"29" :: Chapter-11

The horror was unbearable; Fabrice trembled as he barely tried resisting the chill down his spine. His eyes scanned the canines, three pairs of eyes, one on the forehead and the second near the cheek, the dark brown eyes gleamed with a shine. Fabrice got out of the bed, and Charisa approached nearer, with each step she slouched a little lower. She was revealing herself, the only constant aspect remained the three pair of eyes while the entire body ripped the clothes apart with fur that grew out. Dark brown fur continually covered every part of the body and after finally tearing off the cargo shorts the growth stopped. It was an ape, a mutated ape. She, right there was Charisa.

Charisa growled, Fabrice who was lying shell-shocked on the floor got up. Charisa leaped up in the air, landing just where Fabrice stood some seconds ago. Fabrice moved into the balcony, with sudden movements as if a seizure had hit him. He kept on moving back till the grill blocked him and he stood right there, trembling to random growls of Charrisa. He knew he was doomed, so he turned back towards the open balcony and saw the approaching hope.

The flying angel in the skies, his mother had come, just in time and so he took a leap to catch hold of her approaching hand. But his grip just passed through, in a flash there was nothing in the air and Fabrice fell hard on the ground. His fists had shielded his head but a bloodied jaw left marks on the dark colored tar. A burning sensation made him lay down on his back. Charisa was on the balcony, just like she was, beautiful and un-aped. She was smiling and the skies turned red. The number in the sky changed. From 20, the skies now showed the 16^th hour running back in time. Maybe there was a price that had to be paid for the moments of passion that were shared. Fabrice was now a couple of hours closer to the doom.

Emilia suddenly blocked Fabrice’s view, she held Fabrice’s arm and pulled him on his feet. Charisa was gone; a few faces were still popped out of the balcony, a few of them giggling in an airy laugh. A constant roar echoed from a distance, Fabrice looked behind and saw a bus, approaching towards them.  Without any signaling the bus screeched in front of them, skidding a little. The door opened and a spectacled man gave a welcoming smile. Emilia held Fabrice’s hand and led him to the first seat. The doors closed and the man accelerated.

There was silence in between, Fabrice wanted to think but he couldn’t. Too much was happening; it was all just happening pushing his thoughts behind an unknown barrier. Fabrice’s contemplation was interrupted by the bus driver’s voice,

After covering the miles,
We need to answer fate’s call…
From the nearing cliff,
To our graves we shall fall..

The lines he uttered ended with a laughter which could be heard prominently even while the engine roared noisily. Emilia turned towards Fabrice, “I sense trouble”

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