It wasn't a usual kind of night: for one, the moon shone a bit too brightly in the night sky, and two, I was the lone man walking the streets. The winter air was crisp, and I could sense the vapour leaving my nostrils and mouth as I huffed and puffed up the rather long road.
I had had a long day at work, and just when office had gotten over, I eagerly ran towards my car. There was disappointment in store for me: the fuel tank was absolutely empty. Seeing my desperate state, a passerby offered me a lift in his vehicle, which I gladly accepted, and was dropped off to the nearest point from my home.
Today, the familiar looking streets took on a mysterious air. There was not a single light on at any window, and for all practical purposes, I may well have been the only living being around. The thought made me shiver. Walking all the more briskly, I turned towards the row of houses that I knew was where I lived. It was pitch dark and dead silent all around. To keep up my last shred of optimism, bravery and self respect, I walked confidently up the gate of the house that supposedly was mine. Until now. Treading slowly down the driveway, and taking extremely cautious steps towards the house entrance, I tried calling out to Trudy, my trusted friend and wife for many years. A slight chill began creeping up my spine, when I found that I didn't have enough courage to call her name out loud. Suddenly, a loud cricket started chirping, sending an electric current through the silence of the night. Somewhere very far, I sensed the baying of foxes (or was it wolves and wild dogs?)
To be continued....
Part II
The house lay completely silent. Trudy was missing, much as my mind revolted against the thought, and so was our new Labrador puppy, Frisky. I cautiously entered, and switched on the light. No electricity! The situation was becoming more complicated than I had imagined. Slowly treading up the stairs, and making my way into my room, I cautiously entered my bedroom, half expecting to see some kind of monster making himself comfortable on my bed. There were no signs of any abnormality in my room: Trudy always was a careful home maker. " Trudy?" I heard myself utter for the first time. There was no response. I opened the bathroom door too, thinking that whatever the "thing" may be, would be hiding there. My nose sensed the soothing fragrance of lilac clinging to the air: Trudy's most preferred cologne. It was funny how the "smells" of the owners stayed with them in the houses they inhabit. Although temporarily comforted at the thought, the pitch dark house seemed to be having it's last laugh on me. A sense of the eerie had overtaken me. All those movies in which giant mother ships came to suck up or steal it's inhabitants played in my head. Running down the stairs this time, I headed straight for the kitchen, attempting to make myself feel "more at home". Unsteadily, I put on the gas, attempting to make a cup of coffee. I opened one cupboard at a time, looking for the sugar, and the instant coffee powder: my mind simply had blanked out with anxiety. Suddenly, I saw it: a bright yellow POST IT, freshly pasted on the kitchen cabinet door. It read:
Darling, I'm off on a sudden camp organized by our neighbours. Will be back early next morning. Please don't worry: I'm not carrying any cell phone. OK? Take care!
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ALTERNATE END (of Part II)
I rummaged through the cupboard, and found the elusive instant coffee powder. The thought of a hot cup of coffee made me hum, and for a while, I forgot the situation I was faced with. The problem was, that it was still quite late at night, and there was no to go for help. Even the phone lines had mysteriously died out, and that left me with little options to choose from. I went up to the living room, where Trudy and I generally spend quiet evenings in front of the TV, or playing a game of scrabble. The door to the living room creaked open, and I turned on the emergency light. Immediately, all the familiar things lit up before my eyes: our sofa, the flowery curtains, the light rug, and the lampshade, all chosen by my dear wife who, for some strange reason, had all but disappeared.
Making hesitant moves, I crept in, and went through the room, observing one item at a time. I swept aside the curtains, moved the side tables around a bit,(making more noise than necessary, to show my bravado to myself), and then, lastly, peeked under the sofa. Nothing. Running out of the house, I sat down for a while, trying to think straight. All of a sudden I saw the spectre: it was giant dark shadow, almost the size of a four-storey building, with a sack thrown across it's shoulders. Out of this sack, I saw an awful number of flailing hands and feet, of people trapped inside, all crying for help. The "spectre" was making it's way now, towards me! It had no face, a vague body and looked more of a black cloud than anythng else. Terrified, I shouted, " What's going on? Who are you? Help me, somone!" The shadow merely floated to my side, picked me up, and threw me into the same sack as the rest. Inside, I was jostled like a sack of potatoes, but through the mayhem, recognised some faces. They were of my neighbours, but I couldn't spot my wife as yet. At that point indeed, I knew not what the figure intended doing with us: we were just headed to nowhere! The unreal setting of this moment was beginning to weigh down on me, and I sincerely prayed that it was only a nightmare from which I'd wake up, sooner or later.
When my eyes opened, I was in a pitch dark hole, surrounded by corpses. Yes, corpses! There was an indescribable terror that I sensed: was I in the land of the Dead? Could things get any worse? I clambered out, and found myself in the dead of night, alone in what seemed to be a graveyard. Moving around were shadows similar to the one that had come for me. I hid behind a tombstone (not exactly a comforting thought) and thought I heard a whimper of a dog. I looked to my right, and, squinting in the darkness, saw what I recognized to be Frisky! "Frisky!". I could barely whisper. The poor animal was trapped in a small hole, and beside him lay a scarf, which I immediately recognized to be of Trudy's! Making use of the darkness, I slid up, grabbed Frisky in my arms, and, with some sixth sense, ran up to a tree. Amazingly, along with Trudy were several other women, tied up with rope, and all of them in agony. Quickly, I untied them, and although every one of us were terrified beyond imagination, managed to have the wit to stay quiet, and at the same time, run out of the terrible graveyard, which was the home to so many lost souls. At a turning up ahead, while we reached, puffing and panting, a sudden beam of sunshine blazed across the sky. Suddenly, we were back to our dear old town, in our own neighbourhood, which was bustling with the usual activity. Besides myself and Trudy, no one ever remembered the goings on of that strange night, when we were all kidnapped by unknown forces. Even now, I don't take a chance, and always sleep with a flashlight and my dog by my side.
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