Shape of the Sun

The dark side that we never see

Content Warning: This passage contains explicit and disturbing content, including violence, abuse, and suicidal thoughts. Reader discretion is advised.

Gautam, or Skullbones like they liked to call him, was enraged the shit out of his mind. Did they really expect him to report this crap to the boss?!

He yelled louder into the phone.

"What the hell do you mean that she escaped?! You are fucking dead! Dead, do you hear me?! Dammit!"

He flung the phone after, sending it crashing into the wall. But that was not enough to quell his anger, fueled partly by fear. If the boss found out about this, who did they think would be the first to lose his life? It would be him, of course! And that would greatly satisfy all those bastards eyeing his position closest to the boss.

Shit. It was all going to shit!

Gautam couldn't keep it down in his fit. He grabbed the nearest chair and smashed it hard against the ground till it was in pieces, his appearance so ferocious that it invoked fear in all the men who were on their knees, some even pissing their pants.

But ah. It was a wrong move.

Just when he thought that he had vented enough of his anger already, the stench of urine that was slowly filling the warehouse sent him into another tizzy, his eyes that were looking at those men full of murderous intent like they were dead men walking. It was them that had put him in so much trouble! They were the assholes that couldn't even do their damn job properly and keep the fucking doors closed! Bunch of incompetent trash they were!

"Die for me!"  Gautam pulled out his gun and shot the man closest to him and he didn't stop until every other person there was dead, their bodies indiscriminately riddled with bullets. There were body parts blown to pieces, strewn all over the floor, and the strong smell of blood pervaded the atmosphere. It was such a disturbing sight for anyone who saw it and even Gautam wasn't totally left alone. There was blood splattered all over his face and clothes, but it was such a scene that was finally able to calm the fuse in his mind.

He was home, so it didn't really matter. Instead of bitching around here, it would be best for him to do some damage control that he hoped would be enough to assuage the boss when he finds out about this.

One look at his discarded phone with all its internal components showing, told Gautam that it couldn't be used. He strode over to one of the dead men's bodies and briskly searched his pockets only to find a passport photo and a phone. In the photo was a very pretty woman, likely the man's wife or sister, and the phone was one of those bulky, low-cost GSM phones that flooded the market.

It made him swear.

"Cheap bastard." He couldn't even buy something nice for himself with all his cuts of the money, and now he was dead. It was truly a low-life's existence. But his open distaste for the phone didn't stop him from switching it on and dialing a familiar number. As for the photo of the woman, he shoved it into his back pocket. Perhaps when this was all over, he could take some time out for some fun. It wasn't that hard to find a dead crony's address.

The person that he called picked up on the second ring. Gautam spoke into the phone immediately, any past trace of frivolity that was there before, gone. His voice was serious and straightforward, giving no room for negotiation.

"This is Skullbones. I have already dealt with these assholes. Kill the ones over there, and kill the customs and police personnel too. Don't leave anyone alive."

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Even though her feet stung, scraped and bloodied by direct contact with the stones on the road, she didn't dare to stop. Even though she was walking blindly as her eyes were still unaccustomed to nightly darkness, she didn't pause to ask for directions or even answer the well-meaning strangers who had stopped their cars to try and ask if all was well.

Her body was battered and her spirit, broken. Was there anything still well in this world?

Shweta was afraid that if she stopped moving, the ground beneath her feet might become her final resting place. The only peace she had was that she was finally away from those monsters. Even if took her days to get here, and all that she had eaten were the scraps and leftovers from the dustbins, Shweta still felt that it was better here than there where they were.

In that place, they had done unspeakable things to her, things that turned her life upside down and left her feeling so destroyed just by remembering them. The memories that flooded her mind constantly reminded her that now, she was worthless, a piece of trash that nobody wanted, at least not anymore, even if she had successfully escaped from them.

But it was okay. It was alright because there were no more sleepless nights wondering how she would die like some of the other girls that were in there with her. Shweta felt that it was merciful enough that she could choose her own death. She could depart from this wicked world.

By now, she had gotten to a temple overlooking the river, one of the only places around that was well-lit as people were still around for prayers. But she wasn't one of them. Shweta had stopped praying the night that those bastards had laid their hands on her.

All she wanted was peace in whatever afterlife was next. And as she thought so, her hands that were holding the guard rails loosened enough for her to jump over them and into the raging waters below, ignoring the cries of the people behind her begging her to please, please stop.

It was all a waste, so why bother crying? That was what one of those men had told her, a hand tearing her blouse, when she had begged him to please, please stop.