Assignments

He was late and it was raining. This was not what he had wanted. He did not like rain on the nights he had worked. Not after that one night. He sighed. But today was a very important assignment, much more important than the one that created his dislike for rain.

As the train pulled into the station, he did his ritual. he reached inside the bag, his fingers brushing against something cold and unyielding. The weight of it was unmistakable, a heavy metal form that seemed to absorb all warmth. The smooth surface was interrupted by ridges and curves, fitting perfectly into his hand as if it had been molded for his grip. There was a sense of latent power in the object, something designed with precision and purpose, waiting for the right moment to unleash its potential. He smiled with familiarity.

Of course, something like it would have been very difficult to take it past the security checkpoints. But not for him. Never for him. Not after who his partner had been.

He would not be alone today. But his partner had to go. He was becoming far too erratic. Far too unreliable. Most importantly, he had disobeyed his direct orders, something which was not tolerated. He did not like it. It felt like losing a part of himself, which would not be too far off the mark, since he had been his twin.

The doors opened and he walked out. The particular inter-change station of Delhi Metro, usually full of sweaty people, was oddly silent today, except for a couple of hurried commuters, in front of him, walking to the same destination he was headed to. 

But the part of the ritual remained. He went into his jacket's pocket and took out the pill. It had become a sort of necessity after that night. He needed it to make all the forthcoming nights bearable. He washed it down with whiskey. Immediately he felt lightheaded. He knew, he should not be taking the pill and operating under influence during the assignment, but they were imperative if the assignment was to be completed. The ritual of course slowed him down and made his head wander but it was a necessity.

He was wearing a black shirt underneath a black hooded jacket, black jeans, and black ankle-length sneakers with his beard unkempt. If it were a full moon night, he would have blended right in, becoming one with the night itself. The way he would like to operate. He had never worn a mask, not even during the blasted pandemic. He liked to show the assignment his face. The assignments would move on with his face seeing the most significant thing in their lives. Quite ironic, since he never remembered their face. He did not want them to haunt his dreams, after all. He felt excited and ashamed at the thought of it.

He looked ahead. There it was, the slope. the slope that would take him to the flight of stairs leading to platform 1 of Rapid Metro. He walked up leisurely, arms relaxed by his side. It is then that happened

Maybe it was his instinct, or something primal in the deep parts of his consciousness; something that had warned the humans of impending danger during their early days in the wild. Either way, it had been triggered inside him. He found that he couldn't breathe, couldn't speak, and couldn't move. All he could feel was the cold that had crept up along his neck, going right down his spine. He fell to his knees, panting furiously.

He struggled and tried to fight. It was futile, of course. There was no one to fight but himself. He could feel himself slipping away. His eyes were closing in, the darkness that he had loved, closing in upon him. 

She heard a child giggling. And a soft bark, that was Shaun, her old labrador. He was always patient with her little brother, who was a devil incarnate, she thought fondly. She heard her mother shouting at the child, berating him for his antics. She just smiled and went out in the lawn to get some fresh air. 

The night was eerily breathtaking. Their farmhouse was away from all the hustle and bustle of a city. It was very peaceful and serene, especially in the rain. She went to her favorite spot, near the tree. She sat down on the soft grass, stretched her legs out in front of her, and looked up at the night. It was a new moon, the blackness of it joining in with her hair but in contrast with her white dress. These were one of the times, she wished she could speak. She had not been able to since her father had died. Right then, She wanted nothing more than to sing the songs in praise of the ancient gods that created this existence,

Suddenly something closed around her mouth. Startled, she tried to get up. But whatever it was, it was too strong. Strong enough to fling her away into the tree beside them. She looked up, pain radiating out from her shoulder, and cold eyes stared back at her. It was a man, dressed all in black, holding a gleaming piece of metal, that seemed oddly familiar.

She looked at him pleadingly. She couldn't speak, she was helpless. Most of all, she worried for the safety of her family . She just stared at him, trying to get him to understand. It worked because the cold eyes showed a little bit of warmth and hesitation. Please let us go and nobody would hear a word of it, she wanted to say. "Stay Still, I will not hurt you, its okay", he said quietly offering her his hand. She believed him....

She heard a thud behind her and a second later an excruciatingly sharp burning sensation on her neck. 

He regained composure as suddenly as he had lost it. He realized, with a shaky breath, that he could use his hands again. 

He shivered. It was getting dark and the surroundings were awfully quiet. Much too quiet. Not even the sound of traffic below, the boisterous voice of the policemen, or the sporadic chatter of any commuter. The silence was palpable. It was deafening.

He resumed his walk. 1...2...3...4...1...2 .He stopped suddenly

He saw her. The most exquisite of all women was standing at the topmost step of the stairs that led down to the platform. She was smiling at him. His breath stopped again.

She was wearing a knee-length white dress, her hair pitch black, long and thick like a cascading waterfall, her skin white like porcelain, and her smile... The smile seemed to be calling him. Entranced, he walked towards her. Something that he had never felt, was taking over him. He could see her waiting for him to join her, eyes gleaming with desire.

CHHHHOOOOOOOO

The horn of a train pulling up on the platform, blared, pulling him out of his trance and he noticed with horror that the angelic-looking woman had her head on backward... The blood came rushing into his brain. he sat down panting and looked up again. There was no sign of a girl or of a train below.

He looked around.

"Are you ok?" It was a constable from the security checkpoint that he had just passed. "Am I ? ", he said weakly. Warily, he got up and walked down the stairs. He could feel the eyes of the constable on him, as he walked behind him. 

She knew she would nor survive this. She lied face down on the grass up in her last moments. She felt strong hands, flip her yet again and she could see the two faces above her. Two similar faces, with the same set of cold eyes, one of which was furious..... She could feel her life slipping away from her grasp as she heard a muffled bang and felt a weight fall down beside herself .  

He got onto the platform and looked to the right, the train was starting to pull up now. He heard a muffled sound of a giggle. A haunting sound that would be with him for the rest of his life . He saw the woman, in her white dress, head towards her back, standing on the tracks, with her hands outstretched towards her back, in a hauntingly beautiful twisted way. He raised his arm and walked on to join her without registering the scream he heard the constable behind him make.