Drop Dead

A car came up to Raghav’s house entrance. Raghav had never been so relieved to hear a vibrating window. The window of their 1983 Sedan had vibrated ever since Raghav had dislodged a portion of the window from its position. But that was the least of his worries right now, as he was sitting on a ticking time bomb. . . . . . . . . . .

  It all started when he woke up in the morning only to receive a jolt of electricity up his feet. Shocked, he shouted “Mom!” only to receive silence in return. That’s when he decided to go out of his room. But then he found his foot come in contact with something sharp. He looked over, to find that his feet had been duct-taped to a small square box. He removed and opened it. What he found was not what he expected.

He found a white cylinder and some red tubes. He always dreaded that as the son of the director of WHO, he would face death threats from bio-terrorists. It appeared that his fear had come true. For some reason, the white cylinder piqued his interest. He picked it up and examined it. He found that it was covered with some sort of lens at one end and had a button. It also appeared to be hollow with a ball inside. Raghav felt angry that of all people in the world, why was he singled out?

But he knew that he had only himself to blame. He knew he shouldn’t have put pressure on his mother to remarry. “ No, where are my thoughts going” thought Raghav. “ Now is not the time for it. I must think of something”. At that moment, he saw the back of the cylinder glow purple. That’s when he recognized it. It was a Faraday pointer. A substitute for the box projectors, it was used by those who wanted an economical and practical way to project images. I took it, faced the wall and pressed the button. Immediately, an image appeared on the wall. The image consisted mainly of text.

 It read, “Sire of the doctor, thy father has made some indeed, powerful enemies. It was foolish of him to not expect something in return”. Raghav knew that his deceased father, before his death, cracked down on one of the safe houses of the Earth Restoration Society. It further read,

              

 “ Did they really think that a measly organization like thou fathers could oppose us. We are the cleansing wave of God. We struck in 1720,1820,1920 and now it is 2020. I suppose you understand our intention? Unfortunately, the countdown has begun. The cylinder will self-destruct in about . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Now!”

Just before Raghav could finish the paragraph, the pointer started melting. “Highly Concentrated Sulphuric Acid” mused Raghav. Then to his horror, the tubes started ticking 10:00,09:59. . . . . . .

“ Being a doctor’s son certainly has its benefits.” Thought Raghav, as he realized that 1720, 1820, 1920 had been host to disease outbreaks. He shuddered in horror when he imagined what kind of plague was present in those red tubes.

Now, Raghav decided to leave the house when he thought that his father would arrive in a couple of minutes. He decided to wait for his father. . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Mr. Dalal knew that the package would be at home right now. However, he was worried about what his stepson Raghav might have done. He knew his stepson well enough to know what he might have done.

Mr. Dalal had reached the entrance of his house when he saw his son come running towards him.

Raghav saw his father enter the gate and he ran to him and told him about the box, message, virus, and everything. Strangely his father seemed calm and told: "Come, my son". He entered the house and locked the door.

Mr. Dalal was a man of few words and he knew his son was intelligent and that he had to say the words "GLORY TO MOTHER EARTH!" then he took out the detonator.

When his father said those words Raghav was chilled to the core and understood that his stepfather was part of the ERS. He knew he would have to sacrifice his life as the world's fate was in his hands. With tears in his eyes, he jumped on the box just as his father press the detonator.

Mr. Dalal had underestimated his son but it didn't matter. After all one had to pass through purgatory to reach paradise. He whispered " Requiescat In Pace" and struggled to breathe.

Raghav felt pain only for a moment after which he stayed in a state of eternal sleep.

Mr Dalal opened the door. . . . . . . . . . . and breathed his last.

Few days later.. . . . .

"We are receiving reports of a new virus that has popped up in India"

"People are calling this virus "DropDead" as those who are afflicted by it die instantly"