The Missed Lane

“Hey Reyansh, going home early today,” said Tedd with a sarcastic smile at 8:00 pm.

The office being almost empty, wherein the coffee machines had also stopped buzzing. Some of the lights were already switched off and the peons were impatiently waiting for the last few members to leave the office and call it a day.

“Yes boss, thought of taking a half-day today,” said Reyansh with equal humour.

In the chilli winters of London, January has a different story to tell altogether. All Reyansh wanted at this point of time, was his warm bed in his cosy apartment, with a hot bowl of soup and chicken momos by his bedside, watching the thriller web series which he had left mid-way yesterday.

He had already ordered the soup and his favourite chicken momos. They were on their way to delivery. Everything was well-planned, nothing to go wrong.  

“Aa ha, I thought I could give you the pleasure, to drop me home, you see my car is in the garage”, said Tedd looking at Reyansh dead in the eyes daring him to say no.

“Actually, I was…………………” words stuck in Reyansh’s mouth, even though every inch of his body screamed for him to deny.

It would take another one hour to be back home and start with the cosy plan of his. Tedd lived in the outskirts of the city.

Before Reyansh could muster up the courage to refuse or find out a plan B, he was already driving towards Tedd’s house.

The grumpiness was visible on his face, but did his boss care anyway? With eerie silence, the drive was getting unbearable when the car came to a halt behind a lane of cars….. Damn! Traffic Jam!

“I know a short cut”, said Tedd. Just follow my directions and they turned to a godforsaken lane.

After 30 mins

They were still driving, wherein the night was getting darker and the roads were getting longer.

“For Heaven’s sake, you mind taking out your phone, for the assistance of google maps,” said Reyansh with all his patience evaporating in thin air.

This was the perfect opportunity and the perfect reason for burying his boss alive.

“OHHH… my soup might have already gone cold”, thought Reyansh.  

“My phone is out of battery; you mind if I borrow yours?” said Tedd not missing out on the impatience on Reyansh’s face.

That’s the time, Reyansh realised that he had left his phone on his office desk in a hurry.

“Shittt…. “ said Reyansh almost crying.

With not even a single person to be seen in the furthest corner, the cold becoming colder, the dark becoming darker, and the suffocation of his Boss’s presence was taking a toll on Reyansh.

After driving for almost 2 hours, he knew for sure, this was going to be a long night, in the company of the man whom he could not stand.

“There is a Winter Cabin, on the right. We could spend the night there” said Tedd unexpectedly.

Looking towards the source of direction, it seemed the best plan as of now. Parking his car to the side, both entered the deserted Cabin, to get some help.

Looking around there was nothing- no electricity, no phone, no internet, no furniture and most importantly- No people. Suddenly the car felt a more comfortable option.

Or, killing Tedd seemed an even better option. At least that would relax Reyansh’s throbbing blood pressure, which was on the rise.

“Finally, we found a place to spend the night,” said Tedd humorously, trying to sound a bit positive.

“We are in this shit because of you” screamed Reyansh. With all the patience gone and with no intentions of being polite for no reasons, his boss definitely deserved his piece of mind. "If you cannot remember lanes, then why do you need to act smart?”

“Hold it Reyansh, I hope you remember you are talking to your boss”, said Tedd.

“Of course, I know I am talking to my Boss. Not only lanes, you are good for nothing. You are lucky to have staff work for you. Had it been you, running the office on your own, you would have been bankrupt by now” blurted out Reyansh all frustrated. The chill of the night was boring holes into his skin.

He was not sure, whether they will make it till the morning or not. At least he could tell his boss how much he hated him.

“Oh really, I’ll remember that Reyansh. Now hope that you do not get through this night. Or else things will be difficult for you in the approaching days” said Tedd coming dangerously close to Reyansh.

Reyansh pushed him back with all his force. “I am not scared of you any longer, and I am sure either this chilling night is going to kill me, or the suffocation of your presence. That is how toxic you are”, said Reyansh with equal vigour.

“Aa ha, why not I make your fear come to life right this instant, and I kill you with my bare hands?” said Tedd, emphasising on each word.

With that, they both stared at each other for some time.

“Let’s get a hold of ourselves. Its high time we realize that its only the two of us here. Don’t you think it will be easier to pass through the night if we act more civilized with each other?” said Tedd breaking the eye contact and trying to sound reasonable.

Reyansh said nothing. He just lowered his gaze. He knew what Tedd was saying, was indeed right.

With nothing else to do,, they sat down on the cold ground staring at nothing.

The silence was deafening. The shrilling sound of the wind blowing and hitting their ski was painful. The moon had hidden behind the clouds, hence with no light, they could not even see each other’s faces clearly.

It was creepy and dreadful, to say the least.

For the first time in life, both knew that they needed each other’s support to survive and the unexpected happened. They held each other’s hands, the only assurance, both felt at that point of time, was that they had each other.

A guarantee, that they were not alone.

Only then, Reyansh heard a scream. A scream, so chilling that it sent shivers down his spine. He looked up at Tedd and then turned towards the direction of the source where Tedd’s eyes were glued.

There stood a white coloured statue in mid-air, clearly visible in the dark night, with no hands and no legs, only a face and his mid-body, smiling widely at him.

Thereafter, Complete Black Out.

Next-Day Newspaper Headlines- Two dead bodies found in the Outskirts of London.

ALERT: Never go to a lane you are not sure of, especially at night. You never know how Chilli the winter might get.