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Thriller: The Ultimate Choice

Discussion in 'Stories (Fiction)' started by Tamrakshar, Jan 25, 2020.

  1. nandinimithun

    nandinimithun IL Hall of Fame

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    Wonderful and good going @Tamrakshar...
    The story is really intriguing and a page turner.

    Regards
    Nandini
     
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  2. Tamrakshar

    Tamrakshar Platinum IL'ite

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    Thanks a lot Nandini! Your appreciation means a lot to me.
     
  3. Tamrakshar

    Tamrakshar Platinum IL'ite

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    Episode 36

    "Yes, Sir. You are a very powerful man. You have contacts with both politicians and bureaucrats in AP. If an important person from your state requests the police department of West Bengal, the local police is bound to act. You might wonder why we cannot do it ourselves! Of course, we can and we will if we don't get any help from the police. The problem you know is that the local police are hand in glove with those criminals.


    If we take any action, they will turn the local police against us. As the agency is extremely dangerous, I am pretty sure that there is a big probability of bloodshed and loss of lives. As a matter of policy, we don't want to create a situation, where we are forced to eliminate state forces. That's why I am asking you for this favour."

    "Okay, okay! I will definitely do this for you with pleasure. I will call the finance minister of my state, whom I know personally. I will seek his help. Don't worry about this. In a day, this will be fixed. I will call you when the matter is done."

    "Thank you very much, Sir! Good night!" Roy disconnected the call.

    __________________________________________________________



    When Archana craned out her neck to look at the clock, it appered to her that her head was made of ton of bricks. The clock showed 3 min 10 second. That was the time Archana would survive until she did something. The face of her children appered in her mind, and suddenly she seemed to have heard a frantic call of, "Mom" from her son. This call had suddenly energised her. She had to live. She made up her mind, and she had no more hesitation in doing something which she wouldn't have done even in her worst nightmare.

    In their good time during the early period of their marriage, once Rajan had brought a DVD which contained 5 movies. Rajan said they were horror movies. Archana loved to watch ghost movies. She thought they would be some ghost movies. The movie "Wrong Turn" was definitely a horror movie, but it was not a ghost movie. It was a movie about a tribe in West Virginia, who were cannibals. They were trapping humans and tearing apart their bodies to eat them. Archana couldn't tolerate the movie for more than 20 minutes or so, and she had to leave. The scenes of cannibalism made her puke several times.

    But, at this critical juncture where there was not much of a gap between life and death, she got inspiration from the movie Wrong Turn -- which once she thought was abominable -- and tried to tear off a large chunk of flesh from her left forearm with full force. Though the flesh was not torn off, the bite made a deep incision. At last, blood gushed out copiously. But, she didn't stop at that, and used her jaws to give two more forceful attempts.


    Without canine teeth, it's never easy to tear a piece of raw flesh. But, this time a lump of flesh came out. The excruciating pain didn't perturb her. She spat the chunk of flesh with force. The salty taste of her own blood didn't make her puke. The throbbing veins in her forehead swelled considerably. Her pupils were extended with anxiety. However, she was extremely pleased to watch the gushing flow of blood from her forearm.

    She staggered towards the table. The table was hardly 3 ft tall. But when she tried to climb on it, it appeared to her that it was like the Mount Everest. After a valiant effort, she succeded and went towards the left portion of the jar, positioning her left forearm in such a way that the blood could enter the left scale easily. The blood from her left arm was flowing like a river.

    It didn't take much time to fill the required amount. The left scale went down and the right scale went up to a range where Archana could enter her two fingers to lift the key. Archana took a look at the giant key. She had never seen such a big key in her entire life. She heaved a sigh of relief. At last, she had done it, she thought.

    Archana quickly looked at the clock. There was still 55 second left. Archana got the key. A sense of satisfaction appeared on her face. She jumped from the table, and that proved to be a very bad move!

    She hadn't realized that the level of the poisonous gas had reached such a level that was even too little for a lion to jump. She was standing just because of the miraculous voice of her son in her ear. That gave her a strong motivation to live. So far, her strong will had surmounted the asphyxiating effects of the deadly gas. But, the jump had taken a vital amount of remaining oxygen level in her body. She landed on her left tibia on the hard floor.

    An instantaneous reaction of, "Oh, Devuda," came from her mouth. From the severe pain, it appeared to her that the bone might have been broken. But, pain was not a thing that she could afford to pay any attention at the moment. So, completely ignoring the pain, she tried to get up. But, she was surprised to see that she could not do it.

    There was no energy left in her body. Though, there was no one in the room, it appered to Archana that a very powerful person was choking her throat. Archana, rubbed her eyes, and she was taken aback to see that it was none other than the Lord Yama who was choking her. In Telegu movies, she had seen the Yama many times. The golden crown, the huge moustache, the fearsome big, red eyes, the two threatening horns and all the other traits that the Yama had were present.

    Archana had always been a religious person throughout her life. She had always feared the Yama, as she knew that he was the lord of death, who would decide her place after death. She had always feared the hell, as she had heard plenty of scary stories avout the torture that the Yama metes out to the sinners.

    "Oh Lord Yama, why are you here? I don't want to die now. I have two children who desperately need me." Archana pleaded.

    "Well Archu, I am afraid that your time has come. Death is a hard reality dear. Don't you know every birth or death is predestined? No matter how much powerful the person is, no matter how much wealth he has, he cannot escape death."

    Archana knew that, but she didn't want to die. So, she pleaded,

    "I have a lot of pending things to do my Lord. My daughter is totally dependant on me. My son loves me so much that if I die, he might also die. Please give me at least two more years."

    Yama guffowed so boisterously that Archana's whole body shook in fear. Yama said,


    To be continued on Friday night
     
  4. Mistt

    Mistt IL Hall of Fame

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    Archana's plight gave me goosebumps.:fearscream:
    Yama! Has she having hallucinations because of that dangerous gas?
    @Tamrakshar as usual engrossing episode and you are very good at grip the readers in suspense:thumbsup:.
     
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  5. Tamrakshar

    Tamrakshar Platinum IL'ite

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    Thanks Mistt for your nice comment! Yes, it seems that there is only a thin line between life and death.
     
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  6. Tamrakshar

    Tamrakshar Platinum IL'ite

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    Episode 37

    "Two more years! Oh dear! You want two more years? What pious works have you done to seek two more years?

    You must have heard the name of Rajiv Gandhi, the youngest, handsome prime minister of India. He was only 47, when I visited him. He was extremely reluctant to come with me. He said that he had lots of dreams to make his country developed. He even shared the dreams with me. I must say that they were indeed great dreams. But, you know what? The timing of every life or death is predestined by Lord Vishnu? So, I was helpless."

    Having said that, Yama applied full force on her throat. Just when Archana decided to surrender to her fate, miraculously, she heard the voice of her daughter, Vaishu. She was bawling,

    "Mom, wake up. Please wake up. I have an asthma attack. Please bring me the inhaler."

    Vaishu had suffered from asthma up to 12 years of age. Sometimes, her suffering was unbearable.

    Archana quickly got back to her senses. It didn't take her much time to assess the miserable situation she was in. She looked at her closed fist. There was the giant key. She didn't lose it during the fall.

    The door was around 5 feet away from her. There was only 20 seconds left. This time she didn't try to even stand on her feet. Like a reptile, she crawled towards the door. She stopped breathing, as she didn't want to take the poisonous gas any more. She knew that she could afford to do that for 20 seconds.

    She didn't know how she did it, as the oxygen level in her body had dipped significantly and her heart rate fell below 60. Perhaps, it was her animal instinct that saved her! She opened the door, dragged herself out, and lost her consciousness.

    ____________________________________________________________

    At night, Rajan went back to two and half decades back in his IIT campus. Mr Satpathy was concluding his class. He said,

    "So, boys! The examinations are just a fortnight away. Work hard. Remember no pain no gain! Unless you shed your tear, sweat and blood, you can't do well."

    Raman, who was Rajan's best friend, pushed him mildly, and in a hushed tone said,

    "Is this guy bloodthirsty? Why does he say these things again and again?"

    Rajan laughed rather loudly, and Mr Satpathy heard that.

    "May I know the cause of your laughter, Rajan?"

    Rajan was a good boy, so Mr Satpathy could not be harsh. Rajan was confounded. He was not a natural liar, who could conjure up a story at the drop of a hat. So, he was fumbling. But, Raman was man enough to shoulder the responsibility. He stood up and said,

    "Sir, I said something which made him laugh."

    "And what was that?"

    "Don't mind Sir, I understand the shedding of sweat and tear. But, why do we have to shed blood?" As a wouldbe-engineer Raman was clever enough to sway things according to his own convenience.

    "Oh, that was it? I must say, that's not a bad question. You know what? God loves sacrifices. When you shed blood, the God is pleased, and he fullfils your wish. So, this is rather metaphorical."

    The ego of Mr Satpathy seemed to have been satisfied. But, today Raman seemed to be in a very jocular mood. Unsatisfied with the answer, he asked,

    "But Sir, if someone takes the proverb literally, how can he shed his blood? Should he cut his forearm, or should he bang his head on the wall until blood comes out?"

    Clearly, there was a tone of jest in his voice. There was an outburst of laughter in the class, and that had upset Mr Satpathy to such an extent that he thumped his table forcefully, and in a thunderous voice said,

    "I will show you rascal."

    No body at that time could guess what he was trying to do. He darted off towards the door and vanished in a moment. The students looked towards each other in disbelief. They had never seen the strict but friendly professor doing this kind of bizarre act. Rajan looked towards Raman agape. The jocular mood in Raman had vanished in thin air. He seemed to be extremely worried.

    Raman was going to say something. But before he could say something, Professor Satpathy entered the class hurriedly. Everybody was surprised to the core to observe that there was a shiny dagger, around 8" long, in his hand.

    Without giving any time to anyone, he jumped towards Raman like a prowling tiger. He tried to grab Raman's hand. But, apprehending something untowardly, Raman had already moved away from him. He missed him. But, he was not disappointed. He grabbed Rajan's hand, and in a sarcastic voice said,

    "You are the one who laughed. Ain't it? So, you will help me to show the demo of how to shed blood."

    Rajan was wanted to flee, but he was surprised to see that Mr Satpathy possessed the power of a gorilla. Without wasting any more time, he shoved the sharp dagger in Rajan's belly.

    Rajan got up from bed hastily. He was breathing heavily. His heart was pounding hard. Even in the comfort of 24°C maintained by the central ac, he was sweating. Why had he seen this bizarre dream?

    Only the initial part of the dream was true. It was indeed Mr Satpathy used to say the abovementioned proverb often. But, the latter part was completely fictional. Suddenly, Ranjan recalled what Ranjan said him in the morning. He reminded him of what Mr Satpathy used to tell his students. Was there any coded message for him?

    Rajan clearly understood that Ranjan was duty bound not to open his mouth. But as his ego of taking revenge on Rajan was satisfied, he wanted to help him. So, he must have said something in coded language.

    Now, everything was getting clear to Rajan. He understood that the 4th test would require some kind of blood shed on his part. Rajan tried to compose his veering mind.



    To be continued on Monday night
     
  7. Mistt

    Mistt IL Hall of Fame

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    Wow! Archana passed her 4th test desparetly and there is only one test left for her to free from joker's den:cheer:. But her desire to meet her family pushed herself to won. Looking forward to read Rajan's test and how is going to face it.
     
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  8. Tamrakshar

    Tamrakshar Platinum IL'ite

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    Yes Mistt, she escaped from the jaws of death miraculously. Let's see if Rajan can also make it or not.
     
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  9. Riverstream

    Riverstream Bronze IL'ite

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    It is great to read that Archana has come out of the mouth of death. The voices that she heard must be divine. The God has helped her to survive. Good writing.
     
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  10. Tamrakshar

    Tamrakshar Platinum IL'ite

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    Thanks RS for your comment! Yes, Archana's escape was indeed incredible. She could have easily died .
     
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