January 2020:
The end of the first semester exams marked the beginning of the mid-year break. Despite the looming threat of the coronavirus pandemic, there were no restrictions in Iraq at the time. It was the perfect opportunity for an exhilarating adventure. The seven friends decided to embark on a terrifying journey to "Death Road," a haunted route near the Russian camp at the entrance of Thi Qar city in southern Iraq. Among them, Mohammed, the oldest, took charge of driving from Baghdad to their destination. The journey typically lasted three hours.
Gathered at their usual spot, the Mud House Café, where they often met to study, Mohammed pitched his idea to the rest of his six friends:
"Guys, they say Death Road in Nasiriyah is haunted by demons. What do you think about making that our adventure destination"?
The group was divided between those in favor and those against the idea, with some citing the long journey and others expressing fear. However, after an impassioned speech from Mohammed, challenging anyone to stay behind if they were afraid, they all eventually agreed to go.
Preparations for the trip began, with the departure set for 8:00 PM to reach Death Road by 11:00 PM. At 7:00 PM, Mohammed gathered his friends into his car – a Kia Carnival with seating for eleven. After ensuring they had all their belongings, they set off promptly at 8:00 PM as planned.
"Relax, guys, enjoy the ride," Mohammed reassured them.
Yeah, easy for you to say with all these tunes blasting, "joked one of his friends."
And so, time passed swiftly until they reached the halfway point of Death Road, where they began searching for a suitable camping spot.
Sajjad: Mohammad, why do they call this road the Road of Death?
Mohammad: Because this road's lowest number of accidents per day around 5-6 accidents, and no one comes out of it safe; everyone involved in an accident must die.
Sajjad: So, this place is like a nest for the souls of dead people?
Mohammad: A lot of dead people, my dear Sajjad.
The guys started pitching their tents, gathering around the fire, sitting, talking, and laughing until it was one o'clock after midnight. They began to hear the sounds of cars driving from a distance, accompanied by laughter, singing, and applause, coming from various directions.
and distant and faint.
Mohammad: Guys, who else hears what I'm hearing?
Sajjad: Can you hear it? I hear a sound like a wedding procession.
Ahmed: Hey, guys, it's okay. Maybe it's just a wedding procession passing by or drunks.
The atmosphere returned to normal among the group until the winds started blowing fiercely, causing the sand to swirl over the fire that the young men had kindled. They all rushed to turn on the lights and reignite the fire as it was before.
After restoring everything, they noticed the disappearance of their friend Sadiq.
Mohammed: Where's Sadiq? Sadiq? Guys, where's Sadiq?
Ahmed: He was just here, helping me light the fire.
Haider: No, I was helping you, Ahmed.
Mohammed: Oh, come on, Sadiq. Enough with your pranks. Come out, we know you're just messing with us.
Ahmed: Where are you? Stop fooling around. Stay where you are.
After a few minutes, they thought Sadiq had gone back to his tent to sleep, so they didn't pay much attention to his disappearance until some pebbles started being thrown at them.
Mohammed: Sadiq, enough with the stone-throwing. Come out. Your pranks will not be scaring us.
They noticed shortly after that the stones were being thrown from different directions in a very short time, making it impossible for one person to be responsible, which instilled some fear in their hearts.
Youssef: Guys, this doesn't seem like Sadiq's doing. I'll go check his tent just to be sure.
Youssef went to Sadiq's tent but couldn't find him there. His friends waited for Youssef to return with Sadiq, but he didn't come back even after half an hour had passed.
Mohammed: What could they possibly be up to? Instead of coming back, they're probably out there playing pranks with stones. What does this mean?
I, Haider, went to check if they were in their tent, but I couldn't find them. I searched around the area where we were sitting, but I found no trace of them. I hurried back to my friends.
Haider: Mohammed, Mohammed! Sadiq and Youssef are nowhere to be found, not in their tent or anywhere nearby!
Mohammed: Haider, are you serious? We need to stop these jokes.
Haider: I swear, I'm not joking. Check for yourself if you don't believe me.
Mohammed: Alright, I'll go with Ali to look for them. We'll bring them back, don't worry.
Haider: Okay, we'll wait for you here.
Mohammed and Ali went to search for Youssef and Sadiq, and after 10 minutes, Mohammed returned alone, looking shocked, with an expression on his face indicating that he had seen something terribly frightening.
Haider: Where are they? And where's Ali? Why are you silent, what did you see?
Mohammed: didn't Ali come back here?
Haider: No, he didn't. Where is he?
Mohammed: He was with me, and suddenly he disappeared without a trace.
Haider: No, this can't be happening, Mohammed. We have to do something! Where are they?
Ahmed: Let's keep our composure and split up to search for them. That's the best solution. It's not reasonable for them to be far away.
Haider: Alright, I'll search for Youssef, Mohammed, look for Ali, Ahmed, search for Sadiq, and Sajjad, you stay here. Don't let the fire die out and keep the light directed at the signal so we can see from every angle and not miss them.
Mohammed: Alright, let's get started.
Each of the young men took a side to search for their friend... But they were not fully aware of what awaited them.
YOU ARE READING
Baghdad Blood Theatre
Horror(Haider, Ahmed, Mohammed, Youssef, Ali, Fatima, Sadiq, Sajjad, Liaglo, Helena, and many other names). You will memorize it well. Each of them has a story, family, feelings, and personality that is different and independent from the others. We always...
