#Ansh #review #story CHAPTER 1
CHICAGO ERRAND
KNOCK-KNOCK.
“Come in”, said Lakshay in an irritated tone as he prepared to leave “Soldier Field” where he had a part in a charity concert & was now was packing his stuff. He turned around to witness a tall, well-built man; he had a dense mustache that a man with his stature could pull off with ease and was wearing a dark green T-Shirt paired with plain blue jeans.
Lakshay stopped his packing abruptly and while keeping his bag slowly on the table near him, examined the man from the corner of his eye, while picking his thin full-frame silver spectacles from the table simultaneously with his left hand.
“Who are you? and…”
He stopped before completing his sentence, which he did though end in his mind to himself. Doubt and fear struck him, "How did he manage to get in without alerting the security?”. He quickly dismissed the thought, gathered himself together and stood upright with his spine straight and shoulders broadened to create a pseudo impression of strength, preparing to speak again, but this time with a more deep and commanding tone.
“Who are you? And what do you want?”
The man finally broke his silence and with a childish enthusiasm, said, “I am one of your biggest fans!” he continued stammering in excitement, “No, No… I AM, YOUR BIGGEST FAN!”.
Lakshay could now clearly see the name of one of his hit albums, “DUE LOVE” printed on his T-shirt. Lakshay had gained popularity in recent times when his new album made it to the hit charts in the States.
He knew that this guy could be one of many new innocent fans out there, but he didn’t ignore the fact that this fan had knowingly or unknowingly breached security & hence it was very clear in Lakshay’s mind that he can’t be trusted as he had read about these maniacs who would do messed up things to their idols in fiction, and he indeed wanted these stories to remain fictional for him. Therefore, he decided to play along with this FAN, with whom he was at present in this 6x6 meter room with no exit other than the door at which the man himself stood. With whom, he did not stand a chance in a brawl. So, he thought of a plan.
Politely Lakshay began "That's nice of you, where are you from…” saying this Lakshay noticed a notebook and pen in his hands and continued speaking while motioning with his hands to ask for the notebook and pen “pass your notebook, let me sign it for you” waiting for a response, Lakshay stretched out his right hand towards the man. The FAN, with a little delay, smiled and passed the notebook with the pen to Lakshay and continued with a sudden surge of enthusiasm…
CHICAGO ERRAND
KNOCK-KNOCK.
“Come in”, said Lakshay in an irritated tone as he prepared to leave “Soldier Field” where he had a part in a charity concert & was now was packing his stuff. He turned around to witness a tall, well-built man; he had a dense mustache that a man with his stature could pull off with ease and was wearing a dark green T-Shirt paired with plain blue jeans.
Lakshay stopped his packing abruptly and while keeping his bag slowly on the table near him, examined the man from the corner of his eye, while picking his thin full-frame silver spectacles from the table simultaneously with his left hand.
“Who are you? and…”
He stopped before completing his sentence, which he did though end in his mind to himself. Doubt and fear struck him, "How did he manage to get in without alerting the security?”. He quickly dismissed the thought, gathered himself together and stood upright with his spine straight and shoulders broadened to create a pseudo impression of strength, preparing to speak again, but this time with a more deep and commanding tone.
“Who are you? And what do you want?”
The man finally broke his silence and with a childish enthusiasm, said, “I am one of your biggest fans!” he continued stammering in excitement, “No, No… I AM, YOUR BIGGEST FAN!”.
Lakshay could now clearly see the name of one of his hit albums, “DUE LOVE” printed on his T-shirt. Lakshay had gained popularity in recent times when his new album made it to the hit charts in the States.
He knew that this guy could be one of many new innocent fans out there, but he didn’t ignore the fact that this fan had knowingly or unknowingly breached security & hence it was very clear in Lakshay’s mind that he can’t be trusted as he had read about these maniacs who would do messed up things to their idols in fiction, and he indeed wanted these stories to remain fictional for him. Therefore, he decided to play along with this FAN, with whom he was at present in this 6x6 meter room with no exit other than the door at which the man himself stood. With whom, he did not stand a chance in a brawl. So, he thought of a plan.
Politely Lakshay began "That's nice of you, where are you from…” saying this Lakshay noticed a notebook and pen in his hands and continued speaking while motioning with his hands to ask for the notebook and pen “pass your notebook, let me sign it for you” waiting for a response, Lakshay stretched out his right hand towards the man. The FAN, with a little delay, smiled and passed the notebook with the pen to Lakshay and continued with a sudden surge of enthusiasm…
#Ansh #review “Sir, I'd like to show you my ride, you’ll dig the custom paint job with all of your famous songs decaled on its hood.”
Lakshay immediately blurted out, “No! I’m really tired, I’d like to head home as soon as possible”
As soon as Lakshay spoke this out, a sudden regret hit him like a small electric shock from a malfunctioning switch, as his subconscious mind shouted, “Play along you dumbass, you can’t get this hulk upset” and finally fear overtook him, and his left hand started to shake hysterically and to prevent it from being noticed, he grabbed onto the table’s edge with all his strength. But the words had already been spoken, it was too late to take them back. All that was left to be done was to wait for Mr. hulk’s response.
To his surprise, the man said more politely almost near edging begging it seemed, "Sir I know your time is precious, plus you’re tired but I came all the way from Toronto just to see you perform & now that I got a chance to meet you, I didn't want to waste this opportunity to showcase my love for you & your unique music, though if you'd like to leave I won't stop you”.
Lakshay breathing a silent sight of relief threw a fake smile at him & directed his right hand towards the door saying, “After you”.
Lakshay was cautious not to fall for the polite tone, as his intuition still told him that the man was a maniac of sorts considering his sudden mood swings. Lakshay again started to formulate a plan. He knew that there would at least one more person out there in the arena, although he expected a crowd but he considered the worst possible scenario, he would somehow catch their attention and point at the big elephant in the room and make the craziest of facial expressions to show his distress and beg for help and then the job would be done, in his heart, he just wanted to see one of his security personnel out there, that would make his life a lot easier.
Lakshay while handing the notebook and pen back to the man and picking up his bag asked, "Where have you parked your car, the bag is quite heavy so…"
The man with a excitedly said, “Thank god I managed to park it right outside”.
Lakshay thought “right outside!?”, it didn’t make sense but he had no choice but to bow down and follow the man or the FAN as he calls himself. Lakshay felt more worried, as right outside meant that there wasn’t going to be a lot walking to the car and hence less time to grab attention.
“Damn it”. Akshay thought to himself.
As soon as lakshay came out of the room, he turned left and froze, his mind and body were paralyzed, for as far as his eyes could see there wasn’t a single soul in sight. It was worse than his imagination of the worst scenario. As Lakshay was staring straight into the darkness he saw smoke rising from the right side of his view. He squinted to focus towards the origin of smoke and saw fire at the far end of the field in the woods. Suddenly, he was able to make out where everybody went to entertain themselves but the question in his mind was, “Even both the security guards?”. That too, without informing him! And he started to ponder over the selfishness of humans. He had already experienced his fair share of betrayal, which now has molded his personality, now he dreads forging friendships and has trouble trusting people. This experience added another nail to the wall.
Lakshay immediately blurted out, “No! I’m really tired, I’d like to head home as soon as possible”
As soon as Lakshay spoke this out, a sudden regret hit him like a small electric shock from a malfunctioning switch, as his subconscious mind shouted, “Play along you dumbass, you can’t get this hulk upset” and finally fear overtook him, and his left hand started to shake hysterically and to prevent it from being noticed, he grabbed onto the table’s edge with all his strength. But the words had already been spoken, it was too late to take them back. All that was left to be done was to wait for Mr. hulk’s response.
To his surprise, the man said more politely almost near edging begging it seemed, "Sir I know your time is precious, plus you’re tired but I came all the way from Toronto just to see you perform & now that I got a chance to meet you, I didn't want to waste this opportunity to showcase my love for you & your unique music, though if you'd like to leave I won't stop you”.
Lakshay breathing a silent sight of relief threw a fake smile at him & directed his right hand towards the door saying, “After you”.
Lakshay was cautious not to fall for the polite tone, as his intuition still told him that the man was a maniac of sorts considering his sudden mood swings. Lakshay again started to formulate a plan. He knew that there would at least one more person out there in the arena, although he expected a crowd but he considered the worst possible scenario, he would somehow catch their attention and point at the big elephant in the room and make the craziest of facial expressions to show his distress and beg for help and then the job would be done, in his heart, he just wanted to see one of his security personnel out there, that would make his life a lot easier.
Lakshay while handing the notebook and pen back to the man and picking up his bag asked, "Where have you parked your car, the bag is quite heavy so…"
The man with a excitedly said, “Thank god I managed to park it right outside”.
Lakshay thought “right outside!?”, it didn’t make sense but he had no choice but to bow down and follow the man or the FAN as he calls himself. Lakshay felt more worried, as right outside meant that there wasn’t going to be a lot walking to the car and hence less time to grab attention.
“Damn it”. Akshay thought to himself.
As soon as lakshay came out of the room, he turned left and froze, his mind and body were paralyzed, for as far as his eyes could see there wasn’t a single soul in sight. It was worse than his imagination of the worst scenario. As Lakshay was staring straight into the darkness he saw smoke rising from the right side of his view. He squinted to focus towards the origin of smoke and saw fire at the far end of the field in the woods. Suddenly, he was able to make out where everybody went to entertain themselves but the question in his mind was, “Even both the security guards?”. That too, without informing him! And he started to ponder over the selfishness of humans. He had already experienced his fair share of betrayal, which now has molded his personality, now he dreads forging friendships and has trouble trusting people. This experience added another nail to the wall.
#Ansh #review Lakshay quickly turned towards the right as he remembered about the hulk figured man and saw one of his guards lying unconscious with blood dripping out of a hole in his neck.
Lakshay quickly lifted his head but saw no sign of the hitman just a car, with no sign of any passengers or driver. Suddenly, the bells in his head rung and his mind shouted just one thing to him, “RUN!!!”. He kept his right hand on his mouth and turned in the opposite direction to run but as soon as he turned he got a hard blow straight to his stomach, the punch knocked the wind out of him and when he gasped for air, a hand covered his face drenched in some liquid unknown to him. Then, in a matter of seconds he lost control of his body and fell on the ground. Falling face-first on hard concrete must have been painful but he was too dazed to feel it.
Lakshay, staring at the night sky with slowly fading vision, mumbled, “You… you were my biggest FAN?”.
Lakshay quickly lifted his head but saw no sign of the hitman just a car, with no sign of any passengers or driver. Suddenly, the bells in his head rung and his mind shouted just one thing to him, “RUN!!!”. He kept his right hand on his mouth and turned in the opposite direction to run but as soon as he turned he got a hard blow straight to his stomach, the punch knocked the wind out of him and when he gasped for air, a hand covered his face drenched in some liquid unknown to him. Then, in a matter of seconds he lost control of his body and fell on the ground. Falling face-first on hard concrete must have been painful but he was too dazed to feel it.
Lakshay, staring at the night sky with slowly fading vision, mumbled, “You… you were my biggest FAN?”.
#Ansh #review #story Chapter 2
The Drive
The FAN now carried Lakshay’s limp body to the front passenger seat which felt more dead than alive. Though Lakshay hadn’t lost his consciousness yet, his body was completely unresponsive to his will.
The FAN got into the driver seat, turned the engine on & rolled out of the arena without facing any resistance in the way. Noticing Lakshay agitated and scared, the FAN began “You won't lose consciousness, don't be disturbed by that fact. I never intended for you to”. A few minutes of driving around & Lakshay had given in to the situation & was now in a far calmer state. He knew he only had one of his body’s faculties on his side, his brain. And he had to put that to work to have any chance to get out of this mess. In hopes to get something out of this man and use against him, Lakshay asked meakly, " What is your name?" The FAN smirked while keeping his eyes on the road. He spoke after a pause, interrupting the sound of the roaring engine, "You’ve been dumb enough not to ask for it before, you didn't even bother to ask for an ID. Cos of you I feel stupid to take the pain of forging those fakes.'' After a pause, he continued, "By the way, I'm still not gonna give you my name for obvious reasons… which come to think of it, might not be so obvious to you. But you can call me Robb".
Every word that left his mouth and every taunt, starting with the smirk. hammered Lakshay’s ego to the ground, also, his self-respect to an extent. More so, his ego, due to his superiority complex that came from his fame and the assumption that he wasn't susceptible to anything like this on account of his common sense. The thoughts caused him to shudder & crushed his soul as he had failed to save himself from this crisis and had let himself down. A sense failure graved his soul.
Lakshay was forced out of his world by the sound of honking. “Cars… No. Trucks!” he thought as he became conscious of his thoughts and asked with a dull thin voice, like that of a defeated man, "Where are we?, followed by silence from Robb. He asked again with his ever-constant flimsy and remorseful voice, "Where are we?... You can tell me as I can’t do anything anyways", although Lakshay had a bleak belief he could and was looking for a window to cash on.
Robb finally replied, "The harbour. Sir." Lakshay blurted out in shock, "Harbour! why?! What do you want from me?". Robb threatened him animatedly with demanding tonality that caught Lakshay off guard, "Well, for now you play along and try to not act smart in front of the dock security, or else...", he pulled out a GLOCK-19 from the back pocket of his jeans and pressed its muzzle against the back of Lakshay’s neck.
The Drive
The FAN now carried Lakshay’s limp body to the front passenger seat which felt more dead than alive. Though Lakshay hadn’t lost his consciousness yet, his body was completely unresponsive to his will.
The FAN got into the driver seat, turned the engine on & rolled out of the arena without facing any resistance in the way. Noticing Lakshay agitated and scared, the FAN began “You won't lose consciousness, don't be disturbed by that fact. I never intended for you to”. A few minutes of driving around & Lakshay had given in to the situation & was now in a far calmer state. He knew he only had one of his body’s faculties on his side, his brain. And he had to put that to work to have any chance to get out of this mess. In hopes to get something out of this man and use against him, Lakshay asked meakly, " What is your name?" The FAN smirked while keeping his eyes on the road. He spoke after a pause, interrupting the sound of the roaring engine, "You’ve been dumb enough not to ask for it before, you didn't even bother to ask for an ID. Cos of you I feel stupid to take the pain of forging those fakes.'' After a pause, he continued, "By the way, I'm still not gonna give you my name for obvious reasons… which come to think of it, might not be so obvious to you. But you can call me Robb".
Every word that left his mouth and every taunt, starting with the smirk. hammered Lakshay’s ego to the ground, also, his self-respect to an extent. More so, his ego, due to his superiority complex that came from his fame and the assumption that he wasn't susceptible to anything like this on account of his common sense. The thoughts caused him to shudder & crushed his soul as he had failed to save himself from this crisis and had let himself down. A sense failure graved his soul.
Lakshay was forced out of his world by the sound of honking. “Cars… No. Trucks!” he thought as he became conscious of his thoughts and asked with a dull thin voice, like that of a defeated man, "Where are we?, followed by silence from Robb. He asked again with his ever-constant flimsy and remorseful voice, "Where are we?... You can tell me as I can’t do anything anyways", although Lakshay had a bleak belief he could and was looking for a window to cash on.
Robb finally replied, "The harbour. Sir." Lakshay blurted out in shock, "Harbour! why?! What do you want from me?". Robb threatened him animatedly with demanding tonality that caught Lakshay off guard, "Well, for now you play along and try to not act smart in front of the dock security, or else...", he pulled out a GLOCK-19 from the back pocket of his jeans and pressed its muzzle against the back of Lakshay’s neck.