The Evasion - Original Version

Chapter 7

I look around, checking anyone watching me, and I wear the gloves and shoe cover before ordering the door to open. But the door doesn't open automatically, I push the door, and it's still locked.

What is happening? Why is the door not opening?

I try again and fail to open the door with my lucid dreaming power. I touch the electronic screen of the lock to wake the keypad. It shows an eight-asterisk symbol to enter the eight-digit passcode. I now order, "Whatever passcode I feed in, the door should unlock," and enter 12345678. A female voice comes up, saying, "Incorrect passcode, four chances left."

Shit!

I move back and pace the road in frustration that I'm able to control like before.

How can I lose my controlling power? Did I fall into a deep sleep and unable to gain any control using lucid dreaming?

I stop pacing and take a deep breath. Whether lucid dreaming or deep sleep, I'm going to unlock the door, then find the reason behind his killing spree, and I'm going to escape the dream world.

Maybe finding out the reason is my gateway!

I go back to the door, noting down the electronics lock brand and model to check online for the manufacturing details and working manual. This lock allows five chances to enter the passcode before being locked up outside. Now that I have only four chances to try, I must come up with a quick solution.

When it comes to an eight-digit passcode, ninety percent of the people go for special date of their life. And DDMMYYYY is the usual method. I take out the workbook from my bag and check his profile for his date of birth.

I go back to the front of his house and try his DOB as the passcode, and I again receive the incorrect passcode alert. I re-enter his birthday in reverse, again the same response. With only two chances left, I take the notebook from my bag in which I drew the map of his murder in the city and check for his first-ever kill and try that date as the passcode. When this one also goes wrong, I try for the date he tried to kill me.

A short alerting sound goes off. I guess I messed up this time. As I'm about to run, I hear a clicking sound. I slowly slide the handle and try to pushing the door opens. Letting out the breath I have been holding, I enter the house.

I close the door behind me, and since it's a daytime, there is enough amount of light sweeping in through the windows. I look around the house. Despite the house being old, the owner or Guru himself has remodeled the house with the latest amenities. It's a single floor 2BHK house, and anyone who enters the house could think of an ordinary person living in this place. Everything is clean and skillfully placed. Or maybe a person with OCD living here.

Today's newspaper was in the center of the coffee table, neatly folded after a one time read. I take the newspaper to check whether any news related to the serial killing case has been reported. There is a news article about the ongoing investigation, but he hadn't marked or cut out the news clip. I rummage in the rack under the top of the coffee table, for any clues, I could see a phone book and notepad, but it has nothing related to the people he killed. I move to the TV mount showcase and search in the drawers, but nothing comes up.

I find a wooden bookshelf at the right corner of the living room containing books of personal development, famous people's biography and autobiography, Competitive exam books, novels, classics, and the bottom rack with old newspapers.

I pull out the newspapers which were published on the date next to the murders, and again they were as new as read-only once, no marked highlights or no paper cuts. I take out the crime genre novels from the novels rack and check for the same, but nothing like any reference was marked in there.