THE POWER OF FOUR (PART 2)

For understanding the story better, pls read the first part.

Slowly, Tom’s vision got blur. The floor turned to a fast treadmill and Tom’s legs failed to obey which made him hit the floor. The ground greeted him like an old enemy and pulled him with a breath taking force.

‘Hey!’ Jason’s last word echoed and everything went black.

***

‘Hey, you alright? Can you hear me?’ Jason’s voice came. Something splashed his face bit harshly. It was cold water.

He opened his heavy eyelids with a lot of difficulty.

‘Thank god!’ Jason said, letting out a sigh.

Clarissa looked at Tom like a stern teacher and said ‘I told you he just fainted.’

‘Did I faint?’ Tom mumbled.

Jason nodded and offered him some water.

Tom accepted it and drank greedily.

‘Coming to back to the topic, I think we need to meet that man whom you said fixed the lift.’ Clarissa said, taking charge.

Tom winced.

‘Would you identify the person if we showed him to you?’ Jason asked Tom.

‘Yup.’ Tom could only utter a single word that minute.

‘You take rest.’ Jason said, pointing a chair nearby. ‘We would come soon.’

Then they disappeared.

Tom sat on the chair and regained his energy slowly.

After few minutes, Clarissa and Jason came. They looked but puzzled.

‘What happened?’ Tom asked.

‘The reception says that no electrician was assigned to repair the lift.’ Clarissa said.

‘What? But I saw him! Piper saw him too!’ Tom exclaimed. He thought for a moment and said ‘Follow me.’

Together they went to the receptionist.

‘Yes?’ The receptionist asked, looking uninterested. She was an old woman whose face was barely visible beneath the wrinkles.

‘May I ask if all lifts in this building are working perfectly fine?’ Tom asked.

‘No.’ The lady said, who seemed to be half-asleep. ‘The left lift does not work.’

‘Huh?’ Tom said. ‘Does it work now?’

‘No. How many times I have to tell you that?’ The lady asked.

Tom gulped down and said ‘But the lift you mentioned is working perfectly fine.’

‘What?’ The lady asked. This certainly woke her up. ‘Are you taking the mickey out of me?’

‘No ma’am.’ Tom said. ‘You could check if you want.’

‘That is not possible.’ The lady exclaimed. ‘The lift was out-of-order for the past 4 years.’

‘Past 4 years?’ Jason asked, astonished. ‘Why did not you assign a electrician to repair it?’

‘Because the lift is considered as a-‘ The lady started and suddenly stopped. ‘That is not required for you.’

‘Please ma’am. Our friend tried the lift, this morning. She is missing for the past 1 hour!’ Clarissa exclaimed.

The lady looked shocked and said ‘I am sorry, my dears. I don’t think you would see your friend again.’

‘Whadayamean?’ Tom asked, almost uttering the sentence in a word.

‘This story dates back 5 years. This building was a instant success when it was finished and a lot of people started to live here. So, one lift was not sufficient. This made us install a new lift. The very next day, a boy went missing. There was no explanation. The day after, two girls went missing. Again no explanation. The police have tried to get the bottom of this but they still don’t know why they went missing. After another 4 disappearance, it was found that only the children who went in that lift went missing. The lift was checked inch-by-inch still the police did not get a clue. This still remains a mystery kids. So, the lift was totally dismantled and thrown into the storage room.’

The children listened the story with horror. More than 5 children are still missing! And Piper has become the 7th! Tom almost fainted again.

A moment of silence followed.

‘Do you know who could have fixed the lift once again?’ Clarissa asked. She sounded as if she was at the edge of tears.

The lady considered the question for a minute and said thoughtfully, ‘When it was decided to dismantle the lift, a man cried not to do so. The man’s girl was one of those who went missing. He still lives in hope, poor man. If someone fixed the lift, the man is the only one who could have done that.’

‘Does he live here now?’ Jason asked.

‘Yes. Room 129.’

‘Thank you ma’am. We really appreciate your help.’ Tom said and quickly rose through the stairs.

Jason and Clarissa nodded a thanks to the receptionist and scooted.

Soon Tom and Jason were standing in front of the door.

‘Where is Clarissa?’ Tom asked.

‘She just went towards Piper’s house without saying anything to me.’ Jason said, shrugging his thick shoulders.

‘Has she lost her mind? Is she telling about Piper to Mrs. Jones?’ Tom almost yelled.

‘No. Clarissa is not as stupid as you think. Remember, she is first in her class for the past-‘

‘5 years.’ Tom said. Clarissa did not let a day slip without her saying this.

After few minutes, Clarissa came.

‘What happened?’ Jason asked.

‘All in good time brother.’ Clarissa said.

‘The old bag said Room 129, right?’ Tom asked. He already confirmed it with Jason but he still asked Clarissa.

Jason frowned at him ‘That is not polite.’

‘My manners have got bit rusty when I heard that an adult has fixed the lift, not caring about the others, just to save his daughter. Because of his selfishness, Piper has gone to join those children.’ Tom said, choking out a sob.

Clarissa patted him and said ‘We don’t know for sure.’

‘A box of white chocolates to both if I am wrong.’ Tom challenged.

‘Don’t bet.’ Jason said softly. ‘That was what which urged Piper forward.’

Tom grimaced and rapped the doors without a warning.

A distinct voice came ‘Coming.’

And opened the door.

It was the same man.

The man who made Piper disappear.

The man first saw Jason and asked ‘Yes?’

‘Actually sir, we are out of sugar. Can you lend us some?’ Clarissa gabbled. Tom and Jason did not have a clue what she was asking. Has she really lost her mind?

‘Okay.’ The man did not even look surprised and all four of them went inside.

Then he saw Tom.

‘You were the one who saw me repair the lift, right?’ The man asked, his voice suddenly turned hard.

Yes sir.‘ Tom said innocently.

‘Did you try the lift?’ The man asked.

‘No sir. But our friend did.’ Clarissa said, pointing to Jason.

Jason understood Clarissa’s plan immediately and nodded ‘You have fitted the lift quite nicely sir.’

‘But-‘ Tom started but stopped when he got a painfully jab from behind. It was Clarissa warning him not to speak. Tom quickly shut his mouth.

The man did not even glance at the two and stared at Jason ‘You really went in that lift?’

‘Yes sir.’ Jason said, nodding his head vigorously.

‘That is not possible. You should have been disappeared!’ The man said, looking as if all the colours have been melted out of him.

Suddenly, Tom saw something gleaming inside Clarissa’s shirt pocket and finally he figured out her plan.

‘What do you mean sir?’ Tom asked, as innocently as Jason.

‘The lift was installed 5 years ago. No one knew what happened but all those children who went inside the lift disappeared without a clue. My daughter was one of them. Then the lift was dismantled and thrown into the storage. You three don’t know how I suffered for all these years. Then I decided to fix the lift again. But I wanted to make sure of the lift was working. That is why I wanted this boy and another girl to try the lift. But obviously it is not working!’ The man said, bursting into tears.

‘So you mean that you wanted me and Piper to disappear?’ Tom asked in horror.

‘Yes.’ The man said and then he picked up a kitchen knife.

‘I don’t know why I said all this, but sorry kids. I am afraid I gotta kill you or else you would say to the police about this and would dismantle the lift again.’ The man said, wiping beads of sweat from his forehead, as he lifted the knife to his eye level.

Then he charged.

Jason suddenly spun and kicked the man in the groin. The man flew and hit the bookcase. Books tumbled and hit him like it was raining rocks in his house.

‘Woah woah big man!’ Clarissa said. ‘Another step and my bro will kick your ass.’

‘Aww!’ The man howled as the ‘Harry Potter’ series fell on his head.

Tom slowly got closer and went towards the man.

‘Jason here is a black belt holder in karate. If you wanna defeat him in a fight, I would like to mention that it has been tried a lot of times. Plus you waddle instead of running. So you don’t stand a chance.’ Tom said, as the tears began to seep from his dungeon-like eyes. ‘You know what? Jason did not go in that lift. It was Piper. She is lost because of you!’ Tom screeched and stamped the floor with all his might.

The man looked afraid but suddenly, a hope gleamed in his eyes ‘You mean the lift is working.’

‘Bad move.’ Tom said and hit the man really really hard.

Before the man could feel the pain, darkness fell.

***

He woke up.

His eyes flew open.

Sweat had drenched him. When he tried to pull his hands, he couldn’t. He felt a plastic wire tied across both his hands. When he tried to speak, he couldn’t. A cloth was put into his mouth, which acted as a gag. With a unfocused eyes, he glanced where he was tied. A musty smell filled his lungs and his immediately knew it was the storage room.

Oh no! Storage room! No one came here for the past 5 months. How will he escape?

Then he saw a knife. The same knife with which he wanted to attack the kids.

He slowly edged to the knife.

Those bloody kids have also blinded my legs, thought the man as he went towards the knife.

After he got hold of the knife, he got to work.

***

‘That was.....’ Jason voice died midway. He saw the man crumble down and faint.

‘A knock out.’ Clarissa completed. She went towards the man and checked his pulse. ‘Bad luck. The man has pulse.’

‘You want me to go to jail?’ Tom asked, rubbing his palms.

‘No. But I want him to go to jail.’ Clarissa said, pointing the man.

‘So, you have been clever once again.’ Tom said.

‘What?’ Clarissa did not understand.

‘The camera. It was a good idea.’ Tom said, pointing the camera which was hidden behind Clarissa’s pocket. The camera had recorded each and every word the man said. The man had said enough to put him into the jail for 20 years.

Clarissa gave him a wild grin and said ‘Let’s go to the police.’

‘No.’ Tom said. ‘If we go to police, they would send him to jail. After that they would try to find clue yet again and would find nothing. Then they would close the case.’

‘True.’ Jason said.

Clarissa though for a moment and said ‘You have got a point but what shall we do?’

‘We would go in that lift ourselves.’ Tom said, determined. He had a sort of voice which could convince anyone. This time is was different .

‘What?! Are you mad?!’ Clarissa screamed. ‘You want all of us to disappear?’

‘No. But to find Piper.’ Tom said.

‘How?’ Jason asked. He acted as if he already knew Tom was going to say that.

Tom explained his plan.

A moment of silence.

Jason looked at Clarissa and they argued silently. Then somehow Clarissa won. Jason looked grumpily, not happy at all with the idea.

‘Okay. But what about this man?’ Clarissa asked.

Tom grinned ‘I have something for this man.’

‘What May I ask?’ Jason asked.

Tom said ‘I have made a device which can.......’

***

‘Is this is it?’ Clarissa asked excitedly, pointing the device on Tom’s hand.

‘Yes.’ Tom said proudly.

‘Don’t blame me if the plan goes wrong.’ Jason grumbled and kicked the nearby pebble. It hit a cat and the cat yowled and sprinted away.

‘Ok. Make yourself busy.’ Tom said and asked Jason to make the man sit upright. Jason made an unpleasant growl but he did the same.

‘Now, let’s get cracking.’ Tom said and started to tie the man.

After tying the man up and putting a gag on the Clarissa said ‘Now what?’

‘Let’s put him in a jute bag and throw him in the storage room.’ Tom said.

‘Great!’ Clarissa said.

‘Jason!’ Tom called where Jason was sulking.

‘Now what?’

‘Throw him out there, muscle man.’ Tom said, trying to cheer him up.

Jason got cheered up a bit and threw the man inside the storage room.

‘Open the bag.’ Tom ordered.

After the bag was opened and the man was gagged, Tom opened his backpack. There, all necessities were kept. ‘This is sufficient to keep us alive out there, I presume.’

‘Till we die.’ Jason said.

‘Shut up brother.’ Clarissa said. ‘My plan never goes wrong. You know why. It is because...’

‘You have stood first in your class for the past 5 years.’ Tom and Jason chorused.

‘Quite right.’ Clarissa fingered the knife which tried to kill them and threw it beside the man. She then closed the door and stuck Tom’s device just at the hinge. ‘Let’s see how it works.’

‘We won’t be there to see it.’ Jason said. ‘We just gotta believe Tom.’

‘Yes.’ Clarissa said and they went to the first floor. The lift was already opened.

‘Are you guys ready to die?’ Jason asked and was rewarded with punches from Clarissa and Tom.

***

At last.

At last.

The tough plastic cable got cut and the man soon got out of the wire net.

‘Those foolish kids.’ The man sneered. ‘They thought they were so clever. Serves them right.’ The man stood upright and vowed that the first thing that he would do is to kill those nasty kids.

Then he opened the door.

The biggest mistake he did in his life.

Then he went towards his flat and formed a plan to kill those children.

Then an impatient knock came.

‘Who is that?’ The man asked aloud.

‘Open up!’ A voice came from behind.

As he opened the door, the police flooded his flat.

The senior-most looking officer said ‘You are under arrest.’

‘What-‘ the man started but was stopped by putting a handcuff.

‘You are accused of murdering Sir Philips. Yesterday, his personal lift was dismantled and a holographic projector was placed. When Sir Philips stepped into the empty air, he fell to his death. Someone unknown accused you by sending a video which told us that you carried tools in a big black box and threatening two children for not saying a word about what you did.’

The man stared at the police and said ‘What? wait it-‘

‘Tell that in the court.’ The police cut him and send him to the police van.

As the man climbed the van, he knew that the three have done this accusation.

And he was right.

When he was lying unconscious, Tom explained what his gadget would do.

‘I made a device which can send automatic messages. If you press this button, then the device would send a pre-typed message to the assigned receiver.’ Tom said.

‘So what?’ Jason said. ‘I can send automated messages using a mobile phone too.’

‘Listen. If we fix this gadget here then the button would be pressed when the door is opened.’ Tom said, pointing his finger at the hinge of the door.

‘So?’ Jason said, not quite understanding what Tom was trying to say.

But Clarissa did.

‘So you are saying that we can send a message about him fixing the lift to the police when the door is opened?’ Clarissa asked.

‘Yup.’ Tom said.

‘Okay okay.’ Jason said. ‘I personally think that this is the worst possible idea. Answer me these questions first. When would the door open? The man is tied. He can’t open the door! Then why are we sending the message after the door is opened? Why can’t we send it right now?’

Clarissa looked at Tom and he nodded ‘Bro see. We would leave this knife beside the man. After all, we can’t keep the man tied till we come back. We can’t let this man die when he has to confess. Then the door would be opened. Now coming to your next question. We can’t send the message to police right know because they would start questioning us about why we made this man unconscious. Then we have to tell about Piper’s disappearance. After they listen to our story, they would dismantle the lift and we can never help Piper.’

‘Okay. But even if the button is pressed when the man opens the door, the police would know about the lift anyway. They would dismantle it and we all would die.’ Jason said.

Tom said ‘I hadn’t thought of that.’

Clarissa thought for a minute and smiled.

‘Idea?’ Tom said.

Clarissa nodded and said ‘Yesterday, Sir Philips died because someone dismantled the lift. What if we accuse the man as the killer?’

‘So you mean that we wrongly-accuse the man as the killer of Sir Philips. Well, I’m in.’ Tom said.

‘Wait guys. Your idea is great but how shall we prove it to the police? After all we need evidence.’ Jason asked.

Clarissa frowned and smiled again ‘I worked it out. This building is bursting with CCTV cameras. What if we take the video where the man is working with the lift? After all the police won’t know clearly whether the man is fixing the lift or dismantling the lift. As the video would be in black and white, the police won’t know if it is the house of Sir Philips or of someone else.’

‘Okay.’ Jason said, but not quite happy with the idea.

‘So, where is the device?’ Clarissa asked.

‘In my house.’ Tom said.

‘Go and bring it.’ Jason said.

Tom nodded and bought the device along with a backpack.

‘Is this is it?’ Clarissa asked excitedly, pointing the device on Tom’s hand.

‘Yes.’ Tom said proudly.

‘Don’t blame me if the plan goes wrong.’ Jason grumbled and kicked the nearby pebble. It hit a cat and the cat yowled and sprinted away.

‘Ok. Make yourself busy.’ Tom said and asked Jason to make the man sit upright. Jason made an unpleasant growl but he did the same.

‘Now, let’s get cracking.’ Tom said and started to tie the man.

After tying the man up and putting a gag on the Clarissa said ‘Now what?’

‘Let’s put him in a jute bag and throw him in the storage room.’ Tom said.

‘Great!’ Clarissa said.

‘Jason!’ Tom called where Jason was sulking.

‘Now what?’

‘Throw him out there, muscle man.’ Tom said, trying to cheer him up.

Jason got cheered up a bit and threw the man inside the storage room.

‘Open the bag.’ Tom ordered.

After the bag was opened and the man was gagged, Tom opened his backpack. There, all necessities were kept. ‘This is sufficient to keep us alive out there, I presume.’

‘Till we die.’ Jason said.

‘Shut up brother.’ Clarissa said. ‘My plan never goes wrong. You know why. It is because...’

‘You have stood first in your class for the past 5 years.’ Tom and Jason chorused.

‘Quite right.’ Clarissa fingered the knife which tried to kill them and threw it beside the man. She then closed the door and stuck Tom’s device just at the hinge. ‘Let’s see how it works.’

‘We won’t be there to see it.’ Jason said. ‘We just gotta believe Tom.’

‘Yes.’ Clarissa said and they went to the first floor. The lift was already opened.

‘Are you guys ready to die?’ Jason asked and was rewarded with punches from Clarissa and Tom.

‘So, how this thing works?’ Clarissa asked. Her finger hovered around the buttons.

‘Don’t fuss.’ Jason said and punched the ground floor button.

‘Woah! You could have done after asking us.’ Clarissa said.

Jason smirked and all three waited for the lift to creak towards the ground floor.

Tom yawned so loudly that the twins jumped to their skins.

‘Sorry guys. I did not sleep properly today. Maybe you guys would wake me up after we get to the ground floor?’

‘I was also-‘ Clarissa started but was stopped as the lift came to a halt.

‘Um.. Have we reached?’ Tom said.

‘I don’t think so.’ Clarissa said. She peeped out of the small gap between the two door of the lift. ‘No. The floor is at least 2 feet below us.’

‘Ok. I suppose we gotta wait till this old bucket gets moving.’ Jason said.

‘Guys... I don’t think this is gonna move.’ Tom said.

‘What?’ The twins asked.

‘The motor is shut off.’ Tom said. ‘Could you feel the vibrations?’

‘Nope.’ Clarissa said, as fear began to build within her.

‘Which means the motor has failed.’ Tom said, his voice quivering with fear.

‘Wait. If the lift does not move, we could push this button.’ Jason said, pointing the call button.

‘No we can’t.’ Clarissa said, who was so tensed that sweat beads began forming on her forehead. ‘We can’t let other know that the lift is repaired. Or else..’

‘They would dismantle the lift again.’ Tom squeaked, Who was dangerously close to fainting again.

‘Are you seriously telling me we are gonna die here, in this old bucket?’ Jason said. ‘I need a proper funeral.’

Clarissa and Tom looked at him unbelievably.

‘What?’ Jason asked.

Clarissa shook her head and asked directly to Tom ‘What shall we do?’

‘I don’t know!’ Tom said. ‘I am not the one with ideas. It is you!’

‘Ok ok.’ Clarissa said. ‘Lemme think.’

‘I think I have a idea.’ Jason said. He went towards the buttons and clicked the ‘open doors’ button. The doors opened wide.

‘Why on the-‘ Tom started.

‘See. The distance between the lift and the floor is approximately 2 feet. That is simple. Clarissa, you have a paper and a pen?’ Jason interrupted.

‘Sure.’ Clarissa said and pulled a crumbled paper and a chewed pen out of her pocket.

‘Write S equals to 0.6 metre, time as 1 sec and final velocity is 30 m/s. Calculate the force required to reach the ground floor.’ Jason said.

After chewing the pen for a while, Clarissa wrote something and said ‘It is possible.’

‘What is possible?’ Tom said.

After grinning at Clarissa, Jason said ‘We are going to jump there.’

‘What!’ Tom said. ‘But-‘

‘Woah wait.’ Clarissa said. ‘If we jump with a force of 40N, we can reach the ground floor pretty easily.’

Before Tom could say anything, Jason said ‘I will go first.’ and jumped.

‘No!’ Tom yelled.

TO BE CONTINUED....