It was a Sunday. We were hanging out together till 7 in the evening at Andy’s place. We as in – Sophie, Dyan, Andy and I. We did the same kinds of stuff which we would usually do on any Sunday evenings. Play FIFA in PS, eat burgers, Smoke occasionally and complain that “Monday is coming”! It sounded the same but felt more terrifying as it was in Game of Thrones.
“Nix, what time is it?” asked Sophie when I ensured that Barcelona lost again in that match against Real Madrid. I was playing for Barcelona.
I checked my cell phone for the time. “Oops, it's already 7. Let go!” I jumped out of the bean bag.
“Guys, let’s have dinner and leave. I am playing badminton tonight and I will feel hungry” said Dyan, taking the last bite of his burger.
Well…we all were full, and then we were shocked to hear that.
“No Dude, I need to prepare an office presentation for tomorrow. Let me start working on it at least now. All you guys, please leave for heaven’s sake” It was Andy.
I grabbed the car keys. Dyan rolled his eyes and showed his middle finger at Andy. Andy did not roll his eyes but for sure his both middle fingers came out. Sophie started following me because I had to drop her at her place. Dyan also left Andy’s place in his bike.
I dropped Sophie at her place and said bye. Time was 7.30 PM. The road was clear with no much traffic. I had another 20 minutes drive to reach my place. I decided to take a longer route, just for a change. The road was a bit along an isolated side of the city but it was still a nice drive. The street lights were placed in nice parallel lines and the climate was good. I lowered the side window and felt the fresh air brushing my face. I reduced the speed, took out my cell phone and started shooting a video as I slowly drove.
“Hello all, this is a nice drive indeed. You guys are really missing it.” I opened the video with my face on it to give a dramatic touch to it. Then I faced the camera towards the road to capture the monochromatic beauty of sodium vapour lamps aligned in straight lines! 2 or 3 seconds later, I heard a sudden tyre screeching from behind and immediately two cars went passed mine in succession. Something made me uncomfortable, but my camera involuntarily focused on them as I couldn’t miss them. I kept driving, but with a bit more speed now. The camera was still ON and running in my left hand. The two cars had already gone past my sight and had taken an immediate turn in the front. I followed them in the same turn and I came to a sudden halt when I saw it.
It was just about 15 meters away from me. I could see it clearly in the street light and so could my mobile camera. One car had cross stopped the other car in the middle of the road. One guy, apparently from the front car was standing near the driver seat window of the second car. He was holding a knife. He was stabbing frantically the driver and I heard the scream distinctly. Then I saw blood dripping from his hands. Then he slowly turned his face in my direction and that’s when my spine chilled and brain froze.
“Shit” I cried out and stopped the video.
In another split second, I intuitively attached the video in our WhatsApp group and clicked on send icon.
The next instant when I looked up, the killer with the knife was standing just near to me. I could not move. I could not drive. I could not scream. I could not do anything. All I managed to do was drag myself to the other front seat. But by that time, the killer opened the car and got inside. I saw his red big eyes so close. He had a beard with a few grey hairs on it. My eyes pleaded for mercy and I had to do something fast. I tried to open the door on my side, but by that time he grabbed me by my neck. And then I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen. I saw the knife piercing my body. He pulled it out and he stabbed me again.
Then it was all black…
I stabbed him more than once and ensured he was dead - I checked his breath and it was gone. I had seen him taping me in his mobile cam. I looked for it and I found the dimming screen light on the floor of the car near the brake pedal. I took it and tried to unlock it. It had a pattern lock and wouldn’t allow me to login. I noticed the fingerprint scanner. I placed his index finger on the scanner and the phone wouldn’t unlock. I tried his thumb then, and the screen got unlocked.
The screen I saw was a WhatsApp group called “Dudes”, and this guy had just uploaded a video to that group. There were two ticks against it, which meant it was delivered to all in that group. I clicked on the icon of the video, hoping that it was not I had in my mind of what I should not be seeing.
But it was it. The video of my kill and my face was so evident. I stopped the video and I checked the group members. It was four of them. Sophie, Andy, Dyan and “You”, which was this guy whom I just killed.
“Please don’t forward this to anyone else. I will meet you guys and explain it in an hour. I am safe” I texted to the group and kept staring at the phone screen. I could feel that I was sweating. First, I had to clean up the place and then I had to find the other two guys and the girl. Before I locked the phone, I clicked on the profile pic of the group. It showed a cheerful pic of the gang with all happy faces. “Poor kids” I thought!
I kept first body in the trunk of the first car and closed the boot. I left my car keys inside my car. Anyways it was a stolen one. I was planning to use this guys’ car for the rest of the night. I decided to leave his body inside my car’s trunk and so I started dragging his body towards my car. That’s when his cell phone rang from my pocket.
It showed “Andy calling”. I disconnected the call. And that’s when I thought that I would need his thumb for the remainder of this night. I took the knife out. It was sharp but it still took a while for me to cut the bone properly. Finally, I had his thumb along with his phone in my pocket.
I got in to this guys’ car and unlocked his phone again. I checked the WhatsApp messages. Only Andy has seen the video, and that’s why he had called. Just after I had disconnected the call, there was a message in the group – “Hey dude, Are you alright? Call back.” I checked other messages on his phone, and then there was a personal message from Andy. “Dude…Where are you?”
Good, I have my first one on the list.
“Meet me in front of the petrol bunk near Horamavu police station” I replied to his personal message.
“Everything fine guys. Just do not forward this video further” I replied to the group before I headed towards the petrol bunk.
The petrol pump was closed and the area was deserted. The police station was a good five hundred meters away from there. I checked the phone again. Sophie had seen it and there was a message. ‘What the fuck happened Nix?”
Nix. That’s my name now. I checked a couple of previous messages to know his replying style.
“This just happened. All cool Sophie girl” I replied in the group.
I saw a bike nearing my car and it was Andy. It was dark inside the car and I knew for sure that Andy wouldn’t recognise me. I kept low and kept my head down. Andy parked the bike and knocked on the side screen from the other side. I opened the door and he sat inside the car and then he saw me.
“All brave stupid young boys,” I said to myself as I stabbed him in his chest. I clutched him so hard that he wouldn’t move at all. He screamed a bit, but then I ensured to cover his mouth. I am a pro in handling this! One down!
Time was 8.50 PM. Sophie had sent me a personal message now.
“Your silence has started bothering me. Call me soon” she said.
“Stay calm. Do you know where Dyan would be? He is not replying to my messages”. I had noticed that all messages in the groups were still unread. I replied but then I thought it was not a very intelligent move.
“He had said he was playing badminton tonight. Why don’t you call him?” she replied.
“Yea. I will” I replied and waited for any sceptical responses. There was no response and that was not a good sign. Did I miss some cute smileys?
I had to locate Dyan next. Where would he be playing badminton tonight? I need a cue.
I checked Nix’s phone. I did a search for “badminton” in WhatsApp. Multiple court booking messages came, all from Dyan. I checked the recent ones. All of them said “Smashez” in S.N Road. I needed a double confirmation.
I opened his Facebook app. Typed the name, Dyan. No friend result with that name. I checked my profile. When I scrolled down I saw exactly the same picture as what I saw in the WhatsApp group icon. It had friends tagging – “Sophie Joseph, Nikhil Madhav, Ananth Narayan, Dhyan Mukund”
“All cute short names these days” I thought to myself. These guys were no one for me till last one hour. But now, 2 of them are down and I feel so close to the remaining two.
I clicked on Dhyan Mukund and I scrolled down. As I had imagined, he had shown off his badminton skills with a check-in one hour back. It was the same place. Smashez” in S.N Road.
I moved Andy’s body into the car’s trunk and I started driving towards SL road.
I waited at the parking lot of “Smashes” club. It had CCTV all over and so I used a half-face mask. That should help.
I checked Nix’s phone. No more messages from Sophie. It was definitely a bad sign. I could feel what she was thinking.
I opened the trunk half took Andy’s phone and unlocked it using his fingerprint.
I checked his call history details. He had 3 missed calls from Sophie in the last 10 minutes. He had talked to Sophie before meeting me!
Then I checked his WhatsApp messages. 5 unread messages from Sophie:
“Ok, call me once you meet Nix. I am a bit worried about the whole thing” at 8.46 PM
“Did you meet Nix? He is asking me about Dyan” at 8.55 PM
“Where are you guys…Call me. Baby, I love you!” at 8.57 PM
“Ok, this is getting weird. I am planning to contact the police” at 9.10 PM
“Call me in next 30 mins or else I will contact the police” at 9.15 PM
The time now: 9.40 PM, which means I have a few more minutes to convince Sophie from not sending that video to anyone else.
First, I replied from Andy’s mobile to the group – “Met Nix. I am with him. We need some time to get things sorted out. We are at the police station”
After a minute, I replied from Nix’s mobile to the group – “Waiting for the SI. Will call you guys after this”
Then I messaged from Andy’s mobile to Sophie – “Love you too baby. Can’t talk now. Will call you in some time”
Then I waited for a reply.
“Prove to me that it’s you.” She replied.
I stared at the message for some time and then I saw Dhyan coming into the parking lot. He was checking his mobile phone while he was walking. He stood still for a while when he saw something strange on his mobile. Maybe, that’s a fresh video of someone killing someone else, shot on phone by his friend!
He was walking towards his car almost in bewilderment. He went past me but he did not notice me. He was busy reading and texting back his friends, half of them already dead! I walked a few steps behind him. Then I checked the parking lot. I could see a small group at the far end, but other than that it was almost deserted. He unlocked the car using his remote car keys. He entered his driving seat and kept replying to his messages. I could feel my mobile vibrating for incoming WhatsApp messages. I opened the other door of the car and got in. He was terrified for a moment, but he was too late!
Time was 9:55 PM.
I sat inside Nix’s car thinking about my next move. I must be extra careful with Sophie now. How can I meet her?
I checked the previous messages between Andy and Sophie. One of it read – “Nix will pick me from my place”
I opened the messages between Nix and Sophie from earlier that day. A message from Nix to Sophie at 10.40 AM says – “Starting from my place, will pick you in 30 mins”
She had replied – “Ok. I am ready :-)”
I opened Nix’ Google maps App, hoping for the best. The timeline was enabled, which shows all his co-ordinates history. I checked his route from 10.40 AM. He had taken a detour and a stop at 11 AM. It showed – Monsoon Mansion Apartments”
That was easy! I started driving towards that location.
Before I started, I replied to Sophie from Andy’s mobile – “No need to prove anything, I am on my way to your place. Can’t talk now, battery running low.” Then I switched ON the flight mode.
Time was 10.30 PM
It was a small apartment building with 4 floors. Security was already sleeping at the front gate. I reached the mailboxes area. 5 among the 8 boxes were locked. I checked the first 3 unlocked ones. No letters. I started opening one lock at a time. All locks were fragile and opening it was so easy. When I opened the third one it had two letters named to Sophie Joseph. Flat number was 302. I took the stairs towards the third floor.
I checked whether the door had a viewer or not. There wasn’t any. “Tonight, I am damn lucky,” I thought and rang the doorbell and waited.
“Andy…Is that you?” a concerned female voice from inside asked.
I kept silence. That was the only thing I could do and so I waited silently. I heard a feeble unlocking sound on the door. Yes, people do such mistakes when they are high and tranced with fear. It’s when your adrenaline drives your actions. Same was with me!
I did not wait further, I launched myself on the front door. It did not open up completely but I heard something breaking on the door from inside. Then I heard Sophie screaming in panic. I pushed the door with whole body weight again and it opened up. The light in the main hall was ON but the bedrooms were dark. I could not see Sophie.
I closed the front door.
“Sophie…Where are you?” I heard my own voice after a long long time.
“Sophie…Baby…” I called out for her in a rough rhythmic pace.
I took out Nix’s cell phone and dialled Sophie. Her phone rang from one of the bedrooms, but immediately the call was disconnected. I walked towards the room and it was dark inside. I kept searching for her in that dim light. I could hear her breathing somewhere near to me in that room. Not a big room, should I turn on the light?
I took the phone again and dialled. It did not ring this time but I saw it lighting up behind the curtains. And in that fading light, I saw her shadow trying to hide from me. In a leap, I stabbed the shadow holding her around the curtain shades. I did not see her face but I could feel her struggling inside the shades. I stopped stabbing and strangled her neck. I felt that was easier to do. In a minute, she stopped struggling and then I relaxed my clutch.
It was over. My run tonight was over.
I removed the shades. She was dead. She was holding her mobile phone tightly in her hands. I took the phone out and unlocked using her thumb.
I opened her WhatsApp. The last message was sent a few seconds ago. It was that video I was hunting down tonight and she had forwarded it to another group. I checked the group details. The group had 9 members in it and the group name read – “Collateral damage!”
I sent another message to the group and then I stood up – “Please don’t forward this to anyone else.”
