The Entity

      

An overcast atmosphere lingered atop the plethora of trees and bushes, from which an overwhelming breeze emanated. The white one-storey bungalow was sandwiched amidst the calm yet intimidating trees. The overgrowth of bushes had been diverged by a narrow stone-paved path. A few meters away from the house, stood two men with their silhouette forming against the golden evening sun.

“It has been a month since the demise of your grandparents,” Bikash said interrupting the solitude. He was a bespectacled young man of 30 years, with an average height. He had thick hair, and a fat nose rested between two almond shaped eyes.

“Yeah, Ashutosh sighed, “they breathed their last in this house.” He was of the same age as his friend Bikash. He had a thick beard with a symmetrical face and a pair of piercing eyes.

“I have been taken in by the beautiful house and the enchanting environment.”

“They did not want to part with it and spent the last few days of their life here.”

“No wonder, they did not want to leave this place! Why would anyone do so?”

“Well, I am not interested in residing in such a desolate place for my life.” 

“Anyway, I want to retire to the house immediately. I am exhausted after a long day of travelling.”

“Sure, your wish will be granted. Let’s move in.”

They pushed their way through the narrow path, with the overgrowth of vegetation whirling around them. They walked through the marble steps onto the veranda.

“This house was brought by my grandfather from an anonymous gentleman,” Ashutosh said.

“Your grandfather did not construct this house?”

“No, he didn’t,” Ashutosh replied turning the knob of the faded brown door, shrouded by dust, “It is believed to have been constructed in the 1880s by a person whom I don’t know about.”

Bikash slightly nodded, intrigued by the interior of the house, as he stood on the veranda. A pair of sofas made of leather, rested in a corner of the living room. An oval shaped richly decorated centre table stood between them and a large golden clock with intricate designs stared at the visitor. The room had been embellished by the antique items. But what intrigued Bikash were the two oval portraits which had a grotesque and unrecognizable image painted on it with a weird symbol.

“What are-,” Bikash was about to ask Ashutosh about the portraits, but could not find him.

As he set his feet into the house, darkness shrouded the room. A dark cloud suddenly emanated which began cloaking the room. The clock revealed itself from the choking cloud and stared at Bikash with daunting rage. A chill was sent down the spine of Bikash as he discovered himself in the grasp of a nameless fear. His veins protruded out of his chalk white face, his eyes dilated and his legs froze. Then, he could see a red light illuminating the darkness setting around him. A gnarled blood stained arm with long nails and protruding veins, accelerated towards Bikash out of the red light. It threatened to crush Bikash with a single grasp. He shuddered violently and screamed while he concealed his face behind his hands. It was coming closer….closer….closer…..the pounding of Bikash’s heart accelerated as he awaited the end of his life.

“Are you okay?” Ashutosh rested his arm on his friend’s shoulder, “It seems as if you have been scared to death.”

“No-o-nothing!” Bikash stuttered as he discovered himself again in the world of mortals, “I just saw a black snake which was crawling just outside the door and was about to come in. It seems that it has left.”

“No!” Ashutosh gasped. “It is still there; resting on the sofa,” he pointed towards the sofa alarmingly.

“How can it be?” Bikash murmured and a convulsion passed through his body.

Ashutosh clutched a rod resting near the window.

The snake glared at Bikash with fierce and intimidating eyes as it slid down the sofa on to the floor. It silently crawled through the floor and made its way out of the door, as Ashutosh and Bikash watched in bewilderment.

“Never saw that ever happening,” Ashutosh remarked as he breathed a sigh of relief.

“Yeah,” Bikash murmured faintly, being petrified by what had happened, as he bid adieu to the dwindling sun and welcomed the long darkness that had begun cloaking the atmosphere.

The swift winds heralded the arrival of a thunderstorm, as the leaves of the trees and bushes swung underneath the cloak of dark intimidating clouds. Bikash glanced at the clock which displayed 7 P.M., as he comforted himself underneath a warm and cozy blanket, in one of the three bed rooms. At that moment, Ashutosh walked in with a torch; a raincoat hung over his shirt.

“It seems you are going somewhere,” Bikash enquired.

“Yeah,” Ashutosh replied, “I have to bring in some groceries; found an empty fridge, which I was oblivious of.”

“That was expected from you. Anyway, return quickly; I am going to starve to death.”

“Sure,” Ashutosh chuckled, as he deserted the room.

A moment after Ashutosh left, an eerie silence cloaked the atmosphere. Only the violent downpour and the rattling of windows sounded in the gloomy silence. Bikash could see Ashutosh walking out of the house, towards the car; making a vain attempt to clutch the umbrella amidst the torrential downpour. The headlights of the car illuminated the darkness for a few moments, as it drove away, spraying water on the trees and bushes on either side.

The intimidating solitude pierced through Bikash, as he found himself alone amidst the panoramic landscape. The susurration of the storm stretched on indefinitely; getting more violent with every passing moment.

Bikash rested his back against the pillow, as he introspected what had happened earlier in the evening. A jolt passed down his spine as he gave himself over to the hallucination he had earlier. ‘It was indeed a hallucination,’ he assured himself, but could not deny the discomfort which lingered in his mind ever since he had been there. With every passing moment, his discomfort grew as dark feelings began to occupy his mind. He could not hear the susurration of the storm any longer and a pitch black night hovered outside the window. Only the solitude remained now, undisturbed. He could sense a dark aura taking its toll on the house. His palpitations grew and sweat trickled down his temple, the reason for which he was oblivious of.

‘Thump!’ the heavy bottle of water fell on the ground and rolled down under the bed.

Bikash startled and his heart skipped a beat, as he was jerked out of the intimidating thoughts which had begun to gulp him. He immediately got down from the bed and knelt down to glance at the bottle. The red bottle faintly glowed amidst the absolute darkness. Bikash stretched his hands and tried to reach for the bottle. At that moment, his hand struck against a hard and rough structure. He groped for his phone on the bed as his curiosity had been ignited. He finally reached for it and switched on the flashlight. As he flashed light under the bed, he could see a rectangular wooden structure shrouded by dust, which seemed to him a trap door. He pulled the bed out of its place with great difficulty as his curiosity had been further ignited. As the trap door was revealed, he opened it slowly. A shrill creaking sound emanated as it flung open to reveal a dark and hollow space.

As Bikash peeped into the hollow space, a malodorous vapor emanated. He stepped into the absolute darkness as he groped for the staircase that led the way down. With every step down, the brightness further diminished until it made a final appearance in his life.

After having travelled for the last ten minutes, the route into the abode of darkness eventually culminated. His feet touched against the rocky earth, as he balanced himself. He found himself in a territory of absolute darkness, which stretched on indefinitely. He groped for his phone and took it out of his pant pocket. He switched on the light as he walked through the slippery rocks which formed crests and troughs. On either side, he could see red curved lines which were painted on the wall.

The solitude around him grew louder with every step he took. The tenebrous environment had taken its toll on his nerves. He was oblivious of the palpitation and involuntary movement of his body. At that instant, a shrill sound emanated, the resonances of which flew into Bikash’s ears. It seemed to him as if his ears would crack open. He could not tolerate it any longer; he shut his eyes and ears before he collapsed on the floor. His phone flew out of his grasp and shattered into a thousand pieces on the floor. Now, the tenebrous aura hovered all around him. His eyes fluttered as a red light began to cloak the atmosphere.

He could see a faint image of a weird symbol flashing ahead of him. ‘It seems resembles the image painted on the oval portraits,’ the vague memory flashed through his mind. He convulsed as a dread penetrated through his heart. The symbol slowly grew into prominence as a hoarse blood-curdling roar reverberated through the dark corridor. It emanated from the tenebrous region lingering ahead of the region infused with the red light.

Bikash staggered as the booming sound pierced through his ears. The clamor of anklets reverberated around Bikash, as he awaited the arrival of the entity. The floor beneath him vibrated as a blood-stained, gnarled foot stepped out of the darkness. Bikash’s eyes dilated and his veins protruded out of his white flesh; his mouth went dry and his legs froze. His blood curdled as it stepped out of its lair; its hairs flew around its bulging dark eyes and piercing denticulations. It trampled forward shaking the vicinity with its daunting rage. Bikash’s screams reverberated through the walls, which stood as silent witnesses to the excruciating pain of yet another victim. The floor bathed in the splashing blood, as Bikash’s screams reverberated through the forbidden forest.

Beneath the moonless night, a dark human figure walked through the swaying trees. Ashutosh stepped into the temple and dipped his hands in the bowl of blood. “Oh lord of the dark world, I hope you devoured your possession,” he murmured turning towards the shrine. He soon turned around and walked back, setting out on his quest to discover the next victim. Oblivion cloaked the dreaded lair of the evil entity until the bloodshed of the next ‘devoured possession’.