fabric. He felt immovable, but somehow strained and looked around. Veronica, where was she? Was she safe? Her safe being concerned him and he tried to get up. On the other side of the tent he saw a translucent cloth tied from end to end. Behind it stood Veronica, changing her dress. Jack immediately withdrew and turned around, but his body felt too powerful. His jerk, which normally would have turned him by a quarter, now made him fall from the cot. The wooden cot too banged on the other side and split into pieces. “Oh! Jack you are alright. I was so worried about you,” Veronica came running to him and kissed him passionately. She hadn’t dressed herself completely. Jack removed his bandages and held Veronica in a firm grip. He looked into her eyes and said, “Veronica, I love you. I love you.” They then embraced each other and made love. The kisses fell on all the places that Jack could find on her. The night engulfed the fiery passion of them both.
Chapter 4 The first rays of sun hit Jack’s forehead. He frowned and got up. “Ah!” he couldn’t open his eyes. An excruciating pain blinded him. He tried to feel himself and got below the cot, “Veronica I can’t see anything.” He heard her footsteps come towards him. She smelt ecstatic. For a moment that nearness and warmth of Veronica made him forget the pain. . “Here put these on.” She thrusted an object into his hand. It looked like a helmet. “What is this?” Before she could reply, he heard a thundering of heavy foot steps come their way. Jack got up and put on the helmet. Now he could see clearly. The SWAT team had found them. “Officers I think you have some misinformation. We are students of the college and after the explosion we just came here for safety. Has the explosion been curtailed. Have you found out why it happened?” A rough cut seven feet muscular man stepped forward, his gun pointing Veronica’s way, “Why don’t you ask her. But do it soon because I am going to kill her now.” Jack saw at that instant that Veronica too was wearing a helmet kind of armor. “You die today Phoenix,” the muscular man said and shot. With him all other soldiers fired shots at Veronica. “No!” screamed Jack and for the third time today dived in between the bullets and Veronica. The hum of the firing machine guns ringed in his ear. He heard the bullets tearing his flesh and entering him. Each of the round of five hundred bullets got lodged inside his flesh. The blood was flowing like a water fall. The soldiers were reloading now. He felt faint. In that he heard the soldiers murmur, “HE IS ALSO ONE OF THEM.” Jack frowned and turned his neck. What were they saying? And why wasn’t he dead yet. Was he dreaming. That could be the only explanation. Then he saw it. He had been standing about ten feet away from Veronica. And he had gotten between her and the bullets before the bullets had hit her. Not even one had passed to her. How could I be so fast. And why wasn’t he dying. He didn’t feel any pain. He tried to look around. All soldiers seem to be loading their guns slowly. Too slowly. Their speech too was having a speed problem. Then he saw a fast moving object slice their throats. Blood spurted again as though defying the normal acceleration of gravity- Slowly the drops of blood were falling down, but before that the fast moving entity cracked everyone’s throat. It wasn’t an entity, it was Veronica. The muscular man in front of him was again moving slowly towards where Veronica seemed a moment ago. But before that, she went to him. Circled him and punctured him throughout the length and width of his body. The pain seemed to hit him after minutes. He slumped to the ground. She licked their blood and came running towards Jack. She climbed on him and kissed him dearly, “I am sorry Jack I didn’t have any option and I loved you too much to let you die.” After few hours, sitting by the campfire Veronica