Episode 24
Archana was eagerly listening to the rants of the Joker. She had nothing to say. She was worried about her husband Rajan. So, she asked,"Is my husband safe? His life is more important than mine."
"Ha ha ha ha!"
The Joker seemed to have lost his composure, as he smiled like an adolescent boy!
"Really? Really Archu? Really?"
"Of course! Are you doubting me?" Archana's voice raised spontaneously, as she hadn't have an iota of doubt.
"Okay, okay! Don't get angry. I am happy to announce that he had already passed the first two tests, and like everyone else he will pass the third test, too. But well, I don't have no idea whether he will pass the remaining two tests or not!
But, I have a bad news for ya. You know what? The last 2 tests are the toughest. 70% of the participants lose their lives in the 4th stage, and the rest in the fifth. Good luck to you for the remaining tests."
Suddely, the screen went blank leaving Archana's doubts unanswered. She also felt a sensation of chill running down her spine.
"What did the Joker say? 70% of the participants pass out in the 4th stage. That means the next stage will be the toughest of all. Oh God, why are you not helping me? Aren't there anyone who can free us from the clutches of the Joker?"
Archana's thought process flew nonstop for long. She noted that the Joker hadn't mentioned any date about the next test. Archana placed her left hand on her forehead, and tried to sleep.
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As usual, Rajan woke up at 5 on dot. He was ready to be taken to the field by the Bengali masked man, whom Rajan, now, was pretty sure, was his batchmate at the IIT, Ranjan. But, the door, which opened and closed on its own, didn't open. Rajan was a tad perplexed, as this hadn't happened so far during his stay here.
He was looking here and there thinking what to do. Suddenly, the face of the Joker appered on the television monitor. Watching that freaking face, Rajan's heartbeat stopped for a moment. Generally, the Joker had announced about forthcoming tests well in advance so far. But last night, no one had informed him about any test. Was he going to take the third test right now?
"Relax! You don't have to appear at any test right now. In fact, I want to tell you that you have got a break from running, gardening and all other works today. You can take rest, or do whatever you like. But, if that is a good news, I have got a bad news for you, too. You will have to appear at the third test on 8 PM tonight."
Again, Rajan's heartbeat stopped for a moment. "What test, Sir?" These words came out spontaneously from his mouth.
"You will know." The television monitor went blank.
Rajan stood there standstill for at least 10 minutes. Third test! Would he be able to pass that?
What kind of test that would be? Rajan slowly sat on the bed.
Rajan again thought about the queer dream he had a few hour ago. Was it only because of revelation of Ranjan's identity in his sub-conscious mind or something else, Rajan was thinking about it, and suddenly an incident which happened a few days back flashed through his mind.
Even though, Rajan had to run like a donkey for 2 hours, he was given no reprieve from gardening. At 8 AM, as usual, he got the break for refreshment, when he met Roger and Chan. As the time of the break was very limited, most of the time, they were busy in eating and drinking as much as possible. They had very little a chance to talk.
But, that day, Rajan was determined to know why Roger could not escape despite coming so close to it! Rajan had previously asked the question many times, but Roger had evaded the answer so far. But, that day, observing Rajan's determined face to know the answer, Roger said,
"Okay man! I will tell you what happened next. The moment I touched the fence, I got a huge electric shock, and I fell down on the ground. Within 5 seconds, two masked men with 4 doberman pinschers cannonballed towards me.
I hurt my spine from the fall. Before I could get up, one of them shoot a dart in my leg, and I became senseless. I was tortured very brutally by the Joker's men for two consecutive days. When I was on the brink of death, the Joker's face apperaed on the television screen. He said he followed every movement of every captive every second. He inserted a GPS chip in the flesh below our eyes. We can't go anywhere without his knowledge, and we can't remove the chip without damaging our eyes.
Since then I didn't try anything extravagant."
Rajan was startled by what he heard, but he got extremely disturbed by what he saw next. Before departing back for work, Roger passionately kissed Chan lip-to-lip in front of Rajan. Watching Rajan's bewildered face, he winked and said, "We are gays man! If you don't like gays, I have two words for ya: **** you!"
The workload throughout the day was so heavy that Rajan could not pay too much of thoughts on the words he heard. At night he pondered over it, and came to the conclusion that these two guys had been making fun of him. But, somehow the incident had an impact in his subconscious mind resulting in that queer dream.
To Rajan's utter repugnance, he was shown 5 porn clips throughout the day. Gay porn was the last thing in the world that he would have seen if he were a free man. But here he knew from the experience that disobedience could result into his death. So, he had no option but to watch something which made him puke a couple of times.
By 6 PM the agony was over. Rajan threw himself onto the bed. He was in prostrate position, tears rolling down his eyes constantly. Homosexuality was the thing that he had hated throughout his life. But in Joker's house he was forced to watch the abominable acts of subhumans whom he thought had no reason to exist.
To be continued on next Wednesday
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