When going gets tough

Chapter 1

I am sorry - It is a very empty sentence, when there is no one on the other side to receive it. Kaiel learned it the hard way, as his hands pressed against the gaping hole in his wife's chest. Warm blood gushed out squirting from in between his fingers, and tears trickled down his cheeks.

"SOME ONE, HELP US"!!!!

It was his last ditch effort to turn around his life.

"SOME ONE, PLEASE"!!!!

The street sure was crowded, but that day his screams were silent. People looked at him, shaking their heads in sympathy, and then moving on to face their own troubles.

"SOME ONE"!!!

The gushing had stopped by now, and he knew there was no point in turning around his life. He had killed the last person who ever cared for him. He quietly rose, wiping the tears on his sleeve. He stepped away from the pool of blood

and the disappeared into the alley way. He knew better not to stick around. He knew better, not to pay the last respect, the city will devour her.

"The blood trail would have already caught their attention", he glanced at his blood soaked hands.

"I have to find a place to loose the trail."

The small alley way opened into a crowded butcher's market, he felt safer. "I can disappear here."
 

and he picked up the gun from her lifeless hands, pocketing it. He glanced around. The still faces of the onlookers disgusted him.

"SHE COULD HAVE BEEN SAVED" !!!

He let out a helpless scream. People dispersed, and hum of a distant siren caught his ears. "The pigs have finally heard the call". He sighed to himself, as he picked up pace, walking away from the crime. His phone chimed, "Damn, the next task is already sent!!! They must have been watching the whole incident."

Chapter 2

It was a hot July evening, when he first met Lix.

"Is the fleet shaken?"

"What???????" Kaiel strained, sliding his headphones away from his ears,

"IS THIS SEAT TAKEN"

He was not prepared for that kind of a commitment.

"No!", only one syllable he could manage, aaand she was already at home on the seat.

July became August, September, October, and by December Kaiel had mustered enough courage to drop in the big question.

Some would say it was too early, and others would argue the contrary, but for Kaiel and Lix, it was perfectly timed. "Yes!!!!", She answered with a smile, and the following month they were happily ever after driving a "Newly Wed" car. She was the morning, and he was the sunshine. She was cloud and he was the silver lining. It never ceased to amaze people how much love the world had.

But, all happy things do have a sad ending, and for Kaiel and Lix, things were not so different. Once the "promises to a never ending love" phase was done, the "ever lasting"  become "will it ever last?". Their cooing and canoeing turned into conflicts and bickering. Their ups and downs mirrored the world around them, and just like their love, the world saw a turmoil. While their life was being torn apart with the human fallacies, the world around them was being thrown into a disarray brought in by

a social plague in the form of an addictive role playing challenge series. The challenges were a set of games, promising fortunes - if completed, but cruel at its core. Lex and Kaiel, with their love struck eyes were safe from it for a while, but soon were dragged into the depths of hell when the love that they swore by faded into the shadows of regret. The game was simple, an operator gave the tasks as messages on the phone, and the players finished the tasks.
The only catch was the cruelty associated with each task.
an alien invasion, not the one out of the popular science fictions, but the invisible one.

"Human kind's annihilation is its own curiosity.", some great person had said once, and the world now was on the brink of chaos because of this curiosity. The ussual suspect was the cure for cancer. Some lone scientist somewhere, in the pursuit to find the cure for cancer had curiously dabbled with syphilis and rabies viruses, and now these viruses were the new normal. A super bug  as contagious as syphilis and as deadly as rabies. It turned its victims into mindless zombies.
The government was quick to action, crucifying the scientist, and declaring a state of emergency. They had their agents, and these agents made sure that threats were eliminated.
 

Chapter 3

Kaiel joined first, and by the time Lix was involved, Kaiel had already been tasked with three murders. Lix always wondered how Kaiel slept peacefully, and as days passed by the paranoia started gnawing on her soul. What if I am next, she always wondered. The bedroom, once taunted as the temple of love soon turned into a dungeon of mistrust, and soon the guns under their pillows were their only solace. Sleep evaded them and paranoia set in.

The breakfast was the most stressful event of the day, with each trotting a hidden arsenal of guns and dynamites. The paranoia soon turned into a deep rooted fear, and sleep soon became the enemy. They could not sleep.

The lack of sleep was followed by its distant cuisine - The hallucinations. The eyes which once saw love, was now burdened with fear and hatred.

On the contrary, the tasks brought in a sense of discipline. Every gash, scratch and cut was very sincerely addressed - following the protocol set by the task masters. It became necessary as these wounds would soon become a decisive factor in deciding who would live and die. Lix was the unfortunate one. She was wounded in one of her operations.

Trust was immediately discarded and every one around her became a potential assassin. This new found insight also meant she was equally dangerous to every one around her. Trust was already bartered for doubt, and soon Lix and Kaiel parted ways.

It was approximately three days after they had parted ways that

Kaiel received the next set of instructions. The instructions never had the name of the target, but only pointed to the location and a description of the target. He was a bit perplexed, as the location was a crowded street, and the description matched that of a person whom he knew. His steps were heavy, but the destination became his new goal. He reached the end of the street when a familiar site greeted him. Lix was at the other end of the street, and he knew who the target was. Lix realised she had been marked as the next target. Its not hard to figure out that you are the mark, when there exists a barrage of attempts at eliminating you. Lix was very careful, and she made sure she was never spotted. May be the end of world made Lix sloppy or her wounds were really painful, but soon she walked right into the trap which was being led into - A crowded street. She saw Kaiel standing at the other end of the street, and knew who her designated assassin was.

They both approached each other, guns drawn, ready to strike. Kaiel was cautious, not knowing how Lix would react.

"None of this was personal", Lix's voice wavered as she addressed Kaiel. He knew what she meant. "Baby, you don't want to do this.", he retorted.

Lix knew what she had signed up for. She knew the alternatives.

"I have known love with you.", her words followed with a gunshot.

Kaiel leapt forward, his hands grabbing Lix as she fell.

The Cat named Envy

 Mother was always partial to Henry, with her loving caresses, kisses and hugs, and for me, I was just the sob story she would narrate along with a glass of wine.

Life was not always so dismal. I was once upon a time the center of her affection, the star of her story, that was until Henry arrived one evening, wrapped in a white loin cloth, feeble, helpless and always yapping. I remember that day, I was back home with my sitter. Cinderella was playing on TV and my sitter was chatty on her phone. The door bell rang, and my movie was cut short with the arrival of Henry, Mother and father by his side. That day I saw in their eyes that he was their new knight in the shinning armour, the hero of their story. By the sixth month after his arrival, we shifted. My entire life uprooted. My friends lost to a wows of posts and messages, which never happened. They moved on with their Uber life, while I was stuck in a farm. Just because the city air was not breathable for Henry, I had to leave behind my dreams, my friends and my life. The world revolved around him.

Life at the farm was not all that bad. It was happy at first. The slow farm life, and new faces in the local school kept me tied down for a while, but it was not the same. I missed Anie's gossip on who dated whom, or Rebecca's pompous treats at Starbucks. Down here in the countryside it was more of a 'Oh my he looked at me, I should blush' and 'I got a piglet as a pet, here, have a candy'. But who am I to complain, I was just another character in Henry's biography.

The farm life was pretty glum and boring. Nothing new to look out for, that was until I met Shein. She was an odd one. A black sheep in a school full of goats. She had an aura about herself, and I would not blame her for that, because she was actually a witch, and for the first time in over a year, I looked forward to go to school. Henry had learned to blabber nonsense, and walk around the house like a drunk monkey, not knowing when to use his legs, and when to use his hands. For every nonsensical syllable he uttered, mother and father were pretty much in awe. I bet they had their own little contest of who gets to be called out first by lord Henry. Would it be 'Mama' or 'Dada', and between all these, Shein was the only one who made sense. She could talk, she could weave stories from the thin fabric of her imagination. Most of all, we had a common dislike for babies. The gurgling, spiting and puking little soul sucking bundle of flesh.

Again its not all misery, and my light of shinning hope came that summer. Shein had read in one of her mother's infinite spell books a particular spell, which would help me get rid of my missery. A spell which would help me be the star of my life again. Be the light bearer. She was pretty confident of the spell, heck she even had cast it on her little baby sister.

The premise was very simple. Identify an animal, preferably a pig - people say the flesh is similar to a human. Cast the spell, and watch the souls switch. Once that is done, the pig goes to the slaughter house, and the human lives on with the pig's soul, enslaved and indebted to its saviour - you.

I asked Shein to do it for me. She did without questioning my intent. Henry was gone.

Mother was the first to notice. Henry had slowed down, his usual happy gurgles and the attempted word plays were now just a bunch of squeals and screeches. Dad was brought on board, and then doctors followed. "I am the bright one, look at me, love me", I hoped to yell out, but once again Lord Henry won the battle. Mother and Father doubled down on their care for Henry. Every week was a hospital week. Tests followed tests, and the doctors concluded - Autism it was. Henry may be good at something, we would never know. We would have to have patience, atleast that is what the doctors told to console mother. With this new addition I had become invisible.

This would be a turning point in many people's life. They repent for what they have done, confess, blame themselves and forever live in the shadow of guilt. It would have been the same for me, or that is what Shein told me. She tried convincing me to slaughter the piglet which we switched Henry with. The book of spells was pretty clear about the slaughter part. So we did. It was not a great experience - sneaking into the Neigil's farm, and slaughtering his pet, for whom he had treated the entire classroom with candies. Neigil was absent for a week after the incident, but at this point I did not care any more. My life would be back to normal, and compared to that, a loser kid's sorrow was nothing.

Happiness and love did return, but it was short lived. Henry was enrolled in a special program to help him learn. Mother was away with him, but I had once again become the star of my father's story. He would read me stories, kiss me good nights, and make me feel loved again. It went on for a while, as I basked in the new found affection. The attention lasted for a month, until Henry returned. I no longer had the good night kisses, or the stories to fall asleep to. Henry became the protagonist of the story once again.

Life is never fair. Darwin taught us that, and looking back at the years I spent wrapped in the straight jackets, I feel Henry didn't deserve the life either. Shein was supportive of my decision, but she no longer talks to me. I am still alone, just like that evening when Henry arrived. The only difference being, I was not caged back then, but today I am.

Rhythm of the Southern Chimes

The broken hymn,
Rippling through the time,
Splitting across, solace it seeks.
Solace it offers.

The goddess of war,
With her risen swords,
Saint in her own right, stained with blood,
Blood she offers.

The southern wind chimes,
Hymns of the forgotten souls,
Waiting by the gates of heaven,
Should they fall, should they raise.

The echoes of the lost shores,
Waves of the hidden peace,
Crisp with sounds of a new borns' cries,
She raises, a mother of two.

The birth was a pain, she recalls,
The war gave birth to death,
Blood stained cloths she cleans,
Humming to rhythm of the Southern chimes.

Night Train to Velli

Amid the tight glances, I stood,
Steadfast, a word less searched for,
By the foot hold of the last wagon,
Of the Queen as she chugged through.

Black clouds rose in the night sky,
Moon and stars blanketed by her gurgling smog,
Each cloud a plumage of the night bird, fluffy coal candies.

The ride was long, I was told,
I ignored, rather enjoyed the rumble,
The tics and taks on the metal rail,
As the wheels echoed on, into the darkness.

An amber shone bright in the distance,
And the Queen started the long screech,
Pungent whiff of her diesel fog,  her engines coma-ed.

My fears grew roots, As the queen halted,
The amber turned to red, gale birthed a gentle breeze,
The smell of screeching metal fumed the night air,
The Queen had stoped her righteous stride.

I alighted the royal gait, stepping into the cold sand,
The red turned to green, but miles away was I,
My legs, my chariots, fear my fuel.

The Queen started her slow chug, the royal march,
The faint echo of her wail, annoyance it did speak,
I heard her slow rumble, as she regained her posture,
But miles away I was from her, moon my witness.

My captors turned red in her bosom, as she chugged,
Their sleep played the Judas in the grand scheme,
I felt the cold sand beneath my feet, freedom I guess.

I do feel pity for the gallows waiting for me,
The lonely little hoops, but what is mercy to me,
As I ran to the freedom, and the Queen conquered new shores. 

The Perfect Crime

Whats the perfect crime,
He asked, with a twinkle in his eye,
I was perturbed, taken aback,
Why do you ask? I chimed in,
Just a passing frenzy, was his reply.

I do not know, I retorted,
A lier you are, he giggled a tease,
Well, if you ask, I may,
But alas, I can't satisfy your quest,
Thats perfect,  a smile of unease.

What is that bothers me the most,
His question was to the point,
I guess, my indifference,
A smile played, as he stared,
I guess he was clairvoyant.

And I saw the reason behind his smile,
The perfect crime, he replied, 
Is the one you never get caught with,
And his smile turned grey,
As every happy memory of me died.

The perfect crime, is to forget you,
Erase your existence, his words I feared,
And before my eyes, I ceased,
I ceased to exist, with every laughter,
The perfect crime, he sighed, as I disappeared. 



- Tim

The Traveler-5: The Time Trap.

Acknowledgement: I would like to thank my dearest Friend Nikhil Negi for the Time travel, and My dear sis D, for the Witch :D

The village held a gloomy charm,
Not a one that would sooth the heart,
And I wanted to know, to understand,
What made the clouds look so sad.

My answer came,
From a man in the village bar,
He told me the sorrow filled tale,
As he drank from his jar.

He said, with every sip,

She rides on her wind charriot, with a fire whip in her hand,
She rides to steal the smiles, steal the joy from our hearts.

She has cursed this land, so the sun never shines,
The clouds would linger along, but not a drop wets the ground.

She has cursed this land, so no child is ever born,
The mothers lost their hopes to live.

"Why does she torment all", I asked,
"I don't know, why don't you ask", he said.
So I set out to find her,
For, the sight had filled me with sorrow.

So I set out to find my answers,
To the old witch who lived by the river,
And around me I saw pain,
The village was dead on itself.

She sat on a velvet thron,

"Why do you torment the villagers?", My question startled her,
"Its my village, I do as it pleases me", she replied with scorn.

"I will do anything to help this village out", I swore an oath,
"Can you?" She replied as flew down to me with a cackle.

"Why would you, you are just a traveler, why soil your hands?"
"I love adventure, and helping these people promises me adventure."

She waved her wand, poof!!!!
Darkness covered me for an instance,
And then light, as we emerged again.
Emerged into a dungeon.

"I would like to test your spirit", she said
As she led me through the narrow lane,
Tombs of men lined the wall,
And floor was wet with slime.

She opened a giant door,

"Can you kill a stranger, without looking at his face?",
"Can you stab a man, without knowing his name".

I saw whom she was talking about, for he sat there,
His face covered and his hands chained, he sat there by the wall.

"One man's life for an entire village", I weighed in my head,
Then taking the dagger from her, I drove it down his heart.

"You clear my test, Traveler,
But you must travel to the past,
Down the alley of fear,
To the Forest of Gloom".

"I will send you twenty years back,
Search for me the three stones of life,
And once you find them, come back
To this village, to this house".

She raised her wand, mumbling a spell,

"But I lay a curse upon you, as you travel down the time,
If you shall ever raise a hand against me, you shall fall by the same"

A ball of fire engulfed my body, but it didn't burn my skin,
And slowly the witch faded from my sight, only the fire remained.

A pull of gravity, a pull of soul, I couldn't tell,
But I felt the time fly by me, and soon the fire died around.

The world was different,
The sky and sun felt different,
And I traveled in search of the stone of life,
I traveled to the darkest time.

In ten years I found two,
But then one day I learned the truth,
The witch had the third of the stone,
And she had just pushed me out.

I was lost, and shattered, captured in the past.

"Where can I find the village of gloom?", I would ask everyone,
"Where can I find the witch who masters time?", I lost it to time

Ten more years I wander around, with the two stones of life,
And one day I track her down, I found my way back to her.

"You deceived me oh evil witch", And I raised my sword to kill,
"You are just a mere mortal", she laughed, and captured me in a spell.

She took from me the two stones of life,
And locked me away in a place unknown,
And for three days I was kept there,
With no food for hunger, and no water for thirst.

And on the third day, I heard movements,
And the door opened behind me, footsteps I heard,
Faces I couldn't see, but knew they were two.
And then after a long pause, I heard her speak.

"Can you kill a stranger, without looking at his face?"

The Traveler-4: The Riders of the Dark Sand

I have traveled long and far, in search of things that the world has seldom heard of. The journeys I have taken in search of Fear, The Forest Nymphs, and the Devil himself have already been written about. My journeys have taken me to the ends of the world, from where there seemed no return. One such journey took me to the land, covered under a sea of sand. It was everywhere, it spanned from horizon to horizon, and it was here I heard about the Riders Of the Dark Sand.

I was part of the caravan, and we were to cross this great desert to reach the other side, to the green lush fertile land along the River Nile. The caravan was actually a transport for a precious jewel, guarded by an old priest. There were stories about him, and how he had always guarded the jewel from the desert robbers.

I walked over to him, eager to know what was so precious about the jewel, but before I could ask him, he started the tale.

Long ago, during the reign of Thoth,
The heaven was torn apart in war,
Horus in arms against Set, the God of sands.

Thoth conceived a jewel, of pure power,
Power to alter time, and resolve fights,
And handed the jewel to a man, priest in his temple.

But the greed in man's heart was strong,
And he yearned to be powerful,
He fought for this jewel, to control the time.

One such man was Hareb, a mighty warrior,
Who up with his four men, laid siege on the temple,
Killing the priests, and stealing the Jewel.

His insolence angered Thoth,
And this anger gave birth to a curse,
A curse to be captured within time.

And together with him, his men perished,
Only to be risen on the day of no moon,
When they fight to regain the Jewel.


Well it was an astounding story, and the old priest could see the glow on my face as I heard about the power of the Jewel.

"Stranger, be warned, no one has ever returned back from the desert nor has the jewel reached the temple by the Nile. Those who die in battle with the Riders, . . . ", his speech was cut off by the bull horn. The journey was about to commence.

I was a bit afraid, but still was determined to see the marvel that lay up ahead in the day.
We were fifty brave men, strong warriors to protect the Jewel, and I was confident that I would be able to set foot on the fertile land across this great desert.

So the journey began. . .


Fifty brave men, mounted on horses,
With swords drawn ready to fight,
Across the desert, they ride,
They ride along with the sun.

The hot days, take their tolls,
But the brave never give up,
For across the desert, lies their dream,
A dream of fertility and pride.

The priest travels along, guarding the jewel,
With fear in his heart he rides,
And as the sun dips towards the horizon,
His eyes betray his fear.

"I have traveled this sand, thousand times,
But never do I see the green land."
Sang the priest, as the skies darkened,
And darkness covered the land.

"They will come, and take all of you,
They will come, to enslave your souls,
But for me, I have the jewel, so I shall live,
The jewel shall set my times right."

And soon the sands turned dark,
And no moon shined in the sky,
Then we heard the sounds of hoofs,
As the Riders of the Dark Sands arrived.

Four men, and their horses breathing fire,
With swords drawn, ready to take the lives.
"If its four, we can take them", I thought,
But my hopes soon turned to despair.

With his hands the rider waved to air,
"I am Hareb, listen to me oh great sands,
I have been yours for many years,
Now give me what is mine"

Soon the earth shook and split
And our sights were blinded by the winds,
And then rose the many who had died,
Died protecting the Jewel of Thoth.

The undead, rose to their feet,
As my men charged ahead into them,
And I watched each of my men fall,
Fall to the swords of the undead.

It was me now, who stood afoot,
Between Hareb and his jewel, his desire,
And with a drawn sword I charged into the men,
Slicing the already dead to death.

"Its futile, that you may fight,
For your men are dead, and you stand alone,
Its futile, that you may fight,
For I still can summon the demons from hell"

And with a scream, Hareb leaped forward,
Knocking me off onto to the sands,
And as his cold sword pierced my chest,
I saw the priest stab the jewel with his staff.

I saw the life flash in front of me,
And the light shone bright, blinding me,
And then darkness followed for days to come,
Until I heard the call, and life ran through my veins.

I rose up again, with the sword in my hand,
And my men stood next to me, ready to fight,
But the fate had a different plan,
For now I was also the Rider of the Dark Sand.


Glossary:
Thoth: Wiki Page. Thoth is also the moon deity.
Set: Wiki Page.
Horus: Wiki Page.

The Carriage Wheel

"Her screams drowned by the ramble beneath, drowned by the sound of the Carriage wheels...."


I caught the glimpse of her eyes,
As the train halted to a stop,
Her hair, silken black, shining,
Divine beauty, etched by gold.

A tear escaped her eye, with goodbyes,
She alighted, a righteous air by her,
Infront of me she seated, wiping a tear,
As the carriage chugged slowly, moving.

I read her face, flawless and vibrant,
As she sat reading a book, a paperback.
Then our eyes met, a smile, a conversation,
The melody of her voice, ringed in my ear.

She could talk, and she did, as we chatted,
Birds and trees to start, then came life,
Daughter of a widowed mother, she spoke,
Spoke with a vigour beyond her age.

She was young, but wise for her age,
We talked on, as shadows grew long,
The night came, and shadows disappeared,
And soon the sleep was upon her.

I watched her sleep, gently in her dreams,
As I sang her a lullaby, of a long lost prince.
And she slept like a child, as my eyes sparkled,
Sparkled with satisfaction of an evil deed.

A gentle smile curved on my face,
As with the knife I carved her grace,
Her screams drowned by the ramble beneath,
Drowned by the sound of the Carriage wheels.

Soon morning came, as I alighted at the station,
A bloodied knife hidden in my pocket,
Her silver necklace dangled in my arms,
As I bid farewell to a girl wise for her age.

Silence

I knew a man, long ago, back when the birds used to chirp and the trees used to swing. He was fond of killing, taking life, but only in talks. He liked the concept of death, which was something every human being feared. He was fearless, he never cared about death or for that matter about any thing else at all.
He used to say, "We humans fear what we don't know, and if you don't care about your ignorance, you don't fear any thing".

He was brave, he was mighty, he could have led an army of thousands of men, but he never did. He loved his imagination. He loved to think, to think he had the power to take that which was most precious to all. Power to create his own world, power to destroy what he created.

He used to say. " This is intriguing, I love it", then after a while he would say " I have lost interest in it, its nothing more than a regular human dumbness.". He used to despise human life, despise the way they used to live, loving, caring and worrying about tomorrow. He had loved once, just once. I don't know what went wrong or what went right, for he never loved again. He loved to teach though. Rub off a bit of wisdom on his fellow beings, and I just happened to be one of those he used to teach. He was brilliant, he was marvelous.

His desire to take life, dominated every other desire. He used to joke around " Lets kill some one today, Its too boring to live without a li'l bloodshed". He had the resolve to kill, resolve to take life, but he was too gentle to even hurt an ant.

Then one day I saw him kill, I saw him kill what was most dear to him. He said he had to get out of all the attachments. He had to get rid of everything this world had to offer. That was the day I started to fear him. Fear the very man who existed within him. I had never seen blood on his hands, but today he stood soaked in blood. His daughter lay next to him, drenched in blood as he was. She didn't move, she didn't blink an eye. She lay there cold, shriveled, in a pool of blood. I heard him laugh a bit, then he swung the knife. I couldn't do anything, I couldn't move. And before I knew anything He fell, next to her.