The Devil's Claw

The Last 10 seconds

Although Keith had found out how brutally Sir Richard was killed, but he still hadn't found out the reason for all that. Despite his worsening condition, he hardly got hold of himself, sat again on the chair in front of table where laptop was placed, and there he clicked the play button on all recorded footages, covering different views of the Mansion to search for that particular reason which he believed could be some conversation between his father and his murdered tutor. Clicking and playing through most of the footages, he painfully found out that his family wasn't only used to hurt low class people at minor levels, like punishing them with sticks and pipes for little mistakes, giving them degrading remarks, overburdening them, starving them  for consecutive days, and so on, but also physically tortured them and brutally killed them whenever they liked to do it, because of their own frustration or uncontrollable anger and hatred towards them. For this brutal purpose, they had a special room called Red Room, where they were used to bring the person they had decided to torture to death. There were about ten such rooms in Mansion of Janes. In their elite's parties, they also had an event where among the low class people who wanted to participate in this brutality were asked to write their names on a piece of paper and then about seven people would be selected. Those seven people were known as Entrusted Class, because they had signed a contract with Elites that in exchange for their lives spent entirely for the sake of elites, and their deaths as sacrifices under only single gesture of elites, Elites should provide them with lots of money even beyond their luxury, fame and name, and health facilities to the extent of offers of the most expensive plastic surgeries. All life comforts were given to this class, though elites could do the same brutal treatment to these people whenever they would no longer trust them. Such class people were mostly found in Elite's high ranked posts, like military commander, assistants, head of security department, bank accountant, news anchors, journalists etc. Thus, every Saturday night during elites party, these blood thirsty beasts were chosen to pour out their demonic desire on some unlucky victim, after which they were given the status  where all world riches could be under their feet.

Though it all sounded like some psychopaths  were living together under the delusional name of world's most popularly cool people, but it was a common secret among themselves, and they were used to this system for ages. Every child either boy or girl born in elites' families, was made adjusted to this system, both mentally and emotionally. For this purpose, their parents would beat up servants and workers in front of their children, scolding, degrading, hurting, starving, and even killing low class people for no apparent reason.These immoral acts on daily basis would ultimately make a kid believe that he or she is superior to all other mankind and he or she can do anything no matter how much cruel it is, to these low class people, and such superiority complex would lead to generation of more beasts and so on. However, Keith was different. He was probably so much sincere to his natural perception of right and wrong, that he just couldn't delude himself in beleiving that whatever happening was absolutely right unlike other Elites' kids.

Keith kept on playing footages in search of that particular footage where his father talked to his murdered tutor, though he knew that after knowing all this, he could never turn back to being his past self, but he just couldn't stop until the system was signed out. Meanwhile, there was a ringing at Micheal's royal apartment, "Sir, It's emergency! Please come to security department" said Mr. Floyd, Micheal's secretary. "What has happened at this hour of night?" asked Micheal while rubbing his eyes as he just woke up from deep sleep. "Sir..." Mr Floyd was about to say something but paused as he saw Dina coming towards door, "What happened honey? Why is Mr Floyd here at this time?" asked Dina in a worried tone. "It's nothing dear, don't worry, I'm going to check" replied Micheal while wearing his jacket and shoes. As they reached the security room where the system in main computer controlling all cameras was installed, they were shockingly worried to see how the system was continuously signed in and then they needed to sign in out and then again it signed in. "Sir, someone is intruding into our system.. Our security system is hacked!" said Mr. Smith, the head of Security department. "How the hell our system can be hacked?!" asked Micheal in a loud and harsh tone. "Do something, don't let this hacker have our data!" Micheal's anger and helplessness were driving him mad and he was hardly controlling his anxious anger, his pupils dilated, heart beat became fast and his anxiety poured out in form of sweat, "Do something! you fucking idiots!" his voice raised more and more but the system kept on signing in and signing out. At the same time, Keith finally found out that conversation he had been searching for... How that poor sincere man named Richard was threatened to change Keith's views and mentality towards his brutal family and how that person never tried to do so.. How he beleived in Keith's views and mental abilities to avenge all such victims some day.. And in the end, how Richard warned those seven beasts about 10 seconds that would be given to them, some day by Keith. With all those flashbacks and flickering red lights of Red room and replaying screams of Richard and all those victims he just witnessed, Keith's mind suddenly switched off and his body was burning due to fever and he felt like he could no longer continue, as he was about to sign out the system himself, he saw that all footages were being deleted. "HAHAHAHAHAHA" laughed Keith, his voice changed, resting his head on back of chair, tears flowing through side of his cheeks reaching his neck, he kept on laughing and laughing... Until he just slept.

On next morning....

There was a knocking at Keith's room, it was his mother, "Keith.. How are you?" asked his mother, while putting off his blanket starting from his head, "Why's your blanket so hot?" as she touched it, "You have a very high fever!" cried out his mother. She immediately called for doctor and then Keith was shifted to hospital for medical treatment. Doctor informed his mother that Keith got a fever because his mind had been exhausted due to some anxiety but he would be alright if he's given complete mental rest and good diet. 

After few days... 

During their lunch time, Mr. Floyd came running towards their table in the main family hall, "Sir! It's emergency!" his face was covered with shadows of fear, his lips dropped down and his color pale, "What happened Floyd? Can't you see we are having lunch?" replied Micheal in a casual tone, "Get lost! Floyd! your pale face is absorbing away our meal's taste" said Jason in an angrily serious tone. "Sir.. Mr. Smith is murdered and beheaded... His body slaughtered into pieces" said Mr. Floyd and then he just started walking away. "Who did this?" asked Micheal when Mr. Floyd was about to leave the hall. "Sir.. We don't know, there's no such footage recorded in our cameras as to give hint to who did this.. And the dead body is found in the place where our cameras don't cover.." replied Mr. Floyd in hopelessly scared tone. "I think it's the same person who tried to intrude our system.. Only that person knows where our cameras don't cover" continued Mr. Floyd. Meanwhile, "Sir.. May I come in?" asked Mr. David, assistant in security department, "We have found another dead body in a place where cameras don't cover.. Body is in horrible condition, beheaded and slaughtered into pieces, all ten fingers are cut and on the wall where the bloody head of dead is hung, murderer wrote 'Are 10 seconds enough to say your last words?' as his message" reported Mr. David. Micheal was just about to speak yet there was another knocking at the door, giving the same report, and reports continued until six men belonging to Entrusted class were found to be dead in the same way in places where cameras were not covering and no footage was found as to hint who was behind all this. All had some message along with the body, whether on the wall or on the floor, written with color spray or with dead's own blood mentioning 10 seconds commonly in each of them. For example, "You are given 10 seconds to say your last words", "Let's have fun for these last 10 seconds", "Don't beg for help at least in last 10 seconds" etc. "Close the main gate of Mansion, no one must enter or leave, alert the security, prepare the military forces to guard on each place where cameras don't cover!" ordered Micheal in a shrieking voice, while the look on his face was gloomy and evidently scared.