Chapter 10

As soon as Shreya had gone, Bonnie and Anisha felt someone grab them roughly. Before they could protest, they heard a Mr Lee said, 'Not a sound else you will be dead before you know it'

Anisha and Bonnie gasped. Mr Lee was pointing a at them.

'What are you doing?' asked Bonnie.

Ignoring her question, Mr Lee said, 'I've both of them at gunpoint. You can come out now Sameer.'

'You!' Bonnie said furiously as Sameer came into view followed by two men.

'You bastard! You tricked us. You were with him all the time' said Anisha hotly.

'Easy baby. I don't want to hurt a beautiful young girl unnecessarily' said Sameer smirking.

'Tie them up' Mr Lee ordered and the two men who had accompanied set to work immediately.

'Where is the Time Machine? Have you done whatever was told to you?' asked Sameer.

'Where is the money, Sameer?' asked Mr Lee.

'You betrayed us for money? You filthy, cheating scum!' Anisha yelled.

'Money can do lot of things sweety' said Sameer putting a thick wad of dollar bills in Mr Lee's pocket.

'Have you done whatever was told to you? I don't want to waste time' said Sameer.

'Yes. Don't worry. It will speed up. Shreya will never have enough time to get Daya back to present. They will be trapped in the past forever' said Mr Lee.

'What?' Anisha and Bonnie yelled in shock and terror.

'Get off! Let me go' Bonnie screamed kicking and struggling to get free.

'Shut the fuck up, you stupid girl' Sameer yelled angrily.

'No! We won't let you win.' said Anisha.

Sameer laughed. 'Really? I would like to see how are you going to stop me'

'HELP! HELP US!' Anisha yelled.

'Shut them up Sameer or they will wake the entire neighbourhood' said Mr Lee.

'Relax. The neighbours don't know how to work out the Time Machine' said Sameer.

'YEAH BUT THEY WILL KNOW HOW TO HAND US OVER TO THE COPS!' Mr Lee roared.

'Stop yelling man! I get it. Fine.' said Sameer.

He went over to Anisha and slapped her hard. 'Shut your mouth or you will be sorry' he said.

'FUCK OFF! I will not listen to you!' said Anisha.

'You leave me know choice then.' said Sameer. 'Put both of them to sleep' said Sameer.

One of the men, got up and dabbed Chloroform on the handkerchief. He lowered the handkerchief forcefully on Anisha's nose.

'Nooooo!' Bonnie wailed watching her friend but within minutes, the two girls were unconscious.

O-o-o-o

Shreya almost ran through the forest path. She had to reach Daya's house before the her past self reached him. She stopped abruptly when she heard a slight buzzing in her ears. It was growing louder and louder. It was getting deafening. She covered her ears to shut out the noise.

And then without warning, it happened once again. She saw the popping colours and felt the sensation of being squeezed through a very tight tube. She hit the ground with a thud.

'Ow!' she yelled in pain.

She was breathing heavily. Where was she? What had just happened? And why was everything around her so dark?

Thankfully her wrist watch had an inbuilt led light. When she checked the time, her heart skipped a beat.

It was 11.30 pm.

'What happened to the time? A minute ago, it was 6.30 pm. Where had those five hours gone?' she wondered aloud.

A moment later, Shreya gasped on horror. Someone had certainly tampered with the time turner. Had they been tricked? Had Sameer done something? Did Mr Lee know anything else? Had he tricked them?

So many questions came to her mind and she didn't have answers to either of the. She shuddered when she thought about Bonnie and Ansiha. She hoped they were alright.

And then she suddenly remembered why she was there in first place. She had to save Daya! It was 11.30 which meant that Daya had already dropped her past self at her home. And must have left for the airport. Panic and fear gripped her. She knew it was her last chance. If she didn't save tonight she would lose him forever.

The surroundings around her pitch dark. How the hell was she supposed to find her way back? Judging by the rustling of the leaves, she gathered that she was still in the forest.

She stood up on her feet, her nerves jangling. She fumbled into her jeans pocket. She felt the time turner and cell phone with her hand. She turned on the flashlight from her cellphone and broke into a sprint.

She prayed to god. She knew if Daya had already left his house, she wouldn't be able to do anything to save him. She was finding it difficult to find her way. She stumbled several times over rocks and tree roots. She even got scratches on her arms. But she kept going. She had only one thought in her head - to stop Daya from going to the airport.

She reached Daya's apartment at five minutes to 12. She looked up at his window and saw that it was all dark. The curtains were drawn over the windows.

'No! Please!' she screamed. She couldn't stop her tears. It looked like Daya had already left for airport.

'Daya no! Please come back! Please! I can't lose you when I was so close! Come back!' she yelled but she was greeted merely by silence.

She sat on the muddy ground gripping her head. The time turner fell put of her pocket onto the ground.

She decided she didn't want to go back. If Daya wasn't going to be there, she didn't want to go back to the present. It was pointless going back without him.

A moment later she felt a hand on her shoulder. 'Excuse me mam? Do you need any help?' said Daya.

Shreya was stunned. She was hearing Daya's voice. He hadn't left yet. God had answered her prayers.

'D - daya' said Shreya in a shaky voice.

'Shreya?!' Daya gasped. 'What are you doing here? I just dropped you home. How did you get back?' he asked curiously.

Shreya stood up and faced him. She could see his face quite well in the moonlight.

'Thank god you are still here! Thank god! I missed you so much! You don't know Daya. You don't know what have I gone through...' she faltered and then flung into his arms without warning.

When he put his arms around her, she felt warmth spread throughout her body. She had longed for that moment since what felt like ages. She clutched him as tightly as she could.

'I miss you too honey, but we just said goodbye like half an hour back' said Daya sounding surprised. Nevertheless he didn't let her go from his embrace.

'Never leave me alone Daya. I would be dead without you. Please, promise me' said Shreya.

'Why would I? I love you so much. You know that, don't you?' he said.

'Thank god you were still here. I thought you had already left and I was so worried.' said Shreya.

'I had! But then I realised I forgot my important file in my flat. So I came back. I was getting in the car when I saw you. I didn't recognise you. It's so dark' he said.

'You don't know how relieved I am feeling right now.' said Shreya.

'Okay, I should get going. Else I will miss my flight' said Daya.

'Where are your tickets?' asked Shreya.

'They are in my bag. Why?' asked Daya.

'Give them to me' said Shreya.

Daya handed them to her and said, 'What's got into you? You have been acting strange ever since your arrived.

Shreya said nothing and then without wasting another second, she tore off his ticket into tiny pieces.

'What the hell did you do?' Daya yelled, enraged.

'Shhh... listen to me. You can't go back. You have to come with me' said Shreya.

'Have you gone mad? I have to go back. I have work! Why did you tear it off?' Daya bellowed.

'Daya please calm down. You won't understand a thing right now. But I haven't got enough time to explain. We should get back to the present else we will be trapped here forever!' said Shreya impatiently.

'What?' said Daya blankly.

'I will explain everything later. Please come with me. You have got to trust me. This is really important. Please Daya... do it for me. For us' said Shreya looking earnestly into his eyes.

He kissed her gently and said, 'I know you are worried about Sameer. Come with me to Bombay. We will check if they can arrange a ticket for you'

'No you don't understand. You can't go back to Bombay. And I am not worried about Sameer. I am just worried about getting back to present. I swear I will tell you everything once we go back. But you will have to do what I say' said Shreya sounding scared.

'Okay okay. I will come with you' said Daya.

'Thank you! Okay come on. We are going back into the forest. Look for a bluish - silvery light.' said Shreya.

'I am still lost but that's okay. We will do whatever you say' said Daya.

'Shit! I have lost the time turner!' Shreya wailed.

'What did you say? A time turner?' asked Daya bewildered.

'I hope it didn't fall into the forest. Look for a silver chain with a watch attached to it.' said Shreya urgently.

'You refering to this thing?' asked Daya picking up a shiny chain with a watch dangling from it which was lying at Shreya's feet.

'Yeah! This is it!' said Shreya in a joyful voice.

'Come on!' she said leading the way and tugging him along.

They ran once again into the depths of the dark forest. 'You've to keep looking for a silvery light' she repeated as they sprinted inside deeper and deeper.

Shreya checked her watch. Iy now showed it was quarter to 1.

'Where is the damned portal?' Shreya shouted.

'I think we are running around in circles! I think I have seen this tree bark twice!' said Daya.

'Let's turn right and then go straight' said Shreya.

'Look! I can see something over there!' said Daya pointing ahead.

'That's the portal! Come on fast! Only five minutes to go!' Shreya screamed.

They ran as fast as their legs could carry. The silvery bluish haze seemed to be glowing fainter and fainter.

'What's next?' Daya panted.

'Here!' Shreya called. Then she threw the silvery chain around their necks and they stepped into the silvery orb of light.

Shreya knew they had done it. The next instant they squeezed inside it and a roaring noise filled their ears.

Shreya gripped Daya's hand tightly. She had far too experience with the time turner to be bothered. Daya was however twitching. She heard him screaming and she was scared. It had never happened to her. What was wrong with him?

Daya tried to shut the noise. He was suffocating. He couldn't move at all. Smoky, blurred passed in front of his eyes. He could see Shreya's flat, he felt being too close to her and then he saw that Shreya was scared. She was running away from him. He wanted to tell her something. He wanted to shout but he couldn't. He felt as if his mouth was sealed. He struggled to break free, kicking wildly and then - WHAM!

He hit the hard floor. He could feel Shreya's hand in his. However he was drained. He didn't have to energy to even open his eyes.

He tried to open his eyes but he kept going in and out of focus. He thought that they were surrounded by people for he could hear them speaking. He tried to make sense of what they were saying...

Shreya was fully aware of her surroundings. She saw Bonnie and Anisha tied with ropes in the corner.

'Bonnie? Wake up!' she yelled.

Mr Lee and Sameer were eyeing Daya and Shreya with shock.

Then Sameer's face contorted in fury. He rounded on Mr Lee. 'How did he get back? You had told me Shreya would never be able to mak it!'

'So you cheated us! I knew it. I knew that something was wrong. You've been helping him!' Shreya shrieked.

'He gave me a lot of money. I had no choice' said Mr Lee without a slightest trace of guilt.

'But alas you lost! You are losers both of you! I brought him back. I saved him. Our love triumphed. And Sameer now you can go back to hell!' Shreya spat at him.

Sameer's pupils dilated in anger and he moved towards her. He slapped her hard. 'You are fucking going to lose! I am going to kill him and you are going to watch him die in front of your eyes' said Sameer.

'No!' said Shreya.

'That had been the idea from the beginning Shreya. I told Mr Lee to get you ahead in time after Daya had left. I wanted you to suffer for what you did to me. You betrayed me. I wanted you to watch him die. But you were plain lucky. You managed to get him back. But no matter. No one can save him. I am going to shoot him. Mr Lee is my man. Your friends are unconscious. And Daya? Look at him. Do you think he is in a position to fight with me?' asked Sameer laughing evilly.

'I won't let you' said Shreya feebly.

'Oh, are you going to fight me then? This should be fun. But I won't let Daya die like this. I have a gift for him' said Sameer.

'Wake him up! Let that bastard see the fun I am going to have with Shreya' said Sameer.

Mr Lee threw water on Daya's face and he opened his eyes slightly.

'Daya! Wake up please! Look at me' said Shreya.

'Oh yes he will look at both of us.' said Sameer grabbing her arm and pulling her towards him.

'Let me go Sameer!' Shreya yelled but Sameer was too strong her.

'You never let me touch you. I will do it now baby' said Sameer pulling her close.

Shreya was trying to hold him off. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Anisha was awake.

Anisha gave her an assuring nod and began to wriggle out of the rope. Others were too busy looking at Sameer and Shreya to notice both girls.

Daya knew he had to stop Sameer. He wouldn't let that happen to Shreya. With all the strength he could muster, he raised himself and swung a foot at Sameer's back.

Sameer scowled and left Shreya. Shreya got up on her feet when Mr Lee lunged at her. She dived and aimed a kick at Mr Lee's abdomen. He staggered, howling in pain. Shreya then went to help Bonnie and Anisha and within minutes they are free.

'Are you okay?' Shreya asked them.

'Yeah, they drugged us or something. My head is spinning' ssid Bonnie.

Hearing the commotion the two men who had tied Bonnie and Anisha came running.

'Oh I forgot that goddamn door!' Anisha shrieked. She and Shreya reached just in time. They pushed the door with all strength they could muster and locked them outside the door.

'Oh god! Daya is bleeding!' Bonnie screamed in horror.

'Gotta help him' said Shreya urgently.

Daya was indeed in a bad state. He was lying on the floor his face bloody and bruised. Sameer kicked him and sent Daya crashing into the wall.

Sameer raised his foot to kick once again but this time, Daya held his foot in one hand. He twisted it and Sameer landed on the ground yelling painfully.

Daya was in full control now. He kicked and punched Sameer venting out all his anger.

Sameer was about to pass out when Daya raised his fist, 'Don't you dare touch her. I swear I'll kill you' he said and before he could punch his face, Sameer passed out. Mr Lee made no attempt to get up. He was sitting in one corner wincing in pain.

Wiping his face Daya rushed towards the girls. 'Are you okay?' he asked.

'We are fine. It is you who needs medication' said Shreya.

Daya waved his hand. 'I am fine' he said.

'I can't believe you managed to get back. We were so scared when we found out that Sameer and Mr Lee were in this together' said Anisha.

'Yeah and when we tried to raise alarm, he drugged us and we don't know what happened next.

'I saw two other men' said Daya.

'They are right outside the door. They work for Mr Lee I think' said Anisha.

Daya opened the door but the men were not there. He checked outside but they were gone. 'Guess they chickened out and ran away' said Daya.

'What do we do with Mr and Sameer ?' asked Bonnie.

'Call the local police. But make sure you do not mention anything about that time turner. They would think you've gone crazy' said Daya.

'What do you know about the time turner?' asked Shreya.

'I don't know everything but I have got a rough idea about it' said Daya smiling at their shocked looks.

'But you are already dead. What if the local police recognise you?' asked Anisha.

'I am not staying here. I don't think they will recognise me but you shouldn't take risks. I will check into some hotel. You guys join me after you take care of this mess and then we can tell each other about the adventures we've had' said Daya.

Then he kissed Shreya on her forehead and left. After two hours the four of them were sitting in the hotel room.

Shreya told them what all had happened when she had got back in time. Then she told Daya about her scary nightmares, followed by Bonnie guessing rightly that it was Daya who was trying to reach her. Then how had they discovered the time turner and everything which had happened after that.

'Was it really you?' asked Anisha. 'I mean it so hard to believe. I still think all this is a dream. I can't bring myself to believe all this science fiction stuff. It is more of Bonnie's area' she said.

'I didn't have a clue about it when Shreya told me. But when we travelled back to the present, I had visions. I could see everthing you told me. Like a movie. I don't know how did I find out about the portal. I can't remember but it was me alright' he smiled.

'Never mind. All that matters now is that Sameer is gone and we are all safe and you and Shreya are together' said Bonnie.

'Yeah, that's the best part' said Daya looking at Shreya.

'I am going back to India with him. He will have to go back. He has work there' said Shreya.

'Can't both of you just stay here? It will be fun' said Bonnie.

'Yeah' agreed Anisha.

'I would love to but I can't. But we promise we will come to meet you. Even you can' said Daya.

'I am going to miss both of you so much. I don't know what I would have done without you. Maybe I wouldn't have got Daya back' said Shreya hugging Bonnie and Anisha tearfully.

'Oh, we will miss you too.' said Bonnie.

'And there is nothing to thank us for. That's what friends are for right? We were in this together and no doubt it was scary but I throughly enjoyed this' said Anisha.

'Yeah, feels like watching some movie right?' said Bonnie.

'No really even I want to thank you for all the things you have done' said Daya.

'Can we please stop all this formality? Give me a break and some food please!' said Anisha irritably and everyone laughed.

They ate pizza and laughed and talked till wee hours in the morning.

A week later -

Bonnie and Anisha had come to see off Daya and Shreya at the airport.

'Do call me and stay in touch' said Bonnie.

'Yeah and do pick up my calls. Bonnie buries her head in some science book and I have no one who would listen to my dating adventures' said Anisha.

Shreya laughed. 'Sure' she said.

'By the way, what are you going to tell your colleagues? I mean they would be surprised wouldn't they if you pop up in the office one day back from your grave?' asked Bonnie.

'Yeah I have thought about that. I am going to tell them that I survived miraculously and since then I've been lying low to catch my killer' said Daya smiling.

'Good point' said Anisha.

Finally it was time for them to leave. With final hugs and tearful goodbyes Daya and Shreya walked away.

As their flight took off, Shreya snuggled towards Daya.

'We made it. It's unbelievable but true.' she said.

'Yes and I am happy to be with you. I love you Shreya. And I will never let you go away from me.' said Daya.

'I love you too' she said.

*** THE END ***