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Book Review – by Tara Woods Those Footsteps At 1 AM

Sneak Preview :: Chapter Two (Snippet 12)

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Sneak Preview :: Chapter Two (Snippet 12)

The mirrors on the wall were oddly swinging from side to side in the form of a horizontal ‘8’. There was a strange haziness in the restroom that Sanya had not seen before. The lights embedded in the false ceiling seemed to pulse hypnotically. With a start, Sanya realized that the restrooms at Skyye did not have lights in the ceiling. Craziness had descended.

Without warning, the wall at the far end of the tastefully done restroom came rushing towards Sanya. Even as she braced for the impact, her left hand appeared magically out of nowhere to cushion the blow and shield her face. She sunk slowly to the floor, using the wall as a support, and palmed her temples. Her head continued to swim. Disjointed and blurred images started flitting in and out of her consciousness.

The throbbing pain in her temples increased as she tried to hold on to the rapidly disintegrating images. Sanya took a deep breath, mopped her forehead and steadied herself. Even as the pulsating nausea in her head ebbed, a weird queasiness took over in her stomach. The damn mayonnaise she had used in the morning! Resolving to keep off garlic-based preparations, she stood up gingerly. In the few seconds it took to prop her hair and smoothen her top, she warily looked around. The room had stopped spinning. The mirrors were stationary. Everything was in order. It was probably nothing more than her stomach disagreeing with stale food.

Picking up her shoulder bag, Sanya took measured steps towards the door. A fleeting thought of Anuj kissing her made her smile involuntarily. Inhaling deeply, she opened the door. Instantly, she knew she shouldn’t have. It was craziness all over again!

At first, she was not sure what had triggered the relapse of the swimming sensation in her head. As she peered into the dark confines of the bar, she spied Buzz Cut downing a huge mug of lager beer. The constant snicker on his face and his hyena-like cackle were enough to enrage a coy girl like her. But it wasn’t him. Rage, and the consequent stress, wasn’t what Sanya was experiencing. It wasn’t Buzz Cut. It was something else.

As her eyes wandered searching for an answer, she looked at the silhouettes of the tables and booths as the eerie lighting cast their shadows in macabre fashion. Then it struck her. The red fluorescent lighting from below the floor! The throbbing in her temples shot up as she gazed at the muted light emanating from below the thick translucent glass floor.

Something told her she needed to avoid the red light and leave. As she turned to head towards the exit, she gasped softly as a figure moved in to block her path. It was Tej.

“Tej! It’s you . . .”

“Of course it’s me. What happened back there?”

“What do you mean?”

“I saw you wobble as you came out of the restroom. You were talking to yourself.”

Sanya looked on feebly, her head still hurting from the red light.

“Are you alright?” Tej persisted.

“No, I’m fine. I need to leave.”

“Hey, do you need us to drive you home?”

Sanya’s gaze had turned to Buzz Cut, who was gesticulating wildly to his equally frenzied band of inebriated washouts.

“This guy giving you any trouble?” Tej was now looking steadfastly in Buzz Cut’s direction, following Sanya’s gaze.

“No, no. Tej, listen, I got to go . . .”

“Hey. You just got here. Besides . . .”