Worthy Secrets

Howdy All,

After a long hiatus, Metalhead is back and will try to post regularly. Lots have changed during the time away. With Junior Metalheads (yes you read it right.. it is plural!) running around the house, it has been a challenge posting stuff. As a goal, I am trying to write an article for Spark Magazine  every month based on their theme. While the goal is get the article(s) published, I will reproduce them here every month for you. Without further ado, here is my submission in September 2019 to Spark Magazine for their October issue's theme "Secrets". Will appreciate your comments - bouquets & brickbats (all virtual) are welcome!
Note: This didn't get published in Spark Magazine.

As the clock struck 7, the guard open the doors of the cell. He had seen many prisoners before, but none like this one. He went to him and told him. “It’s almost time. Do you have any last wishes?”. The man turned and had a look at the guard with a smile. “I do have one. I’d like to hoist my nation’s flag and salute it one last time.”

The guard wasn’t surprised. This man was different. He had not seen anyone else go through what this man had gone. This man could smile after everything. The guard retorted “This will be difficult. You know how your nation’s flag is treated here. Do you need anything else?”. The man replied calmly “Sir, you very well know that I don’t need anything else.” “Ok” the guard replied, “Let me check with my boss” and went out of the cell locking the door.

The man looked at the guard as he went out of the cell with his smile intact. As the guard disappeared from his view, his smile started diminishing as his thoughts came around. He turned away from the camera in his cell. His thoughts started to go to his family back in his homeland, his parents, wife and son. They didn’t know what exactly he did for a living. All they knew was that he had a new job where he had to travel extensively. The details of his job were a secret which had to die with him. He didn’t even know whether his family knew about his capture and what he had underwent. He started wondering how they will get to know what happened to him. He had lost the count of the days since he was captured and didn’t know where he was lodged. Only thing he knew for sure was that he was in enemy’s hands and he couldn’t give up any of the secrets in his head. They tried breaking his bones, resolve and will. He kept up his façade as much as possible. All his pain was masked by his smile. The enemy should never feel this weakness.

Slowly, his thoughts went to his wife and new-born son and light tears started to engulf his eyes. As he wiped his tears, he started to think about they will cope with his absence. Will the endless wait break their resolve? Will they ever have closure about his fate? His mind started to wonder how his son will grow up without a father. Is this all worth it? He knew that he still has a window to give out the secrets and his fate can change.

As this thought came about, the guard came back to open the cell door. He quickly gathered his thoughts and got a smile on his face. The guard said “You are lucky. My boss has agreed for your request and everything has been arranged.” The man’s smile widened, and he spoke happily “Thank you sir. Thank you. You will have my eternal gratitude.”. “Ok. It’s time. Let’s go. Are you ready for this?”, the guard asked earnestly. The man replied happily, “Yes sir. I’m all set”. The guard slipped on the handcuffs onto the man’s wrists gently. The man joined the guard with the others and enthusiastically walked with them.

It was a pretty long walk. The man felt the gentle breeze on his face. It’s been a while since he got out of the dark cell. He enjoyed every bit of it and moved towards his destination. It was a long dark passage with few incandescent bulbs, which lit some of the pathway. Once they crossed the passage, they reached the room. It was big room with some light only over the stage. As his eyes spotted the stage, he thought of the occasions in his life where he wanted the spotlight, and he could finally see that he is in the spotlight. The guard led him onto the stage and removed his handcuffs. Once on the stage, he could see his beloved nation’s flag and he saluted it enthusiastically. He was all smiles. They had fulfilled his last request. He has done what he could for his nation. Now, the enemy won’t get a chance to know his secrets. He can now be happy for the rest of his life. He stepped close to the rope. The guard tied his hands and put a black hood over his head and the world went dark. The noose was put around his neck. He was all smiles inside and waited for the inevitable.

Suddenly, a pair of hands came out and removed the hood from his and ropes around his hands and the room was all bright. There was a person standing in front of him. He looked familiar. He had his hands out and started talking “Mr. Ram – I’m the director of our organization. Hope you remember me from the pictures in our office. All this was a test to check your resolve. You have passed with flying colours. You’ll now be promoted.”

The man thought “It is true. Some secrets are worth keeping”.

????? - a short story

Disclaimer : The characters and events in this story are fictious . Any resemblance to those living or dead is a pure coincidence.


Dear readers,
This is my first attempt writing a thriller.. Please feel free to let me know whether you liked this.


PART 1 :

I woke up in the morning as always. My head was hurting. This has been happening for sometime now. I need to get my head examined yet again. Hospitals have become my second home now. Yet nobody was in a position to tell me what is wrong. I have this real bad feeling about this, which can't be explained.I got up and drank some tea. This is the only solace I have from this. I got myself dressed and drove upto the hospital. I am meeting the best-among-the-best neurologist Dr. Misra. I went to meet him and handed out all my previous medical reports. He started to have a look at all the reports .I picked my reports and headed home. I was pretty happy the way things went in the hospital and hoped that everything will be sorted out .


PART 2 :

This has been one of the worst months in my career. The case of murdered docs has been hitting my department and we have been working over time to crack this. The murders have been very gruesome and there were no clues available.The methods adopted have been inconsistent. But we still have a reason to believe that it was the same guy who has been doing this. Got a call from the control room that the famous neurologist Dr.Misra has been murdered in a gruesome manner in his home. There goes another life!! This is getting worse.


PART 3:

Felt like it has been a long day. I don't particularly remember having a lot of work in office. But am feeling damn tired.Time to hit the sack. I decided to take the medicines which Dr.Misra had prescribed. The medicine cover was soggy. Looks like the syrup has spilt in the cover. I threw away the cover and went to sleep.


PART 4:

Who said cops have all the perks!! we have to stay up all night and dig up clues from stuff near which no other person will dare to go. This murder is as mysterious as the previous ones. The only thing common to previous murders is the white powder which is present. Forensic reports were stating that this is nothing but powdered sugar. Why would someone leave powdered sugar?? Beats me!!

PART 5:

Another morning and my head hurts more. Took my tea and saw the news item in the news paper.

"FAMOUS NEUROLOGIST DR.MISRA MURDERED"
This is really strange. This is the fifth neurologist who has been murdered the past month. This is not getting any better. How come all the doctors I go for consultation are being murdered. Something is not right!!!


PART 6:

I don't know how I got into this mess. I am all tied up and am in the trunk of this car. Looks like there is no way to escape. The car has stopped. I Wonder what's happening and why this is happening. Hear a thud and the car is rolling downwards. How long will this go on!! The car stopped and water is coming in. Looks like I have reached the end. Never thought this day would come so soon.This cannot end like this.


PART 7:

Where am I and why am I standing here looking at the sea. Looks like a car is drowning.. Gotta save the people in the car.. The trunk is locked and I can see someone in there. I can feel a key in my pocket.. Good god!! the trunk opened with this key.. he is unconscious.. poor guy!! I wonder how he ended up in this car. I took him to the shore. Went through his pockets.. Looks like he is a cop. He looks familiar, but am unable to recognise him.. I called the police and ambulance.. They arrived here and took him away in an ambulance.. Hope that he can recover fully..


PART 8:

Am I alive?? That was the question which I had in my mind when I opened my eyes. I looked around and could see some of my friends who were very much alive. Thank God!! I need to nail the creep who did this to me.. The doctor had a look at me and he said I need bed rest for a month.. I don't have one month save more people from being his victm!!!


PART 9:

What the hell happened to my car?? Did I park it in my garage yesterday evening. It is nowhere to be seen on the road. Is it stolen , nah!! I don't think so. Lemme check my garage....The cop I saved yesterday he looked very familiar.. Nice mirror.. Hey!! I can see his face in the mirror.. Was it me?? How can I save myself?? I can't move my hands.. Why are my hands tied?? Hey this is not my garage!! This looks more like a jail.. Where am I?? Why am I put in a jail?? What did I do?? What is happening to me..


PART 10:

"This case is one of the most peculiar cases I have ever seen". Dr Misra remarked to his students, outside a cell in NIMHANS. "His name is Mark Daniel, a former cop. One of the best we ever had. While attempting to capture a smuggler, he was hit on the head and left for the dead inside a trunk of the car under the sea. He escaped death, instead he got something worse. He lives in a different world and has a lot of hallucinations. He is aware of the real world only for some time. A bad thing to happen to a great guy.Hope God takes him out of his misery."

-THE END-

The Rain - A short story

Disclaimer : The characters and events in this story are fictious . Any resemblance to those living or dead is a pure coincidence.

As I sit next to the window, I see beautiful droplets of water on the leaves, moist sky and green grass. The rain makes everything look beautiful.. As I saw the rain get heavier, my memory jogged back to a time not so long ago....

I was a happy-go-lucky guy, with no care about the world, living everyday as it was the last. All I wanted to was enjoy life to the fullest. It was just another day or it seemed so in the morning on the way to office... and then it started raining in the evening. All I felt was that it was just another rainy day,with flooded streets and serpentine traffic jams and it would be a very long drive back home..

I started driving back home and as feared got stuck in a traffic jam.. But, was it worth getting stuck in a traffic jam? .. this was worth it.. I saw a dark shadow jumping on the puddles on the footpath and enjoying the rain.. as the shadow neared me.. I could see the face more clearly.. I started feeling better.. and it seemed like an angel had descended on this wet world.. and I yearned to see the angel better.. and as she came close to my car.. i could see her round blue eyes ,flowing hair, the dimple in her cheeks and the beautiful smile.. and I was in a different world.. and there came the rude awakening.. a shrill horn!!!

The traffic started moving .. and she had disappeared... Looks like my luck had deserted me as usual.. I never had any luck in my life.. I started moving again .. but this time around, I enjoyed the rain and the thought of that angel.. Who was she? Will I ever see her again??

To this day, I hope that I can catch a glimpse of her again in my life and my hope increases every time it rains.. Who is she?? She is my angel, my beautiful angel...

Author's footnote : We see a lot of people day in and day out. There are some unknown people whom we remember for some good reasons and yearn to meet. This is such a story where the protogoanist may or may not meet that girl again...

Retribution - A short story

Disclaimer : All characters in this story are fictious and Any resemblance is a coincidence

Present :

I was in a daze, not knowing what had happened. All I can feel is the warmth on my fingers. As I looked down, I could see my trustworthy sidekick, a .44 Magnum dangling on my fingers. As I looked around, the carnage we had created was very much visible. I can see more blood than the water all around me.

Now I know how Retribution feels like. But what drove me here? My life and my memories just flashed across my eyes............

3 years ago :

All along in my life, I wanted to be a cop. I always felt that there was an aura surrounding a cop and wanted to feel that aura and enjoy it. I cleared every test that was thrown at me and was one of the most successful cops in my Precinct. Then came the decision that I had to take. "Pablo"

Pablo was the best hitman available in the World and they wanted someone to take him down. Why they chose me was, is and will be the biggest mystery. Was it my willingness to take chances or my only chance at glory.

I happily accepted this assignment. It involved a lot of real danger and more importantly, the highest glory which a cop could get. I started following the trails and tried to get close to Pablo. But it did not work out as well as I had hoped. He somehow managed to escape every time around. The problem was that we never had any clue on his appearance or a picture of his and we were literally shooting in the dark.

12 months ago :

I was losing my patience . This assignment is killing me. It has been two years. I had given my all, sacrificing everything, yet never came anywhere close to Pablo. But today was unlike every other day, we got a tip-off on Pablo's son's whereabouts. This was my biggest oportunity to nab Pablo using his son as a bait.

We entered La Samba club and started moving around with the crowd. Looking the rampant drug abuse by youth there, I felt sick to my stomach, but carried on to find Pablo's son who was in a corner obiviously on a high. There was froth coming out of his mouth and we realised that he had a drug overdose and hurried him to the hospital. But, he died on the way and so were our hopes of finding Pablo.

I felt bad for what happened to Pablo's son. This was the worst way to waste his life. But I didn't realize that this incident had more to it.

2 Weeks ago:

I got a call on my cell phone and it was my Precinct captain. He asked me to come home immediately. There was a sense of urgency in his call. I didn't understand the reason for this. Fearing the worst, I came back home.

It felt like a nightmare. There was smoke and ash all around and a bunch of debris at a place where my home used to stand. Everything's gone!!! I didn't know what to say or do... I never felt so numb in my life .. All my loved ones were gone... I heard my Captain whisper something into my ears.... Just one word.. Pablo.....

How did he know it was me?? How did he get to my family??.. I could not think at all...

2 Hours ago:

I got the information that Pablo was in the Jus Warehouse today, closing a big deal.. This was the chance I was waiting for... One on One.. Man-o-Man.. I wanted him so badly that I did not even take a police unit with me... None knew that I was going there...

I saw the guard stand outside the Warehouse.. I didn't warn him, no chance in hell .. I took him down with a well-aimed shot.... a hole-in-one in his heart..... Slowly I opened the door and noticed that there were four guys who were chatting.... I took out my other pistol and they were just other corpses in this battle.... This went on and on and on.... I could fathom what hatred and a desire for retribution can do...They can turn a man into a dangerous beast, which I was that moment...

Finally, I saw the man himself, "Pablo" is what they call him... the same "they" who asked me to take him down...
I could not believe my eyes, it was..... BANG!!!! a hole in my arm.... just before I could gather my senses.. WHACK!! my head never hurt like this before... I didn't want to lose my consciousness, but this was a losing battle and the world became a blank...

I don't know how long I was out cold, but woke up looking at Pablo... He was none other than my Captain.. or did I hallucinate so??? No not at all. It was all a bloody setup....They took me for a ride.... They ruined my career, my life, why?? I didn't want any answers to these questions.. All I wanted was retribution....

I don't know what took over my senses, the next thing I remember is firing my guns and everything was over...

Now I sit there, watching the carnage... Is retribution worth all this?? All of a sudden, the door opened and came another guy, whom I could not recognise. His last words were "It's been a pleasure".......

Why me??? - A short story

Disclaimer : All events and characters in this story are fictional and any resemblance is pure coincidence

I was driving back home after a long day's work. The same old routine everyday. Listening to Metallica's Fade to Black just like I do every other day. But was this just another day? All of a sudden there was a small child on the road just ahead of my car.

The next thing I remember is my aching head, legs and back and some voices asking me whether I was fine. Some people managed to carry me. That is the last thing I remember, before I went onto blissful sleep. I never slept like this in my life so far.

One fine day, I woke up from the sleep. I dunno how long I was asleep. But this awakening was very much different from the usual. I felt very good, brisker than ever, fitter than ever and got up from the bed without much fuss. I have always been a person, who never looked back in my life. Maybe this was the reason why I didn't want to look back at the place from where I got up.

I headed towards home, sweet home. I missed home all this time. I was looking forward to go back home. I got into the bus. It was the quietest and the most peaceful ride I have ever had in a bus. As the bus neared home, I was feeling very happy. But I didn't know that this happiness would be short-lived.

As I entered home, I saw all the people who mattered the most to me. My parents, my brother and sister and of course, my lovely wife. They seemed to be unaware of my presence at the door. Even though the door was open, I thought that I would surprise them with my presence by ringing the door bell. As I was about to ring the bell, I heard my mother's voice asking my brother to shut the door. He came to the door and slammed the door on my face.

I was shocked and terribly sad that my brother shut the door on my face and that too on the behest of my mother. With anger and dejection, I left home and went to my best buddy's place. Maybe he'll understand me. I saw him inside his house and thought that I could blurt out everything that happened. As I entered his house, he was sitting on the couch reading a newspaper. I sat next to him and started talking to him. To my surprise, he completely ignored me. Oh no! not him too!!!!

Are they angry at me? What is the reason for this immense hatred towards me? Now I remember!! What happened to that child that day? Did I kill the child with my car? I shudder at the possibility that I might have killed an innocent child. Why should this happen to me? God, of all people Why Me??? How will I convince them that it was not intentional?? Why me?? Why should I be in this mess??

I didn't know where to go next. I felt that I had to bide some time before convincing my family and friend. I went to the library nearby. I was in no mood to read anything. I took a random newspaper and started flipping through the pages. I stopped at a headline which read "YOUTH KILLED IN A CAR CRASH". I started thinking that the traffic situation has worsened to a point of no return. I didn't want to read further as the news about accidents makes me feel miserable. I just flipped throught the pages and started thinking on how to tackle the current situation.

I stood up and made up my mind that I'm going to get myself out of this situation. I went back home and walked in through the door. I saw a lady and her child talking to my parents. The child's face looked familiar. As I was wondering who the child was, I heard my wife crying in our room. I went into our room and started consoling her. She started crying more than ever and she got up in a jiffy and moved out of the room. I was taken aback by this. I didn't know how to react. I saw the same newspaper with the same headline as I had seen in the library.What a coincidence!! I started to read this news item.

It read " A 28-year old Software Engineer was killed in a car crash when he tried to avoid a child on the road" and the photo of the car was published. I looked at the photo. Something seemed very familiar in this picture. I saw the plate of the car and it struck me like a lightning. It was my car!!!!!

Now I remember, who the child talking to my parents was. It was the same child on the road. As I moved to the living room, I saw a huge photo of mine on the mantle, and my wife standing next to it. As I went closer, I heard the strange lady say amidst sobs "It was my mistake all along. I asked her to stay at the Super Market entrance as I went in to get an extra bag. She wandered onto the road by herself. If it was not for your son, I might have lost her forever. I'm really sorry that your son had to sacrifice himself for my daughter. I would always be grateful to your family".

My family was not disappointed by my actions. In fact, they are and will be proud of my last action for a long time.

All along I was asking the question "Why me", now I know why it was me.