The Faces Within

By Sneha Vishwakarma

Chapter one

The city was peaceful before everything started. On August 26, the first case came to light when a man was murdered at midnight and his body was found near the court. It was really concerning because the man had been brutally murdered—his lower body was crushed so badly . But one thing that caught my attention was that his male organ was in his hand. This was clearly a murder, but until now, we haven’t been able to find the criminal. The suspects we have, I don't think, have any useful information that could lead us to the real murderer.

From the first case, we got another four like it. It's not that all the victims are connected, but something inside me tells me that all these cases are linked together and led by the same person.

“Sir, we have another person who can help us with the third murder case. She is waiting outside,” the constable said.

“Call her in.”

“Sir, she was the friend of Sandesh Tyagi.”

Sandesh Tyagi, the third victim we found his dead body at his home , had the most brutal death I've seen in my whole career. The dead guy’s hands were in his pants, his eyes were dropping out of his face, and his tongue was cut in his mouth. I can’t even imagine it. This whole case gave me chills, and I wonder how someone could be so monstrous.

“Hello, officer, I’m Dwaita Naval.”

“Hello, miss, sit down. Please, make yourself comfortable.”

“Tell me, how did you know Sandesh, and when was the last time you met him?”

“Sir, he was a friend from college, and after graduation, we met maybe twice. The last time was three months ago. After graduation, I got a job at a company three years ago, and six months ago, I was transferred here.”

“Okay, was the meeting for work, or was it something else?”

“Sir, we ran into each other on the way to my office, and we had a short conversation. After that, we met for a company project, in which he was a part.”

“That’s fine. Did you know if Sandesh had any romantic interests or if he was dating anyone at the time?”

“No, sir.”

“Okay, that’s fine for the record. You can go now, but please be available whenever we need you.”

“Hm.”

The girl’s information was no use. It didn’t relate to the murders that had occurred days earlier. All those crimes over the past six months, and we had no clue. And who knows how many more are about to come to light? It’s not just 2 or 3 cases; there are six on my desk right now. The thing is, I wonder if these murders are driven by revenge or if they’re just for a psychopath’s amusement. And out of all these crimes, there are only two eyewitnesses—a 5-year-old child and a drunk man.

We got the statement of the child, in which he said: “A tall person in a long black coat was stabbing the fourth guy in his chest, and after seeing this, I ran away.” And this dumb child didn’t tell anyone about it until the next morning. Wow! What a clever move, and he proudly said he smartly saved his own life.

The drunk man said he saw a lady. Seriously, a lady could never commit such an action. And if she could, she’d need at least two other people to drag the guy from the railway station to the court. The last time he was captured on the CCTV at the railway station. How could a lady do this alone? But then, as we investigated further, we found that it could be a lady after all. There were only three ladies captured on CCTV, and all three of them came out 30 minutes before the man.

Ugh, this whole thing feels like whoever is behind it is not from this reality. It’s as if they came from another dimension, committed these acts, and then disappeared back to wherever they came from.

The next day -

“Sir, here are the reports of Tanmay Singh.”

“Sir, according to the report, he had consumed a large amount of alcohol. It looks like the murderer took advantage of him while he was drunk.” Constable told ,

“Hmm, that’s right. But who was he drinking with?”

Knock, knock.

“Sir, Dr. Dhara is here.”

“Okay, let her in.”

“Hello, Dr. Dhara. Please, sit. Would you like some water, tea, or coffee?”

“No, sir, thank you. I assumed that the investigation is going well.”

“Well, we actually called you here regarding the latest case. We’ve learned that you were treating Tanmay Singh.”

“Yes, sir. He was suffering from mental illness, and I was appointed to help him.”

“Oh, what illness was he suffering from?”

“He had prosopagnosia.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a neurological condition where a person is unable to recognize faces, either of people or places.”

“Oh.”

“Yes, officer. This condition can occur if a person suffers a head injury, or it can be genetic. He had it due to an accident in his childhood. He fell from a balcony when he was five years old, and his head hit the floor, which severely affected his ‘fusiform gyrus’. This is the part of the brain responsible for storing faces and colours . But back then, it didn’t receive much attention, as it’s normal for children to not recognize faces.”

“So, Dr.  does that mean that even if Tanmay had met the murderer many times, he would still forget him?”

“Yes, sir, he might have met the person but wouldn’t have been able to recognize him.”

“But we can’t do much now since the victim is no longer alive. Whoever did this made sure he was dead, counting on staying until his last breath.”

“Okay, one more question. Did Tanmay ever come in with anyone, or did he mention anyone?”

“Actually, yes. There was one time he came with a friend. It was the first time I had seen him with anyone. His friend's name was Anant Avanti.”

“Okay, thank you, doctor. I appreciate your time.”

As I watched Dr. Dhara leave, I reached for the forensic report on the table, and suddenly she turned back and said, “Sir, Tanmay told me that his friend came to my office because of someone.”

That was the thing that could give me a lead for the case. I looked at her curiously, and she continued, “Tanmay told me that his friend came last time to pick him up and saw a girl. That’s why he came to court the girl.”

This is interesting, but how is this incident connected to the case?

Before I could say anything, the doctor said that she thought it should be in my records for the case, and then she left. Now, we had to find Anant.

I ordered the constable to try and locate Anant, while I continued looking through the reports for the different cases. One thing I really noticed was that all the murders happened between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. at night. Strange or normal? No wonder we only had two eyewitnesses.

“Sir, we’re unable to locate Anant. He’s been missing for two months,” the constable reported.

“What? He’s been missing for two months? That means he’s been missing since the murder?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Does that mean he could be behind all this?”

Chapter two 

As we reached Anant’s house, the front door was locked. We tried to investigate the neighbourhood, and one of the neighbours said he saw Anant with a friend last on February  19th. They were in a hurry, heading somewhere.

Afterward, we unlocked his door and scanned his house. There was a PC so we tried to look into it and there was a folder named “N.” What could “N” mean? Was it a project file, or something else? We tried to open the file, but it was locked, so we sent the PC for decryption and further investigation. Other than that, we didn’t find anything else in his house, except for a knife in the drawer of his study.

I wondered why he would keep a knife in the drawer. Maybe for security reasons?

Then, my team returned to the police station.

By analyzing phone details, we found that Anant and Tanmay were at the same location. So, Anant could be the prime suspect—if he's still alive. But where did he go? Is he even alive?

I was thinking about the whole case and all the possibilities when I realized something . “Hello, Avhdesh ji, let’s go quickly.” As I called one of the constable ;

We arrived at the crime scene.  This was the 4^th case in 6 months  , tanmay was found dead behind the mosque As I searched for any clues or evidence, I kept trying to look for something—anything—that could help. The report indicated that Tanmay had consumed alcohol before the murder, so there must be bottles of alcohol or something related nearby.

I searched further and found a half-filled bottle of alcohol and a phone in a bush. Now I understood why we hadn’t found them earlier; both items were buried deep in the shrubs. No one could have noticed them at first glance.

I placed both items in a plastic bag and sent them to the forensic department.

It was becoming clearer that the two friends had been together, and now, with one of them dead, the second could be the criminal. But what could be the motive behind such a brutal crime? Were they involved in an argument or a clash? It couldn't have been an accident.

Then what?

My team and I returned to the police station. We were discussing the latest crime scene when one of the officers said, “Sir, there’s one possibility—Anant might be dead, but he’s on another scene. Maybe he’s already dead.”

“Yeah, that could be possible, but where?”

“Sir, let us assume that Tanmay and Anant were together at the crime scene and both were drunk. The criminal attacked them, tried to kill them, but while he was killing Tanmay, Anant woke up, saw the whole scene, and ran away to save his life. It’s possible.”

“So, if we search the nearest area to the crime scene, we might find more evidence or even Anant’s body.”

“Yeah, that’s a great possibility. The chances are higher. Go with the other officers and search the area around the crime scene.”

As I was thinking about whether Anant was dead or alive, another constable came to me with something that was out of the ordinary—a twist in the case.

“How is this possible?” I thought. 

There seemed to be no connection between Anant and Tanmay in the second murder. Could Anant and Tanmay have been behind it all? But why? There was no connection so far between them.

Chapter Three

“Sir, it is clear that this is Shaily’s phone. That’s why we couldn’t find his phone before.”

“Yeah, I understand, but how are all three of them connected? It’s impossible, as I’ve personally checked the call history of both Tanmay’s and Shaily’s phones. They weren’t in contact, and they didn’t know each other. So why is Shaily’s phone involved?”

Maybe that’s why I’ve been feeling that all the cases are connected, but we’ve only found links between two of them. What about the other three?Anyways, I quickly prepare to leave for Shaily’s home with my team.

Shaily was the second victim, murdered four months ago, after Harish Ram’s death. This murder was one of the most inhumane ones I’ve witnessed. Shaily’s head was severed from his neck, and his hands were cut off. I can say that it took at least two hours for someone to commit such an act with a large, sharp object.But Shaily had a very respectable reputation in his area, and after questioning people in his office, we found out that he was quite a well-known personality. Perhaps someone became envious of him and decided to end his life.

When we reached the building where Shaily’s apartment was located, I passed a lady on the stairs. I felt like I had seen her before, but I couldn’t quite place where. I thought she might have been at the police station, but there are hundreds of women who come to the station daily—how could I recognize each one?We reached Shaily’s apartment and saw his nameplate, “Shaily Raman Bashu.” I pushed the door open and entered.

My team was searching diligently, trying to find any evidence that could link this to the other cases, but it was a fruitless effort. We couldn’t find anything, and anything useful had already been taken when we first visited.Shaily was found dead near a pond about 5 kilometres away from his apartment. When we couldn’t find his phone, we assumed he had either dropped it somewhere or it had fallen into the water.

As the cases remain unsolved day by day, I wonder if I’ll ever solve any of them. It’s starting to take a toll on me. Why is there nothing different? It’s like the criminal has put us in a loop. It feels like these cases are hypothetically linked.One thing I’m sure of is that the criminal is either incredibly smart or from another dimension. How else could someone commit such brutal acts and leave no evidence?

I tried everything with the first case to at least find a prime suspect, but we found nothing—not in the call history, not at his home. Nothing.

Are we missing something? Could there be a clue that I overlooked? I feel like something is slipping through my fingers. Should I start over again? Maybe I need to look at these cases from a new perspective. Yes, that could help.

I ordered the constable to circulate pictures of Anant throughout the city. I stood up, grabbed the car keys from the driver, and asked one constable to join me. I drove off to the crime scene of the first murder.

I began to recollect everything that had happened when we discovered the first case.

We got a call from a man who was going for his morning walk at around 5:30 AM. We arrived by 6:00 AM and saw the whole scene. We called in our forensic team to start the investigation. It was determined that the victim had been dead around 3:30 AM. After further investigation, we discovered that his name was Harish Ram, an auto driver. He was last seen on CCTV at the railway station at 2:00 AM. We found his body shortly after he was seen walking out of the station.

When we investigated further, a drunk man came forward and told us that a lady was behind the murder. We asked if he had seen her face, but he was too drunk and scared to give us any useful information.As we were at the location of the first crime scene, we found nothing new. We had already searched the area and its surroundings without finding anything.

I walked out from the scene and sat on a nearby bench, trying to think about the second murder.In the second case, we received a call from a man who was near the pond around 9:00 AM. The victim’s face had been crushed by a large rock, making it unrecognizable. When we identified the body, we learned that the victim was Shaily Raman Bashu. It’s still unclear how he ended up there or who was with him.As I was deep in thought, I remembered the lady I had seen when we visited Shaily’s apartment for the 5th time. Suddenly, I realized who she was.

I quickly got into the car, and the constable followed. In about 30 minutes, we arrived at the therapy center of Dr. Dhara.

When the constable asked why we were here, I told him to just do as I said.

We arrived at the door of Dr. Dhara’s office. As I reached to knock, the door opened on its own, as if someone had opened it at the same time. A man in an apron, likely a male nurse, greeted me. He asked me a few formal questions and then sent me inside to meet Dr. Dhara. She was sitting at her desk.

“Hello, Doctor,” I said as I approached.

“Hello, Officer. How’s everything going? Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, ma’am. We’re here for some inquiries.”“I saw you in the building of Swarup Colony. I assume you were there for work. Do you know Shaily Raman Bashu or have you seen him before? Perhaps you’ve been there before?”

“Oh my God! So many questions in one breath. Are you okay, Officer?”

“Yeah, ma’am, I’m just curious about the answers.”

“Okay, I was there for a patient. I’ve been there two or three times before, but I’ve never seen the person you asked about. I just go there for session check-ups since the patient is very close to me.”

“Ah, you’re very kind, Dr. Dhara. Can I ask who the patient is for these sessions?”

“Well, Officer, it’s against the rules to share any information about my patients, so I can’t help you unless you have an official warrant.”

“That’s impressive, ma’am, but at least tell me the patient’s name. That would be enough for me.”

“Okay, Officer. As you insist, I’ll only tell you the name, not more than that.”

“Yes, that would be very helpful.”

“Her name is Miss Dwaita Naval. I’ve been working with her for the past five months. She lives there, so I go for her session check-ups.”

“Thank you, Dr. Dhara. Have a nice day.”

I gave a quick smile and left her office.As I stepped out, I realized I had heard that name before.I immediately got into the car and drove to Shaily’s building.

Chapter Four

As I reached Shaily’s building, I approached the watchman and asked him about the lady Dr. Dhara mentioned.

“Hello, sir, can you tell me which apartment Dwaita Naval lives in?” I asked.

The watchman replied, “She lives on the 7th floor, apartment 23.”

Hmm, there’s a low chance that Shaily and Dwaita knew each other, since Shaily lived on the 3rd floor and she lived on the 7th. But I thought it would be a good idea to inquire with her, as she might have information about either Tanmay or Shaily. She could be connected to both in some way.I made my way up to the 7th floor and looked for apartment 23. As I reached the door, I rang the doorbell twice.After about 10 seconds, I heard footsteps approaching the door, and it opened. There she was—a very familiar face.

 As I tried to recognize her, she said, “Oh, Officer, you’re here. What’s the matter after 15 days?”

I recognized her; she was the girl who had come in for interrogation a few days ago.“Hello, Dwaita, how’s everything? I hope you’re doing fine.”

“Yes, sir, everything’s fine. Is there something new with the case?”“No, nothing new. We’re here for a short inquiry, if you have time.”“Yes, sir, go ahead.”“Okay, we’ve learned that you’re a patient of Dr. Dhara. We were wondering if you might know Tanmay?”

“Tanmay? Who is he, sir? And what about him?”“Well, he’s one of the victims.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that, but I’m afraid I can’t help with that.”

“No problem, ma’am. I think you might know Mr. Shaily Raman Bashu from the 3rd floor?”

“No, sir. I didn’t personally know him. I only know him from the news about the murder. As I told you before, I’m new to the city and recently moved here.”

“Huh, fine. Is there anything unusual you’ve seen around here, or anyone you’ve noticed near the building? Anything we should know?”

“Umm, nothing that I really remember.”“No worries. We’ll leave now.”I smiled at her and turned to leave, but something crossed my mind—something that could connect her to Tanmay. I turned back to ask her one more thing.“Can you tell us the time of your session check-up with Dr. Dhara? Is it always the same time, or does she schedule it differently each time?”

“Well, sir, the schedule is always the same. I don’t get time during weekdays, so Dr. Dhara sets my appointments for the evening on weekends, for my convenience.”

So, there was no possible way she could have met Tanmay through the therapy center.I smiled at her again and turned to leave.As I was leaving, I had a sudden urge to recheck Shaily’s apartment—this time from the outside.I asked the constable to arrange the CCTV footage from October to November. This was the third time checking the front door of Shaily’s apartment, and if I checked inside, it would be the fifth.As usual, there was nothing—just a plant, a nameplate, and the doormat.As I reached for the nameplate, someone called me from behind. I turned around, and there she was again. But before I could say anything, the constable approached and told me that someone had spotted Anant near the city’s water tank. We quickly got in the car. Before leaving, I told her I would meet her in the morning.I tried to reach the location as quickly as I could, but when we arrived, the man who had called us said he wasn’t 100% sure it was really Anant.Now, I doubted whether the man had even seen Anant. It felt like a waste of time.

Next day – At the police station

I felt like something was slipping through my mind. I didn’t know what it was, but something was wrong.Maybe it was because I hadn’t had much sleep. I tried to push that thought aside and continued reviewing the reports, 

but then I realized that the 4th murder case had slipped through my mind.The 4th murder had occurred near of the city’s jungle , A milkman had called us at 7:00 AM, and we reached the crime site an hour and a half later. The death wasn’t as brutal as the others, but it was still a murder. It seemed like a typical murder at first, but upon closer inspection, we noticed that his heart had been ripped out of his body. We couldn’t find the heart, so we assumed that forest animals had eaten it.This victim was a driver, and the last time he was seen was on the street.His shirt buttons were fastened, which led us to believe it was a normal murder, unlike the others. But it had the same pattern—just fewer slashes.

We tried calling his family, but no one showed up. This murder occurred 15 days after the third one.We did our best to track down his last ride and his last passenger, but his taxi didn’t even have a camera. We thought it might have been a robbery, but until we find the criminal, nothing can be solved . 

When we investigated further, we found out that the taxi driver had a criminal record for harassment and physical abuse. So, this guy was already a criminal and was killed by another one. Fair enough, but we can’t deny the fact that the main criminal still has to be found.

I felt like my body needed some fresh air, so I went to the nearest park. As I sat on the bench, I saw her again. It was clearly her. I stood up and started walking in her direction. As I reached to her, I said, “Hello, Dr. Dhara. Enjoying the fresh air?”

“Hello, officer. Good to see you here. Did the investigation proceed further?”

“No, Dr. Dhara. We haven’t found anything new about the case.”

“That’s fine. I believe you will find the criminal soon. By the way, Dwaita told me that you went to her for questioning.”

“Yeah, I couldn’t stop myself from asking her some questions that were on my mind.

I’m sorry, Dr., but would you mind if I ask something?”

“If it’s for the case, then there’s no chance I would deny answering.”

“That’s great. I wanted to know, which disorder is Dwaita suffering from? Just to understand her condition.”

“Officer, she has multiple personality disorder. Maybe she developed it due to some childhood trauma.”

“Ohh…”

“Yeah, and since she moved here, the effects of DID has increased slightly. I think she might have hurt herself while her brain was unconscious,” Dr. Dhara stated.

“So, is this disorder harmful to the people around her?”

“No, not actually, as long as we don’t trigger her intrusive personality. Officer, I can assure you, she is not the culprit.”

I smiled at Dr. Dhara’s comment. As we started walking, she got a call from her therapy center. After talking on the phone, she approached me for evening tea, and we both headed to the therapy center.

As we reached there, she asked me to sit while she ordered two teas. As I was scanning the center, one thing caught my eye: the file that a male nurse was about to hand over to Dr. Dhara. The file had the title “N” on it. I realized that this was the same title as the locked folder in Anant’s PC. As I was about to ask Dr. Dhara about it, I got a call from the police station, so I quickly left the therapy center.

As soon as I reached the police station, the constable told me that the locked folder found in Anant’s PC had been unlocked. When I heard the news, I was thrilled to look into it and find out what was inside the locked file.

Chapter Five

As we looked through the file, there were some photographs that might have been taken by Anant. These photographs were fully related to the other two murders that had been discovered. In one of the photos, there was a person fully covered in a black coat, holding a knife in their hand. The knife was dripping with blood. As we zoomed in on the picture, I realized it was Harish Ram, with his eyes falling from his face. So, Anant had the prime evidence of the murders, which explained why the folder was locked. But why didn’t Anant inform anyone about this?

We continued to look through the photographs, and there were some other pictures of the person in the black coat. The face was not visible, but I noticed one thing: there was a cut on the person’s hand. Had I seen this cut on anyone?

In another photograph, the same person was with Sandesh. So, I was right all along—it was the same person. But this time, the location was outside of his home, and the person wasn’t carrying anything.

So, all this time, Anant was investigating the cases without telling anyone. But why? Why didn’t he inform anyone? Perhaps Tanmay was with him during all of this. That would explain why the culprit killed Tanmay and was about to kill Anant—but he ran off.

We looked into the text files, and there was something written in one of them:

"26th August, from the station: The first victim came out of the station around 2 AM and took a passenger. He was found dead in a very cruel condition near the city high court in the early morning.After two months, on 15th November, the second victim was found dead near the pond. He was last seen in the building’s elevator at 1 AM.On December 20th, the police discovered the third victim, Sandesh, dead at his home. He was last seen on CCTV footage leaving his office after work at around 9 PM.And the last victim was discovered near the city forest 15 days after the third murder. His heart was out of his body and nowhere to be found—probably eaten by animals."

This was a brief record of the crimes that occurred before Tanmay’s murder. Was Anant searching for the criminal? If so, he was probably one step ahead of us, which is why he is now missing or perhaps has been kidnapped by the criminal.

The text file had the title “Report of City’s Brutal Murders.” I assumed this was part of a project or assignment for college since both Tanmay and Anant were students.

We moved on to the next text file:

"Cut on the hand.Murders started 6 months ago.Black coat, medium height—seems like a fictional character, like Jack the Reaper.Started from the railway station, last in the forest."

These seemed like small details of the case. As I read further, I realized maybe I knew something.

I grabbed the car keys and drove to Anant’s residence, which had been sealed for investigation purposes. I unlocked the door and went straight to Anant’s study. I pulled open the drawer and took out a knife. I realized it was the knife used in the first crime. I scanned the knife, and there was something red on its lower side edge. I quickly placed the knife in a plastic bag. So, Anant was either the mastermind, or if he wasn’t, how did he get the knife? This was a major piece of evidence—let’s not forget the photograph itself, which was also evidence.

I did a quick scan again and suddenly remembered the file I saw at the therapy center.

I quickly left for the center. On the way, a puzzle was running through my mind, but the more I tried to solve it, the more complicated it became. It felt like I was about to solve the case, but at the same time, it felt like there was a mountain standing in the way.

When I reached the therapy center, it was closed. I checked the time—it was 9 PM, and the market was nearly closed. The case had consumed my mind so much that I lost track of time. I came back to the station, went into my office, and sat down.

I looked at the PC again, thinking about where Anant could be, but it was useless. So, I started looking at other files. I opened his chat box, and something caught my eye.

There was an unsent text message “Untitled,” and I thought Anant might have been about to send it after a particular time. I read the text message over and over again.

“He was fixing a meet behind his college.”

With whom? Should I check there for Anant? But since he hadn’t sent the text, there was no chance he’d be there. I opened the "N" folder again and started reading another text file, but this one looked like a love letter:

“Hello, since I saw you, I’ve wanted to meet you. I’ve wanted to get to know you, but I couldn’t because I was stuck in something. But now, I have time, and most importantly, a reason. I know that you think you’re clean, but don’t worry—I really want you. I won’t reveal your true identity, your true self. Just relax. You know, it will be our little secret. If you’re wondering how I know all this, just do as I say, and you’ll know everything. I would love to help you, but don’t ever do this to me in the future. Enough for today. I’ll call you, and I know you will come to meet me. I know you want me as much as I want you.

Your Anant”

This was strange—this wasn’t the type of letter I expected. Who was the person he was talking about in the letter? Wait—was this person the criminal? Did Anant and the culprit know each other? Now things were getting out of hand. Who was this person, and what had they done that Anant was blackmailing them? Everything had become so tangled. How would I find the person Anant mentioned in the letter? Perhaps the letter and the text message were for the same person.

As I turned my eyes away from the PC, my mind felt heavy, like a weight pressing down on me. I made some space on the table, put my head down, and decided to take a small nap. But my brain was still full of thoughts about Anant. I closed my eyes, hoping to take a quick rest.

…

Five minutes passed, and then my brain sparked with an idea. I stood up, grabbed the car keys, and started driving. I checked the clock—it was 2:15 AM. The darkness of the night had settled over the city, and I didn’t know why, but I felt like I now knew who was behind all of this.

I drove as fast as I could and reached the location in 30 minutes. I checked the time again—it was 2:45 AM.

I walked further, looking both sides. I was 98% sure he was here, and the culprit was here too. My mother had always told me that it benefits us to listen to our minds, so that’s what I was doing.

As I kept walking, I held a big torch in one hand and my other hand was ready to grab my gun. As I walked, I heard something. I was sure there was someone or something. I started walking in the direction from where the sound came. I kept walking...

After 7 minutes, I saw blood drops on the floor, so I followed the trail. As I followed the drops, I felt like someone was behind me, watching me. But I was alone in the night. I couldn’t follow the drops and check the place at the same time, so I chose to keep walking.

After about 15 minutes, I saw something move. I went closer to take a look.

And there it was. I felt like the case had been solved. I was thrilled, excited, and amazed at the same time. I started thinking about what I would do after reporting it to the department—take a long, much-needed nap.

But as I got closer, I realized it was him. It was Anant. He had been breathing just a second ago, but now he was lying still. When I looked closer at him, I discovered that someone had stabbed him in the chest, and his neck was bleeding profusely. I covered his neck with my hand, trying to stop the blood flow, but it was no use—so much blood had already been lost.

Now I wondered why no one had noticed him here. The area was behind the college, and many people had come here over the last two months. No one had seen him—or maybe he hadn’t been there the whole time, or someone had tricked me.

Realizing it was too late, I tried to run, but then a heavy pressure hit my head, and I suddenly heard a sharp ringing in my ears. Before I could turn my head, my vision blurred, and everything went black.

My ears burned from the heavy sound of a thud as if someone just broke my head with the heavy object. I opened my eyes to see, and after what I saw, my body froze. I felt that I was unable to move my hand or head. I knew I was shaking from the horror of what I just saw.

A person in a black coat was cutting the finger of the dead body of Anant when I tried my whole body to move an inch, but it was like I was in a dream, like I could see everything but could not do anything.

I was feeling helpless in the situation; I wanted to run away from all of this. At the same time, I wanted to know who this person was. I could not see the face I was lying behind that person; whoever this is, I wanted to know. As I was watching the person cutting the fingers, this person felt like he was from another world; he was doing it like it was the most normal thing to do.

As I gather the power to move, I try to pull my hands, but oh no, my hands are tied, even my legs are tied, and if I make any noise, there are chances that he would kill me right away.

I was thinking about what I could do at the moment I was trying to free my hands, and I kept trying.

A few minutes after, the person in the black coat stood up and started walking as if he forgot I was there. I was so in shock, but then he grabbed the gun, which was my gun. Now I have to do something on my own. As I managed to lift myself up, he was in front of me holding the gun straight to my chest.

But his face was still invisible because he was wearing a full face mask. My heartbeat increased; I was now taking fast breaths. I felt like I knew the person behind the mask.

Before I could do anything, he pushed me, and I was on the floor. My head got hit by the floor, and I assumed that the back of my head started to bleed. After all this, my eyes were still on the person in front of me. I was still on the floor, and the person came closer and pointed the gun at my eye.

This time my whole body was shaking, but I still tried to push the person. Before I could do anything, the person in the black coat clicked the trigger of the gun, and I felt a sudden rage of pain after a minute. I cried out of the pain; I was screaming very hard. That whole abandoned hall was full of my scream. I was praying to God to save my life, but then I saw something, and my mouth stopped screaming. I was silent now because what was about to happen was unpredictable.

From my teenage years, I had a thought that I would live long; I would see my children’s children.

I will travel to my favourite places and will do all the fun activities.

As I saw the person holding a heavy hammer, I got all the visions of my life as if I was watching a film of my life.

And then the person raised the hammer to kill me, and in a microsecond I saw the hair of the person loosen up and fell down, and in those few microseconds, I remembered what the drunk man had said.

The murderer is the lady, and before I could do anything, she hit me on the head with the hammer.

My eyes again started to blur out, but then I saw the two marks , one on her neck other one her hand ; it was the same mark as the one I had seen on a girl’s neck years ago .

I could not see her face, but the mark was familiar; it was the same mark that I had given to that girl, and perhaps it was the same girl; it was her whom I tried to kill years ago , on whom I had committed rape years ago.

As all these things were going in my mind , but suddenly everything went black.

By Sneha Vishwakarma