Kill the Fury

Act 1 

 In a dimly lit room with little luminescence, the light beams on the table scattering across the two men seated opposite to each other. The man wearing a black shirt is shuddering with fear as his hands are tied to the chair from behind.

  ‘Garry. Stay calm. Okay?’ the man in the white sighed.

  ‘Who are you and what you gotta do with me?’ he asked quivering as his face began turning white. The man in the white realized Garry’s fear was swiftly catching up.

He slid back into his chair and subtly removed his frames placing them on the table. He’s clean-shaven, with his hair done intricately well enough to pass him as a white-collar employee.

  ‘That’s not a question I wanted to hear.’ He said.

  ‘Why am I here?’ he asked as his voice went dry.

  ‘You want some water?’ he asked. ‘Let me get it for you.’

He placed the bottle on the table. He bent forward and knuckled his fingers intertwining them.

  ‘But, if you could take a guess, why you are here.’ He pushed the bottle. ‘I’m gonna untie your hands, and you could have some water. Later, we can talk like adults. What say?’

  ‘I’m losing my consciousness. I’m low on sugar.’ The man in the white glared Garry’s eyes were on a constant roll and was losing vision.

  ‘I’ve got glucose tablets. Okay? Take a guess. Who might have a grudge on you? Who wants to hurt you? Who might that be?’ he asked as he slid back nonchalantly.

Garry’s shaking escalated and his sweat pores were way too active than a normal human being. He’d sensed that Garry’s gonna take his shot.

Wild shot.

  ‘Hunt?’ he sighed. His vision took a rapid toll on his body.

Hunt swiftly moved across the opposite chair and unfastened the rope, and slid him the tablets.

  ‘I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. Having an affair with your wife is unacceptable. I know it. I get that. Please forgive me.’ Garry was in total mayhem. ‘Please let me go. I’ll end this, forever. I’ll just be gone like I never existed.’

Hunt grinned from ear to ear and ran his hand through the necklines and rolled up his white sleeves.

  ‘I don’t wanna give you pain. Never. I never pained another soul. I’ve been bullied in my school often for being a nerd, people would always take a dig at my appearance and social awkwardness. Once, I took my friend’s blame upon myself and got rusticated from the college. But I’ve never hurt him. I never hurt others. I never will.’

  ‘I’m sorry for stepping into your life and affecting your marriage. I regret doing this, I’m gonna regret this for my entire life. If you – ’

  ‘Did she like it?’ Hunt asked imperturbably.

  ‘Pardon me?’

  ‘Did she like making love to you?’

  ‘Why are you –’

  ‘Answer the question.’ He stressed with his teeth, and his eyes were soaking with rage. His ocean of rage flooded throughout his persona.

  ‘I don’t –‘

  ‘Answer the fucking question.’ He bellowed his voice out resonating amidst the eerie silence. His nerves across his forehead. Swollen with rage.

  ‘Look man,’ Garry landed his hands over the table trying to persuade him. Hunt wasn’t a man of persuasion. Hunt blindly took the machete which was placed under him. Garry looked in horror as Hunt sliced his neck off with one clean blow.

  ‘I asked you a straightforward question, and you didn’t answer. I didn’t want to give you pain, but you called it upon.’ He looked into Garry’s dead eyes.

  ‘I never cause pain to others. The bullies in my school, I slit their throats. Just one stroke. There was no pain. My friend for whom I took the blame, the same thing. No pain. I’ve never given pain to another soul. Because I know how much it hurts. If you are wondering, why am I not in jail.’ He hushed. ‘They are still missing.’

He was ravished with delight. He tightened his hands over the machete and then…

Act 2

 Isabella’s sleep shattered with Hunt’s excruciating yelp. Hunt, seated on his bed and his body was sweating liberally. She lay her hand over his shoulder.

  ‘Hunt, it's okay. Just a nightmare.’ She said.

Isabella pulled her robe from the bedside and put it on.

  ‘Shall I get you some water?’ she asked. He subtly nodded. It was usual for her. His screams would often disturb her sleep. She got accustomed to it. She remembered the first time she met him at a pub. He was uber suave, clean-shaven and stunning. She’d seen him far across the counter and she made her first move. He was initially not great at starting conversations with strangers, but she’d made him familiar. He bought her a drink, she bought him a tequila shot. Isabella always liked innocent guys better than rugged ones. She thought they’d allot most of their time with her, taking care of her. Making love to her. But time’s changed. Time always changes something in a person. The man Isabella loved, he changed. Isabella had a vision. She’d dream of a family.

Kids.

Vacations.

Happiness.

There were none.

  ‘Here.’ She gave him a glass of water and sat beside him tucking her robe. ‘Is everything okay?’

  ‘Yeah. Just stressed.’ He said.

  ‘Hunt.’ She said and ran her fingers over his hair. ‘You got to take it easy. Remember what doctors said?’

  ‘Yeah, I know.’ He said.

  ‘Hunt.’ She said and touched his forehead as heat whiffed her palms. ‘You are burning up, honey.’

  ‘Nah. I’m good. It's just that bloody dream. I’m gonna be fine.’ He said.

She knew he wasn’t fine. The nightmares would be a recurrence every other week. He’d once told her about them. All she could surmise was fear. The fear of emptiness and loneliness. He’d suffered the loss of his parents in his childhood, and he’d never recover from that. She told him that everything would be alright. She gave him the sense of calmness that he’d never seen. Isabella gave him a new lease on life. She was a bright star in his gloomy universe. He’d say that they both were stars and they would make quite a few constellations. But there were none. They had tried most of the procedures in the medical field to no avail.

 She passed him the tablets from her drawer.

  ‘Here. Take them. I’d guess you have a meeting today?’ she asked.

  ‘I canceled it.’ He said.

He never canceled any meetings. Last year for her birthday, he stood her up as something important came up.

  ‘That’s new.’

  ‘Well, our anniversary is coming up. 5^th year. I promised you last year that I’d make up for it. And I will.’ He said.

 She smiled, as she remembered her birthday the previous year. The first time she’d met him. The first time she felt different. For the first time in a long time, she felt loved.

Garry.

Isabella received a call from Hunt after ordering her a wine that he’d not be making it. She hadn’t said anything, she just stared at the empty chalice. She felt empty. Garry came across her and filled the chalice. Filled her voidness.

  ‘Ma’am, enjoying the wine?’ he asked. She surreptitiously covered her wedding ring. Isabella didn’t know why she did that.

 ‘Yes.’ She nodded.

  ‘May I? he asked as he nudged the chair. Garry rolled his firm arms and buttoned his blazer taking his place.

  ‘Stood up?’

She nodded.

 ‘Can I trouble you with a question?’

She nodded.

 ‘Well, a man who can’t give his time to his girl. He simply doesn’t deserve her.’

 ‘That wasn’t a question.’ She said. ‘It was a statement.’

 ‘Well, it might be anything. But it’s obvious.’ He said.

She smiled.

They’d talk for 2 hours after that, and she finally made her move. Her thin lips scooting over his, he gently pushes his arms over her midriff taking her close to his chest. She stops.

 ‘No, I can’t do this.’ She said as she runs her hands into the locks of her thick black hair.

  ‘Isabella I know – ’

  ‘I’m married.’ And she flashed her ring.

 ‘I kinda noticed that.’

  ‘But you still kissed me?’

  ‘You made the move, I just concurred to it.’

Since then, their relation went many a place. She’d lie to Hunt about staying with her friends to hang out, but instead, she’d knock on Garry’s door.

  ‘Hey. I took off for the weekend. Maybe we could host a party?’ Hunt said sitting erect on his bed.

  ‘I’m…I’m not sure about it.’ She said.

  ‘C’mon it’s gonna be fun.’

  ‘I mean, we don’t have enough time to pool in the resources, the invites. It’s too much.’

 ‘We can do it. Today we’ll go shopping and plan everything over the day.’ He said.

 ‘Fine.’ She gives in. ‘But what about you? You okay? You were burning up awhile ago?’

He waves her off.

 ‘It’s fine.’ He moved towards her brushing his lips to her. ‘I love you.’ He said.

  ‘Love you too.’ She said. She just said. Those were just words and nothing else. Just a reflexive action.

He’d get ready in his casual attire, and they go out in his brand new Merc.

  ‘I’m so excited that we’re doing this.’ He said.

  ‘Yeah. Me too.’ She said plainly.

Right then, she received a call from Garry. She didn’t panic, as she got used to these kinds of situations.

  ‘Hey, Girl.’ She said.

That’s a code they’d created. If she starts a conversation with the word ‘Girl’, it meant Hunt’s near her.

  ‘Never mind. We should meet today. We should talk regarding it.’

  ‘Oh, babe. Okay. Will meet you at the café. Don’t worry it’s gonna be fine.’ She said

They halted at a traffic signal.

  ‘Who’s on the phone?’ he asked casually.

  ‘Olivia.’ She said. ‘She’s got a thing running, and asked me to meet her. It's not a big thing, not gonna take a long time.’

  ‘Oh, C’mon. Schedule that thing later. We got a lot of stuff to do.’ He said.

She sshhed.

  ‘It's just a small thing. I’ll meet her, talk to her and get over to the mall. Okay? I’ll be there in around 30min. By the time, you finish parking and get your stuff ready, I’ll be there.’ she said.

  ‘Fine.’ He said plainly.

She got down the car and crossed the road in her tight-fit jeans. She kept watching the car, as it zoomed past the signal. It was the first time, her heart was thumping with excruciating rhythm. She knew what he wanted to talk about. She gently grazed her tummy and eyed Garry.

Act 3

Garry sat in the corner of his café adjacent to the transparent window. He saw her as she got down the Merc and walked towards him. He saw her flowing hair, with the wind kissing her cheeks.

He reminisced the time when he first saw her sitting idly looking at the wine. He’d moved to her and fill the empty wine and would ask her if she needed any. But something happened when he’d seen her. He’d see her glowing brown eyes that rained with pain as he eyed her for the first time. Her high cheekbones supported with a slender white gown looked like an angel to him. That was the first time in a long time he’d liked a woman. He knew instantly that she was married, as he glanced at her wedding ring. He just wanted to have a friendly conversation with her, but something else was in store for him.

  He reminisced the first time she’d come up to his apartment lying to Hunt. They’d lie naked on the bed and laugh about the fantasies they have. They’d shower together as the water running along their bodies neutralizing their thirst. He reminisced the conversation they had the other week…

  ‘Hey, Garry.’ She said.

  ‘Hey.’ He replied.

He called the waiter and ordered a Decaf for her with one cube of sugar. He knew her preferences. He’d often say, ‘I could write a whole chapter of your food interests.’ He knew her inside out in less than 2 years than Hunt knew in 6 years.

  ‘I’d come straight to the point. We have to make it official. I’m gonna be a father, and you,’ he paused and caressed her cheeks, ‘are gonna be a mother. We’ve two choices. 1. We need to live together so that I can take care of you. 2. You need to live with me. ’

 She subtly smiled.

  ‘Garry – ‘

  ‘Bel, You know that he doesn’t care for you as I do. You know that he doesn’t love you as I do. Most importantly he doesn’t give you time as I do. I promise you this time would be different. Trust me.’

  ‘I can’t face him. I just can’t.’

  ‘He’ll know in a couple of months about everything. About the baby. He’s got to know. And I know that you don’t love him. You are at the point where everything’s just an obligation. Love is not an obligation, and it shouldn’t be. Just tell him and get it over with. If you want him to meet us, it’s fine. I have no problem with it.’

  ‘Garry, it's not that easy.’

He silently looked over as Decaf arrived over the table.

  ‘Do you love him?’ he asked.

He already knew the answer. She fell silent.

‘Let’s take a leap of faith. For us. For the baby. We’re gonna be great parents. We could marry, we could start a family. The perfect family. Babe, we’re in this together. You’re already 2 months in. We’ve got to do this now.’

  ‘Okay.’

  ‘Okay?’ he sighed. ‘Babe, you know how much this matters to us, right?’ as tears squeezed from the corner of his eyes. He knew she’d agree to his decision, he had arrangements for the baby beforehand and started reading books too.

Isabella decided to return home ditching Hunt altogether.

Garry went behind the café to return home too. He was relieved by the predicament. He had convinced Isabella. His excitement knew no bounds. He rolled his black sleeves as he held the door. Garry was brimming with joy, as a hand landed over his shoulder. He turned around to find a lanky man in a white shirt and BANG on his skull.

He was out of consciousness.

Final Act

Hunt knew everything. While he was dropping her at the café, he gently slipped in a recorder. His universe was engulfed in darkness as things began to unravel. The Hunt in the past had risen. The blood-thirsty Hunt had risen. His rage catapulted his deeds. And he just wanted one thing death.

Hunt lay beside Isabella, he gently kissed her but she doesn’t return it. The floor felt slimy as he took his first step. He mildly lifted Isabella’s lifeless body to stand up.

  ‘I asked you if you were having an affair? But you denied it. And you were fucking this guy and want to have a baby? You fucking kidding me?’ he yelled at her. ‘He wanted to end his affair after I threatened him and you had to pick that kind of a guy?’

  He picked up the landline and dialed to police.

‘Hello, my wife’s had an affair.’ He said.

  ‘So? Dude, this is an emergency line.’ The respondent said.

  ‘I killed them both.’ He said subtly and gave them the address.

He returned back to his bed and slid his wife’s body into his arms.

  ‘I’m gonna look after you, honey.’ He said ruffling her matte black bloody hair mildly. His eyes showcased no sense of remorse, but only pure rage and jealousy. No sense of love, but lusted with hatred. His vengeance subsided. He was at peace. There was no pain…he had killed the fury.