Chapter 4 – Sky

Artwork by Adarsh Jadhav (with the use of AI)

Disclaimer: The following story is a work of fan fiction. It is purely meant for entertainment purposes and not for any commercial or profit related purposes. I do not own any of the characters mentioned in the story. The Gods and characters from stories of Hindu tradition and not owned by anyone for they are living divinities. The character of the Predator is the one from the Predator movies, distributed by 20^th Century Fox. The character of the Predator was created in the film “Predator” (1987) directed by John McTiernan.

Garuda had reached the open shola (high altitude meadow) beyond the tree line even as Jambavan was nearing the caves. He circled around awaiting the asuras’ emergence from the trees. He continually changed his flying altitude though. The ground below was undulating and had a scattering of rocks both large and small.

His eagle eyes clearly saw four of the asuras following him on the ground below. He also realized that there were more after him down in the trees. Three of them were shimmering in and out of invisibility, clearly their yantras were malfunctioning. There were a few more down there; he could tell from the vibration and movement of the trees. The trees moved unnaturally but he could not see the source of the movement. Also, the movement was unlike what any other denizen of the forest they were in would cause.

The asuras all stopped and took positions both in the trees and on the ground just inside the clearing. They clearly had no problem following him at all, maybe their eyesight was as good as Garuda’s. He heard a faint whirr as the cylinders on their shoulders moved, likely targeting him as he flew. He currently presented a large target. Garuda was a full head and a half taller than any of these creatures, and quite a bit larger. Add to this his huge wingspan, about three times his own height and he was a big and easy target for their fiery astras.

He settled into a slow circle at a constant altitude and as expected, the whirring of the cylinders stopped. Clearly they had taken the bait and were going to all fire at him and around his current positions to prevent his escape by possible maneuvering.

But he preempted their firing by a fraction of a kshana. In the tiny space of the time it took between their decision to fire and the actual firing, he folded his wings in and dropped like a rock. Several astras flared out from the asuras and lit up the night sky, all converging on Garuda. But he was no longer there. All the creatures desperately sought out his new position to get a lock on.

Garuda had become a target just a fourth of its original size as he folded in his wings. And he was falling a lot faster than he would be flying, making it remarkably difficult for any of the asuras to get a clear aim at him for their astras. A few more astras flashed past and missed him as the asuras were now firing wildly, hoping to get in a lucky strike, albeit in futility.

When he was less than a body length above the ground, he again spread his wings and flew straight into the tree line. He went for the asuras that were invisible. They had revealed themselves to his keen observation and tracking abilities when they had fired multiple astras. He flew through a gap in the trees he had chosen as he was falling. He pulled in his wings as he was flying past a large sturdy branch and seemingly punched into the air. The head of one of the asuras snapped off in a spray of green.

In the next fraction of a kshana he again sped up by spreading his wings. He realigned the feathers in his wings and did a complete three sixty in his flight. As he did so, his left wing, with the momentum of the turnabout, sliced another invisible creature in half. More luminescent green on the trees.

He now let out a roar that was a combination of the calls of a tiger and an eagle which would scare any living being into either complete paralysis or trigger in them an urge to flee posthaste, at great speed.

Garuda’s situational awareness turned true again. His change from careful tactics to psychological warfare unnerved even these other worldly hunters. One of them let out a bellow of its own while the rest leaped out into the clearing he had come from, likely in hopes of using their astras against him as he flew out of the tree line next.

But Garuda focused on the only one that was invisible. It had leaped from its position into the clearing and was moving fast towards a large rock. He followed its trail through the impressions its feet left in the grass of the shola. He broke off a large branch nonchalantly and hurled it from where he landed temporarily. The branch speared the creature and even drilled partway into the rock towards which it was running. The dead asura materialized into visibility as it was stuck to the rock.

Now there were seven of the asuras in the clearing, four visible and three only partially visible. They had not formed any specific formation, maybe for lack of time or perhaps the terror inspired by Garuda’s roar had not worn off yet.

Garuda flew after them. He flapped his wings noisily and circled them once quickly. This predictably got them to stop running and turn around following his movement. They were in two clusters, one with three visible asuras and another shimmering cluster. This cluster obviously had the remaining three asuras. Garuda flew between the two clusters. Only one of the asuras fired an astra. But Garuda’s speed meant it missed him, but it did strike one of the creatures in the other cluster and killed it, vapourizing half its body.

Garuda now moved back and landed in the midst of the cluster with the four asuras. This time around none of them used their astras for fear of killing more of their own. They all had the blades on their wrists extended now, and advanced on Garuda, who waited for a kshana.

He then lashed out with his wings in the blink of an eye at the two asuras he was not facing. They were both beaten in one move. The one on his left, he had struck low with his wing and cut off its legs, surprising it with the speed and angle of attack. The one on his right, he had struck high. He had lifted his wing above the asura and smashed down on its head. This asura had raised its blades in defense and cut through a couple of his feathers, but that was all. Its legs bucked with the strike and its back was broken. Both of these creatures would soon be dead.

Even as he attacked with his wings, Garuda had advanced on the one in front without any pause. The two asuras left were stunned for an instant. In that instant Garuda punched at the creature in front of him. It belatedly raised its bladed right fist in defense. But the punch had been a feint. It turned into a grab, as Garuda grasped the asura’s wrist in a vicelike grip.

He then spun around while he yanked the asura off its feet and over his head, and smashed it into the one behind him. One was dead and another was out of commission for good, even if not dead immediately.

Now he advanced on the last two remaining asuras in the clearing. They had also advanced towards him as he had dispatched the other four. Now they stopped, turned tail and retreated. They ran and leaped back into the forest.

Garuda did not follow or attack. He had no desire to kill those that posed him no threat and wished him no harm. He chose to regroup with Jambavan and Hanuman to decide further tactics.

Next chapter – Trees, on 15^th August 2024

Garuda as imagined on the cover art of “Garuda”, published by Amar Chitra Katha