Hey folks, I’m Rupali your host and welcome
back to Crime Hack!
When Sandy was captured last time, he realized
that the gang leader is hell-bent on killing
him and his brother.
However, he manages to escape and also warns
Raj to stay away.
He also finds out that the gang is using a
cave somewhere, possibly as a hideout, and
also that they are clearing debris in the
tunnels to make an escape route.
The next evening, Raj is captured while Sandy
discovers the identity of a few gang-members.
Excited, he calls Raj, but the gang-leader
picks up the call and Sandy realizes that
Raj has been captured.
The gang leader forces him to talk to his
father about misleading a police taskforce.
His father, ACP Nayak, tells him that the
taskforce is working on the temple theft case,
but they don’t have enough evidence to hold
the goons for long.
They need more, but Raj may not have enough
time left to live.
So, Sandy calls his friends while the ACP
calls his men to organize a search party.
With enough instructions, the search party
fans out in the wilderness to find Raj and
a possible location of the cave.
And now...
Nayak Brothers And The
Mystery of the Catacombish Tunnels
By Rupali Rajopadhye Rotti
Part 49
After Sandy’s call was over, while the crooks
made themselves busy, Raj took the bearing
of his surroundings.
He found himself in a cave that had two narrow
openings — one at the top, through which
a rope ladder was dangling, and another at
the side, which was so small that anyone who
would see from outside wouldn’t realize
it was a cave.
Oh, so that’s why nobody knows about this
cave! and he wondered how the gang came to
know about it.
The wind passing through the cave was making
a continuous moaning sound.
There were six men in the cave: Tushar, Teja,
the boss, the security camera guy, the canteen
guy, whom Raj had suspected, and another one.
So, I was right after all!
The canteen guy IS involved with them.
Raj kept wondering what was going to happen
in two days’ time, and why he was being
kept alive.
After a while, four of the gang members started
to leave with two of them carrying the plastic
cans, and Raj wondered where they were going.
Now only the boss and Teja were left behind,
and Raj became nervous.
He was feeling very uncomfortable being left
alone with these two maniacs.
Suddenly Teja approached him and Raj stiffened.
What is he going to do now?
But Teja only checked his bonds and tried
to move him.
When he found that Raj couldn’t move an
inch, he looked satisfied and went away.
Raj breathed a sigh of relief.
Presently, the boss and Teja went off to sleep
and Raj relaxed.
He was feeling very tired and exhausted…
and weak.
He wanted to sleep, but his body was aching
everywhere and the pain didn’t let him doze
off.
He wondered what Sandy would be doing now
— would he be at home as instructed, or
would he be searching for him?
At a stretch, the four men returned with filled
cans of water and some food.
It smelled delicious when the packets were
opened and the crooks started to eat.
The men had brought Sorghum roti (Jowar Roti)
along with gram-flour (Besan) vegetable and
buttermilk to go along with it.
Raj wondered where these men had got all this
delicious food.
He was feeling hungry too, but the crooks
didn’t seem to notice him at all.
At first, he didn’t want to ask, but when
he saw all the food being consumed, he started
mumbling under the gag.
“What?” the boss asked between bites.
Raj looked on hungrily and he understood.
“You want something to eat?”
Raj nodded hesitantly.
Now Teja spoke up, “You don’t need any
nourishment, now that you’re going to die
soon.
Or should I say, eating is not going to save
you anymore!” and everybody laughed out
loud.
Raj started mumbling again and created a racket.
The boss became irritated.
“What now?”
He nodded to Teja who got up and approached
Raj.
Raj stiffened as he came close and removed
his gag.
But instead of speaking, he kept on watching
Teja nervously.
The boss stifled a smile and said, “Come
back Teja, he doesn’t wish to speak anymore.”
Raj got angry with himself.
Why are you getting so scared of him? he asked
himself.
Because Sandy had nightmares after just a
short spell with him, he answered his own
question in his mind.
What could he have done to him to give him
nightmares?
He only beat him up, didn’t he?
And he’d been beating me up ever since.
Was it so scary? he asked again, and then
answered: It was painful, yes, but scary?
No!
“WAIT!” he said aloud as Teja turned to
go.
“At least give me some water!
I’m thirsty.
I have trekked for so long, and I’m badly
hurt.
I actually need a doctor.
But all I’m asking for is just water.”
The boss became upset and asked seriously,
“Do you know how much my men have toiled
to lug the water up here?”
And Raj was rendered speechless.
He looked on disbelievingly at them, and put
up a mute protest: At least let me eat before
I die, you leeches!
These are the last two days of my LIFE.
I should actually be treated like a KING.
But before he could say anything, the gag
was replaced.
When the dinner was over, the boss, the canteen
guy, and the security camera guy got up to
leave, while Tushar, Teja, and another guy
stayed behind.
Raj’s temper flared when he saw the remaining
three go off to sleep peacefully.
But he was so tired now that neither the anger,
nor the pain, nor the hunger pangs, could
keep him awake any longer.
He was having a fitful sleep when suddenly
he felt someone touch him, and he woke with
a start.
He opened his eyes and saw Tushar holding
a Roti in his hand.
Tushar removed the gag from Raj’s mouth
and fed him the roti.
It was very dry and rough, but Raj ate hungrily.
“You want another one?
I’ve saved two for you…”
Tushar whispered, and Raj noticed that the
other two were fast asleep.
He asked, “You didn’t eat?”
Tushar smiled awkwardly and replied, “I
don’t eat much… well, the truth is…
I couldn’t eat while you were… you were
being starved.”
He looked on helplessly.
Raj didn’t know what to say.
“Well, you go ahead and eat it… and I’ll
just do away with water at present.”
Tushar rushed to get him a glass of water.
Noiselessly he picked up the steel glass,
poured some water from the plastic can and
brought it to Raj.
After a glass of water, Raj realized how thirsty
he actually was!
“Can I get another glass of water?
Please?”
Tushar fetched it again, and then asked, “Is
there anything else you want me to do?”
Raj hesitated, and then whispered back, “Actually…
I don’t want to trouble you anymore, but…
these ropes… they are very tight.
They are… actually cutting into my flesh
now.”
Tushar cast a glance at his bonds then tugged
at one loop of the rope.
As the rope detached itself from Raj’s flesh,
Raj grunted and Tushar could see a dark red
line where the rope had been.
Suddenly, to Raj’s horror, he saw Teja awaking
at the grunting sound and noticing Tushar
playing with Raj’s bonds!
“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?”
Teja came charging at Tushar and saw that
Raj’s gag had been removed as well.
Tushar was so frightened at the sudden loud
screaming that he dropped the glass he was
still holding, and it fell with a rattle on
the floor.
This made the other guy get up awkwardly from
his sleep; he came up as if jumping off a
spring.
Teja’s face had become distorted with rage.
“You FED him?”
He was now at Tushar’s throat, and Tushar
looked as if he was having a fit or something.
Raj shouted in Tushar’s defense, “Stop
it!
Let go of him!”
While Tushar retorted, “You couldn’t be
so inhuman to have beaten him insanely, and
not even give him water!”
“Oh, yeah?”
Teja asked angrily, “I’ll tell you what’s
inhuman.
You are my partner.
And here…” he shoved Tushar to the second
mouth of the cave.
“I’m pushing you off the cliff!”
So while Tushar struggled with all his might,
Raj fought furiously with his bonds to save
him, and the third crook simply stood watching
all of them, dumbfounded.
Before anyone could get a grip of the situation,
Raj witnessed Teja giving the final push,
Tushar flailing his hands in the air, and
then heard his blood-curdling shriek as he
fell to the ground far below, and then it
stopped abruptly.
“NO!!”
Raj screamed, terrified to the core.
Everything suddenly became silent.
Raj had gone completely numb; he was shaking
from head to toe.
He couldn’t believe that he’d just witnessed
a murder!
Of the very person who was just being nice
to him — FOR being nice to him!
“Oh God, he’s dead BECAUSE he tried to
help me.
He’s DEAD!
And I am responsible!
He’s DEAD!”
For a few moments, Raj had lost all his senses.
He couldn’t see or hear or feel anything;
only his brain repeated the words over and
over again: “He’s DEAD!
And I’m responsible!”
When his eyes focused again, Raj saw Teja
coming back into the cave, and he just lost
it.
Trying to jump out of his bonds, his eyes
blazing with sheer hatred, he screamed, “YOU
MURDERER!
You killed him!
You just took a LIFE!
What had he done to YOU?
ARGH!”
He struggled furiously with the ropes, which
didn’t seem to budge.
“Just release me and see what I do to you!”
Raj threatened, in spite of his predicament.
“Just shut it, okay?
He’s dead because of YOU!”
Teja spat back irritably.
“And if you don’t shut up right now, I’ll
kill you too!”
Raj was ready with an answer, “I swear to
God I’ll come back as a GHOST and make your
life a living HELL!
And, the lives of all those in your generations
to come!”
Raj wasn’t stopping.
“You won’t back down now, will you?”
Teja charged at him with a raised fist and
landed a hard right to Raj’s jaw.
Instantly, the splitting headache returned
with vengeance, and Raj howled in pain.
But he was still charged up and wanted to
say, “Is that all you got?” but he couldn’t
speak any further and started groaning loudly.
It was more like screaming though.
God only knew whether it was out of pain,
or sheer helpless rage.
Teja said those words instead.
“Is that all you got?” he challenged Raj.
“Just show me one single glimpse of your
steam, and I will do you!
Right here, right now!”
He looked at Raj sourly for a retort, but
none came.
So, he stuffed the gag back in his mouth.
“Don’t forget that you are still at our
mercy.”
Raj couldn’t sleep anymore.
Surprisingly, the remaining two crooks went
back to sleep as if nothing had happened!
Raj stood there, silently burning his insides,
thinking to himself.
Friends, we’ve started adding Hindi and
Marathi subtitles as well to this story!
We may be a bit slow because many episodes
have already been added, so please be patient
with us.
We know we’re also slow in publishing other
videos too, so sorry about that.
What can I say, I am feeling a bit shy to
come on camera, and I’m also learning video
editing skills so it doesn’t cost me a kidney
to run this channel.
That’s why any help on Patreon will be highly
appreciated!
I hope you are enjoying the story so far,
forget about my narration skills, I’m new
at that too!
But don’t worry I will soon become the Amitabh
Bachchan of story narration!
Till then, please bear with me.
We are also connecting with various experts
to bring them on to our channel so our lovely
audience could learn about real life threats
and learn how to keep themselves safe.
If you are an expert on crime, psychology,
life skills, threat identification and containment,
an NGO working for either criminals or victims,
or if you yourself were victimized and learned
and grew through the experience, then please
connect with us.
Until next time, keep safe, save others, raise
others out of darkness, Namashkar!
