The Criminal - an adaptation of 'Hitch Hiker'

Life is hard. This is my feeling towards my job as one of the CEO’s assistants after 1 year. I abhor my boss. He always approaches me in the way that I am not comfortable with. I just hate the way he looks at and talks with me. He also makes me stay alone in the office until midnight everyday with tons of paperwork. Actually, I am not alone all the time. He is in his office until midnight everyday and always offers me a ride home. But anyway, two weeks ago, he threw all of my 9 colleagues ‘weekend homework’ on my table so that they could spend their weekend with him. I do not know why do my colleagues compete everyday to be invited to his penthouse everyday. Well, I have no idea and I still reject his offers until now. My friends think that I am weird. They are wrong, I am just different with all of them. I do not have such green eyes like them and I am a good person. That is all. Everybody in this office talks behind my back. They think I know that he likes me and I create such an image that I am not loose. I am not and I mean it. Ladiesman like him is not for me.
Back to two weeks ago, I left my office at 1.30am. My boss had gone home with my colleagues, 9 of them. I peeped into the window of the guards’ office and heard a very loud snores from inside. After standing by the guards’ office for a few minutes, I flagged a taxi down to get to the City Central station. My house is in the suburb outside this megapolitan city. That is why I must take a train, not a metro or a taxi to my house. I do not use my car because the road pricing and gas are very expensive nowadays; I park her instead.
I arrived at City Central Station at 2.00 am. The taxi stopped at the maingate and I paid the cabby. I strolled a few metres to a small foodstall selling a savoury fried rice. It is for my very early breakfast. I was so hungry because the last meal that I had was my lunch. My boss asked my to go out for dinner with him since he knew that I had not had any food since lunchtime. I thanked him, but I rejected the dinner and continued my works. After I ordered my meal, I dragged the stool and yawned. “Aaahhh….” I felt that I was freed from a death sentence. The tasks were just a lot and it was good that I could finish it so I could spend my weekend with my friends and hung out to anyplace we wanted. Nevertheless, I am very lucky to have this job, you know? The salary I earned is worthwhile for me to strive for it. It is just the paperworks that had to be done that causes me loathing on my job, and also the boss’ behaviour. After I finished my meal, I stomped down the platform to embark on the last train.
The trip took about 45 minutes. It was 2.45 am when I got on the train. “Pshh…” the train signalled the passengers that it was leaving the station. I looked through the glasspane and stared outside. Nothing else was outside but absoulute darkness. I could smell the alcohol from the person at the end of the car. He was drunk. The smell of fragrance from the lady behind me made the arome of alcohol vanished. I kept staring at the darkness and it came. My childhood fears cross my mind. I scared of darkness and bogeyman. My sister was kidnapped and mutilated. The person who have done that to my sister was released by the court. The court considered that it was a matter of self defence. It was not logical. Why was my sister mutilated if it was juat a matter of self defence. I just did not get it. My parents had tried to appeal the court, but the court dismissed it. The criminal, that is how I called the murderer was a tycoon and I was very sure that he bribed the judges and juries in the court. That is life. Money rules. However, I still remember the time when my sister’s body was found. It was more than lamentable that my family feels, but we are sure that she lives in a beautiful place up there.
“Littleville. Please mind the gap. Thank you for travelling with XpressTrans.” The recording woke me up from my bemusement. I trotted towards the parking building. I heard the sound of shoes behind me as I walked. Someone was following me. There was no enough light to illumitate the basement. I walked faster and faster until I reached the only Honda Jazz at the corner. The sounds of my heels echoed, adding some eerieness to my mind.
I inserted my key in a hurry. Someone was approaching me. My heart pounded heavily. I was ready to open the door when I saw a sillhouette behind me and felt a tap on my shoulder. I shrieked and turned my body to see the creature. I felt that my mind had prevailed. It was not. It was a graceful old lady standing right behind.
“I am really sorry, madam to scream at you. What can I do to help you?” I apologized and asked her with the remaining energy of my possession.
“It is fine, darling. I know how it feels for a beautiful young lady like you to be alone here at a wee hours in the morning. Anyway, would you give me a ride, please? I have been here for 3 hours, waiting for my chauffeur. I just came back from my friend’s house in the other city.”
“ Do you have any children, ma’am?”
“ My children live abroad. It is all right if you drop me in the middle of your way if you are in a hurry. Would you mind?”
“Sure madam. It’s my pleasure to help you.”
I opened the door for her and she slid in. She looked at her watch. I accidentally lingered through the window and saw her wrist. Oh my God. Her wrist was very hairy. Her wrist remindes me of the criminal. He was very hairy too and his height was just the same with the lady, 170 cm. She or he was the bogeyman. I was very sure that he was looking for another victim. “I had to get him off my car now” my mind whispered. My brain raced, trying to find the best solution.
I pretended to ignite my car. “Drtzddd… Drtzddd… Drtzddd… Drtzddd… Drtzddd….” My car released sound like that, convincing enough to show that I had some problem with my car. I turned my head and asked the criminal-like-woman in a fake-guilty manner.
“I am sorry, but this awful car signalled that there is something under her boot. Would you mind going out to check while I try to ignite her on?”
“No problem dear, as you wish.”She alighted from my car and left her bejewelled purse on her seat.
As she stumbled towards the boot, I pushed the lock button. She heard the clicking sound and knocked hard the metal skin out of confusion. I turned the key to the right and drenched my foot on the gas pedal.
I raced until I could calm myself. I felt a bit guilty to poisoning the well. She might be just as hairy as the bogeyman. I turned the direction and headed to the nearest police station to eased my guilty. I reported to the officer on duty and gave him the pearl purse. He opened the purse and surprised of what he saw: a dagger, a gun, a black tape, an axe and an ID card. She was the criminal. I was right about it. I was saved from his bloody hand. Maybe, it is my sister who reminded me to beware of this ‘lady’ when I was in the train.