By Priyanshu Misra
The jeep stopped at the entrance of the magnificent fort which looked ethereal and spooky at the same time under the glow of the moonlit sky. Andrew got out from the Jeep, smiling triumphantly while his friend Matthew had a nervous expression hooked to his countenance.
" Andy, I don't feel we should do it. Let's come in the morning, " Matthew said fearfully.
" And, just be a regular tourist. Oh, to hell with it. We will be the first people to enter the Bhangarh fort and that too, in the dead of the night. Can't you imagine how badass that will be? " Andrew said in a gleeful manner while walking toward the wall near the big front door.
Matthew knew there was no deterring his friend now. He was a stubborn one and no one could deter him once he set his mind on something. So, with slouched shoulders, he followed his daredevil friend who would do anything to get an adrenaline kick.
After about five minutes of failure, they finally managed to scale the wall and land on the other side, their official entry into one of the spookiest places in the world.
The first thing they witnessed when they moved forward was an old Hindu temple to their left. It looked well-cared for as the place was extremely clean and maintained. They crossed the temple and then made their way towards the real fort where they believed the actual action awaited them.
For at least another hour nothing happened. The only thing that spooked them was the constant cool breeze that was blowing from the nearby hills making an eerie sound.
Andrew was starting to get restless and he started grumbling how coming here was turning out to be a colossal waste of time.
It was as if the universe itself heard his complaint and decided to answer his prayers because the next moment, they were visited by the very surprise they were looking for.
Out of nowhere, a girl appeared, a glum expression spread on her face. She wore an old, shabby-looking Indian dress, parts of which were torn at certain places. As her eyes fell upon the two boys looking at her with surprised countenances, she shed her gloomy look and smiled a bright grin. A moment later, she ran swiftly toward the window at the end of that hallway and jumped out of it. A blood-curdling scream came to their ears and that made their souls rattle in terror.
Without losing an instant, they ran. They ran and ran but could find no way out of that hallway that they were in. For a moment, it seemed as if that devilish hallway was expanding in length and there was no end to it.
" This is worthless. We are never getting out of here " Matthew said in a defeated voice.
" No, we won't die here, " Andrew replied in a determined voice while ignoring his tiredness and trying to get up from the ground. Andrew had always been very competitive and losing was never an option for him. Not even when his opponents were some otherworldly creatures.
Very carefully, braving their fears, they started to make their way towards the entrance of the fort. It was easier said than done as the place was massive and in the dead of the night all the hallways massively resembled each other and maneuvering their way through them was not an easy task.
Different sounds came to their ears too, noises ranging from blood-curdling screams to demonic giggles but both of them tried to shake those off. At one point, they even felt a certain weight on their shoulders as if somebody was hanging from their backs.
Somehow, they persevered and came out of that big maze of hallways and now could see the wall through which they entered at a distance.The only thing standing between them and the wall were a few stairs and a massive courtyard which they had to cross.
At once, they ran and as they descended the first set of stairs, out of nowhere, a security guard appeared, taking both of them by surprise.
" Jesus, man, you nearly gave us a heart attack " Andrew exclaimed while putting his right hand upon his throbbing chest. The security guard looked at them curtly before adjusting his posture and asking them about their presence in the fort at this time in a gruff tone.
" Oh! We just got lost in the big hallways of the fort " Andrew uttered that excuse sheepishly, hoping the guard would buy that lie and, surprisingly, he did. The guard didn't say anything and just gestured to follow him which they readily did.
The trio made their way in complete silence made even more potent by the chilling wind breezing smoothly making an eerie, howling sound in its wake.
" What are you doing inside the fort at this hour? Are you not afraid of the ghosts residing here? " Matthew asked the man, gnarly scenarios popping up inside his mind.
The guard laughed a little when he heard the question. " Well, the ghosts residing here don't harm you if you respect them. Also, I don't like to call them that. I see them more as people who have been lost to the ravages of time, " he said in a soft voice, not turning around to look at them. His weird demeanor made both of them stop dead in their tracks.
" You are one of them, aren't you? " Matthew asked in a trembling voice.
The guard turned, a freaky smile lodged on his face. All of a sudden, the semblance of the guard vanished and was replaced by a scary-looking woman who had a face that could make even the bravest of men puke their guts out. The whole right side of her face was disfigured and a few scanty hairs stuck to her head like some weeds standing in a crop field. Her nails were unkempt and looked sharp like a predator’s.
" You fools entered thinking you can escape from here? Once somebody enters after sundown they become a part of this place forever, " the demonic woman said accompanied by a hollow giggle.
A second may have passed after she had uttered that statement, when she charged toward them, teeth-baring, sharp nails ready to pounce at them. Andrew and Matthew immediately started to run back but were met by another hindrance.
A mob of spirits were standing there, staring at them murderously. There simply was nowhere else to go and the duo instantly realized this was the end of the line for them.
" Well, let's say our goodbyes then, eh? " Matthew muttered pensively.
" No, " Andrew replied, his voice still determined even on the verge of death. " On my signal, " he added, " punch that woman. Just one mighty punch, Matty, and then run like hell. You hear me? Don't ever look back no matter what occurs, ".
Just as that monstrous woman was about to attack them, Andrew passed a nod to his friend and simultaneously their fists rose and collided with the jaw of the she-devil. A cracking sound came, the blow staggered that monster for a second, and instantly they started to run as this was their only shot at freedom.
They ran across the courtyard at a swift pace not once peeking behind to look at that mob of angry ghosts, their eyes fixated on the wall near the main door which they had to jump through. It seemed they would make it, but when you are up against forces which don't obey the rules of the earthly realm nothing can be done no matter how brilliant one's plans are.
It all happened in a fraction of a second. Andrew was running at his full speed when suddenly he heard Matthew's guttural cry. His head immediately jerked in that direction and saw that his friend was in the clutches of that demonic woman with a few of her acolytes standing near her. She was choking Matthew with one hand, her grip looking more formidable than any living human. A few of her acolytes followed Andrew too but he, at once, ran towards his right side where that small temple was situated.
It was a temple of the Hindu god Shiva and even though Andrew was an atheist; he doesn't even remember when was the last time he had attended church, he quickly got inside the temple and crouched himself just near the idol, his trembling body glued to it. The ghostly entities lingered near but none dared to cross the threshold of the temple. After some time, when they felt like they could never get to him, they swiftly went back to join their queen.
A second later, Matthew's pain-filled scream reached Andrew and he clasped the statue while sobbing like a child. He didn't even have the courage to look at the scene in front of him.
With great force, the demonic woman grabbed Matthew by his hair and started to drag him back towards the fort followed by her ghostly acolytes, his horrible cries still coming to Andrew's ears before being silenced forever.
Andrew waited for at least half an hour to see if that ghostly party would return to fetch him too but nothing of that sort happened. Everything around was deadly still and it looked like the ghosts of the fort were satiated with his friend's sacrifice.
Sensing the opportunity, Andrew ran towards the wall, jumped through it on the first attempt itself, started the Jeep and sped away in it.
The night was dry and a little cold but Andrew welcomed that feeling wholeheartedly as he had been sweating profusely up to this point. His body was enjoying the soothing night air but his mind still seemed locked inside that fort premises. The anguished cries of Matthew in his last moments were still lodged deep inside Andrew's brain and he was not being successful in driving them out.
Maybe, it was the state of his mind that made him unaware of his surroundings. So, when a truck appeared in front of him, he had no sense of what to do and instead of pressing the brakes he pressed the accelerator and in no time his jeep went ramming into the truck at full speed, ejecting him violently in the due process. A painful cry emerged from his throat before a burgeoning blackness took him in its embrace.
When he woke up, the first sound that came to Andrew's ears was the constant beeping of a life support machine. He jerked up his head and saw that he was on a hospital bed connected to all sorts of tubes, his mother sitting next to him.
" Mom " Andrew uttered that one word with extreme pain. His mother instantly looked at him with a tired expression.
" Oh! Sweetheart, please don't go this time. Let me call the nurse, " she said with an urgency while pressing the buzzer.
" What do you mean... don't go? " Andrew asked while battling another surge of pain.
" Sweetie, you have been in a coma for six months. You keep regaining your senses but then quickly drift away again after staring at that mirror in front " she said in a confused voice.
On hearing that, Andrew glanced at the mirror and saw the ghosts from the fort looking at him. In the midst of them, stood his friend Matthew, a glum expression spread on his face which had been horrendously deformed.
" Matty, " Andrew just managed to utter his name when Matthew instantly replied, " This is your personal hell. Enjoy your life circling around in a loop. Consider it as a price for your betrayal, ".
Just as he completed his statement, Andrew's eyes started shutting down. His mother's frantic cries came indistinctly to his ears before he lost consciousness and again found himself driving a Jeep with a scared Matthew sitting beside him going on their way to the Bhangarh fort.
By Priyanshu Misra
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