The House Chapter 3 - Sacrifice

  They quickly barge out of their hiding and approached the dead body lying seeing in front of them. They were totally astonished by what happened. Rajesh, Harish, and Chandini stood paralyzed by the sheer brutality of what they had just witnessed. The husband’s lifeless body lay crumpled on the floor, his head a few feet away, eyes still open in a final, terrified expression. The room was thick with the metallic scent of blood and the oppressive weight of death.

  As they were looking, Chandini asked, “What do we do now, Rajesh?’” Rajesh, still in shock, shook his head. “I don’t know, Harish go through that body and try to find anything which is useful to us and don’t touch that scythe.”

  Harish, his hands shaking, approached the husband’s body and began to search for any form of identification. The grisly task made his stomach churn, but he knew it was necessary. After a few tense moments, he found nothing much a watch.

  Harish said, holding it up, “Sir, all I found is this watch.” Rajesh took the watch from Harish and examined it closely. “This watch... it’s from the 1980s,” he murmured, puzzled. “Why would he be wearing such an old watch?”

  For that Chadini responded, “Might this be another illusion or…” Harish interrupted, his voice trembling, “Or might be the same couple who gone missing.”

  Rajesh’s eyes widened as Harish’s words sank in. “You mean, they could be the couple who vanished from this house in 90s?” He turned the watch over in his hand, examining it more closely. “It makes sense. They must have been trapped here, just like us.”

  Chandini, her voice shaky, added, “But why would they reappear now? And why did the black killed him?” Harish looked around the room, his fear mingled with curiosity. “Maybe the house is trying to tell us something.”

  Then all of them take some steps and backward and started examining the floor from where black figure raises. Rajesh, Harish, and Chandini took cautious steps back, their eyes scanning the floor where the black figure had emerged. The air felt thicker, almost tangible with the lingering presence of malevolence. Chandini knelt down, her fingers lightly brushing the floor. “There’s something strange about this spot,” she whispered, feeling a coldness seeping up from the ground. “It’s like there’s a draft coming from underneath.”

   As they were examining it, their eyes didn’t laid behind. In that silent eerie place, the headless body started raising. The body quickly wielded the scythe which was lying.

  As they examined the strange spot on the floor, Chandini’s keen senses caught a flicker of movement—a shadow shifting subtly against the dim light. Instinctively, she gasped and leaped back, pulling Rajesh and Harish with her just as the headless body began to swing his scythe.

  The body, wielding the sharp scythe that lay nearby, swung wildly in their direction. Rajesh, Harish, and Chandini narrowly dodged the deadly arc, their hearts pounding with adrenaline. Thinking quickly, Rajesh grabbed the heavy wooden table that had been against the wall and hurled it toward the advancing figure.

  The table crashed into the body, momentarily pinning it down with a heavy thud. Without wasting a moment, the trio dashed out of the room, their footsteps echoing in the eerie silence of the house. The metallic scent of blood and the haunting presence of death seemed to follow them as they sprinted down the hallway, their minds racing with fear and confusion.

  They burst through the door escaping from the room, slamming the door shut behind them and leaning against it, breathless and shaken. Chandini panted heavily, her hands trembling as she tried to steady herself. “How… how could that body rose?” she managed to gasp out.

  Rajesh, still catching his breath, leaned against the door, his mind reeling from the terror they had just narrowly escaped. “I don’t know,” he replied, his voice strained with disbelief. “But it’s clear this place is not just haunted… it’s something far more sinister.”

  As they stood against the door, trying to catch their breath amidst the lingering dread, Harish’s voice cut through the silence. “What about the wife?” he asked, his tone urgent. Rajesh glanced at Harish, his brow furrowed with worry. “You’re right,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “The wife went to another room.”

 As they were talking, they suddenly heard a creaking noise from above. The sound was ominous and sent chills down their spines.

 They looked up, their eyes wide with fear and anticipation. Above their heads, they saw the wife from earlier. Her appearance had drastically changed—her eyes had turned completely white, her teeth were now sharp and pointed, and her fingers had elongated into claw-like talons.

  She hung from the ceiling, her body contorted in unnatural ways, glaring down at them with a malevolent grin. Before they could react, she let out a horrifying screech and lunged toward them, her claws extended. Chandini screamed and ducked as the wife slashed at the air where her head had been a moment before. Rajesh grabbed Harish and pulled him back just in time to avoid the wife’s vicious attack.

  As they pull back they totally got corned. The wife was about to attack them again. Rajesh, Harish, and Chandini scrambled backward, their eyes darting around for an escape. Rajesh spotted a door behind them, partially concealed by shadows.

  “Crouch down, now!” he hissed urgently. Without hesitation, they ducked, and Rajesh flung the door open just as the wife lunged at them again. The wife’s claws slashed through the air, missing their heads by inches. Rajesh shoved the door shut, trapping the malevolent figure inside. They could hear her furious screeches and the frantic scratching of her claws against the wood.

  “Go, go, go!” Rajesh urged, pushing his friends toward a nearby staircase. They bolted down the hallway, their footsteps echoing loudly in the eerie silence. The air felt thick with dread, and every shadow seemed to harbor unseen terrors.

  As they reached the hallway, Rajesh, Harish, and Chandini froze in their tracks. The same black figure that had killed the husband now stood blocking their path to the exit. Its form was dark and formless, a shifting mass of shadows that seemed to absorb the light around it.

  “Run!” Rajesh shouted, but his voice quivered with fear. Harish grabbed a nearby wooden block and hurled it at the figure, but it passed through harmlessly, disappearing into the darkness. “It’s no use!” he yelled. “It just goes right through it!”

  They began to back away slowly, their eyes locked on the advancing black figure. Just then, a sound from the basement caught their attention. Emerging from the shadows were two figures: the 5 painters who had gone missing and Paramsivam, one of their colleagues who had been killed by the demon. Their eyes were hollow, and their skin was pale and covered in scratches and bite marks. They moved slowly, like zombies, their movements jerky and unnatural.

  Rajesh, Harish, and Chandini quickly retreated up the staircase to the first floor, their hearts pounding. The black figure and the reanimated bodies followed, relentless in their pursuit.

  They got totally trapped. There is no point they can escape the house. Rajesh, Harish, and Chandini found themselves trapped on the first floor, their only escape route blocked by the relentless black figure and the reanimated bodies of the painter and Paramsivam. The oppressive atmosphere made it hard to breathe, and the walls seemed to close in on them.

  In the first floor hallway, there were four rooms. In two of them, the husband and wife who had been trapped separated earlier were now trying to break out. The sound of their furious banging on the doors sent chills down the trio’s spines.

  “We need to move, now!” Rajesh urged, his voice strained with desperation. They darted toward one of the remaining rooms, Rajesh and Harish throwing their weight against the door to force it open.

  But it was too late. The black figure and the reanimated bodies had already arrived on the first floor. The doors of the rooms housing the husband and wife burst open, and the grotesque figures of the couple emerged, eyes hollow and movements jerky.

  All four figures slowly advanced on Rajesh, Harish, and Chandini, their presence emanating pure malevolence. The trio was cornered, the fear in the air thick enough to taste.

  In the midst of the rising panic, Rajesh noticed the last door at the end of the hallway was slightly ajar. His mind raced, realizing they needed a distraction to reach it. He turned to Harish and Chandini, his eyes filled with a mixture of determination and resignation.

 “Harish, Chandini, open the last door,” Rajesh instructed, and pushed them both toward safety. “I’ll distract them.” “No, Rajesh!” Chandini cried, but Rajesh was resolute. “Go! Now!” he commanded, his voice firm.

  Rajesh charged at the approaching figures, his heart pounding in his chest. He yelled, drawing their attention to himself. The black figure and the reanimated bodies turned their focus on him, giving Harish and Chandini the precious seconds they needed.

  Harish grabbed Chandini’s hand, and they sprinted toward the slightly open door. Rajesh’s screams echoed down the hallway as he was overwhelmed by the attackers. His sacrifice was brutal and swift, the creatures tearing into him without mercy.

  Harish and Chandini stumbled into the room, slamming the door behind them. They leaned against it, trying to steady their breaths, tears streaming down their faces.