Episode 17
Therefore, Rajan didn't say much, and only nodded his head from side to side indicating a negative answer.
"Ha Ha Ha Ha! Then you have got a big problem! Do you see the tracks? Today, your first job is to run along the ground 10 times. No time limit for this task. Take your position. When I whistle, start running. The condition is you can't stop before running 10 times."
"If I fail what happens?"
Being absolutely inconfident of his own running abilities, the question came out spontaneously like a burp.
"Ha ha ha ha ! 10 kicks for every break you take, and these kicks will be kicks of these leather boots. "
The ruthless Bengali guy pointed his index fingure to his size 12 leather boots in a very rude manner.
He didn't give much time to Rajan to compose himself.
"On your marks." He said in a stentorian tone indicating Rajan to take position behind the starting line. With heavily beating heart and trembling feet Rajan went there.
"Ready, steady, go", the masked guy blew the whistle.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Archana was blindfolded, and taken to a place which she guessed from the movement and time taken by the lift, was in the first or second floor. When she was allowed to open her eyes, she was taken aback to see the Joker in person. The place was the large open ground floor area of the mansion. This place was meant for parking of cars. But, Archana could see only a couple of them, a white-metallic Land Rover and a silver Jaguar XG, parked at a distance from the place where the Joker was sitting on a wheel chair.
Archana had always been a mediocre person; her marks had never crossed the 75% barrier. Before her marriage she was dependent on her father and her elder brother, and after marriage it was her husband Rajan who took all the responsibilities of outdoor works. Though she protested vehemently when she was accused of being unsmart by Rajan, in her heart she knew that Rajan was not entirely wrong. But, in this difficult situation, when life seemed to very cruel to her, she had to shrug off the baggage of dorkiness. Whether purposefully or not she didn't know, the place was very dimly lit. It was not easy to see things distinctly.
Archana observed that the Joker was surrounded by 2 gunned masked men in his front and 2 at his back. They were equipped with the most modern lethal weapons in the world: M4A1 and MK2. From the tall, muscular structure of the men, Archana was pretty sure, as she had observed in the US over the years, the guys were black mercenaries. There was another masked lady in complete black, who was standing beside the Joker, her right hand resting on the wheel chair. She was holding a belt in her left hand.
The Joker, even though he was in a sitting position, looked like a very plump, short, old, around 75, man. He was wearing a brown leather jacket, black pant, and his hands were covered with black gloves. He was wearing a mask of a typical joker, white face, tomato red bulbous nose and thick red lips.
"Good evening! Welcome to your third test! Are you ready?"
The voice didn't seem that nasal as it appeared in earlier occasions. From his accent, Archana could not guess much. Surely, it was not an American accent, but it could be either British or Indian.
Archana's mind was full of spite for this weird guy, as he had been torturing her and Rajan for the last fortnight. In the house, Archana could not even think bad of this guy. Whenever she thought of something evil about the Joker, there was clatter of some metal objects nearby, or someone clunked outside her room, and every time Archana had to nip the thought in bud. Now that she was outside and the light being very dim, she didn't bridle the evil thought that came instantly in her mind. She thought of strangulating him with her bare hands. She gasped immediately apprehending about the reaction.
But, nothing happened. The Joker seemed to have smiled, and in a calm voice said,
"I am a man of my word. Have no doubt in your mind about the promise I made. Freedom is awaiting you as soon as you pass the remaining tests. But make no mistake about the fact that each test is very tough."
Archana interjected impatiently, " What do I have to do now?"
"Patience my dear! You will surely get to know about your task very soon. But, before that you need to listen something that will help you to accomplish the job."
Even in this precarious situation, a gush of laughter came spontaneously on Archana's lips. The Joker wanted to help her! Devuda! Somehow, she controlled herself, and focussed on Joker's words.
Today, the Joker seemed to be totally ignorant of Archana's thoughts, as he continued,
"You have to win pain to pass this test. I just want to educate you one or two things about how to overcome pain."
Archana again gasped, thinking what pain the Joker was talking about.
"Look at your left side."
That far Archana hadn't looked at her left at all. She turned her head, and she saw something strange. There was a raised platform of some ceramic material placed on the floor of the ground. The area of the platform was around 15'x15'.
"That place will be covered with singeing coal. All you have to do is to walk the 15' bare foot. It's not a big deal, I promise." There was a sense of assurance in the Joker's voice. It appeared that he assumed that walking on burning coals was Archana's hobby!
"What?" Archana shrieked. Archana might not be over sensitive to pain, but walking on burning coals? Archana could not even think of that
"You are bound by your oath, which you made in the name of your God, to obey my orders. If you disobey not only you invite the ire of your God for disrespecting him, but also you will be given harsher punishment than walking on singed coals." This time the Joker's voice sounded pretty ruthless.
"What punishment?" Archana asked.
"Look at the lady standing on my left. She has no heart in her body. She will peel off your skin with the belt that you can see is on her left hand." The Joker announced the spine-chilling words with unmistakable glee.
Archana understood that she had no other option but to pass the test.
The next episode will be published on Wednesday 9PM IST
Therefore, Rajan didn't say much, and only nodded his head from side to side indicating a negative answer.
"Ha Ha Ha Ha! Then you have got a big problem! Do you see the tracks? Today, your first job is to run along the ground 10 times. No time limit for this task. Take your position. When I whistle, start running. The condition is you can't stop before running 10 times."
"If I fail what happens?"
Being absolutely inconfident of his own running abilities, the question came out spontaneously like a burp.
"Ha ha ha ha ! 10 kicks for every break you take, and these kicks will be kicks of these leather boots. "
The ruthless Bengali guy pointed his index fingure to his size 12 leather boots in a very rude manner.
He didn't give much time to Rajan to compose himself.
"On your marks." He said in a stentorian tone indicating Rajan to take position behind the starting line. With heavily beating heart and trembling feet Rajan went there.
"Ready, steady, go", the masked guy blew the whistle.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Archana was blindfolded, and taken to a place which she guessed from the movement and time taken by the lift, was in the first or second floor. When she was allowed to open her eyes, she was taken aback to see the Joker in person. The place was the large open ground floor area of the mansion. This place was meant for parking of cars. But, Archana could see only a couple of them, a white-metallic Land Rover and a silver Jaguar XG, parked at a distance from the place where the Joker was sitting on a wheel chair.
Archana had always been a mediocre person; her marks had never crossed the 75% barrier. Before her marriage she was dependent on her father and her elder brother, and after marriage it was her husband Rajan who took all the responsibilities of outdoor works. Though she protested vehemently when she was accused of being unsmart by Rajan, in her heart she knew that Rajan was not entirely wrong. But, in this difficult situation, when life seemed to very cruel to her, she had to shrug off the baggage of dorkiness. Whether purposefully or not she didn't know, the place was very dimly lit. It was not easy to see things distinctly.
Archana observed that the Joker was surrounded by 2 gunned masked men in his front and 2 at his back. They were equipped with the most modern lethal weapons in the world: M4A1 and MK2. From the tall, muscular structure of the men, Archana was pretty sure, as she had observed in the US over the years, the guys were black mercenaries. There was another masked lady in complete black, who was standing beside the Joker, her right hand resting on the wheel chair. She was holding a belt in her left hand.
The Joker, even though he was in a sitting position, looked like a very plump, short, old, around 75, man. He was wearing a brown leather jacket, black pant, and his hands were covered with black gloves. He was wearing a mask of a typical joker, white face, tomato red bulbous nose and thick red lips.
"Good evening! Welcome to your third test! Are you ready?"
The voice didn't seem that nasal as it appeared in earlier occasions. From his accent, Archana could not guess much. Surely, it was not an American accent, but it could be either British or Indian.
Archana's mind was full of spite for this weird guy, as he had been torturing her and Rajan for the last fortnight. In the house, Archana could not even think bad of this guy. Whenever she thought of something evil about the Joker, there was clatter of some metal objects nearby, or someone clunked outside her room, and every time Archana had to nip the thought in bud. Now that she was outside and the light being very dim, she didn't bridle the evil thought that came instantly in her mind. She thought of strangulating him with her bare hands. She gasped immediately apprehending about the reaction.
But, nothing happened. The Joker seemed to have smiled, and in a calm voice said,
"I am a man of my word. Have no doubt in your mind about the promise I made. Freedom is awaiting you as soon as you pass the remaining tests. But make no mistake about the fact that each test is very tough."
Archana interjected impatiently, " What do I have to do now?"
"Patience my dear! You will surely get to know about your task very soon. But, before that you need to listen something that will help you to accomplish the job."
Even in this precarious situation, a gush of laughter came spontaneously on Archana's lips. The Joker wanted to help her! Devuda! Somehow, she controlled herself, and focussed on Joker's words.
Today, the Joker seemed to be totally ignorant of Archana's thoughts, as he continued,
"You have to win pain to pass this test. I just want to educate you one or two things about how to overcome pain."
Archana again gasped, thinking what pain the Joker was talking about.
"Look at your left side."
That far Archana hadn't looked at her left at all. She turned her head, and she saw something strange. There was a raised platform of some ceramic material placed on the floor of the ground. The area of the platform was around 15'x15'.
"That place will be covered with singeing coal. All you have to do is to walk the 15' bare foot. It's not a big deal, I promise." There was a sense of assurance in the Joker's voice. It appeared that he assumed that walking on burning coals was Archana's hobby!
"What?" Archana shrieked. Archana might not be over sensitive to pain, but walking on burning coals? Archana could not even think of that
"You are bound by your oath, which you made in the name of your God, to obey my orders. If you disobey not only you invite the ire of your God for disrespecting him, but also you will be given harsher punishment than walking on singed coals." This time the Joker's voice sounded pretty ruthless.
"What punishment?" Archana asked.
"Look at the lady standing on my left. She has no heart in her body. She will peel off your skin with the belt that you can see is on her left hand." The Joker announced the spine-chilling words with unmistakable glee.
Archana understood that she had no other option but to pass the test.
The next episode will be published on Wednesday 9PM IST
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