SAM

CHAPTER 8

Sam had come back to me. I ran my hands over my bald head and down the scar that ran down my neck and across my chest. I shut my eyes as I remembered that day. The first time I met Sam, I lived in a makeshift house in the outskirts of the town. That was three years ago. I found him unconscious by the roadside adjacent to my home and dragged him to my quarters. I had left him in the makeshift house as I went to work.

“Come ‘ere Annelida”, one of the men called me. I was standing on the roadside outside the bar at about 11 p.m. I had gone with them. They were my source of income. I did not know that night that they had plans for me that were outside my job description.

I found him awake the next morning. I had managed to drag myself home. He was awake. He had seen me crawling toward the home and dashed to help me. The men had tortured and cut me up really bad. I had laughed at the terror in his eyes. At the sight of my wounds, he lost consciousness. He bumped his head on a jutting rock during his ungraceful descent.

He woke up. This time he was calm.

“Are you awake?” I asked him.

“I’m dead”, that was his response. I knew then that he was not the same man who had dashed to save me a few hours earlier. He had looked at me in my horrid state and showed no fear.

I opened my eyes. His eyes were on me. I smiled. This him was not like the other one. Where the other loved, he hated. Where the other feared, he was fearless. They were yin and yang. He only appeared when the other fell unconscious but not all the time; physical pain was the trigger.

“I shall arrange for you to meet the Inspector”

I knew arranging for the death of people was morally wrong. However, for the man I had grown to love, I would do anything. I had taken it upon myself to support him. It was my duty to help him find relief from his anger because he had avenged me. He had killed them all three years ago.

“I knew it was you”, started the inspector.

“Really Inspector”, Sam had a machete in his hands. I had always been amazed at how gracefully he wielded it. The sound of the metal against the stone was music to my ears. He made his way towards the inspector. He was grinning. Even I could feel the bloodlust even as I watched from a distance away.

“Yes, I was sent for you by the Council. We knew it had to be you. You made a mistake killing those men three years ago. That is how we found you”.

The inspector glanced in my direction, “All for a prostitute woman”

My heart sank. Sam clenched his fist. His face still adorned that wicked smile.

“So…. what are you going to do inspector? You are no match for me”

“You know, when that girl called me, I knew it was you. You were our greatest weapon. You can imagine our surprise when we heard you were a humble shopkeeper!” he laughed, “You think we have not been watching you? You will be coming with us”

Armed men came from the alleys and surrounded Sam and the Inspector

“You deliberately woke me up, didn’t you?”, Sam was glaring at the inspector.

“Yes, we figured out that the shopkeeper you had a tendency to like people you wanted to kill. So, I had to make you want to kill me. I also needed to prove to the council that it is really you” The inspector smiled. I frowned.

“I refuse to come with you”, Sam started. The Inspector lifted his right hand. My neck hairs stood on end. There was a loud bang. I felt myself fall forward.

Sam was dashing towards me just like that morning. Terror was written all over his face. The last thing I heard as I lost consciousness was the inspectors voice.

“Get rid of the distraction. We will be arresting him now”.