The second instruction was given to her brother Nakul, who was flying the helicopter.
The helicopter dipped low as she held on to the shaky rope ladder. The rope ladder shook dangerously.
“Rudra, tham!” she screamed, using the word for stop in the Kabali language.
But the demon continued slicing through the rope ladder.
The helicopter now flew dangerously low. With rocky, mountainous terrain around, they could crash into a mountain anytime. A terrified sob escaped her, knowing her brothers’ lives were in danger because of her.
She turned as much as she could and attacked the demon.
“Stop, you savage!” she yelled. She tried to claw his grey eyes, but he turned his face away and continued to cut off the rope ladder.
Just as the helicopter hovered over the oasis, she felt the rope ladder snap. She screamed as she began to fall. The demon’s arm that was wrapped around her tightened.
Her scream of terror was cut off when her body hit the water.
She held her breath when she and the demon went underwater. She heard another splash at a distance and saw that one of her brothers had jumped into the oasis.
The demon’s arm remained wrapped around her, and he began kicking. His powerful legs propelled them up to the surface.
As soon as her head came above the surface, she gasped loudly and inhaled a deep breath.
“Let me go!” she screamed.
But the demon continued to hold her.
She saw her brother Rishab surfacing in the oasis barely a few feet away. She struggled and tried to go towards her brother. But the demon pulled her close, and she once again felt the cold, metallic edge of the knife against her throat.
She froze.
And so did her brother.
The demon pulled her closer and indicated with the knife for her brother to leave. When her brother waited, the knife once again came against her throat. This time, she felt a sting of pain when the sharp end cut into her skin. She could feel the blood dripping down her throat.
She flinched.
“Bhai,” she whispered, seeing the angry, helpless look on her brother’s face. “Please leave.”
She knew her brother would try to attack the demon. And the demon was savage and brutal enough to stab her brother. She had seen the demon fight and kill.
She didn’t want any of her brothers to risk their lives to save her.
“Please,” she begged her brother again. “Leave… I-I’ll be fine.”
She saw her brother’s eyes flash with anger and worry. But slowly, he turned and began swimming away from her.
The demon waited on the spot, holding her hostage with the knife.
With tear-filled eyes, she looked at her brother Shivay as he watched her grimly. Moments later, a rope lowered at the end of the oasis, and Rishab held on to it.
She let out a sob, watching the helicopter as it flew away from the oasis.
The demon lowered the knife and began swimming towards a rocky shore. As soon as they reached, he dragged her out of the water, picked her up, and hauled her over his shoulder.
“You savage demon! Let me go!”
She fought the demon hard.