AvNeil SS: Deadly Games - Chapter 6 pg 12 Updated - Page 2

Originally posted by: sweetunidhi.445

Attracting start

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Continue soon.

Chapter 1

I froze. That was my secret. It was mine and mine alone. No one knew of it. How could Vidyut know? I pushed him backwards, turning around to face him. "What are you talking about?" I demanded. He laughed. "Don't play innocent with me. You know exactly what I'm talking about. I know it all I know everything." He walked backwards, his eyes never leaving me for a moment and thrust himself down on a wooden bench.

"You were a 7 year old girl, home alone that evening with your elder brother. Your parents had gone out for the night and would return home late. You and your brother spent the time by playing hide and seek. It was his turn to find you. You hid. And then something happened. You heard a scream several screams actually. But you were too scared...you were terrified. You hid. You didn't come out. Like a coward you hid. And then when you finally left your hiding spot...you saw your entire family, lying in their own pool of blood on the living room floor. Isn't that right Avni? Did I get most of that, or did I miss some details?"

I was frozen. For a moment, it felt as if I had forgotten to breathe. There was oxygen in the cabin, but it wasn't reaching my lungs for some reason. Had someone punched me in the gut? A cloud of bile filled my mouth. I opened and closed my fists, recalling what my therapist had told me so many years before. It's Ok Avni. You're ok. Just breathe in first, then out. What you're feeling is normal. Count to 10.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6...what came next?

Suddenly I was back to the mentality of my 7 year old self thrust back into the memories of that night. For years, I had woken up screaming in agony and fear. It had taken intense therapy sessions and isolation to mould myself into the girl I was now. And suddenly, just like that, Vidyut had brought it all back.

I swallowed, attempting to form words. "How...how do you know this?"

"You don't think I hire my people without a full background check on them, do you?" He immediately responded, "And besides, it wasn't so hard to do. You made it quite easy for me actually, with all those headlines you were appearing in. 'Seven-Year Old Troubled Child Kills Family' and 'Brutal Killings of a Mentally Disabled Child' were a few of my personal favourites. It must've taken a hell of a lot to suppress all of that spicy news I'm sure. Oh wait. You haven't suppressed anything. You're still the same coward you were at age 7. You were hiding then and you're hiding now. Isn't that why you live in complete isolation, away from the world, with no family and no friends, Avni?" He paused, turning towards me. "But let's not dwell on the past. Now imagine this headline: 'Killer Avni Mehta Returns after 15 Years of Isolation'. Doesn't that have a nice ring to it?"

My whole body was numb. "What do you want from me?" I finally choked out. I could see his look of satisfaction. He finally had me where he wanted me. "It's simple Avni. If you don't have Neil Khanna's dead body to me by this time next month, you're finished. I will bring this news to the media. You will be defamed, accused and likely sentenced to life imprisonment." He returned to the table, placing the photograph of Neil back into the folder. He extended it towards me. "It's your decision Avni. I trust that you'll make a smart choice."

***

Sleep didn't come that night. I sat in bed, lost in thought. The folder lay at my feet still unopened. I closed my eyes, feeling the pain of that night like a fresh wound straight in my heart.

"Bhayyia, let's play!" I whined, tugging on the sleeve of my elder brother's shirt. He shrugged me off, returning to an online game he was engrossed in. "Anu, leave me alone jaa yahan se." Anu - it was a name shared only between myself and my brother. Several years ago, we had created alternate identities for ourselves for fun, while pretending to be superheroes. The first name I had thought of for myself was Ananya. Avni and Ananya; they were two completely different personalities; where Avni was fearful, cautious and kind, Ananya was strict, firm, strong and fearless. Since that day, my brother had permanently stuck to calling me Anu.

I stuck my arms on my hips, feigning anger. "Bhai, if you don't come right now, I'll tell mumma and papa that you didn't take proper care of me. And then you'll be punished. You won't be able to go out, or meet your friends and you won't get your computer either."

He had turned to me, slightly irritated but also amused. "Abhi se blackmailing shuru? Fine. Stop your endless crying. What do you want to play? PLEASE don't say hide and seek again."

I had grinned sheepishly. "It's the only game I'm better at than you."

"Only because you're smaller and can hide in small places. I'm big and I'm growing." He said proudly. "Chal, let's go. I'll count to 100. Go hide and I'll find you."

I had squealed in excitement as my brother turned around and closed his eyes. I still remember the rate of my heartbeat. I knew I needed to hide somewhere quickly, before he found me. Where to hide? I thought hard, looking frantically across the room. The closet? No. That was too obvious. He would find me in an instant. Under the bed? Definitely not. And then I thought of the perfect spot. I rushed into the kitchen, pulling myself up on the counter and scraping my knees in the process. I crawled on top of the counter and headed to the third kitchen cabinet. Clearing a few plates, I climbed in, huddling tightly and closing the door. I left only a millimeter of room for oxygen. And then I waited. Somewhere, out of the corner, I could hear my brother. He was at 92...93...95... 96...and then he stopped. I heard his footsteps. I wondered what had made him stop counting. That wasn't fair. He didn't finish the count. I made a mental note to condemn him about that later. I heard him opening a door. And then I heard a scream. It was his, mixed with two other grunts that sounded like the voices of my parents. To go out or not? No, I decided. I would stay here. He hadn't finished counting to 100. I would wait till he did. It was quiet. I sensed something was wrong. But part of me was too scared to check. So I sat there. I sat there for what felt like an eternity. And then I stepped out...slowly opening the cabinet door at first and then pulling myself onto the counter. "Bhai?" I called. "Did I win the game?" As I walked cautiously into the living room, I saw it three bodies, lying in a pool of red liquid.

I shook myself out of my thoughts. My hands were trembling and I could feel hot tears stemming from my eyes. I looked around. It was dark. Panicking, I tried to stand, but it was such a cramped spot, I couldn't. And there was a door blocking my motion. With every ounce of strength I had, I pushed the door open, collapsing to the ground. Shocked, I realized that as I reminisced the past, I had crawled into the closet and closed myself in. I coughed, feeling choked. How long had I been inside that closet? How did I not realize when I had walked in? A loud sob escaped my lips. Maybe everyone was right...the newspapers...the therapists...everyone...I'm mentally sick. I'm a lunatic. And maybe I'm really the one who killed my parents. If I can walk into a closet and not realize that I'm suffocating myself, I'm probably capable of murdering my family.

I pushed myself against the wall, letting the endless cries, which I had held buried within myself, finally escape. But one thing was suddenly clear. Whether I was crazy or not...whether I had killed my family or not...I didn't know...I just knew one thing: I needed to save Neil Khanna. I wasn't sure how and why I felt such a strong need. Perhaps I felt that saving him might erase some of my pent up guilt. It didn't matter. I was going to save Neil Khanna. And that meant I had to play along in Vidyut's little game. I couldn't let him know of my plan. If I told him the truth - that I didn't want to kill Neil - he wouldn't hesitate in ruining both my life and destroying Neil's. Playing along with him would buy me some time, until I could figure out my next move. I stood shakily, walking over to my cell phone. I quickly typed a message and sent it to Vidyut:

"I'll do it."

Originally posted by: neeraja91

The plot has got even more intriguing! Look forward to seeing avneils first meeting...great writing girl! Please update soon!

Originally posted by: Reenaxavneil

I'm at a loss of words, this story has barely started and it's already brilliant! Really looking forward to reading the rest.

Originally posted by: mehakrocks1130

Awesome

I love the way you use your words

It's a amazing