Page 238 - Literati Bytes

With that Sam went into the direction I had pointed to. A small rustle of
leaves followed his footsteps as he disappeared into the darkness. And then

there was only silence except for the occasional hooting of the owls. Sam was
taking a lot of time and so Amelia went behind him despite my disagreement.

So I was the only person left. I sat on a log of wood that was resting on
the ground. It was getting really chilly. So I pulled the sweater which I was

wearing, closer to my body as I started making patterns on the grounds. It
wasn’t until a long time that heard some footsteps coming towards me. My body
tensed. And I was contemplating whether or not to hide when I saw whose

footsteps they were. They were Amelia’s. She came up to me and pulled me
towards the direction she had come from without saying anything. I kept asking

her where she was taking me but I stopped immediately when I saw the sight in
front of me.

Sam was in front of us.in a dreadful state. He was dangling from the tree
with a rope tied to his neck. His limbs were suspending in air and his head hung
loosely. There were two words written on his chest. ’STRIKE TWO’

“Oh, my god, how did this happen. Not again. Who did this-“I stopped and looked
over at Amelia.

“No, I swear I didn’t do it. Youneed to believe me. I just passed this place and
saw this. I didn’t do anything.” Amelia defended herself, shaking her head
vigorously.

“I know.” “What do-?”

She was cut mid-sentence. The pointed end of a knife protruded out of

her back and her eyes widened as she gasped loudly. I pulled the knife out of
her stomach and she fell on ground.

“I know you didn’t kill Sam or Tobias because guess what? I did. You are STRIKE
THREE, Amelia.”

Apurva Padwal (IX)