Alone

“Yeah! Like you were born in Switzerland! Switch off the fans!”, I cried across the classroom to the guy sitting near the switch board, who had said he was feeling normal. It was unnaturally cold and a storm was expected to cross our city in a few hours. But neither that nor a nuclear bomb threat from terrorists could stop our tutor from cancelling that day’s class. The batch I was attending was allotted a time from 8pm to 10pm. The time was 10:10, but still we were in the classroom.

Our tutor came back after a small break, with a built, 40-yr old man. Both were looking tense. “He is a police officer in this area. He has very important instructions, listen carefully” said our tutor, not trying to conceal his tension,” Hey! Listen!” he screamed at a guy in the last row, who was speaking with his friend. We had seen him angry many a time, but not tensed. ‘Something horrible must’ve happened to make him shiver.’ I thought.

“Students, listen carefully. You are not kids anymore, so am gonna be frank with y’all” said the officer taking big breaths. He was drenched from head to toe. That made it certain that whatever he was trying to say was of very high importance. Tutor made a call and went outside, probably talking about what this officer was about to say. The officer took out a small notepad and stared at it for a few moments before saying,” There have been five murders in the city after 6:00pm, today. The killer, we believe, is a psychopath. He has been killing children”. Though he didn’t give a gap, many of us gasped at the situation. Some were stupidly snickering with excitement. ‘A killer? This is like a movie!’ I thought, my heart beat increasing gradually.

He continued,” From the location of the murders, we are expecting him to cross this area. It is not certain, but we are taking precautions. We have a description of the killer here. He was seen wearing a black shirt, light blue jeans. He is around six-feet tall and is v-…quite built”. I noticed he was about to use ‘very’. “My instructions are very clear. If your house is far, call your parents. Let them come and pick you up. If your house is near, move in groups or at least in pairs. Try to stay with the public as much as you can. Take public buses rather than cabs or walk. Do you have your cell phones with you?” he asked. The answer was, nope! Our tutor had restricted us from bringing our mobile to the class, as he felt they were distracting for us. All of us unanimously shook our heads.

He took a deep breath. “Alright. If you spot someone who nearly or even hardly fits the description, move away from him. If you feel somebody is gaining on you start running immediately. Throw away your bag and run as far as you can. Try to stay in the main roads. There are patrol cars in every part of this area. Ask one of them to escort you to your house if you feel you are followed. Call your parents and ask them to come to the main roads, if your house is isolated”. He continued to give a few more tips to be followed while going home. None of them were useful for me considering the fact that my whole family had gone to my native. I had been alone in the house for the past couple of days. So, I was on my own.

After the brief how-to-escape-from-a-psychopath session, everybody started leaving. Few called their houses; some took their motorbikes and took off as fast as they could with as many people they could take. Many of my friends offered a lift. I refused as my house was nearby and in the opposite direction from most of my friends’ houses. I went to the officer and told my situation. He asked me to take a bus to the nearest stop from my home. He said a patrol car will be waiting for me, in which I could reach home safely.

Few minutes later, I was on the bus, alone sitting near a window. The bus still had few passengers in it who were staring at me every now and then. ‘What is the deal with these guys?! Even few of my classmates had stared at me when the police officer had read the description’ I thought. Then it struck me. I was wearing a black shirt, light blue jeans; I fit the description of the killer! I was smiling unconsciously at the coincidence when my stop came.

And voila! No one was there! Not even a single soul in sight, excepting the few stray dogs sleeping under vehicles. Whole main road was empty. ‘Should I wait till the patrol car comes? Maybe they are in rounds or something. Nah! It will be embarrassing when they come and you tell,” Thank you officers for dropping this 17-yr old, 6-foot 180-pounds young man in his home”. Am gonna walk my way to home’ I thought.

With one hand supporting the one-strapped bag and the other inside my pocket to save from cold, I crossed the empty main road, while the signal was blinking yellow. As soon as I crossed the road and took my first step in the sub–main road, all the street lights went out!’Great! Everything is perfectly alright!’ These power cuts had become irregular for the past few days. I stopped there analyzing my situation. I knew the route to my home by-heart and I have reached home on numerous occasions without any lights on the road.

The route was simple. I had to walk straight for 100 metres and take a left, walk a few metres and a right turn and just a few steps, I will be looking the entrance of my house. I shrugged and started walking, though my heart had started to beat faster than normal. Two factors usually intimidated me in the dark. One-dogs and two-darkness. The former factor was practically intimidating considering the reputation of the dogs near my place. A postman came in healthy and left this area leaving behind a pound of flesh for the dogs only a couple of months ago. I hoped the dogs would sense I was their neighbor and would leave me alone. The ‘darkness’ thing does nothing but slightly increase my heart beat, focus my vision only on the road in front of me.

I was walking slowly fearing the fast footsteps would wake up the dogs. As I was walking, I noticed someone was sleeping on the platform, fully covered by a black blanket. Just another homeless man. As I crossed him I felt I saw him peek out of the blanket at me. I ignored him. Unless he is a bloodsucking vampire I wouldn’t care for him. Suddenly there was a huge thunder! The sound was deafening. I gave a slight shudder.

But what was even more shuddering was the fact that from the corner of my eye, I saw that there was no one on the platform. Even the blanket wasn’t there! I didn’t stop. I continued walking towards my house but my heartbeat speed was raised by 50 percent. Then I heard footsteps. ‘He is following me! Is he going to steal money?’ I thought. I didn’t have any! I had spent all the money on the bus. Is this an advantage or a disadvantage?’Maybe he will leave me because I didn’t have any money. Or what if he gets angry and tries to kill me?’ I thought, as I kept walking slowly.

He could be following me to my home and bring his gang and strike at night! The guy following me could be a member of a gang or a thief or could even be a ghost!

There was a house in our area where nine people had been butchered to their deaths long before I was born. That story was still haunting people in this area. What if he is the ghost of the killer who wasn’t satisfied with nine killings but was still searching for the next victim? Then I suddenly stopped. What was I thinking? Had I gone mad? I was an idiot all along! Among the list of options my follower could be, the one to top should have been the psychotic killer! He may be the guy!

Don’t give the guy a chance to bury his knife on you! Keep walking! I was advising myself. ‘Oh my god! He could be the guy! What do I do? Get a look at him. Check whether he fits the description’ said my mind to me. My heart was pumping twice the amount of blood.’ Should I just turn around? What if he is just behind me with a diabolic smile on his face?’ The mere thought made me to shudder. I had to find an excuse to look at him.

I took a deep breath and stopped. I bent as if to adjust my shoe. In a split-second I saw him. Instead of ‘him’, ‘it’ would perfectly describe him. He looked slightly less than 6-foot but looked bigger from below. He looked larger than me. His face and his body were covered with the blanket. His hands were inside the blanket, probably holding a knife. What made me absolutely frightened were his legs. His long, strong legs wearing light blue jeans!

I immediately stood up! I resumed walking with a slightly faster pace. ’It is definitely him! Damn my tutor for not allowing cell phones. Think! No unnecessary thoughts!’ My mind had suddenly moved into an aggressive state due to the adrenaline. Everything that I had read in books and watched in movies that could help me in a situation like that was being searched by my brain through my memory.

Stay with the crowds. Don’t go alone. Ask your parents to pick you from the main road. My situation was the exact opposite of what the police officer had advised. ‘Don’t worry. Still nothing has happened. I could just get into a shop and call the police. But, which shop will be open for me after ten?’ I wondered. The sub-main road in which I was going had a few shops but all those shut themselves at ten exactly, except a medical shop which stayed open till 11pm. I checked my watch. It glowed 10:45pm.I was still walking briskly and my heart beat was still sounding like a machine gun. But, now I had something called hope that made me clear. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a Yamaha bike roared and sped through the empty, silent road. He went straight along where my house was. ‘DUDE!! ‘ I shouted in my mind. ‘Idiot! Doesn’t he have some sense to give lift for a kid coming alone at night? Dumb ass!’ I thought through biting teeth.

I looked up the road. The shop was only a few metres away. I was about to smile thinking about my plan when it suddenly disappeared. There was no light on the neon bulb. ‘Maybe it doesn’t work. It is definitely open. It should definitely be open!’I motivated me. The plan was simple. ‘I will suddenly take a right, enter the shop, close the door behind me and call the police. I will stay put there till the police arrive’ I slowly looked behind me, from the corner of my eyes. The gargoyle was still following me. I also felt the distance between us had reduced by 20 percent!

Another huge thunder! I slightly shuddered. Again, like a déjà vu feeling, I shuddered even more after looking what was in front of me. There was nothing. That was the problem. Those med-shop idiots had closed and left the shop even before 11pm. I was just facing the shutter of the shop. I wanted to run and bang my fists on the shutter repeatedly and shout as loud as I could.

I continued walking. It couldn’t be described as walking or jogging. It was more of long strides. ‘Okay. Our previous plan was a flop. But I am still alive. That’s the point. Stay alive. If that *%&$ wants to kill me, am gonna make sure it is extremely difficult for him. Whatever happens stay alive’. I had walked half the distance of the sub-main road. Few more metres till I had to take the left.

If it really came down to fighting, could I take him out? I was a good fighter at school. Though I hardly quarreled, whenever I fought, the opponent was seriously hurt. But the problem was, neither of us thought during the fight. We just gave blind jabs and kicks. This time it won’t be like it. ‘What is my strength? No, no. What is his strength? No, no. Wrong question again. What are his weaknesses? Think! Every man’s greatest weakness- groin. Then comes the ribs, which is quite easy to break considering my strength and the adrenaline that is powering me. Don’t grab the hands or try to kick his legs. Both the parts are his greatest advantage’. Every fight sequence that was realistic in movies was currently being scanned by my brain.

I had covered three-fourth the distance of the sub-main road. Few more metres to take the left. A fight sequence was ready, between me and him, involving all the factors from the current situation. Three steps to knock the terminator down. An algorithm appeared on my mind.

‘Preliminary necessities were to be alert, active and quick. Keep moving and jumping to distract him and to make him angry.

Step 1 : Weaken your opponent.

Potential areas in the body that could help one in succeeding the first step were groin, eyes, nose and ears. First, give a surprise but hard and hesitation-less kick to his groin. The opponent may bend down, at which point you gouge his eyes out. Dig your thumbs as far as you can into his eyes. Give a strong punch to his nose and make sure it is completely broken and not just hair line cracked. The opponent will be in searing pain. Go behind him and give the loudest clap you can but with his head between your hands and ears between your palms.

Step 2 : Make your opponent angry.

Repeating all the preliminary necessities is an efficient way to make your opponent angry. When he gets angry, he doesn’t think. When he doesn’t think, he will give blind jabs. When he gives blind jabs, you have the control of the game.

Step 3 : Knockout your opponent.

Keep running around him. When you reach a blind spot behind him, kick behind his knees with full force. He will be half-kneeling. Without wasting any time, catch his shoulders for grip and with your knee kick him in the lower spine in the L-5 bone. That will knock the air out of his lungs. With your elbow, hit him once, but hard on the back of his neck. He will drop down unconscious’. I started to give a small smile at the good plan but it immediately disappeared.

I had realized that I had only planned my moves and didn’t expect his. ‘Crap!’ I had reached the end of the sub-main road. I slowly took the left. I was still in a confusion whether to go to my house with him following me or to make a run. ‘What the hell am I supposed to do?!’

Going home directly with ‘it’ behind me wasn’t the best solution. I had to do something. As I took the left, I again gave a glance hoping he would’ve left. But, life wouldn’t be so easy, would it? He was still following me, with the black blanket covering his whole body and face except his eyes.

Then as I turned to face the road ahead of me, I stopped. Seven! Seven dogs were standing there, slowly growling. ‘Oh my god! Oh my god!’ two of the dogs came near me. I stood there like a mannequin. They sniffed me for a few seconds. I didn’t dare to turn and look whether he was still standing or had took off.

One of the dogs gave a loud bark and started to shake its tail vigorously. ‘Is this a good sign? I have to check it out’ I took a step forward slowly expecting a loud bark. But it didn’t happen. Instead, I heard  low growls. But the dogs that sniffed me continued to wag their tails.

I slowly resumed walking. I crossed the seven dogs one by one. As I crossed the last dog, I silently wished the dogs would bite a large pound of flesh from ‘it’. I took large strides and gave a glance behind me. The seven dogs were surrounding him and it was his turn to be a mannequin. But his eyes didn’t show any fear. They were locked on me. As if he wanted to jump across the dogs and bury his knife on my chest. ‘Not gonna be easy, my friend’. That was the window I wanted. ‘I have to reach my home fast and call the police’. It wasn’t a fantasy. It was real. ‘I will survive the night!’. But there was no smile on my face, my heart was beating countless times per second.

‘I know exactly what am supposed to do’ I thought. As I reached the end of the road, I removed my bag and slowly placed on the ground, fearing the sound might attract the attention of the dogs. Then I ran. It was wasn’t jogging or running. It was sprinting. I ran as fast as I could. My legs moved in a rhythmic movement like two pistons in an engine. The cold storm tore through my face. But that wasn’t going to stop me. Not even a tornado in front of me could. My house was only few metres ahead of me.

‘I can make it! I will make it!’. A smile started to appear on my face. But immediately disappeared after the sounds I heard.  There was a loud thud! Like a stone was dropped on the ground or on somebody. At first I thought it was him trying to scare the dogs away by throwing stones near them. But, I was wrong. There was a high pitched cries of pain from two dogs and all the dogs went berserk and started barking.

‘Did he escape the dogs?! How could he? He must have thrown a large stone at one of them which must’ve scared the others. Was it so easy to scare the dogs? Oh god! Oh god!’ But the terrifying sound was the sound of running footsteps, not of a dog, but of a man. I reached the gate of my house. ‘ Aw! Crap! Keys!’ I thought through clenched teeth. There was a mixture of emotions. Anger at myself for throwing the bag which had the keys, fear of the incoming footsteps, frustration at a stupid and insane turn of events and fear of death. I left the gate and continued running along the road.

The road took a right which went on to connect to the sub-main road. I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t hear any tips or instructions from my brain. It had stopped working. I ran fast and simultaneously turned behind to see the figure emerge from darkness. ‘It’ no longer had the blanket. ‘It’ came charging at me without hesitation. I turned and ran the right came and I took it without thought. But then something happened.

Just as I took the left, I heard a sound and a voice. The sound was from a walkie-talkie and the voice said,” Am in pursuit of the killer! Need assistance!”. Everything became blank in front of me. I couldn’t see anything. It was what doctors called ‘mental shock’. And I tripped on something long and hard and fell hard on the road.

The fall made me regain my vision. The ‘long and hard thing’ that I had tripped on was the arm of a man. The man was lying on the corner of the road. He was not alone. There was another man lying face down beside him. Both wore police uniforms. There was blood all around them. I screamed in fear and crawled backwards.

Then ‘it’ appeared from the curve of the road and stood shocked looking at the bodies. He immediately took a pistol from his pants. Loaded it as they show in movies and flipped his thumb at the side of the pistol, which turned off the safety mode. “Don’t move! “ He shouted. There was fear, confusion and anger on his face. I wasn’t feeling anything. Neither the brain was working, nor was the other parts of my body. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t speak , I couldn’t show any fear on my face and I couldn’t even smile at the revelation that just happened.

He took a step forward toward the body with gun in his hands pointed at me. But he wasn’t the only one who had moved in the place. Someone had suddenly emerged from behind the bushes. He was too quick for ‘it’ to notice anything. He jumped and stood behind ‘it’. He had a sharp, thick and big knife in his hand. Hearing the sound of movement, ‘it’ turned about. But he was too late. The man who had stood behind him immediately caught his hand, which had the pistol, with one hand and with the other, which had the knife, he lowered it right into the chest of ‘it’. Blood spurted from the wound. He raised the knife and again lowered it into the same spot, digging it deeper.

‘It’ gave a big jerk from the force that was being applied on his chest and the gun from his hand flew and landed in front of me. The mysterious man repeated his actions for three more times. ‘It’ fell down with a big thud, drenched fully in his blood. The walkie-talkie was cracking some meaningless sounds.The mysterious man slowly turned towards me and stared at me as I stared back at him, realizing what had actually happened few minutes before. I suddenly felt a new surge of energy and many pieces of puzzle was falling in its place.

The ‘it’ I was running from all the while, wasn’t the real ‘it’. He was a policeman in disguise. I should’ve realized he wasn’t the killer when I saw him running towards me few seconds ago. He was wearing a green T-shirt and light blue jeans, unlike the mysterious man, who was wearing a black shirt and light blue jeans. The sound from the walkie-talkie and the dead man’s words into it only made me realize I was running all the while from a policeman. If he was a policeman, why would he chase me? The answer was simple. I was 6-foot, 180 pounds, wore a black shirt and light blue jeans.

The mysterious man was the real killer. He had somehow managed to kill two police officers here, and was waiting for me all the time. He was the Yamaha guy! I could see the bike parked near one of the trees alongside the road. I saw the policeman, the Yamaha bike, and the officer from my class, which seemed like a year ago, the two dead police officers, seven dogs and my locked gate in front of my eyes.

Everything crumbled and I came back to reality. The real ‘it’ had taken a step towards me. ‘Wow! Did I think all that within fraction of seconds? My brain is back!’ I thought. Every escape scenario had been scanned from my memory and an escape sequence was ready. I felt ray hope for the second time that night as the scenario played in front of my eyes. I initiated the scenario in reality by standing up and waiting till ‘it’ crossed the no-turning-back point. But it wasn’t really. My eyes looked behind him and he followed my act by turning quickly and fully. ‘Mistake, my friend’ I thought.

Unlike the previous scenario, it did not involve any stunts. It involved only a small piece of object which was held tightly in my hands pointing at him, loaded and safety off. A smile appeared fully on my face for the first time that night.