What's gonna happen? Guess, guess. 😉😉😉

Anyways, Onwards!

"Words in double quotes" - Talking

'Words in single quotes' - Thoughts

(Words in braces) - Telephone conversations

Chapter 12 - Trapped in the Snow

Laksh took in deep gulps of air as he leaned against the tree. He raised his head to look at the men in front of him. All of them were slowly getting up on their feet. 'Won't they ever give up?!'

He had been fighting Kuwar and his four companions for almost half an hour. But they still didn't show any signs if giving up!

Where is Udip you might ask, one might ask.

Laksh chuckled as he looked to the side.

There, on the snow, lay Udip.

Udip had been fighting against him as well. However, due to wrong timing, Udip ended up being the one to get Kuwar's hard punch on his face. Poor guy fell unconscious that very instant.

"Laksh are you alright?" Ragini asked him in concern as she slowly came near him. She was avoiding getting in between the fight. However, she couldn't keep herself from checking if he was alright.

She touched his shoulder and was shocked by how cold his shirt was. 'I'm wearing my coat and scarf. But Laksh doesn't have any warm clothes on.' she looked up at the sky. 'Oh my! It's almost sundown. It's cold now, but it will be downright freezing in an hour or so! Laksh needs to get somewhere warm.'

"I'm fine Ragini. Just watching our sleeping beauty Udip. Looks like he needs a princess to kiss and wake him up." he joked. "You okay?"

"Yes. Thanks to you."

"I am good at saving damsels." he said with a smirk.

"Stop laughing you fool! We'll end you today!" Kuwar shouted in anger getting Laksh's attention.

"Yeah. I'm your dreams Ugly!"

"What did you just call me?"

"U-ugly. Didn't you hear well?"

"How dare you?!"

"Oh, I d-do." Laksh replied with a smirk.

Ragini, however, felt her worry increase on hearing Laksh stutter. Not from fear, but because of the cold. 'Damn damn damn! I need to get him out of this forest and to somewhere warm. But how? How do we escape these men?!'

"You arrogant fool! I'll beat you into oblivion!" with a shout, Kuwar charged forward. So did his men.

Laksh took a stance and got ready to fight once more. They all came and grabbed him, making him unable to hit. Laksh tried to break free, but in vain. Feeling a shadow over him, he looked upto see Kuwar grin at him.

Just when Kuwar thought he had Laksh, Ragini came forward and gave him a hard push. Being the heavy guy he was, he fell to the ground with a thud, unable to get up abruptly.

"Boss!" shouted his men.

Laksh took the opportunity to throw off the four distracted men and free himself. "Now, I'll sh-"

Before he could finish his sentence, he felt Ragini grab his wrist and pull him back. "Laksh, let's run!"

"What? No! I'm not a coward."

"Listen to me!"

"No!"

"It's not about pride anymore! It's about survival. Why can't you see that?!"

Laksh was pulled along by her.

"But Ra-"

"Listen! There is a time to fight and a time to retreat. The second one seems more appropriate now. So give up your stupid-ass male ego for a second and move it!"

Laksh could only blink in shock and go along as she pulled him. He was too surprised by her dominating tone as he ran obediently alongside her. 'Wow! Who knew there was tigress hidden inside her?'

#With Uttara and Nikhil#

"I-its getting cold. Uttara, we can't keep up this any longer!"

"I k-know Nikhil, I know!" Uttara shouted back. They had been running from the fake kidnappers Buster and his men for long. But it didn't seem like those guys were slowing down in their attempt to catch their prey. "I don't know how-w to convince them that we aren't Ra-Ragini and Lu-Lucky bha-achoo!"

Nikhil looked at her in concern. "Uttara, you're sneezing. The cold is-s getting to you."

"I kn-know." she stuttered out as her teeth cluttered against each other in the cold. "But we can't stop n-now. We must keep running and find a-a hiding place." she reasoned as she sniffed and coughed.

Nikhil was about to respond when from the corner of his eyes, he saw a broken well. "There! Le-let's go hide behind i-it."

Uttara nodded.

They first went behind the trees to confuse their pursuers and sneakily went behind the well, making sure to calm their breathing and cover their tracks so that the fake kidnappers don't find them.

Soon, they heard footsteps and heavy breathing. Buster and his gang stopped at a little distance from where they were.

"Where did they go? I'm sure they ran this way."

"True boss. We saw them run this way as well. But it's like they disappeared magically after they got here!"

Nikhil peeped from his hiding place at the men. He picked up a stone with stealth and when he was sure no one was looking in their direction, he threw it in the opposite side.

Buster at once pointed at that direction. "I heard some noise that way. Let's go!" on his command, the others followed him that way.

Uttara let out a breath of relief. "Thank goodness. Nice thinking Nikhil."

"Which proves I have a brain." he bit out. Uttara could hear some spite in his voice, making her look at him with confused eyes. "What did I do?"

"I have a brain. Unlike you!" Nikhil repeated. "You are the one who messed up everything!"

Uttara got up from her position and looked at him pointedly. "Look! I understand that I messed up a bit. But it was a great plan."

"Great plan? My foot! Can't you see how dangerous this was? What if Laksh was beaten up badly by them? What if Ragini got hurt in the scuffle? Did you think about any of that?"

"They're actors! H-how many times must I tell you that? If they *cough* would have felt that it was going overboard, t-they would stop and leave Lucky bhai and Ragini. I wouldn't want my brother fatally injured damn it!"

"Y-you still can't see how irresponsible you were, can you? How will yo-ou? After all, you're nothing but a spoilt b-brat who lives in l-luxury without having to t-think about the consequences o-of their actions!" Nikhil shouted in anger while also stuttering from the cold.

Uttara went up to him and poked him on the chest. "Listen mister! I-I may not have thought the entire thing *cough* through. But at least..."she paused to sneeze.

"God bless." Nikhil uttered. Uttara glared at him. "Sorry. What to do? Habit."

Uttara sniffed and continued. "But at least I was trying to do something t-to bring Lucky bhai closer to Shona's Ragini diii. T-they would be happy together. But what did you do? Nothing, nada, zilch! So shut it!" she didn't wait to hear his reply and stormed forward in anger.

Uttara watched her steps carefully as she walked. That part of the forest was uneven. One wrong step and she would end up rolling downhill.

Nikhil sighed in distress. He didn't mean to shout at her. It's just that he lost control over his anger. He knew it was not justified to blame her for what happened as she was only trying to help. "Uttara? Uttara w-wait."

"Go away!" Uttara shouted at him as he jogged up to her.

She felt him grab her wrist.

"Listen, I'm sorry."

"Go. Away!" in anger, she tried to jerk her hand away. However, she ended up losing her balance. She gasped as she felt hersel about to fall down the slope.

Nikhil's eyes widened as he saw this. At once, he grabbed onto her and shielded her body with his, ending up out of balance himself. He didn't think it through, but only cared about her safety. As they rolled down the snowy hill, it was he who got the brunt of the fall and not her.

#With Laksh and Ragini#

"M-man! It s-sure is c-cold, is-isn't it?"

"It is. But you must be feeling it more than me. I've at least got some warm clothes on." Ragini concluded, looking at him in worry. "Do you want my scarf?"

"No. It's o-okay. Ar-re you su-ure we l-lost Kuwar an-nd his men?"

"Yes. They aren't following us now." she looked at Laksh with a comforting smile. "Hold on Laksh. We'll find our way back soon. Chill, okay?"

Laksh gave a dry chuckle. "W-well. That's e-exactly what I'm d-doing. Chilling a-and becoming a p-popsicle."

"Still joking Laksh?"

"W-what am I supposed t-to do? At a sit-aachoo!" he rubbed his nose and sniffed. "At a s-situation l-like this, humour is m-my only weapon."

Ragini rolled her eyes and looked forward. It was getting darker by the minute. It looked like they won't be able to find their way back before nightfall. Not to mention that they have to worry about Kuwar finding them. Ragini narrowed her eyes as something caught her eye in the distance. "Is that...is that a cave ahead?"

Lakh looked at where she was pointing at. "It s-sure looks l-like one."

"Laksh, it will be nightfall soon. We won't find our crew by then. It would be best to stay the night there."

"In-n that cave? You've got t-to be kidding me!"

"What? Why? It's our best chance of escaping this cold."

"But...wh-what if there's a p-polar bear in it?!"

"I don't think polar bears make such big caves. Let's go!" Ragini pulled at him harder, making him run faster. Soon they reached the cave and entered inside with weariness.

Laksh felt somewhat better inside, now that the wind wasn't hitting him with force. In a way, he found the cave kind of comfy. He sneezed again, gaining Ragini's attention.

"Do you have anything that we can use to light a fire?"

"Well, I h-have a lighter with me." he raised his hands in surrender when Ragini gave him a look. "Hey, don't look at me that way. I don't smoke! This lighter is j-just something I keep with me so that I can tell t-those snobby rich businessmen I deal with that I smoke. It's just for s-show."

"I see. Anyway, you sit here. I'll go get some tree branches and leaves so that we can light up a fire."

"I'll come h-help you."

"No! You're already in this mess because of me. You don't need to make your condition worse." Ragini spoke in an apologetic tone.

"Hey, don't feel guilty, alright? It was my choice to defend you against those men. I would have done the same for any girl. Although I guess I hit them harder since it was you they were trying to harm." Laksh said in anger and without a stutter. He didn't realize he was confessing his care and concern for her indirectly.

Ragini blinked at his words. 'Again he is confusing me with his words! What exactly do you mean Laksh? Do you love me or not!?'

Ragini shook her thoughts of those things as she had more important matters to attend to. "Whatever it may be, you're not coming with me. I'm wearing my coat. You aren't. So stay here, okay? I'll be right back."

Laksh knew she was right and nodded. "Be careful."

Ragini nodded and headed outside.

#With Swara#

"Come on, come on, come on! Ugh! Stupid handle!" she shouted at the door handle which was out of her reach. She was trying to open Ram's caravan, hoping to find him inside. She huffed as she couldn't reach it and pouted. "Being small sucks!"

"Ahahaha...!"

Swara turned around as she heard someone laugh. It was Ram.

She narrowed her eyes at him and came near him. Once close enough, she kicked him in the shin as hard as she could.

Ram held his leg in pain with a shouted and hopped on one leg. "Hey, I'm sorry. I'm sorry okay, lady Bheem?"

"You better be, Mister!"

"Okay okay. Why were you trying to get into my van by the way?"

"I need you to tell you something im...impo..."

"Important?" Ram pointed out helpfully, stiffling a laugh as she was unable to spell it. He saw her glare at him again and raised his hands in surrender. 'Bhalayi ka to zamaana hi nahi raha.'

After sometime...

Ram rubbed a hand over his face and gave a miserable sigh. He walked over to his van and banged his head on the door. 'Hey Bhagwan! Uthale! Uthale!'

"Hey, stop doing that. What we need to do is find out where they all are right now! You will need a good brain for that."

"But how, Swara? It's almost nightfall. How are we supposed to find them now?" Ram questioned with a frustrated sigh.

"Through the cameras, silly! Didn't Uttara di tell you she installed some cameras in the forest? I'm sure they caught at least some footage of Uttara Di, Niki bhai or Ragini Di. Also that prudish Skunk!" she spoke with a huff, referring to Laksh.

Ram's eyes widened on realization. "You're a genius!"

"I know."

Ram picked up Swara and ran forward towards Uttara's caravan. "We got no time to lose. Let's hurry! I'll get the crew to search for them once we locate them."

#With Laksh and Ragini#

Ragini entered the cave with some branches and leaves. It was dark by then.

She saw Laksh sitting at a corner, hugging himself tightly as he shivered from the cold. At once she hurried and set up the things to light a fire.

Laksh looked up as he heard someone enter. "Ragini, y-you're back! Gr-"

Suddenly, they heard a roar. Both looked at each other in horror and then slowly turned their heads to look outside.

There, stood a polar bear, almost twice the height and size of Laksh. They could do nothing but swallow hard as it glared at them from afar. It roared again as it looked at them with his angry eyes.

"Ragini, I-I don't think h-he is happy th-that we came as g-guests without inf-forming him. He's pissed."

"This isn't the time for jokes!"

"H-hey, I wa-"

The bear roared again, this time getting on its rear feet and stomping repeatedly on the ground. The place shook from his actions. Laksh and Ragini looked at it in panic.

Suddenly, they heard another rumble and felt the ground vibrate. As the bear continued to shake the place, the snow around also started to tremble. The stones around were coming down in tiny broken pieces.

Before anyone could do anything, the entire front portion of the cave crumbled on itself.

The stones and snow fell on the entrance, blocking it completely. The bear roared and moved forward towards the entrance of its cave. He started hitting the blockage at the area which was once opening with everything it had. But it wasn't working.

Only thing it managed to do was create only a small hole in the entire portion.

Laksh blinked once...then once again. Slowly a smile broke out on his face and he stood up abruptly."He can't get in, can he?"

Ragini nodded I'm relief. "It would seem so."

Laksh grinned cheekily and pointed at the hole, from where he could get a glimpse of the bear outside. "Ahahahaha...! Hah! Take that you beast! You caused this yourself you idiot! This proves that you don't have any common sense! Hahaha...!"

The bear roared again, which Laksh took as a reply.

"I offended you, you say? So what, huh!? I'm not wrong! You're a nitwit!"

Ragini didn't know if she should laugh or not her head on the wall. The person she loves was having a verbal fight with a bear. 'The cold must have got to his head.'

The bear opened his mouth and tried to bite the stones. However, it wasn't working.

"Trying to bite? Hah! Nope! You can't bite your way in either!" Laksh shouted.

Ragini smacked herself on the face. "You do realize that you're taking to a bear, don't you?"

"So?"

She sighed. "Nevermind. Go on with your chat. I'll go light up the fire."

#With Nikhil and Uttara#

Uttara felt something cold hit her skin as she came into consciousness and opened her eyes groggily. Slowly, her vision cleared and she saw some snow on her nose. She rubbed it away and tried to get up. However, she felt something hold her down.

Or someone.

She looked to find it was Nikhil's hand holding her by the waist. She blushed. 'Ehhhhhhhh? What exactly happened? Why am I li-' her eyes widened as she remembered the earlier events. How she was about to fall and Nikhil grabbed onto her. He had enclosed her in his embrace, and took the brunt of the fall. She gasped and patted his face in order to wake him up. "Nikhil? Nikhil can you hear me? Nikhil?!"

However, he showed no signs of consciousness. She managed to remove his hand from her waist and got up. She saw that was a tree behind them. 'This tree must have prevented us from rolling down further. But it hit Nikhil's back. He must be hurt pretty bad. All because of...because of me!'

Uttara felt tears gathering in her eyes. However, she refused to break down. "No! I can't fall weak. I must help him somehow. Crying won't help anyone!" she looked around but could only make out the shape of the trees and plants in the dark of the night. The moonlight was the only source 0of light there.

"Aachoo!" she shivered as the cold wind hit her. Although she was wearing a coat, she could feel the cold seep in. 'Nikhil must be cold as well. But how to help him? How how how?!' she grabbed her hair in frustration. "How?!"

"Maybe I can help?"

Uttara looked up to the voice and found a man standing there with a tiny white bear in his arms. "Who...who are you?"

"I'm from the nearby village. But who are you two?"

"We...we are not from here. We were running through the forest and then I slipped and then..." she couldn't continue as she looked at Nikhil's condition. However, the man could understand the situation.

"He seems injured. I'll take you to my village for treatment." the man looked towards the clouds. "Looks like a storm is approaching. You better come with me."

Uttara nodded. They both held Nikhil by the shoulder and walked forward. The small bear moved to the man's shoulder and sat there silently.

"Is that bear yours Mr...?"

"I'm Nitin. And no. It's not mine. It's from the forest but somehow ended up in our village. I was bringing it back. But now, your friend needs my help more. I'll return this bear tomorrow."

"His name is Nikhil. And I'm Uttara. Thank you for everything Nitin."

"You're welcome."

🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

To be continued...

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~ 🌹 Mona 🌹