Chapter - 3,4,5,6
947 Words
Chapter - 3 The Invitation
At 7:00 the next morning, Arjun received an email.
The sender was listed as:
Dr. Vikram Sen
Subject:
Rudra Giri Expedition — Final Opportunity
Arjun opened it.
Arjun,
I believe your father left something unfinished.
I also believe you are the only person who can help us understand what happened.
We are leaving for Rudra Giri tomorrow morning.
If you want answers, come with us.
Do not tell anyone.
Do not bring anyone outside the group.
Most importantly...
If you hear a bell after midnight, do not follow it.
Arjun stared at the message.
He almost deleted it.
Then he saw the attachment.
A scanned document.
At the bottom was his father's signature.
Arjun knew that signature.
He had seen it on his father's death certificate.
But beneath the signature was another line.
Written in red ink.
HE IS STILL ALIVE.
Arjun's heart began pounding.
He immediately called the number in the email.
A man answered.
"Arjun?"
"Who are you?"
"Dr. Vikram Sen."
"How do you know my father?"
There was a long silence.
"I knew him."
"What happened to him?"
Another silence.
Then Vikram said:
"That is what we're going to find out."
Chapter -4
The Expedition
The group met at an old railway station the following morning.
There were six of them.
Arjun.
Dr. Vikram Sen, an archaeologist in his late fifties.
Meera Nair, a historian specializing in South Indian inscriptions.
Kabir Malik, a former military officer.
Rohan Das, a photographer and documentary filmmaker.
Nisha Verma, a medical researcher.
And an elderly local guide named Bhairav.
Bhairav looked at Arjun for several seconds without speaking.
Then he asked:
"Your father's name was Dev Rao?"
Arjun nodded.
The old man's face changed.
"You shouldn't have come."
Arjun stared at him.
"Why?"
Bhairav looked toward the tracks.
"Because Rudra Giri has been waiting for you."
Kabir laughed.
"Come on. We're going there to study a fort, not fight ghosts."
Bhairav didn't smile.
"You think the fort is the dangerous thing."
He looked directly at Kabir.
"It isn't."
"What is?"
Bhairav lowered his voice.
"The road back."
Nobody spoke.
The train arrived.
They boarded.
As it moved away from Hyderabad, Arjun looked out the window.
For a moment, he thought he saw a man standing beside the tracks.
A tall man.
Wearing old-fashioned clothes.
Watching the train.
Arjun blinked.
The man was gone.
Chapter - 5
The Village Without Children
After eight hours of travel and another four hours by jeep, they reached a small village at the edge of the forest.
The village was called Devagiri.
It was strangely quiet.
There were houses.
Fields.
A temple.
A small tea shop.
But there were no children.
Arjun noticed it immediately.
"Where is everyone?"
Bhairav didn't answer.
Meera looked around.
"Where are the children?"
The tea-shop owner stared at them.
Then he looked at Bhairav.
"You brought them here?"
Bhairav nodded.
The shop owner shook his head.
"You should have stopped them."
Kabir frowned.
"Stopped us from what?"
The man pointed toward the forest.
"From waking him."
That night, nobody wanted to talk.
They stayed in an abandoned guesthouse.
At 11:30 p.m., Arjun was unable to sleep.
He walked outside.
The village was completely silent.
No insects.
No dogs.
No wind.
Then he heard it.
A bell.
Far away.
Dong.
Arjun froze.
Another.
Dong.
He remembered Vikram's warning.
Don't follow the bell.
Then he heard a child's voice.
"Brother..."
Arjun turned.
A little boy stood at the end of the road.
Barefoot.
Wearing a white shirt.
His face was hidden by darkness.
Arjun took one step forward.
"Who are you?"
The boy pointed toward the forest.
"Your father is waiting."
Arjun's blood went cold.
"How do you know my father?"
The boy smiled.
Then he whispered:
"He has been waiting for thirty years."
The lights in the village suddenly went out.
Every single one.
Darkness swallowed the road.
Arjun heard footsteps behind him.
He turned.
Nobody.
Then something touched his shoulder.
He screamed.
Kabir grabbed him.
"Arjun!"
Arjun turned back toward the road.
The boy was gone.
Kabir looked around.
"What happened?"
Arjun pointed.
"There was a boy."
Kabir frowned.
"What boy?"
"Right there."
Kabir looked at the empty road.
Then Bhairav appeared behind them.
His face was pale.
"What did he say?"
Arjun hesitated.
"He said my father is waiting."
Bhairav closed his eyes.
"Oh God."
"What?"
The old man whispered:
"The children only appear before someone dies."
Chapter - 6
The First Body
They found the body at sunrise.
It was one of the villagers.
An old man named Suryam.
He had disappeared during the night.
They found him near the forest boundary.
He was sitting beneath a tree.
His eyes were open.
His mouth was filled with ash.
There were seven small cuts across his chest.
Meera examined them.
"These aren't animal wounds."
Nisha crouched beside the body.
"His skin is cold."
"He died hours ago," Kabir said.
Nisha shook her head.
"No."
She looked at her watch.
"He died approximately ten minutes ago."
Everyone stared at her.
"What?"
Nisha pointed toward the body.
"His heart is still warm."
Kabir stepped backward.
"That's impossible."
Then the dead man's fingers moved.
Arjun watched in horror.
The corpse slowly raised one hand.
His finger pointed toward the forest.
His mouth opened.
A whisper emerged.
"Seven."
Then his body collapsed.
Bhairav immediately turned around.
"We leave."
Vikram grabbed his arm.
"We haven't even reached the fort."
"Exactly."
"We came here for answers."
Bhairav stared at him.
"You don't understand."
"Then explain."
The old man looked at the forest.
"Every thirty years, the fort opens."
Meera frowned.
"Opens?"
"Not the gates."
Bhairav swallowed.
"The curse."
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