Crush - KarEena

Prologue

Dr Billu Champat's home telephone rang at 2:07 am

His mother Pushpa ji, a light sleeper, who was sleeping in the other room grumbled into her pillow.

"Who's that? You're not on call tonight, right?" she said coming into his room

The mother-son had been in bed barely an hour. Their poolside party had ended around midnight. By the time they had cleaned up the house and emptied margarita glasses, stored the perishable leftovers which were meticulously cooked by Pushpa ji and their maid Malaika in the fridge, it was nearing one o'clock.

As they changed into nightwear, they congratulated themselves on hosting a successful get-together before retiring to their rooms. The grilled meats had been only a little tough, and the new electric mosquito zapper had sizzled all evening, keeping the insect population to a minimum. All things considered, a good party.

Despite the shortness of time Dr. Champat had been asleep, his slumber assisted by several margaritas had been deep and dreamless. Yet when the telephone rang, he was instantly awake, alert and responsive, as years of practice trained him to be. He reached for the phone.

"Sorry Maa, a patient may have taken ill"

She nodded and went back to her room, chiding all the way long, her son's reputation as an excellent surgeon wasn't based solely on his operating skills, he was dedicated to his patients and interested in their well-being before, during and after their surgeries. Although not related by blood she never thought of him any less, he had been there for her all along, he was her own son's best friend, an orphan, he used to stay with them during their medicine college days, but after her son passed away in an accident, Billu stood by her and took her responsibility. Pushpa Singh's family is well settled financially but the emotional support provided by Billu is what helped through the tough times.

"Hello?"He listened for several moments, then kicked off the covers and swung his feet to the floor.

"How many?" he asked calmly

"Big accident, several vehicles involved. A real mess, a tanker overturned, crashed into many cars and now it's burning, dozens of causalities and most are being sent to our emergency room, all the staff has been called" One of the nurses has called

"Hey, Bhaghwan! I am on my way" he hung up and left the bed

Serving a busy metropolitan area, Mumbai General Speciality Hospital was constantly on alert to handle major disasters. The staff has been trained to provide immediate emergency treatment to victims of train crashes, natural calamities, and terrorist attacks, by comparison, this night's emergency was mundane. He dressed within a second, clipped his pager to the waistband of his slacks, strapped his watch, collecting his wallet, he slowly opened his mother's room door, finding her peacefully sleeping, he locked the door behind him with his extra keys and made way to the hospital.

Radhe Jaiswal finished reading chapter 3 of his newest science-fiction novel. His mother didn't approve of his career choices, she constantly nagged him to consider making a change,

"You'll be there all alone, night after night. If you work alone, how're you ever going to meet anyone new?" his mother often taunts, but who can explain to her that this is his choice, for his socially awkward nature this job is a boon and pays enough to look after his mother until he completes his studies.

Working the graveyard shit meant fewer times he had to conduct a conversation with someone. His post at Mumbai General Speciality Hospital was in the doctors' parking lot. To other guards, it's the least desirable post, but Radhe preferred it. There wasn't a lot of activity at night. However, this being a Friday night, there were more cars than on weeknights. Just a few minutes ago Dr. Champat had driven up to the gate, Dr. Champat seemed like a regular guy, not snotty at all, not like those rich as***les who acted so hoity-toity. He placed the book facing down on the table before him.

The power-saving LED lights are strategically placed so that most of the lot is well-lighted. The shadows were deep only beneath the landscaping that formed its perimeter, nothing had changed since the last time Radhe checked, except for the addition of Dr. Champat's silver Audi- third room, second car.

He frowned with puzzlement, how had he missed Dr. Champat when he walked past his shack? As he came out of his shack, hot may air engulfed him, he walked past the two rows and at the end of the third row he paused. The parking lot was as silent and still as a tomb, which at the moment wasn't a comforting analogy. Nothing moved, not even the leaves on the surrounding trees. Nothing appeared out of the ordinary. Nevertheless, Radhe's voice quavered slightly as he called out,

"Dr. Champat?"

"Dr. Billu Champat? Are you there?"

Receiving no answer, Radhe figured it was safe to step around the first car in a row and check out Dr Champat's Audi, just to put his mind at ease. He had missed him; it was as simple as that. When the doctor walked past, he must've been concentrating a little too hard on his book. Or maybe Dr. Champat hadn't taken the paved path and instead had slipped through the shrubbery. He was a short guy, maybe he left without creating much of a disturbance.

Whatever, Dr. Champat had slipped past him in the dark, is all. Before rounding the first car in the row, just for good measure, Radhe switched on his flashlight.

The flashlight was discovered later beneath the first car in the row where it had come to rest after rolling several feet. The glass was shattered, and the casing dented. But the batteries would have done that annoying pink bunny proud. The bulb was still burning.

What was spotlighted in the beam of Radhe's flashlight had frightened him more than anything he'd ever read in a science-fiction thriller. It wasn't as grotesque, bloody, or bizarre. But it was real.