Mande Burung

For Ogg, and the ideals he represented and defended. I didn't really know the man, but it's a story of people saving one another in a few different ways. That seems fairly heroic to me.

Also, I've taken some liberties; India and love are very big and can be very complicated.

The first time I saw Erin, she was fast asleep on my sofa. My roommate already had our nightly hookah going and, pointing to the sleeping woman, introduced her.

"Komal, meet Erin. Mind if she crashes here tonight?"

She was adorable and I very much wanted to crash into her. Of course I said none of this to my roommate. But this girl, the fairest skin I'd ever seen, long, dark hair, and even curled up as she was, I could tell she had the most amazing breasts.

A blizzard was coming in and Erin didn't want to get caught in it. We spent that whole weekend together and I've never been the same since. I was finishing up my grad work at the same university my roommate and Erin attended for their undergrad degrees. She worked full time and commuted to school with a full course load as a dual biology and history major. The girl was crazy. Even sleeping she looked exhausted. I fetched a blanket and tucked her in. When my hand accidentally brushed her face, she cooed at me in her sleep, rubbing against me at the contact.

We became fast friends, then fast lovers. Secret though that was. Erin was an atheist, through and through. I'd been raised Hindu and sent to a Catholic school. I easily accepted both, knowing everything has its place in this world. She never showed anything but curiosity towards me, and I loved her for that. It's not something that happens often in that country.

My parents, both being devoutly religious themselves, knew their daughter would get married as a virgin. For them, that was purely nothing phallic inside me, ever. I had an easy enough work around for that. Erin was tough as nails, but she was beautifully feminine. We both had curves, and she showed me how beautiful mine were. She never could turn that on herself though. Stoic through and through, until you plied her with some gin.

She'd had a tough life. I'd never known someone so lonely, not that she even knew that about herself. When you work from 6 pm until 2 am, and your classes start at 8 am, with an hour commute between work, school, and home, you don't have time to think, to realize you're not okay.

And I went and fucked all that up for her.

My family is part of the merchant caste, but in the last fifty years we've done exceedingly well. My roommate called me spoiled; Erin called me cherished. I offered to cherish Erin, to pay for her tuition and give her some kind of stipend so she wouldn't have to work so hard. She was touched, refused of course, but really, I missed her dreadfully from the minute she left until the minute she came back to me. I kept putting my parents off of finding me a match or making me find one because I couldn't stand the idea of giving up what we had, of giving her up.

The following summer I insisted she come back to Bombay with me. She'd never even been outside of the states. I'd been traveling the world since before I could even remember. I couldn't fathom having not seen it. She'd refused the Disney World trip I wanted to pay for, but she hesitated to refuse this trip to India. Before her mother died they would take summer trips, nothing too far, but she had a heart for adventure, even if she didn't have the wallet for it.

***

We spent a week in my parents' penthouse, eating all manner of delicacies, chocolates, mangoes, one another. My parents thought nothing of it. Two girls sharing a room, what could be more innocent? Even though I was 25. Of course we went out and saw some of the tourist attractions, but I showed her the real city, too. That wasn't always easy for her. She was the kind of person that would cry if she ran over a chipmunk. I loved her for that, too, though it never did her any favors.

Summer was the only time that worked for our schedules. Unfortunately that meant a lot of our plans got rained out, literally. Monsoon season is no joke, but I still wanted to show her as many adventures as I could.

I was spoiled, I can admit that. I've never done a bit of physical labor, I went to all the best schools, when I wanted something, I got it. I'd wanted Erin to come on this trip, and she did. Hesitantly, of course. But once she was here...it was like her soul had awoken for the very first time.

I wanted that. Not for me, but for her. I wanted that happiness to stay with her. And I wanted it to be because of me.

She was a plant girl. Quickest way to her heart was to take her to any kind of garden or buy her a new plant. It could be practically dying, and she'd love it all the more for the challenge of it. I'd never gone on as many jaunts into the wilderness in my entire life as I did once she and I became close. Her soul may not have awoken on those treks, but it was at least in a place of contentment.

I showed her some temples, other man made wonders, but it was the natural marvels that made those steel gray eyes of hers shine. Caves, waterfalls, lakes, she loved them all. Naturally, I was saving the best for last. I took her to Meghalaya without telling her why. And of course they'd stopped permitting tourists because of the heavy rainfall the same night we got in.

"Komal, it's fine! We're only here for two days anyway and then back to reality."

"Don't say it like that! And no! It's not fine! I'll be right back. Don't leave the room."

She only spoke English and conversational Spanish and French. She didn't really know how to keep herself safe. Although we had watched plenty of serials together, basically Indian soap operas, and she had picked up plenty of words amazingly fast. She was smart, but whether she admitted to it or not, she was also pretty. Her meager understanding of a situation wouldn't be enough to keep her safe if someone wanted it to be otherwise.

I was eventually able to bribe a few of the guides to take us out tomorrow morning. The rains should settle, they kept saying. It was foolish of me. But I wanted to make her happy.

The men I'd hired seemed on the up and up. That probably should have been the first red flag. They had a camp with a well-appointed tree house, stairs instead of a ladder, nice big bed, wood stove to take the chill off, nicely situated near our destination. It seemed they regularly did private tours outside the scope of the law. That was nothing unusual and explained their price. It may seem odd to some, but that put me at ease. It's bad for business to kill your law breaking clients. You get handled...differently. And lose a valuable resource.

The rain wasn't letting up, but it would still be magical for her. We unloaded our gear and headed out, covered up and protected as best we could. We had three guides. The boss, Harish. He was the boss for a reason, the most diplomatic and clean of the three of them. The other two, younger, hungrier in a few ways, kept eyeing us like starving wolves lost in a flock of sheep.

We started with the Mawphlang Sacred Forest. I wanted to show her the ancient trees and groves, tell her about the wonders and myths of the woods. Given the rains, it didn't go as planned. After a couple of hours we turned around, calling it for the day. Our quickly disappearing path along the river was turning to sinking mud as we tried to walk single file out of the jungle. Mere hours ago it had been like a steady, little stream. Now it was angry and full and raging. It was near impossible to make out much around us.

Everything seemed to happen all at once.

The goon behind us screamed to his friend, barely audible over the downpour, "Fuck, FUCK, Harish is gone!" Turning I saw the last of their boss as he was ripped away from the bank. We were in trouble.

Erin and I huddled together. These guys were losing their shit and now their boss was dead. I hadn't loved how they'd eyed us before, but now that their leash had been cut I was actually afraid. "Erin, if we need to make a run—"

"Got it," she hissed back at me, knowing being as quiet and invisible as possible was our best bet.

We continued on our path back. There was nothing else to do. Returning to camp, she and I took the rooms up in the treehouse, as had been the plan. The guides took up their camp underneath the protection of our treehouse. They'd set up a fire for themselves, leaving us to do our own dirty work. I wasn't used to that, but Erin thought nothing of it. She knew what she was doing.

Within minutes she had a steady little firing go in the wood stove up there. It wasn't terribly chilly on its own, but we'd been soaked to the bone and were both in an odd kind of shock. We'd seen a man die earlier, because of us. And now we were at least in some kind of trouble. There was no reaching the outside world, and I didn't know what else to do but wait and see what they were going to do with us.

"Komes, we're in trouble."

"Yeah, I think so."

"What are we going to do?"

"What can we do? We'll need to wait it out, and hope—"

"We should take their truck. I haven't driven a stick-shift in years, but I think the rain will drown out the noise if I don't get it right away."

"Erin...that sounds more dangerous."

"No, it doesn't. Those two aren't like their boss. You saw how they were looking at us, you felt it, too. I know you did. They'll rape and murder us, chucking us down that same river. Did you tell anyone where we were going? Or what we were doing?"

I couldn't answer her. She didn't need me to.

They spent hours arguing with one another. We'd wanted to wait until they were clear of the stairs. Neither of us would be able to outrun them, and neither of us would leave the other one for anything in the world. Erin had tried to hear what they were saying, but with the rain and distance it just wasn't happening.

"We need to make a run for it. Maybe we can go down and see what's up, take stock of the situation. I know there's at least one pistol in their truck, maybe we can grab that quick."

"And do what with it?! For all we know they're going to take us back in the morning."

"Then why haven't they done that already?! I'm tired of waiting to find out. Look, I'd go down by myself, but I don't know enough—"

"I get it! And I'd never let you go alone, anyway. Come on." She was going to get me killed. Sooner rather than later, I suppose. Especially if my gut was right about those two. She led the way with me close behind her.

The guides stood up and started shouting at us to go back up as soon as they saw us. "Look, we just need to know what's going on. We have a flight to catch and people waiting for us. They'll be out looking soon, and we don't want to worry them." I tried explaining exactly as Erin had told me, but I don't think I sold it. The one guard wasn't sure, but the other started laughing at me.

"No one is looking for you, lovely ladies. They'll have no idea where you are. Maybe you do have a flight, hmm? I doubt it means anything to you to keep it, and no one will think twice about that, hmm? Not if that one asked it of you, hmm? You're here for now. Do as you're told, compensate us for the hassle, however need to be. You'll be fine." Without having translated any of that to Erin she knew something was up. Maybe she wouldn't have run if I hadn't been so nervous, so freaked the fuck out. Maybe everything would have been fine. Maybe not. I made a call, either way.

"Erin...RUN!" We both took off towards the truck. By some miracle we managed to reach it before they reached us. Slamming the doors shut and locking them. Erin grabbed for the keys, of course they'd left them in it. Why wouldn't they? Out here in the wilderness where they sure as fuck weren't supposed to be, legally anyway. No one would find them, no one would bother them.

She started the truck, with a couple of false starts, but then she finally got it and started to get us out of there. For a second I really thought we were in the clear. Then a bullet ran through the side window and out the windshield. Erin slammed on the breaks. There was no way she'd be able to move this thing fast enough without possibly stalling again to avoid another one. I wasn't so sure that one was meant to avoid us to begin with. "Komes, get out first. I'll be right there. If you see a chance, just fucking go."

I didn't have time to argue with her. My door no longer had a window and was being unlocked. He grabbed me out of the truck and started walking back towards the camp with me in hand. The other guide pointed his gun straight at Erin. I freaked out, screaming for all I was worth. He somehow heard me in this torrential rain, turning his head to see me being forcefully yanked away before yelling something at his companion.

As he did, while ever so slightly distracted, Erin slowly got out of the truck. She had a chance to run, and the stupid girl didn't take it. I could have killed her myself. Then I saw it. She turned just in time as the guide with the gun grabbed for her, yanking her in turn. He hadn't noticed, but I had.

When he caught up to us they let us both go, letting us hold onto one another. They swore at each other for a moment as we cowered together, waiting. They noticed at the same time. The man with the gun brought it quickly to the side of Erin's head, making her stumble into me. Both of them ran to catch the truck that was now steadily building up speed down the hill.

"Erin, come on!" I pleaded. For better or worse the rains had started to settle. She was good and dazed, but this was our only chance. If they hadn't intended on killing us before, they sure as fuck were going to now. I dragged her along as best I could. She was bleeding profusely, but after a minute didn't seem otherwise bothered by the pain. We were out of their sight, but they weren't out of ours. We kept moving, but I heard them. I still hear them.

"You won't survive the night in that jungle, lovely ladies! Mande Burung will get you for sure! Far safer with us!" Erin was remarkably calm, even as the blood ran down her face. I'd never seen her in a crisis before, but this wasn't her first time.

"Komes, what is that? What was he talking about?" She was still dazed, but I could hear the rational part of her trying to keep up.

"It's nothing. Stupid folktales about a...basically? Bigfoot. We just need to keep moving for a while. Get some distance between us and them, okay?"

"Sure, Komes." I had no idea what I was doing, but I knew to get away. When we came back across that stream turned river, we stopped moving. Shuddering at the base of an ancient tree, hugging onto one another, we sat, more or less hopeless for a time.

"Erin, I...I don't know what to do."

"What do you mean? We rest, and then we follow the river. It goes by a town. We'll call your parents from there. We'll be okay."

"Promises?"

"Promises."

I audibly let out a sigh against her. If she was using that word, she actually believed all that. She fell asleep shortly after that. Probably with a concussion. Not the smartest thing on my part, but what was I going to do? Meanwhile, I couldn't sleep at all. Too many noises every which way. I kept imagining them jumping out and grabbing us again.

At one point I'd swear I actually did hear something, but it was too dark, and the rains kept coming and going. She woke a bit groggily, but eager to get moving. Less than an hour after sunrise we found a road. I thought we were saved. Ready to go down this much easier trek, she pulled me back.

"Listen." I'd read her lips more than heard her words. I don't know how she heard much of anything, but a moment later a truck was headed our way. I was thrilled, until a fear gripped me. She saw it come across my face and nodded, agreeing with my concerns. This was a touristy enough area, but not with this weather. Only idiots would be out in this weather. Or someone who'd gone along with their idiot girlfriend all because she wanted to show her some stupid bridge.

We ducked low behind some of the overgrowth. It'd be hard enough to see us if we hadn't hidden, I wasn't worried about them seeing us as is.

"It's them," she murmured.

"So? I mean, that's good, right? They're probably the most dangerous thing out here."

"We should still follow the river. If they decide to come back I sure as shit don't want to be surprised on that road."

"I hate when you make sense," I groaned, knowing that meant a lot more mud. At least she was back to herself, even though she did have a large gash along her temple. Because of me. So many times because of me. I got us into this mess, I made that call, I was why she didn't just run and save herself.

Another hour and the rains actually stopped, leaving behind some oppressive humidity. I couldn't stop complaining about it, much to Erin's amusement.

"Are you telling me you actually like this weather?!"

"I mean, kinda? I love the rain. And this isn't so bad." Her face lit up and for the first time in a while I was speechless. I had to look away from her, and when I did, I ended up running into her. She'd come to a complete stop.

"Hey, what gives?"

"What...what is that? By the river bank there." Following her gaze, I nearly shit myself. I wasn't about to say its name, or at least what I thought it was, but I knew we needed to move.

"We gotta move. NOW." I tried pulling her along, but she wasn't having it.

"What?! It's face down. It might be dead."

"There's gotta be some dangerous animal you know of that plays dead to lure prey in. Now please, let's MOVE!"

"Komal! Stop it! It's a human being. Look at them. They're just covered in mud." She carefully lowered herself down the river bank. In that instant, in my head, I saw her getting carried away, so I ran to her.

"I'm here for you, but I still say this is the dumbest idea."

She just shook her head at me and cautiously approached the giant figure. Even soaking wet this thing was huge. A good foot taller than either of us, far broader, and yeah, absolutely caked in mud with some odd orange, I'm not even sure, fur perhaps, showing through, matted down in places.

"He's still alive! Come on, help me get him away from the water." Already pulling him away, she wasn't exactly waiting for my help, though she did need it.

"Didn't you take that wilderness emergency first aid course last summer? Are you supposed to move people like this?"

"Eh, not if you can avoid it. But we can't leave him by the water and go for help. I think taking him back to camp and warming him up might be the best idea."

"You want us to go back there?! We're trudging through this fucking mud as a precaution to avoid those animals!"

"I know! But we can't just leave him here! He may well die like this. He needs some warmth, clean water, food."

"Erin, you can't carry him. If we don't get moving, we're going to die."

"Yeah, I can't, but we can. Head back by yourself if you like, but I have to at least try and help. I have to do something!"

"You can come with me, now, back to town. You don't know what these monsoons are like. Besides, I'm not entirely sure he's human."

"Don't be silly. Now come on, help me out."

"I'm serious!" She was already rolling him over, checking his pulse, and trying like hell to get him off of the riverbank. In doing so, she'd exposed his, er, banana, we'll call it. "I mean, look at that thing! No way that's human."

"Komal! Stop it. That's probably fairly normal for whatever background he has. Now come on!"