The Hunting Party

Quite some time had passed into the night when Lalit drove across the small town of Amagarh. Of all the things one should know to survive in this wicked world, the fact that Amagarh is not a place for life after sundown, is of utmost priority. Tens of murders and disappearances have plagued the place. Mr. Rantam the ASP of the area speaks out to the public to not worry but his shaky voice, as he says so, is a proof of his fear and annoyance.

"We are looking into the matter. The culprits will be punished. God is with us!" he had said in a press coverage last week after the body of a drunk man - Abram - was found near the central sewer. But rumours ran that God had already abandoned the place.

Lalit drove through the same sight gasping and looking side to side in horror. Nothing disastrous happened, but the road stretched long - 20 kilometres long. 64 KM to Panagarh said the nearby milestone. It was a scary journey ahead.

No one knew why Lalit had taken this road so late at night. He, of all people knew the horrors well. Well enough to abandon his tiny shelter at Amagarh 3 months ago. Never to return again he had thought. But there he was with a racing heartbeat, sweaty palms and a heated head. '30 more minutes' he kept chanting along with songs and rhymes to distract. But the silence outside always won. The road was rocky so the speed never rose above 40 kilometres per hour. Soon enough though he noticed a figure far down the straight road. He squinched his eyes and it appeared to be a woman, packed in black. He never said it but his mind surely did 'A Witch!' He hit the throttle hard but the road was rough; yet he managed to swiftly pass through.

"Please Help Me!" A gracious, thin and sweet voice rang in his ears. The adrenaline however overpowered it. He drove on but the echo remained. 'She's alone at night' he though 'at Amagarh' and then it struck him. A voice so melodious should not die in vain! Quickly he turned around, spattering the gravel all over the sides of the road. The lady still stood at the same spot.

"Thank You So Much!" She shouted as she rushed towards the car.

"What is a young woman doing on a deserted street this late at night?"

"I will explain it to you on the way" she pulled open the door and sat in comfortably.

Deafened by her angelic voice, Lalit could not muster the intelligence to notice meticulous details. Yet he did notice the navy blue skirt she wore paired with those long leather boots.

"Thank you so much" she said dusting off her jacket. Lalit adjusted the rear view mirror.

"Hey, not a problem!" He smiled "What were you doing here again?"

"Yeah, I was at the New Year's Party at a friend's house enjoying myself when my mother called. There had been some sort of emergency at home so I got a taxi" She paused "I looked at the map and asked the driver to take this route."

"And he agreed?" He asked, thinking of her perfect lips, smeared in wine lipstick.

"No! He told he the place was haunted or something"

"You don’t know about it?"

"I only arrived here yesterday. I don’t believe such stories. Anyway, I paid him double the amount, all in advance and so he agreed" she gasped ”On the way I got out of the car to get a clearer cell reception. I strayed a bit further, busy calling, and when I turned around, he was gone. Poof! Just disappeared!"

"And then you met me"

"After half an hour!"

"In the cold? In December? In a skirt? How are you still alive?"

"I don’t feel that cold. It’s a metabolism thing."

"Oh" he understood nothing. The logic part of his brain was eclipsed by the thoughts of her immaculate jawline and her neck.

"Oh but how sexy that skirt is!" he muttered.

"Sorry?"

"Umm...Ah.. the skirt. It looks good on you." He blushed

"Oh thank you. It was a birthday present" she smiled.

Time passed by and the speed of the vehicle never crossed the 20 KMPH mark. Lalit, a thirty year old man of fairly dark complexion had hardly been with pretty girls for this long before. His heart was still racing but for other reasons.

"So does your mother know?" He asked adjusting the mirror.

"Know What?" She was confused.

"That you drink alcohol!"

"Yeah" she shrugged her shoulders.

"And she is okay with letting a minor drink?"

"What? No. I’m not a minor!"

"Well you do not look a day older than 17" he said slyly.

"Oh. Please. You are embarrassing me" she blushed.

"But do you know what I know about you?"

"What?" a low grunt after some thinking.

"That your vehicle has no number plate."

"Oh yes" he laughed. "Some idiot at the colony bent and broke the front plate. I’ll have it fixed soon."

"And the license plate in the back?"

"Yes? Oh. Yeah." he sighed "The plate was worthless so I removed it. You see, I bought this car from another person and registered it in my name. The documentation was mishandled and as a consequence, I ended up having new number plates. They will be delivered soon. I had written the number on a paper to stick it on the windshield, but I forget things easily" his voice grew abnormally high.

"And so you have the paper in the car?" she asked in a while.

"Huh?" He paused "Yeah. No actually, I forgot it at home. You ask too many questions for an adult" he laughed nervously.

"The car seems quite new for a second hand model though."

Before Lalit could reply she unzipped her jacket halfway and took the clipper off of her hair "Oh it is too hot here!" she said spreading her hair with those golden fingers. Lalit could not take his eyes off the mirror. Nothing in the world he had seen was as pretty as the girl sitting behind him. The black leather jacket only complemented her white tank top. Spreading those thick strands of hair with mild difficulty, she looked nothing less than a goddess.

"Do you know why your driver ran away when you were on the phone?" His eyes were fixed on the road.

"No."

"At least fifty people have died in the town in the past one year. Several officials have investigated the city, but none could tell the reason; not at least with a proof" he gasped "Chances are that you too would have shared the same fate tonight. So technically, I have saved your life."

"Ok. Thank you" she said nervously.

"Would you not want to return the favour?"

There was no reply.

"You are young, so am I. It is a long night ahead" he smirked.

A short silenced followed and then her voice said "Yeah. I can do you a favour" she paused; Lalit had a crooked smile on his face. "I will not tell the police about the vehicle"

"What?" The smile was replaced by a frown.

"A car launched in the past month. The state is crazy to buy it and you managed to get a second hand model? Number plates ripped and a story about re registration? It does not work that way pal" she gasped "There's another town nearby. Drop me there and we pretend like we never met each other."

Silently, Lalit kept driving and slammed the breaks hard. "And there's three kilometres of road between us and the town. You are too bold for your own good" he shut off the engine and looked straight at her through the rear view mirror "All there is, is a dense jungle around us. No other living soul!"

"Lalit, you are a sinner. Don't you fear God? "

"Oh, haven’t you heard it in town?” He laughed, thumping the steering wheel with his bare hands "God has left this place a long time ago. He cannot punish me!"

He kept laughing maniacally but stopped when he felt a shiver. Coldness had filled the place. The smile vanished and fear crept in. It felt like all the joy in the world had suddenly disappeared. He tried to move but could no longer feel his legs.

"No" a low grunt from behind. He tried to turn back but his neck felt too heavy.

"He can’t" The voice paused; Lalit looked up into the rear view mirror and all he saw was darkness, with two shiny eyes smeared in blood. "But the devil can!" said a multitude of overlapping voices together.

The next morning, the vehicle was spotted by the police patrol. After some investigation it was found that the car belonged to a poor man named Kishan. Kishan had spent a huge chunk of his earnings to buy his wife this car on their marriage anniversary. FIR against theft had also been lodged the previous day; this helped the inquiry progress. However, even after weeks of search, there was no clue as to who drove the car to the jungle. The inquiry dampened; Kishan was already happy with his car and couldn’t care less about the other peculiarities; the folks in town digested the news just as they had been doing and no person in the world asked of Lalit.