You're Next, Buddy - Part 9!

YOU’RE NEXT, BUDDY

PRE-NOTE:

Kindly excuse correct the grammatical mistakes. Thanks in advance. :-)

PART 9:

Gokul’s eyes narrowed. “You saw me in a dream? What?”

Supriya began to speak but Rocky interrupted plaintively. “Not now, Riya.”

“But how could he be in my dream if I haven’t seen him before?” She sounded helpless and she wished she didn’t.

Rocky lashed out. “Will you please shut up?”

Supriya was wounded. “Rocky, I just…”

“Shut up!” He said more seriously this time if that was possible.

“I am sorry,” she said in a thick voice, through her tears and came out and sat on the stairs outside the house, hugging her knees. When Rocky and Sandhya found her wiping her tear-streaked face on her hanky, the hours hand had already completed half rotation in their clocks.

“Come on. Let’s go,” said Sandhya. Rocky didn’t bother as he walked casually, checking his phone. Supriya got up and trod heavily after them. None of them spoke during the whole journey and when Supriya was dropped at her place, Rocky informed her, “Go sleep. If you have the same dream, we’re going to the doctor in the evening. Okay?” She simply nodded and went in.

But she had a good night’s sleep the previous night and so she couldn’t close her eyes and travel to the slumber land. She read a book for some time and Ayesha was still not back. Her first thought was to call Ayesha but then chose the opposite. She put on her favorite hooded sweat jacket over her sleeveless top. She changed her jeans and wore the spandex pants. In a minute, her hair was corralled in a bun too and her overall appearance would suggest that she was out for jogging. As a finishing touch, she plugged her ear phones and let the music fill her ears.

“If Vasanth found me in his park, I will tell him that I am here to run.” She sent an air kiss to her reflection in the mirror before locking the door behind her.

She reached the park after a short walk and looked up at his window eagerly. There weren’t any movements and she twisted her lips in disappointment. She started running, faster when she was around the other side of the park and made it insanely slow when she was around his window. She counted every round and the number just peaked without a peek of him.

Finally when she was about to give up, the blinds of his window went up and he waved at her. He joined her in another two minutes. “So it takes 2 minutes to cover 80% of the park and 7 minutes to cover this distance? We should notify our scientists, maybe! Some amazing gravity this place has.” He said.

So he noticed – thought Supriya with a sheepish grin. She thought she saw a smile playing around the corners of his mouth, but over the years as a professor, he’d become very good at suppressing such displays. “So…”

“Change your outfit and come back. My doors are ready to welcome you always. You don’t have to pretend,” he said, nodding with assurance. He didn’t smile, he didn’t touch her, he didn’t even say anything kindly, but the tenderness in his face was enough for her to forget her worries. How she felt remarkably calm here rather than with her closest friends!

“Yes, sure,” she turned and walked.

Vasanth said loudly, “Seriously?”

She turned around and looked at him with a perplexed expression. “Why do you have to follow what I say? Come on, stand up for your thoughts and yourself. Do you really want to go back and…”

“No,” she said immediately, grappling his wrists.

“That’s right. Say ‘No’ to people once in a while,” Then, in spite of himself, Vasanth cracked a smile, and then laughed outright without any reason. Supriya laughed now too, letting go of him and putting her hands up to her mouth. Vasanth leaned against the fence and just let loose, laughing so hard that his eyes started watering. Supriya held her stomach, laughing breathlessly, then tried to talk, panting.

“Oh, oh, I’ve not laughed like this for a long time despite being part of the funniest gang in the university--” she said, leaning against the fence next to him. Gradually, they both quieted and just stood against the fence beside each other, staring into space. Supriya had a sudden vision of bringing her lips to his and declaring her love for him but she didn’t have the guts.

“You know,” Vasanth said suddenly (at least it seemed sudden to Supriya), “you look really nice when you’re laughing like that.”

She turned and looked at him. “You look nice all the time,” she said softly, moving her eyes over his thin face, the sprinkling of freckles over his nose, his deep brown eyes, his dark hair which had its own mind…

Vasanth’s eyes went very wide, and he shook his head. “Come in,” he said, walking towards his door. She took the first step which was going to change her life forever in a way she had never imagined.

***********

At the same time, Prashanth was spread over the ponyskin chair before the picture window, his legs crossed on the table, a ten-inch frosted glass in his hand, and the damaged building designed by him at his feet. He was studying his design between sips and wondering where he went wrong. He wasn’t supposed to make such a pathetic construct.

He squinted down at the remaining thermocol sheets, sipping his rum and enjoying his loneliness. It was a blue-white day. The hill ran green and flowered to the twinkled plain, simmering in the sun. At this point Prashanth noticed that his glass was as empty as his creativity presently. He got up from the ponyskin chair and found himself face to face with his dad. “Isn’t it too early for drinks?” he asked softly.

“Yes, but I am depressed,” said Prashanth, avoiding his father Rajesh’s eyes. “I told Aunt Ranjani I wasn’t seeing anybody today, not even her. How did you get in?”

Rajesh picked the messed up building from the floor and placed it back on the table. “Climbed up through the window. I tried not to trample your little money plant. I hope you do not mind.”

“I do mind,” and then he suddenly laughed. “Dad, what? Tell me that you’re kidding.”

“Of course I am kidding. This is my house, Pras, and I happen to have a spare key to your room.”

He was grinning now. “Outrageous, I say. Are you spying on me and Vasu?”

His father wasn’t. “I don’t, until and unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

“I am okay, dad. I am just tired, I guess.”

“But I’ve got to see you.”

“Everybody’s got to see me. But I don’t have to see everybody. Especially not you when I look like this.”

“You are sort of pale, aren’t you? Go get dressed now,” said Rajesh. Prashanth realized that Rajesh was in a fine suit, looking as though he was addressing the board of directors whereas he was in his shorts. He must look ridiculous. He didn’t argue this time; he went in without a word.

When he came out safe and suave in slacks, Shantung shirt, and burgundy corduroy jacket, Rajesh was in his ponyskin chair with crossed legs, smoking a cigarette. “I’ve fixed your drink,” he said, passing the glass.

“Kind of you. I suppose that means I must offer you one.” No point in fighting anymore – he had to talk to his dad about his problem.

“Thanks. I don’t drink before five.” He was thinking of something else. Prashanth leaned against the picture window and looked down at him.

“Dad, I am a bit worried about Vasu. This girl that he is seeing…”

“One of his students? He just introduced her to me. She looks nice.”

“I did a background check on her. No status, nothing – apart from all that, she is a nutcase.”

Rajesh chuckled but didn’t say anything. Prashanth continued, “I don’t think that she would never replace a wonderful lady like my mom… Why won’t you talk some sense and take Vasanth’s mind off this girl? I am actually feeling guilty because I put him through it without thinking. Kill me now.”

“Come on, Pras, you’re the youngest in this house. Behave like one.”

“I wish. I talked to her this morning and I didn’t like her a bit. I should’ve seen this coming as I know her gang…”

“Listen, for the first time, he shows some interest in a girl and I don’t want to disturb that. I don’t want to be a typical dad before even he gets serious.”

“I want to end this before this gets serious,” said Prashanth desperately. “She is a half-wit, daddy. You talk to her and you’ll see.”

“We’re going to see it; let’s go to Vasu’s room,” said Rajesh.

Prashanth just stood there, staring his father. Rajesh got up and touched his arm. “Come on!”

Vasanth’s room wasn’t closed like Prashanth’s. Vasanth smiled at them when they stood in his doorway while Supriya didn’t notice as her back was to them and she was still talking. “…done. That’s why I chose to tell you everything.”

“What about your friends?” He asked.

“They are such dummies,” she sighed.

“They don’t listen to you?”

“They listen to me. But then they laugh. There is nothing funny about my dreams happening for real, right?”

Prashanth sighed, rolling the frosty glass along his brow. “Ah, of course, there it comes! Dad, that’s exactly what I was talking about.”

Supriya rose as soon as she understood that they weren’t alone. “Uncle! Prashanth!”

“Don’t bother us,” said Rajesh, flashing a warning look at Prashanth and pulling him away.

Prashanth raised his glass and sank the entire contents down his throat. “I’d never let him marry her, dad. I’ll make sure of that.”

***********

“Stop right there, sir,” said Sylvia, looking offended.

“What?” Prashanth lifted his eyebrows.

“Prashanth hated Supriya?” A determined look was in her black eyes, two little lines forming between her brows when she was frowning, deep in thought.

“That’s a strong word. Even dislike is a strong word. He simply thought that Vasanth could do better than a Supriya.”

She got an angry scowl on her face, her lips went into a straight line. “This is exactly why I hate men. They always look for better ones. They don’t care that women have feelings too. They look at them as though they are some objects made of flesh and blood just for the sake of… for the sake of…”

“Supriya left Vasanth and it’s not the other way around,” Prashanth retorted.

All the angry lines disappeared and she nodded with a pout. “Fair point. Go on.”

“Before that, your friend over there seems restless and she is the only person sweating all over in an airport. I think you should comfort her before the airport authorities arresting her mistakenly for carrying dynamite.”

Sylvia waved her hand impatiently. “She doesn’t look that bad, does she?”

“Maybe if you care that that woman has feelings and she is not just some object…”

“All right. All right. I take it back whatever I said. It’s just that I grow fond of this Supriya already – girls like her don’t exist anymore. Naïve is an outdated concept these days, you know?”

“Naïve is overrated.”

“Naïve is underrated.” Sylvia protested.

Prashanth shrugged his shoulders. “Sure. I like smart girls on the other hand.”

“So you don’t like Supriya either?”

Prashanth bit his lips. For a moment, he forgot that she wasn’t aware of the fact that he in person and Prashanth in the story were one and the same. “I… I liked her eventually.” His fingers perfunctorily touched the star shaped dollar he was wearing.

Sylvia smiled. “Good. I’ll go see my friend now.”

“I’ll be back shortly too. I need to do something,” he left. Sylvia turned twice or thrice to check him but he didn’t show any impulse to do so. In the corner of her heart, she felt a tad bit upset.

She went and sat next to Priya. “Priya, why are you shivering like this?”

“What was that? The Arrow is watching us? I don’t want to die. Even if I want to, definitely not in a psycho’s hands. Please, Sylvi, let’s leave.”

“What about Police? Let’s inform them before leaving.”

“Sure. And when are we leaving?”

Sylvia looked away. “After Vijay finishes his story…”

Priya grabbed her shoulders tightly that made Sylvia wince. “Sylvi, something is thoroughly wrong. I know that you think that this story has something to do with The Arrow.”

“No, I like him.”

“What?” Priya shouted. She thought of the only thing that could put off Sylvia. “What if he is the arrow?”

Prashanth who just got back suddenly hid himself behind a pillar and watched Sylvia eagerly. “I would turn him to the Police but still would bail him out to check out his side of the story.”

“Wrong answer,” Prashanth murmured inaudibly.

***********

“The Arrow,” Indhu sounded hollow. “He got you. He hurt you. He… hurt… you.” She said it again.

Vijay began. “Honey…” He gave up as he knew that she was not listening at all. Her eyes were glassy and fixed on the opposite side of the wall while she continued rocking in the rocker chair.

“She scares me,” said Raghav.

“Did you check every place in my house? There is no one? There is no blood?”

“You scare me too,” said Raghav.

“Alright. I shouldn’t have asked that for the third time.”

“Fourth.” Raghav corrected.

“He hurt Vij,” said Indhu. “He hurt my Vij.”

“And I thought that this won’t get creepier,” Raghav said, slapping Vijay’s thigh out of habit and Vijay flinched. “Ouch!”

Bhargav put in. “The Arrow took us to a place, went to certain heights of redecorating the place just like your bedroom, manhandle you with a chainsaw, let me run wild in an unknown place for a while and then took you back to your house to make another setup. What the hell is that all about?”

Raghav snapped his forehead. “Is it a family thing? He is saying that for the fifth time.”

Vijay looked around and shook his head wildly. “Okay, I shall give you something to ponder. Let’s skip the entire ‘why’ because it doesn’t make any sense. I’d like to concentrate on ‘how’. He redecorated a room just like mine, complete even with all the furniture – that means that he has access to my bedroom regularly, every inch of it – how? That day I was kidnapped, I checked the glove compartment before parking – no chloroform and no cellphone. How did it get into it when I was going out? I am damn sure that no one entered the premises apart from us. So how again? Until and unless there was an inside help, he could not have achieved it.

We met a girl in the airport and how did Arrow manage to contact us using the same girl’s picture or profile whatever? One sane explanation is that the girl Priya Viswanathan was Arrow’s accomplice – you need to take her into custody, Raghav. For starters, how did she know that I was Arrow’s victim? She has some connection and we need her.

The most astonishing thing is this – I, myself, didn’t know that I was going to go out till last minute. I mean that I took the decision of going to Phoenix mall earlier just that moment and Arrow knew it – how? Either he is following every move of mine or he has someone who gives those details. For some reason, I am sure that he didn’t follow me – he was simply waiting there. So the possibilities of him having an accomplice in my inner circle – it’s unbelievable but we gotta consider it.”

“Vij, you’re insane. Do you realize what you’re saying? It means that one of us – either me, Bhargav or your uncle is involved.”

“Not exactly, Raghav. We have the servants, securities, my aunt, Bhargav’s girlfriend and my grandmother apart from you three. I can’t bring myself to suspect any of these people. But trust me, somewhere there is a weak link.”

Raghav sighed, “Did you work out the connection between the other victims and you?”

“Yes. None.”

“What?”

“We’re not connected directly – I am 100% sure about that.”

“But you’re connected indirectly. Is that what you’re telling me?”

“More or less. Think of every murder – he takes a video and sends it to someone. By killing someone, he is destroying another soul. Have you noticed that?”

Raghav’s eyes mechanically spotted Indhu who looked more painful than Vijay who was hurt physically. “By hurting one physically, he is hurting one mentally.”

“Exactly. That’s where the connection is. James Alwin’s second son, Badrinath’s girlfriend, Gokul’s wife, Juhi Sinha’s cousin and my wife – I bet my life that there is something that is linking all these people.” As a detective, he formed a conclusion – but he wished that he hadn’t said it aloud. Indhu looked worse than ever upon those words – she could not tolerate the fact that he was hurt on behalf of her.

“You hurt him. I’ll kill you,” Indhu stared at the wall with loathing.

Raghav clicked his tongue. “And now she is talking to a person who is not in the room.”

“Raghav, please,” said Vijay, getting up and stopping the rocker of Indhu. “Would you like some coffee, dear?”

“I’ll make some,” she said without looking at him.

“No, I’ll do it. You sit there.”

“I don’t want any.”

Raghav squealed. “It’s 3 AM in the morning and you’re trying to keep her awake? Go to hell, Vij.”

Indhu finally broke eye contact with the wall and looked at the three. She pointed at Raghav first, “You” and then at Bhargav “You” and looked at them both again. “Both of you, get out.”

“What?” All three men shouted in disbelief.

“Now!” She said, crossing her arms across her chest. Vijay was the first to recover. “Baby…”

“One more word, I’ll walk out on you right now and I swear you’ll never see me again, Vij.”

Vijay’s mouth fell open and his world just stopped for a few seconds. Raghav apologized quickly and went out. Bhargav tried to explain but he was tongue-tied as he faced the murderous look on her eyes. They said wordlessly, ‘You let my husband to a killer and ran away. I don’t trust you anymore.’ It pained him that he had lost his sister’s trust. He knew that there was nothing he could do at this unearthly hour and so he backed off.

They were alone and Indhu leaned on the sofa next to Vijay and flung her arms around his shoulder. “I am sorry. I am sorry. I am sorry. For a moment, I just thought that leaving you is easier for me than watching you get hurt. And the moment I said it, I regret it. Either way, I am gonna die or end up in prison.”

“You need sleep.”

“No, no, no, please stay,” her arms tightened.

At a quarter of four she allowed him to give her one of the sleeping pills. She undressed stiffly and changed into her pajamas. She moved like a walking doll. He tucked her into bed and stooped to kiss her. “I love you.”

“Please don’t go anywhere. Please don’t.”

He kissed the top of her head. “I won’t, Indhu.” She babbled and mewed a bit before falling asleep. She still wouldn’t let go of his hand. He smiled, pulled a chair and leaned against it. He silenced their phones and made sure that the alarm wasn’t set.

He wasn’t sure when he fell asleep; but when he was awake, her head was in his lap and she was curled around like a little kitten. He swung his legs to the floor without disturbing her and smoothed her hair. She groaned a bit but continued sleeping like a child. He was so fascinated to watch her hair fall across her cheeks and every time she pushed them behind her ears automatically. She moaned in her sleep, mumbled something.

He looked down and saw her eyes moving behind her eyelids. He thought about what she’d be likely to be dreaming about if she sounded like that, and became even warmer. He bent down and tried to make some sense of what she was saying. ‘I’ll hunt you down and cut to pieces for hurting my Vij.’

“Now this is nightmare,” said Vijay. Indhu slowly opened her eyes and smiled brightly. “I woke up in the middle of the night and saw you in the chair. Actually I should’ve asked you to come into bed but I couldn’t resist. Sorry.”

“I am super exhausted and I could use a couple of gallons of coffee, Mrs. Vijay.”

“It’s all ready for you. You just sit here. I’ll get it.”

“No, I’ll come into the kitchen.”

They went into the kitchen. Indhu spooned out the coffee, watching him. Indhu poured. “Indhu, can’t you just let it go? Yes, somebody hurt me, but I am fine and so shall we move on?”

“Thank god that you were all right.” A silence dropped between them. He sat down at the kitchen table and mixed the sugar cubes. He wanted her to say in words that she wouldn’t avenge him even if he was dead.

“Indhu…”

“You won’t leave me again like you did in the airport?”

“No.” He said firmly and he meant it.

“Shall we reverse our roles for a few days? How would you like me to take care of you instead of you being the caretaker always?”

Vijay nodded with a knowing smile. He touched her short hair that curled around her shoulders. “What would I do without you?”

“I’ll bet you say that to all your girls.”

“Yep.” He kissed her and felt the tension of her body through the terry robe. “I’m one hell of a husband. But will you drop the whole thing and…”

“No, Vij, I’ve got to do something!” His stomach contracted. She was jerking with sobs again. “What kind of horrible wife I would be, if I just simply let it go?”

“A few minutes ago you were thanking God I am okay.” She kept sobbing. He kept stroking her. He could find nothing else to say. He had always hated to see Indhu cry, he was a complete coward about her tears. They made him furious, they brought back memories of one thing that he was simply bad at – consoling anyone. Even now, he was finding no words of comfort, only curses at his helplessness.

“I’m sorry.” Indhu pushed away from him. “Bawling isn’t going to help anyone.”

“You cry all you want. But just forget that…”

She looked alarmed suddenly. “Vij?”

“What is it?”

“Did Raghav make a search in our basement?”

“I didn’t think so.”

She broke from him and ran towards the stairs that led to the basement. Vijay couldn’t go ahead of her, thanks to his wound but he followed her as fast as he could. He didn’t reach the basement when Indhu came back, gasping for breath and hugging him. “Vij, murder! It’s way too cruel. And The Arrow had left two videos for me.”

To be continued.

Comments and criticisms are welcome. :-)

For previous parts, kindly check

https://www.facebook.com/wonderlandatleisure
http://lavanyaa26.blogspot.in/

Thanks & Regards,

Lavanyaa

You're Next, Buddy: Part 8!

YOU’RE NEXT, BUDDY

PRE-NOTE:

Kindly excuse correct the grammatical mistakes. Thanks in advance. :-)

PART 8:

“Warn who?” asked Vasanth.

Sylvia was the first one to come up with a brilliant excuse. “Your brother. He had so many amazing things here. Only if he has the common sense to leave the wasted pizza in the dustbin, there wouldn’t be so many ants trying to build a home within his building.”

Vasanth threw back his head and laughed throatily. “I am gonna write it down and tell the exact words to Prashu.” Sylvia joined the laughter too.

Priya cleared her throat. “Did they announce a holiday in college because it was raining outside?”

Sylvia smirked. “That’s for school kids. Ah, how I miss school. So Vasanth…”

“Actually I am in a hurry. Aunt Ranjani has a flight to catch; Prashanth is supposed to take her to the airport, you know? But they both forgot it totally and here I am, to clear the mess. I had to give up an important seminar to…”

“We will do it,” Sylvia said, ignoring the head shakes from her friend. “I was anyway going to run an errand for a friend. So I’ll take care of it too.”

Vasanth breathed a sigh of relief. “You’ll do that? Thank you very much, Sylvia. I’ll let my aunt know… Aunty!” He called out and shortly they heard him descending the stairs.

“What the hell!” Priya gritted her teeth. “Are we here to solve a mystery or are we going to start an old age home?”

“Actually that’s not a bad joke. I’ll laugh when I feel like it,” said Sylvia sarcastically.

“What you’re doing is a bad joke, Sylvi,” said Priya, still shaking her head disapprovingly.

“Come now,” Sylvia looked out and said, “Put everything back in place. Nothing must look disturbed. I’ll take a look at Vasanth’s room before going downstairs, okay?”

“All right,” Priya accepted and Sylvia ran to the next room. Five minutes later, they both were in the front seats of an Indica with Aunt Ranjani on the back. Vasanth was helping with the luggage. Sylvia was on the wheel, smiling and Priya gave her a “we-are-actually-going-to-airport-because-of-your-stupidity” look that turned her smile into a guilty wry childlike expression. She averted her eyes and looked back at Vasanth. Ranjani kissed his forehead and Vasanth picked a huge bar of chocolate from his pocket and passed it to her.

Sylvia thought that there was something queer about that chocolate bar while Priya quipped, “Chocolates are for young ladies, Mr. Vasanth. What do we get for this amazing service from our end?”

“How about dinner in Hyatt?”

“Sure,” said Priya, looking impressed. But he was looking at Sylvia. “I am inviting my brother as well.” Sylvia felt weird but didn’t decline his call. “Of course,” she said, turning the ignition key. The car roared and moved ahead while Vasanth waved at them till they disappeared.

“So Aunty, where’re you going?” asked Priya casually once they hit the road.

“To London. My daughter is settled there; I visit there once a year during the holidays of my grandkids. I am going to miss my boys.”

“You love them more than your daughter,” said Sylvia, judging from the look on the old woman’s face.

“That’s true,” said Ranjani without hesitation. “Prashu will take care of himself. But I am not sure about Vasu. Ever since Supriya went missing, he is not in his usual self. He worries me the most.” Ranjani talked about the brothers as though she was coming back from their school after leaving them there on their first day.

“Did you like Supriya?”

“She was a very sweet girl. Vasanth introduced me to her one day, saying that she would come and stay with us. She was frightened by something; I don’t know what troubled her. She would wake up in the middle of the night and cry. But besides all that, the girl is honest and loved Vasanth more than me and Prashu. I have no idea why she left Vasu.” Ranjani heaved a deep sigh.

“Have you met her friends? Rocky, David, Jhansi etc?”

“Once! They all came to her birthday party. It was a disaster… Hey, drive straight, lady!” She warned as Sylvia missed a goat that ran on the road by an inch. After that, no matter how hard they tried, they couldn’t get Ranjani back to Supriya’s story. She thanked god for saving the goat, commented that driving was really men’s business, got into argument with Priya on the above subject of gender equality and then the conversation moved to her daughter who was a thorough feminist like Priya.

By the time they decided not to fight over a silly issue anymore, they were already in the airport. Sylvia took out the trolley and Priya helped Ranjani getting into the wheel chair. She came closer to Sylvia and whispered, “This is your burden from now on. I just spotted an old crush of mine and so I am moving ahead with this old lady.”

“Priya Viswanathan, you can’t leave me here with a…”

“You asked for it. Bye, dear,” she smiled brightly, air kissed Sylvia and disappeared into the crowd.

Sylvia was dumbstruck. At first, she thought of going after her friend but then gave up. “I am gonna kill you, Pri.” She mouthed the words and returned to the car to check whether she had missed anything.

“Wow! A cosmic connection, Ms. Priya,” said a voice very close to her ears. She turned around and found Prashanth face to face. “Vijay, you scared me!”

“This is how we meet, Priya. Remember? We don’t know each other’s names, phone numbers and so our meetings have to happen this way. If this has the tendency to…”

Sylvia pouted and lied deliberately. “I got it. I am leaving to London and not coming back any soon.”

“You’re too early for the London flight,” said Prashanth. “Shall I help you with the trolley or something?”

“Yes, please,” said Sylvia gratefully. They both walked together and Sylvia’s eyes kept glancing around for Priya impatiently.

Prashanth asked some questions and she gave a few vague replies as her mind was not really in it till she spotted Priya. She was involved in a chat with tall young man that Sylvia remembered. “Bhargav!” she said, laughing softly. “Old crush indeed.”

“What?” Prashanth wondered, looking all around, disoriented.

“See that guy over there? That’s Bhargav – my best friend’s biggest crush in our college days. He is cute and smart and dated an idiot from my class.”

“And the girl next to him is your bestie?”

“Yep.”

“She looks melted all right.”

“Yep,” repeated Sylvia. “Shall we sit down here and talk something else? Sharing information about my best friend is the violation against our agreement?”

Prashanth’s lips broke into a hot smile as he sat down on the chair and Sylvia took a nearby seat. “Are you sure that we’re here for the flight too early?”

“Oh, I am very sure.” He said without even looking at his watch.

“You’re one of Vasanth’s students, aren’t you?” She asked abruptly.

“Yes. But listen, here’s one idea – how about us sharing the common interests of others? The ones that wouldn’t reveal our identity?”

Sylvia snapped her fingers. “Good idea. I go first. Tell me about your family without any names.”

“I lost my mother when I was five. My father was a businessman and he died a year back in an accident. My brother and I do not know the ABC of business. So it broke and we are heavily mortgaged now. That’s the status of my family,” said Prashanth. “My turn. Same question.”

“Long story short – no parents. That girl over there is not just my friend – she is my second cousin and her parents took care of me.” She jerked her head towards Priya Viswanathan and Priya was still in a conversation with Bhargav. “Question 2: Have you had any crush on anyone in your college days?”

“Nope. I did fall for you now though – It still half-surprises me and half-annoys me. Who is your biggest crush?”

“Rahul Dravid.” Even though it was only ten minutes, she felt like she ran out of questions. Her mind wandered around the things in Prashanth’s room. “What do you think about The Arrow?” Her lips uttered the words even though her uncanny brain sent a warning alert that it was dangerous.

Prashanth’s expressions were unpredictable but he took some time before replying. “What can I say about a high functioning psychopath in the city? Whatever his reasons are, I am pretty sure that he deserves punishment.”

Sylvia didn’t batter her eyelids as she watched him with curiosity. “That’s not much different from everyone’s opinion.” She leaned forward. “Would you believe me if I say that The Arrow is in our neighborhood?”

“No, I wouldn’t.”

Sylvia’s face shrunk. “Why not?”

Two incidents happened at the same time – Prashanth’s cell phone rang and Priya came running to Sylvia, panting. Prashanth made an excuse to attend the call and Priya sat down next to Sylvia. “I left Aunt Ranjani in the waiting room. And then I saw him.”

“Your big time college-crush Bhargav, right? I saw him too. He looks more handsome than ever.”

“Not him. You showed me the picture of Vijay, the purple something guy, from internet, right?”

“Yeah, what about him?”

“He and Bhargav are related. I thought of warning him but I panicked and ran away.” She was sweating all over her body.

“Goodness heavens, why?”

“I don’t… Hang on, we should call Bhargav.”

“Sure thing. Tell me his number,” Sylvia dialed and they both waited for nearly 30 seconds when it was picked and a male voice answered.

“Aren’t you girls cute? I asked you to stop digging about The Arrow already. Don’t be part of the victims list unnecessarily.” His tone was acidic and the call ended. The beep sound of the dial reflected the loud heartbeats of Priya.

**********

Supriya was stunned for a moment and it took long time before she completely recovered. “She… she can’t be dead,” she touched her face and her cheeks were wet with perspiration. “I just saw her.”

Rocky said calmly, “I think your dreams started to overpower you. Sandy, if we skip Supriya’s story, what do we have?”

“We can go ahead with Jhansi’s. She saw a guy in Harley.”

“Right,” He turned to the old lady and said, “Madam, we’re sorry. Do you know anyone who rides Harley Davidson?”

The old lady gave a goofy grin. “What, kid?”

“He means bike. A very large bike…” Sandhya explained using her hands and Rocky had to suppress his smile.

“Yes. Yes. Gokul has a huge bike,” said the old lady.

“Gokul? Can we meet him?”

“Sure, kid. He is upstairs. I’ll call him for you.”

 “Yes, please,” said Rocky. When Gokul came down, Rocky greeted him and questioned about Jhansi. Supriya could not concentrate as something about Gokul disturbed. She had seen him before – not just today, but for quite some time. Where?

And then it struck her. “You’re in the staff room.”

“What?” Rocky, Sandhya and Gokul said in chorus.

“Remember my first dream, guys? The one that comes to me daily? Vasanth greets someone in the staff room at the same time I enter. He is that guy.” She said.

**********

Vijay came out of unconsciousness sluggishly, like a drowsing young hound dimly aware of danger. His bedroom was cold; a pale morning light was struggling in through the window. Somehow he was unwilling to open his eyes – but all his senses were slowly coming back. He felt a woman’s delicate fingers on top of his forehead. They swept his hair tenderly and he just wanted to disappear into the affection forever.

He smiled and said, “I am still alive.”

“God, you look like a bright young lady. Where did you get this dumbass?” It was an unfamiliar voice.

Indhu responded. “I don’t know. In college, we were all pretty stupid, I guess. That’s how I ended up with…”

Vijay’s eyes flew open. “Did somebody call me…?”

“Dumb, yes.” Indhu agreed with a huge nod and shook the doctor’s hand. “Thanks, doctor. Ah, Vij… Why on earth did you try to cut down the tree in our garden? That too, with a chainsaw. You’re really dumb.” The doctor chuckled to himself before leaving the room alone for Vijay and Indhu.

“What? What? What? I was taken by… wait a minute, when did you come back and how did you find me?”

“Well, I was super angry that you ditched me. But in London, I caught the next flight ditching your friend who tried to stop me. I really wanted to kill you but when I saw you lying in a pool of blood near our oak tree, I freaked out. God, that was so horrible. And with the help of our neighbors, I took you straight to the hospital.”

Vijay didn’t say anything and there was complete silence in the room that Indhu pressing Vijay’s hand gave an illusion of making a sound. “What about my chest?” He said after some time.

“Yes, I don’t know. Maybe some branch or something? No major damages though. The chainsaw did the nasty job and so that the doctor says that you have to hobble for a while.”

“I wasn’t poisoned?”

Indhu widened her eyes. “Baby, is there some nightmare? You’re fine except for the wound in your thigh.”

“Where is Bhargav?”

“When I find that out, I am going to take his expert brain out of his skull. I mean what he was thinking with all the arrow stuff going on… I gave a call to Raghav and your uncle as well. They’re getting a mouthful too for leaving you all alone – I mean, they should’ve known that you’d do something stupid like this, right? This is all over a new episode of you trying to make a tree house last year. And…” Indhu stopped, watching Vijay’s inscrutable face. “You’re not listening to me, Vij!”

Vijay rubbed his eyes and let out a deep breath. “I am sorry. My head hurts.”

Indhu made a face. “You don’t have any concussion; so how much ever you’re going to pretend, you’re facing me, Mr. Vijay, when I am all set to yell my lungs out for abandoning me in an airport. That’s the cruelest thing that you’ve ever done to me. If you wanna save it, just apologize…”

Despite all the confusions that made his heart pump all the blood straight to his brain, he grinned. “I am not gonna apologize for trying to save my wife’s life, lady.”

Indhu cocked her head to a side, raised her eyebrows and clicked her tongue. “I am sure that I’ll make you feel sorry.”

Vijay’s grin didn’t fade. “Seriously, that’s how wives talk to husbands in a hospital bed?”

Indhu laughed. “Ah, Vij, you’re so sweet,” she suddenly clamped her mouth over his and kissed him. She pulled her apart and smiled sweetly. “I’ve missed you.”

“I missed how awesome you smell as well. You’re an angel, Indhu. I…”

“I am not gonna kiss you again till you apologize,” said Indhu, showing her tongue out naughtily. Vijay’s jaw dropped. Indhu laughed out loud. “Told you that I’ll make you feel sorry.”

Vijay was floored. “I am going to surrender myself to The Arrow again.”

“Again?” Indhu asked doubtfully.

“Did you happen to see our bedroom yet?”

“Yes, after I admitted you, I went back there to get a few things. Why?”

“Th… there was nothing wrong?”

“How could anything be wrong in that little dream world of ours?” Indhu took a pillow and squeezed it dreamily. “Everything in our room screamed perfection, perfection… except…” suddenly she lowered her pillow. “That photo was missing.”

“Which photo?”

“That flower shaped photo frame with five petals on it – one of the pictures was missing from it. You, me and the kiddo…”

Vijay closed his eyes and tried to picture the room that he was being tortured. No, he saw the picture all right – there wasn’t any flaw in it except…

Vijay punched his bed hard. “Oh my god! I was such an imbecile…”

“What, Vij?” Indhu looked completely puzzled.

“The Arrow is killing someone right now in our house,” said Vijay, pulling off the vein trips in his hands hastily and trying to get up. And he was correct – The Arrow’s fifth victim was screaming for help in Vijay’s basement at the same time.

To be continued.

Comments and criticisms are welcome. :-)

For previous parts, kindly check

https://www.facebook.com/wonderlandatleisure
http://lavanyaa26.blogspot.in/

Thanks & Regards,

Lavanyaa

You're Next, Buddy - Part 7!

YOU’RE NEXT, BUDDY

PRE-NOTE:

Kindly excuse correct the grammatical mistakes. Thanks in advance. :-)

PART 7:

“What? What just happened?” Sylvia ran into Prashanth’s room and questioned Priya breathlessly.

Priya didn’t answer immediately as she was staring at both the papers in each of her hands and then scrolled her cell phone as though she was verifying certain details. “What?” Sylvia asked one more time with a puzzled expression as she came closer to her friend. “What is it, Pri? You’re scaring me.”

“Not much. But this guy had an appointment with James Alwin on the day he died,” she handed over the medical test results with the logo of the Malar Hospitals on top and James Alwin’s signature on bottom.

“That’s it? That’s why you screamed as though The Arrow sprang up from behind and tried to strangle you?”

Priya pouted naughtily. “Come on, don’t be dramatic.”

Sylvia grinned. “Am I?” Yet while looking at Priya’s determined face, a guilty expression passed across her face and she became serious. “Priya, you can’t second-guess ineffability.”

“Listen, this is important because the story is not over yet. I just found out that this guy ordered a pizza in the morning that Badrinath got killed.”

“Probably I’d have done that too but I just don’t remember what I ate that day. Is eating pizza a crime these days?” said Sylvia, rubbing her hands distractedly.

Priya looked wretched. “You’re so dumb!”

Sylvia was offended. “Come on!”

“Aren’t you gonna ask me interesting questions like ‘Priya, how do you know that the pizza delivery guy’s name is Badrinath? Priya, how do you know that it was the same day that he was murdered?’ etc.,”

Sylvia pulled the other paper from Priya’s hand and noticed that it was a feedback form from Pizzahut with Badrinath’s name on it. “I can guess the rest. As you saw two victims’ signatures, you went ahead and checked the internet for the dates that they were killed.”

“And it coincided with the dates that this guy met them. Come on, we gotta turn him in,” said Priya desperately.

“The police will think that we’re mad if we just showed a pizza feedback form and a blood test. We need more than that.”

Priya nodded thoughtfully. “You’re right. Will there be any other evidences that would connect him with the other two victims?”

“I am psyched. Let’s search,” said Sylvia excitedly.

But she didn’t commence her search like Priya – more like she couldn’t. The complete difference between the two brothers’ rooms bemused her first and later she was amazed by the beauty of the younger brother’s room. If Vasanth’s room was full of books, Prashanth’s room was full of little creative things. There was Iron Man toy made of bottle caps alone, a robot done using pipes, a building built of match boxes, a princess doll carved out of a soap and the list went on.

It was like he could build anything out of nothing. “He is an architect…”

“That doesn’t matter to us. Call me when you find something more interesting than that,” said Priya irritably from the other end of the room.

“Yeah, yeah, I am doing that. It’s just that I can’t believe that this guy could damage anything…”

“What?” Priya sounded more chagrined.

Sylvia gave her an awkward smile and said defensively, “I am looking for further evidences…”

Her eyes fell on a tall construction with cardboard – the outside was painted in blue and was pleasant for eyes whereas the interiors were painted in purple that gave a sudden intimate feeling. “Beautiful!” Next to it, she found a letter and read it aloud. “Hey, he has got a meeting with the CEO of The Purple Penchant to get an approval for the new office. You know, Priya, they actually look forward to creative ideas and I think…”

Priya didn’t seem to be listening. She interrupted Sylvia midway and said, “Got it, Sylvi. The fourth victim Juhi Sinha is a painter, remember? He had bought a picture from her on the day of her death – look, it’s hanging right here,” she pointed out and Sylvia verified the signature on the portrait and gave a thumbs up. “Incredible, Priya, so he meets them professionally and then just tortures them to death. I am missing something here.”

“We’re not missing anything, Sylvia. Who is the next guy that he’s got appointment? You said something now… The purple what?”

Sylvia’s face wore an unbelievable expression. “You’re preposterous. You don’t know the CEO of the purple penchant?”

“If you do, let’s just go straight to him and we gotta warn him,” said Priya, pressing her hands together.

“Warn who?” Both the girls jumped at the male voice that was coming from the entrance of the room. It was Vasanth.

************

The Arrow set the camera at an angle, gave a satisfactory nod and went out. Vijay’s throat burned and he started saying something but ended up coughing.

“Vij, is there a way…”

Finally after considerable effort, he said, “I can loosen the chain a bit now. But I’ll lose all my strength in 30 minutes and I’ll be useless. So it’s important to get you out at first.”

Bhargav turned his head slowly. “What are you? A saint? Did Indhu dance around you to wake you up from your penance?”

“Listen, there is no time for your protests now. Let me see if I can bring the chainsaw close to me and operate it with my legs.”

“All right, kill yourself. That’s all what I want,” said Bhargav vaguely.

“No, I am going to try to cut the chains around me. It’s okay if I am getting hurt – like I said, I am not going to get out of this alive. But you should make sure that you will stop that guy.”

“Stop him? I’ll tear him limb by limb and…”

Vijay gave an appalling look and shook his head. To Bhargav’s horror, Vijay went on to work his way with the chainsaw using his legs. Even though he was being careful, Bhargav could see that he was slowly slipping away as he shook his head to keep him awake and his breathing got heavier. It must be the effect of poison, thought Bhargav.

Vijay let himself slouch to the right in the chair, at first trying to ignore the pain in his right side — pain that felt like an increasing bubble of pressure, something similar to a tooth impaction— and then giving way and panting. He slumped farther in spite of the pain. His toes brushed the chainsaw but succeeded only in pulling it a quarter of an inch closer. Vijay slid down in the chair, still slumped to the right, and bit his lower lips harder at the pain in his thighs.

He pinched the tip of the saw between his toes . . . grabbed it . . . almost lost it . . . and then managed to get it under the chair. “This is harder than I thought. I wasn’t trained for this.”

“Obviously. No one is trained to operate a chainsaw while their hands are bound in the back. But don’t worry; I am going to teach it to my kid in the future. Of course, I won’t forget to poison him and make sure that he will bleed like hell as well,” said Bhargav, looking away and his voice acidic.

Vijay’s mouth flew open. “Why are you even mad at me? What did I do?”

“It’s more about what you didn’t do – I want you to be mad at me. I want you to shout at me. I want you to tell me to go to hell. I want you to ask him to poison me as well. I… I hate you for leaving me to face Indhu. I do…”

“That would be the last thing that I… See, you’re struck here because you were with me. How could I be mad at you?”

“I don’t know, Vij. But don’t talk to me…”

Vijay sighed and decided to have a go at the chainsaw once again. He figured out the knot and realized that if he could just manage to cut the connection between the two chairs, freeing themselves would be easy. And to their luck, that part of the chain was in the floor. He had to use his right leg to bring the chainsaw and the steel chain together and the work brought a fresh slough of pain, and when the act was accomplished he could do no more than sit and pant for a while. He was quite sure he was going to puke, but that passed.

He waited calmly for his head to stop spinning. ‘What are you doing?’ Part of his mind scolded wearily after sometime. ‘Are you waiting for the pain to go away, Vijay? It won't. Your mother taught you Yoga and what did she tell you?’

Sitting there, head thrown back, face shiny with sweat, hair plastered to his forehead, Vijay spoke one of them aloud now, almost as an incantation: “There may be fairies, there may be elves, but God helps those who help themselves.”

“What?” asked Bhargav despite himself.

“My mom’s favorite quote,” said Vijay. “Bhargy, I am having only one chance. I am going to try to cut it in one shot. It’s going to make lot of noise and so you have to free your bonds in 40 seconds – that is, before The Arrow comes in. And you should be ready to tackle both of them, just in case something goes wrong. Will you be okay?”

Bhargav’s face brightened for the first time since the evening. He understood that this was his only chance to save him and his sister’s husband. He must do his best. He nodded firmly.

“Thanks. And if I fail, forgive me.”

“Vij, please…”

He looked at the door once and shushed Bhargav. “Fight him only if it’s necessary. Otherwise just escape through that window and go straight to the next house. Get help.”

Bhargav’s jaw dropped. “Do you want me to leave you here?”

“You outnumber them by 1 to 2. Trust me, our chances are better if you don’t involve in a fight.”

“Vij…”

“Please!”

“Okay,” said Bhargav half-heartedly.

Vijay turned his lower half in his chair and pulled the plug with his toes. He breathed a sigh of relief as the sharp blade of the chainsaw cut through the chain faster than he expected. “Thank goodness,” he said when the bond between the two chairs was undone. Bhargav worked his way to loosen the chain and when he was completely free, he saw the door open.

“Please, go,” shouted Vijay. “Do not…”

Bhargav stood speechless in a dilemma and then decided to follow the words of Vijay. The next house was just three minutes away and more help was better in this case. He definitely could not handle two lunatics and he shouldn’t risk the chances of getting both of them alive out of this mess. He made a quick run towards the window, unlocked it and jumped out.

The Arrow reached for the window but didn’t succeed in the attempt of catching him as Bhargav dodged the enemy easily. He slammed the window door back at his face and the arrow had to back away. Vijay felt weak but when Arrow’s partner was close to him, he released himself from the last steel band that fastened him to the chair.

“No,” cried the partner, as Vijay sent his fist out in the driving blow that caught the opponent just above his heavy gut. He doubled over with a loud “Ooof!” Vijay leaned out of the chair and delivered a quick chop to the back of the neck of the partner. His karate teacher would have given a deep bow to the blow. The partner dropped to the floor as if felled by an ax.

The Arrow didn’t waste time admiring Vijay’s skills though. Yet unlike his partner, he didn’t dare to face Vijay directly even though he was at his worst. His hands pulled a dart gun out of his pocket and used it wisely. He aimed perfectly and before Vijay could duck, the dart from the gun stitched in his chest. Vijay smiled. “I know why you want to kill me now. I am beginning to get your story,” he said before his eyes drooped and he went down.

The Arrow walked to his partner first and sprinkled water at him. The partner blinked. “What happened?”

“One second,” he said, moving towards Vijay. He slowly pulled the dart gun’s Arrow out – it was drenched in blood and he smirked. “I am sending this Arrow to Indhu along with the video. Clear our, everything. Now!”

“Is he dead?” asked the partner, getting up slowly.

The Arrow took Vijay’s hand and checked his wrist for the pulse. There wasn’t any. He nodded shortly and said, “He’s dead. Mission accomplished.”

To be continued.

Comments and criticisms are welcome. :-)

For previous parts, kindly check

https://www.facebook.com/wonderlandatleisure
http://lavanyaa26.blogspot.in/

Thanks & Regards,

Lavanyaa