God's Plan Is The Best by Athirah Othman

               The taxi stopped in front of me, right at the time where I almost got caught by the intruders.

               I did not think something like this would happen to me but there I was. When I woke up, I found myself lying down on a cold, damp cement floor. My hands and feet were tied. I was too dazed and muzzy to figure out where I was or what I was doing in that strange place. Suddenly, an incident came flooding into my memory. I was parking my Audi car in the empty garage as I just came back from work which was never done before. Then, without any hesitation I entered my house. Suddenly, someone leapt from behind the door. I did not get a chance to scream as the second intruder put a chloroform-soaked cloth on my face. I blacked out.

               I tried to sit and when I did it, I found myself being confined in a small chamber. Everything was bare except for the thermos flask in one corner. The shutters were all closed tight. However, there were a few shutters missing and in their place a piece of plywood was nailed. I wriggled free from the rope that bound me. I made my way to the door to open it but as I expected it was locked from outside of the chamber. I heard voices. I strained my ears to figure out what they were talking about.

               “The girl is detained in our custody. What are we going to do with her?”

               “Yes, boss.” The intruders then laughed creepily before I heard their footsteps slower and slower which showed that they went away from that place.

               My expectations were confirmed. I was being kidnapped. Why did they kidnap me? I was not from a wealthy family. When my panic and tears ebbed away, I tried to figure out how to escape from that horrible place. Suddenly, I got an inkling. I made my way to the nailed plywood and wrestle with it, clawing at the nails. I was on the verge of giving up when suddenly a jogged piece of plywood peeled off. I climbed out of the hole with determination and burning sensation all over my limbs which was mattered with blood. Then, I ran as fast as my leg could carry me.

               After hours of running and groping through the secondary jungle, I saw lights flickering in the distance. It was a small town with bunch of people. I made my way there to ask for help and some food as I employed all my energy running just now. Suddenly, I heard familiar voices, I know that the voices were owned by the intruders. I tried to hide but they saw me and chased after me. I ran to the road and suddenly a taxi stopped in front of me. This was when the lights started shining brightly on my day.

               The taxi driver introduced himself as Sudin. That was the last thing I remembered before I woke up in a house. I went to the kitchen to look for food before a motherly-faced woman came and greeted me. I was shocked but I acted cool. She was wearing ‘telekung’, which showed that she was just done performing her prayer. When I saw her, I wondered the last time I wore that. I was too far from the Lord. Suddenly, the taxi driver, Sudin came in. He gave me a piece of clothes and a hijab. I was hesitated to accept that but I did not want to wear my clothes which was mattered with blood. I accepted those things and wore them after bath. After taking bath, I walked around the house as I was bored. Out of the blue, I heard voices of reciting Al-Quran. I was so touched. I did not know why. Tears were cascading on my cheeks. Then, the motherly-faced woman who saw me crying, hugged me to calm me down. Then I told her what I felt and asked for permission to stay here longer to learn more about our religion. She allowed me to do so and suggested me to learn from her son who was still studying in an Islamic University.

               This was when I started to be close to Sudin. He taught me many things from basic to the complicated things that I had forgotten. I was thankful as I had met and known him as he taught me many things about life.

               After about two weeks staying here, I decided to go home. Sudin sent me home and I was very thankful to him. He had helped me a lot like saving me from the intruders and helping lodge a police report for me. He had taught me many things. I will never forget this experience with him forever. If God did not set this incident to happen and make me meet him, I am sure I would be very far from God until now.

My Military Friend by Daniel Farid (Obama)

               The taxi stopped in front of me and I matched up the plate registration number with the given one. I sat on the cushion of the taxi and told him, “Ipoh, please?”

               The taxi driver turned his back and answered, “Ok.” I managed to look at his name tag and it was written Sudin. His name evoked me of my ex-schoolmate but I just put it aside. It was Saturday so my routine for every Saturday was car spotting but I didn’t have a car. I meant I shared a car with my sister so basically I didn’t own a car. Back to the ride, usually I would only call this taxi company for their transport service and usually they would send Syed to fetch me up but on that day, Sudin came. I was a little bit awkward because usually I would have a chat with Syed but not for that day.

               I took out my Sony Alpha and cleaned the lens, as it was a tedious ride. Then, I tried to take a few photos of the city. When I was focusing on Ipoh Tower, I saw something huge flying down to it. I zoomed at it and saw a ship like alien spaceship or something like that. I was about to tell Sudin to drive me to Ipoh Tower but out of blue, a bomb dropped just 3 cars in front of us. Sudin pulled over the taxi and turned right into a small street. Then, I said, “That’s what I meant.” Sudin yelled, “We better get out of this city or we will lose our head.”

               Sudin drove at 180 km/h which I considered as standard speed but whatever it was, he was indeed a professional taxi driver. Back to chaos, Sudin was driving the taxi and suddenly a missile shot us at the back of the taxi. Boom! The taxi was flipped and both of us were trapped in the taxi. Fortunately, Sudin managed to escape and rescue me as I could feel I was being grilled at that moment due to the fuel leakage in the fuel tank. I was about to run across the road but Sudin yelled my name and shouted, “Wait!” fiercely. At that moment, I was so curious on how he knew my name and suddenly my mind replayed my childhood memories and I just realised that he was my old friend. We were friends when we got into Royal Military School. It came like a flash flood, I remembered every silly and mischievous thing we had done. I ran back to Sudin and he took out a HK416 rifle from the boot of the taxi and gave it to me. He asked, “You still remember how to shoot?”

               Honestly, I left military for a decade so I didn’t remember how to shoot professionally. I managed to hug him for a while but his eyes were on the gun. Then, he said, “Dude, just pull the safety pin and pull the trigger just like that.” Those bullets pierced through building wall.

               We were running away from something that we had no idea what it was but we knew that ‘something’ wanted to shoot us. At that moment, I saw the picturesque scenery of Ipoh had transformed to a battlefield. Anyway, I felt like I was playing the game ‘Battlefield’ but much more reality. Back to survival plan, we planned to run to the Ipoh City Council building for shelter and protection. The issue was how we wanted to get there with 5kg gun in our hand with Ipoh City Council was located 10 km away from us. We cracked our head to find a way to get there but just the right time, I remembered that I left my La Ferrari in one of the hotels nearby as I was supremely unconscious that night.

               I told Sudin the plan and we ran to the hotel. While on our way, we faced aliens with 5 heads and 25 eyes, aliens with no eyes and others. I couldn’t pull the trigger at the first place but still I pulled it for my survival. Sudin was doing great during the shooting scene, he killed 36 aliens with one magazine but I killed only 2 with one magazine. I got to admit it that Sudin was far away better than me in shooting even when we were in the military. Anyway, I killed 16 aliens with a dive knife that I got from him stabbing their hearts, cut off their head and others.

               Finally, we reached at the hotel and we got into my car. Both of us took a gasp for relief but our mission had not over yet. Next, our final destination would be Ipoh City Council building. I was the one on the wheel as I had trust issue to hand over my 6.8 million dollars car to someone else. The worst and sad moment in my life was when I had to crash into these aliens and the steel gate. Ah! I scratched that 1 million dollar paint but what I could do was just driving into the building compound. As Sudin and I predicted the citizens gathered there and it was such a huge chaos as no one was in charge of them. Again, Sudin and I were the ‘chief’ and ordered them to do this and that.

               We managed to build a new colony and took over the city back within a week. We got the help and support from local and foreign military. Back to Sudin, we were friends since we were 5 but we split up after we graduated from Royal Military College. I took mechanical engineering and worked for Nissan, while he went to the National Military Academy. I felt happy and delighted when we met even though in a battlefield. We kept in touch since that day onwards until now.

Don't Judge A Book By Its Cover by Ameer Hilmi Mahfizan

               The taxi stopped in front of me and asked, “Do you need a ride, mate?”

               Sweat was pouring down my face. I was knackered and was not sure of my capability to walk after being chased by someone. I looked around the taxi and saw many weird things. The taxi was bright yellow on the outside but blazing red on the inside.

               “This guy must be Asian,” I said to myself while looking at his ID in between the air-conditioners. The name of the taxi driver was Sudin.

               “Where are we off to, brother?” he asked now realising that he had an accent.

               “Just drive, I want to leave New York and take some time to calm down.”

               “You don’t seem too happy. What seems to be the problem?” I asked Sudin.

               “Nothing, it’s just that I lost someone close.”

               “Tell me about it. We have a long journey ahead of us,” I said softly and warmly.

***

               In a blink of an eye, he was gone. I could not believe he left me in this cruel world and I still mourned of his death. I told myself that it was a dream and I was going to wake up seeing his face again. But we all knew that was not going to happen. His hair was a wavy as the ocean, his emerald green eyes were sparkling like the stars at night and he was as fit as a fiddle. He was my one and only brother. I lost him during a tragic accident. We were on our way home from a football game late at night. As he was about to hit the gas pedal, a car came speeding through and destructively hit us. Our car flipped and my vision became blur. I saw my brother’s head split into two and a river of blood flowing from his skull. I could not do anything about it. He was dead. He was the only one who had my back during my tough times.

               “That is ever so tragic, brother. I am sorry for your loss,” I interrupted.

               “Then why are you sweating like you have just ran a marathon?”

               “Well that is another story I want to tell you about. Shall I continue?” I asked.

               Sudin nodded without saying a word.

***

               There I was walking down a cold and misty alley. The sounds of mice skittering around looking for food in the trash cans. Homeless people were looking half dead with their dowdy clothes. I dragged my feet hopelessly trying to find peace and tranquillity. As I walked I could feel hands grabbing my trousers. The homeless people were clinging to me asking and begging me for money. I casted them off as my heart and soul were already gone. I had lost the decency of feeling empathy of having mercy. The alley came to a sudden silence. I began to think about him, the accident. His absence made my heart grow fonder. I could still not accept his departure. As I walked, I could hear a blithe gait of someone walking towards me. His shadow was not see as the light was at the end of the alley.

               I tried to calm myself down and walking at the same pace assuming he was not following me. A drop of sweat filled with fear went down my forehead sedately.

               “Am I going to die here? Is he going to kill me? Is he going to rob me?” I asked myself. I was definitely not ready for the worst possible outcome. I knew I had to turn around and approach him at some point. So I braved myself as my guts told me to turn around, my stiff body was reluctant to face him. I mustered up my remaining courage and turned around. There he was rooting to the ground slightly taller than me. He reached out for his pocket from his worn out jeans. I thought he was taking out a knife so I made a run for it. To my surprise, he was able to chase me down the alley as if we were on a race.

               “I am a dead meat for sure,” I said as I approached a dead end. He came towards me putting up a smile. A sinister and disgusting one I would say. He pulled out ‘something’ from his pocket and I realised it was precious to me. The ‘thing’ he took out was my wallet. The leather wallet I bought from a friend who happened to sell stolen goods for only 2 dollars.

               “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” he said, leaving me speechless and guilty. I had learnt my lesson that not all strangers were immoral and uneducated. Then, I looked for a way out of the alley to the side of the road, trying to find a taxi for me.

***

               “Thank you for listening to my story, brother.” I finished my story with an exhale of relief.

               “I really learnt something from your story,” Sudin said nodding his head like a woodpecker.

               I thanked him for the ride and paid him the fare. I went off the taxi and waved him goodbye. Even though it was just sharing thoughts between us, it indeed gave me a valuable experience because that was the first time I talked to a taxi driver!

The Zombies! By Dhiyauddin Anuar

               The taxi stopped in front of me. All four of us, me, Josh, Drake and John went inside the taxi. It was a very tiring day for us because we just finished volunteering for a charity programme for the poor. I sat on the front seat with the driver and the others were on the backseat. I shook the driver’s hand. He had a thick moustache and a bald head. He looked very neat in the taxi driver uniform and judging from his physical appearance, I thought his age was probably around 30 to 40 years old.

               “To where shall I drive this vehicle?” asked the driver. He looked very energetic and playful.

               “To the nearest Starbucks Café, please,” I replied.

               “Alright, here we go!” he said. On the way to Starbucks we had a little chat about global issues, racism, politics and many more.

               A few minutes passed and we arrived there at Starbucks. We invited the driver to join us for a drink. He agreed and we ordered our drinks. As we were enjoying our youth with the great smell of coffee that filled the atmosphere, suddenly a customer at the café screamed like a little girl. He was struggling convulsively on the floor and all the customers were freaking out. We were wondering what was going on when we saw drugs on that customer’s table. This was not going to end well.

               After a few seconds, he stopped. Red velvet pool of blood was around him and still pouring out from his mouth. His eyes were wide open. He was dead. Just as I thought the horrifying scene was over, they guy stood up. Oh my God! From that moment we knew, he was not human anymore! He looked at John with lifeless eyes and pounced on him. He ripped off John’s flesh with his teeth in a blink of an eye.

               “John! No! Let him go, Mister!” Drake screamed. He was trying to get the undead man away from John when suddenly John kicked the man and torn Drake’s flesh. In a split second, the whole cafeteria turned into them. Zombies!

               Things were getting out of control and chaos struck the city.

               “Get into my taxi! Hurry up!” the taxi driver said with a scared little girl’s face. We all ran into his taxi and the engine sound started to fill the atmosphere. We planned to drive to a building and barricade ourselves in there. It was chaos everywhere and the driver was trying his best to get us away from the undead. Soon after that, we found an abandoned, tall building.

***

               We called for help but we could not reach anyone. It was like the whole city was in anarchy. We went to the rood of the building to get a better view of what was going on. Suddenly, dozens of zombies broke through the roof’s door. To survive, we fought to the death like the Spartan warriors. But the difference is we were using baseball bats and metal pipes. One by one, the zombies fell, we sent them straight to Hell!

               Finally, after a few minutes, we managed to kill them. All of them. Josh blocked the entrance. Suddenly, we saw a helicopter coming this way.

               “I think they saw us, we’re saved!” I screamed with joy. But the driver was silent.

               “What’s going on Mister? Are you alright?” John asked. We were really shocked when we saw a bite mark on his hand.

               “This is the end of me, kids.” He said while walking to the edge of the roof.

               “Be a good adult when you grow up, and never take drugs.” He said after a little chuckle. Blood was already cascading out of his mouth.

               “It was a great pleasure meeting you sir,” I said.

               “Me too, kid. Me too.” He was preparing for the worst. In a split second, he jumped.

               The sound of the helicopter’s blades cutting the wind filled the atmosphere. Suddenly we found something on the floor of the roof. It was the driver’s wallet. From that moment we knew, his name was Sudin.

The Painful Lies by Naquib Nor Azlan

               On a Sunday afternoon, the grandstands were filling in, the hot sun was blazing over the tarmac and 22000 horse powers were waiting to be unleashed. The long-awaited Belgian Grand Prix had finally arrived after the summer break. All the drivers had had their time off and new hungrier than ever to achieve the main goal. All apart from one driver who had the burden to prove his innocence during this race. That specific driver was named James Hunt, known for his ruthlessness to win. This drama started just before the summer break.

               James Hunt was in a class of his own, winning all but one race before the summer break. Every single time he jumped into his glowing red Ferrari F1 car and put on his eye-catching gold metal-flaked helmet, he seemed to be untouchable. Most people admired and respected the skills that he had and the success he achieved. However, it gave question marks to those who did not want to see Hunt win. They were furious that Hunt just could not be beaten and their driver, the great Niki Lauda could not fight. These people were adamant that no driver could be that dominant and James Hunt was racing against the books. Therefore, in order to cut down Hunt’s supremacy, they found out about the accusation, they broke into laughter. Afterwards, they realised they had laughed too soon.

               The F1 governing body would normally ignore a sudden bold statement but this time they decided to take it into account. James Hunt remained calm, even though he was stunned by the governing body’s action he was confident that nothing would happen and his car was safely within the regulations. When they did checks on the car, they found out that the gearbox was placed just shy of 3 cm behind than what it should be. Now 3 cm is such a small difference that it nearly has no performance gains at all. The governing body did not care and deemed that Hunt was racing an illegal car. When that happened all hell broke loose. The governing body knew that it did not make a difference if you moved the gearbox but they decided to stick to it as they assumed it would spice up the grid. This infuriated the Brit. Not only did his team now had to do a major revamp on the car but the rumours spreading over social media were killing Hunt deep inside. He was called a cheat, a fake winner, a coward who could not bear to lose and many others. Even though he knew the team and himself did not do anything wrong, the scars within him could not be healed. The team had to design a whole new car because the gearbox was right on the back bone so they had to reposition everything. Luckily, they managed to finish it and without any tests Hunt stepped into the unknown in the Belgian Grand Prix.

               “And it is lights out and away we go in Belgium!” shouted the commentator in excitement.

               James Hunt knew this race was so important not only for his championship but for his dignity as well. However, right from the get-go he could not find the sweet spot in his Ferrari. He was struggling with the over steer, under steer everything you name it. After 20 laps though, the car gave up.

               “Oh, dear! That is Hunt’s Ferrari bursting into flames!” the commentator said.

               The engine overheated and caught on fire. Even though the flames were right behind his head, he did not want to get out as he knew he was not ready for the criticism. Eventually Hunt did get out and immediately booed by the 15000 fans that turned up.

               After that race, he did not speak with anyone. He went straight into his motor home and never came out. His title was slowly going into smoke and with the world continuing to spread the rumours on him being a cheat, his confidence was shattered as well. He could not take it anymore so after a few weeks he shocked the racing world.

               “News Flash: James Hunt retires from Formula One”

               He did what he had to do, the fans did not want to see him win so he decided to make sure of that. For the people who knew Hunt it was mind-boggling as he loved racing. But due to people spreading false rumours about him, he decided to leave the very thing he adored.

               Even though he was out of F1, the critics did not stop. Hunt was continuously being criticised in front of the whole world for something he never did. The Brit slowly and steadily fell into deep depression. He lost everything. He lost his job, his passion, his confidence, his fans and much more. No human deserves to be treated like this but no one decided to help. After a few weeks, his depression won over him and his body was found hanging from the ceiling. Only then did the critics realise what they had done. It was no use already though as the British superstar who had so much potential in him was broken down by painful lies.  

Tragic Death of John by Muhammad Zaki Md Isa

            The taxi stopped in front of me. I knew him. It was Sudin, John’s uncle. I was sure about it. John was my friend but we were not too close but still I knew his uncle because his uncle was the only one working as a taxi driver and taking care of him. Sudin looked unhappy. As usual, he took me back home if there was no bus. For a while, it was in silence then he told me what had actually happened to John at the school.

***

            John had trudged across the entire length of the field and still, no one had asked him to join their team. The Physical Education teacher was exasperated. He needed the class to get into five teams to play the game but none of them would take John as a team member. As the minutes ticked away, the mesomorph-body-type teacher started berating the class for not cooperating. Standing in the blistering hot sun with the teacher’s harsh words raining on them, the students felt their dislike for John even more intense. John was left with no choice but to stand apart from the class, as he always had, and subject himself to the humiliation of burning hatred.

            Back in the classroom an hour later, angry voices filled the air as they were raised in condemnation of the boy they sneeringly called ‘the tortoise’. It had never been clear why they chose to dislike John very much but the very sight of his pudgy body and stuttering voice had been enough to turn the class off from the very first day he was introduced to them. Suddenly, the excited voice from the class prankster, Jim rang out above the din. He had a plan to punish John! The class began clustering excitedly around him.

            The next day dawned bright and early as the class boarded the bus for the field trip to Kundasang Memorial Park. The class was in high spirits as they were keeping the secret that they had planned right down into the details. The park was a beautiful stretch of green, peppered by numerous tombstones dedicated to the war heroes. John was hypnotised by the picturesque vista of the park as he had lost in his own world ignoring his classmates’ sudden disappearance.

            Some time later, John made his way back to the bus. What greeted him was a lonely bus, standing at the asphalt parking lot with not any single person in sight. He found it was very odd. He thought only the teacher would not be there because attending some arrangements at the park office. Where were his classmates? There were no people on the bus, but engine was roaring and their belongings were there. Suddenly, a sudden shiver and fear gripped him and John began running about the park shouting for his classmates.

            All this time, hiding behind some shrubs, a hundred metres away was his delighted classmates. They were so besieged by the success of their joke as they almost fell over with laughter. Some even congratulated Jim for remembering that John had a terrible fear ever of loneliness as his entire family was killed in a car crash. Suddenly, someone shouted “Don’t run towards the road!”

            John was running helter-skelter in the direction of the road some eight hundred metres away. The unbridled laughter now gave way to shocking silence as they realised that John could not hear them. What they saw was unfolded like a movie in slow motion as a container truck appeared on the road and John was running towards it. None of them could ever forget the sickening scream that tore from John or the screeching of brakes of the truck that attempted to stop itself from crushing John’s body. It was a scene that indelibly imprinted in their memories as they were struggling with the guilt of literally driven John into death.

            John’s uncle was very disappointed. How could John’s classmates do something like that to an orphan? But what had gone let be by gone he said. Uncle Sudin then sent me to the home safely. My regular experience taking a taxi became weird with that confession of Uncle Sudin who had lost John in a tragic accident.  

The Psychopath by Dhamirah

            The taxi stopped in front of me. With no doubt, I entered the taxi. I actually got stuck at the side of the road because my car went kaput. Whatever it was, I just wanted to go home as it was already 9 p.m. The only hope was riding a taxi, driven by a guy named Sudin.

            “I am Sudin, the best taxi driver you’ve ever met and you?”

            “I’m Clara,” I faked a smile.

            AllI wanted was a good rest at home and not a boring conversation with a freak. I needed to wake up early for the next morning. This was so annoying. Sudin kept telling me about his family, his previous customers and all such things that I wasn’t even interested to hear. I only faked my smile and kept faking it.

            “Clara, I swear to God, you are very beautiful and I think I’m in love with you.”

            I ignored him until he said that he was in love with me. I knew this wasn’t real. “Very funny, Sudin. We don’t even know each other.”

            “What if I actually know you, Clara? Very well.”

            That creeped me out but I acted normal and thought that he was still feeling around. I rolled my eyes and looked outside the window. I was hiding my fright because this guy kept watching me through the mirror at the front part of the taxi. Why was the ride like 10 hours? I was sweating though the air-conditioner had never been turned off. Finally, I had arrived at my home. I left RM20 note on the seat and went out quickly without saying anything to Sudin.

            “See you soon, dear!” Sudin smirked.

            I was terrified because it was almost midnight. So I locked all the doors and windows in my house. At that moment, I already planned to run away from that town so that I would never ever meet that guy again. But of course, I would never do that.

            I rushed to the taxi stand in the next morning because I had to use the public transport to go to work. Unfortunately, the taxi that stopped in front of me was driven by Sudin, again! This time, I didn’t enter his taxi. He forced me to enter his taxi but I refused. I would wait for another taxi, as long as the driver was not Sudin. Unexpectedly, Sudin hit my head with a baseball bat, I thought and put me in his taxi. I was unconscious but when I opened my eyes I wasn’t at my office. Was this a kidnap case? I looked around and tried to look for my phone. I was very sure that Jeremy was waiting for me because I was supposed to join him in a meeting at the office. But all I saw was pictures of me scattering on the floor. That didn’t catch my attention. The only thing that caught my attention was a framed picture of me and a guy hanging on the wall. The guy was Sudin! I just couldn’t believe. This psychopath was haunting my life. I didn’t know what had happened and where I was and why Sudin brought me here. It was like a luxurious villa filled with silence until Sudin came out of nowhere.

            “Finally, you are here.”

            “What are you trying to do? I need to go to work.”

          “How could you reject me twice? Don’t you remember our memories together 10 years ago?”

            “What are you talking about? Let me go!”

        He grabbed me and dragged me into a room. I expected someone would fulfil his lust by dragging a girl into a room so I kicked his private part and ran. Sadly, he managed to catch me again. I had nowhere to escape because this time, he tied me on a bed. He approached me while holding a knife. That wasn’t a toy; one thing that I was very sure. Sudin tried to kill me, I thought. I was totally scared! He was a psychopath!

            “This is the consequence for rejecting me. Oh, you also have forgotten me! Then you deserve to die, Clara! Die!”

            I was extremely scared that I didn’t know how I took the knife from him and stabbed his forehead over and over again. His blood splattered on my face. I tried to escape from the villa. Then only I remembered who Sudin was. The guy who fell in love with me since 10 years ago and I guessed I should have accepted him at the first place.