YOU’RE NEXT, BUDDY
PRE-NOTE:
Kindly excuse correct the grammatical mistakes. Thanks
in advance. :-)
PART 6:
Bhargav strained his eyes but he could not open them. Then it
struck him that he was blindfolded. He could not feel his hands for some time
but it did not take lot of time for him to predict that his hands were securely
tied together with a steel chain on his back. His skin was rubbing against a
wooden surface and so he concluded that he was tied to a wooden pole. The only
mercy about the whole setup was that he wasn’t gagged and he was comfortably
seated.
At first, he wet his dry lips and thought of screaming for
help. Then he decided against it as he wasn’t sure of his surrounding yet.
“Vijay?” He whispered, looking around blindly but received no response. He
strained wildly against the bonds around his wrists, grunting in exertion.
“Vij? Vijay?” He called out again. The silence killed his
heart. In panic, he pulled the steel chain violently and heard an unfamiliar
soft chuckle. He cringed as he realized that someone was watching him struggle
and enjoying. “Who is that?” He shouted exasperatedly.
“People call me Arrow,” the voice said.
On the back of his neck, he felt perspiration as soon as he
heard their enemy’s voice. He twisted in his bonds once again vainly. The Arrow
clicked his tongue pitifully. “Bhargav! Bhargav! The other side of your chain
goes straight to your brother-in-law’s neck. You’re killing him faster than I
planned.”
Bhargav froze and he stopped moving suddenly. “You… you’re
lying.”
“Oh, watch it for yourself,” the blindfold was taken off and
Bhargav blinked twice before staring fuzzily around him. The first thing that
struck him was that he was in Vijay-Indhu’s bedroom.
His heart stopped as the scene was too horrific for him to
take in. The Arrow had been honest when he said that the chain was around
Vijay’s neck. Two chairs were tied to the legs of a teak cot and they both were
bound to the chairs with the help of a single steel chain. Bhargav could not
imagine what sort of knot that was, but if either of them tried to pull the
chain, it was the end of the other. More than the fact that they could not
escape, the fact that they could not even try to escape freaked Bhargav.
“Beautiful setup, isn’t it?” The Arrow laughed before getting
busy to fix a DSLR camera in front of them. He was wearing an ordinary pandas
that covered his head, goggles to his eyes and a hospital mask. Even though
Bhargav couldn’t see his face, he thought that this man must be handsome for no
reason. He was six feet tall and had a good physique.
“What do you want?” Bhargav managed to choke out in
frustration.
“Who’re you talking to? Did he wake up?” A voice came from
outside. Bhargav narrowed his eyes. ‘There are two of them?’
“Nope. It’s the other one,” The Arrow replied casually.
“Just give him a tight slap and see if he wakes up. We don’t
have much time,” said the voice.
Bhargav was shaking in anger. “If you touch him, I swear… I
swear…” As he heard a cough, he turned around to see Vijay shaking his head and
coming out of his long sleep. Vijay looked around and grasped the situation in
a minute.
He smiled bitterly. “If this is not one of your horrible
pranks, Bhargy, I must ask that if I die…”
“Shut up,” said Bhargav, watching The Arrow take out a few
knives from his bag in horror.
Vijay continued calmly. “If I die, never ever let Indhu watch
that video.”
“Shut up,” said Bhargav again, feeling weak.
Vijay turned towards The Arrow. “Leave him.”
The Arrow nodded his head appreciatively. “You know what? The
strength in your voice amazes me. You should beg me, but instead you’re
ordering me.”
“Take me if you want me but leave him alone. Can’t I expect a
little courtesy as I am giving my life to you?”
“Giving…” The Arrow chuckled. “I am taking your life, dude.”
“Yeah, right. Get me out of these bonds and try taking my life.”
“Bravo!” said The Arrow, pulling a bean bag and sitting on
it. “Tell me one thing. Aren’t you good at martial arts?”
“Yes.”
“Black belt?”
“Fourth degree black belt. Trained by TSD Master Bell.”
“Cool. There is no point in torturing you as it had been all
part of your training – you do know a way to block pain, right?”
Before Vijay answered, Bhargav cried again. “Will you two
please stop talking as though you two were school friends from a reunion?”
The Arrow eyed Bhargav thoughtfully and said after a complete
minute. “I’ll leave this hothead out of this mess, Vijay – I don’t want him. Also
it would be nice if there is someone who can tell the world how monstrous I am.
That will induce a fear in my next victim’s mind and I will enjoy it. But on
one condition…” He put his chin on his linked hands and watched Vijay for some
time.
Neither of his victims asked what it was. Vijay waited
patiently and Bhargav’s mouth was so dry that he could not speak. The Arrow put
in again, “Vijay, do you know why I chose different methods to kill each one of
them? Do you know why I cut out different parts…”
“My prediction is that they asked for it,” said Vijay.
The Arrow smiled grimly. “You’re indeed a good detective.
Well, yeah, I gave them a chance to choose the weapon and a part to convey a
message. James Alwin wanted to be killed with a knife, Badrinath chose fire and
so on. They yelled, bawled like a baby et al, but ultimately they had to pick
one of the weapons. In your case, I am going to give that golden opportunity to
your brother-in-law.”
Bhargav gasped. “No way in hell, I am doing that.” Neither
The Arrow’s nor Vijay’s glare wavered. They were looking at each other even
though Bhargav painfully groaned to get their attention. “Please, no.”
“I’ll leave him if he decides the weapon that’s gonna destroy
you,” said The Arrow, rising as though the conversation was over.
“That’s cruel. I’d rather die,” said Bhargav, looking more
and more hopeless every minute.
“There’s no point for Indhu to lose her husband and her
brother on the same day,” Vijay began.
“This guy’s a lunatic. You believe him?”
The Arrow stiffened. “I gave you my word already. I will
leave you unharmed if you just…”
“If I just let you kill Vij? Wow. Indhu will welcome me home
with a red carpet and a band…”
“I’ll go ahead and pick a chainsaw to run it through his
chest slowly and painfully…” The Arrow gave a slight pause at the end of each
word that created an impact.
To Bhargav, it felt like he was hitting a nail on his heart.
“Stop!”
“To save the pain, you can just pull those chains and get it
done,” said the voice from the other room.
Bhargav swallowed. How come no help had arrived yet? How long
would it take for them to find out that they had been abducted? Wouldn’t they
come directly to Vijay’s home with all the securities that they could get?
“All right. Chainsaw it is,” said The Arrow.
*************
David pulled the hand of Jhansi and found her under a plastic
sheet. “Jhansi, Jhansi?” He slapped her on her cheeks and she moaned lightly.
“We need to get her to the hospital,” He held her in his shoulders and ran
towards his car. “Supriya, don’t stand there like a statue. Call Rocky!”
“Yes, sure,” Supriya responded, pulling her mobile and
dialing Rocky’s number. There was no answer even after a full ring. “He is not
picking the call.”
“Right. Do one thing. Take an auto and go to my place. Meanwhile
I’ll admit Jhansi in the hospital.”
“Is she all right, Davy? Why would…”
David looked annoyed. “She will be, if you just let me drive
the car.”
“Sorry,” said Supriya with an apologetic look and watched him
disappear under the bridge before crossing the road. She tapped her foot
impatiently and checked her watch as she waited in the deserted road. She tried
calling Rocky and Ayesha again unproductively and heaved a deep sigh. After
five more minutes, when she was in a dilemma whether to make another call to
her friends or probably dialing for a cab, a BMW slowed down near her. Her eyes
widened in surprise as she found Vijay in the driving seat.
“You’re the one who came to my office with Ayesha, right?”
“Yes,” said Supriya cheerfully.
“What’re you doing in this place? It’s not safe around here
even in the morning. Get in,” he got down and opened the front door for her.
At first, Supriya blurted out Rocky’s address but when she
was about to buckle her seat belt, she changed her mind. The city’s best
detective was next to her – why not ask him to help her solve the mystery?
She unclicked the seat belt and turned to Vijay. “Vijay,
remember the address that you gave me?”
“Yes?” Vijay looked amused but hardly showed any surprise.
“That address led us here,” she pointed the empty ground on
the opposite side of the road.
“What?” Still Vijay’s voice and face refused to show any
expression.
“Yes. My friend Jhansi came here to investigate this place
and somebody attacked her.”
“Who did?”
“No idea. David took her to the hospital.”
“David?”
“One of my friends.”
“Jhansi was alone when she was attacked?”
“Yes.”
“Why would she do such thing? Investigating here alone?”
“I don’t know.”
“So your friend David took her to the hospital in his car?”
“Yes.”
“So how did Jhansi come here in first place? I don’t see any
other vehicle. She couldn’t have walked all the way.”
Supriya whistled excitedly. “See, another mystery. Aren’t you
a little curious?”
Vijay smiled kindly. “I heard that you’re having some sort of
weird dreams, right?”
Supriya’s face shrunk. “Ayesha told you? No, but this is not
it and I am not mental. Either the address you gave me is wrong or somebody
collected your gift in this place. And how is it possible?”
“See, we verify every address before sending a gift. We call
the person and make sure that…”
Supriya interrupted. “So you have that number with you
still?”
“Yes, it should be there in my email. I need to disturb a few
electrons to get the necessary data. Let me see.” He opened his mailbox from
his phone and then made a call shortly. “Calling…” He told Supriya as he
pressed his headset, waiting for an answer.
The call was picked immediately. “Hello. Who is this?”
“Ms. Sinha?”
“Speaking!”
“This is Vijay, CEO of The Purple Penchant.”
“Wow, what a surprise! Are you gonna congratulate me again?
Is my painting worth it?”
Vijay’s lips widened. “Of course, you deserve it more than
anyone. I just want to double check whether you’ve received your gift.”
“I did, Vijay. Don’t you have any Assistants to do this job,
by the by?”
Vijay laughed. “Sorry to bother you. But are you still in
that address?”
The girl on the other side laughed harder than him. “What’s
wrong? You don’t sound energetic. And to your question, I am still in that
address but I am leaving right now as my boyfriend is waiting for me outside in
his Harley.”
Vijay’s eyebrows knit as he ran his fingers through his hair
and looked down the road. His eyes fell on a girl who was locking the gate and
waving at a guy in Harley Davidson bike. Only difference was that the girl was
coming out from the building next to the empty ground. “No, I just wanted to
confirm because we didn’t receive any confirmation from your side.”
“That’s my fault, Vijay. My apologies. You don’t need to send
any more prizes. I got the latest edition of Neil Gaiman’s. My boyfriend is
super jealous,” she grinned as she winked at the bike guy.
“Thanks, Ms. Sinha,” said Vijay, ending the call. The girl
shrugged and put the cell phone into her bag before climbing on to the bike.
The bike flew and was out of sight within seconds.
Vijay turned to Supriya and smiled again. “You got the
address wrong.”
*********
“No, no, no, please,” said Bhargav, swallowing. “God, please,
don’t cut him.” He closed his eyes to avoid the tears and dropped his head.
“You have a choice,” said The Arrow, shrugging his shoulders.
He bent over his bag. When he straightened up, he was indeed holding a
chainsaw. For a moment, even Vijay went speechless. He muttered inaudibly, ‘Oh
my god, do I deserve that?’ The Arrow poured a nasty-smelling solution on the
blade and took a swing at a sofa for practice.
Terror sharp as a gust of wind filled with razor-blades blew
through the dope and Bhargav's eyes flew open. “Please, please, no. Not him.
You’re definitely mistaken him for someone else. He couldn’t have done anything
that bad. Please,” He continued to shriek and plead, but his words had become
inarticulate babble at some point of time.
“You still have a choice,” said The Arrow, moving closer to
Vijay. The blade was gleaming as he slid his right hand down the handle to take
a shot. Before Vijay’s mind was completely consumed in a forest fire of panic,
the saw came whistling down at his thigh and the blood poured out.
Vijay threw his head back as pain deeper than any pain
imaginable coursed through him, like fire through all his veins. But he
remained in his position throughout the pain, and did not cry out, although
some guttural grunts escaped his clenched jaw and his eyes squeezed shut. His
mind knew that the video was getting recorded and he thought of Indhu. He told
himself, ‘Don’t show the pain on your face. Indhu might watch it and you
shouldn’t hurt her.’
Bhargav pleaded yet again. “Please STOP! I’ll do anything you
want. Please!”
“I asked you to do one thing and you’re yet to do it.”
“All right. I’ll choose a weapon. Please, please, put that chainsaw
down. Please, I beg you,” said Bhargav, sounding feeble.
The Arrow immediately threw the blade down casually and prompted
eagerly. “Yes?”
Bhargav pressed his lips, looked at Vijay who was trying hard
to keep his face straight and succeeding in the attempt to some extent and then
at the person who hurt him. “Poison. Kill him with poison.”
The Arrow sighed. “That’s unexpected. You’re giving him an
easy way out. Let me see if I can prolong the misery and so that I can make a
video with enough content. My partner has a bottle of Arsenic, I guess.” He
went out.
Bhargav caught his breath and tears slowly seeped out from
under his lids, making pale streaks on his attractive face. “Vij, I am sorry,
really sorry. Vij, please forgive me.”
“There is no reason for you to apologize. My foolishness landed
us in this situation. If you get out of here alive, will you please make sure
that Indhu won’t have to deal with all this?”
Bhargav wondered how Vijay managed to speak without any
disruption and then nodded silently. All he wanted to say was that he’d better
kill himself than facing Indhu with the disaster news. But he didn’t.
He watched the carpet’s color turning to red from the blood
and remembered his shopping with his sister. Her words echoed inside his head. ‘Bhargy, your selection is awful. It’s Vij’s
favorite color but it’s too thick. If Vij ever trips on the carpet and gets
hurt, you start counting your days.’ Bhargav scoffed at the thought and
laughed at the irony.
The Arrow returned with a small bottle. He poured the colorless
liquid into a glass. “I am not sure whether you two know the properties of
Arsenic. The death won’t be instant. It will start destroying the stomach and
the respective digestive system. Once the blood flow gets ugly, your heart will
struggle and eventually your lungs will shut down. This will take loads of
minutes and unlike pain, you can’t control any of your reactions, Vijay. My
video is going to be nicer than I assumed and it will destroy your wife.
Bhargav, even though I am gonna leave you free, I’ll make sure that your sister
watches this.”
Vijay opened his mouth to say something but then decided
against it as he shook his head and fell silent. The Arrow played with the
glass for some time and then finally pressed it against Vijay’s lips. “Do not
protest. You know it is useless. Drink and you don’t have to see me using an
axe on your brother-in-law.”
Vijay raised his head, gulped down the dangerous fluid and
his face convulsed at the bitter taste. The Arrow threw the glass and it broke
making lots of noise. The glass pieces were shuttered all around the room and a
cruel smile formed on his lips as he sat down next to the camera to operate it.
Vijay smiled and said, “If you’re watching this, Indhu,
please listen to me once and turn it off. I love you.”
************
Supriya was embarrassed and before she could apologize for
wasting his time, her mobile phone announced its existence. “Excuse me?”
Vijay gave a nod of approval to go ahead. “Ayesha, I tried
your number and…”
“I got the news from David. We’re on the way to Malar
Hospitals. Where are you?”
“I thought of picking you guys, but now as you are on the
way, I’ll meet you there in the hospital.”
“Sounds like a plan. See you, Riya.”
Supriya informed Vijay the same and he started the engine
finally. He didn’t say much during the journey and dropped her asking her to
take care of herself. Sandhya was waiting for her in the lobby and took her
upstairs to Jhansi’s room. Supriya ran to her and sat by her side. “What
happened?”
Jhansi said in a low voice. “I was on my way towards Davy’s
place and while crossing that place, I saw a man in. I mean, inside the fence –
he was deeply immersed in his thoughts. I crossed the road and called him out.
That’s all I could remember. Before he even showed his face to address me, I
was blacked out.”
“We hit some dangerous path, I guess,” said Sandhya,
shivering a little. “Can’t we leave this here and now?”
“How could we?” demanded Rocky angrily. “Jhansi, tell me
everything you remember about this guy. His height, his actions, anything that
would help us reach him.”
“I… I don’t know. I saw a Harley Davidson parked outside
though – he must be really rich. His attire confirmed the same.”
David jumped. “Harley Davidson? Was it black?”
“Yes.”
“Wow. That’s not just rich. That’s royal,” said David in a
dreamy voice.
Ayesha sighed. “Let’s get back to the business. Did you
happen to notice anything else? How did he look?”
“I saw him,” said Supriya. Everyone looked at her with some
sort of perplexed expression. It took her nearly seven minutes to complete her
side of the story.
Ayesha cursed herself. “Damn it. We should go check this
place now. Why on earth didn’t it occur to us earlier that we should check with
the neighbors?”
Rocky rubbed his chin. “Not neighbors. Both the address is
the same. Meaning that they must be the owner of the whole place and the house
was just built in one area.”
“Or the address is like 47A and 47B.” Sandhya suggested her
opinion.
“Whatever! It’s time that we check out this girl and her
boyfriend. I want to punch his face for hitting my friend,” said Rocky.
“Calm down, guys,” Jhansi began but no one was in the mood to
listen to her.
At last, after so much discussion, Ayesha and David decided
to stay with Jhansi and the rest of the three went back to the place where it all
started – the empty ground. “I can see Jhansi’s scooty pept,” Rocky nodded
towards the place where it was parked innocently. Supriya snapped her forehead
– how come she missed this earlier when Vijay asked her the question about
Jhansi’s vehicle? Obviously she didn’t think that it might be parked on the
other side of the road.
Rocky halted down the road and the three of them got out of
it. Sandhya was the one who took the plunge and hit the calling bell in the
next building. No answer.
Supriya said, “They two just got out before some 30 minutes.
They might not be back yet.”
“There is no lock,” said Rocky.
Supriya scratched her head and distinctively remembered the
girl locking the gate. So the girl must’ve returned to her house. “Yes,”
Supriya nodded in agreement as Sandhya pressed the calling bell longer this
time. There was no answer.
Rocky kicked the gate in frustration and it opened wide.
Sandhya swatted him. “Are you out of your mind? What the hell are you doing?”
But Rocky wasn’t there to hear the end of the question as he already walked
inside.
The girls exchanged looks and then followed Rocky. He pounded
on the door and kicked twice. Supriya lost patience and was about to hold him
back to control him when the door opened. An old lady jerked her head in the
small gap and looked at them questioningly. “Sinha, Ms. Sinha,” said Supriya,
remembering the name.
“Come in,” she welcomed them. “I am 70% deaf. I’ll get my
hearing aid. You sit here,” she made them wait in the hall and went inside a
room. All three of them looked around – Rocky’s eyes roamed faster without
taking in any details, Sandhya was a bit uncomfortable doing so and Supriya
screamed.
The other two looked at her suspiciously and followed her
eyes to see a girl’s photo in a huge frame. It was the same girl that Vijay and
Supriya watched – but the frame was covered with the flower garland and a
little lamp was standing in front of it. “No, no, no, this is impossible; she
is not dead. I saw her a few minutes before.” The old lady who just came in
with a coffee tray dropped it with a loud noise as she heard Supriya.
To be continued.
Comments and criticisms are welcome. :-)
For previous parts, kindly check
Thanks & Regards,
Lavanyaa
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