Chapter 1
Splashes of Blood
Chapter 1
The siren of the approaching ambulance wailed, drawing closer with every second. Her body lay still on the ground, stained in blood. Her mother held her close against her chest, unable to stop crying; her cries were stifled yet frantic. I stood nearby, my eyes wide and my breath shallow, as if my own heart had stopped its pounding.
When the ambulance finally arrived, the screech of its brakes pierced the silence. Four men descended and moved her body onto a stretcher for a post-mortem. The reports were out within a week. They called it a pure accident. Her parents were not satisfied and filed a case in court, but due to a lack of material evidence, it was pressed down into a bundle of files forever.
Her lifeless face stayed stuck in my subconscious. It had been years, and though I had almost forgotten her, she still loved to sneak into my mind at times. I was too young then to remember anything clearly except for that sight, and even when I asked my parents for more, they refused to tell me anything. I was only sure of one thing: it had happened in my hometown of Bettiah.
Our family shifted from Bettiah to Lucknow, the so-called "Nawabon ka Sahar," when I was only eight. Later, when I was twelve, my mother passed away from a severe stroke. Since then, I had lived in Lucknow with my sister, who is four years older than me. I was never particularly gifted in academics; I was an average student at best. I passed my Class 10 in 2026 with decent marks.
One day, I was sitting in my room when the telephone rang. It was Saurav, a friend from Bettiah.
"Is Kailash there?" he asked.
"Yes, who’s on the other side?"
"It’s Saurav. It has been quite a time since we last met. For some reason, I felt an urge to ring you."
"It has been ages," I replied. "Since Grade 3. Our old memories, our fun..."
"Why don’t you come to Bettiah?"
"I’ve wanted to for so long," I said, "but time hasn't permitted me. I will come surely by next week."
It wasn’t hard to convince my father, Mr. Jay Narayan, who is a marvelous tech expert and author. My sister, Kavya, was expected to come with me, but she couldn't turn back the sense of revisiting our hometown and decided to stay behind.
Our tickets were booked and our luggage was packed. My father drove us to Lucknow Station. Our coach was A2; I was seat number 15 while Kavya’s friend, who was supposed to join later, was seat 22. For some reason, I felt that things were going to be quite unusual.
The first sign came as soon as I entered the train. I saw a girl who looked to be my age sitting on seat 13. She was staring at us. I didn't like the way she watched me. She kept reading a book that remained open for the next few hours. We eventually took our dinner and slept.
It was the middle of the night when I woke up. It was too hot inside the coach. I stood up and moved to the end of the carriage to find the cabin in-charge, but he was nowhere to be found.
Suddenly, out of the blue, I heard a hard blow on the door—as if something heavy and bulgy had collided with the metal. I opened the door and found it dark outside. The train had stopped at the outskirts of some station.
I was about to close the door when I was suddenly hauled toward the track beside the train. I grabbed the bar on the side as I was mercilessly pulled on and on. I saw a boom of light on the side track—a train was approaching in its full bloom. I pulled off my bracelet and struck the attacker with all my force.
She yelled. I was merciless too. She was thrown away.
The storm passed with the train. I felt that Yama had shown mercy on me. I turned back to look, but she was gone.
I looked down at myself. My sleeves were red with splashes of blood. The world around me began growing darker and darker.
