Saturday, July 13, 2013

Pitfall

June 2008

All he could do was run. He was completely out of breath, his lungs were crying out for oxygen, and his muscles felt like lead. But, he had to run. He had to survive. He had to find out what was going on. He had to find out who was trying to kill him.

He had left home to buy groceries. His wife had given him a long list and he wasn't particularly looking forward to the trip to the mart. It hadn't taken him long to figure out that he was being followed. Out of the corner of his eye, he had seen a dark figure with a black cloak and hat pulled down low over his head. He had tried to change his route, give him the slip, but the dark figure had followed him everywhere. He couldn't think of any possible reason why someone would tail him. He had felt a lump forming in his throat. Out of sheer panic, he had started running. He had no idea where he was running to and what he was running from, but he had this sinking feeling that he had to get away somehow.

He heard a soft hissing sound, and a second later, sharp pain shot through his legs. He almost fell down, but somehow managed to stay up and stumble forward. He could feel warm liquid oozing out from the back of his thigh. 'I have been shot!', he thought fearfully. Why would someone do this to me? What have I ever done to harm anybody? He was just a lawyer. Oh wait! A lawyer does have many enemies. Is this one of my clients? Or the opposition? His mind was blank. He was going to die and there was nothing he could to about it.

He could not take it any longer. His body gave up, his legs buckled, and he fell down heavily on the road. He knew his assailant would be on top of him anytime now. He closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable death. But it never came. He opened his eyes and looked behind him. His assailant was gone.

He could not believe it. Maybe they only wanted to scare him. His relief was short lived when he realized that he had to get himself to a hospital. He somehow got back on his feet and trudged along, gritting his teeth and pushing back the pain in his leg. In ten minutes or so, he managed to reach a hospital. He had barely made it through the doors when he fell down and fainted.

He wasn't sure how long he had been out. He felt weak and disoriented. He could make out that he was lying on a hospital bed. My leg! He tried to raise his head but felt as if a thousand knives had pierced his brain. He lay there for what seemed like ages, until finally a doctor came up to him. Smiling, the doctor said:

'Good to see you awake. Feeling better now?'

'No. I feel terrible!'

'Sorry to hear that. Rest assured you will be fine. I just need to ask you a few questions. Formalities, you know. What is your name?'

'Gary Hill. I am a lawyer by profession. I was chased by a man and got shot!'

The doctor raised his eyebrows in surprise. He spoke slowly:

'There is no bullet wound on you. Nobody shot you.'

'What! You must be joking. Can't you see here my leg--'

He forced himself to raise his head and stopped short. His leg was perfectly fine. No wound. No blood. He winced in pain as the migraine gripped him again.

'I want my wife', he breathed,' Pam! Where are you?!'

'Your wife is here', the doctor said. 'I will get her for you. Please try and relax.'

His eyes lit up when he saw his wife come in through the door.

'Pam! I am so glad to see you. I don't know what is happening to me! Someone tried to kill me and I managed to escape, and....'

His wife looked shell-shocked. She could barely move. It was as if she had seen a ghost.

'Honey', she said, ' my name is Lisa, not Pam. What are you talking about? You had just gone to the market to pick out some groceries.'

He was stunned. Surely, there must be some mistake. This must be some sort of a joke.

'Pam', he said, 'Please stop kidding around. I am your Gary.'

His wife let out a gasp, 'Gary? Do you mean Gary Hill?'

'Yes!' he shouted.

The wife felt faint, and the doctor looked on in surprise. What the hell is going on there? After a few minutes of eerie silence, she spoke, this time to the doctor:

'Doctor, I know who Gary Hill is. He is the main character of my husband's latest thriller novel. You see, my husband is a struggling author. His name is Brian Grant. Over the last couple of years, he has immersed himself in writing this book, obsessing over it. He spent all day and night working on it, often forgetting my existence. I was afraid of this, and now it has come true. I have lost my husband." She started crying.

'Please calm down, Mrs Grant' , said the doctor. 'I will give him some medicines. He will be fine. Just make sure he doesn't go near books for a while.'

April 2013

Detective Inspector Rod Franklin cursed loudly. Who the hell is calling me at five in the morning?! Groggily, he picked up the phone. It was his superior.

'Rod, you need to go to 19, Mansion Road right now. Suicide case.'

Still grumbling, Franklin drove to the scene of the crime. The deceased was hanging from the ceiling fan. He was a middle aged man, very thin and weak. Franklin found a letter on the table. Intrigued, he started reading:

I am sorry, Tina. I am sorry for cheating on you. I deserve nothing more than death. I know this will cause you more pain, but I cannot live with my guilt. Please forgive me. Goodbye. Love, Aaron.

Grunting, Franklin began examining the body. Suddenly he heard a loud scream. He rushed outside, and saw a woman sitting in the garden and sobbing uncontrollably. On seeing Franklin arrive, she managed to say:

'I tried my best. I really did! But, I failed!'

Franklin noticed a pile of papers strewn around her feet. He went over and picked them up. It seemed to be a manuscript for a novel. He gasped when he saw the title of the book:

Aaron's Infidelity.

3 comments:

  1. You keep getting better Dude! Keep it up!!

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  2. How can an author get into hid character it's amazing! An interesting story. Proud of you my son.

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  3. omg...this is such an amazing story....I was fixed to the screen untill I reached the end....Awesome work :) :)

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