Aditya had set his foot in Kendrapara district two days before the cyclone was supposed to hit. His team helped in relocating people and resources. When the cyclone was creating havoc on the coast, he was busy in surveillance of the area. And now that they have to deal with the aftermath of it, he has been assigned the task of guarding the relief supplies in the Panchayat Bhawan building of Palanpur village.
He jumped out of the army truck into Palanpur's sticky air. The mud clung to his boot like the unresolved grief of the people there. His team went straight to the panchayat bhawan, secured it in every way possible, and received the first set of supplies. Lt. Rhea was busy receiving the supplies sent. Rifleman Thapa and Subedar Vikram Singh were standing on guard. Captain Aarav was making sure to check the ID cards and permits of anyone who tried to enter. Lt. Rawat was inside the building, making sure the supplies were secured.
Aditya sat on a makeshift chair and was going through the details and planning, along with Captain Aarav, at times how to react if the situation somehow got out of hand. There were more soldiers assigned to his team who were on guard outside to make sure everything was peaceful. There were teams of police and CRPF too, all trying to keep everything in check.
Aditya could sense the tension in the air; it is in such situations that he feels helpless. His work is to fight on the borders with enemies to save his people. But when he stands in-between the basic supplies and his people who are in need of them, his heart splits in two. On one side he sees the helplessness, and on the other he is very well aware of the mob psychology and how the public will become its own enemy if they are not standing in between. Nevertheless, it is difficult to explain this to a common man, and the common man might mistake them as the bad guy. That misunderstanding was something he did not want to happen.
----
"Sir, the chief medical officer of the village has informed us that the team of doctors from Delhi, along with healthcare workers from nearby hospitals, has reached here. They will need the medical supplies." Lt. Rhea informed.
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"Sure, be ready with it; however, dispatch is only in the presence of disaster relief officials and proper clearance." Aditya answered.
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----
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Dr. Reeta had left the medical camp with the CMO of the district to meet the official and then to get supplies.
She had instructed everyone to start treating the patients with whatever earlier supplies were there.
'They won't last a long time; Reeta should come soon,' Jahnvi thought to herself.
It was then she saw a group of people bring a woman on a wooden cot towards the relief camp. As they reached the camp, Jahnvi and Nurse Sonali rushed to her.
Jahnvi held her hand.
Thready pulse.
Dry tongue.
Altered sensorium.
Case of severe dehydration.
"IV fluids. Now. Where the hell are they?" She barked.
Nurse Sonali replies, "We didn't get them yet. They are in the supply building."
Nurse Sonali was talking about how they have to wait. But Jahnvi was in her alert action mode.
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"Just one. Go bring them. Wait, I'll go; you see the patient."
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Jahnvi started sprinting towards the building 50 meters ahead.
Someone shouted, "We need Clearance." She could not hear.
50 meters ahead. Mud splashing on her white coat. She's not thinking of protocols. She's thinking of saving that woman.
---
The guards spotted a figure sprinting towards the building. Mud-splattered coat, scarf flying, urgency in every step.
They stopped Jahnvi at the main entrance itself.
Lt. Rhea joined them and was explaining how she cannot enter this area without permission.
Aditya could hear the buzz outside, and when it did not stop, he decided to look into it.
When he came out of the main entrance, he saw a woman in a mud-laden white coat and pink scarf arguing with guards and Lt. Rhea. She looked as if she was in a hurry and wanted to enter the building.
"STOP"
His voice slices through the air, and everyone becomes silent in a second.
He walks forward, and the woman in the white coat turns to look at him.
'Wait, seriously, she?' His inner self screamed at her sight.
When Jahnvi saw him, she instantly recognized him. It took a split second for her brain to recall the memories and just one more second to connect the dots that he talked against paperwork in Delhi, so he might help her right now.
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"You do not enter a secured area like that." As if he issued a command during combat.
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Jahnvi's panting. "But, there's a woman dying back there. I need IV fluids right now." There's still hope in Jahnvi that he will help her.
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He looked at her with unreadable expressions and rigid posture. "That's not how it works. You need clearance."
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That was unexpected; that was hypocritical.
She hoped he might side with her, but he became the wall she had to climb.
And then she snapped, "Oh? Then how does it work? Complaining about signatures in the capital and waiting for them in an emergency."
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He doesn't flinch. "That was Delhi; this is a disaster. We have a chain of command for a reason. You don't break it because you feel emotional."
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"This isn't emotion; this is emergency medicine."
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"And this isn't a free-for-all. This is a military-secured zone."
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"If that woman dies,. It's on you."
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His jaw tightened. Not because she was wrong, but because she thought he did not care.
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Before he could reply, he saw some people entering.
----
Dr. Reeta and her team came with clearance.
Everyone freezes.
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"Let them through." Aditya commands.
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Jahnvi grabs the box without any word. Their eyes meet. Something shifts.
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She leaves. He exhales.
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And when he should not, Rawat chimes in, "Sir, pink saree?"
Aditya gives him a death stare.
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He was sure he saw the common man he was worried about in her eyes. Feeling misunderstood, he just stared at the building's entrance.
----
Taking out a crumbled napkin from his pocket.
He wrote, 'If that woman dies, it's on you.'
Stares at the ink bleeding into the fibers.
Crushes the napkin into his fist and tucks it into his pocket.
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and then Add to home screen.