Periodic Throw Ups Of An Indian Teen's Brain

The Haunted Fort

Akshita let out a shaky breath as the gun pressed deeper into the back of her neck.

"You got yourself into this" the deep voice stated calmly.

She did not let herself be swayed by the man's persuasions. Regret would only kill her self-confidence, and that was something Akshita could not afford to do in such a grave situation. She remained silent.

"You have two options now" the man spoke again. "You either die, or die" he attempted to sass.

Akshita grunted, to show her disgust at the man's stale sense of humour. The thing not stale was the fact that her life depended on him. That certainly did not help in easing her tension.

"Or maybe I could spare your life. You are a rather pretty little thing..."

Akshita was now in her full on panic mode. His tone resembled that of a predator...

"Only if you tell me which agency sent you here, and what information they have of me... I won't kill you then, you know..." the man continued.

"What does this pretty face mask?" he added with a smirk. Oh lord, the only way to survive was telling him everything. She braced herself to enlighten her adversary.

She took in a deep breath before starting her story. Dramatics had always come naturally to her.

"I am an agent of the RAW", she started. The man's face expressed bewilderment for a split second, which soon turned into intrigue. Taking his silence as a cue to continue, Akshita spoke further.

"Few agents had reported a couple of weeks ago about unusual activity at the Bhanghar Fort. Since this place had never witnessed any night action" she immediately regretted her choice of words, but continued, nevertheless, "They told me, a Special Agent of the RAW to check things out."

Even though Akshita could not see him, she sensed that the man had relaxed himself. His voice seemed playful when he spoke the next words.

"Okay. I am Gaurav Singhania. Ring a bell? Well, it should. You know how civilians believe in those stupid rumours about the Bhanghar Fort being haunted, right? Well, I thought, why not take advantage of the situation? Why not make this place the centre of the business of items which are considered illegal in this godforsaken country... You know what I mean?" the man explained, his tone casual.

Akshita nodded. She knew what he meant. She had been coughing periodically while held at gunpoint, and the broken needles on the ground only rekindled her phobia. However, the most surprising information for her was certainly the fact that it was the young and 'visionary' owner of Singhania Industries was the man keeping her captive. What further troubled Akshita was the fact that the gun was still aimed at her.

As if sensing her insecurity, Gaurav removed the gun and put it on a table adjacent to where Akshita was seated. "Tell me more" he said, and all the playfulness from his voice was gone.

" Well, I had been trying to sneak into the fort as a civilian for a long time, but the security, which I think you bribed, always managed to--" she was suddenly interrupted.

"You are an intelligent girl. Ah, the things that money can buy! From Legos to loyalties..."

"Yeah. So the disillusioned security guards had always managed to foil my attempts, until tonight. Well, in short, I drugged them-"

"Oh, the irony" Gaurav announced. Trying her best to ignore him and remain calm, Akshita continued.

"I drugged them and managed to enter the most interior part of the fort. Then you saw me, tied me to this chair and had me at gunpoint for a long time. Cheerful ." It surprised Akshita how her sarcasm could be spot on even in dire straits.