Chapter 2

"Guys!! Will you please shut up? You are giving me a heavy headache." I complained the moment we stepped out of the airport.

Early in the morning we landed in Chennai and had only a cup of coffee for our breakfast. We have been waiting for two more hours to get our luggage back and the sun raised already above our head at six in the morning to savour all our remaining energies.

They are waffling and complaining about the heat like I'm the reason for this. "Reil, could you please make it fast, I can't wait even a bit." Natasha Valarie complained looking at her wristwatch.

"Wait a minute, it will arrive anytime soon." I rolled my eyes. She is always this dramatic. She expected the head of the council to give her a visit to the airport and fetch her to his mansion to have breakfast as a thanksgiving.

Don't think me wrong you will get to know more about her in the upcoming days.

"The cab has arrived, now drag your lazy ass from here." I slapped her butt and slipped inside the passenger seat.

One by one everyone settled inside the car and I heard a chorus of breath that makes me chuckled inwardly but I masked my face as normal not wanting to get caught.

I'm getting used to this climate but they are, Nah, no chance. They are like a newborn baby whose skin is so soft and sensitive even a warm breath burnt their skin.

I glanced through the window admiring the view of Chennai city until we reach our destination.

"You are going to stay here?" The taxi driver gave me a weird look as I'm voluntarily dragging myself into the dead.

"Yeah." I gave him a brief answer and paid the money.

"Reil, at least he could send a man to carry our luggage. I have no energy to carry all these." Chole eyed her luggage and breathed heavily.

"Just ten minutes walking from here. Now hurry up." I rushed once the signal turned into red though there is no need of any. The road is empty as hell and I could see a rare number of cab and the cab is none other than the one just dropped us a minute ago. 

We crossed the road and walked inside the narrow road that can fit one person. We lined up and followed one another where I'm the one leading from the beginning using the Google map.

Walking to our cottage was very painful especially dragging the luggage in the unsteady road. Both sides of the road were covered with green grass,  buildings are very rare to find and it reminded me of we are in the ghost house.

"Finally!" They dumped their bags and luggage on the floor and sat on the stairs once we reach our cottage.

The place is engulfed with utter silence, no trace of any humans or birds at least an insect, that brought a bad feeling in the pitch of my stomach but I hide it in the back of my head.

I want to overcome this trauma to find out the truth behind this misery. I opened the door using the key and stepped inside the living room where most of the area was covered by dust as it had been not used for ages but it was left alone for 15 years that's what my uncle said to me.

He was not happy with my idea when I informed him about my visit to India but he gave his support and also got me approval from the central government and even asked me to use his cottage.

I dusted the table with my hand and put my bag on this before walking out of the living room to invite my friends inside.

"There are lots of rooms inside and who is wishing to get a fine room can come with me and forget about the room on the left side, I already picked that for me," I said that gained their attention and they looked at each other faces before screaming and running inside the living room.

"Reil." They whined like a child once they saw the dusted living hall.

"Now pick your room and dusted it well." I threw each other a broom which I found behind the door and climbed on the stairs to reach my room that is left to the staircase.

Three hours of cleaning and mopping the room, I smiled happily looking at my hard work shining through this room like a diamond.

We spent two more hours to mop the living room and the kitchen but being a lazy bug, we didn't bother to open the spare room.

Maybe in the future, if we find any time we will clean that too but now we have no energy. Chole, Natasha, Dacy, Nichole, Clara occupied the room on the ground floor where I and Emiem preferred the first floor.

After settling everything in their respective place, I cooked for everyone, not that I'm caring for them, it's because I felt hungry and wanted to eat something spicy to calm my hunger stomach.

"Come on, noodles ready," I called from the kitchen and started to eat mine.

They came and took their bowl before heading back to their room. They seem so tired and I can't blame them, today was a hectic day but like them, I didn't feel tired rather my mind asking me to take a good look around the place.

I was hesitant at first but my uncle's words assured me that the place is safe and harmless rather you can't find any human until you cross the city.

I grabbed my hoodie and started to walk out of the cottage. It's a straight road that is very easy for me to remember the path where I'm going.

I stopped when my legs gave up and sat on the big rock. The environment feels so good to my mind and it seems I'm breathing fresh air.

I stayed there almost an hour until my eyes landed on a figure who looks like a human. The hair in my neck stood up straightly when I recalled my uncle's words.

He said it's difficult to find any human fellow here until you cross the city but here I'm seeing an old lady walking towards my direction, her eyes solely on mine which gives goosebumps to my stomach but I stood there not moving a bit where my mind screaming me to run away.

"Who are you?" She brought her right hand above her forehead just to take a good look at me.

"Ahh, grandma-" but she cut me off saying, "Go back where you are from. It's not safe here." Her voice alarmed and she began to walk faster than a 90 years old woman could.

"Grandma, grandma." I grabbed her hand and turned her to look at my face.

"Where are you from? By chance, the city is anywhere closer to this area?" I asked but she shoved my hand and started to run like someone is after her.

"Go to your home before the beast hunt you." She yelled. I stood there confusingly trying to figure out what I have heard.

"The beast will kill you if he finds you after 6." She yelled one more time before running to her destination.

I shrugged my shoulder and decided to walk to the cottage but her words kept playing on my mind like a tape recorder. "The beast will kill you if he finds you after 6."

What is she coming to say? Who is the beast? And why he would kill me? Maybe she too believes those fable stories. I shook my head and kept walking towards the cottage.

At sharp 6 in the evening, I reached the cottage and felt a heavy wind passing my body but it's my hallucinations because the rain started to pour and a cold wind caressed my face as it is crying it's hearted out.

Why all of a sudden? I looked at the dark angry sky that sent a dread to my core and closed the door.

"Girl, where did you go?" Emiem asked standing in the stairs holding a phone in her hand.

"Just walking." I shrugged my shoulder and walked past her.

"Just walking." She repeated my word but gave it right away.

I crawled into the bed and looked at the white ceiling not knowing whether to tell them about the incidents but saved it for the morning.

We planned to go outside to wander around the place but the rain is still pouring followed by a thunder and the lightning.

In the morning there was a skin sucking hot and now it's raining.

How amazing.

At night I had rice and rasam for dinner, I'm okay with this meal but poor them, no one touched the rice at the end they had bread and jam.

"Will go to grocery shopping." I mentally took a note and went back to my room.

As usual, I talked with my dad's photo and drifted into asleep but it's not easy to fell asleep in new places and as expected I have a black eye in the morning when I woke up.

I took a cold bath to cool down my whole-cell and stepped out of the bathroom wrapping a towel around my small frame.  

I went through the closet and took out the black ripped Jean and paired with the white tank top. After changing my dress, I climbed out of the stairs only to see my beloved six friends are arguing each other over a silly things.

"Guys! Seriously?" I gave everyone a pointed look then made my way towards the kitchen. If they were lazy to cook, then no worries, I will cook for them and will take advantage later. 

I cooked the noodles but please don't expect this as five-star restaurant food, I put the raw noodles in the boiling water and added the masala, no onions, no tomato or no vegetables.

We ate silently and I decided to tell them a piece of news that I figured out yesterday from the old lady who doesn't give a second glance before running to her destination.

Pin drop silence occupied the entire area before I received a silly comments none other than the pretty girl, Dacy. "We will give it a try then." Followed by everyone burst into laughter even Clara clutched her stomach as she was hearing a joke for the first time in her life history.

I shook my head and continued to eat my noodles. Now I regretted. Why did I tell this news? it should be grateful if I didn't reveal this to them knowing they would make fun of this for a weak, but what can I say? I saw fear in her eyes when she said those words.

"Back to earth." Emiem waved her hand in front of me.

"Huh?" I asked.

"We are planning to go for a walk. What do you say?" She asked once again.

"And the beast will come after 6, so we have plenty of time to wander around." Natasha chuckled and as an act of revenge, I made her wash the dish before heading outside.

I locked the door and pushed it to check whether it locked correctly, it's one of my hobbies double-checking the door once I locked but my friends called this crazy.

"When will our car arrive?" Nichole asked while we all are walking through the narrow road that covered with full of scrubs.

"Maybe tomorrow or day after tomo-" I stopped when I notice the bunch of crows was flying around the particular area.

"Guys! Did you see this?" I pointed my finger to the crows.

"So, what?" Emien asked casually.

Ignoring their questions as to where are you going? I walked towards the area and find the dead body of an old lady, not any old lady but the woman I met yesterday whose body was scattered everywhere except her head.

We looked at each other face, dread overwhelmed our body and I gulped down my own saliva, find it very hard to swallow.

Who did this to her? My body began to shake. With a trembling hand, I took the small brown hair which was soaked in the blood but it does not belong to this old lady cause she has pure white hair, not brown.

I will start my investigation from here, I put the hair in my clutch and rang the phone to Mr. Derick Declan who is in charge of this place. He is living in the city, like other people he is believing the fabled story.

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