The Memoir

by Vaibhav Reddy IVN

  TÊTE-À-TÊTE

  THE IDLING TRUCK approached the summerhouse following the gravel path. With the full moon in the sky and its reflection in the Anolusa River, Daniel thought it was a perfect picnic spot, if not for a bleeding Vanessa and the tension in the situation. As the truck approached the patio, a gunshot rang out and a bullet sped through the glass and then Lehane’s sternum. Lehane slouched onto the steering wheel and the truck went out of control as Daniel struggled with the seatbelt. Luckily, Lehane’s foot was on the brake when the bullet hit him and so, his foot pressed hard on the brake. Daniel sensed that Jeremy was somewhere near and ducked in his seat for cover. But his effort did not suffice as another bullet went by, which penetrated his side of glass and ended up in Lehane’s thigh, missing him by a few inches. There was no response from Lehane’s side, which brought Daniel to the conclusion that he was dead.

  Having no other option, Daniel aimed his gun in the direction of the previous bullet and fired a shot. It did not seem to hit any target. Sensing that he could not go on wasting bullets aimlessly, he opened Lehane’s door and leapt out of the truck before two other bullets followed in a vain attempt. Daniel took cover behind the back of the truck, where he believed Jeremy could not reach him. He ducked behind the truck and waited for Jeremy to use another vain attempt so that he could estimate Jeremy’s perception of his location. Jeremy fired at the truck aimlessly. Daniel used the old technique of distract and engage by throwing a light stone a few feet in front of the truck, which distracted Jeremy. Daniel leapt out of his cover and fired a quick shot in his imaginary direction. The bullet did not make contact, but provided him time to make a run for the front corridor. In his attempt to reach cover before Jeremy recoiled, Daniel stumbled upon a pile of dead bodies lying in the proximity of the front door and fell to the ground. The stumble proved its worth as Jeremy fired a shot two feet from where he fell, making an estimated physical calculation. Daniel used one of the bodies as a cover as successive bullets followed before Jeremy could shoot no more. Daniel watched in the moonlight as Jeremy cursed his gun and retreated backward, and Daniel stormed for the door.

  Standing beside the entrance, Daniel allowed himself a minute to slow down his hammering heart. But his adrenaline was in no mood to recede its effect until the finale. He felt the tiring effect of the adrenaline and tried to take hold; however, he failed. After catching his breath, Daniel peeked into the living room and found no apparent presence, except for the dead body of an old man and a heavy man in the corner.

  Daniel’s mind wandered in the direction of making a calculation of what happened there before he arrived. But he restrained himself, since he could not afford to stray his concentration to weave an imaginary plot involving a maniac, an old man, a heavy guy and a pile of bodies outside the door. Taciturnly, he stepped into the living room. However, realizing that there were not many places in there for cover, he receded backward. His fear prevented him from progressing forward. And silence from Jeremy’s part terrified him and opened the doors of panic and imagination. Only after recalling the events of the previous days, where he had nearly kissed death many times, did he muster the courage to step into the blood-laden living room, ready to see death in the eye if need be.

  He gazed in the direction of the bloodstained stairs and followed them with his vision. Fortunately, the ground floor was accessible to the first floor only through those stairs, since there was no central hollow area connecting them to provide Jeremy details of his whereabouts. Daniel tiptoed towards the left, where a dining table stood with scattered dining chairs around it. To eliminate the possibility of any presence in the ground floor, Daniel moved into the kitchen from the dining hall. The kitchen was empty and smelled mildly of steak, which the stench of blood seemed to mask. After marking kitchen off his list, Daniel tiptoed into the other room the dining area led to; the stench of blood intensified as he approached the room and once inside, he was shocked. Not that it was a corpse, which were plenty in and around the house, but that it was an old woman’s corpse.

  He related the woman to the old man he had found in the living room, and did not move any further. The sight of the woman’s corpse took away the little amount of courage and hope he had built over the past couple of hours about Vanessa’s safety, which had already decreased after seeing the photo. He realized that he was wrong to build a mental fortress around Vanessa with a cold-blooded maniac in it. Jeremy’s last words before hanging the call reverberated in his mind. The words had a paralyzing effect on him and he felt the need for an anxiolytic. Pushing aside the doubts and making a try to rebuild his courage, Daniel made it towards the stairs. Standing at the foot of the stairs, he saw no one. Being a movie maniac, he hesitated to ascend those stairs without knowing what awaited him.

  Finding no other alternative, he took two stairs at a time with his gun trained in the direction above him. Fortunately, he was able to ascend the first half of the stairs without encountering any counter-strikes. When he turned the corner for the second half of the stairs, he was welcomed with the other half of the stairs, leading into an empty corridor with three rooms to the right till the end of the corridor, before it turned right again. Cautiously, Daniel ascended the rest of the stairs, keeping an eye for any sudden maneuvers.

  As he stepped into the corridor, a voice erupted from the room to his right. ‘I am here, Mr. Evil Prince.’

  When he opened the door in a quick motion and moved to the opposite side of the door, he caught sight of Vanessa locked by her neck in the crook of Jeremy’s left elbow, while Jeremy’s right hand held a gun that released the bullet, which made contact with Daniel as he scrambled for cover.

  THE COUNTRY OF CHAOS

  THE PEUPER PALACE

  EVER SINCE HE saw Field Marshal Robert Butler’s mass message on the RCAF app, Gen. Levisohn’s vitals took a wild turn. His mouth dried off, his heart palpitated and he sweated as if he was sunbathing in the Sahara. He reread the message, as if expecting the underlying meaning to change. But the meaning remained as unaltered as the words-

  I, FIELD MARSHAL ROBERT BUTLER, AM ASHAMED TO ANNOUNCE THAT THIS COUNTRY, WHICH FOR TWO WEEKS HAS REMAINED UNDER THE ESAF’S RULE, IS AT WAR. UNFORTUNATELY, THE WAR ISN’T AGAINST ANY EXTERNAL FORCE, BUT AGAINST THOSE WHO REMAINED AS PART OF OUR OWN COMMUNITY FOR YEARS SINCE THE ROCHEN FORT TRAGEDY, AND DEDICATED MANY FAKE CONDOLENCES TO THOSE WHO SUCCUMBED TO IT, WHILE THEY THEMSELVES WERE THE PERPETRATORS BEHIND IT. SO AS A FIELD MARSHAL, IT WOULD BE A FAULT ON MY PART TO TURN A BLIND EYE TO THIS SCANDAL. TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION THAT ONE OF THOSE PERPETRATORS HAPPENS TO BE MY PEER IN THE MILITARY, WHO IS SURELY INCAPABLE OF RUNNING THIS COUNTRY, I ORDER THE RCAF PERSONNEL TO COME TOGETHER IN BRINGING THOSE CULPRITS TO JUSTICE AND DENYING THEM ANY UNNECESSARY ASSISTANCE HEREAFTER. LONG LIVE FREMIA!

  Markus hustled towards the window for the umpteenth time since receiving the message and gazed out for anything out of place. Everything seemed normal, but for only a few seconds. A convoy of military vehicles stopped outside the front door, as he stood gazing, and a battalion of uniformed officials walked into the residence. Markus reached for his phone and dialed his security chief.

  ‘Why did you let them in without my permission?’ he bellowed.

  ‘Sorry sir. I have heard that the Field Marshal is the highest power in military at times of war like this. So, I kept his orders above yours.’

  ‘I am going to having you punished!’

  ‘You wish. I never thought that I was going to say this to you sir. GO FUCK YOURSELF!’

  As the line went dead, Markus hurried towards the door of his room to bolt it. However, the force on the opposite side outweighed him and he ended up on his butt on the carpeted floor. Clearing his hazy vision, he saw Field Marshal Robert Butler and Col. Fischer step into the room followed by some other officials.

  ‘Col. Fischer, take him into custody,’ Robert said.

  Col. Fischer roughly pulled Markus off the ground, cuffed his hands, and dragged him out, amid
st the disgusting gazes of his peers.

  Godwin Sanders watched in shock as the news spread throughout the country like metastasized cancer cells, and he felt helpless with all those comments raining against him.

  SHAME ON HIS PART TO KILL HIS CITIZENS BEING THE PRIME MINISTER! SUCH A SHAMELESS SON OF A BITCH…

  I PRAY TO GOD THAT HE PUNISH THIS IDIOT WITH THE MOST FATAL OF ALL AILMENTS AND LET HIM DIE A PAINFUL DEATH…

  WHEN MANY GREAT MEN HAVE TO LEAVE THIS WORLD SO EARLY, WHY DOES A CRIMINAL LIKE GODWIN HAVE TO LIVE ON FOR SUCH A LONG TIME? MAY HE DIE A PAINFUL DEATH!

  As the tag “#GodwinACriminal” began trending in Twitter, more and more tweets poured in, as people stayed late to demand a proper justice through social media. When the convoy stopped outside his door, Godwin recalled some tweets he had received and death seemed a better option than imprisonment. As the footsteps approached his bedroom and began demanding him to open the door, he pressed the muzzle of the gun to his chin and pulled the trigger.

  NELSON MOTEL- 1991

  Rachel had taken pleasure in playing with Michael and it helped her fight the distress that the situations had gifted her. Since her reunion with Ross, she observed him closely to detect any signs of suicidal intentions. If not for Ross’s hypersensitivity to such issues, she wouldn’t have gone to the extremes of her imagination. She wished for the situation to settle down quickly so that they could lead their lives peacefully again, just like old times. However, the scenario seemed out of their favor; the changes in Ross were very unambiguous. He spent most of his time to himself and she feared the harm it could inflict on his mental health.

  Sitting in the ice-cream parlor with Michael having his ice cream, she gazed intently out of the window at their motel room on the opposite side of the road. She was so anxious that she did not mind Michael licking the cream off his fingers, and repeatedly shifted her attention between the clock and the motel. Ross told her that help was on the way, and sent her and Michael to the ice-cream parlor while he packed their things for the departure.

  Her anxiety mitigated as a tall figure stepped out of a car and ascended the stairs to their room. She had seen him many times on his various visits to their house and she could not miss Gary Fernandez from that distance. Gary and Ross were golf-maniacs, who enjoyed playing golf in the club every Sunday, when they were not hung-over from the Saturday. They even took their respective sons to the club to watch them play, and she frequently joked about their sons contacting the mania from them. She watched as Ross opened the door for him and they both shut the door behind them. They emerged out of the room few minutes later with their bags, and as Rachel stood up to leave with Michael, she saw another heavy man approach them from behind and tug them towards a van stopped few yards away from the motel. Sensing the fishiness of the scenario, Rachel rushed out of the parlor. Before she could step out, the heavy man stuffed Ross into the van, as Gary stood watching the scene, and the van sped away before she could do anything.

  It did not take Rachel long to analyze the treason and she stood perplexed in her spot watching the van disappear into the hills. When she turned her attention back to Gary, he was gazing in her direction. She threw him a glare which seemed to say, ‘you traitorous son of a bitch!’ he responded with a simple shrug of his shoulders and got back into his car. She collapsed onto her knees and wept, as minutes later, a flock of birds flew together into the night sky from the woods in the hills. And Rachel thought she heard the distant echo of the gunshot and Ross’s scream.

  TÊTE-À-TÊTE

  DANIEL SWIVELED TO his left and took cover behind the wall as Jeremy shot at the wall. For a moment, his blood made him think he was dead. When he looked down for the source of blood, he saw a grazed wound to the side of his abdomen and he thanked God for letting his get away with a trivial wound, before he got onto his heels.

  ‘There is no escaping me, Daniel! I have your girl!’ Jeremy yelled. ‘I can smell your fear from here. And, the smell of blood is simply euphoric!’

  Daniel trained his mind at reviewing his tactics and remained oblivious to Jeremy’s yells.

  ‘I came straight to this room and didn’t bother coming for you, Daniel! It is the customer who comes to the shop!’

  If he were in a different situation, Daniel would have joked about online shopping. Daniel did not respond and trained his mind on finding a way to tackle the maniac.

  ‘You must have gone through a lot of hardship to come till here. I laughed at your fear while you struggled through your imagination and fear down there.’

  He remained oblivious to Jeremy’s yells and concentrated on his strategy, which was yet to take shape. As he marveled with his thoughts, Jeremy shot at the wall in front of the room’s door and it missed the huge painting, hanging there, by few centimeters. Daniel’s attention strayed and when he turned towards the painting, he saw the reflection of the room in the glass of the painting.

  Jeremy was standing near the window with Vanessa in his grip. Daniel slid sideways to the adjacent room and walked in silently after leaving his shoes outside the room. The room was similar to the other room and the window was in the exact way like the other room. Daniel tiptoed to it and peered through it. He was able to see Jeremy’s back from the other room. Daniel walked back to the corridor and retrieved his phone from his pocket. He played a six-minute long song in his phone at the highest volume, put it beside his shoes and hustled back into the other room. He held the internal casing of the window and shifted both feet onto the sill. He shifted to the exterior and slowly took small steps towards the edge of the sill. He held onto the external casing, while he slid his left foot to the other window. He observed Jeremy slowly move towards the door with Vanessa protesting in his grip.

  Daniel understood that he was running out of time and slid his hands to the edge of the casing, while he stabilized his left foot on the sill of the other window. He moved his left hand to the other window’s casing with the right hand still on the right window. After ensuring that he had his balance, he used his right foot to push himself to the left, while his hands grabbed the external casing of the other window, and he brought his right foot onto the sill. Jeremy had nearly reached the door, with the gun aimed in forward direction; Daniel lifted the lower sash to slide in. Once he was in the room, he aimed his gun at Jeremy’s left shoulder, such that its course would miss Vanessa’s head if it managed to emerge on the opposite side.

  But before he could pull the trigger, the veil of an approaching ambulance appeared out of nowhere and Jeremy turned around to face Daniel. Jeremy’s pupils dilated, his eyebrows raised and his mouth opened widely at the sight of Daniel, before his face displayed agony as Daniel’s bullet hit him.

  Daniel was dumbstruck when Jeremy turned around with his gun aimed, and he found no other way than shoot impartially at Jeremy, hoping the bullet did not hit Vanessa. As the bullet crashed through Jeremy’s left scapula and pain crept through his left arm, he lost his grip on Vanessa and she hustled out of the room. Jeremy sensed her escape and shot in her direction, while Daniel aimed his gun at Jeremy’s visible right arm and shot a bullet through his arm. Jeremy’s bullet missed Vanessa and he collapsed on the ground, losing his grip of the gun.

  Daniel made a quick motion towards Jeremy and swept Jeremy’s fallen gun away from him with his right leg. Daniel watched as Jeremy made a vain attempt to move his arms and Vanessa stepped across him towards Daniel. Jeremy took a blow from Daniel’s kick and lay coughing blood, while Daniel took Vanessa into his embrace and patted her head.

  ‘Are you OK?’ he asked, pulling off and inspecting her injury. It was still bleeding and Daniel tied his handkerchief around her arm to prevent further bleed. ‘I am sorry for leaving you behind, Evil Princess,’ he said.

  She swung her head back and faced him.

  ‘Yeah, I remember everything. It was some sort of source-misattribution, which Margaret could explain,’ he said, managing a weak smile.

  She playfully knocked
her head against his forehead and embraced him again.

  Jeremy began laughing aloud. ‘Are you done with your romance? Can we get on with the next? I mean the monologues and killing.’

  Daniel pulled off from her and gazed at Jeremy’s laughing face. Daniel squatted down beside him. ‘You see Jeremy, killing was never my intention. I came here for her and I got her. Your blind urge for vengeance and bullshit brought you here. What you need is medical attention, not a bullet to the head. Killing you does not make a difference for me. It only increases the number of crimes I have to answer for,’ Daniel said, looking at Vanessa. He turned back to Jeremy and said, ‘I will leave you to the military. They will decide what to do. And, I am not answerable if you die of hemorrhage.’

  Daniel removed Vanessa’s mobile from Jeremy’s blazer pocket and handed it back to her. Daniel held her wrist and led her out. Once they were outside the house and in the patio, the paramedical staff loaded out of the ambulance and came to Vanessa’s rescue.

  ‘Vanessa, there are many things I have to apologize for. I believe I killed your father…’

  THE END OF A BEGINNING

  SODDING LOVE- TWO DAYS LATER

  ‘SO, WE BROKE-UP last year?’ Daniel asked, sipping the grape-juice.

  ‘Yeah, after you joined RCAF in January of 2013, you came to meet me after two stupid years in April of 2015 at Swelter’s Tip. We argued and left the meeting abruptly. In December of 2015, when you called me and asked for another meeting, I came and told you that I could not love you anymore. So, we parted ways.’