That Night - III

(Read these first to make sense: Part One, Part Two)

19th September, 2004
Mumbai, 11:30 pm

Sameer sat at the park bench, stubbing his ninth cigarette. He leaned back and closed his eyes. The past few days had been traumatic, with Yash's gruesome death. There were no suspects, the police were clueless of how he was killed. Yash's mother had gone into shock, and she kept looking for a black cat. Sameer, on the other hand, was numb.

Raj had just left a few minutes ago, leaving Sameer on his own. He just wanted to gather his thoughts before he could go back home. The wind was howling really loud that night, the trees making weird shadows on the ground. Sameer looked up at the moon for a bit, staring at the hollows and the 'face'. Tears streamed down his eyes as he remembered how the three of them would sit at the same place each night, getting high.

Sameer had not been sleeping since that night, and he was really tired. He didn't realize when, but sitting at the park bench, his eyes closed, and he drifted off to sleep.

Sameer was deep in his sleep, and he felt something brushing against his legs. He opened his eyes and looked. It was a black cat, and it was rubbing against his legs, purring softly. It's fur was sikly, and gleaming in the moonlight. It was so beautiful. He wanted to pet it.

"Here kitty, come here," he said, patting his thigh. Obedientaly, the cat jumped on him and perched itself on his thighs. It was looking up at him, it's lucid white eyes staring at him. "Aren't you cute?" he said lovingly, petting it. "What's your name?"

The cat lifted its front paws and leaned against his chest. Its was staring right at Sameer. He felt his heart beating faster, he began trembling, and felt like he was being pulled inside the cat's eyes. A flash of white, and he was back into that night. He saw everything, once again. He saw himself pushing the girl down, slapping her hard each time she screamed. He saw Yash almost choking her. What was going on? Was this a dream? It had to be one. He closed his eyes and shook his head really hard. Wake up!

He opened his eyes and he was back in the park. He looked around him in a start. No cats around. So it was a dream after all. He had to get away from this place. He was scared out of his mind.

As he got up, he felt something wet trickling down his face. He touched his cheek, and looked at his fingers. It was a sticky, thick liquid. Blood. He screamed, and felt blood seeping from his whole body. His clothes were drenched, and his face felt like it was going to explode. He fell to the ground, shaking uncontrolably.

The silence of the night was cut by a loud purr. He looked to his right, and saw the cat looking at him, cocking his head to the side. It slinked close to his body and licked its lips. "No...no..no! Stop this..please!" he cried out.

But how could the cat understand what the human had to say? It raised it's paw high, it's claws out now and made a quick swipe.

Sameer's scream echoed through the park.

***

20th September, 2004
Mumbai, 7 am.

"Buddy, slow down!" Ramesh Ojha said, running after him. Buddy, the two year old labrador, was never this excitable during their morning jogs. He was pulling furiously at his chain, dragging Ramesh along with him.

At a distance, they saw a small black cat sitting in the middle of the track. Buddy stopped and stared at the cat. "This is gonna be a good day!" Ramesh said, staring at the cat. "Shoo!" he shouted, and the cat ran away. Suddenly, Buddy broke free from his leash and sprinted behind the cat. "Buddy!" Ramesh shouted, running after him.

Buddy ran further, and further inside the park. A steely smell was hanging in the air. By now, Buddy had run too far away from Ramesh. "Buddy!" he called out, making his way through the bushes. The smell was very strong now. Ramesh covered his nose, and stopped in his tracks.

Buddy was sitting under a tree. And from the tree hung a body, it's intestines twisting around the branches. Blood was still dripping down, and the drops were falling on Buddy's head. Ramesh muffled a scream and called Buddy to him, but it was too busy gnawing on something. "Buddy!" he shouted furiously, and the dog came to him, wagging his tail. He dropped whatever was in his mouth at his master's feet. And it was a human tongue.

The cat stood behind the tree, observing the human. She closed her eyes for a second. One more to go.

TO BE CONTINUED...