Chapter 11

6.00pm , Mehra Mansion.

Shree handover the charge of recording console to Aisha & get ready to enter the mansion with Rathod. Sonali also wanted to go with them but Rathod & Saakshi denied, Arjun also supported them. Therefore, she stayed with Aisha & Chotu near the SUV.

...

In the driveway  

Shree was getting restless, which was not unnoticed to Saakshi. She was encouraging him.

Saakshi : Don't worry Shree, nothing gonna happen to you. Just chill.

Shree : Chill is going down my spine already yaar. Yeh Arjun sir ko main hi mila tha bali charhane ke liye?

Saakshi : (looking Shree from head to toe) Haan, he made a bad choice.

Shree : You agree with that !!

Saakshi : Why not? He better select Aisha for this, at least she wouldn't be so afraid before entering the mansion.

Shree : Your calling me a coward??Saakshi, just look at me, I'm injured, I can't run away as quickly as you guys.

Saakshi : Don't worry, Sameer won't left you inside.

Shree :  (muttering under his breath) tumhari kya hain, Arjun sir kii saath jaa rahi ho, khuski ke mare aab to kuch aur dikhi vi nahi degi tujhe.  Jao, enjoy karo, huh. Yahan hain na bechara chota sa Shree marne ke liye...

Saakshi : I'm listening... Tell me one thing Shree, till morning you & Aisha were teasing me for being afraid of nothing, now what happened? There's nothing inside to scare you, so just relax.

Shree : I hope !!

It was late evening, the sun was setting; the mansion was looking strange in the orange light. All reached at the front door and stopped abruptly.

Rathod : Yeh kya hain, Damm it?

Arjun : (nitting his eyebrows) We ran away without closing the door, right ? then who closed it?

Shree : Maybe air?

Arjun & Rathod pushed the door open  and all entered... Shree stopped at the door and was looking around, smelling something.

Rathod : No you want invitation, Shree? Come fast.

Shree: Sir yeh smell...( he approached towards the bolts of the door and touched it ) ...sir it've been oiled !!! Arjun jumped immediately besides Shree, & checked it again.

Arjun : & it is done very recently, maybe today. Come let's go...(he walked inside)

Rathod : We should stick together...

Arjun : No, you go to the main hall, & I'll check the projection room, maybe I meet the blue ghost there...

Rathod : OK, but kahin aur jaane se pehle hum yahan milenge, done?

Arjun : Come, Saakshi.

Rathod & Shree were climbing up the staires & examining the staireways carefully to find any clues. But it was clean.

Rathod : (muttering under his breath)Yeh Rawte vi... hamesha aapna chala hi leta hain...aur main bhi maan ne per majboor ho jati hoon... (toShree) Kuch mila Shree?

Shree : No sir ,its clean.

They entered the main hall, Shree's jaw fell seeing this big room. The lightsof their torch was creating shadowes in the walls, which made them feeling strange...the air inside is cold... hairrising... both were feling awkward, & those photographs of Yatin in different costumes & poses, the abstract paintings were just adding fuel in the fire...

Shree : It looks like a musium !!

Rathod : Right, like some archiological section of musium, old, dusty, faded..lifeless..

"LESS...ESS...SS"

Rathod uttered the last word reaching exactly at the center of the room, that too loud enough...He jumped back.

Shree : Baap re... itni tezz...( he was still at the centre)

"EZZ...ZZ..Z"

Rathod pulled back Shree by his wrist.

Rathod : Don't... If you talk loud standing there... That happens.

Shree gulped...& looked around.His gaze fell on a big painting... A landlord looking very angrily at him. His eyes were so alive... He felt an eye winked at him suddenly !!

Shree : Sir, (he groaned)... that painting... Looking at us!!

Rathod : Which one?

Shree just pointed his hand holding the torch to that painting.

Rathod : Hallucination Shree... Painters painted such portraits willingly, that if you look at it from any direction, you feel it's looking at you.

Shree : But sir...it's not painted eye, it's real...and alive !!

Rathod : (Shook his  head ) come, look closer.

Rathod approached towards the painting, Shree hesitated for a few seconds before joining him. Both pointed their torches together on the painting. Rathod was right, those eyes were painted.

Rathod : This is Yatin... he made his own portrait like his ancestors... Shree check this painting properly... Bring that chair (he pointed towards another corner of the room) ... stop, I'm coming with you.

Shree bent down to pick the chair up, but he felt someone pulled his bag by its strap. He looked back ith a start & saw a tall figure in the darknees behind...a scream escaped his throat...& he turned to run...but he couldn't..due to the pull on his bag...& he fell down. At that moment two hands dragged him from that place & a iron torso fell down exactly where he was. Shree looked at that thing... It was an complete armour suit...sticked up against the wall. Strap of his bag stuked between its fingers that caused the sudden pull & it fell down.

Rathod wiped sweats from his forehead.

Rathod : God!! You're heavier than your look!!

Shree : (treambling & breathing heavily) Thank you..sir..

Rathod moved to that suit to check it, Shree joined him...It was heavy, if he didn't pulled Shree, he would be injured badly.

Rathod : It's just an ordinary Armour suit... come, let's move.(he got up)

Shree was about to pick up his torch while its ray fell on something, he picked that up. It was a torch.

Shree: Sir, I've found this...but whose?

Rathod : Keep it safely, may be we can find something from it.

Rathod opened the door to go to the entrance area, but it was another door, which led them to a big room, well decorated with a big dining table.

Shree : It's may be the dining area, look at the table sir, it's  huge.

Rathod : Table for around 50 people, it should be big. Shree, where is the kitchen area?

Shree : Downstaires, sir. why?

Rathod : (in microphone) Rawte, where are you?

Arjun : Still in the projection room, why?

Rathod : We're coming...Shree, which door?

Shree asked Aisha for the direction & led Rathod to the door of the kitchen area. It was another stairecase entering the kitchen area...it was dark inside, & a humid smell of air evident to the desertiness of this area. May be they are the first to enter here in last 23 years.

They reached in the kitchen area, check it throughly & headed towads the projection room.

...

At the downstairs

Arjun : Guide me to the projection room , Saakshi.

Saakshi : Well, I think it was in the left...no right... Arjun, I can't. We entered from another side, so..

Arjun : But you ran out through the main door.

Saakshi : I was scared Arjun... main to bas nikalna chahti thi...And found the exit...aab kaise who thori na yaad hai.

Arjun asked Aisha in microphones and headed towards a door. Saakshi silently followed him.

They again entered that theater like room, Arjun silently observed the piano then the pipe organ inside out. Then he pulled down the progection screen, it was quite in a good condition. Everything was neatly arranged & clean, there was no trace of dirt. Then he moved towards the projector, while Rathod contacted him.

Saakshi was keenly observing the film box, and called Arjun.

Saakshi : Arjun, this box... I left it open...and the films are arranged in the order now...

Arjun : So it's confirmed...It is arranged by its woner. Anyways where did you saw that blue shadow?

Saakshi : Near the pipe organ.

Arjun : I've checked there, there's nothing. But we need to inspect this place more precisely...

Saakshi : Do you think you can find some secret doors or something here? Look at this room... it already has many doors.

Arjun : May be one of this lead us to the culprit.Come?

Saakshi : Where ?

Arjun : Stage dekhna hain.

Saakshi again followed Arjun to the stage where the piano & the pipe organ were placed. Arjun climbed up on the stage & approached towards a door behind it. He gestured Saakshi to be at his heels. He slowly opened the door and entered, it was a room full of props, costumes, furnitures & other stuffs.

Saakshi : It's the Prop room...like all other theaters have. But I don't think it's in use...kaafi dirty hain.

Arjun asked  her to search the place & start cheching the boxes and almiras...& Saakshi did so from the other side of the room. Suddenly Saakshi turned and and found Arjun standing right behind her. She looked at him quizzically.

Arjun : Was there any problem between you & Jay?

Saakshi still stared at Arjun with same expression in her eyes.

Arjun : Tumne Jay ki dead body nahi dekhi... You were not present in his last rituals...why?

Saakshi : There's nothing like that...we'll talk later about this.

She was about to turn...but..

Arjun : Sorry.

Saakshi : Haan?? Kis khushi main?

Arjun : For yesterday...I dropped a brick ...so...

Saakshi : (whispering) not now (pointing towards the microphones)...

And they both heard the pipe organ started playing. Both froze at their place for a moment.

...

Rathod & Shree were walking through a corridoor leading to the projection room. The darkness around them was taking a toll over them to control their anxiety. Suddenly they heard the pipe organ playing; they looked each other and rushed towards the room.

As they entered, they found the instrument was playing automatically, & no sign of the other two. They froze at the door...and Shree was mentally prepared to run away, but Rathod strated walking towards the pipe organ. Shree, being helpless, followed him.

Rathod stroll around the pipe organ to find how it was playing but he found nothing. Shree also tried to find any device or electric connection of the instruments...he turned to Rathod to say something but his voice stucked inside his throat. Rathod notices the strange expression on Shree's face, & following his graze, he looked back. The sight was enough to frighten him, he took two steps backward and tried to hold Shree, but his hands found only emptiness behind him. And a big sound of banging door succeeded to move his eyes to its direction, he saw Shrees retreating form through the door. His fear as increasing... But he also thinking the whereabouts of  Arjun and Saakshi... he couldn't left them here...he tried to call them... but his voice as ceased... he tried to move ...but his leg Seemed as heavy as stones... He was just staring at the blue figure in front of him with bated breath...but he didn't know what really it is...then suddenly his fear turned into apprehension & he ran... ran for his life.

...

Arjun was the first to recover from the shock, he looked at Saakshi & gestured her to keep quite. He moved doorwards, opened it a bit, and looked at the playing pipe organ. Saakshi also joined him.

Arjun : Is it playing the same tune that we heard that day?

Saakshi nodded.

They saw the blue shadow was forming behind Rathod. Saakshi was about to warn Rathod but Arjun stopped her. Saakshi questioned him with eyes & he just pointed towards the shadow. They saw Shree to show Rathod the figure and showing a clear pair of heels at the next instant.

Arjun : Saakshi, did you saw this blue thing that day?

Nobody answered him... he looked at Saaakshi... she grasped his hand tight & was staring at that figure as if she was hypnotyzed. Arjun followed her gaze...he saw nothing that could make any sense...but he felt the temperature was falling as his anxiety increasing...he held Saakshi's hand & moved to Rathod and about to call him, but Rathod ran away like a maniac... & the blue figure passed through him...Arjun had no other option except following his chief.

...

Shree ran like a scared deer, ignoring the sharp pain in his injured foot...he just wanted to get out of that suffocating mansion, but he couldn't find the way out...& that terrorized him more. To add his misery... someone started follow him as he could hear the footsteps of the follower. He increased his pace and finally he saw the opened door and moonlit sky outside through it.

He came out of the mansion and was approaching towards the SUVs, but his foot stucked in some stone and he fell down. his body rolled over the ground for a few meters and then stopped against a pile of stones he tried to get up for many times but his paining foot just gave up...He couldn't bare the pain anymore.

Now he could listen those approaching footsteps towards him...he assumed that blue shadow is coming for him... he closed his eyes & started praying... but the sound was getting closer & he felt something heavy jumped over him.

He was waiting for the worst as no energy was left in his body. He felt the weight shifted and a hand touched his back. It slightly rubbed his back and started moving upward as if it was trying to find his neck. He felt his body was getting numb.

That hand stopped near his nape, and pressed there a bit more. It was the last straw & Shree screamed his heart out.

...

As Arjun ran behind Rathod holding Saakshi's hand...their footsteps just added some fuel in the fire of Rathod's fear. He spinted towards the main door and then to the vehicles...he forgot about all plannings, strategies, work plans..Everything. All he knew was to get in the car and get away from this area. But his fortune was not seemed to be with him... His feet were colloided with some big obstacle and he fell down. He got up quickly and looked at that thing... he touched it to find out what made him fall & heard a heartstopping scream that made him scream too.

Arjun saw two man fell in the ground and crying their heart out... This scene brought him in senses, at the same time he felt a tug in his hand. He looked his sidewards and found Saakshi trying to freeing her hand from his grip.

Saakshi : ( pointing forward) I think they need us.

Arjun nodded and approached towards them not leaving her hand from his grip.

...

How was it?