come and built their camp there. They were cutting some trees to make a camp there. 30-40 people were working, building camps, and putting all their equipment. They have rifles, revolvers, daggers and other weapons. It’s not a good idea for any animal to go near their camps.

  “Where do I put these cages?” said one of the men, from inside the Jeep.

  “Put them behind that camp,” said another man, pointing to a specific tent.

  The camp was bustling with activity and the twittering of the people. From their faces, weapons, and cages, one could easily say that they were here for a hunt. Hunters are not new to the forest; in past, there have been many hunters who have come to the forest for hunting. But, never in the past have forests seen this many hunters coming to the forest.

  “Has the boss arrived?” said Bablu, one of the men assembling the tent.

  “No, not yet,” said Dablu, another worker.

  “The boss usually comes first. Why is he late this time?” said Bablu.

  “I heard the truck got punctured, so the boss stayed there with the truck and will come with the truck,” said Dablu.

  “This time, there are many people,” said Dablu.

  “Yes, the boss is planning something bigger this time,” said Bablu.

  “Hey, you two, stop talking and work fast, we don’t have all day,” the man shouted from behind at the two men who were talking. He had a big whip in his hand and a rifle on his left shoulder.

  A big truck came and stopped beside where the camp starts. Behind the truck, there comes the Jeep of the boss. It was different from the other Jeeps in the camp; it was more expensive and more robust. 5 men were sitting in the back, all having guns. These men were big, strong, and had a dangerous look in their faces.

  In front, there was a driver and The Boss. The boss was more dangerous than the 5 people sitting behind. The boss has a few scars on his face and a big scar starting from his left eyebrow through his nose to his right cheek. He was very strong and quick-tempered. He was wearing a wristband that had a golden gun shining through the sun’s rays on the left side and a big dagger on the right side. There was another dagger on his right leg. He came out of the Jeep and walked to inspect the camp.

  “Boss, everything is going good,” said the man who was holding a hunter and a rifle on his left shoulder. He was in charge of the camp work and the right-hand of the boss.

  “Good, Jamaal, I would never doubt your work,” said the boss, smiling and putting his hand on Jamaal’s shoulder, “Jamaal, this hunt will be our biggest till now. Are you excited for this massive job?” the boss continued, with a menacing smile on his face, with both hands on Jamaal’s shoulders.

  “Yes, boss, this time the forest will tremble just by your name,” said Jamaal, with a menacing grin.

  “Good, Jamaal, put all my things in my tent, check the forest thoroughly, put traps and… get something tasty from the forest for tonight’s feast, got it,” said the boss.

  “Yes, boss, I’ll do it just now,” said Jamaal.

  “Good, Jamaal, I will leave everything on you. I am going to my tent and take some rest,” said the boss.

  “Yes, boss,” said Jamaal.

  The boss went into his tent, which was bigger than all the other tents. Inside the tent, there was a big table and a board, with a bed and a small cupboard. One of the boss’s servants put a big box on the table, and other boxes in the corner of the tent. Then the boss put his gun and daggers on the table near his bed, and he took a nap.

  Jamaal sent a few of the hunters into the forest to set the traps and to hunt. The forest was in big danger this time. This time, it wasn’t any one person who came for hunting, it was a full army of hunters. They had rifles, snipers, traps, daggers, and big cages. There were literally trucks full of cages. There were already 40 people in the camp, and more were still coming.

  “The big hunt is tomorrow, right?” asked Dablu.

  “Yes,” Bablu answered.

  “Isn’t it too early? We just arrived today, and tomorrow night we will start the big hunt,” said Dablu.

  “Yes, we arrived today, but the boss has sent a few of his hunters into the forest more than a month ago, for inspection and understanding the animals’ territories,” replied Bablu.

  “Oh, ok, so all the boss has already done the preparation, and we just have to hunt,” said Dablu.

  “Yes, I have heard the boss has been a hunter since childhood. He alone hunted down a lion with just a dagger. You saw the scars on the boss's face. It was from that day, the boss was only 19 at that time,” said Bablu.

  “Really, the boss is really strong and dangerous,” said Dablu.

  As these two workers were talking, a spank sound of the whip from behind, and a man shouted at them.

  “Hey, you two, how many times do I have to tell you to stop talking and start working?” shouted Jamaal.

  “Hey, sir,” said both with attention.

  The hunters were preparing for something very big; on the other hand, the animals of the forest have no idea what is going to happen to them. Everyone was living their lives as usual, unaware of the massive danger that was about to come at them.

  “Sister, let me play with you too,” shouted Neel, running to the river, where Prakruti and other fawns were playing.

  “Neel, we were waiting for you,” shouted Prakruti with excitement at seeing her brother, “come here, today we will teach you to swim”

  “Yes, I really want to learn to swim like you, Sister. You swim so fast,” said Neel, running around Prakruti with excitement.

  “Let’s go, Neel,” said Prakruti as they were going into the river, “Swimming is really easy, you just have to push the water behind with your legs. Move your legs just as you were running,”

  “Yes, sister,” said Neel, floating in the river, and following the step Prakruti said.

  Deer naturally have a dense, water-repellent coat, which helps them to float in the water. They have strong legs, with which they can swim. Fawns observe their mother and other deer when they swim and learn from them.

  “Yes, Neel, you are doing well,” said Prakruti, watching her little brother learnt to swim.

  At first, Neel has a problem with pushing the water and swimming in the desired direction, but with the help of her sister and his strong legs, he learns to swim.

  “Sister, I am swimming,” shouts Neel, with excitement, now that he has learned to swim.

  “Yes, Neel,” Prakruti shouted back.

  They were all enjoying swimming and playing in the river. There were no crocodiles in that part of the river.

  “Water was very cold,” said Neel, “but I enjoyed playing in it so much”.

  “Yes, me too, Neel,” said Prakruti, as they all shook their body to get dry, “I am hungry now, let’s go for grazing”

  “Yes, I want to eat too,” said Neel, and they all went to the field for grazing, where Purnima and the other deer were.

  “Mother, we are back,” shouted Neel and Prakruti, running to their mother.

  “Good, did you enjoy playing in the water?” asked Purnima with a smile.

  “Yes, mother, today I learnt to swim too. It was so good,” said Neel, with excitement.

  “You both must be hungry now,” said Purnima.

  “Yes, mother,” said both Prakruti and Neel together.

  Then they both started to eat the grass of the field. There were many bushes and trees that had different vegetation and fruits which they could eat. A little far from the field where the deer were grazing, there were also wild buffalo.

  “Hey, have you heard about the crowd of humans which has come to the forest?” said one of the bulls.

  “Yes, I did. I heard monkeys and birds talking about them,” replied another bull, while munching grass.

  “I heard that more than 50 humans came, and they cut the tree and made their tents there,” said the first bull.

  “Who knows why so many humans came. Will they cut the tree and make their village there?” said the second bull.

  “If they keep cutting the forest and making their villages in the forest, where will we go then? We won’t have home then,” said the first bull with concern.

  “Yes, you are right, they are always cutting the trees and using the resources of the forest as they want. They don’t think about other animals and birds. If they keep doing that, we won’t have a place to live,” said the second bull, with anger.

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  “Yes, as if the threat from the lions and leopards wasn't enough, now these humans have also arrived to cut down our forest,” said the first bull.

  “Don’t take the name of the lion. Let us at least eat grass, what if a lion really comes?” said the second bull with fear.

  “What if lion really comes,” said the first bull, with a very lame voice, “you are so coward,” making fun of the second bull, “If lion really comes, I will throw him away with my horns. He is fake king. I can easily beat him and he will cry back to his mother, with wounds of my horn,” said the first bull, boasting his strength, while showing his horns to the other bull.

  As they were talking, someone said from behind, “Really, huh? Can you beat the king of the forest very easily?”

  “Yes, of course, don’t make me say the truth. He is a fake king. He is a coward; if he is really that strong, come and fight with me. Then I will show him who is the real king,” said the first bull, replying to the voice from behind. “But who are you? Why are you hiding in the grass?” said the first bull.

  As the first bull asked that question and went to see who was there, the lion jumped from the grass and captured the first bull by the neck. Yes, it was the lion who asked the question; he was hiding in the grass near where the bulls were talking and was listening to the first bull’s talk. Just as the lion attacked the bull, all the other buffalo and bulls became alert and ran for their life. Before some of them could understand what happened, other lionesses attacked them too. There were four lionesses and the king of the forest, Vanraj. The calming field was filled with chaos. Now, everyone was running for their lives.

  “So, you think the king of the forest is a coward, huh?” said the king of the forest, Vanraj. He left the bull and was walking slowly around it.

  “No, I didn’t say that... I… am…, I...” Bull tried to say something, but he was now so scared, because he was faced with the king of the forest, “Please, king, let me go. I didn’t do anything. You are the strongest, king,” said bull, shivering and asking for mercy from the king.

  He wanted to run away when the king left his neck, but was surrounded by lionesses.

  “You said that I am a coward, and I am a fake king. If I try to fight with you, you will throw me with your horns, huh?” said Vanraj with a sarcastic and dangerous laugh.

  “And, he also said that if the king fights with him. He will make the king cry back to his mother, with his horn wounds,” said one of the lionesses, while laughing.

  All the lionesses and the king laughed with sarcasm; their laugh was dangerous. The bull was now in big trouble; there is no escape for him now.

  “Let’s see who is the strongest,” said Vanraj, stopped in front of the bull, “Let’s fight, if you could really beat me. I will accept that you are the king of the forest, and if you can’t…, then you already know what will happen to you,” said Vanraj, looking at the eyes of the bull, with anger.

  “Please, let me go. I would never say this again. I made a mistake, King. Please, let me live,” pleaded the bull to the king. His body was shivering with fear; he could see death in front of him.

  “Why do you want to leave, my friend? I want to play with you. You know, no one is playing with me. I feel so bored and lonely,” said Vanraj, with fake emotions, “Please fight with me. I want to see if I am still strong, or time has rusted me.”

  “No, please, let me go,” said Bull, continuing to request his life.

  “Stop, crying like a baby, you stupid bull. Fight with me or see these lionesses, they are very hungry, they will tear your skin one by one, and make you suffer till you are dead,” said Vanraj with anger.

  The bull assembled all his strength, tried to stand up and decided to fight with the king.

  “Yes, this is what I am talking about. Come on, let’s make this epic,” said Vanraj with excitement.

  The bull runs to the king with all its strength and tries to nudge the king. But the king jumped out of the way.

  “Wow, I am impressed you seem really strong,” said Vanraj with excitement, “come to me with all your strength.”

  The bull tried again, collecting all his strength and again came up with his full strength. Vanraj kept defending from the attack. This battle was getting dangerous now as the bull was understanding the moves of Vanraj and turning quickly as Vanraj jumped out of his way. The bull kept attacking Vanraj with its horns, but he was not able to give a successful blow to Vanraj.

  “Impressive, you are attacking with such intensity. I am really impressed with you,” said Vanraj, praising the efforts of the bull, as the bull and Vanraj stop for a moment to catch a breath. “What is your name, bull?” asked Vanraj.

  “My name… My name is… Bheem,” said the Bull, he was out of breath, and he saw no way of escaping from this danger.

  “Bheem, very great name. That name really suits you,” said Vanraj, praising Bheem.

  Vanraj, the king of the forest, was a true king. He was very strong. He has fought many lions who came for his crown and defeated all of them. The scars on his body were proof of his victories and the pride of his strength. He never underestimates his opponent. He admires all the good things of his opponents. He was so feared by other lions and animals that no other lions would dare to come to his territory or attack his pride.

  “Come on, Bheem. Let’s end this,” said Vanraj. He gets into attack position now. He went two steps back, put his head down to his legs, and put all his strength on his hind legs to jump with full intensity.

  This time, Bheem accumulated all his strength. He used all his anger and frustration as strength. He stands on his hind legs and stamps the ground with his forelegs with such intensity that it leaves his leg marks on the ground, and he paws the ground, kicking the dirt and dust behind him. Shaking his head with anger, he exhaled and inhaled so fast and with anger, and got ready for his final and most dangerous blow.

  The situation was more intense and dangerous now. On one side, there is the king of the forest, who is ready to attack, and on the other side, there is one of the strongest animals of the forest, which is heavier than the lion, and he’s very angry. The battle was turning so dangerous that lionesses around them were also a little scared now; if they were in this situation with Bheem, they would already be fatally lost to Bheem. Other buffalo and bulls were watching this death match from a little far, not sure who would survive from this deadly battle.

  Vanraj was also getting angry and was in attack mode. There is no going back for any of them. This is a battle of life or death.

  Bheem came with all his strength, and Vanraj was ready too. Bheem’s speed was so fast that dust was thrown back with the stamp of his legs. He came to Vanraj with full intensity, just as Bheem came closer to Vanraj. Vanraj jumped at Bheem and attacked Bheem’s neck. Bheem groans with pain, but he didn’t stop. He fought back. Bheem was jumping front and back with all his power to throw down Vanraj. Vanraj was struggling on Bheem’s back and finally fell on the ground, but Vanraj didn’t stop. He started to attack Bheem with his claws and fangs. They were moving with such intensity that they created a dust storm around them. It was hard to see for the audience, who were watching their death match, because of the dust.

  After a few moments of this dangerous brawl, the dust storm slowed down and cleared the view for the audience to see what had happened. Both were worn out now. They were a few feet apart from each other. They took deep breaths to recover from their fight. They were groaning and panting. They both want this to end now.

  “You are really strong, Bheem. I didn’t fight someone as strong as you in years,” said Vanraj, panting because of the fight.

  Bheem said nothing; he just wanted to end this as soon as possible. He wants to go back to his herd and take a rest.

  Little far from the battlefield, deer were also watching this dangerous fight, anticipating who would win. Just like every other animal and bird watching the fight.

  “Mother, I am really scared,” said Neel, crawling back to his mother.

  “Don’t worry, Neel. Don’t be scared. Let’s go now,” said Purnima, pulling back Neel with her head to bring Neel close to make him feel safe, “let’s go now, it is not safe anymore here.”

  Just as they were about to run from there. Vanraj roared with all his power, which made everyone there shiver for a moment with fear, including Bheem. Just as Vanraj was going to end the battle with his final attack, Neel saw something moving on the tree a little way from where the Deer were grazing. At first, he thought it might be monkeys, but then, as he took a close look at them, he saw a man pointing his gun at Purnima.

  Neel got stunned for a moment. His body feels heavy. His legs feel tight. His eyes got wide open, and his heart started beating faster. His breathing became fast and hollow. Words stuck in his mouth. His vision was swinging between her mother and the hunter. A drop of sweat fell from his head, and there was fear in his eyes. Neel tried to react, but his body was stuck; his body felt heavy.

  “No… No… I have to do something. My legs are not moving. My body feels heavy. It feels like I don’t have power at all. No… No… I have to do something. I have… I have to… I have to save my mother.” Neel thought.

  Neel gathered all his power; he tried to control his breath. He prepares himself for the jump. He put all his power in his legs, and just when the man was about to shoot, Neel pushed Purnima out of the hunter's target.

  The man shot, but he missed it, and just as the sound of the gun came. Everyone got frozen for a moment, and the very next moment started to run. After the first gunshot, a series of shots started to fire from the trees.

  Purnima stumbled because of Neel’s push and the sound of a gunshot; he tried to contemplate what had happened. Purnima’s heart started beating faster, and her breath became shallow. She saw a stampede of animals. Everyone is running in fear. To save their lives.

  “Mother… Run… There are hunters in the forest,” Neel shouted. Neel helped Purnima to stand up, and they started running.

  Everyone started to run, and there was a stampede in the forest. Many succeeded in running, but some of them got shot and fell. Some stumbled on the ground and got stamped by others. Just as the chaos was not enough, a Jeep came out of the forest with hunters on it, shooting everyone they saw. Bheem saw the best moment to run from this battle as Vanraj’s focus was shifted from Bheem for a moment.

  “Don’t think, our battle is over, Bheem. I will defeat you later,” Vanraj roared with anger at Bheem, and Vanraj ran from there too with his lionesses.

  The hunters keep firing at the animals, which are running to catch as much as they can. But after some time, most of the animals were able to run, and some unlucky ones got shot or trampled because of a stampede. Hunters came to get the bodies of the animals they shot and chose which were in good condition.

  “We got enough hunts for everyone,” said one of the hunters, looking at others.

  “Yes, but I wanted that deer. She was under my target. It was so beautiful, but then suddenly that fawn pushed her out of my range,” said another hunter.

  “It’s okay, brother, you will catch her next time. Let’s focus on what we have now, and we had a very nice hunt today. Put everything in the Jeep and let’s get back to the camp,” said the hunter, and they put the things they needed in the Jeep and got back to camp.

  All the deer were getting back to the holy tree. They were in fear, but now they are relieved cause they are safe now. Herd didn’t face much loss of their loved ones this time. Only a few deer were hunted. The herd got lucky this time. Shabar, the leader of the herd, was checking on his herd. Shabar, with other deer, was helping the ones who got hurt in the stampede. Purnima and her family were also safe now.

  “Mother… I am so scared,” said Neel, hugging her mother. His body was shivering.

  “It’s ok, my child. Don’t be scared, you saved my life, Neel, if you weren’t there. I would have already been dead,” said Purnima, licking and hugging Neel with affection, “your presence of mind saved me. If you haven’t seen the hunter or haven’t pushed me, I would have been shot,” Purnima continued.

  “I was so scared, Mother. If I had acted a little faster, I would have alerted everyone, and everyone would have run from there safely. I am such a coward,” tears started to come out of Neel’s eyes, and he was feeling sad.

  “No… my child. You are not a coward. You are brave,” said Purnima.

  “No, mother, when I saw the hunter. I was stuck. My body felt heavy. I felt like my legs were stuck in mud. I was not able to move. My heart beat increased. I was so scared, mother,” said Neel, crying, and feeling like a coward.

  “Neel, my child. Even after you felt stuck and scared, you still tried to calm yourself and acted fast. If you hadn’t done that, I would have been shot. To be brave doesn’t mean that you never feel scared. Bravery means even if you are scared or feel weak, you still fight. You still try to save yourself and save the lives of your loved ones. Bravery doesn’t mean that you never get scared; bravery means getting scared, but still facing your fear and defeating it,” said Purnima.

  “You are brave, my child. Don’t let these fears surround you. Believe in yourself,” said Shashi. He looked at Neel with pride.

  “Thank you, mother, father,” Neel showed gratitude towards his mother and his father.

  They all prayed to Mother Forest and thanked her for saving their lives. It was already dark now, so they all went to their safe place and tried to get rest and sleep. When the animals of the forest were praying and taking rest, on the other side, the group of hunters were celebrating their first hunt in this forest with a feast. They were dancing, drinking and enjoying the night.

  “Today’s hunt was good. We had such a wide variety of food,” said Bablu.

  “Yes, brother. If this continues like this, we have a party every day and every night,” said Dablu, laughing and drinking.

  “Where is the boss? We are enjoying the night, but the boss hasn’t come yet,” said Bablu.

  Just as he said that, the boss came out of his tent.

  “See, the boss has a very long life. Just as we remembered him, he came,” said Dablu, laughing and enjoying the drink.

  The boss took the big glass of drink and climbed onto one of the boxes there and took a big sip of the drink. And after a few seconds, he drank all the alcohol in the glass and threw it on the ground, and shouted with enjoyment.

  “Ahhhh…. Well done, my hunter. You made me happy,” the boss shouted with excitement, showing his power and joy after the successful first hunt. He jumped down from the box and started to walk in the middle of the hunters.

  “We all gathered here for a big purpose. This forest is ours. Everything here belongs to us. We are the gods of the forest,” the boss was giving a powerful speech to his shoulders, looking at every one of his hunters.

  “We all were left stranded by society. They said we are useless. They said we don’t belong to their society. But the truth is, they are the ones who don’t belong with us. The society, the law, and the powerful have always used us. They always suck our souls until we become dead. But we won’t let that happen now. Cause now we are out of their reach. We are here in the Forest. In here, there is no law, there is no society, and only we are the powerful here. We create the rules here, and we can break the rules whenever we want. So, my shoulders, are you ready for the revolution? Are you ready to be the master of your own faith?” The boss gave the most heart-pumping speech to direct their anger, frustration, and loneliness to a bigger purpose that serves the boss.

  “Yes…. Boss…,” everyone shouted with all their power; they directed their anger and excitement to fulfil their hunt.

  “I didn’t hear you. Do you want to be the master of your faith? Do you want to be free?” shouted the boss.

  “Yes…. Boss….,” this time they shouted even louder and full of excitement.

  “Great, my shoulders. Enjoy this night. Tomorrow is a very big day for us. Tomorrow night, we will be doing the biggest hunt of our lives. Which will make me very rich and powerful, and I will be the God of the forest,” the boss shouted, with anger and dangerous desire for power in his eyes.

  Everyone got back to their party and started to drink more; they were dancing and enjoying the party. Tomorrow is a very big day for them; they are going to do the biggest hunt of their lives. Night was getting darker and darker every moment. But there is a saying that, “the darkest hour is just before the dawn”, night cannot stay forever. Cause, however dark the night is, the sun will definitely shine and will fill everything with its light and warmth. The hunter enjoyed the party all night. But just like the saying, the sun rose and filled the forest with light and warmth.