THE DARK

CHAPTER 1 ( At Home )

I lied down on my bed and looking up at the ceiling, I wondered where Sam was. It was already one hour after lunch but Sam wasn't still at home. I wondered whether I should start eating or wait for him to return. I could almost make out the conversations between Nancy and Kate who were in the living room. We, four friends lived together in a comfortable house in Southampton. All of us were without parents and relatives and if there were, we didn't know any. I hadn't asked any of them their ages, neither I wanted to know who will become old firstly or whose teeth will fall apart at the earliest but I could estimate they were all 26. Each one of us were on jobs that produced a hefty amount of our needs. But the reason that we live together isn't just that we were friends but we were interested in a particular activity - 

PARANORMAL ACTIVITIES. After reading a lot of books and watching a dozen of movies, we decided to do something adventurous . (Of course, Horror!) This is the story of last year, not now. Now also the same thing is going, I am looking up at the ceiling and Sam isn't at home, what the fudge is he doing, I don't know. He likes to mock me or in other words, his one or more activities always outrage me. But why I am not going to eat? Unable to answer this question, I continued to think about my past. After that decision we had solved four complicated cases of hauntedness and never looked back. This has now become our part time hobby during vacations. It also gained us some popularity specially by solving the mystery of Dawn House where till now nobody has survived. Just then, Kate entered my room and said - 

" Do you know where Sam is? "

" No, he didn't tell me anything. "

Just as I was about to say something, there was a knock at the door. Nancy opened the door and Sam came in with a rush. He said that Dr. Cumberbatch was about to be hear in any minute. He wants to meet all of us.  

" What the hell does he want to talk to me? "

" Don't know. " sighed Sam.

I woke up with a start, took my lunch and dressed hurriedly. The lunch was tasty but I had no time to take it's taste. 

" Where had you been? " I asked.

" In a Science lecture. There only I met Cumberbatch. "

" Nancy was worrying about you. "

He didn't replied and went on picking up the dishes. We were all ready on time but Cumberbatch arrived a bit late, I may say too late almost 23 minutes. When he put in an appearance, I muttered to myself, " Shit, I could have enjoyed my lunch. " He was nicely dressed with a casual look, tight cardigan with a collared shirt underneath. Suddenly, a thought struck my mind -----

'Did Sam invited Cumberbatch for  lunch?' He can do it to make me feel irked. Last time I met him, he gave me a brilliant scientific speech which lasted for more than two hours. In that lecture, he taught me the whole of Science ( And even above that ) that I have learnt in all my life. It was obvious I hated Science ( And after that lecture, I started to fell both hatred and irritated. ) Why is it necessary to know how water is made? If water is being created naturally, Be Happy. Wash utensils, wash clothes, bath, swim, drown there, what's the need of learning it? I looked at Sam in an angry gesture. He gazed at me with a retreating smile.

" Hello there! " said Cumberbatch glancing at me, " Please be seated. "

I sat down.

" So, I have an important talk with you all. Firstly, an question. Are all of you free for about two weeks? " 

" Yeah " replied Sam.

" Good. I'll not beat the bush. So, you all are being invited to a haunted house. "

" What?! Where?! " I catechized.

" A haunted house. " stated Cumberbatch calmly.

What! Cumberbatch is inviting us to an haunted house! Has he tasted some wrong chemicals or what? Unbelievable. To make sure it wasn't a dream, I pinched Sam.

" Ouch! " he uttered in pain.

It was real. Wow! Bravo! My utmost desire now, was to get up from my seat and wander in all the streets of Southampton carrying Cumberbatch on my shoulders and saying ' Hail Cumberbatch! Hail Cumberbatch! ' Wow! Simply great.

" Which haunted house? " inquired Kate.

"The haunted house at Dorset. At the side of the lake. "

" Do you mean that Holland-Baichung Experimental House? "

" Yes, that one only. " 

What a way to give an invitation! First interrupt lunch, second arrive late and third ask somebody to go to one of the deadliest houses. All the weird things in the world can be done by Cumberbatch. Literally. But if he wants to go, then go alone. Seeing his weirdness, all the spirits in that house will bow their heads and say - " Lord, we give up. You won." 

" By the way.. " uttered Cumberbatch breaking the silence, " Now, I must tell you something about the trip. But I had to do some preparations before we all can go, so I have written that in a piece of paper and also some details about the house and kept it in this envelope. " he added handling the envelope to Sam. " We all are leaving tomorrow at 2. " Be prepared for a week's stay. " he said as if it was a pre-planned activity or a family member came to you and said ' Hey Brother, we are going to Boston tomorrow. '  But a haunted house is weirder than Boston. Weirder by a good margin. By this time, Cumberbatch had gone away and Sam had already started tearing the envelope. There were two papers.

" First, I am reading the introductory page. " declared Sam and started wading through the page aloud so that everyone could hear it. 

' So, as you all know you are being invited to a haunted house popularly known as Holland-Baichung Experimental house. Not being invited, you all are going their for research purposes.
Following are some important tips -------

 Stay time will be for a week. ( From 2nd December to 9th December ) Y-all will bring your necessities and clothes required for a week. Food will be delivered from a nearby restaurant (Named Doughlas Restaurant) by the delivery boy, Mr.Cooper. We will have two caretakers, Mr. and Mrs. Hudson. But they are opt to be there from 8 to 1. Three more people will be there Saint Anjakarim, with his two disciples Thomas and Susy. I will carry my two assistants, David and Lucy. And as y-all will de doing research work there, you will be awarded one and a half million pounds for this. I have provided details about the house in the next page and a detailed map of the house. Go through it. Thank you.
                                                                             - Dr.Cumberbatch

" So, Anjakarim is also going there. It will be more hilarious tour now. "  remarked Sam laughing.

" And that doctor is carrying his assistants too. But why does he want to investigate the house? " interrogated Nancy.

" Two possibilities are there. No.1, Somebody has asked him to do so. And No.2, he wants to steal some instruments and formulas from that house. But he is taking about one and a half million. " I mentioned.

" Arey, I know, Somebody has asked him to do so. He will not lent us that much money. He is a total miser. Do you know that when he accidently gave an extra chicken bone to his dog, he howled and fought for it for about 15 minutes until the dog surrendered." mentioned Sam.

" You know too much about Cumberbatch. " I pointed out laughing.

" Yeah, he is the superstar of donkeys. Okay, now anybody start to read the story. "

" I will read. " uttered Kate.

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Hello guys, this is my debut story in Wattpad. I hope you liked the first part. This story has been told from the point of view of Lionel. I will try my best to entertain you all. You can leave comments, if you had to ask something or give me any better suggestions. Maybe my grammar is not up to the mark but I am trying to improve it. That's all from me now. The next part will be updated within a week. Thank you.