Nut Cracker (short thriller story)

The racing thunders of footsteps gets louder and louder; then slowly they faint one by one onto the side opposite from where the sound appeared initially. It is a rainy night and upon the road side shallow water-pits, the commotion caused by the tramp of four pairs of strong & brown boot, creates ripples on reflections of already flickering street lights. Tucked away behind the enormous tree, swallowed by darkness, the well-built dark figure fights to hold back his short and speeding breath. Slowly and with caution, still crawling on the ground, he peeps out to see the four police men at the street end. ''They are all armed!"

He can see. One of them, to other three khakhis, is giving silent signals to be vigilant. The blanket of air around is really damp. The swamp and marshy land is soft enough to bear the impression of his left arm elbow, upon which he is kneeling. Onto the right arm fingers with which he clutches the hefty barks of the tree trunk, he feels a sensation of something creeping on. Not able to hold it down, with a loud grunt of irritation, he hysterically sways his right arm. Falling on the ground with a thud, as an attempt of primary defense, it curls into a tight coli.

''milleeeepeddd'', he hisses, then looks into the direction from where a drop of mud-water percolation came flying and stuck upon his right cheek.

"Hold your hands up, NOW!", screams one of the four khakhis, who is now right in front of the kneeling victim. Other three, are backing up from various directions. Everyone is approaching with prudent steps and rapid pace, with their guns stretched in the front.

"Hold your hands up, NOW and freeze"

"NOW, NOW"

Still fixing his eyes there and slowly as he rises both the hands,

"Milleeepedd. Thought to be among the first to have colonized land. Huh...but that is just naat enough faar me to excuse ya! Neither is naat enough to be able faar ya to save yourself! "

"Take him...Fasten him...NOW!"

With that, a hard slap lands on his cheek and forces his face to turn away. A pair of intense eyes, stares at the name batch which reads, 'Karthikai Mainthan'. As the fiery eyes brims with hate, the other three police men drag him...he turns back one last time. His blackened lips below the sharp nose...gives in a broad smile at the slurry like dead milliped.

He turns to the front, the blackened lips freezes to smile, and slowly winces because of the direct sun light on his face. A moment ago, he was standing in a shade, when his turn came, he allowed himself to be checked by the metal detector. The detector gave a clearance beep. Now, he walks out of the security check into the work site. It is a huge rail station under construction. The greasy smell makes the air heavy and sultry. About a dozen of workers in the fluorescent uniform, run past him, wave at him and shout, "Prithvi, chief was searching for you."

"Ah! I am going! Where are you guys headed?"

"Final scrutiny before tomorrow's Inauguration", one of them yells as they all moves away.

"Better ya guys hurry up and double check and hurry up...its railway minister's personal interest!"

"Ha, ha. That's a good one!"

"Alright...I'll go meet the bull!"

"Don't forget to grab the red flag! Just in case! Might come in handy...you would never know! Alright...see you"

Prithvi stares blankly at the slowly approaching test car, gliding gently on the newly laid track. Warning signs, occasional jingles of metal clinging, the associated buzzing noise of the welding flashes those resembling a fountain of fire and finally a maddening crowd of hard helmet wearing workers...Prithvi has been experiencing this ambiance for 6 months and 3 days. Here, the next morning, the station is going to be open for the public. A station which is on the outskirts of the large city. Since the main station is just 30 minutes ahead, most of the trains have not been scheduled to stop here. This was built on a personal motive, a white collar pressure!

The fluttering red flag, stationed on the test car, brings Prithvi back to the moment. A blackened crescent rises on his face...most probably he is reminded of what his co-worker just mention a while ago!

The curve on the smiling blackened lips slowly fades away and winces out of pain. A strong hand is clutching Prithvi by his hair and starts jerking him to the side.

"Wherre have you planted it?"

"Your Job Mr.Karthick! I hate , poking ma nose into other's business."

Karthikai Mainthan raises his arm out of rage to thrash the convict...but ends up in answering the beeping wireless.

"Sir, please...we are doing our best! Railway police inside the train are reporting back. Yes, Yessss...but please understand Sir, we don' have t...Yess we ARRRE interrogating him since 4 AM...No, but he threatens to blow off in the middle if we cease the train in the middle....Just the operator is instructed to maintain the pace, We hardly have 5 minutes...Sir, unders..."

Prithvi kneels down, widely opens both his hands on to the sides, rise his chin up at the morning sky and heaves in a deep breath.

"What the hell are you doing? Now, that is the limit...I can't bear you anymore...you talk or you are dead!"

"So will all be, Mr.Karthick! Wait for the action...just two more minutes!"

Karthikai Mainthan, with all his might, gives him a hard kick. Tears moisten his eyes because of his inability, a deep wrath takes him...his nostrils flares out as if he is been possessed. They both can hear the approaching horn...

It gets louder and louder...

Karthikai Maithan yells out to his men to clear from there and he jumps at Prithvi pinning him down to the floor.

"Ask your man to stop or deactivate the sensor...NOW!"

Now, they both can feel the vibration...It gets stronger and stronger as the train approaches. Sweat on the skin surface, makes it difficult for the cop to hold the culprit firmly...Prithvi struggles to escape the hold...

The train approaches at maximum pace.

"Commme Onn....ya aar all just a second away from salvation"

"Oh my..."

A loud crash happens, the car behind the engine is thrown to the platform. It screeches along the floor spitting off sparkles and violent sound. Other three cars and the engine are severly damaged and are dangerously toppled about.

"Do ya realise that Mr.Karthick? I told yaa...it's a geeky trick...An effect equal to a bomb! I simply replaced the nuts by two-part locking nuts instead of the main nuts...having half size locking nuts to hold the stretcher bars! The train, when crossed that section at a speed more than 300 Km/hr, the lethal vibration was all that enough to cause this! Isn't that cool?"

"Look around what I have done...."

The less injured people in the train are all panicking and dishing out anguish cries. As the human crush intensifies, some people are trying to jump over the side. Not knowing what to do, each push the other,in an effort to run away. Children and weak individuals are thrown to the concrete ground and it bleeds from head...bruises every spot...more than the causality by the accident, stampede is killing many lives...panic everywhere!

"Law of entropy...Look around...everything tends to move from ordered state to disorder....look at the disorder and panic...this is what I want...there is nothing fake here...Look around....Look at the commotion I have created....look at my service to the TRUTH..."

"Now, you may slowly open your eyes Mr.Prithvi "

Prithvi is baffled, he is unable to comprehend what is going on. Some one is strongly suggesting him to slowly step out of the inner mind....very slowly....Prithvi opens his eyes. He can see a doctor and he is a dimly lit room. Karthikai Mainthan is also in the room, he is talking on the phone.

"Good job, team. We have done it!", Karthikai Mainthan disconnects the call, walks towards Prithvi, who is still lying on the bed.

"Only when you gave your identity through phone and dared us to catch you...I realized that you were not normal. After we caught you today early morning, we confirmed with the security agency that there was not one instance where, abnormal alarm buzzed when you entered or left. We had a doubt if you had your man inside the train who would activate the bomb, when it reaches the station and so we did not take the risk of stopping the train. So, I just gave a geeky try...by subjecting you to hypnosis.Trust me.... It works Man!"

"Ummm by the way...meet Dr.Pradeep, who played my role in your subconscious mind!"

***Subham****

-Arumugapradeep.Marimuthu