By: Keyur Seta

For the previous part of the story, click HERE.

Shekhar and Tara, both after a long, long time, were holding each other’s hand. For the sake of their daughter, Roohi.

But where was Roohi? What her luck had in store for her?

Roohi was standing at a completely unknown place. It was a wide barren land. The bright sunlight was making it difficult for her to open her eyes to the fullest. She could see a large group of people standing at a distance, staring at her. Was she out of city? Worse, was she in a different country? Why were they staring? Confused and frightened, she tried going close to them to ask what the whole mystery is. But as she went few steps ahead, she got the shock of her life! People went few steps behind; all of them and that too without moving their feet.

Picture Source: ioffer.com

She went few more steps further and the same thing repeated. She kept walking ahead and people kept moving further away from her; now at an even rapid pace. But what was happening now? They were now moving away from her at a crazy speed and were eventually out of sight! Out of fright and shock, Roohi was about to scream but everything went black in front of her eyes. Suddenly some light entered her eyes. The rays were getting brighter along with her endeavor to open her eyes wider and wider. It was the late noon sunlight. She was hugely relieved to know that it was a dream; a very bad dream. The word nightmare hadn’t yet arrived in her vocabulary.

However, her relief was soon transformed into shock. As she was pretty much awake now, she recalled the terrifying incident of a stranger forcefully taking her away on his bike. She half sat on the bed, which wasn’t comfortable for her, and realized she was in an unknown house. Where was she? Who owns the place? She looked around the room. The walls appeared as if they weren’t painted for a couple of decades. The ceiling had cracks. Apart from the bed, there was only a dirty writing table and an equally dirty chair. She could see a blue colored can on the table. She wasn’t mature enough to know it was Fosters beer. There was also a college bag lying at the other side of the table. Did the place belong to that biker? It has to be. But where was he?

“Relax Roohi,” a voice sounded from behind the bed. Although the words were caring, there was a hint of ruthlessness in them. Obviously, the words startled Roohi no ends and, as a reflex action, she jerked behind to see the same biker sitting on a chair in a relaxed position. She hadn’t seen his face earlier due to the helmet but from his clothes and a silver chain with a pendant of a bullet, she could make out it was him. His expression was as contradictory as his words. There was a smile but at the same time, he appeared dangerous. His stony blue eyes, long face and a stubble on his chin made things worse.

Picture Source: goodreads.com

“I… I… I want to go home,” Roohi somehow managed to speak since tears chocked her voice. The man just responded with another wily smile. Roohi’s heart sank further. “Why have you brought me here? Who are you?” Roohi again managed to speak somehow. As her last question ended, the man jumped to his feet. There was a book in his hand. His jerked movements made Roohi’s heart skip a beat. Now there was no contradiction in his expression. The smile had disappeared. His face was all brutal now. In a stern voice he said, “I don’t wish to hurt you. In fact, I am quite a harmless creature. But I have one weakness. I hate questions, especially when they are asked by kids. So if you wish to stay unharmed, just keep your mouth shut.” There was a lot of firmness when he spoke the last five words. This was enough to silence Roohi, at least for some time.

The dangerous stranger picked up a packet of chips and a bottle of water from below the bed, and gave them to Roohi, indicating with a gesture to help herself. With some amount of hesitation, Roohi picked up the bottle. After gulping down the liquid a couple of times, she started struggling with the packet of chips.

With the book in his hand, he walked towards the table. It was a James Hadley Chase novel that he was reading while waiting for Roohi to regain consciousness. He put the novel in his bag that contained a couple of books on law. There was also a bottle of chloroform inside it. As per the instructions given to him, he had used only a minor dose on Roohi. It was inevitable for him to use it to make sure nobody suspected anything. The bungalow was his friend’s and was located at a secluded place near Marve Beach in Malad so hardly anyone would have seen him. But he didn’t want to take any chances.

He turned his head behind to see what Roohi was up to. As he returned his gaze on the table, there was that wily smile again on his face. While keeping the same smile intact, he opened a drawer and picked up a pocket knife from it. With the knife in his hand, he slowly marched towards an unsuspecting Roohi…

Will the innocent little girl be mercilessly killed?

To know whether she survives, read the next part of the story HERE.

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