With a few changes to the original i'm reposting this story.
He woke up to the acrid smell of human urine in a dark alley and found himself lying in a pool of blood. Examining himself frantically for any wounds, his eyes locked gaze with a blank stare. He couldn't peel his eyes off the lifeless form that was twisted awkwardly, suggesting the man had fought pain. His blood staining the ground crimson was evidence enough and the iron rod still planted in the left side of his chest explained the predicament. The sight of blood made him queasy. How long had he been out? He took another look at the dead man and almost broke into a sprint. He ran out of the alley, stumbled over a trash can spilling garbage, turned around a bend and disappeared into the dead of the night.
He woke up to the acrid smell of human urine in a dark alley and found himself lying in a pool of blood. Examining himself frantically for any wounds, his eyes locked gaze with a blank stare. He couldn't peel his eyes off the lifeless form that was twisted awkwardly, suggesting the man had fought pain. His blood staining the ground crimson was evidence enough and the iron rod still planted in the left side of his chest explained the predicament. The sight of blood made him queasy. How long had he been out? He took another look at the dead man and almost broke into a sprint. He ran out of the alley, stumbled over a trash can spilling garbage, turned around a bend and disappeared into the dead of the night.
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Two murders in 48 hrs and the police department was in a tizzy. Their office a mayhem, the killer at large and the press ready to tear them to pieces.
"Forensics team find anything?" the inspector inquired.
"No sir. They still don't have a lead in the case. Multiple fingerprints were found at the site of crime. Might take a while before they identify all of them." The inspector was still looking at the sergeant, his eyes boring into him.
"No witnesses either sir but the victims' family members are being interrogated", sergeant cleared his throat.The look on the inspector's face said he wasn't very pleased with the sergeant's answer. "The killings had no similarity to them. The weapon of choice seemed to be altering with each kill", the sergeant continued.
Two prominent scientists had been mercilessly put to death by some psychopath. A sergeant entered the office hurriedly. The news was disturbing.
"Another man was found dead in an alley, an iron rod stuck in his chest."
Three unexplained murders under mysterious circumstances in 48 hrs. One victim was found strangulated with the seat belt in his car, the other found with a knife sticking in his throat. It didn't make sense. Someone was clearly non appreciative of brainiacs.
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Amit sat wheezing in his car. He had called Madhukar to warn him. They wanted to talk in a safe place where no one could possibly hear them. Siddarth and Manu were already dead. Madhukar, as terrified as him, wanted to take a flight out of Delhi the next day. He thought someone was after them. But for what reasons? Never on earth could he have imagined it would be the last time he would see Madhukar and never be able to remember him alive. The iron rod had just fallen from a balcony with a broken railing. The memory of Madhukar's horrified look and his quivering body collapsing to the ground was etched on his memory. He had passed out after that, he guessed.
He drove the car with trembling hands, expecting death at every bend. He drove home, still alive and just wanted to get rid of his blood soaked clothes. It was already dawn. He had just the time to change into a fresh set of clothes and head to the hospital where the girl was admitted. He had to set things straight.
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It was she who had approached Amit right after he had had a stand off with Madhukar over the research that they were about to work at. He was eager to kickstart whereas Amit thought it was tad to early to test a drug on a human. Evasdropping was something for which Amit would have never entertained her but she insisted it was inadvertent or so it seemed. The assignment papers in her hand were perfect alibi for her being outside his cabin.
"Are you absolutely sure about this Tanya?" Amit had concern in his eyes. Tanya wasn't the perfect candidate he had in mind. She was more of a compulsion now as opposed to being an option now that she had knowledge about their experiment.
"Oh, I would be honored to be a part of this research as a volunteer. I love adventures. Plus a little money in my pocket isn't such a bad idea afterall." she beamed."So when do we start? I'm so thrilled!"
"I might as well inform you that this research program is in its initial stages and you'll be fully responsible for what ever happens to you during this research. You might have to sign a few papers before the experiment" Amit was a bit uneasy saying this. The girl had no idea what she was getting into but he had no choice either.
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Siddarth, Manu, Madhukar and Amit worked at a research lab and were working on neuroscience and chemical engineering. They wanted to test the efficiency of a chemical, Manu had chanced upon while researching and monitor its effects on the human brain. The unnamed chemical induced out of body experience in which a person who is awake sees his or her own body from a location outside the physical body. OBEs have been reported in clinical conditions where brain function is compromised, such as stroke, epilepsy and drug abuse. They had also been reported in association with traumatic experiences such as car accidents.
They hoped to make a breakthrough with this reasearch in international markets with the chemical being a potent drug which could be uesd as per the need of the client. There was no telling what all was possible with the drug being able to project a person's image where he/she couldn't be present physically. It was a clandestein affair. Everyone involved was sworn to secrecy.
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The only point that Amit had and everyone was too eager to ignore was that they still didn't know if they could bring the person back from his out-of-body experience. Whether the effect of the drug was temporary or lasting. But they needed someone to find that out right? With a candidate in tow, Madhukar was impatient as ever.
"Madhukar, I asked you not to tamper with the preconditions. This is a human for God's sake." Siddarth was fuming.
"BP is going down. Heart beat down to 12 per minute. Amit we're losing her. What are you waiting for? Give her the adrenaline shot dammit!" Manu was frantic. The experiment had gone awry.
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Walking past the hospital's garden, he thought he saw something. How can that be? She was in coma. He was seeing things now.
"Amit where have you been?" His thoughts evaporated with the sudden disturbance. "I am sorry there's bad news. The girl suffering heart attack died this morning. Her condition was critical past two days. We tried to contact you." Shalini was saying something but it seemed distant.
"Amit....?"
"You seem a little disturbed. Excuse me for a moment I'll just be back." Shalini left him in her office.
It made no sense. He got up and turned to go to the garden and there she was. Right behind him. Tanya......smiling. It was then he realised he had been jabbed. He could feel the rush. It was adrenalin.
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