The Last moments

A cold, dark cobblestone street with an eerie blue aura and smoky sewers
I tread slowly and carefully pulling my coat tight to calm the spinal shivers
The breeze chills my knuckles white and brings a torn paper floating with it
It gets stuck on my trembling knees and I unfold it to see what has been writ
A handsome face stares back and beneath it - a generous five figure reward
Right at the top, the words WANTED – DEAD/ALIVE make me swallow hard
The top dailies have been running this as the front page story for several days
About a merciless hacker and innocents who became his unsuspecting preys
40 was the known score and his modus operandi was the one and only clue
God had placed the knife in a coldhearted hand to turn many a nightmare true
Alone in the quiet of night, I wish I had heeded to my wife’s word of caution
Stayed with my tiny tot clinging to my legs when I was putting my shoes on
With a creepy sense of foreboding, I quickened my pace and turned a bend
I stiffened as I heard a ruffle and could feel each of my hair stand at its end
Slowly I turned towards the sound and saw a pesky rodent scamper to its hole
It stared at me through its bloody red eyes as I steadied myself against a pole
I breathed a sigh of relief and could hear my heart thumping inside my chest
A bead of sweat trickled down my brow as I paused to give my pulse a rest
I continued hoping not to be jolted again but froze in my tracks on seeing him
He was standing with his back to me and had not seen me in the light so dim
He had conjured up from a by-lane which from afar looked like a recess to me
He turned as the wind rose up behind him and howled like a troubled banshee
The moment our eyes met I broke into a run praying that he doesn’t follow suit
I sprinted hard as my heartbeats were deriving rhythm from the thuds of his boot
With every weary step I took, I could feel the distance between us grow shorter
Due to the excessive cold and wind my mouth went dry and eyes began to water
Whenever we passed an alleyway, my eyes looked for visions and ears for sounds
Of the supposedly ubiquitous policeman who promised to be on his nightly rounds
But tonight it seemed destiny had set stage only for two people to put on acts
In this chilling tragic tale which was running like us towards the inevitable climax
Then the moment came when we collided, stumbled and started to struggle in rage
It’s a myth that knives are silent, since I distinctly heard it puncture the ribcage
The heart stopped still the very moment the tip of the blade made contact with it
The muscles went limp, eyes grew wide and the whole body was engulfed by a fit
They say that we see our whole life flash past in the last few seconds of existence
But sight the eyes beheld as the last breath escaped was of a smiling countenance
Of the merciless, cold-blooded butcher, a sadistic monster, a ruthless lunatic
I pulled out the knife from the dead body and wiped the blood on the dead cheek
I sighed and looked up at the skies to admire the beautiful pink streaks of the sun
Welcoming the bright new day with a smile, I mouthed the words “Forty-One”