The mob hooted, while dancing on the beats.
There were people of all ages, be it teenagers who had escaped home late at night, immatures celebrating dumping their ex, elderly people enjoying their time with long-lost friends or heartbroken lovers explaining how awful a break-up is.
But, amidst the chaos, there was a pair of eyes, desperately searching for something… or… someone.
Finally, the person’s gaze stopped at a man,.towards whom he advanced his steps and dragged him to a corner.
“Hey!”, the man screamed, but his pleas were put to deaf ears and the hoodied man instead pointed a gun on his temple.
“Move!”, he commanded and led him to the godown. He signalled him to go into the room in front of him.
Once he went in, he heard the door bang and lock securely.
He knew there was no escape, so walked deeper into the darkness.
“Welcome, Kabir!”, a voice boomed, which sent shivers down his spine.
“Y…You?”
“Well, well, well! Whom did you expect, my dear back-stabber friend?”
“Listen to me once. I…I can explain…”
“No, you cannot, Kabir! I don’t give you the right to do so… You didn’t do any mistake.”
A part of him felt relieved but his heart thudded at the eerie silence.
He knew something was coming, something that he obviously wouldn’t like.
“But…you commited a sin. And sinners ought to be punished. Run for your life, Kabir.
Oops, sorry! You can’t even run from me.”, an evil laugh echoed in the empty hall.
“I am e…extremely sorry for what I did. P…Please spare me. I..I promise I won’t show you my face, ever. I’ll go and settle in another continent, away from here. But please leave me…”, he folded his hands and begged for mercy.
“You should’ve thought this before messing with me. Your guilt is of no use now.”
He felt a cold object touch his chin. His eyes travelled down and witnessed a dagger hanging at his neck.
He gulped in fear and lifted his gaze, only to meet a pair of eyes blazing with fire, a volcano ready to erupt any moment and swallow him with its lava.
“Please…”
Tears threatened to roll down his cheeks.
He knew he wasn’t going to die, but…he would be tortured to the verge of death but not given the liberty to die.
“I want to hear you plead, Kabir. But, nah! Not for your life, for your death. I won’t let death touch you, because you are my prey. I’ll strain every ounce of your energy, every nerve of your brain, and every drop of your blood.”
His brain went numb, so much so, that he couldn’t register what was happening. When he gained his senses back, he felt himself being dragged by some men.
“Nooo!!”, he screamed.
And all of a sudden, everything went blank.
Kabir woke up in his bedroom, sweating profusely and frightened as hell.
“No, no, no. This can’t be possible. It wasn’t a dream, all of it was real, I felt it.”
“Then, how am I in my room?”, he tried recalling what happened the night before.
But before he could process his thoughts, a knock at the door broke his reverie.
“Sejal! How many times have I told you not to disturb me in the morning. Din-dahade aa jati hai muh uthake.“
“Tu to bada sant-mahatma hai na. Mere hostel mein aadhi-raat ko kaun aya tha, chupte-chupate. Sharam kar liya kar kabhi. Teri kartooten public mein bata di na maine, to khud ko muh dikhane kaabil nhi rahega. Bada aya, hawaldaar!“, she handed him a couple of files and stomped away, angrily.
“Nakchadi!“, he murmured before closing the door.
….♡….
“Pathak, the evidences clearly state that Vansh Raisinghania is a murderer. But, I feel that this is just a small part of a dark secret he is hiding. This man is surely a mystery…that we need to solve.”
Pathak remembered his words while flipping the pages of a case file.
“Pathak, Pathak, Pathak. If your life is dear to you, I would suggest you to stop the investigation of a specific case, that I need not mention. Samajhdaar ko ishaara hi kaafi hai, aur mujhe lagta hai ki tumme thodi-bhot akl to hai hi. Aur thoda gyan apne Kabir sir ko bhi de dena. Vo kya hai na, knowledge baantne se badhti hai. Good day!”
The frightening voice began ringing in his ears. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and sipping a gulp of water, closed his eyes, hoping to get some peace.
But he somewhere knew, that it was the silence before the storm.
The approaching disaster was going to bring havoc in their lives.