Terrible Dark
There is no way out
It is not often that terrorists attack in the state of Tamil Nadu. Unaware of what would happen next that night, the people in the locality of R.E. Nagar Extension, Chennai, were sleeping peacefully. The houses in the neighborhood were arranged side by side.
The place had usually been busy at night to some extent, though it was not like during the day. Some eateries and pharmacies were kept open 24/7 since the vicinity was the hub of IT companies. It was a semi-residential area that was occupied by some commercial buildings, where corporate offices, banks, malls, and small vendors were situated on both sides of the wide OMR. In between the shops, there had been many streets that led to some link streets with enormous civilians residing in that place.
In almost all parts of the city, there had been a heavy downpour for the past week. Therefore, the busy residential spot was abandoned, and hardly any people were seen traveling on the road during the day — even to buy some essential needs. The electricity had been on and off due to the incessant rain.
Most of the time, people remained at home, sustaining themselves with the food that they had stored. Some of the residents in the R.E. Nagar Extension were enjoying the rain and getting the chance to spend time with their families. Some were fretting over the hardships in their lives.
Every house in the neighborhood was calm and immersed in the dark, as there had been no electricity. The clock was about to reach midnight and, at that very moment, Gowtam was about to go to sleep after the small chitchat with his family.
He heard the sound of someone knocking at the door. He was profusely confused, as he didn’t expect any relatives at that time. He wished to check outside, but he didn’t want to open the door. He surreptitiously opened the window and looked around through the small opening. To his dismay, he witnessed more than twenty men; one or two of them were standing in front of each house. They didn’t seem to be in Indian Army outfits. Gowtam panicked and couldn’t count the exact number of terrorists. Each of them was holding arms and carrying a backpack, which might contain ammunition and other weapons that were needed for the attack.
Two were knocking on the door of his neighbor. The civilian opened the door and, before he could recognize what was happening outside, he was shot dead. Everyone in the family screamed at the shot and sought a way to escape. Unfortunately, the other man who was standing outside his house left no one. Everybody in the family was shot mercilessly. On hearing the bullet sound, people in the other houses shuddered and tried calling the police for help. Terrorists kept knocking on the doors, and whoever opened them was relentlessly shot. A few encroached on the other houses and attacked the people. People were shot on one side, and the terrorists dragged the dead bodies and deposited them into the container truck on the other side.
Gowtam was looking at the horrifying scene in the dim moonlight, though it was not clear in the heavy rain. Suddenly, the lightning appeared with loud thunder and stayed for a while. From the little he was able to see, the container full of dead bodies—one of which was his friends who was resided on the next street—was lying lifelessly. He collapsed on the ground and was terrified to see his friend. His face was gloomy with sweat.
Gowtam was clueless and wanted to save his family from the terrorists’ attack. The children were trembling and crying in fear. His wife, Pavithra, was almost on the verge of tears, and she didn’t want to show her trembling in front of the kids. She made sure all the windows were closed, and Gowtam latched the doors of all the sides of the house. Both of them tried to move the furniture and arrange them one above the other inside the door without making noise. The couple made the children hide.
The area was dark, and they also had the habit of locking the safety gate from outside, even when they were in the house. This made the terrorists’ pay less attention to his house. However, one of them was approaching to attack, as this was the only house left in the street. He fired at the door. The children screamed and came out of the places where they were hiding. The terrorist stretched his hand and pointed the gun at Gowtam.
Sweating profusely, Gowtam cried and woke up from his sleep. He came back to his senses and let out a huge sigh of relief after the terrifying nightmare. He went to the kitchen to get some water for his dry throat. Right at that moment, he heard the sound of someone knocking on the door. He turned toward the door and attempted to hear the sound properly. Gradually, the sound increased, along with the voice of the milkman. It was 5 o’clock in the morning.
