The Evasion - Original Version

Chapter 9

I push myself harder and open my eyes for one last time to look at my killer's face, but all I see is the fan whirling attached to the ceiling. I blink twice and look around, wishing I'm in a hospital room and not in heaven. But I'm in my bedroom.

I sit up straight on my bed, panting hard and drenched in sweat. The sunlight starts to sweep inside the room through the glass in the window. I turn my body and check my neck in the bureau mirror, and there are no finger marks of being strangled.

Bureau mirror? When was it replaced? Did the police come in aid for me? Did they arrest Guru? Was I in the hospital and shifted to my home?

I hear the sound of my mobile alarm going off. I reach for it to stop the alarm, and when I see the lock screen, it shows the time as 06:00 AM, and the date below it reads as Wednesday, 28 Aug 2020.

I gape at the mobile and blink twice. "Was it all a dream? Damn. It felt so real," I say out loud. The sound of the doorknob clicking me makes me look at the door, and I find My mom opening the door. Looking at her, I sigh in relief, but she looks at the mobile in my hand and asks, "Do you have to use that mobile as soon as you wake up?."

"Then how will I turn off the alarm?" I ask her as I slide down the bed.

"OK come, the hot water is ready, take a bath soon, so that I can help you drape the saree."

"Hmm, Hmm, coming."

I follow mom out of the bedroom, I enter the bathroom while she enters the kitchen. As I brush, the scenes from the dream resurface my mind, one by one.

Why the fuck did things like that come in my dream? And who was that guy who came in my dream?

I have seen him somewhere, but even now, in reality, I couldn't point my finger at it. I go back to my bedroom and retrieve the towel and dress before entering into the bathroom again.

Even while bathing, I couldn't come out of the dream. It was so real, but I'm grateful that it's just a dream. Maybe the worst dream ever, not even dream, worst nightmare ever.

A worst things happened my friend Vedhika in the dream. And I don't understand why Rachel was not there in the dream. Rachel, Ved, and I were a team. We did our laboratory experiments and mini-projects together. Also, Rachel travels on the same bus as mine. Moreover, compared to me, Ved was closer to Rachel.

These and all were fine. But why was it a thriller type of dream, especially a serial killing one? And why Vedhika and I were victims. Me, it's OK, I'm indeed there in the Fidus Friends App, but Ved was not such a type of person. She is one thousand times better than me.

Well, even I'm not a person like the killer mentioned in the dream. But there is one truth in his words. These online networking apps are becoming unsafe. Every day one or the other news is coming up based on the online networking scams.

BTW, what have I achieved in finding friends from this app? In the beginning, though they all talked nicely and thoughtfully, they started showing their true colors after a few days. From the friendly talk, they move to flirty talks and then try to talk dirty. When I disagree, they either stop talking to me or force me until I block them.

I have only two friends who are still on the general chat terms but can't guess when they will jump into the other side. Maybe the dream is an eye-opener.

I finish my bath and pat myself dry with the towel. I leave the bathroom after securely wrapping the towel around me and wrapping the dress around my shoulder to cover it.

Entering my bedroom, I take my mobile and open the Fidus Friends App. I have received a couple of messages and a few new interests, but I don't check any. I directly select the profile and go for the settings. I scroll up until the bottom of the list where 'Delete the Account' option appears. I don't think or keep my finger hovering it, I just select it and delete my account.