Chapter 12
"Oh God! Mercy! Please show mercy on me." Rajan screamed when he was hit by couple of hosepipe strikes. He had no idea that a hosepipe strike could be so excoriating! Couple of more strikes made him feel that his skin was being peeled off. He was very weak due to hunger and anxiety. Couple of more hits, and he could not take it any more. He lost his sense, and was falling on the floor like an object.
But, that ghost-man saw this coming, and in a flash he saved him from falling. He laid Rajan's body on ground with care. Hesitantly, he took off Rajan's shirt. Rajan's back looked horrible with red marks. Droplets of blood were oozing from his wounds.
Did the ghost-man have a heart inside his coarse exterior? Very mercifully he dressed his wound, and left the scene.
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"Congratulations! You have passed your first test!" The nasal voice declared cheerfully.
Archana was heaving heavily. She was so exhausted, both mentality and physically, that it appeared to her that had she been a doll made of clay, she would have been broken into thousands of pieces. No doubt, she had been hating Rajan for quite some time due to his complete neglect towards her. Sometimes, she thought of slapping him. But beating him to a pulp was beyond her imagination. Rajan's screams, his pleas for mercy were still reverbating in her ears. She could still visualise the red scars on his back. She cringed again. She could feel a lump on her throat due to building of emotions. She needed to cry loudly.
"I can't do it any more." Archana cried.
A complete silence prevailed in the big air-conditioned hall where she was standing. She had come here for couple of occasions before. This was the hall when the nasal voice called her to give directions. However, she had never seen him in person. All she could see was a masked man appearing on a television. The mask was that of a joker.
There were a couple of sofas clad in white velvet inside the room, and a small glass table. Once, she was asked by the joker to sit on one, and have few sip of water from a glass placed on the table. Today, the joker didn't say any such thing so far.
"Do you remember the pledge you made to your revered God?" This time there was no hint of cheer in the nasal voice.
"In case you forgot........".
After a gap of 10 seconds or so, Archana was shaken to see herself on the monitor. With folded hands she had been taking an oath to obey the directions given to her. That meant every moment of her captivity was being recorded! This seemed to be a very organised, and tech-savvy gang to her. Could she ever escape from this hell was the question that seemed to have no answer right at that moment. Archana was silent for couple of minutes!
"Of course, you can get back your free life, but there is only one way of doing it. I repeat only one way!"
Again Archana was shaken, and this time she could not hide her reaction!
"The frigging agency can even read my thoughts! How come? I didn't say a single word, or even opened my mouth?" Archana was surprised to the core.
This time there was complete silence! So, Archana asked,
"And what's that only way?"
"As I told you many times, you have to pass all the 5 tests. The good news is that you have already passed the first test with flying colours! It appears to me that you have the ability to make it."
"Five tests! Of this type? This was the first one, meaning easiest of all." Archana dared to think what the last one could be!
Will she be able to sustain up to that?
Again the nasal voice spoke, this time with a rather grave tone,
"It's true that everyone doesn't make it. In fact, only one lady has passed all the tests so far, and she was freed."
"And, how many have tried?" Some desperation seemed to have taken over the otherwise timid soul of Archana.
"Not many dear! Only 19, 8 of them were men, and the rest were women. Best of luck to you for the remaining tests! You can go back to your room now. See you on tomorrow sharp at 1 PM."
Archana looked at the wall clock. It was 8 PM. That meant she would get 17 hour to cry her heart out. Who knew what the second test would be! With her heads down, Archana lumbered towards her room.
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Archana was blindfolded, but she could understand that she was taken inside a lift, and the lift went downwards. Then she was made to walk for 15 minutes in various directions. When the masked men, 3 of them in number, who accosted her, opened her eyes, she was again taken aback.
"Welcome to the pool!" The nasal voice announced cheerfully.
It was true that Archana was mesmerized by the impressive look of the pool, its crystal-clear blue water, the lush green surroundings, its vast size, but she was quick enough to look at the three masked men. Archana could not figure out who spoke those words!
"Ha ha! You seem to be so perplexed! Don't look at them, as they are mere servants of orders."
Still, Archana could not divert her gaze from them. One of the men, with a strong body, seemed to be around 5 ft 10" tall, the second one, medium built, was around 5 ft 6", and the third person was the shortest of the three, hardly 5 ft 4" in height with a plump body. All of them were wearing black vests and black pants.
She could see a big field, which she was pretty sure was a golf field on the front side of the pool. On her back, she saw a massive 10-storied building! Had she been kept in that building? The surroundings gave her the impression that this had to be a rural area. The building looked very odd in the otherwise serene, natural atmosphere. On the two sides of the pool were vast open fields followed by lush greenery. When she was done with her little detective skills, the nasal voice spoke again,
"Now it's time for business, Honey!"
The next episode will be published on Saturday night 9 PM IST
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