IT Follows me

Chapter-8 Saved

The villa was ominous in every way.
The negative vibes oozed through every brick of home.
"Stay outside," The old fakir ordered in a hoarse voice,"Your life might be in danger,"
Abdul nodded.
I have to listen to him.
No games with evil.

Dev breathed heavily. He went near death. He was dead. Almost.
The soul was about to slip out of his body, with eyes darkening. The blood flow to his brain stopped making his face white as snow.
A ghostly paleness had occupied his face then. He was able
to feel his neurons screaming for oxygen.
Then he was let loose all of sudden.
Blood seeped through the veins in faster manner and anyone could see the way his face changed from ghostly white to bright red.
Grasping his vitals, Dev tried to free himself from the so called hold.
He turned upside down and felt like throwing up.
All of sudden, his body hit the floor and simultaneously, the basement door flung open.
In his hazy vision, he was able to see a figure walking down in white. His hands had a rosary bead chain and copper mug.
However the visibility became more hazy till every thing became dark.

The cold air carrying a care of mother, brushed Dev's face.
He was laying unconscious, with the doctor treating him.
The fakir, Abdul and his Dad were seated on sofa.
Dev let out a loud exhale, while opening eyes, his pupils adjusting to the incoming light.
"He had gained consciousness," The doctor said," Get these medicines," He gave the prescription.
Dev took deep breaths.
"Sonakshi..."
The Fakir came near him.
"Beta," He held his palm, "All is well, you escaped from the claws of death. From the embers of Satan."
"But where is my wife?? Sonakshi??"
"Your wife??" Fakir asked wondering.
"Haan...yes. His wife?? Did you see her sir??" Abdul asked frantically.
"She was with me in basement..." Dev said as his tone was somewhere middle between anxiety and fear.
"But when I reached, it was only you I saw my son," The fakir declared.
"My wife...Sonakshi...my wife...that ghosts...no...Sonakshi..." Dev muttered as darkness engulfed him once again.

Abdul decided to check every nook and corner of the house.
The words Fakir uttered to him, kept echoing in his mind.
"Since the ghosts' power is within the boundary of this house, their possessions can't cross this area. So you can find that lady anywhere. Not only in Normal places, like on a bed, chair bath tub etc. but I have seen cases were people had been stuffed under bed, inside the fridge, on backside of car, in kitchen shelves.
One I found had his hands and legs tangled around the generator. No one can believe it. In fact no mortal can do it."
He shut his brain from thinking pessimistic.
"I need to find her,"

Sonakshi woke up.
She felt like someone banging her head using a hammer. Such was the pain that shot inside her abruptly.
Shaking her then heavy head, her legs tried being straight to make her stand. But then her back hit against something hard making it impossible.
"Dev..." She looked around.
No one was there.
Not a single soul alive.
"Where am I??" She muttered looking around, her palm resting on her forehead.
A putrid smell covered the area. It was pitch black around.
Darker than a dark night.
She had no memory of how she reached there.
All that ran in her mind was the way she was pounding the basement door.
Suddenly she felt like something falling on her skin.
It was water droplets that fell on her skin. Her palms sensed something like a large plastic pipe.
"Where am I??" She wondered, "Dev??"
Soon her legs brushed with the cans and bottles, making them roll off.
She felt like being stuffed somewhere.
"Dev..." She kept calling out, as every passing moment making the bile secretion way through her oesophagus.

Abdul was at kitchen.
This is the last place I had to search.
Pushing open every cupboard, he found nothing useful.
Just then, he heard few murmuring sounds from the cupboard beneath the sink.
Sharpening his ears, he listened carefully.
"Dev..."
It was a feminine voice.
His instincts took over him, and he tried opening the door which was like sealed.
"Papa..." Abdul screamed loud, "Help!!"

Sonakshi felt the light and air gush inside the place.
At first, she heard some pounding sounds, followed by creaks that were highly non rhythmic.
That of a door being opened when locked.
A man's scream, a frantic one was heard by her, as if it was miles away.
Soon the door flung open, revealing the faces of three men, one familiar, the one who accompanied her husband the other day.
The two men, pulled her out.
Wait!! Pulling me out??
That's when she found where she was.
The pipe...cans of cleaning materials and dishwashing liquids...
Am I beneath the sink?? In the cupboard.
Abdul succeeded in pulling her half outside. It was her legs that were stuck in.
God!!
How did she even get in??
Soon, using his entire strength for the day, Sonakshi was pulled out, heavily breathing.

Dev could feel the consciousness enveloping him, so is his thoughts about Sonakshi's well being.
Taking deep inhale, he prayed that all these are just nightmares.
Effect of seeing or reading some deternatural phenomena, thanks to his avid reading of horror books back at Mumbai.
Just then, he saw the three men approaching him.
One was Abdul, other two unknown but had seen before.
With them was Sonakshi.
A sigh of relief.
"Sonakshi..." He tried getting up, but felt like paralysed.

The fakir, Abdul, his dad, Dev and Sonakshi sat in the sofa around the table.
Inspite of things that happened, Sonakshi prepared tea and had biscuits served to her guests.
Sipping in tea, Dev dared not to open his mouth. His eyes all of sudden had two dark crescent moons below.
He looked years older. Thanks to the stress that took its toll on him.
The eyes radiated fear. The one every eyes that had neared death shall radiate.
That had escaped from jaws of death shall radiate.
Sonakshi just felt scared. Questions of her being beneath the sink inside the cupboard was eating up her mind.
An eerie silence engulfed the atmosphere. No one knew the way to initiate a conversation.

"This house is haunted," Dev muttered," I saw...I saw two...two victorian era ghosts...they want me to...to float with them. I mean...they..." He trembled as his hands felt it too hard to hold the tea cup.
Sonakshi clutched his shoulder.
"It's okay Dev,"
"Did you experience anything paranormal??" The fakir asked.
"Yeah," Sonakshi took deep breaths," After outing, when we reached home, a nauseous stench took over the place, it was like emanating from basement."
Fakir nodded.
"Then Dev said that he will check things and went down,"
Sonakshi hesitated to state further.
"Please continue," Abdul insisted, "We need to know,"
"Then, I heard a voice, it was of a male. It was too eerie. Too scary. It called out my name. It gave me some nasty compliments. It asked me to..." Sonakshi paused, "Then I heard another female voice, it ordered the male like stop it Rob, and then the lights start flickering and basement door shut close. I tried opening it, pounding the door...then everything went blank. Next I was found in cupboard beneath the sink."
"Hmm...the stage of infestation." Fakir assumed,"Any other??"
Dev was about to say something, when the flower vase on centre table elevated on air and hit the family photo frame, Dev had hung on the wall in living room, leaving the five shocked.