The DMF team got to their job. Some started using water to clean the blood and mess. People skilled in earth manipulation began checking for people under the collapsed buildings. While they were managing the disaster, Gajpati Bheem went to Satya and Savita and questioned them, "Did you two survive this catastrophe?"
"No, we came here just before you, Gajpati," Satya replied, while Savita tried to control her tears. "We were staying near the central building. Our sons remained here while we went to bathe. When we returned, everything was just as it is now, except for that sphere. It was a little brighter."
"Okay, then stay here until the Seekers arrive," Bheem instructed. "We need to check that you aren't infected or influenced by that sphere. After that, you have to come with me as first witnesses. I need you to make the higher-ups get their asses to work. Only if they had let me search this whole area, this wouldn't have happened." Gajpati Bheem grew angrier with every word he spoke.
"Why are you so angry, Bheema?" spoke the man who had just come.
The newcomer had grey hair and a beard, a handlebar moustache, serene blue eyes, and a nose like a parrot's beak. He had brown skin and was almost six feet tall, wearing a white dhoti with golden borders. Bheem turned around and saw the man.
"Pranam, Guruvar Shuka," he greeted him, clasping his hands. "I got a little distracted by anger. Please, check up on these people." Bheem answered, requested, and then questioned, "But how are you here?"
"Are you not happy seeing me here?" Shuka retorted.
"That's not what I meant. You are generally in the Academy," Bheem said with hesitation.
"Haha, got you! I was just kidding. I came here because I could sense the pulses of negative energy coming from here. You forget I am your teacher," Shuka said with a laugh, the serene look gone from his face.
"'Here he goes again. Never being serious is a serious problem,' Bheem thought.
"Always being serious is a serious problem, too," said Shuka while inspecting the couple.
"Guruvar, if you can hear thoughts too, why don't you ascend?" Bheema complained.
"I have heard the same sentence from you a thousand times. Why would I need to hear your thoughts for this?" said Shuka while inspecting the sphere. "The couple is alright. There are no traces of negative energy on them. But this summoning is unusual. It's much more intense. They will need to do a Yagna to cleanse this place," was the conclusion he gave.
Meanwhile, in the hospital where Shambhu and Ananta were being treated, a boy stood near a hospital bed in one of the rooms. Another boy, 15 or 16 years old with reddish-brown hair and fair skin, lay face down on the bed, unconscious. His back was covered in wounds – some were cuts, others one-inch deep puncture holes. A doctor stood nearby, talking to someone through his wrist-band communicator.
The doctor turned towards the standing boy and said, "He's really lucky. Someone with the same blood group is present in the hospital."
The boy's eyes welled with tears at the good news. He had deep brown eyes, light brown hair, and lightly tanned skin, with a normal square face and a typical 15-year-old's body. He was wearing the same uniform worn by the children Shambhu had met on the bus.
"But he too is getting treated. We don't know if he will be able to give blood," the doctor added with a complicated look and hesitation.
Charan, the boy standing there, then spoke, "Doctor, please, tell me where he is. I will plead with him. We will compensate him with whatever he wants, however he wants. I can't let anything happen to my brother in this manner."
"His name is Shambhu and he is on the 2nd floor. Let's go; I will come with you," the doctor said, gesturing for Charan to follow.
Both of them came out of the room. Nine more boys were sitting on the benches outside, all wearing black and red uniforms. Both of them hurriedly reached Shambhu's room. The doctor explained the situation to him. Shambhu had bandages on his back and right hand and had been told to rest, as he too had lost some blood. He asked to see the injured boy first. The three of them again reached the room where the injured boy was.
Seeing the boys wearing the same uniform sitting outside the room, Shambhu got curious again. But this time he asked Charan to quench his curiosity, "Are you guys from some organization?"
"Yes, we are students at the Protector Academy, Prayag," Charan answered.
"But the Academy is even beyond the city. How did you guys come here?" Shambhu asked as he entered the room. Seeing the condition of the boy's back, he added, "And how did he get injured so badly?"
"We were initiated this year just 15 days ago," Charan explained. "The first task given to us by the Academy was to patrol around during this Aquas and report anything where we think a protector should intervene. The person injured here is my brother, Vishal. He was our leader during the patrol. Today, we were patrolling around the Central Area when buildings started collapsing. This was an emergency, so we started helping people in whatever way possible. Amid all the chaos, a little girl got her leg trapped under a small pillar. My brother went to bring her out of the trouble. He was successful, but during that process, the building next to us collapsed, and a slab of concrete, with small iron rod spikes coming out from it, fell on him. We all got some injuries due to it, but he was hit the hardest. The girl was saved, and thankfully the slab did not fall from a major height, so my brother survived. But the blood loss has put him in critical condition, and we need blood for further treatment. Please, help us. I beg you. If you want something in return more than the ordinary payment, I promise I will try my best to give you that."
He was about to cry, but Shambhu spoke before that happened, speaking with a smile, "You don't need to beg me. And I don't need a reward for saving someone's life. I am a protector too. It's my Dharma to protect people. How can I let someone die because of me?"
"Doctor, take the amount of blood needed for surgery from my body and save his life. But do tell me what's special about my blood. I too want to know," Shambhu spoke to the doctor.
"Well, there are over 15 blood groups present in the world," the doctor started explaining after starting the process of blood transfer. "Among them are some rare blood groups. Protector's Blood is one of them. It has a rarity of about 1 in 10,000, and this blood group is becoming rarer as time goes on. An even rarer blood group is Seeker's Blood, with an occurrence of about 1 in 100,000. And you too have Protector's Blood," the doctor explained.
"And what do these blood groups do?" Shambhu asked again.
"According to the data and research papers available, it is said that Protector's Blood is a group that enhances physique, physical abilities, and fighting instincts, whereas the Seeker's Blood group enhances mind and psychic abilities. But we don't know to what extent these blood groups affect the possessor or how they work," the doctor explained.
"And you are saying that I have this Protector's Blood group?" Shambhu again questioned.
"Yes, and it is somehow of higher quality."
"Now, what does that mean?" Shambhu asked with curiosity.
"See for yourself; your cuts are healing already, it seems. Even though we don't have a parameter of blood purity, it is almost visible how one could be better than the other."
"I will ask my father if he knows about it," Shambhu thought.
Outside, drones had started announcing and projecting about missing and injured people. They were announcing the people admitted in hospitals too. In the central area too, this process had started. When the drones announced about Vishal, Gajpati Bheem was shocked. The next announcement was about Shambhu. Gajpati Bheem was planning to bring Satya and Savita to his office as witnesses but stopped midway. He had taken one of the DMF cars.
"My son will need my blood!" Saying this, he jumped out of the car and shouted, "Bring the car to the hospital they just announced!" After saying this, he moved so fast he almost disappeared from their point of view. Savita urged Satya to rush to the hospital as fast as possible. He complied, driving the car as fast as he could.
In front of the hospital, a man landed with immense speed, causing the ground to cave just a little. It seemed he had cushioned his fall. This was the same hospital Shambhu was in, and yes, this man was Bheem, in fact.
"Hey, where is my son?" he asked the lady on the inquiry counter, who immediately complied. After getting the answer, he rushed to the operation theater as fast as was possible without damaging the building and the people there.
When he reached the OT, a doctor and two nurses were coming out of it. Two boys stood outside the room; one of them was his younger son. He asked the doctor in a demanding tone, "How is my son?"
The doctor gulped after seeing who was asking the question and replied in a timid voice, "Thankfully, we got the blood needed for surgery. Your son is now safe."
Hearing this, Bheem's character switched. He gently shook the doctor's hand and said, "Thank you, Doc. I am grateful to you for saving my son." The doctor nodded, sweating, trembling, and with a stiff spine.
"But who gave blood to my son?"
"Th-that boy standing beside th-that boy," the doctor replied with a stutter.
"Doctor, I know I am famous around this place, but meeting me is not that big of a thing. Why are you stuttering? Are you really having a heart attack?" said Gajpati jokingly.
"No, I j-just need some water. You should talk to the donor, meanwhile." Saying this, the doctor excused himself.
Gajpati Bheem then turned towards Shambhu and Charan. "Thank you for helping my son. But aren't you a seeker?" Gajpati asked with slight confusion, looking at Shambhu's dress.
"No, I am a protector, and it was my dharma to help him. There is no need for thanks," replied Shambhu.
"Okay. Do you wear a dhoti all the time? Don't you study at the Academy?" Gajpati questioned again. He had assumed Shambhu was a classmate or schoolmate of Vishal.
"I came here just for Aquas, so I am not affiliated with any university. And I wear this dress because my father said that one should not wear stitched clothes unless it's really necessary," Shambhu replied.
"Okay, so is your father here too?"
"Yes, Gajpati, I am here," said Satya, panting, who had just reached there.
"He is your son. Then you really are an important person," said Gajpati. "Where are you from originally?"
"Our home is in the Meru District. We came here on a trip. But you see how that went," Satya said with a forced smile.
Gajpati nodded, and before he could ask anything else, Shambhu asked Satya, "Where is Mother? Is she safe?"
"Yes, I am safe, my son. Are you alright? I was with Ananta," Savita spoke, coming out of the elevator.
"Yes, Mom, I am alright. Just some cuts and bruises," said Shambhu with a happy smile. "And I was able to save Ananta. That happiness compensated for all of this."
Savita smiled and then looked at Shambhu from head to toe to check for any injuries. After looking at his chest, she spoke with amusement, "Oho, looks like my son found a lady for himself. But where did you find her during this catastrophe?"
"How do you know?"