The Outburst! [A Story]

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“So basically, you are trying to convince me that, I can actually...?”

I asked straight into her eyes.

“Yes, of course.

See Dhruva, I already told you how this works.”

Dr Swarna seemed convinced upon her theory.

“But, how will I be able to look into that past,

I mean what is so different it could get with this?”

“Concentrate Dhruva, Concentrate. That’s the key."

 “What?”

You see,
thoughts are a very powerful tool. Every thought has a weight. But that weight depends on how strong its impression is. So, if you think hard, hard enough for anyone to think you are going into nuts, then maybe you can read in between the lines you have from the past.

“Ugh?  hard ?"

“When there is absolute silence around you, if you could able to meditate for hours together. Nothing to worry about.”

But I had my doubts…

this is madness, breaking all the rules of my physics, how can you look into the past that different?

“Doctor, I still think this is not right. I know you want to help me out. But, I’m feeling bizarre"

I’ve already explained it to you.. Take your time

They were talking…

this one is recovering great except…

Yeah, except for the fact that

one thing was never been clear to any of us.

What actually happened that day?!       

Scene - 2 

Photo by Oleg Magni from Pexels

It was late evening.

I was on terrace looking over seashore.

Mild chill breeze…

I was far from home and everyone. It was so calm,

but only from outside.

The chaos within never left me a good sleep and its uncertainty has made it even more terrible.

What do I say about the day I never lived?

But facts do show I’m wrong...

How’s that even possible?

It was getting worse...

Ah,

what was she saying the other morning…

A photograph ingenuously does something that not even most complex mechanisms fail to do. It captures time.

I’m ok with this part but,

Past could get different if you look much intense and blah blah...

Eh, where do they read all these eccentric philosophies?

Went inside, closed doors and windows.

Turned on Airplane mode on my mobile.

Took the fuse off and

puff…

everything else just melted into black.

Oops...

It isn’t that helping ...

huh, I’ve seen this somewhere.
I setup a hanging bulb…

And

Argh…

I felt creepy as hell…

Is it a Janma Janmaantara episode ?

Not exactly…

Since you are the subject that must travel, you must be in the photograph. And the time of the photograph must also resemble the time of the actual incident. Then only you will be able to know How did they just fade into thin air!

Swarna’s voice started to hallucinate around me just like ghost…

Phew…

It was my 4th time… This time it started to feel less turbulent.

I just looked into photo she had given.

A black sedan car. Empty road. Late evening. Forest behind. seashore aside. Perfect place to go through.         

Yeah, that’s my car with smiley sticker in side.

but then?

Blank…

How come this possible I can’t connect next to this anymore…

I was breathing heavily…

Anyhow mustered all the left energy and took a deep breath…

And now…

Yeah, I’m seeing visible splashes…   

Scene - 3

I had just pulled off the car for a little break in journey.

Sipping the coffee...

I switched on the radio in the car tuning into the local FM band. A melodious song started playing. I was feeling momentarily relaxed.

Gazing out of the window from side – blue ocean around appearing to engulf my roadside car.

Bird flocks were flying away.

I could now see the road reflectors shining ahead of my car.

Forest noises were now more audible.

Darkness was gradually taking over.

The song on the radio suddenly died away..

Must be some signal problem

Silence descended with the noise of radio static

And then,

Blood curdling scream !...

So horrific that my senses dulled for a moment...

A voice floated indistinctly,

Run, run !! 

It ended with a gurgling voice…

Just like someone’s been strangled strongly

Argh argh...

Abruptly, a complete silence thereafter...

Soon the music restarted as if there was no interruption.

"What was that ?"

.

.

.
.

.

I don’t know…

.

.

It just made my heart slip for a while,

.

.

I leaned forward and fiddled with the radio;

everything appeared normal.

Could it be some type of advertisement or radio play or it might be a cross radio channel?

I scratched my head.

But it was definitely more scary…

Let’s get going. Its kinda creepy… come on Dhruva!

She said looking straight into me.

.

.

I just collapsed back into real senses…

.

.

Adrenaline started to burst through veins…

.

.

Anu…!

 Scene - 4 

Photo by Elti Meshau from Pexels

The chaos never really left me. Uncertainty in time has made it even more terrible.     

I was in a room. Dr Swarna were talking something to police officials. I was in a hospital bed.

He was saying.. “That girl, Anu has been…”

I couldn’t control myself.

Seeing me bursting out, they came running…

Case was explained…

Then,

there I was,

on the upstairs,

drinking water. Lots of it.

Dr Swarna came to me.

"She went missing from past 2 days. See Dhruva, you were the only one with her in last moments. Recollect as much as details possible. Its really crucial Dhruva. Someone’s life is at stake."

Its not someone, its Anu!

veins in eyes were red enough for anyone to notice.

I want to go there

Are you sure?

As sure as I’m breathing now, almost thumping.

            Police officials headed with him to the place where he said he heard that eerie screeching voice over the radio.

I can remember it perfectly. I stepped down for a tea  and it was in flask in rear seat. Though it was almost got dark, I’ve seen a thatched roof alike collapsed nearby and also a milestone reading 40kms to Port Blair.
     
Sun was almost right above head. We searched all over place for any clues.

But all search just went in vein.

Anu was missing just as if like she disappeared into thin air.

As suggested, we came back to same place late evening…

I took photos around just trying to recreate the crime scene, that’s what police official refer to…

Nothing much useful info was gathered.

            I went to same dark room with hanging light bulb. I shut myself in with the photographs hanging down a string around the bulb. No phone. No interference. I was completely off the grid. I knew, I’m going remember nothing more but

I’ll never give up.

This is for her.

            Same procedure. But different attitude. I was going through my worst mental battle ever…

            Thatched roof, black Sedan, almost dark, completely uninhabited seashore with soothing waves…

There were just flashes all over head.

Then there I was...

in that boat!

Anu seemed confident,

but sweat was peeping through possible holes throughout my body…

See there, that’s what I was telling you all about, a dark face said.


There’s that creature talking to Anu, and we were sailing fast, cutting the waves.
 I’ve said right?, those anomalies was just an epoch of something big and I’m quite sure these were radiated from there. That’s the island I was talking about.



Taking off the hoodie cover



Ah, Professor!

.

then some water splashed on my face.



There we were on the other side of the shore,

Professor taking out something from their witch-craft look alike kit and

she said straight in my eyes,

 We are about to find that for sure!

What do you mean by 'that' ?

Scene - 5

The rescue mission was more intense next day.

There were so many people with us together on that island desperately searching. There was even a cave exactly as I described. That was a small island with dense forest. All these things were fitting exactly into my description except for the fact…



Except for the fact that,

There was no sign of either Anu or Professor.



What were you saying, you then went quite uphill to gaze a longer sight of the shore?



Yes!

None of the gadgets were electrically alive too.

Professor and Anu was also not completely confident but were on their toes. No word at all but I could hear the air making its way out through lungs.

That night, you three were in this island all alone?

Officer was just like smashing..



Yep, it was hard to believed to be true for anyone who knew me. But I was telling exactly what happened.

            Yeah and professor seemed to came prepared and that was most reassuring for Anu but not for me exactly.



But the next thing I told to them was extremely scary, scary enough to beat the shit out of me yet they were just sighing out…



I’ve been telling you all the way. I can’t repeat it every time sir.



It was really heart wrenching..



They were inhaling all through them. Professor was right beneath them and I didn’t see body of Anu except for her face, sliding through the rock.



"You mean, like those death eaters in Harry potter series ?"



Not sure. But they were just awful…



He turned towards Swarna, she nodded, take it slow.

Try Dhruva, you didn’t come this far for just this. Any details, anything at that point !

It has been a torture for me like anything. But no matter how much I scratch my head, I just remembering something hard hitting my head strong and everything blank then.

Do you at least remember where we picked you from?

"Last time when I opened eyes, I was in a bed and the wall has got a flower vase and it was white and white everywhere."



They did talk something to each other in their eyes but didn’t uttered a single word...

Scene - 6 

I wasn’t sad for what they did to me and so do my family. Neither Police officials were convinced, nor doctor’s effort proved some noteworthy results. But it was close than ever. That photo technique of Dr Swarna did gave some better result than any other techniques.

Holding flask in hand, “some tea?” she said.

“No Anu, we’re good"



Poor Anu, she didn’t even remember half as much as I do.



            It all happened just like one night we were missing, and I was found next day. As a matter of fact, we all three were missing for almost 4 days. I was never found on the shore I mentioned that we went but the nearby island. All those read in – between line painstaking efforts in the dark room, me bursting out with the flashbacks, all rushing towards the island I mentioned, was actually has been done repeatedly almost two weeks straight, over and over through some sedative so that every day I woke up just like everything happened yesterday,



while Anu was found before me but kept other side of the military hospital going through same procedure as mine.



            Sadly, professor was never found. They kept trying to fetch out what really happened with the only existing evidences they’ve got. Me and Anu.



Alive but not really into anything useful.



The black Sedan I told about has never left that workshop parking lot ever since we reported to be being missed.



            Maybe professor could’ve arranged some other means. To be honest, I never thought they were about to chase that unusual.

Doctor said,



Your memories are so twisted and getting overlapped Dhruva, a mayhem has been budding severely all over your sense of reality inside you. So frustrated and desperate that you’ve even started to hallucinate things. Time to get some sound sleep. We’re calling off this mission.



Anu came then

tears broken out, running to me.



World around us just faded away for a while…

         

Last thing I heard them talking was,

They found some peace finally!

            I told them whatever we got. It was nothing but like a worst nightmare of a teenage child. But the professor went missing, the cave I mentioned, the roadside location everything was for real.



I just can’t really come out of that hangover yet, over all these days.


To be continued...