When A Man Wants - Episode 1

The lightening split the sky, followed by the rumbling of a distant thunder. For a second, the shudder ran down through his spine and he held his art work even tighter.

He looked at the empty bottle of whisky in front of him, he had almost drained the bottle in how many minutes….hours?

He sighed and stood up. He had wasted so much time here, Perhaps, Mr. Lyon wasn’t coming again. He had been sitting down for more than five hours. It would be best if he just tells the secretary or the butler of this creepy place that he wanted to leave. It was getting dark fast, he could tell by his watch.

Who even does business in a building located in the middle of nowhere anyway?

Taking his artwork with him, he carried his suitcase and went to the telephone…he was about to ring the telephone when it rang. The shrill sound first of all came to him by surprise and he hesitated, but then he summoned courage and picked it.

“Hello Mr Fred.”

It was the voice of the secretary.

“Yes, I am here…I was just about…”

“Please do not attempt to leave the premises, Mr. Lyon is already here.” Then the line went dead.

He looked at the machine again and then put back the telephone. This was just insane, she had spoken to him just like ….as if…she was recorded….like an automated machine

When he had come into the building, he had thought he made a mistake

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. The building was all white and whitely furnished. There were beautiful works of arts everywhere but no soul in sight. There was no receptionist, even the gate had opened by itself.

His brain had sent him a red flag but he was just about to make the biggest deal of his life, not only for him but for  Anika, his beautiful  fiancé who was just about to put to bed.  The deal would help a lot in making their dreams come true, get married and get a house by the lake and raise their family.

Just as he was thinking that, the door he had opened ,slammed by itself and the telephone he hadn’t even spotted earlier began to ring.

The lady had spoken to him warmly at first. Told him to kindly take the elevator to the third floor, go to the first room by his left and wait for Mr. Lyon.

Then he had done so and met the bottle of whisky and a cup, he was getting so bored of sitting down alone for a long time so he just opened the bottle and began to watch the display of CNN on the big screen.

Hours had gone and he was still here…but thankfully, the creepy female voice had said Lyon was around so he just needed to wait a little more. Gingerly, he put down the art work and sat down again…

“Oh dear Freddie, I am so sorry I kept you waiting….”

He heaved a great sigh of relief as he heard the voice and he stood up and turned to shake the hands of his ‘benefactor’.

“I was about losing hope, thought you wouldn’t come around anymore…”

The man chuckled and shook his hands warmly. “I apologise for the delay . I had so many things to run at the same time. If only there were more of me.” He joked and they both laughed. “I can see you have made yourself comfortable while I was away.” HE said, gesturing to the bottle on the table.

“Oh..I..I..I assumed it was for me…” Freddie stammered. He was a stammerer.

“Oh! But of course! Who else ?” The man said with a short laughter. “So now to business…”

They discussed for a while but Freddie stood up, he seemed completely disappointed. This was the man that had promised to show case his work for him at the biggest art gallery event of the year to boost his career and now he was asking him to sell it to him.

This was a man that had made a name for himself in the industry and he just wanted to use his fortune his dream for his own selfishness. Human beings could be so cruel, to have waited for him all these while!

Freddie stood up. He was too angry and too disappointed he could not say anything….if he tries to, he knew he would just stammer more….so he took his artwork. He was not going to sell his life work to someone….he would not be like Esau….

“Think very well before you leave this place Freddie. Whatever happens to you afterwards….is definitely your own doing….”

Freddie glanced back at him…did he just threaten him? He wanted to reply but he couldn’t . His tongue was still tied…and stammering in front  of this evil man was a waste of time. He would go home to Anika and pour out his mind to her! Rich men are just so cruel!

The door slammed by itself as he abandoned the room, startling him but he could care less as he headed towards the elevator…just as he got inside, his phone rang. It was his mother.

“My son! Where are you?”

“Mother! i..i….am..m….coming home! These people….are…are…s.s.s.s..sssooo…..wickkeddddd! Tell,,,Anika,,,th..th..th..at…I’m….c.c.c.c.c.c.om…mmmming!”

The mother could sense the panic in his voice.

“My son, what happened?”

He was close to tears now…that usually happens when he feels frustrated.

“Come home soon dear, your wife just gave birth to a baby….”

His eyes lit up immediately but the call ended just like that.

“Hello….mama…”He stared at the phone but was surprised how network just disappeared all of a sudden.

“This is so strange!”  He thought to himself but he was excited deep down, he had to get home fast!

The elevator bell dinged and he stepped out, as he headed for the staircase that led to the entrance, he realized he was on the second floor instead. He stopped. Had he pressed the wrong button?

He shrugged. He headed back for the elevator and the lights suddenly went out, startling him into a sudden darkness that he dropped the phone in his hand. The phone landed on the floor, making a clattering noise.

He took a deep breath and slowly wiped the hot moisture on his forehead away with the back of his hand.

A fuse must have blown!

He wouldn’t wait till they fix it, he had a feeling he needed to get out from this place as fast as he could.

Then he bent down and groped for his android phone in the darkness.

Read " Returned " by the same author ( Tobi Loba )

. His hand finally touched a solid substance which he recognized as the battery. He held firmly on to it and stretched his hands, groping for more and he finally got the phone and the back cover.

Thank God!

He attached the bits together and put on the phone which gave a faint glow. Thus he began to find his way towards the staircase.

He found the staircase and was beginning to climb down slowly when he heard the noise of a door stealthily opened somewhere close to him. He stopped and listened.

Silence!

Creepy chills crawled down the backs of his legs as he kept on walking and finally got to the landing. The entrance was just few feet away. He doubled his speed and turned the door knob, it was locked, just as he had thought. While he pulled the door, he heard movements behind him, he flashed the light from his phone but he could see nothing.

This was becoming a nightmare and he held his artwork closer to his chest. Just then the phone in his hand gave a warning of low battery…

He spotted a sharp movement in the darkness and the air at the back of his neck stood up!  He strained his ears, flashing his phone light and peering into the darkness…”Mr Freddie..is that you?”

The silence that greeted him sent a cold chill down his spine and he swallowed.

He could sense danger and he knew he had just made the greatest mistake of his life by coming here…Anika had warned him…

“Ppp…ll,,lease I needdd…dd..he..he.. help with the door and the light…” He managed to say.

Nothing…everywhere was dead silent.

The next thing he heard was a car being driven away outside followed by a loud gunshot

He groaned as  something sharp and hot pierced through him and he staggered, dropping his phone and his artwork.

Slowly he slumped to the ground, that was when he noticed that his cloth was getting soaked. He touched his chest…it was wet and he licked the moisture …he tasted blood…his own blood.

His phone started ringing again…it was a pop-up whatsapp message, he could see it from where it lay sideway few feet away from him.

An image popped up on the screen, Anika was holding layers of wrapped cloths.…inbetween the cloths, he could see tiny eyes and  tiny nose of a tiny white baby….so beautiful and so tiny was the baby….he felt tears gathering in the corners of his eyes as he lay unable to move on the ground. The image came  with the caption“Nice to meet you Daddy.”

He smiled painfully as he stared at his wife and son while his life drifted slowly  away from him…

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