Cross Roads: Pick a Path

by Janaath Vijayaseelan

  I tackled him to ground, smacking him against the floor once before picking him up. I then slammed him against the wall; I was bound on figuring out why he was running.

  “Why were you running?” I shouted!

  “I was late for my bus,” he replied, attempting to play it off.

  “Don’t lie to me you piece of shit,” I continued to shout. I didn’t plan on wasting my time asking him more questions. I used my left forearm to hold him tight against the alleyway wall, while I bundled him with a few knocks to the face. I let my forearm fall back a bit, and he fell to the floor. He wasn’t willing to speak just yet, so I leaned down over him and insured a few more knocks to his head as the blood began to dowse down.

  “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he cried.

  “You know! Where is she! Where is Nilani?” I demanded.

  “I’m sorry,” he repeated.

  He was really pushing the wrong buttons, apologizing only made things worse. I was tired of hearing apologies, and he was about to learn it in the worst way possible. He’d probably bleed to death if I continued to smack him across his face, so instead I started to hit him across the body with a long piece of wood I had found on the ground. By the end of it, I knew that I can’t expect this guy to speak, but he knew something and that was for sure. I dragged him by his foot, across the street and threw him in the car as people stood aside and watched.

  I walked back over to the teashop and asked for another glass of tea, while the few nightwalkers watched in shock. I didn’t care for the attention; my thoughts were of what could possibly happen next. Maybe I shouldn’t have beaten Trent so hard; he probably knew of Nilani’s whereabouts. Though I don’t understand what he had to do with it, it makes no sense. Miran said that Trent was just here to cover a story, so why would he have to run from me.

  Then it made sense! It was him, it was Trent who was in the car on the bridge; he was the one that slammed me with the metal rod. The white shirt he’s wearing resembled that of the masked man! So there’s a link; Khan must be linked to Trent in some way! I hate the human mind, we function completely fine until we face a problem; every clear thought becomes a jumble. Though one breaking moment can clear all once again.

  I was getting a call; it was from Nilani’s phone. I picked up hoping for her voice, and it was.

  “Arrun, Arrun!” She cried.

  I heard her call out my name twice before I heard Khan’s voice. I should’ve expected this; I should’ve known that Khan wasn’t finished with his antics.

  “Arrun? What was the hurry? You should’ve just made sure that Nilani got home safe! Oh right, right, you had that show to catch right? The one at Napier Bridge, how was that by the way? It was quite a scene, right? This is what happens kid; this is what happens when you try to cross paths with people like me. This game isn’t for people who have feelings; just look at you; you must feel so miserable right now. I’m a nice guy though; I won’t do anything to harm your girlfriend, but I can’t speak for the other guys. They’re probably going to beat her, and then pass her around like the piece of trash she is! I want your head, and I’ll continue to take the people you care about till I get it. There’s no walking away from the game now kid, the only way out is for you to die.”

  “Khan, I swear to god if you,” the line was cut before I could finish. Though if things happen according to plan, Nilani’s father should’ve been able to trace that call. The beep on my phone confirmed of that too; he had been able to trace the call, but the location of her being wasn’t so satisfying.

  She was apparently held in what was probably one of the most criminally active zones in Chennai. A place where men live lawlessly, and what was worst is that it was one of the spots that backed Khan’s activities. It wouldn’t be easy to go in there and come out alive, but better me going alone than risking a big riot. The car was already left on idle, and Trent remained unconscious. I expected the Commissioner to be on his way with back up soon, but I wanted to get there and handle the situation prior to his arrival.

  I took the wheel, and drove off as the traffic remained still after watching me drag Trent into the car. I was impatient, as I should be; driving as fast as I can, I swerved through the few cars on the road. A few angry drivers, and horning didn’t stop my pace and I got near the zone in due time. See the problem was that I forgot my handgun once again. I was left with a machete, and I planned to put it to good use on some of Khans men. Unable to follow my normal guns blazing method I parked the car two blocks out, there was a reduced amount of movement, and it was fairly quiet.

  I remained in the car, and waited for brief moment in time as the streets cleared completely. I saw what was a large building, and I if my assumptions were right, Nilani had to be held there!

  I stepped out the vehicle and checked around once more before opening the back passenger doors; I wasn’t planning on leaving Trent in the car. He’s going to serve a purpose, because he’s obviously part of something I’ve yet to find out. It is going to be difficult; right now he’s practically dead weight, and caring him the entire way through will be quite hard.

  It was exhausting but I dragged him the two-block distance, before throwing him over a fence. The fence gated the tall building, and the back part I laid him at wasn’t guarded at all. My initial thoughts were to just walk to the front steps, attacking anyone who tried to stop me, but I should probably try walking in as an ordinary person. I wasn’t sure if anyone even knew me, I was actually quite unknown by many here, and it maybe easier to just walk by as an ordinary citizen.

  It might be a stupid move, but I tucked the knife between my boxers and pants, and then used my shirt to cover it. I was a bit nervous walking past the sketchy few on the street, but no one recognized me. Once I reached the entrance to the building I realized that it was an unfinished project. Much like most places in the area, really dirty, and probably filled with hazy people.

  The man at the front of the building stared at me for a while; I was beginning to think that he maybe knew who I was. I placed my hand on the right side of my hip where I helmed the machete and he began to pace towards me. “How long you staying,” he asked. I was quite confused, but he obviously thought that I was here for something else, so I decided to play along.

  “Half-hour maybe?” I replied.

  “Only? You maybe want to stay for an hour, more worth the money,” he continued.

  “Sure,” I responded, hesitant and unaware of where things were going.

  “You seem fairly young, head to the fifth floor. We’ve got a new girl, she may not want to cooperate because you’re the first, but you know what to do.”

  Yeah, it became fairly obvious as to what sort of things were go on around here. He mentioned a new girl, and it has got to be Nilani. “Follow me,” he said as he began to lead the way. We walked up the steps to the entrance, before stepping through the doorway. There wasn’t much lighting and the place reeked. There was a counter and room to the left, and stairs leading up on the right. I began to follow the pimp up stairs before another man began to walk down from above. He walked right on by before, asking us to stop.

  When we turned his face rang alert, I knew what to expect next so I reacted quick. I pulled the knife quickly before he could act. I first jumped the stairs, and waited for him to react likewise. I had the advantage, holding the machete but I noticed the handgun at his waist. As expected he went for his gun, and it was the best time for me to react. I swiped at his neck and watched him fall, then stuck the machete through his skull.

  His blood spattered across my shirt, and when I turned towards the pimp he attempted to flee. I got a hold of his left foot before he could take another step more and dragged him back down the stairs before stabbing him a few times through his chest. This has already become a mess; I noticed a space underneath the stairs that had a door leading outside. It served as an opportunity for me to get Trent in here; I could probably leave him in the room I saw to the left.

  After bringing h
im in, I dragged the two bodies into the room as well. By luck, no one else had made their way down to notice the dead figures. I insured that the door was securely locked before moving back up the stairs. I was on alert most of the way through, but I noticed a man on the steps up to the fifth floor. There was a solid piece of stone I threw to lure him down, and the man who came down was quite old to be a henchman. I ran up on him; like Trent, slammed him against the wall, but used the machete to enlist more fear.

  “Where is she? The new girl!” I demanded.

  “Next floor above, last room on the left!” He cried, trembling upon seeing the knife forced to his neck. I used the handle part of the machete to knock him unconscious before racing up the next flight of steps. I really don’t know why that man was standing there, but the fifth floor was empty much like the others. I was expecting a lot more of Khans men to be watching the premises. Walking cautiously down the narrow hallway I reached the last room on the left without being caught. You could hear the cry of woman inside, and when I opened the door tied and placed in the corner was not Nilani.

  “Don’t come closer, please leave me alone!” Cried the girl.

  “Look, I’m not going to do anything to you,” I said.

  “Please, show me mercy. I’m not that type of girl.” She begged.

  I walked closer, and with every step I took she yearned to be left alone. I placed the knife on the ground, and continued to walk closer. I kneeled down beside her, and she was drenched in tears.

  “Please let me go, I don’t belong here. Please!” She continued.

  “I’ll take you home, where do you need to go,” I inquired.

  “Toronto, Canada,” She said.

  “Toronto? How on Earth did you end up here?” I asked.

  “They kidnapped us, I’m not the only one. There are so many more girls like me. These men are monsters; they keep us all at a house next to this property, for months we’ve been hoping for a way out. They’re using us as sex slaves, who gave them the right to determine our lives? I was a med school student, and now I’m here. Some of the girls have even leaped over the top of this building after they get raped. While the rest of us remained in that house, praying that we won’t be next. Some of the girls have just given in, and they’re just miserable. They can’t speak, they’ve been beaten, they’re practically used till they serve no purpose; its completely gruesome. Please, help me”

  “What’s your name?” I questioned.

  “Sarah,” She replied.

  “Sarah, that’s my mothers name. Think of me as your brother, you and all the girls will get home,” I reassured.

  I could tell she felt relieved of sort, kind of like her prayers had been answered. She smiled in the midst of tears, but I still had no clue of where Nilani might be. Perhaps that’s why this building was empty of Khan’s men. Maybe Nilani was in the same house, among those other girls, praying for me to come get her.

  “When did they bring you here from that house,” I inquired.

  “It’s probably been about half an hour,” presumed Sarah.

  “Was there a new girl? One that was brought in earlier today?” I questioned.

  “It’s you, you’re Arrun! She kept saying you’d come!” She replied.

  “How is she? Is she fine?” I asked.

  “They were kind of aggressive when they brought her in, but she’s fine,” said Sarah.

  There it was, finally the break in my head, I form of relief. It was enough to know that she was fine, but it was another thing to be able to save her. It was going to be much harder, trying to facilitate through a house to get Nilani. It would be more compact and there would be more men for me to take out in a certain space. She was going to come home with me though, that was one thing I was set on.

  I untied Sarah, and picked up the machete before asking her to follow me. We eased back down the stairs, right back to the sketchy street; there seemed to be more attention on us, though this time I didn’t hide the knife. They saw the blood on the machete, how it matched that of my shirt and hands. I continued to walk in direction of the house next to the building, scratching the machete against the floor beneath us. I was hoping for Khan to hear the scratching, as I did after he slashed my friend.

  While a few stared at the sides of the street, two men were present the entrance. They knew exactly who I was, they didn’t hesitate a second before running towards me. I stopped and waited for them to cover half the distance between us. Once they reached the half waypoint, I ran up towards them as well. They both carried knives, like mine; and when they swung I dropped to the ground as they missed. Though I didn’t, I insured to make a cut on one of their legs, the man on the right was the easiest to catch. Once he dropped to the floor, I was left having to deal with the other. After running past me he stood in front of Sarah, I thought he’d maybe use her as a method of killing me so I decided to draw more attention towards me.

  Smacking the machete against the ground I shouted, “Do something, you piece of shit!”

  There was one certain thing about men; many of us don’t have the capability to think twice. Especially when it comes to insults being thrown at one another, we act off instincts, and that’s what he did.

  He came at me once more I was able to dodge his first attempt, but he got me on another. A slice over my left shoulder, I fell back a little and swung my knife upwards through his abdomen. Once he dropped, I insured that the both of them were dead. I then told Sarah to continue following me.

  “You’re bleeding,” she said.

  “I know, don’t worry about it, keep following me,” I replied.

  She walked behind every step I took, and she pointed me in the direction I should walk. I wasn’t looking forward to crossing the third man; he was huge! He was a bit slow to notice me, his back was turned the other way, and I saw it as an opportunity.

  “Hey, fat slob!” I shouted.

  He was slow to turn, and the moment he did I hove the machete straight through his abdomen. Yet, he stood; looking straight down on me he kicked me right down. I felt the sharp pain through my chest, but the stab was doing its job. He was acting slowly, and I gained the strength to get back up. I ran to find more strength and drop kicked him to the floor before pulling the machete out. Then, I slammed it once more through his chest. That was the end of that, and to my luck his revolver had fallen to the ground. I left the machete on the ground and picked it up instead, something I’ve grown a bit comfortable using. The big ogre was blocking the doorway that was supposed to lead us to the captive girls. Sarah helped me roll him over before we walked down the steps.

  “Khaj?” Spoke a voice; I guess the big ogre’s name was Khaj. I’m pretty sure they heard the big thump to the floor when he fell, and so they were going to be prepared. We remained at the top of the steps.

  “Sarah, I think we should roll this guy down the stairs. Help me out,” I said.

  I assumed that we could use Khaj as a distraction of sorts. It was hard, but we managed to roll the fat slob down the steps. We waited, and the men that remained downstairs did the same. I made Sarah wait behind the wall to insure her safety; I remained in a prone stance atop the steps. It took sometime, but I could hear the footsteps of a man walking slowly towards Khaj’s body. He walked with his foot dragging against the floor; he let me know exactly where he was with every step he took. A sudden bang, he fired a shot. It just missed me; I guess he tried to fire it for assurance. He slipped though, because he didn’t fire a second bullet fast enough. He made himself vulnerable, and I saw it work to my advantage. Sarah remained upstairs, and after the man fell to the floor I took quiet steps down the stair.

  I could hear the whispers of two men; there was no hope of picking up Khaj’s body so I used that of the second mans as a shield. It was obvious that the remaining men had not seen me; if they had I would’ve been gunned down by now. I took the body of the man and threw it in front of me, and just as I assumed bullets were fired. I waited for their clip to be empt
ied before I walked out. I shot down a first man on the left, while the second was having some difficulty reloading his gun. I began walking in his direction and he probably assumed that it would be smarter to just rush me. Though we both knew that he wouldn’t win, I gunned him down as well, and he fell straight down to my feet. Now all that remained were a few dead bodies, and a door on the left of a dark basement.