After a day of lazing around and just enjoying our trip, we head back to the hotel when my phone chimes with a message in our WhatsApp group "Xplorers".

Ria: Team, we have to leave in 20 minutes. Got permission for the next location.

After changing into warmer clothes, we meet the rest of the crew at the hotel entrance.

I put on my warmest hoodie over a pair of jeans and tie my messy hair in a bun. I notice everyone dressed in similar comfortable yet warm clothing, except for the hosts, Naina and Adarsh.

Perks of not being a host!

As we get into our minivan a chill breeze stings my face. I breathe out to keep myself warm.

"Damn, it's cold!" I say rubbing my hands.

"I know right? It's freezing," Naina says moving closer. She is in a dress which she paired with fleece opaque tights and an overcoat.

I close the window near me and choose a seat away from it.

"Guys headcount," Ria says as we settle in. 

After ensuring everyone boarded the minivan and giving directions to the driver she says,

"So since we got permission only for a day, we will be moving in two teams. There are three places to cover. Sid, Adarsh, and I will be going to the restricted area in the wildlife reserve park and since we already covered Gurney house, the rest of you can go to the Fort. We will drop you guys off first at the fort and then leave. Questions?"

"What's so great about this fort?" I ask curiously as to why we had to take special permission to shoot here.

"Well no one is allowed inside the fort past five pm, we took special permission to stay on-site and shoot till six pm. People from the local office will be joining you guys, I'm sure you will love this place!"

"Okaaay," I answer a little surprised as to why are we being accompanied by officers.

"Also, it may take us a while to be back. You can either explore the nearby places after the shoot or I've also spoken to the officers they have agreed to offer you guys a ride should you want it. Hitesh a minute," she signals for him to join her.

They seem to be deeply engrossed in the planning of the shoot in her absence.

Despite my thick clothing and the closed windows, I feel a slight chill present in the air. 

"Madam we are here," yells the driver from the front.

"Thank you bhaiya*. Guys stop number one, fort. Be careful and call me if you need anything. I've also given the local officers' numbers to Hitesh in case you need them,"

"Okay, Ria. Thank you!" Naina says getting down followed by Hitesh.

"Thank you, Ria," I say getting down with my camera. 

"Oi!" Sid calls as I get down.

As I turn around to see him by the bus steps.

"Be careful and use proper lightning. Heard it kinda is dark here, so use this," he says handing me a mini portable light.

"Thanks, " I say, waving bye to them.

Men dressed in police uniforms get down from the jeep, which stops near us. It reminds me of the time I was kidnapped by them

"Hello. Are you from TLC?" the guy asks us.

"Yes," I answer wearily.

"Hello. I'm Mr. Kumar and this is Mr. Patel, We are officers from the local Nainital Police station." says a guy in his mid-forties, with thinning hair but a great mustache.

"Can I look at your ID's?" I question.

I'm met with questioning looks from everyone except Naina.

"Sure," Mr. Kumar says, handing me his police ID.

"Thank you. Just making sure," I say flashing them a smile.

"No issues. I guess you are a brave city girl," he says commenting on my previous actions.

"Old habits die hard I guess," I answer in their local dialect and he laughs at that.

Guess they ease up to that!

"So where is this famous fort?"Hitesh asks joining me.

"A little further from here, near that hill," answers Mr. Patel, "We will go in the jeep. It is safer that way."

"Yes yes, easier to travel. Also, can you finish your shoot by five?" Mr. Kumar asks as we get in the jeep. His voice carries a slight hint of timbre as he speaks to us in a language not native to them.

"We have time till six, don't we?" I ask.

"Yes you do, but it is better to not stay there after sunset," he says. His eyes carrying a tinge of fear.

"So what's up with this place," Naina asks joining us.

"Well, don't you know the story behind it?"

Naina and I look at each other and simultaneously reply, "Nope," while Hitesh remains quiet.

"Well it is haunted!" says Mr. Kumar.

"Believed to be haunted," Hitesh corrects them.

"So you knew about this?" I ask, surprised at the turn of events.

"Yes, but it is just an old tale. I don't think such things exist."

"It is true. I've heard a lot about this fort," chimes in Mr.Patel.

"What's it about?" Naina asks, clearly excited.

"Well, the old princess of this place Princess Ratnavati haunts this place."

"Why does she? Is there any story to that?" I ask, turning on the camera. Curious but scared.

"Well, it is an old tale," he says and dives into the tale.

"Princess Ratnavati of Bhangarh was very beautiful, you can see it for yourself in the photos that still hang in the fort. A local black magician fell in love with her and he tried to get her using black magic. So once, he bewitched a cosmetic she was supposed to use, to make her fall in love with him. The princess, being a smart woman sensed something was wrong and foiled the entire conspiracy of the black magician by pouring the bewitched cosmetic on a stone boulder, which supposedly crushed the black magician to death. Before the magician breathed his last, he placed a curse upon the entire land that no soul would ever be able to live in peace there. Since then the princess has been roaming in the fort, restless,"

"WOW! That's interesting," Naina says.

"Scary," I answer, turning off the camera,  "I can watch a horror movie and maybe even read about it, but going to a supposedly  haunted fort is beyond me."

"Chill. We all will stay together and try to wrap it up as soon as possible," Hitesh says in a calm tone.

"Yes, let's finish it soon and leave," answers Mr.Kumar.

Guess he is also scared.

After a winding drive through the woods and a seemingly vacant town, "Here we are," announces Mr.Patel. We catch sight of the royal fort.

A tall, grand worn-out structure stands out in the woods. It is somehow well-maintained yet feels creepy.  The twilight hours just add to the eerie feeling in the air. One can only imagine how grand it used to be back in the day.

As we approach the main entrance, I can't help but feel a sense of bizarreness. The chilly wind just adds to it.

"Guys, I'll just capture a little of the fort from outside and join you all," I say and stay back as the party moves in.

I try to capture as much of the outside of the fort without straying too far from them and hurry back in to join the rest of them. I see Hitesh setting up the lights and Naina prepping herself in front of what looks like an old vanity mirror.

"So we set?" I ask as Hitesh prepares the light.

"Thanks, I didn't know you knew how to handle lights and all?" I say, genuinely surprised.

"You'll be surprised with what I can do," he says and turns on the light.

The royal fort, finally clearly visible looks beautiful. It has a touch of mystery, history, and an obvious eerie to it.

"Welcome to the latest episode of Xplore India. Today we are here to explore the grand fort in Nainital, which is believed to be haunted. The tale goes as such--"

Naina goes on to recite another version of the tale of this fort and things proceed smoothly.

A chilly breeze here and there, causes a shiver, but that's that. After almost all of the main entrance, is on video we decide to move to the back of the fort.

"I'll stay here, why don't you guys go ahead?" Mr. Prathik asks.

"Okay fine. We will be out as soon as we can, " Hites says and we all walk further in,  to the fort.

There weren't any lights here and the only source of light came from my mini portable light and our cell phones.

"Guys, I don't think we can shoot anything here," Naina says.

"Yeah, but let's at least try, " I say, trying to see if I can shoot anything on my camera.

"It's scary," Naina says as if reading my thoughts.

"Yeah, let's go bac-- aaaaaaa,"  I slip as the ground underneath me shakes and desperately try to hold on to the closest thing, to avoid falling. Nothing is nearby, loading balance I fall face down. A few pieces of stones scrap my leg and the light from my hand slips.

The ground beneath shakes again, and the wall around collapses.  A small warm trickle oozes from my knee.

A loud 'BOOM' echoes in the fort.  I feel a few pieces of broken stones falling on my back, pricking me. Covering my head, I try to figure out what's happening.

Chaos ensued. I can hardly see anything in this darkness all I hear are a few yells.

Darkness.

I slowly lose sight of what's happening in front of me. Unsure if it's the reality or not. Everything is dark. I close my eyes, It's dark, I open them and it's still dark.  A dark spiral forms around and I feel drawn to it.

"Ness" someone yells.

A little louder again.

I begrudgingly open my eyes and it takes a while for them to adjust to the darkness around me.

"Nesss," they yell louder.

"Where are you? Flash the light! I can't see anything!" Hitesh yells. 

I spot the flashlight a few feet away from me and slowly inch my way toward the flashlight, crawling.  My leg turns numb and I hardly feel anything as I crawl.

Maybe that's not a good thing!

"Guysssss!!" I say in a weak voice as I feel the flashlight under my palm.

"Ness?" answers Naina in a croaky voice.

"Vanessa?" answers Hitesh.

"Where are you all?" comes another voice. Probably one of the police officers.

"Here," I say, flashing my light from where I guess the voice came.

I soon see a figure approaching us and thankfully, it wasn't who or what my imagination came up with.

"Mr. Prathik. Help!" Hitesh yells.

Guess he is alright.

He slowly lifts me up and I flash my light around looking for others. We find Naina all coiled up, stuck in a corner, which huge rocks blocking her way and Mr. Kumar bleeding from his legs but still conscious fallen a few feet away from me.

"Naina, how are you!?"

"I don't know," she says, still in shock.

"Ness, how are you," Hitesh asks, wrapping my arm around his shoulder and carrying my weight.

"Not sure, maybe a little hurt!" I answer truthfully.

"Here, get in. Let's get out of this place," he says lifting me onto the jeep.

We put Mr. Kumar in the jeep and all of us try to get away from this fort.

"What happened? What even was that?" I ask as we drive away.

The road seems to have gotten a lot rockier and uneven. The ride feels a lot bumpy.

Calm down! Calm down! Nothing will happen.

"Not sure, let's get to the city first. We may get a better idea. Hopefully not that stupid curse," he says and drives as fast as he can on this now uneven road.

"I'll call Ria, " Hitesh says, taking out his phone.

"Damn this signal!" he curses and puts it back in.

"Same here," I say looking at my phone.

It takes us an hour or so to reach the city limits and the city looks chaotic.

"What even happened?" Hitesh asks looking at me.

"No idea!" I say, praying it's nothing too dangerous.

We make our way to the hospital and learn that there was a minor earthquake today here, resulting in quite a few injuries.

"What about Ria and the rest? Are they also injured?" Naina asks, her eyes brimming with concern.

"Turns out they were just about to enter the reserve park when they received an alert about the possible earthquake. They are coming here," he says, after the call with Ria.

Naina breathes out a visible sigh of relief as she hears this.

Is she thinking about Adarsh?

A doctor, treats me soon. After running a few tests, she says it's just a mild sprain and should heal in a few day.

"Don't exercise your leg too much," the doctor says as he puts it in a brace . "If this is undo you can use crutches too."

"Thank you doctor," I say as I feel a sleep coming on from the painkillers given.

Thankfully Hitesh stays by my side all through this as Naina also gets herself checked.

Ria and the rest of them join us in the hospital to make sure everyone is safe.

"So guys, we will be leaving in two hours. There are reports of an even bigger earthquake coming here tomorrow. So we need to evacuate as soon as we can. Vanessa, do you think you can walk?" she asks looking at me.

"Yes, probably"

"Don't worry, we have a car to Delhi and from there, a direct flight to Bangalore to our office headquarters. You stay here and get some rest. The rest of us will pack up your stuff and meet you here in two hours, we are going back!" she says and after enquiring about my leg everyone leaves.

I see Adarsh and Naina holding hands and comforting each other. Guess tough times do bring people closer!

As I lay down to rest, a notification pops up.

Derek: Heard there was an earthquake in Nainital. Hope you are alright. Are you coming back !?

Before I could reply to this, another text message pops.

Caleb: Hey Ness. Heard there was an earthquake in Nainital. How are you? Are you alright !? Are you guys coming back???

2 hours later:

Naina arrives with Adarsh by her side, while I fidget with my phone unsure of what to reply to either of them.

The crew slowly starts assembling, with Ria arriving last.

"How are you feeling now!?" Naina asks, sitting beside me.

I hand her my phone, "Check my messages".

Her face morphs into a complex expression, unable to read her face, I gently nudge her.

"Something seems fishy. Derek caring about you ? And both of them asking the same question?"

"It just doesn't sit well with me," I answer , taking my phone back and type a platonic reply to Derek and a quick text to Caleb.

"Guys the van is here. Whenever you are ready!" Ria says.

"How are you feeling how!?" She adds approaching me.

"A little better, thank you. Hopefully I can walk," I say plastering a smile on my face.

"Don't worry, I got you," Naina says wrapping my arm around her shoulder and Hitesh follows suite.

"Okay then, one last ride in our minivan it is," Adarsh says.

A sense of nostalgic hits me. I haven't been here for so long but the memories of this place shall forever be etched in my heart. From the beautiful views to the amazing food, the breathtaking mountains to the serene lakes, I love it all.

Authors note:

Hey guys, happy new year!!

Well belated happy new year.

Also please please please do VOTE !

Until the next chapter.

Lots of love,
          ~Vaishnavi