Too Late For Atonement
Prologue
He watched the party going on inside the guest house in Lonavla. Trust his bladder to desert him at a time like this. He felt the warmth trickling down his pants. Thank goodness for the heavy rains, he thought. At least no one could tell that he had had an accident.
When there was going to be one in the next few hours, he grinned.
The sounds of the music were interspersed with sounds of laughter and regaling. He heard the rumbling deep in the pit of his stomach. The aroma of warm food wafting from inside didn’t help. He rubbed his hands slicked with car grease over his head, hoping, wishing for it to be over soon.
It was 3 in the morning when the music finally stopped. He heard the guest house door click open. He knew it would. He had been watching him for over six months. He knew that no matter what the hour, he would always leave for home. He felt his blood boil, at the sight of him.
He saw his nemesis get into his car. For a moment there, he was in a quandary. “Should I call this off? What the heck am I doing?” But one look at the man’s face in the rearview mirror of his car, and he felt the rage ripping through his veins again. You are going exactly where you belong, he thought to himself.
The car didn’t make much of a sound when he started its ignition. The headlight was switched off, as he began shadowing the man.
————————————————–
The party had been a good one, he thought. He felt he had had a little too much to drink though. Should he have stayed? Or should he have asked someone to drop him home?
Oh come on! A few harmless drinks won’t cause anyone any harm, I am still pretty much in control!
He had been driving only a couple of minutes when he saw the car tailing him. At first he thought it was of no significance. There were a few other cars on the Mumbai Pune Express Highway even at this hour. However he had an uneasy feeling that the driver was looking straight into his eyes.
Who is this guy? What does he want?
His chain of thoughts was broken as he saw another car right in front of him. He realized he had been speeding, and decided to slow down to see if the car behind him would go on ahead or slow down as well.
That’s when he realized what was wrong. He kept slamming on the brakes of his car, but it wouldn’t stop speeding. He swerved his car to the left to avoid hitting the car in front of him and just in time avoided the wall of the lit Madap tunnel. He was right, the car behind him was still tailing him. He saw the man inside flash a grin.
What the…!
______________________________
He saw that man struggling with his car right in front of him. He had narrowly missed hitting the car in front of him. By now his vehicle was out of control. It kept swerving from the right to the left and back, almost hitting the divider.
Damn this man is a great driver!
Is this even going to work?
He felt a moment of uncertainty. But his hopes soared again when he heard the tyres of the BMW screech as he tried to bring it back in control.
He knew the man was desperately trying to salvage the situation he was in. He tried switching off the ignition to get the car to stop. However, it was a little too late. They were already on the downward slope of the highway. He screeched his own car to a halt as he saw the scene unfold in front of his eyes.
It was almost like ballet, as he saw the car swivel to its side, just before it hit the divider, and did a pirouette as it crashed the wall on the side of the road and rolled over the side of the ghat.
There was a loud thud, and then everything went suddenly quiet.
He could feel his heartbeat in his mouth. The stench of his urine was overpowering. He felt the need to pee again. Beads of sweat sat uninvited on his forehead, as he used the back of his sleeve to wipe them off.
The deed was done. Strangely though, he didn’t feel elated, as he had hoped he would feel. He felt something else though. He felt the throbbing in between his legs. This was unexpected!
He saw the other car on the road stop at the site of the crash and a wiry man, get out of the car. From the looks of him, he seemed shaken up by the scene that had unfolded before his eyes just a few moments ago. He wasted no time, and took his cell phone from his car and dialed a number.
Better get out of here.
It took all his resolve to not speed away. He started his car and drove away casually. He knew he wouldn’t have to stick around.
This is going to be headlines tomorrow.
“Read the rest of the story here – Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3,Chapter 4 , Chapter 5, Chapter 6, Chapter 7, Chapter 8 and Chapter 9”
Mind Brew 
Pingback: Unexpected Celebration #GameofBlogs – Tale of Two Tomatoes
Good start Gauri. Will look forward for next installment.
All the best.
Pingback: The Pen Warriors – Chapter 2 – Tale of Two Tomatoes
Pingback: The Pen Warriors – Post 4 | Life's Many Whispers
Pingback: The PEN WARRIORS – Post 5 | The Contemplation of a JOKER
Pingback: The Pen Warriors – Post 6 | The Era I lived in
Pingback: The Pen Warriors – Post 7 | Expressions!
And here we start with a bang!!!!! Woohooo. Great one, Gauri! Loved the suspense.
Thanks Shalini 🙂
Pingback: The Pen Warriors – Post 9 | Mind Brew
Pingback: The PEN WARRIORS – Post 10 | The Contemplation of a JOKER
Pingback: The Pen Warriors – Post 11 | The Era I lived in
Pingback: Too Late For Atonement – Chapter – 12 | The Contemplation of a JOKER
Pingback: Too Late For Atonement – Chapter – 13 – Tale of Two Tomatoes
Pingback: The Pen Warriors – Post #15 | Expressions!
Pingback: Too Late For Atonement – Chapter 16 | Mind Brew
Pingback: The Pen Warriors – Post #19 | Expressions!
Pingback: The Pen Warriors – Post 20 | Life's Many Whispers