THE WRONG ROUTE

24th JUL, 2016; 6.01 P.M.

Aman was late, and he knew it. He had wasted a lot of time talking to his friend. So Aman drove to the closest bakery to buy the cake he promised Dhruv. He bought a chocolate fudge cake; it was Dhruv's favorite. Aman was elated about his promotion, he wanted to celebrate it with his family. He was smiling while on his way out of the bakery. As he stepped out, he checked his phone and discovered ten missed calls from Ashwini, and the fear set in! He knew Ashwini was going to wreak havoc on him. But he also understood, she won't go too harsh in front of Dhruv as she might be on call. So he decided not to call back and directly face Ashwini when he arrives home. He sat inside his car and started to drive towards his house. He had the radio turned on, he was grooving to the evergreen Hindi classics. All he was expecting was a small celebration with his family, few laughs, lots of food, and a little scolding from Ashwini. He was late, so he decided to take the shortcut, probably the worst decision of his life!

The road he took was usually empty. There were potholes and dried-out trees along the sidelines, already making it a dangerous road to ride with the danger of trees falling anytime, which never really happened. As it used to be mostly empty, people often over- speeded, and the potholes just added more to the roller coaster ride! Accidents there were pretty often, as people become careless on the way as they get to run their beasts in full power.

Today that person was Vikram Rathod. Vikram was driving Raj's father's car. Raj sat on the side seat, and Yash and Shreyash were sitting in the back. Vikram had brought his stash of coke (Cocaine) with him; he had it on the dashboard. While boys were busy smoking weed, Vikram only used cocaine to get high. He was steering the car and also continuously taking drags in regular intervals of time. The way he drove was reckless, and others in the backseat were as if kids on a trampoline, but no one complained as no one was really in their complete senses to explain to Vikram how dangerous it was! The outcome was what could have been anticipated!

Aman was coming from the other side when Vikram was coming his way, Vikram was already over-speeding, and Aman was grooving on his songs, but he was still aware of his driving. Aman had already noticed a car coming his way, and it was coming too fast. So, he went from 100 to 60 km/h, and Vikram from the other side was increasing the speed with every drag he was taking. As Aman's car was just a few feet away from Vikram's car, Vikram moved his head towards the dashboard to take his

final line of cocaine. And that is when it happened, his hands slipped, and his car got into Aman's lane. Aman's car might have been just 5 feet away when it happened. He steered his car off the road. And in a panic, rather than pressing brakes, Aman pressed the accelerator. The car went from 60 to something 90 in those few seconds. By the time he pressed the brake, it was already late. During the collision, the pole was completely smashed from the lower end, and it fell on Aman's vehicle, squashing it and squeezing him inside. The crash gave out such a loud bang that it even shocked the senseless Vikram to the point that he stopped the car. There were few minutes of utter silence in the environment, and the boys who were high as hell were somehow in their senses suddenly. All of them were trying to understand what just happened. Vikram was shaking, sweating, and shivering, he used the rearview mirror to take a look at Aman's car, and the wreck was nothing less than horror. Yash was scared, and he said,

Yash: FUCK FUCK FUCK!!.. WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!!!

Raj (Nervously): Calm down! We need… to handle this with patience!

Yash: Fuck your patience! We can not stay here anymore! Vicky, take us away from here, start the car!.......... Are you fucking listening?! VIKRAM! FOR FUCK SAKE, TAKE US ALL OUT OF HERE!!

Yash was paranoid, and it was making everyone more and more angry and nervous. Vikram was still as a starfish, he was sweating continuously, and his hands were still shaking. As all of this was happening, Yash would not stop shouting and screaming. In the end, Shreyash lost his temper and slapped Yash!

Yash: What the…, I will kill you!

Shreyash: Kill me? That person out there, that is the one you should say that! Maybe rephrase it, I HAD KILLED YOU!

Raj: Stop talking shit bro! Who knows if that person is alive, and probably alright!

Shreyash: We need to check that car for that confirmation because if we agree to this asshole (Pointing at Yash), we will never know! Vikram, we need to check him!

Yash: YOU ALL GONE MAD OR WHAT?!!! What if he is alive? If he sees us, he might rat us out later!

Raj: Stop being a bitch and come with us!

Vikram stood mum in all this argument, he was still trying to process everything, but the cocaine in his blood was making it hard for him. Even after Yash's constant fight, Raj and Shreyash got out of the car and went to look at the person inside the vehicle. Shreyash grabbed Vikram by his arms and took him with them. Yash was already afraid and sitting alone in that car, which ultimately added up to the fear. And out of fear, he finally left the car and went with them. Raj upon looking at the vehicle said,

Raj: This thing is a mess! It is fucking squashed bro! I do not think that person is alive.

Shreyash: Shut the fuck up Raj! Let me check!...(Takes a close look) It is a guy! He isn't moving! He looks badly injured. There is a lot of blood bro, can't even tell from where exactly all of it is coming from!

Yash (Leans forward and takes a look): HE IS DEAD, HE IS DEAD, HE IS DEAD! LET US GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!

Vikram: He is not dead!

Raj: What?

Yash: Oh, you finally are talking now!

Vikram: Look at his chest, he is breathing. We need to do something!

Raj: Let's call an ambulance, or maybe we can take him to the hospital!