Chapter-2

  The sound of the rushing river filled the air, mixing with the rhythmic sounds of training.

  Near the bank, Dhrit and his friend Avan were locked in practice. "One, two! One, two!" Dhrit called out, his wooden sword cutting through the air in perfect arcs. A few paces away, their other friend, Kael, was grunting as he struck a training post. "Haaiyaa! Haaiyaa!"

  Further down the shore, the five children were lost in a loud game of tag. "Over here! Catch me if you can!" Akaay laughed, darting between the trees.

  Raj, breathless and red-faced, finally gave up. "Ha... ha... I’m done. I need a break." He slumped toward the riverbank to splash some water on his face, but he stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes widened, and he screamed with every bit of air in his lungs.

  "AAAAAH! JAY! AKAAY! AVNI! JAYA! COME FAST! HELP!"

  The children scrambled toward him, followed closely by Dhrit and his friends, who had dropped their wooden swords at the sound of the alarm. They reached the shore and gasped. There, huddled in the tall grass, was a small boar piglet. It was covered in deep bruises and bloody wounds, shivering as it struggled to breathe.

  "We have to save it," Akaay said, his voice trembling. "Let’s take it to Rob!"

  The kids quickly improvised a stretcher out of a thick cloth. They carefully loaded the injured creature and began to pull. But as they moved, the forest suddenly went silent. No birds chirped. No wind blew.

  High in the branches above, a pair of glowing eyes locked onto the children.

  With a terrifying roar, a massive shadow leaped into the air. It was the mother—a Blue-Horned Boar. A jagged, crystal-blue horn grew from her forehead, dripping with a thick, glowing poison.

  "Akaay, look out!" Jaya screamed, but it was too late. The beast was a blur of fur and rage, closing the gap in a split second.

  Akaay closed his eyes and braced for the impact. He heard a sickening thud and a spray of warm liquid hit his cheek. "No... no..." He opened his eyes, his voice cracking into a scream. "BIG BROTHER!"

  Dhrit had thrown himself in front of Akaay at the last moment. He held the boy tightly with one arm, while his other hand was shoved forward in a desperate attempt to stop the charge. The glowing blue horn had pierced completely through Dhrit’s palm, stopping just inches from his chest.

  "Move... now!" Dhrit hissed through gritted teeth, his face pale from the pain.

  Kael dashed forward like a lightning bolt, delivering a devastating kick into the boar's gut. The beast let out an agonizing cry—"SKRRRRR!"—and slid across the dirt. Kael didn't give it a second to recover; he closed the distance and landed a heavy punch to its jaw. As the boar’s head snapped to the right, Avan appeared from the left, his blade flashing in the sun as he took the beast's head clean off.

  The clinic doors nearly flew off their hinges as Avan and Kael rushed in, carrying Dhrit.

  "ROB! DOCTOR ROB! IT’S AN EMERGENCY!" Avan shouted, his voice cracking. "Dhrit’s been hit! It was a Blue-Horn! The poison is in him!"

  Rob sprinted out, his face turning grim the moment he saw the blackening veins around Dhrit’s wound. "Get him on the bed! Now! Move!"

  The clinic turned into a scene of pure chaos. Nurses ran for anti-venom while Rob dragged Dhrit into the operation room. Outside, the atmosphere was suffocating. The other children were sobbing, huddled together on the floor. But Akaay stood alone. His face was a mask of stone, his eyes empty, the blood of his brother still drying on his cheek.

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  Suddenly, the front doors opened again. Dhrit’s mother and father rushed in, their faces twisted with fear.

  The moment Akaay saw them, the shock finally broke. He couldn't look them in the eye. He turned his head away, hiding his face behind his trembling hands.

  "It was my fault..." Akaay whispered, so low it was almost a ghost of a sound.

  Avan stepped forward, his clothes stained with blood, and looked at the parents. "We were training by the river," he began, his voice shaking. "The kids found a wounded piglet. They didn't know the mother was a Blue-Horn. It attacked... and Dhrit... he didn't even hesitate. He used his own hand to stop the horn from hitting Akaay."

  The mother gasped, clutching her chest, while the father stared at the closed door of the operation room, his fists clenched so tight his knuckles turned white.

  "Is he... is he going to lose the hand?" the father asked, his voice thick with emotion.

  Avan looked down at the floor, unable to answer.

  The silence in the waiting room was heavy, broken only by the muffled sound of the other children sobbing. Akaay stood frozen, his small shoulders shaking. He wouldn’t look up, even as he felt his parents' shadows fall over him.

  "It’s because of me," Akaay whispered, his voice cracking. "I wanted to save that piglet. I didn't see it coming. If I wasn't so weak... if I had just stayed away... Dhrit wouldn't be in there."

  His mother knelt down, her gown rustling on the wooden floor. She didn’t yell, and she didn't cry out in anger. Instead, she gently took Akaay’s trembling hands in hers—the hands still stained with his brother’s blood.

  "Akaay, look at me," she said softly. When he finally lifted his tear-filled eyes, she tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. "Your brother didn't jump in front of that beast because you were weak. He jumped because he loves you. To him, his hand was a small price to pay for your life."

  His father stepped closer, placing a heavy, warm hand on Akaay’s shoulder. His voice was deep, echoing with a mix of pain and pride. "A man protects what is precious to him, son. Dhrit did his duty as an older brother. Don't insult his choice by calling it a mistake. You are alive because he is brave."

  Akaay hugged his mother’s neck, finally letting out a choked sob. For a moment, it felt like the family was holding each other together against the world.

  Then, the heavy door to the operation room creaked open.

  Doctor Rob stepped out. He had removed his blood-stained gloves, but his face was grimmer than anyone had ever seen it. He looked aged, his eyes sunken with exhaustion.

  "How is he?" the father asked, his voice booming in the quiet clinic.

  "Dhrit’s vitals are stable," Rob began, pausing to wipe sweat from his brow. "But... only for now."

  The father’s eyes narrowed, his brow furrowing. "What do you mean 'only for now,' Rob? Speak plainly."

  Rob let out a long, shaky sigh, looking down at his feet before meeting the father's gaze. "The poison from that Blue-Horn isn't just sitting in the wound. It’s aggressive. It has pierced deep into the bone and muscle of his hand, and it's starting to climb. If it reaches his heart, there’s nothing I can do."

  He took a deep breath, the next words coming out like a lead weight.

  "To save his life... we have to cut the hand off. Right now."

  The air seemed to leave the room. Akaay’s mother gasped, her hand flying to her mouth, while the father stood perfectly still, the reality of the situation sinking in. His son—the boy who practiced his sword swings every day until his hands bled—was about to lose the very thing he needed to achieve his dreams.