RAKTANCHAL DIARIES: CURSED MONSTER

 

This is a story of a certain man, named Chatur who had shifted to the accursed town of Raktanchal, recently with his mother, Chandni. But they were unaware of the horridness that would terrorize them forever and ever...

A white car drove ahead on the starry yet dark night, traversing the secluded roadway.

"Why couldn't we have left in the morning?" Chatur asked his mother.

His mother, Chandani, sat beside him, driving the car. She was in her mid-thirties and she wore a purple dress and a rainbow-patterned scarf.

"We wouldn't have made it, the real estate agent said 10."

They stared at each other and his mother continued, "We will sleep at the end and have an early start tomorrow. We will be on the road before dark."

Chatur lowered his head, picked up a can of soda, opened the cap, and swallowed it.

"Enough soda, Chatur. You should get some rest," his mother said.

"It's okay, I'm not tired." He took a sip again from the can.

"I thought the nightmares would have stopped."

"They did, Mom. And, you decided to buy the house anyway," said Chatur.

"Chatur, stop," his mother whispered.

"If Dad wouldn't be coming up to Raktanchal to look at it he wouldn't have gone off the road."

"Honey, Dad wanted this house for both of us."

Chatur turned his head in a moment and caught a glimpse of the hairy brown creature crawling across the street, in the center of the highway.

"Mom, look out!" he wailed.

Chandni twisted the steering wheel unexpectedly and hit the brakes.

"What?" she asked.

"I thought—I thought I saw something."

"An animal?"

"I don't know" he replied.

"I don't see anything. Honey, you are exhausted. Close your eyes. You will be fine."

Chatur leaned his head against the windshield and closed his eyes tightly.

Clouds clapped in a distance, and darkness was encircling them. Chandni hit the brakes again and halted near the enormous and unlit two-storied house, which looked more like a haunted mansion.

Chatur stepped out and shut the door. "You're kidding, right?"

Chatur turned around, and his mother was gone, not in the car, nor the street.

"Mom? mom? Mom!" he called out.

An animal-like beast grinned at her, glancing over from the gloomy grove of Raktapreet.

The door opened. Strange.

Chatur hurried inside and unlocked a door in the living room. He came into the dimly lit kitchen and noticed another door from the kitchen. Squeezing the doorknob, he entered the murky cemetery and a door stood in a distance from him. A bony hand popped out of the muddy ground and pulled his leg. Chatur screamed and was dragged inside the empty tomb.

He breathed out waking up with a jolt. Safe in his car, he leaned forward and glanced out of the window.

His mother, Chandni set the flower bouquet near the highway, the stop where his father died, where his soul transcended from the lifeless body. Chatur opened the door, walked out, and stood next to his mother.

"I needed to see the last place he was alive. Well, now we both saw it. I'm sorry, Chatur, honey. I miss him a lot and—"

"I miss him too," Chatur murmured.

Chandni brushed her son's shoulder and took hold of the necklace.

"You have the necklace. You always know it was the last thing he wanted you to have."

"We must go now, mom. It's—it's cold."

A shadowy animal head propped up in the dark forest, as the car roared, and veered ahead in the roadway.

Lightning flashed, and the signboard was now visible. Raktanchal Independent Houses on Sale, read the board.

They stepped out together, and glanced at their house, the same eerie mansion, Chatur had seen in his dream, the endless doors, rooms, and then the graveyard.

"Mom, I saw this place in my dream," he said.

"Of course, you did so, did I. I've had pictures of the house in my dreams. It can come true."

Chatur rolled his eyes. "Of course you did. You told me you wanted to own a house in Raktanchal since you were a little girl."

"See, I will sign the contract soon. And till then let's rest. The next morning, we have to work hard, unpack our stuff, and decorate the house."

"Okay, mom," he muttered.

A shadowy figure snooped near them and grabbed Chatur's right shoulder. He turned, and his mother turned too to look at the stranger standing beside them. The old lady was gripping a lantern tightly in her hand, close to her face.

The old lady had raven-dyed hair, pale white skin, and dark beetle-like eyes. She wore a ragged brown coat over her floral white dress.

"Hello? Sorry about the lantern. The electricity went out. It happens all the time. I'm Anamika."

She raised a hand, and Miss Chandni gripped it and shook it lightly.

"You shouldn't come here at night. We forget the key somewhere. It was under the seat," Miss Chandni said.

"No problem. Just wanted to make sure you are safe." She beamed at them, exposing her yellow teeth.

"You work here?" Chapter asked.

"Yes, my family has been taking care of Raktanchal for years but hasn't been busy lately."

They sauntered near the house, and Anamika went after them. Twisting to look at something, she scanned her surroundings and pursued them.

Anamika unlocked the door, and Chatur entered the living room, holding a candle in his hand.

"It's not that bad. You will love it," said Anamika.

Her eyes darted toward his glinting necklace, a talisman.

"Cool necklace."

"Thanks!" replied Chatur.

Anamika followed Miss Chandni, into the room. While Chatur observed the living room. A shadowy figure gushed past him, into the bedroom. Chatur turned, and called out, "Hello? Hello?"

His mother and Anamika turned up in the living room. "Is anyone else in here?"

"No. You got the whole place to yourselves," Anamika answered.

"Wait I saw someone in the house," said Chatur.

His mother drove toward his ear and whispered," You need to rest!"

Anamika unlocked the bedroom, and Chatur recalled something about the room. It was the same one, he had seen in his dream, the doorway to the foggy graveyard, and a bony hand that grabbed him straight to hell.

"So? This is your bedroom," Anamika murmured.

"Does this have to be my room?" he asked.

"It's perfect." Anamika lit the candle with a matchbox and closed the black curtains, and walked past them in a distance.

"Mom, I'm trying to escape my nightmares. Not move into one," Chatur murmured.

Miss Chandni giggled, and replied," I admit it's got a little dark atmosphere, but it'll be okay in the daylight, I promise. Let's sleep now, honey, please," she said.

A few minutes later, Chatur and his mother went to sleep. Creepy whispers echoed in the room, and Chatur gripped his bedsheet, avoiding opening his eyes once more.

Suddenly, her throat was clogged, and she felt as if somebody was strangling her. She hurried towards the window and vomited out her blood outside. As she peered down, a wolf-like hairy creature glared at her, with his wide row of sharp yellow teeth.

Chatur woke up with a jolt and exhaled heavily. The radiant daylight caressed his tired face. His mother raced inside his bedroom.

"Something was in the room, I swear," cried Chatur.

"Honey, I was in the room the whole time no one was here," his mother said.

Chapter brushed his figures over his neck, and raised his eyebrows. "My amulet Where is it?"

"Honey, relax. It's going to be somewhere nearby. Don't rush. I'm going out for a while."

He scurried out of bed and shuffled the bed sheet, and the pillows away, but all in vain.

"I'm going out. I have an interview for a new job as a teacher at Raktanchal School. I'll come home soon..."

Miss Chandni hurried out, unlocked the door, crawled into it, and drove the car away in a bleary distance.

She waved goodbye and turned to find a tall young charming man behind him.

"Hi, I'm Karan," he said.

He was six feet tall and wore a red shirt, and blue worn jeans. His hair was brown and ruffled, and his eyes were shady brown. He was a skinny man and looked even thinner in his clothes.

"Sorry I didn't see you."

Chatur shook hands with him and took off for his house. What was his mother thinking to bring him to this boring town?

Chatur went into the kitchen, and Karan followed him.

"Do you want to come with me? There is a secret party tonight in the woods," he asked.

"I'll ask my mom. She doesn't allow me to go out at night," said Chatur.

"Why? Are you scared of the dark?"

"No. No, it's just, I can't take my mind off things. I have—I have nightmares at night."

"Don't worry, bro I'm going to be with you, man. You will be guarded by the supreme general himself. Me, the Supreme Commander of Raktanchal!" he said jokingly.

"Seriously?" he questioned. They both started chuckling for a while.

"You are not alone my friend. My gang, my pack of wolves are going to stay with you."

The word 'wolves' made Chatur tense, and his insides froze. He had caught a glimpse of a malevolent wolf-like creature in one of his nightmares.

"No, no I'm fine. I have to work on something real quick, and it's urgent. I'll come some day later," said Chatur.

"Wait Wait, man. Chill. Tonight is the special campfire night in Raktapreet forest. You have to come okay?"

"But I heard Raktapreet is sealed, and nobody's allowed to enter after sunrise?" asked Chatur.

"You are scared of the chains now? Come on, bro. It's nothing in there. It's all just fake stories spread out by someone crazy..."

Chatur waved goodbye, and Karan went out, walking away in a distance.

As the sun vanished on the horizon, dark shadows crept up on the gloomy walls and empty streets of Raktanchal.

Chatur packed up his back with a torch, binoculars, and a packet of potato chips. He slinked across the bedroom, unlocked the living room door, and went out keeping the door ajar. His mother, Miss Chandni was fast asleep, snoring and murmuring gibberish in her bed.

Chatur crossed the street and climbed over the metallic entrance, and jumped over the other end of the forest. He had finally arrived inside the grove, with towering trees and a thicket of fog concealing the pathway.

"Hello? Karan Are you there?" he asked.

Nobody answered. The silence made him shiver, but he ambled along in the darkness.

He switched on the torchlight and wandered inside in the middle of the woods.

What was he supposed to do now? Wait for Karan? Run back home or just move ahead?

A deafening growl reverberated in the forest, and he bumped into the lawn.

"Huh? What is that?" he mumbled.

As he flipped around, the wolf-like creature lunged at him. "Help Somebody help me!" he called out. But nobody answered back.

The creature was six feet tall, a furry werewolf and wet saliva drooped from the end of his teeth.

"Stay away, you disgusting animal!" a voice echoed in his head.

Anamika the old lady came rushing toward them and hit the werewolf with a broomstick.

"Stay away from him, Bhakshak, you Bhakshanar You don't have the right to attack anyone," she yelled.

Bhakshak? Bhakshanar? What the hell was going on? How did she know him anyway?

Bhakshak gritted his teeth and pounced on her, she held him against the broomstick, deterring him from moving ahead.

"Go, run away, Chatur Run away now..."

Chatur veered around and ran as quickly as he could, not glancing back, and stumbled upon a stone. His head slammed against an enormous boulder, his vision went blurry, and he fainted.

Chatur awoke from his bed with a jolt, and he found himself in a hospital. He rose from his bed and pulled the curtains away.

"Good Morning, dear!" a soft voice echoed in a distance.

He turned, to see the neighbor, Anamika, handing over a towel to other bed-ridden patients.

"Where am I? What is going on?" he yelled.

"What are you saying? You are in Raktanchal Mental Asylum. You are in safe hands. Don't worry. Just sit down and lay your back on the bed," Anamika said.

She wore a white skirt and a uniform worn usually by a nurse.

She placed him back on the bed and wiped the sweat off his forehead with a towel.

"Where's Mom? Where's Karan? I want to see my mother. Please take me to her!" he insisted.

"You need to rest. Lay back on the bed, now, dear. And, you know—you are my boy. I'm your mother," she muttered.

"What? I want to go back home. Help me Help me, anyone?" he screamed.

A tender boy wearing a yellow mask, and ragged clothes stood next to him. He tore off a page from his art book and handed it over to him.

Chatur glanced at once and noticed the painting, his mother fighting with a broomstick and being killed by the monster, Bhakshak. The yellow teeth gripping Miss Chandni's neck.

He threw the painting on the floor and climbed back into bed. But it was not a dream

Chatur tilted his head, but the boy was gone, and the painting was nowhere to be found, it just disappeared in thin air.

"Noooooooooooooo!" he screamed at top of his lungs and recoiled in the ragged bed.