The Haunted Fortress of Bhangarh: Book 1

32. Guardian angel

He sheathed himself from the onslaught of the lady in red rushing towards him by placing his arms in front of him and squinting his eyes shut. His fingers clenched into fists when anticipating the apparition's next move. Perhaps it would strangle him or probably it would squish him like a ball and render him breathless, but he was surprised when moments passed and nothing happened. Except for his rash breathing, he couldn't hear anything, and he cautiously lowered his arms, letting them swing by his side as his eyelids fluttered open.

A sigh of relief escaped his mouth when he couldn't see the red dupatta flying in the wind or the ghoulish smirk on her ghastly features. Gulping, wiping the beads of perspiration appearing on his forehead, he swerved around and knocked at his door instead. It was thrown open by Nidhi a minute later, and though she continued to yap about how her best friend cheered her up with an ice cream party, he could only smile feebly. He was unable to get rid of the horrific images playing relentlessly in front of his eyes, and the more he pondered over it, the more senseless it seemed.

However, a voice in the back of his head tinkled, reminding him that whatever he saw or his friends and sister experienced so far had no plausible explanation except for one. They were all getting haunted by what people call a ghost. No matter how laughable it sounded to the rational part of his brain, he knew the explanation he had conjured after judging the events so far wasn't fallacious. In fact, when he paused for a moment to cerebrate over it, all of it made sense. A spirit, a ghost was after them, threatening them, injuring them, intimidating them, and frightening them out of their wits. The lady in red.

***

Rudra was able to put his maddening thoughts aside and sit to study later that night. Though his silence wasn't perceived too well by Shweta, she accepted his excuse of being exhausted after a long and tiring day. He yearned to confess everything in front of her, for he had always been very close to his mother, but he had no idea how to formulate his thoughts into words and tell her that her doubts were not unfounded. However, as he was rendered speechless due to the situation, he chose to vent his anger and frustration via the only means he knew of.

The books and notebooks were sprawled over his desk as his fingers moved over the keyboard of his laptop. There were a bunch of materials left to read, especially the day's headlines and important news items, and he got more and more engrossed with the activities assigned to him by Avinash. The tip of the pen commenced scribbling over a blank sheet as he made rough notes regarding the important dates in the modern history of India. No sooner did he jot down the date of the establishment of the Indian Air Force in British India, he was startled due to a raucous crashing resounding in his ears.

He jumped in his seat, and the pen fell down from his hands, landing on the floor and rolling straight under his bed. Everything fell silent as instantly as he sat up straighter. His neck snapped towards the windows of the room from where the sound had wafted in. The curtains were drawn and the glass panes were shut, but it still felt like he was standing right next to the source of the commotion. The clank of the metals and the dragging of the tires of a vehicle were alerting him, telling him that two cars might have collided head-on against one another in front of his porch.

He pushed the chair backward, the screeching echoing in the silent night air. He made his way towards the window and peeked down, but there was nothing remarkable transpiring on the street. A few cars were parked here and there and nightlamps were illumining the length of the lane. Slight winds caused the fluttering of the leaves on the trees, and the chirping of the crickets could be distinctly heard.

Blowing air out of his mouth and shaking his head at the momentary delusion that led to the imagination perhaps, he went back towards the desk. But the clank and crash echoed in the air once again, forewarning him. Realizing that something unusual was happening outside, he rushed down the stairs and went straight for the door. He misremembered to switch on the lights of the stairwell and the living area, and the moment he unlatched the door, something held him back.