It was 5:30pm on a Sunday evening and Ara was out shopping with his parents at a mall. VC his best friend and he were both at a table inside a cafeteria in the mall helping themselves to some burgers and soft drinks. Their parents were also seated at another table in the cafeteria deep in conversation. Victor’s dad was also a medical doctor and a close friend of Ara’s dad. Just like Ara’s mom, Victor’s mother was also a nurse and a close friend of his mom. It was funny how people could keep the same company as the ones they spent time with at work. He would die of boredom because whenever both VC and his self were in the joint company of their parents, the topic was always health related. VC was a student of the commercial class at school and had dreams of becoming a chartered accountant in future while Ara was a student of the science class and had a dream of becoming a scientist. VC was a smallish guy in size with big eyes that were always occupied by the lens of his m
Claudine frowned after reading the letter before tearing and tossing it into the trash can in front of the classroom. The alarm for closing hours had just gone off and the students were walking out of the classroom. Claudine was furious with Ara because he had not called her for the past few days and he was not returning her calls and text messages. When she had gotten tired of playing cats and dogs with him, she had made up her mind to break up their brief acquaintance once she got the opportunity to confront him in person but the words attached to the note he had slid into her locker at break-time had her conscience telling her to at least give him a chance to explain himself. The only reason Claudine was reconsidering her decision to dump Ara was because she had a crush on him long before he wrote her his mysterious equations. This was the only reason she was really pissed off. Claudine Douglas might not admit it to the world but deep inside she knew she loved Arafat
Two weeks later, Ara was back in the classroom hopelessly staring at Mr. Edward his physics teacher. It was his first day back at school after the incidence. Claudine was still breathing through a ventilator and her life was being sustained by life-support system and equipment at the hospital. The news from the hospital was that there was no sign of improvement as her health deteriorates. Ara had been put through the scope by Claudine’s parents and his parents. The only reason he haven’t been interrogated by the police was because Claudine’s parents believe that he is innocent. The most difficult part of the whole incidence was sitting through a session with a shrink hired by Claudine’s parents. The shrink had psycho analyzed Ara and even though his parents had offered to seat with him throughout the session he had declined. Ara’s parents had ended up telling the Douglas that the session with the shrink was going to be the last time they would put their son through furthe
The matron was in a hurry. It was now 9:15am. She was already late and there was a lot of work to do before 10am when the Douglas and their delegation will be arriving to witness the painful process of their daughter and only child being taken off the life-support equipment and techniques. The matron kept greeting her colleagues on her way to the ICU. The moment she stepped into the room, she froze. The bed was empty and the life-support equipment was nowhere to be found. She checked the bathroom and found it empty. She was hyperventilating like she was going to have a heart attack when she used the intercom in the room to call the reception but the receptionist confirmed that there was no record of a Claudine Douglas being checked out of the Lagos Island General Hospital (LIGH). Using the intercom again, she called the morgue but the response she got was that they had no record of a Claudine Douglas. Finally the matron stormed out of the room to alert security and the m
Ara brushed his hand through her hair. Claudine looked peaceful and beautiful as always but she also appeared exhausted. She was still lying on the gurney he had used to wheel her into the old abandoned equipment room at the apex of one of the buildings at the LIGH. The brightness from the LED light he was holding radiated her skin. She was putting on a hospital gown and she still looked beautiful in it. The old equipment room was dark and stuffy with no source of light and though the electricity connection and the switch in the room were still working he couldn’t turn on the lights because he was going to attract attention he was not looking forward to. If he was going to execute his task without flaws he needed to remain Isolated and untraceable. Breathing was not easy in the old equipment room but that was the least of his problems. Ara felt relieved that the digital flow meter on Claudine’s oxygen cylinder that was connected to her ventilator showed that there was still
2016 Back at the hospital, Ara’s parents were seated in the office of the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of LIGH. Before them was the CSO and a Police Inspector. Claudine’s parents were influential figures so law enforcement officers were taking the case of the missing girl serious. It was 3hrs since Ara’s dad found out his ID card was missing while getting ready for work and 30mins since he was invited to the Security Division of the hospital. On his arrival at the security division he had been alarmed to find his wife Maryam seating nervously inside the office of the CSO. About 2hrs ago he had personally dropped her off at work at the private clinic where she worked that’s why he had been shocked to find her seated inside the Security Division. At first, he thought that he was being invited to the security division due to the complaint about his missing ID card that he had forwarded earlier on his arrival at the hospital. The news of the missing Douglas girl was a mystery t
2038 When the third nail went into his right knee, he screamed but his voice could not be heard because the gag was still in his mouth. He tried to move in pain but he was still naked and strapped to the chair with his hands and legs bounded. His dead colleague’s corpse was still lying inside the bathtub in the bathroom. Ara picked up another nail and pointed it directly at the left ankle of his naked victim bringing up his hammer ready to pound the nail into it. The fear in the eyes of the man told him the canary was ready to sing the song he has been dying to hear. “Sometimes to catch a monster you had to become one yourself,” Ara thought. On Ara’s way home from the office, he had noticed the two strange men in the black Mercedes SUV still following him. On his arrival at his apartment he had switched off every single lights in the house and make things appear like he was asleep. As expected, the two men had expertly picked the lock on his door and gotten access into
2016 Back at the hospital, the police and security operatives were busy going over LIGH searching for Ara and Claudine Douglas. Sterling International Secondary School was also under the scope of law enforcement agencies. Trained security dogs have also been introduced into the search and the governor was turning on the heat on the state CP who was also making his subordinates feel the steam. LIGH was now a scene carved out of a Hollywood thriller because officers were all over the hospital. One of the security cameras had picked up Ara walking into the hospital disguised as a staff. The fact that he had not been seen leaving the hospital with Claudine had left them with the impression that the girl and him might be hidden somewhere inside the hospital. The time was now 12:48pm and Ara’s parents were now back at home after calling their attorney. They were aware that if the girl was not recovered soon, the SSS might also end up being involved in the case considering the
Paris25th Dec, 2038 (Twenty two years later) There was a total of four people sitting opposite the chimney inside the large study and their families were downstairs socializing. The faces of the inhabitants of the study were barely visible in the dark background because the only illumination in the room was coming from the chimney. The ongoing meeting was more of a tradition that had been going on for over 40yrs. Only fully blooded family members attended the meeting and it took place every Christmas involving the four members of the Russell Todd family who were the owners of Life Windows Pharmaceuticals (LWP). LWP was the largest Biological and Pharmaceutical research facility in the world. In the middle of the study was an expensive Italian center table with drinks, snacks and cigars on it. Seating directly opposite the chimney behind the table was Professor Emeritus Jack Russell Todd aka ‘JRT.’ He was 85yrs old and the CEO and founder of LWP. Prof Jack Russell T
2016 When the anticlockwise movement of the backward effect stopped, Ara still kept his eyes shut because he wasn’t looking forward to the pains awaiting him in 2016. The feel of a warm and gentle hand on his forehead compelled him to open his eyes. Ara found himself staring at the smiling face of Claudine. He felt too weak to move and he could feel himself bleeding through his nostrils. Looking up at Claudine he said, “I am sorry my love.” Claudine looked at him puzzled “For what?” she asked. “For everything my love,” Ara replied. “It’s okay Ara. We all have our path and timing and no matter how hard we try to make certain adjustments to our fate, destiny will always have the final say,” Claudine said still smiling. Ara began crying when the reality of the situation dawned on him. He had noticed that Claudine wasn’t in the hospital gown she was wearing when he left her on the gurney. She was currently putting on her Sterling International Secondary School uniform. At that
The late October wind was blowing debris all over the 2acres of land of the Bern Memorial Cemetery (BMC) at the outskirt of town as The Drifter walked in through the front gate that Ara had deliberately left ajar. The LED lights illuminating the internal environment of the cemetery had also been switched off by Ara after he had knocked out the two security guards on duty before gagging and tying them up. The two security guards were currently lying unconscious in the bush behind the cemetery. The only lights present in the cemetery was coming from the moon. Ara had deliberately switched on the Global Positioning System (GPS) on the mobile device he had retrieved from one of The Drifter’s dead accomplices because he wanted The Drifter to find him at a location where they could settle matters without interruptions or distractions. The cemetery was the best place because tombstones and dead bodies don’t talk, move and neither do they have the ability to inform the authorities.
When he got back to 2016, he was exhausted. The headache inside his head was not helping matters but he picked himself up and checked on Claudine. She was still asleep but she was perspiring profusely and her body temperature was high. Ara used a wet towel to wipe the sweat off her body. When he was through, he checked on the oxygen flow meter and he was relieved there was still more than 60% of air left inside the tank. He ate a bar of chocolate and drank a can of energy drink before he swallowed some painkillers he had stolen from his parent’s drug cabinet. After resting for a minute, he fixed his sim card back into his mobile phone and switched it on. His plan was to call his parents and let them know he was in an undisclosed location within the hospital. It was best he got his parents to the hospital as soon as possible before The Drifter got to them because at the hospital they would benefit from being around the police. He was not planning on telling his parents that
Ara was dejected when he put down his binoculars and turned away from the window of the old equipment room. He knew he couldn’t get to his parents either within or outside the hospital. The whole place was swimming with police you might as well call the hospital ‘Police Academy.’ Even if he somehow did escape the sights of the police officers, he wasn’t looking forward to a confrontation with their German shepherds roaming the hospital. The sight of Claudine lying on the gurney while a machine became the lifeline between her worldly existence and eternal extinction made him feel guilty. The headache he was feeling since he returned from 2038 was getting worse by the seconds and he felt famished. After helping himself to some snacks and aspirin, he lay down and focused his attention on the clock. Slowly he lost his mind to the impossible destination he had chosen to visit. This time the whole process felt more draining and slower as he kept focusing his mind on the hands of
2038 Torn between two worlds and living in the reality of the confusion of his current situation, something told him the timing was bad. Staring at the screen of his mobile device, the news Google search engine was relating to him was a bad one. His parents had been reported missing at 1:48pm on the 28th day of October 2016 by their attorney who had arrived at their residence to find their home empty without a single soul inside of it except for a broken lock at the front door signifying forced entry. Their mobile devices had been found in the living room but they were still missing till date along with a police patrol car and four police officers. Ara did the maths of going back to 2016 but the result he got wasn’t encouraging. Going back at the moment will leave him exposed to The Drifter who was obviously out on the hunt for his soul. He knew he needed to get back now more than ever but the fact is he couldn’t yet identify The Drifter and if the killer got to him while h
2016 Back at the hospital, the police and security operatives were busy going over LIGH searching for Ara and Claudine Douglas. Sterling International Secondary School was also under the scope of law enforcement agencies. Trained security dogs have also been introduced into the search and the governor was turning on the heat on the state CP who was also making his subordinates feel the steam. LIGH was now a scene carved out of a Hollywood thriller because officers were all over the hospital. One of the security cameras had picked up Ara walking into the hospital disguised as a staff. The fact that he had not been seen leaving the hospital with Claudine had left them with the impression that the girl and him might be hidden somewhere inside the hospital. The time was now 12:48pm and Ara’s parents were now back at home after calling their attorney. They were aware that if the girl was not recovered soon, the SSS might also end up being involved in the case considering the
2038 When the third nail went into his right knee, he screamed but his voice could not be heard because the gag was still in his mouth. He tried to move in pain but he was still naked and strapped to the chair with his hands and legs bounded. His dead colleague’s corpse was still lying inside the bathtub in the bathroom. Ara picked up another nail and pointed it directly at the left ankle of his naked victim bringing up his hammer ready to pound the nail into it. The fear in the eyes of the man told him the canary was ready to sing the song he has been dying to hear. “Sometimes to catch a monster you had to become one yourself,” Ara thought. On Ara’s way home from the office, he had noticed the two strange men in the black Mercedes SUV still following him. On his arrival at his apartment he had switched off every single lights in the house and make things appear like he was asleep. As expected, the two men had expertly picked the lock on his door and gotten access into
2016 Back at the hospital, Ara’s parents were seated in the office of the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of LIGH. Before them was the CSO and a Police Inspector. Claudine’s parents were influential figures so law enforcement officers were taking the case of the missing girl serious. It was 3hrs since Ara’s dad found out his ID card was missing while getting ready for work and 30mins since he was invited to the Security Division of the hospital. On his arrival at the security division he had been alarmed to find his wife Maryam seating nervously inside the office of the CSO. About 2hrs ago he had personally dropped her off at work at the private clinic where she worked that’s why he had been shocked to find her seated inside the Security Division. At first, he thought that he was being invited to the security division due to the complaint about his missing ID card that he had forwarded earlier on his arrival at the hospital. The news of the missing Douglas girl was a mystery t