In The Woods

“Hello…yeah Stephen what made you call this late? Is there any emergency?” asked Emily. “Of course, if not why would I disturb you?” he replied. “So what is it?” she asked. “It started to happen again,” his voice trembled. “What do you mean?” she asked curiously. "The serial and brutal murders…they happened 25 years ago…have started again. The cops found another body, I got a call from one of my informers," he told. “I’m coming we’ll go there now,” she said hanging the phone.

"Holy Mother," she shouted. "All these years I just heard the stories about how mercilessly people were killed but for the first time I'm evidencing it," he said in a low tone. "Hi officer we are reporters and we would like to know about the murder. Could you please tell us the details of the victim and when it all did happen?" she asked showing her ID card. "The victim details are still unavailable but we guess the murder might happen around 1'O clock and this is the fourth murder that happened in a couple of weeks, Excuse me," the officer left.

"Good morning sir," she said. "Good morning Emily, So any updates?" he asked. "Yes sir, fortunately, the body was not shifted till we arrived but we were not allowed to click the pictures, the cops strictly prohibited still Stephen secretly took a photo of it, please have a look," she showed the photo. "My God, the killer must be a lunatic," he exclaimed. "Do you have any idea how the previous ones happened I mean is it the same pattern?" he added. "We need to find out sir," she said. "Then Stephen and you complete work on this article and update me regularly," he said. "Sure sir, Thank you. We will work on it," she replied.

"What do you say, Emily? Where to start now?" he asked. "From where it started," she replied firmly. "Going on a vacation to the woods…not a bad idea,” he said. "Did you pack all the necessary things, the cameras, recorders and all," she asked. "Yes I did and my friend already made all arrangements for our stay at his uncle's farmhouse," he replied. "How far is that from the woods?" she asked. "Don't worry it is in the woods," he told. "That would be great," she replied. "I think we have fewer neighbors here," he said.

"Hi, I'm Emily and this is Stephen," she introduced themselves to a lady. "Hi, I'm Lisa. Nice to meet you," she replied. "Nice to meet you too. We will be here for a few days and we would like to know about the woods…if you don’t mind could you please…” she hesitated. “I will but…don’t say I never warned you before,” the woman said in a deep tone. “Warning…” she questioned. “The woods…their thirst will not be satisfied until they taste the blood of those who come in search of its truth,” she replied. “Never mind, I won’t believe in these stories. You please carry on,” she laughed.

“My husband retired from his job, we wanted to live away from the city peacefully so we bought this house and shifted here 30 years ago. Everything was perfect, nice house, good atmosphere and friendly neighbors except the woman on the corner of the street," she said. "Why? Who is she?" she asked. "Lily. She was divorced and lived alone with her daughter. She was so silent, that she neither meet nor spoke to anyone. Only a few of us saw her,” she said. “Did you meet her?” she asked. “Once. When I went to invite her for our anniversary but she not even replied and closed the door on my face," she sighed. "When did you last see her?" she asked. "The day when she died. 25 years ago she was brutally killed and no one exactly knows what happened that night. Some say she was killed by dacoits and some say the evil spirit was risen again and took her soul," she said. "What about her daughter? Do you know where she is?” she asked. “Not exactly. But I heard she lives just a few miles away from the woods,” she replied.

 “What is the story of the evil spirit?” asked Stephen. “After the incident, I asked the same to our neighbors. A few decades ago when people started to live here, there lived a woman who had no children. Her husband left her and married her younger sister and they had a baby girl. The elder sister was envied and she sacrificed the child in a dark ritual to have her child. But the ritual backfired and she was cursed to become the slave of an evil spirit and she had to collect souls for her survival. The ritual happens every 25 years," she completed. “Thank you so much,” they left.

"Man… this house is so creepy," he shouted. "Click the pictures. Yuck where is this foul smell coming from?" she asked. "I think from that room. These are blood stains," he is surprised. "Take the photos," she said. "Where are we heading now?" he asked. "To meet the daughter," she replied. "Hello, Tina. I need your help. Will you please visit Lily's family and gather some more info about her behavior and mental health. I will share the address," she said on phone. “Sure Emily,” she hanged the call.

“Hi. Can I meet Lily’s daughter?” she asked. “Hi. Come in. She is my mother,” the woman replied. “I apologize for the inconvenience. We need to know about your mother’s death,” she asked politely. “It’s okay. Please have the tea,” she said. “I was adopted by my mother and my father was not happy with me and he left us. Since then we lived together, and she loves me a lot. On that day I was playing in the hall and my mother was in the kitchen cleaning the utensils. Suddenly I heard a loud noise and I didn't even believe what my eyes saw," she said in a trembling voice. "What did you see?" she asked. "My mother was hanging in the air horizontally and there were a lot of candles around. A shadow was slowly moving towards her. Soon I saw a dangerous figure in black clothes walking in the air. Her hair had deadlocks which were snakes, her face was burnt and her eyes were so red without the black of the eye," she said touching her goosebumps. “Are you sure you saw an evil spirit? Do you believe in these stories?" she asked. "We are left with no choice if we cross the paths with the stories we heard," she replied. "Then?" she asked. "Her lower body parts were covered with insects eating her body. She then took a sword and broke her jaws, chopped her head, and ripped her chest off ruthlessly," she cried.

"Hi. I'm Tina reporter from the city," she said. "What do you want?" he asked rudely. "How was Lily? Was she mentally stable?" she directly gets to the point. "We had no children so, we decided to adopt. One day she came home and said I adopted the girl,” he said. “You might be happy with her, don’t you?” she asked. “I would be happy if I was able to see her,” he said. “Able to see her?” she exclaimed. “Yes, Lily was out of her mind. The daughter was her imagination, I tried hard to treat her but her condition worsened and I left her,” he said. "How is it even possible? The neighbor Mrs. Lisa told that she lives a few miles away from the woods," she shouted. "Who? Mrs. Lisa? She died the next day of Lisa and the people in the woods disappeared. No one lives there now," he added.

“Come on pick up the phone Emily…” she was trying to contact her. “We are sorry for your loss and thanks a lot for the information,” she said. "I forgot to ask your name," she asked. "Hello… Stephen comes out of the house immediately, she is not true. Stephen, can you hear me? Stephen? Stephen?" she was shouting. "My name… my name is Rosaline,” she smiled. “I heard this name before…,” they are shocked and the door is closed with a loud thud.