The Man in Black

Chapter 2: Lost to life

It was a peaceful night with cold breeze blowing cutting through trees. Until suddenly, the very loud sounds of gunshots disturbed the peace. A woman, little over thirty, sleeping in her bed peacefully, in the same night. Because the shots of guns were too far for her to hear. But not that far from her life.

A sudden ring in her phone breaks the silence. She with her half eyes closed, puts the phone on silent. Then her another phone rings...and then telephone just after. And the old one too which she barely used. This forced her to break her sleep and leave her bed. She washed her face with cold water, looking into her face in the mirror, a big wide scar from her forehead till her lips. The injury was just few years old.

She goes back to her bedroom to pick her phone quickly. "Hello" she says in commanding voice. "Ma'am, so sorry to disturb you, you really need to come to the station." Says the man over the phone, in frightened and shaky voice. "What is the matter Purochan?" she asks in same commanding voice. "Ma'am! We found...we found that guy...with the name Man in black. A man found him, he says he saw him beating some guys to death, you need to come here fast" the was shaking more and more as he was speaking. "I am coming right away." She replies.

She hears limping footsteps of her father coming towards her room. She turns towards the door and walks towards him and holds him giving him support. All the sudden phone rings woke him up too.

"What's the matter Sneha." He asks in his old fatherly concerned voice. "It's nothing papa" she smiles, "Just calls from work.". "This late?" he asks. "Well, I am a police officer papa, what do you expect" Sneha tried to explain. "But so many calls-" she interrupts her father, "Don't worry papa, you go and sleep, I will be back soon". Seeing her father still concerned, she pats his shoulder gently and guides him towards his bedroom.

*****

"Do not cross this line" written in black bold on top of bright yellow background, taped across the area where the Man in black ambushed the truck and took bullets to heart like it was nothing.

Sneha reaches the site and parks her car outside the markings. The officers of smaller ranks salute her, to which she nods. "Yes?" she demands explanation. One officer steps out, at age of late fiftees, hairs starting to get white. He was Purochan, father figure to Sneha at work. "Ma'am, a man named Mohanlal claimed he found him, the dark guy...erm what's his name...". "The man in black..." Sneha smiles a little.

"Yes, the man in black, beating men...guns and shots he said, and yes tried to kill one guy by throwing him. That is his cycle." Purochan points towards Mohanlal's cycle, taped around with yellow tapes. Sneha looks at the cycle.

Then she lifts the yellow tape and enters the sealed area. The forensic teams were busy with their devices and capturing proofs. The tire marks on ground, bullet shots, blood. "Did we spot the truck?" Sneha asks one of officer. "Um ma'am no, it was dragged along with another vehicle, there are tire marks of another vehicle too" explained the officer. Sneha nods.

Sneha was figuring out little by little that whatever is happening...maybe it is related to people she doesn't want to go back to. She was unable to make out anything off this. She knew this wasn't just a random thug, she also heard the stories. Some of them, really terrifying. She initially thought, maybe people on internet were getting too bored but then there were too many stories to make her believe that something was really going on. It was all just like four years ago...when she started to piece up that things aren't what they look like.

"Fancy scar". Sneha hears a familiar voice. She quickly turns around so her old friend Sumit. "Oh MY GOD" she gasps, "I should have known you would be around". The happiness for reuniting with her old friend was clearly visible on her face. Sumit a tall brown man in his thirties was a forensic officer. "How long it has been...two- three years?" Sumit cracks a wide smile. "Its four" replies Sneha.