What If?

Every person wishes a break from their tiring life so that they can go on a vacation, travel and can spend time with their loved ones and may add a new chapter in their book of life.

With the same hope of spending a fine vacation, newlywed Mr and Mrs Ramsey had finally arrived at the place they always dreamt of.

But their excitement didn’t last long as the things didn’t go well as they planned. They got off the train station quite late and as the night was getting darker every second, not a single taxi driver was willing to drive them after dark to their hotel, The Fort Palace.

Mr And Mrs Ramsey got to know from one of the taxi drivers that everyone is afraid to drive after the dark, as there is a loose killer driver who preys on his passengers.

Some says that it is the driver and his partner in crime who impersonate as a passenger, but in reality, nobody knows. Except for those victims, as they are the only people who know about their identities but they die soon after that.

So to stay out of suspect and keep their profession as a driver, everyone has decided not to drive after dark. The driver also insists the couple to stay at the station until the next morning, for their own safety.

But Mr Ramsey neglects this warning, as he is a man who thinks himself of being a fearless man who can handle worse situations and itsy-bitsy criminals like this. So the loose killer has got nothing against him.

Soon it got dark and the town is known for its sudden weather changes. Then the situation could get worse for Mr and Mrs Ramsey. So, they can’t take the risk to wait until the dawn and started looking for help.

Finally, the Ramsey’s came to encounter with a fine beautiful lady named Miss Martha. She was kind and in fact also been staying at the same hotel, ‘The Fort Palace’ and was willing to help them by sharing her ride.

Miss Martha was quite young, beautiful and had a charismatic nature. Finally, at the darkness covered the sky, they all got on a taxi. Everyone was quite a stranger to each other.

During their journey, Miss Martha said that she often travels this route for her business and describes how the streets that were once alive with people are now empty and dark. The houses, businesses, the schools and the hospitals had disappeared, flattened, scattered throughout the landscape by the time. But she didn’t at all specify the nature of her business.

The weather started changing and it was the darkest night that anyone had seen and it seemed that they were driving to nowhere but towards an endless dark horizon.

Out of curiosity, Mr Ramsey finally asked Miss Martha that if she knows anything about those killers that he had heard about in the taxi stand. With a smirk, Miss Martha replied, that everyone in this town were very well aware of them and their contribution to this society and how they’re doing their job by killing those who do not deserve to be alive.

She also tells that they are not actually killers and calls them ‘Folk Heroes’.

She explained about their unique killing methods as one of them distracts and the other thumbs the target and also remarked that they even enjoy watching their prey die, especially the expression in the eyes as they ‘Negotiate the passage’ And ‘try to make sense of it’.

She also tells that they are partners for life and one can’t be complete without the another. It’s a match made in heaven and their bond cannot be broken or shattered by anyone.

They are so madly in love, that they are ready to give up their lives for each other but if needed they can also take the lives of others for each other sake.

The Ramsey’s became unsettled by this when they understand that one of the killers is a woman. And asked how can a woman be a vicious killer? Miss Martha replied with a smile, ‘Why not?’

Now the environment inside the taxi start changing as Mr And Mrs Ramsey were visibly unsettled by this and called the driver to stop the taxi.

But the driver didn’t halt. This made Mr Ramsey more furious and angry, so he started yelling at the driver but he still ignored and kept driving.

Miss Martha explained that this is the company’s policy not to stop for any reason during the journey just for the safety of their passengers.

Now, Mr And Mrs Ramsay became captivated by fear. They became frightened and were suffering more from their collective imagination than from the reality.

In that particular moment, many things arose in their minds like whether they had committed the grave mistake by joining on this ride by ignoring one of the driver’s warning and whether Miss Martha and his driver were those killers? What would be the next scenario in their journey to the Fort Palace?

The fear had left no choice for Ramseys except to just get along with their fate as they couldn’t embark on their own journey against the forces of nature.

They are thinking of security instead of opportunity and seem to be more afraid of life than death. Now Mr and Mrs Ramsey taking every breath as their last and living every moment as the final moment.

Fear and suspicion had made their mind narrow as they are afraid not to see the tomorrow’s and forgot what they had seen yesterday.

Still, Mr.Ramsey didn’t want to believe that a beautiful woman like Miss Martha can also be a killer.

Now, they can already see the silence and the sinister smile on the driver and Miss Martha’s face as they finally arrived at the dark and foreboding hotel where they would be staying. Which the Ramseys were not quite sure of.

They remained in the taxi while Miss Martha with her briefcase entered into the hotel. They then slowly dismounted and the taxi departed without any luggage being unloaded. Then Mr And Mrs Ramsey warily made their own way through the hotel’s front door with the only thought in their mind.

‘What if Miss Martha is actually a killer!’

Sidharth Mahapatra

Sidharth is currently pursuing his B.Tech degree in engineering. He likes to watch movies, read novels and loved to travel because travelling gives him a story to tell.