The Reckoning

Greg had dragged his tiring body to the shore. They grabbed and hoisted him onto the embankment. He spluttered and coughed, water spurting from his open mouth. The rain relentlessly hammered down around them.

Jerome stepped back, his wide eyes staring at the rest. ‘What are we going to do? What are we going to do?’ He questioned frantically, his hands clutching his head.

‘We should report this to the Police,’ Robert said. Greg pushed himself to his feet, water dripping from his body and soaked clothes.

‘Look, we’ve lost Salim. He’s gone. And because of what’s happened, we could well get charged with manslaughter or even murder,’ Fred reasoned.

Ashraf glared at Fred, raising an accusatory finger. ‘You didn’t say you were going to simulate a kidnapping. Why would you even do that?’

Saira scrunched her eyes shut, tilting her head to the sky. She turned her eyes back to the others. ‘Salim’s gone. We should never have done this. This was so stupid and now Salim-,’ she lamented, her eyes welling up.

‘Robert’s right we have to go to the Police. It’s the right thing to do,’ Greg advised.

‘But we would most definitely go to jail,’ Jerome implored the group. His eyes turned to Fred for guidance.

Fred cocked an eyebrow. ‘Salim’s dead. Nothing we do is going to change that. If we tell the Police not only are our future careers gone, but we would also most definitely lose our freedom and go to jail,’ he said.

‘Mock kidnapping was your idea, you’re the one who did this!’ Ashraf exclaimed, his eyes wide in rage.

Fred’s eyes calmly observed Ashraf. Then they turned steely. ‘Yes Robert and I were the ones who wore balaclavas and snatched Salim from the common area. But you knew we were going to do something. We all discussed it. Nobody asked me the details of what I was planning. Everybody just went along with it,’ he countered.

‘Yeah, Fred’s right. We didn’t ask him exactly what he’d do. This was an accident. We didn’t mean for this to happen. Should we have to pay for this prank by going to jail? It was a prank that’s all it was,’ Jerome justified.

‘If anyone wants to go to the Police and tell them what happened, be my guest,’ Fred said, his hand raised, a finger pointing at the thicket. His words were met with silence. The others merely stood still. They were busy processing the enormity of what they had done.

Ashraf gazed out of the window at the serene night. The trees swayed gently in the wind. He noticed a few boys in their early twenties walking alongside the main road. They seemed so carefree, much like he had been so many years ago; before Salim’s death. Ashraf had thought Fred’s prank would merely be some lighthearted fun. In truth, his anger that night was not directed at Fred. He had been livid with himself for not knowing or caring what Fred’s plans were and for blindly participating. How he wished he had not got involved. Or better yet, he wished he had told Salim of Fred’s plans. Maybe, Salim would still be alive if he had done so.

Ashraf felt a hand on the small of his back. He titled his head and looked up at Saira. ‘Are you alright?’ She asked.

‘Yeah,’ Ashraf simply replied. ‘We’ll look for the notes at Robert’s office and then that’s it. That’s all we’ve agreed to do,’Saira assured, ‘Our return flight is on Tuesday. We’ll leave all this behind and get back to the kids.’

‘It’s not that simple,’ Ashraf disagreed, ‘Salim died as a consequence of our actions.’

Ashraf turned his expressionless face to the window once more.

Saira winced, holding back tears. She drew a deep breath, regaining her composure. Her fingers gently squeezed Ashraf’s shoulder. ‘What else can we do?’ She asked. ‘We have to look out for the kids. They’re our responsibility. Anything we do will impact them, we’ve got to move forward.’

She swivelled on her foot and turned away. She prayed that they would get through this reawakened ordeal.

Frank parked his car outside the police station. He stepped out of the car. The sky had adopted a dark blue hue in the twilight. He ambled into the station. He had come to pick up some papers. He promised himself that Kathryn was not having a negative impact on him; it was his day off, he was just picking up some papers before returning home. A few officers were dispersed throughout the station, occupied with work.

Frank rounded the corner. He could hear the phone ringing. The sound was emanating from Kathryn’s office. As he neared, he noticed the door was slightly ajar. After a brief deliberation he entered and picked up the receiver.

‘Hi is this Kathryn O’Hara?’ the voice on the other end enquired. ‘It’s her colleague, how can I help?’ Frank responded.

‘It’s Constable Eric O’Sullivan here, from Kliptadno Constabulary,’ the voice said. Wales? Incredulous, Frank waited for Eric to proceed.

‘We’ve had a call. A Mr Andrews has seen a man in his 30s matching the picture of Salim Akhtar. I understand that you’ve reopened the investigation concerning Mr Akhtar’s disappearance?’ Eric explained.