Meanwhile, as Srini and Manu waited for the boat near the lake, far away at the place where they had fought the horned sheep, a figure began to emerge. It was walking toward the same spot where Manu and Srini had battled the horned sheep .
The figure stood nearly six feet tall, its bulky body covered in coarse brown hair. Four glowing green eyes stared forward — two normal-sized, and two smaller ones beside them.
On its head, two circular horns twisted close to its skull, while two long horns — nearly two feet in length — stretched outward like deadly blades. It looked like an adult horned sheep.
Its mouth dripped with blood, leaving a trail along the ground as it walked.
A large patch of its wool was missing, and on closer look, the skin there seemed to have been forcefully torn away — as if it had barely survived a brutal battle against another beast.
The creature sniffed the air, its four eyes narrowing as it followed the scent. Step by step, it reached the ruined building where Manu and Srini had fought earlier.
Moving through the rubble, the adult horned sheep stopped — it had found what it was searching for. Lying there was the severed head of the younger horned sheep.
It nudged the head gently with its front leg, staring into its lifeless eyes.
Then the adult horned sheep threw back its head and let out a thunderous scream that echoed across the ruins.
Lowering its head again, it sniffed the bloodied remains carefully, before raising its head once more and releasing another earth-shaking roar into the sky.
The settlement has many rules. One rule is that nobody can get in or out, and people should never come near the settlement at night.
The settlement is built under a freshwater lake that does not connect to any other water bodies, and the fish in the lake are enough for the people in the settlement to live on. The fish are safe for normal humans to eat.The settlement government thinks that if any evolved animal comes near the lake, and if the fish also become evolved, it would destroy the settlement's food source. To protect it, soldiers fire on anything approaching the lake — even humans — so nobody goes near the settlement at night.
Manu and Srini were waiting for the boat to arrive. After a while a small boat started to come toward them. It was the same man who had dropped them off in the early morning. The boatman arrived near the shore.
((Author: Sorry I didn't give a name for the boatman, so I will name him Akash but i will call his as a boat man.))
"Get on the boat," The boat man said firmly.
Manu and Srini looked at each other.
"I think we got caught," Manu said in a low voice.
"What do we do now?" Srini asked.
"What can I do? You're the one who took his thing," Manu said.
"What? No, Manu — don't do it. You told me to take his thing, okay?" Srini said.
"What are you doing standing there — want to get eaten by creatures, or would you like to stay one more day?" the boat man said with anger.
"Okay, we're coming," Manu replied.
They moved onto the boat and sat. The boat man started to row.
"I think he didn't find out — maybe I can keep it," Srini whispered to Manu.
Suddenly the old man stopped the boat in the middle of the lake. He stood up and came toward Manu and Srini.
"Now give it to me," The boat man said.
"What are you talking about?" Srini said, playing confused.
the boat man grabbed Srini's collar with both hands.
"Return the thing you took," the boat man demanded.
"What are you doing?" Srini said.
"Okay — we will give it to you," Manu said.
Srini took the watch from his pocket and tried to hand it over.
The boatman, still holding Srini, reached for the watch, but Manu snatched it back.
"Now what are you scheming?" the boatman asked.
"It's nothing. First return our things," Manu said.
"Yeah—you took our things first. Return them, then we'll return yours," Srini added.
The boatman took out their IDs from his pocket and threw them at their faces.
"Give it to me now," the boat man demanded.
When the boatman threw the IDs, Manu and Srini's faces turned serious.
"Where is my locket?" Manu asked, his face hard.
"First pay one hundred rupees," the boatman said.
"Do you want your watch intact or would you like me to dip it in the water?" Srini snapped.
"I want to ask you , do you still want to go to the settlement or not?" the boat man said.
'I need to do something, or this will go the wrong way,' Manu thought.
"Okay, take this," Manu said, and threw the watch toward the man.
The old man checked the watch carefully, then looked at Manu and Srini.
He put it in a small pouch he wore on his waist.
By seeing the pouch Manu started to remember something from the settlement