The Captive - Episode 4

Story so Far: A captivated girl kills her captor, escapes and runs. She collapses unconscious in front of a brick house. The residents of the house call the police and ambulance. The girl has been taken to the hospital. The police find the house where she was kept as a captive.

This episode:

Kruti Shah was calm and steady. She was still in trauma, but she was doing okay. Her head felt a bit weird because of the heavy medication and the painkillers, but she could think clear. Her body had several wounds, but her brain was functioning all right.

There was a major rupture in her vagina, her pelvic bone on the verge of breaking but both sustained and bound by the doctors. There were several bruises, fractures, and broken ribs. Almost, six months to recovery with surgeries and medicines and over a year for all the parts to work as a whole, called Kruthi. But she would never be the same old Kruthi, would she?

A middle-aged man with golden rim spectacles and a shabby uneven beard was recording all that she was saying. Kruthi had already told how she had escaped, and how she had thrust the wooden splinter in the kidnapper’s neck, killing him instantaneously. The man was silent all the time. He kept recording. But the woman who had introduced herself as the C.I.D officer stared at her while she was answering her questions. Kruthi recognized that look. It was an expression of respect for being brave, a woman to woman, a silent look of respect. The lady officer’s name was Madhuri Mahiwal, the officer in charge of Kruthi's case. She was from C.I.D. - the case was transferred to them. Kruthi liked her immediately when she shook hands with her. The officer was stern, formidable, someone who actually fit the description of Badass.

Madhuri Mahiwal spoke in a commanding yet in a soft and soothing voice, 'Let us go back to the night of the 14th Feb 2018. Tell me what happened. And try to be as much detailed as possible.'

The mere mention of that night when she was taken, sent cold waves of terror in her body. It was also the night when the love of her life, her bff, and fiance Nitish was separated from her. She had learned from Nitish's mother who had been here just a couple of minutes before the recording of her statement started that Nitish was not found yet. He was still missing. Nitish's parents waited outside with Kruthi’s mother. In the room, it was just the officer and her assistant who was recording the statement.

Kruthi spoke in a very low voice, her tone firm but uneven due to the trauma she had experienced. Her brain threw images of that bloody night. She tried to remember any details she could find in her memories. She ran the entire incident in her mind, and slowly she spoke. And as she spoke she breathed heavily, her chest rose and collapsed, and the pulse rate on the machine showed irregular lines but stable.

'Nishant was drinking a lot. I was asking him to leave, but he kept on drinking. We had a fight. Finally, he gave up and agreed to leave. We drove from the guest house. It was about 11 p.m, I think, when we left.'

'Any peculiar incidents at the party. Any rivalry, any cat fights, anything that was suggestive of harming Nishanth or you. Maybe there were some rogues who wanted to molest you, but they could not get their hands on you.'

'No.' Kruthi was lost in her thought.

'Kruthi, what is bothering you? Something at the party?

Kruthi shook her head, ‘It was not the party. The party was safe. It was outside that was not safe. I should have listened to Nishanth and should have stayed. We could have left with the other friends. He would have been alive today.’

She was crestfallen and stared at the floor. Madhuri broke her thoughts, 'then?'

Kruthi took a heavy breath, her ribs pained. 'We lost our way. I don't know how but Nishant missed taking the correct turn. We stopped our car at some deserted place. It was dark, I could only see trees and shrubs in the beam of car lights. The GPS was not working. Nishant got out of the car, and he shook his phone, tapped it lightly, he kept cursing the phone, he kept on checking the signal and.....’

And?

‘We heard the sound of an approaching vehicle. I heard a car stop by but did not see it. Nishanth said he would check the vehicle and get help. I was scared. I did not want to sit alone in the car. But he convinced me that it was for the best. I saw Nishanth disappearing in the beam of light. I must have waited for five minutes, the dark night scaring me. I got out of our car and started to walk searching for Nishant. He was talking to someone sitting inside his car. I could not see who was sitting inside. But I did know that he was explaining to them how he had missed the turn and was asking for directions.

Nishanth then started walking towards me. He smiled and then his eyes widened. He shouted...Kruthi... Two hands grabbed me from behind, something was being pressed against my nose and mouth, I think it was a piece of cloth. And I collapsed. Everything went black. Before I was unconscious, I saw a man getting out of the car, and with a rod or something that looked like a rod hit Nishanth on his head.

When I opened my eyes, I was in a dingy room. The first thing I saw was the bulb hanging, the first thing I felt was a hard mattress, the first sound I heard was the sound of the metal.'

Madhuri nodded and spoke in the same commanding and inquisitive tone, 'Let us go back. You said you saw someone hitting Nishanth. Did you see the man?'

‘No. He was silhouetted against the car lights. I could just see his outline. Not his face.’

‘Did you see the car number?’

No.

‘Do you remember about any place, any sign, any post, any rock, anything, any detail that would help us to locate where the car went missing.’

‘No.’

‘So, that means there were two kidnappers. And you killed one of them.’

‘Yes and No. There were two kidnappers. I killed the caretaker. He was in charge of providing me food and water and keep me clean. He never touched me. The culprits are still free. You have to find them.’

‘We will. We will do our best.’

‘I want to see the face of the man whom I killed.’

‘First, let us complete recording your statement.’

No. I want to see him. First.

To be continued.