Betaal enters a Contest
For as long as there have been people living in the Kaldor region of India, there has been a cult worship of the Lord Betaal; he is a deity, but no one can say what religion he belongs to, only that his vengeance is severe.
The villagers of Kaldor have kept a watch on Betaal's mountains for longer than anybody can recall. They stand vigil outside the cave but never go further than the entrance to offer their gifts, for fear of Betaal's rage. There is a rumor of a book in the back of the caves that can make a person immortal.
During the Indian Rebellion of 1856, the East India Company set up a post to guard their investment in India against the rebels. The post was manned by the 19th Regiment of Foot, under the control of Colonel Charles Carrick.
This post was an isolated building surrounded by woods and ravines, which became torrents of raging water during the monsoon season. Remote and out of contact with headquarters started to hear noises coming from the caves around the mountain. Some soldiers said it was only the echo of water rushing through the caves, but rumors began.
Carrick had two options, either give in to the rumors or tackle them head-on.
He took a squad of about 15 men and decided to see the cause of the noises, The squad marched to the cave entrance, and when they arrived, they met a small group of villagers armed only with wooden clubs and spears. Without a pause, Carrick ordered his men to fire on the villagers; most died instantly, but one lady held onto life long enough to warn Carrick not to go in for fear of rousing Betaal.
Carrick stood still for a minute, then ignoring the request marched into the cave at the head of a 10-man squad. There was a silence that followed his entrance; the only sound heard was the sound of soldiers being torn apart by flesh-hungry creatures deep in the cave.
Inside the cave was a dim light, but it was bright enough for the men to watch as Carrick's countenance changed as the spirit trapped in the book took over his body. The men closest to Carrick were taken over by an eerie presence that made them blood-thirsty; the men at the cave entrance could only stand and watch in horror as their former comrades dashed out.
The men stood with open mouths as their comrades charged like flesh-eating zombies. The men fired a volley of shots at close range, but that didn't slow the surge of the blood-maddened creatures.
During the firing, a voice called out, "Fall back to the outpost; we can hold them off for a while at the station."
Those who were able to run ran for the post without looking back. Once inside, the men started to blockade the doors and windows. With fewer than a dozen men able to stand, Carrick and the zombies knew they had time to wait for the battle out.
The men trapped in the outpost could hear the constant beating of the drums from outside. Lance Corporal Jeff Maddren glanced through the boarded-up window and sighed, "This is it, men; we have two choices. One, we wait for them to take us out with a charge. It won’t take a lot to rip out the boards. The second is a death sentence, as we have few munitions, and they can stay there as long as they wish; we could charge and hope one or two of us get through to tell people what happened. It's your call, not an order. I am for a charge; at least there is a slim hope some may get out."
The only sound that one could hear was the sound of constant drumming. Three of the men, who were injured, volunteered to give covering fire for the charge. Other than those, the men agreed to go with Jeff. The group stood silently for a minute to pray, then on the command "FIRE!” they dashed through the broken doors and into the zombies.
From inside the walls, all the men could see was the slight flash of steel as blades caught the moon's dim light during the charge. The screams of agony sometimes silenced the clash of steel on bone as men died in the suffering of being savaged by a horde of zombies.
Men inside waited in silent prayer; the hope of rescue was non-existent. The soldiers had accepted that their fate was sealed when their comrades entered the forbidden caves.
Private Collins hobbled up the steps to the raised platform and said, "Right, men, we know this is our last night; you fought well. I'm proud to have served with you."
Only one action was left; out of bullets and injured, the men fixed bayonets and waited for the doors to break under the strain of the advancing horde. The men from the charge now strengthened it.
At first, the doors took the strain, as if they didn't want to give into the mass outside, but with a creak, they gave way, letting the masses inside the old station. The men fought hard, but being injured and relying on swords and bayonets, they were no match for the vast number of men who entered.
There was no further action in the area for over a century; the natives paid their tributes to appease their gods and to maintain the peace.
The political situation in this section of India changed radically, with the Naxalite faction taking control of the area. The Naxals are a Communist faction whose aim is to keep the growth of a place to a minimum to maintain their power.
To maintain their power, the Naxals instilled a hatred of anyone in authority who may challenge their status. The police and the military became targets of hate and fear among the locals. The Communists maintained control by banning contact with the outside world; most of the interior of India has few or none of the modern facilities the West takes for granted. This is because if they had contact, the Naxals would lose control because of the demands made by the population to move forward.
For centuries, much of India has been under the control of Dons, warlords. Once you leave the city, the Law is governed by two rules. The police who wish to keep their beliefs in the power of the police live under the threat of death. Those who want to live turn a blind eye to the illegal movements which enable peace, if there is any, to be maintained.
For over a century, the area around Pune didn't change much. The locals feared the Don and worshipped the deity in the caves of Betaal, but never entered the chamber beyond where they placed their sacrifices.
That was until a contractor wished to link the area to the main train lines via a tunnel through the caves of Bettal. They had to get government permission, and because the state was in a region nobody went to, the army was called to protect the workers.
The army drove into a hail of stones and abuse from the local populace. Their orders were to protect the workforce and not to open fire at any time. These orders were hard to enforce under the threat of being hit with a brick. The contractors could not work as the road to the caves was blocked by a group of local tribesmen led by an elderly lady with greying hair holding a spear.
As the villagers moved to withstand the army, the Office-in-charge ordered a baton charge to dispel the crowds. The men moved forward, slowly pushing the group off the road so that the construction crew could get to work, but things didn't go well as the crowd suddenly stopped, forcing the hand of the team chief who needed to enter the cave to view the situation.
The crew chief shouted, “Fire! Clear them out!”
The Subedar (Junior Commissioned Officer) in charge of the protection unit replied, “I will not give the order to open fire on unarmed civilians, and there is nothing you can do to change this.”
There was a pause; the silent tension was palpable, and an explosion occurred behind the men.
The crew chief called out, “There’s your order. The villagers opened fire on your men.”
Still trying to understand where and how her men came under fire, Subedar Tandon gave the order to return fire.
The locals were no match for the firepower of the forces, so they withdrew to the cave entrance to gain cover while an old lady chanted.
The Subedar turned to Corporal Ajani and asked, “Can you understand what she’s saying?”
Ajani listened for some time, then replied, “No, Ma’am, she’s speaking a dialect I haven’t heard.”
The chief shouted, “Now they’ve moved back; you can go forward and guard the caves.”
Subedar Tandon stood silent for a moment, wondering how the unarmed villagers could have fired on her men when they had no weapons, but she had her orders, and duty came first. Looking at Ajani, she said, “Corporal move the men forward to cover the cave entrance; I will go in with a small group to reconnoiter the shrines.”
Ajani glanced at the men around her, then replied, “Yes, ma’am.”
Slowly, Tandon and the men she chose stepped into the caves. Around them, the caves echoed to an eerie sound like the wailing of the dead. Several of the men stood guard as Tandon entered the inner shrine, an area the villagers never entered. There were rumors of evil spirits that were placated by the gifts, and if the gifts were not given, these spirits would roam free.
As the wailing increased in pitch and volume, the men on guard began to get edgy as they sensed something was about to happen that should not be permitted to go ahead. Oblivious to the happenings at the entrance, Tandon walked into the inner sanctum.
The men inside first noticed something was amiss when the chanting outside the entrance stopped, and the people began to pray in silence.
Inside, Tandon located the book which held the spirit of Betaal; not realizing what she held, she opened the tome. Around the inner cave, an eerie light began to shine from the pages of the book. At his stage, her men on guard began to cry in agonized pain as if something was eating their souls.
Unseen by the officer, a spectral figure appeared behind her, brandishing an evil grin and with his uniform and face smeared in blood.
Amid the screams of pain, shots could be heard at the entrance as the man who had not been attacked began to fire on unseen but sensed foes who appeared to emerge from the walls of the caves.
When the bullets began to run out, several of the soldiers who had been on duty ran out of the cave, begging to be shot before the demons released in the cave could get them.
Those men outside the cave hesitated to shoot men who only yesterday they had been talking to in the barracks. How could the soldiers shoot their friends?
Soon, they decided the choice wasn’t theirs to make as the frozen faces of men tormented came rushing towards them, On instinct, the men opened fire and kept firing as long as possible before realizing that the bullets were having no effect. In the furor, a cry came out, “Fall back to the old station; I hope we can hold them back until we can get a signal for a relief column to save us from these demons.”
Hurriedly, the men fled to the station. The house was no more than a ruin, but it had solid walls, so it appeared.
When the men approached the house, they spotted a girl sprinkling a substance on the ground, and lighting fires, “Wait, let us in, please,” the men cried, but the girl ignored their pleas for help, she entered the house and closed the door behind her.
The men got to the doors and started to bang on the doors, but their pleading fell on deaf ears.
The men cried in anguish, “Please, let us in!”
Slowly, the door eased an inch or two, then she reluctantly opened the door.
The men eased their wounded companions through the doors, then turned to look at their surroundings, one man asked, “Why didn’t you let us in, you could see we were being attacked?”
The girl didn’t shrug her shoulders, or flinch, but said in a soulless voice, “I wasn’t sure you hadn’t been infected by the cursed.”
One of the men said, “There are still some of our people out there, what happened to the engineer, and his daughter?”
The engineer had no choice but to bring his daughter, this was a school holiday and his wife had left town to see her parents. It was planned to be a trip with no worries; all that had changed.
As the men pondered on how to attempt to save the civilians trapped outside, they heard the Subedar cry out through the rain; “Let us in!”
Inching the door ajar, two of the men looked into the driving rain, barely visible, but running to them, they could make out the Subedar and two civilians being chased by a band of several of the soldiers.
With one man pushing the solid door open, and another watching for the horde to take up the attack, the men peered into the darkness and saw the young lady lighting a torch, and waving it in the air as she walked the perimeter. She circled the house with salt as she walked.
As she ended her chore and entered the doors, one of the men asked, “What were you doing, you could have been attacked?”
The girl gave a weak smile, then said, “I was safe, they won’t come near here as long as the sage brushes burn, and the salt circle remains intact.”
Another soldier asked, “How long will that be?”
The girl’s father replied, “We don’t know, all we can hope is it is long enough so they get bored with waiting. If you hadn’t opened fire on our village, this wouldn’t have happened.”
One of the men said, “We did that because someone fired at us.”
The girl scoffed, and replied, “We are peaceful people with no need for your weapons. Now you have brought Betaal to our doors, nobody can tell what will happen, or if there will be anyone left to tell what happened.”
During the argument, the heavy doors slammed shut, and the Subedar entered. Walking across the room, she said, “What’s our situation, Corporal?”
The corporal rose, saluted her officer, then replied, “Ma’am, we’re almost out of ammunition, four of the men are injured, and we have no contact with the outside as yet.”
The father said, “You will be fortunate to contact anyone from here, we’re surrounded by hills, and the rain will block any signal attempting to get through.”
The Subedar asked, “How is the supply of food?”
The Corporal replied, “We have enough for a day, ma’am, if we’re strict about rationing, after that I have no idea how long we could sustain ourselves.”
The Subedar paced the room trying to judge their defensive capabilities; from what she could see, the options were slim to none. The men under her had become trapped and were surrounded by a collection of soldiers from a century past, and yet they had no escape it appeared, despite the modern weapons at their command.
As she wandered, the corporal noticed something odd about her officer, and enquired “Are you alright, ma’am?”
“Yes, why do you ask, Corporal?”
“It could have been the shadows playing tricks; I thought I saw a figure behind you, ma’am.”
Subedar Tandon turned to the room and asked, “Did anybody else see the figure?”
The silence was her answer. Considering their position, she said, “Men, our position is dire. We have little food and ammunition; we’re out of contact with the base. The soldiers outside can stay there for longer than we can stay here. Does anybody have any idea if we can get out of this situation? While we have time, can someone go outside and position some cameras, so we can at least keep an eye on what is happening around the house.”
Again, silence filled the room as the soldiers began to consider the position they had been forced into. One of the technicians grabbed three cameras, and rushed outside; hoping his colleagues would be able to give him covering fire if he needed it.
The girl watched from relative safety, but she still crossed herself as if she knew things were about to change.
Then, as by command, the wind changed direction and blew the brushes out; no sooner had the wind blown the brushes out than the rain poured down and washed the salt away’ leaving those inside trapped by the fear of what may happen if the zombie hordes got inside the house.
There was no movement outside as the technician hurriedly set the camera up, a scared voice called out, “Rajid, hurry up. If they charge we may not be able to hold them off!”
Rajid called back, “I can’t go faster or there would be no point in me doing this.”
Still, the force before them stood firm, as if waiting for the call to advance, but none came.
Rajid ran in, and called, “All setup, ma’am.”
The officer replied, “Thank you, Rajid. What do you think they are doing Corporal?”
The Corporal replied, “Ma’am, I’d say they are viewing our position to seek a weakness. Time is on their side.”
“What would you say our position is?”
“I have to be truthful. Ma’am, at best we can hold off the first charge with the rifles, after that, it will be hand-to-hand fighting, we can’t fight for long as the men are tired.”
The Subedar called out, “Men, I won’t hide the truth from you, if we stay here we will die, if we try to escape our chances are slim. Somebody has to escape to tell the authorities the road cannot be built here, or more men will die. I can feel the presence of the ghost of Colonel Carrick taking my body; if you stay I will not be able to stop myself attacking you when the horde swarm the position. I beg of you, leave now before I lose control of my senses.”
The men saluted their officer, then ran for the jeep. Rajid carried the engineer’s daughter, so as not to slow the group. Halfway to the truck, the group was stopped in their tracks by a shriek of terror from the station. Nobody said a word, but they knew the victim.
Jumping in, one of the soldiers turned the keys, and the engine spluttered to life; it seemed like hours, but was no more than a few seconds, then the truck lurched forward and their escape began, they hoped.
As the truck moved slowly through the mud, one man threw a grenade at the hill, the yelled, “That should keep you in hell!”
The girl, who was reading a journal she picked up replied, “You are wrong! It says here, if the door be opened to Betaal, the demons of the ages shall rise to his call.”
Ajani said, “What does that mean?”
The girl replied, “I don't know, but it can’t be good.”
The escapees didn’t look back but drove on until they were forced to make a stop for food and fuel. When they entered the fuel stop nobody was serving, the people at the stop were watching broadcasts from around India; from Mumbai and Goa to Kochi, and from Madurai up to Kolkata, the coast was thick with the wrecks of galleons from centuries gone. There were so many the seas were filled.
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