Akhilesh Mahender

Crime Thriller

4.5  

Akhilesh Mahender

Crime Thriller

YOU HAVE A NOTIFICATION

YOU HAVE A NOTIFICATION

5 mins
286


Prompt:  My sleep was stolen, I'm searching for thieves. These memories in my head, are too vivid to see.


Story: The phone buzzed with her message, which read, "I'm sick, I need help. It's urgent. PLEASE!" He brushed it aside. After all, it was she who had moved away, stating that she didn't need him anymore. Somewhere, a corner of his heart longed to reply to her. But, he didn't. He got down the bed, thinking, "My sleep was stolen, I'm searching for thieves. These memories in my head, are too vivid to see!"

He went into the balcony, inhaling the breeze brushing against his face in the 2 a.m. night. The dogs were on their night orchestra, and the swing was screeching in the garden while the clouds were playing hide-and-seek with the moon and stars. 

Soon, his thoughts went to the past, reminiscing – how he had met her, how she had tried to impress him, how they gotten along with each other, those silly fights, and those beautiful moments.

"Black or white?" She had asked. 

"Both!" He had replied with a smile.

"Excuse me?" She had raised her eyebrows.

"I mean, I'll go with white." 

"Well, fine," She nodded her head.

The game started.

"Knight? Seriously?" She whispered, looking down. He smiled.

"Sorry! That was not a nice move!" she winked. He smiled again.

"Man! You're a silent killer!" she exclaimed. He smiled, yet again.

"Would you mind me killing your Queen?" she whispered.

"No, not at all!" he whispered, clearing his throat.

"Is it? Part of a strategy, I guess," she smiled.

"Maybe," he replied.

"And, that's a check mate!" she smiled, adjusting her spectacles.

"That's not the end, dear! Here, play this!" he puffed air from the corner of his lips to his hair.

"Oops! I lost! Congratulations!" she mumbled. He smiled ear-to-ear. 

"What? Atleast say thank you! Why do you smile so much?" she questioned.

"I lost!" he replied.

"What?"

"Of all the black and white combinations I've ever seen, your eyes are the best. And, I'm lost in them!" he chuckled. With the chess board aside, he witnessed a perfect checkmate. 

Just then, his phone buzzed again. It was her. "PLEASE!" the text read. He started to sense something bad, a bad vibe perhaps. He sprinted down the stairs, not bothering to switch on the lights as his parents were fast asleep. He started his car and drove to her house at a screeching pace. As he reached, he phoned her, but there was no answer. It was dark as hell. He could hear her voice from inside. The main door was already unlocked. He paused for a while and concentrated on her voice, which was the only way she could be reached. At last, he reached her bedroom. The voices grew louder as he approached. He shouted her name aloud and banged on the door.

He tried twisting the doorknob and it opened, but it was dark inside. He couldn't see her. He passed his hand across the wall and tried to switch on the light. There were none. He shouted her name aloud, yet again. This time, he heard her saying, "Here! On your right! Save me, please!" He turned right and moved forward. Sweat dripping down his spine, he gathered courage to take a few more steps forward. 


"I'm in this room, please, please save me, please!" She cried.

He searched frantically for her. Suddenly, somebody kicked him from behind and he fell on the bed with a thud. As he turned around to see, his sight went hazy. He cleared his eyes and focused on the silhouette near the door. It took him a while to realize at whom he was staring, and the realization made his insides scream with terror. He was staring at his own self. Or perhaps, his doppelganger. The stranger had a grin on his face, and seemed a bit muscular, a better version of himself. He couldn't believe his eyes. His face grew pale, and he could hear his own heart beating hard. She held the stranger's arm, and said, "Look! He was the one who tried to kill me! I'm glad that you came here reading my messages!" 

He couldn't understand anything. Is she thinking I'm him? Do I even look like myself? He wondered and looked into the nearby mirror. The face staring back at him was not his. He had someone else's face. What on Earth was happening? He shouted at her aloud, "No! The person standing next to you is not me! He looks like me! I don't know who he is!" She passed her hands over the stranger's shoulder and whispered, "Finish him!" The stranger clenched the knife and came closer to him, but instead, turned around and stabbed her, right in the heart. She screamed and cried, "I didn't expect this from you. I trusted you."

He knew she was actually referring to his original self. The stranger was his look-alike. As he tried to fight back, the stranger stabbed him in the abdomen. He felt weak as he slowly started losing the strength in his legs.


There he was, numb, leaning against a wall, amidst a pool of blood. He looked at her still body. Her eyes were open, all the colour drained from them.

He could feel the blood dripping down his abdomen. The stranger stood tall. 

"Who's he? Who's this monster?" he shouted, as he turned unconscious.

"Hey! What happened? Relax! Maybe you had a bad dream," came a familiar voice from behind.

He cleared his eyes, gasping. There she was beside him, trying to cool him down.

"Looks like I had a really bad nightmare!" he said.

She whispered, "It's okay. I'm there for you."

He tried to go back to sleep again, gazing at her, thinking, "The worst nightmare is losing you, dear!"

My mom shouts from downstairs as I'm about to read the next chapter, "Akhil! It's already late. Shut the lights off and go to bed!"

"Fine, maa!" I reply. 

It's just the second chapter of the novel, and I'm really into it. I must thank my friend for the recommendation. I go into the balcony and feel the cool breeze. The swing is screeching in the garden. A few moments later, I make my bed and am about to drift off to sleep. Abruptly, my phone buzzes. The air is sucked out of my lungs as I read, "I'm sick, I need help. It's urgent. PLEASE!"



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