(4) Horror struck mystery

Story of :- Two cousin (girls)
Location:- Some part of Old Delhi, India
Narrated by:- one of the girl mentioned above

Me and my cousin Vili were told by our common friend Shaun, that we would get good information about our project on city history, from an elderly man living in the old city. One morning, we both went searching that old man, whose house was located behind the old shopping complex in one of the oldest and ill- managed streets. After lot of effort put in, we managed to locate him. Before we could urge to ask him any question, he himself initiated a conversation on the very topic we had gone to discuss with him. As we were not able to comprehend with what he was saying, our faces turned bamboozled. Realizing that his words were Greek & Latin to us, he immediately got up from his century old- about to collapse rocking chair, and asked us to follow him to a certain place in the nearby vicinity, where he could easily explain us things with live examples. Though we were not very sure of his idea, but just not to overrule an elderly man’s suggestion, we decided to follow him. We were stunned to see a man of age ninety plus, walk with the velocity we both were not able to match, even though we were almost running behind him. Within very short time we reached an old rickety fort sort of construction, which seemed to be falling to pieces with every forwarding moment. He took a pause, turned back, looked straight into our eyes, and asked us, “so girls, are you ready for the most adventurous journey of your life?”….and we were like… “what adventure here in?”…but we nodded in yes and followed him again.

                Not many minutes had passed by, and we had started encountering the very uncanny and eerie pictures of an unusual place, with each forward step. We crossed through the house like big trees, sauntered on the sticky- animal print floors, saw the blood ponds, marched past the village full of dog-headed people, and what not?..we both were scared to death by now and could not even go back, because after we crossed each scene, it got closed on our backs. Having no other choice left and nerves going numb, we did not do else, but follow him quietly.

                After sometime, we saw a water rivulet flowing across a beautiful mountain. We felt tad relaxed to see something which was normal to our senses. That man, again turned around, looked at us and with a smile told us, “we have to cross this watercourse and then we will reach the place you would never want to leave. But ….let me warn you, don’t even think of returning back from here because from now onwards, things will not get closed on your back, which may tempt you to run back home. If you do so, be responsible for the horrendous things that will happen to you then after.” Though we got little frightened by this warning, we both were happy to know that from now on, there always would be an option to lope out from this ghastly journey. We crossed the stream sticking to him and arrived at a ground, from where we could see nothing but water all around, which was rising at its utmost speed. In no time, that man almost got disappeared by pacing on the thin path way, which was, supposedly the only way to cross the huge ocean like entity. We had no guts to follow him, as we were jolted with the thought of getting drowned, perhaps because we both didn’t know swimming. While we stood perplexed, a young boy of age around 9-10, appeared there from god knows where, and advised us to keep walking. On our disagreement and request to help us go home, he consented to help us out. He told us that we could not go back from the route we had come, but he would drop us at a safe place from where we could take further help and head home safe. That boy appeared like an angel to us in the worst times of our lives. We followed him without a question and after wandering through some good, some bad lands, we reached a place which seemed like a small village with people like us residing there. That boy left us there and asked us to be more careful from then on, as he would not be with us anymore. We thanked him for his help and then he left. We could see that all the houses in the village looked like the mirror image of each other. We were baffled as to which house to enter in, to seek foster help. As there seemed no difference between those houses, we randomly chose one and knocked at its door. A beautiful middle aged lady welcomed us in.  She behaved in a fashion as if she already knew we were coming and was happy that we reached. She offered us some juice and dry fruits and assured us that after we have had some rest, the other family members, who were asleep then, would help us out to go wherever we wanted to. We breathed some ease and went to sleep after having the creepily tasting juice and unusual dry fruits. Later, when I suddenly woke up due to some freaky noises, and Vili was still asleep, I saw the most gruesome sight of my life. I stood at the window of the room we were in, and could see the roofless courtyard right in middle of that palace like house, where they were slitting the human bodies and pouring some salt kind of thing in it. I was not sure if the bodies they were throwing and cutting, were of the dead beings or there was still some life left in them, because with every bluster, some painful cries could be heard. I got shit shocked and my feet started trembling. I could not move myself by an inch and could not even call out Vili to wake her up. Next moment, there came thunderous knocks on the door and call outs for us to open it. Before I could warn my cousin, she woke up and opened the door immediately. There was again that lady with more women this time, standing at the door. The other lady from the group asked us, if we had had a good sleep after the blood juice and bones-dry fruits we have had. We both felt utterly sick to learn that. Now, we knew, what that old man meant, when he said that we should not think of leaving him and running out of the journey. We understood by now, that we were in grave danger. We kept quiet and followed the instructions given to us. We were taken to a large living room where we could see about 50 people including kids, beautifully dressed women and grisly appearing men. We were made to sit amongst them and asked to entertain ourselves in the way we liked. We sat there for several hours without a word uttered. For a brief moment, I caught sleep and when I woke up again, I could not see my cousin besides me. I asked people around, where was she. They told me as she was feeling very tired, she went for a long sleep. Though I doubted what they said, but had no choice but to believe them. After several hours of not sighting her again, I became restless and started ambling across in the large living room which though hardly had enough space to walk. While moving rapidly in stress I stumbled upon a sack, which was laid across a sofa. The jerk my feet gave to the sack which was loosely locked, made it open and a hand plunged out of it. My heart almost stopped beating. It was my darling Vili’s hand, still holding the bracelet I had made and gifted her on her last birthday. I started crying helplessly and felt wretched at the site of my sister lying in pool of her own blood. Next moment, a lady came and stood by my side. She told me, “ do you remember the cries you could hear some hours back when we were seated together?, and you asked me who it was… it was your beloved sister who was made to entertain, though forcefully, all the men in our family, one by one..and must say she did her job well..and hence she was paid back with the reward she deserved…see, how peacefully she is resting here, and soon she will be utilized to be served as the juice and nuts to our new guests. And please don’t fret, we won’t whip away from you the opportunity to show your flair. Soon our men, who by now, would have turned hungry again, would come here to trial your caliber. Good luck girl.”

                Incapacity to utter even a word, move an inch more, I stood there numb, waiting to meet my cruel fate. And then came there, those wraithlike mortal beasts to tear me apart.