Despite coming from a family that shows itself to be very practicle and high class, Yudi and Neelu's parents do believe in the Kundali and a few more superstitious stuffs.

Forwarding the Kundalis of Yudi and Neelu, Mrs. Sahani takes her seat at the sofa next to Mr. Sahani and says,

"Ye lijiye Panditji, dekhiye aur bataiye ke kya likha hai Yudi aur Neelu ke bhavishya mein. Mujhe to inn dono ko lekar bohot chinta hai. Dono apni marzi ki karte hain. Sunte hi nahi meri."

Yudi's father laughs a little and says,

"Arey tum chinta kyun karti ho jo bhi hai bhavishya acha hi hoga unn dono nalayakon ka. Kyun Panditji?",

he turns to look towards the Pandit and finds him engrossed in reading one Kundali out of the two.

He notices that the expression of that of the Pandit is serious. His smile diminishes a little. Giving his full attention to the Pandit, bending a little forward, entwining his fingers together, Mr. Sahani asks,

"Kya baat hai Panditji? Sub theek hai na?"

Mrs. Sahani then notices Panditji's expression and gets tensed.

"Aap kehte kyun nahi? Bataiye na sub theek hai na?",

asks Mrs. Sahani, desperate.

Yudi's father gestures his wife with his hand to stay quiet. But Mrs. Sahani's tension increases with each passing moment.

The Panditji considers both the Kundalis properly twice! thrice! He knits his brows tight and finally looks towards Mr. and Mrs. Sahani and says,

"Ajeeb baat hai!"

"K..kya... kya ajeeb hai Panditji?",

asks Mr. Sahani.

"Dono ki Kundali mein ek hi waqt mein ek jaisa dosh dekh pa raha hoon. Kisi... kisi shakti ke changul mein phasa hua dekh raha hoon. Bura samay... bura samay aata hua prateet ho raha hai.",

says the Pandit, tensed.

Their parents get shocked hearing that!

"Ajeeb baat ye hai ke dono ki Kundali mein ek hi waqt par ek hi yog bann rahe hain.",

states the Pandit, trying to find out something that would give him hope that this situation can be warded off. But alas! he finds none!

"Panditji isse bachne ka koi upaye?",

asks their mother, folding her hands.

Panditji nods his head in affirmative.

That relaxes the Sahanis.

"Upaye hai!"

"Hawan karwana hoga!"

Yudi's parents look towards each other and nod their respective heads.

Looking back towards the Pandit their father requests, folding his hands,

"Aap... aap jo karna chahein karein... bus humare bachon ko iss sankat se bacha lein."

"Hawan ke liye kuch samagri ka prabandh karna parhega aapko soochi (list) taiyar karke deta hoon aap uska prabandh kardein. Baki main dekh lunga.",

says the Pandit.

"Ji..!",

say their parents in unison, folding their hands.

👻👻👻👻👻

Outside Neelu's hostel at a park Neelu and Alekh sit together on a bench.

"Tu kyun aaya hai yahan Alekh? Tu chala ja.",

says Neelu, helplessly.

Alekh who is sitting bent forward, his elbows resting on his knees, looks towards Neelu, staring her for a brief moment he says, still staring,

"Apun yahan ye sunn nahi aya. Apun yahan tujhse tera haal poochne aya hai aur such poochne aya hai. Wo such... wo such jo...",

he cascades his eyes out of hesitation, then resumes,

"....jo apun ne mazak mein liya."

That clenches Neelu's heart. She looks towards him out of love and admiration for Alekh.

Alekh stares her back, apologizing silently.

"Bata kya baat!",

says Alekh, politely.

Neelu stares him, serious.

"Pichle hafte se ye sub ho raha hai!...",

Neelu begins narrating the incidents to Alekh.

Alekh knits his brows tighter, giving her his full attention.

"Aisa lag raha jaise... jaise mere kamre mein main aur meri roommate hi nahi hai, balki... balki koi aur bhi hai!",

says Neelu, turning to look towards Alekh as she utters the last five words.

"Koi aur? Kon?",

asks Alekh, eager to know.

"Main nahi janti. Koi aisa jisse main dekh nahi paati magar mehsoos kar paati hoon.",

Neelu goes on a deep thinking, as if she can feel it all, all over again.

Her words now begins to build tension inside Alekh.

"To tum dono ye baat apne hostel ke teacher se kyun nahi kehte?",

asks Alekh.

"Hum dono?",

Neelu laughs a little, sarcastically.

Shaking her head, she clarifies,

"Nahi Alekh... hum dono nahi, ye sirf main mehsoos karti hoon. Sirf main!"

Chills run down Alekh's spine. He straightens up, understanding the seriousness of the situation.

"Pichle kuch dino se main ek sapna dekh rahi hoon.",

she speaks further.

"Kaisa sapna?",

asks Alekh, eager.

"Main humare hostel ke paas jo railway track hai wahan hoon aur chalti hui train ke saath daud rahi hoon. Zor se... bohot zor se... jaise usse koi race laga rahi hoon.",

says Neelu, drowning into the pool of her memories of her dream.

"Subah ka waqt hai. Abhi tak suraj ki kirne bhi nahi nikli aur main bhaag rahi hoon. Sunsaan jagah hai. Mere aur uss daudti train ke alawa teesra kuch ya koi bhi duur duur tak nazar nahi aa raha."

Alekh could see the scenario being depicted by Neelu vividly in front of his eyes. His rate of heartbeat increases as if he himself is running against the moving train.

"Achanak kahin se ek ladka aata hai wo bhi mere saath daudne lagta hai. Meri tarah wo bhi tracksuit pehna hua hota hai. Hum dono mein kab ek jung si shuru ho jaati hai pata hi nahi chalta ek dusre se jeetne ki dhun sawar ho jati hai. Ek dusre ko harane ka nasha mano hum par charh jata hai.",

she says, her eyes turned wide by now.

"Kabhi main usse agey nikal jaati, to kabhi wo mujhe peeche chorh deta.",

she adds, her throat gradually drying up.

"Magar... magar achanak... achanak mujhe aisa mehsoos hota hai ke jitna main apni speed barhati usse harane ke liye, utni hi uski speed mujhse barh jaati. Jaise chahte hue bhi main humare beech ka faasla nahi kam kar pa rahi thi.",

says Neelu, in horror.

Alekh's expression slightly changes as it sounds ridiculous to him. It happens doesn't it? Sometimes our competitor is too smart to always speed up once we increase the speed of ours and hence stays ahead of us always! But what about the distance? Does it stay uniform throughout?

"To kya hua agar wo bhi tez bhag raha hai to?",

asks Alekh, finding her fear illogical.

Neelu turns to look towards him and asks,

"Alekh kabhi to mujhe aisa mehsoos hota ke humare beech ka faasla kam ya zyada hua hai?"

They stare each other silently.

"Aur to aur uske badan par paseene ki ek boond nahi aur main paseene se lath-path. Aisa kaise ho sakta hai Alekh?",

demands Neelu.

Alekh considers it and gives it a thought.

"Aur... aur wo aya kahan se?",

she asks, her rate of heartbeat increases further as she remembers.

"Alekh jab koi humare saath bhagta hai wo ya to side se humein join karega ya peeche se. Isne peeche se aakar mujhe join kiya. Aur agar koi peeche se aa raha hai to uske mere paas aane se kuch pal pehle se hi mujhe uski aahat sunayi deni chahiye na? Uski maujoodgi mehsoos honi chahiye, right?",

she asks.

Alekh nods his head in agreement.

Shaking her head, Neelu says,

"Magar mujhe aisa kuch mehsoos nahi hua!"

That shocks Alekh further.

"Main nahi janti wo kahan se aaya.",

she says, staring Alekh, serious.

"Khair tab to mujhe iss baat ka ehsaas nahi hua. Hum dono bhagte rahe. Ek waqt ke baad meri saans phoolne lagi. Usse zyada mujhse bhaaga nahi ja raha tha. Main wohi khade hokar, haafte hue dekhne lagi usse jaate hue. Maine dekha ki wo... ki wo iss ghane andhere mein left ki aur murh gaya bhagte hue!",

she states in horror.

"To kya hua? Ghar ka rasta hoga uss taraf uska.",

suggests Alekh, finding it nothing unusual.

"Uss taraf Shamshanghat ke alawa kuch nahi hai Alekh!!",

she says, raising her voice, her expression changes.

Shocked, Alekh stares Neelu, at a loss of words.

"Maine... maine kuch der intezaar bhi kiya uske wapas aane ka. Magar wo nahi aya Alekh! Wo nahi aya!",

Neelu stares Alekh in horror. Alekh mirrors her reaction.

"Sapna hai sapna!!",

repeats Alekh, laughing a little, to calm her down.

"Bhool ja!",

he suggests, relaxing on the bench.

Neelu nods her head. Smiling sadly she says,

"Hmm... sapna!"

Whilst scratching her left index fingure a little, leisurely, Neelu says,

"Alekh... agar... agar ye sapna hai to... kya tu mujhe samjha sakta hai ke jab ye sub mere saath mein such mein hota hi nahi to mere haath gande kaise hue? Mere dayein ghutne par ye chont kaise lagi, jabki jahan tak mujhe yaad hai main to kahin giri hi nahi.",

she pulls her skirt a little to reveal her bruised knee.

Shocked and concerned upon witnessing it, Alekh asks,

"Ye kaise hua?"

"Issi baat ka jawab to main tujhse mang rahi hoon kyunki jahan tak mujhe yaad hai to mujhe aisi chont abhi pichle kuch dino mein to kya pichle kayi mahino se nahi lagi.",

says Neelu, knitting her brows, staring Alekh.

Alekh stares her shocked.

"Tu abhich jakar ye baat apne teacher ko bata. Aur apna saaman baandh aur chal yahan se.",

says Alekh, angry and determined.

"Chalun? Kahan chalun Alekh?",

she asks, surprised.

"Aur kya bataun? Kon manega? Sub isko meri koi psychological issue samjh kar psychologist ke paas jaane ki salaah denge. Mom-Dad ko call kiya jayega aur mujhe yahan se le jaane ki baat karenge. Koi nahi maanega meri baat koi nahi!",

Neelu cries, shoving her fingers into her hair, resting her elbows on her knees.

Frustrated, Alekh wonders what to do.

"To tu hi bata apun kya kare?",

asks Alekh, frustrated.

"Tum chale jao yahan se Alekh. Chorh do mujhe mere haal par.",

says Neelu, politely.

"Yedi ho gayi hai kya? Apun aisa bilkul nahi karega.",

states Alekh, clearly.

"Chal tere hostel aur bol unhe ke apun tera bhai hai, tere Chacha ka beta aur apun tujhe apne saath ghar le jaane aya hai kuch dino ke liye.",

says Alekh, after thinking for a moment.

"Main aise kaise keh dun Alekh? Agar ghar se kisi ka call agaya aur unhe pata chal gaya to?",

asks Neelu, skeptical.

"Nahi! Nahi main aisa nahi kar paungi.",

says Neelu.

"Ye tu keh rahi hai Neelu jo bahane banane mein apun se bhi agey hai?",

scolds Alekh.

"Wo baat alag hai Alekh. Aur ye alag. Hostel se kisi ladke ke saath yun chale jana... tu janta hai agar logon ko pata chala to Mom-Dad ki kitni badnami hogi? Koi nahi samjhega ke humne aisa kyun kiya.",

says Neelu.

"Apun ko isse koi farak nahi parhta. Apun ke liye teri jaan se barhkar kuch nahi hai.",

says Alekh, clearly.

"Aur teri bhalayi issi mein hai ke tu yahan se chal apun ke saath.",

says Alekh.

Alekh and Neelu stare each other. Neelu after giving it a thought nods her head.

👻👻👻👻👻

Ali and Huda look towards each other in horror after witnessing the walls of the room scratched all over.

They run out of the room in search of Yudi.

Ali in his desperation knocks the door of a group of his fellow cadets. When they don't open it in a single knock, Huda stops him from knocking further resting his hand on Ali's shoulder and says,

"Rehne de Usool agar Yudi yahan hota to ye log jage hue hote aur ek baar mein room khol dete."

Ali's heart skips a beat realising that Huda is correct. They look towards each other in shock and understanding.

"Balki...",

Huda looks around and continues,

"...mujhe to lagta hai Yudi yahan kahin nahi hai."

Ali gets another shock as he realises that deep down even he had this feeling that Yudi wouldn't be found here anywhere!

"To ab hum kya karein Huda Bhai?",

asks Ali, tensed.

"Dhundhna to hoga usse. Yudi achanak aise kyun kahin jayega?",

wonders Huda, knitting his brows.

"Aur jo kuch bhi kamre mein dekha... kuch to baat hai. Yudi ko humari zaroorat hai Ali!",

says Huda, concerned.

Ali nods his head in agreement.

"Chal! Isse pehle ki kahin der ho jaye.",

says Huda, patting Ali's wrist.

Together they sneak out of the academy.

👻👻👻👻👻

Once out of the academy, it doesn't take them much time to find Yudi. Of course they had to run and cover a long distance to finally get the sight of him and once found, Huda tells Ali loudly in desperation,

"Wo raha Yudi!"

"Yudi!"

"Yudi Bhai!"

They shout in quick succession. Once, twice, thrice.... and so on.

Soon they reach almost around him when Huda stops Ali, staring Yudi wide eyed.

The way Yudi is looking here and there with his eyes wide opened, Ali and Huda find him to be behaving like a maniac. Like some predator searching for his next hunt! The street lights are making Yudi's face partially visible when he is turning his face left or right forming a suitable angle. And at those moments Huda and Ali feel as if this is not their Yudi and someone else instead!

Huda and Ali realise the sudden dropping of the temperature. It has started to turn foggy which is making Yudi less visible to them. The whole scenario succeeds in sending chills to run down Huda's and Ali's spines respectively.

Towards both the ends of the road where they stand, green trees form dense canopy. This factor disconnects Huda and Ali from the population that might be residing at the other side. Huda and Ali subconsciously realise that apart from each other they have no one to help them if help is needed. And the help they would need this time would be of different kind! To escape from a different kind of situation than they usually fall into!

Huda and Ali run after Yudi to catch him and they realise that Yudi is turning to his left inside an abandoned building.

They get shocked, would be an understatement! They get terrified!! No one dares to get into that building all alone even during the day time as somehow that side remains hidden from the rays of the Sun. As if that is absolutely some alien world at that side. As if someone has casted a spell on that side just like a spell was once casted on Bhangarh Fort!

And there are all these rumors that go around that people have felt the presence of supernatural beings around this place where Yudi has entered just now. And once or twice even if someone has dared to visit this place, they instantly feel the change in the atmosphere and the negative vibes that surround them there, make them restless. The only difference between Bhangarh Fort and this area is - that place has got hype, people know about it and has turned into a tourist spot and this, this place is unknown to most of the population and hence stays abandoned still! But those who have even the slightest idea about demons, know, that spirit, rooh, are more likely to reside in places such as this!

Ali and Huda freeze at their respective spots! Entering that zone doesn't require the bravery of a soldier; it requires bravery of some other level; of some other kind! Ali and Huda for the first time feel extremely sorry for having ever joked about this place! Making stories about how they would go alone and have a cup of coffee with whatever is lurking at this place. Huda would say all this, that's quite acceptable, but Ali, Ali too didn't hold himself from making fun of this place joining Huda at times when he would make fun and sometimes initiating the topic all by himself!

Now Huda and Ali, crack a funny joke about this place in front of you, will you? Or let's skip the joke let's have some real fun!!

👻👻👻👻👻

Standing at the threshold of this abandoned place, Huda and Ali try to scan the place with a hope of catching something abnormal that they might get ready to deal with before entering the place. But they find nothing except for the eerie silence that is shouting at them to leave this place as soon as possible. Ali and Huda come closer to each other, their eyes never tearing their stare at the place.

"Yudi!",

calls out Huda, shouting. His voice goes screeching the silence and hits the walls and as a result it echos throughout the place.

Once it dies they could hear the silence again that alerts them and makes their hearing sense all the more strong as their whole attention goes to their hearing sensation.

"Yudi Bhai!",

tries Ali too.

But the result stays same.

Silence!

Huda suddenly turns around with a jerk! His face turned hot out of horror!

He definitely felt someone passed behind him.

"Kya hua Huda bhai?",

asks Ali, desperate to know what caused Huda to turn and that expression on his face, why is it there?

His right hand resting on Huda's shoulder and left hand holding Huda's upper arm lightly. His eyes on Huda.
He is sure something must have happened that made Huda give these reactions.

"Abey Ali... maine... maine abhi apna naam suna! Aur aisa laga mere peeche se koi guzra.",

says Huda, shaking in fear.

"Guzra? Aapka naam?...",

Ali looks around to see who could it be but finds no one.

"Magar Huda bhai yahan to koi nahi hai!",

says Ali, despite that deep down he knows he is lying to Huda, because he is getting the vibes that they are not alone here! And when he is thinking 'not alone' he definitely is not meaning about Yudi's presence there with them!

Huda's throat starts drying out of fear.

"Kahin Yudi bhai to nahi the?",

asks Ali, hopeful, widening his eyes and staring in front, his face still turned.

"Magar wo humare peeche kyun honge? Unhe to humne apne saamne ander aate hue dekha.",

says Ali, confused.

Huda is still staring in front of himself, shaking in fear. He recalls whatever he felt. That was real! That was so real!

Turning again he shouts out this time in more desperation than earlier, frustrated,

"Yudi!!",

his voice giving away his restlessness and somehow at the moment he is not having any kind of affection towards Yudi.

They slowly walk inside. Their each step creating creaking and rustling noise as they step on the numerous broken and unwanted stuffs that are covering the entire place, contributing to the spookiness of the place. Their own created sounds are giving them mini heartattacks every now and then. They turn after each such heartattack in order to make sure that no one is around who might harm them.

As they pass by a certain wall with Ali at the wall side and Huda next to him, none of them realises that an eye opened wide, is staring them through the broken part of the wall, broken wide enough for someone to bring out their one hand uptil their forearm. His other eye hidden behind the wall. His hair messed up. His mind filled with an evil motive to harm Ali and Huda.

Before they could pass by the broken area, he brings out one hand and grabs Ali by his upper arm. His uncut and dirty nails penetrate deep into Ali's skin. Immediately blood oozes out of the areaa where the nails dug into his skin. He shouts out loud in pain and horror! His voice was never heard this loud ever by anyone in the academy! His this voice was a result of the acute pain and the acute fear mingled together.

Huda looks towards Ali and then towards his hand, once... twice in quick succession. His heart thumping inside his chest out of fear. His mind gets blocked as the high amount of oxygen
fills his brain, that gets Huda out of ideas to help Ali, for a brief moment that in the given scenario felt like eternity!

"Ali! Ali!",

shouts Huda after a brief numbness and pulls him to free him from the hold of God knows whose!

"Huda Bhai, ye... mujhe maar dega...",

Ali shouts in terror, trembling profusely, holding his arm as he tries to pull it free.

That shocks Huda further. He stops briefly hearing Ali, still holding him.

"Kuch... kuch nahi hoga tujhe Ali!!!!",

shouts Huda, loud, in desperation.

His ears slowly blocking out of fear and out of nervousness of the fact that what if he couldn't save Ali? What if not only Ali, he... he couldn't even save himself?!

Ali shouts in fear!

The more he shouts the more the velocity of Huda's try increases. Both of them begin sweating, Huda more, because the whole responsibility lies upon him to save his friend and himself from this mess!

Huda engrossed in helping Ali doesn't realise when someone in a great velocity comes towards him. The only difference between that person and any other person is that that person is bent backwards with his face turned towards them - upside down and his hands and legs supporting his body weight - in a way that to them they would appear to be crawling, crawling but in a way that no one would like to imagine someone crawling like even in their wildest dream!! His eyeballs turned upside and the wicked smile on his face as he comes to rest in front of Huda and Ali, gives Huda and Ali the feeling that they would get watching any horror movie, the only difference is - in this horror movie they are the protagonists trapped in a space where there are a few exits for sure, but suprisingly they find none!

And how would they find, when to exit from this place the most important key they need is - the owner's ijjazat!

👻👻👻👻👻

It rains ferociously! The rumbling noise of the clouds sounds like a warning to everyone in KMA, but none cared to give heed to it!

Brigadier Chandok pushes the white curtain of his room a little to peep out of the window and enjoy the view of rain. The ferocious rain makes it difficult for him to see anything clearly. He had to adjust his pupils to understand who it is in such a dreadful weather working in the garden area of KMA!

"Hello! Sunno!",

he calls him out loud to make himself audible to the man, over the rumbling noise of clouds and rain.

But his voice seems to hit deaf ears!

The man continues with his ploughing.

"Arey baad mein kar lena. Abhi ander jao.",

shouts Brigadier Chandok.

The light chooses to fail at that very moment.

Turning, looking towards the light, Brigadier Chandok curses,

"Ye to hona hi tha!",

and shakes his head.

Sighing, he again turns to look towards the garden area, when standing absolutely in front of him at the other end of the window a man - serious and his eyes wide opened, holding a hoe resting on his right shoulder, asks Brigadier Chandok,

"Aapne bulaya?"

His sudden appearance and speaking, results in Brigadier Chandok having his heart in his mouth. The sudden lightning makes the man's face partially visible through the unstoppable rain drops.

After a brief moment where Brigadier Chandok collects himself, calming his nerves down, he says,

"Ha..an.. main bol raha tha ke mausam kharab hai tum abhi bahar mat raho."

"Sir mujhse aise mausam mein hi kaam hota hai. Issi mausam ka to mujhe intezaar rehta hai humesha!",

he says, staring Brigadier Chandok, never blinking his eyes. His words sound weird to Brigadier Chandok. It sounds like a challenge! A challenge to stop him from doing what he likes doing the most!

Brigadier Chandok nods his head slowly, getting weird feelings from the gardner.

Dr. Shalini, who was enjoying from her room's window - the sight of the weather outside, happens to look towards Brigadier Chandok's room which is situated in the left wing. From such a distance and with the ferocious rain acting as a barrier and just the street light which is running by the help of generator, Dr. Shalini had to narrow her eyes to understand something over nothing about what Brigadier Chandok is doing. And Dr. Shalini being the gossip queen couldn't keep herself from spying on Brigadier Chandok.

She notices him talking and gesturing with his hands as if explaining something to someone. Dr. Shalini tries to see whom he is talking to. But rain makes it difficult for her to see properly. But despite that after a few tries she concludes that apparently there is no one whom he could be talking to or the rainfall is really blinding her?

"Ye Brigadier Chandok kisse baat kar rahe hain? Aur wo bhi aise mausam mein bahar kon hoga?",

she talks to herself, feeling weird.

She arches her brows tossing the interrogating thought of hers. Lifting her shoulders briefly and then resting them back, she chooses to let the situation go!

"Magar tum bimar ho jaoge.",

shouts Brigadier Chandok to make himself audible.

He doesn't reply but rather smiles viciously, staring Brigadier Chandok, never blinking his eyes.

After a moment he says,

"Main kabhi bimar nahi hota Sahab!"

Lightening happens up in the sky along with a loud grumbling of the clouds.

Brigadier Chandok stares him, skeptical.

"Jaun Sahab?",

he asks, nonchalantly.

"Hmm...",

Brigadier Chandok nods his head.

Even after getting permission to leave, Brigadier Chandok notices that he doesn't leave, instead he tears his gaze from him and looks into his room. His brows suddenly furrow as if unhappy about something, angry maybe. Brigadier Chandok slowly turns to look towards the way the man was staring into his room, he finds nothing but darkness. But the way the man reacts gives Brigadier Chandok the impression - as if he could see beyond the darkness.
Upon finding nothing behind himself Brigadier Chandok turns again to look towards the man he was talking to but to his surprise, he finds him gone! He tries to look at the garden too but he could find no one in his sight. This leaves Brigadier Chandok wondering!

Dr. Shalini, still in a confused state, turns and walks into her room leaving the window area.

Brigadier Chandok turns and begins walking towards the door of his room in the pitch darkness to leave the room and ask why is not the generator working. He does try to get his torch or mobile to use either the mobile light or the mobile torch, whichever turns out to be within his reach but none seems to be around or maybe the darkness is making it impossible for him to get hold of either of the two! He skips searching for the torch or the mobile, afterall he is well familiar with his room, he can walk even in the darkness. He does exactly that. On his way to the door of his room falls the bathroom to his left. While he was passing by the bathroom, the bathroom door which was kept open till now, shuts with a loud thud! Brigadier Chandok immediately turns to look towards the bathroom, his eyes opened wide in horror. His heart thumping inside his chest. The clouds growl! Giving him yet another shock. He turns to look towards the window to see the weather which has worsen!

With a thumping heart and constant mini heartattacks due to the non-uniform thundering, Brigadier Chandok holds the handle of the bathroom and pushes it down to open the door but to his utter shock he finds it locked from inside!

Brigadier Chandok, still holding the handle, stares at the bathroom door in shock. Giving it a benifit of doubt, he tries again to open the door but the result stays same. One more time! One... two... three... sound of click of the door handle as it gets pushed down but the lock prohibits it from opening.

Brigadier Chandok stares at the locked door in horror! He begins sweating even in this rainy and cool weather, sweating out of fear.

"Ko... kon hai ander?",

asks Brigadier Chandok, scared as hell.

"K...",

before he could ask again, the door flies open and gush of wind turns Brigadier Chandok almost blind for a brief moment. He covers his eyes with his left forearm. The noise of the ferociously blowing wind hits his eardrums. And slowly when the air fills the room, Brigadier Chandok could now open his eyes - no, not slowly but quickly, opening it wide, not wanting to miss anything.

In front of him stands a man whose eyes are absolutely black - a demon!

👻👻👻👻👻

Rajveer who stays awake - first because of some official work; followed by electricity failure that dragged his mind towards thinking about everything that happened with Naina and Rajveer, remains oblivious to whatever Brigadier Chandok is facing at this moment in his room and also about the whereabouts of his four Cadets!

Initially, the sudden growling of the clouds, followed by the sudden and desperate knock at the door, make Rajveer's heart to pounce at a greater speed than normal! He looks towards the door in horror.

The knocking of the door in the pitch darkness of the room gives Rajveer all weird feelings. Deep down subconsciously he has a doubt that upon opening the door there would be no one there!

Whatever happened with Rajveer and Naina must have taken a toll on his thinking. Afterall it is not that easy to return back to thinking rationally briefly after an encounter with supernatural power such as the one Rajveer and Naina had. The mindset changes! The view changes of viewing anything and everything around oneself. Normality exits from your life and abnormality becomes the part of your life, both happen without taking your ijjazat!

The knock repeats! Rajveer gets up and in that pitch darkness with the help of the mobile torch he walks to the door and opens it to find no one standing there. But didn't someone knock just now? Shivers run down Rajveer's spine. The thought which he just had moments ago, turned into reality! Is the spirit still following them? And instantly his mind fills with the idea of concern for Naina. His eyes open wide!

He tries to calm himself taking it as his overthinking.

Rajveer knits his brows and peeps out of his room towards his right but finds no one there. The battery signal of his mobile which had already turned into yellow bar just before the knock happened, dies completely, that results in switching off of the mobile and hence the torch as well.

But is it possible for the battery to die this soon even if it is showing yellow bar? It does give you a little more time to plug the charger into it doesn't it? Well unless you still are consuming the battery by using your mobile, working on it. And it does turn to red also doesn't it?

He does realise of his mobile's getting switched off but he doesn't pay much heed to it. Still wondering, he pulls his upper body back into the room and the moment he does that, he gets shocked to discover Suriji standing in front of him.

Sighing, closing his eyes to calm down his accelerated rate of heartbeat, he scolds Suriji mildly,

"Suriji!"

Opening his eyes, he continues,

"Aapne to mujhe dara hi diya!"

He smiles looking towards Suriji.

Suriji stares him straight into his eyes and forwards the candle to Rajveer. Rajveer's smile dies gradually. He finds Suriji's silence weird. He normally doesn't stay quiet and always bears a smile on his face. But this night he seems different! Rajveer's whole focus remains on Suriji's serious expression that causes him to worry.

"Suriji, aap theek hain na?",

he asks, serious, concerned, whilst accepting the candle along with the candle stand.

Suriji nods his head slowly, still serious.

Rajveer and Suriji both at this moment are holding the candle simultaneously from different parts of the candle bar, without having any skin to skin touch. Rajveer's focus lies on gauging Suriji's mood and reaction. The candle wax melts and drops on Rajveer's left hand and Suriji's right. Rajveer immediately takes away his hand in reflex action. He blows his hand in order to ease the burn. After a brief moment of doing so, still in the process of easing the burn, Rajveer's eyes fall on Suriji's hand where more wax has been collected by now.

"Aapka... aapka haath jal raha hai!",

exclaims a shocked Rajveer, his eyes opened wide.

The wax keeps melting and dropping on Suriji's hand. Rajveer looks towards Suriji in utter shock. His expression conveys to Rajveer that he is not being affected by the hot wax. Rajveer quickly takes away the candle before it melts more on Suriji's hand.

Without saying a word Suriji leaves.

Rajveer stares him leaving, with the help of the candle's light, shocked to the core.

Rajveer, in his state of shock misses the real fun of transition of shock into horror! His eyes stay transfixed on Suriji's upper half of the body, especially his head, since his face is turned away now from him, as Suriji walks away.

But had he allowed himself to get out of the initial shock, he would have definitely enjoyed witnessing the next horror - Suriji walking without his feet - floating in the air, you can say!

👻👻👻👻👻

Naina and Pooja are sitting on their respective beds facing each other, such that their feet are touching the ground. Outside the clouds growl; the ferocious rain continues.

"Kitna sannatta hai...!!",

exclaims Pooja, deliberately in a hushed voice to make it sound weird and horrible.

Naina narrows her eyes on Pooja, smiling a little.

Pooja claps her hands and laughs out loud.

Falling freely in her bed, with her back hitting the bed, Pooja, staring towards the ceiling through the darkness of the room, asks,

"Naina kya hoga agar tujhe pata chale ke iss kamre mein abhi, iss waqt; iss andhere mein, hum dono ke alawa koi teesra bhi hai?"

Every nerve ending of Naina's stands erect hearing Pooja.

"Koi aisa jo yahan hai to sahi magar humein dikhayi nahi de raha?",

she asks further.

The encounter with the spirit in the motel room during the absence of Rajveer comes floating in front of Naina's eyes or rather the feeling seems to be happening for real again. Deja vu! She shivers in horror and exclaims,

"Nahi!!"

Her sudden exclaiming initially makes Pooja to knit her brows, upon realising that Naina must have got scared Pooja laughs and asks,

"Tu... tu darr gayi na?",

still staring towards the ceiling, her laugh continues.

Naina looks towards Pooja in horror and scolds her lightly,

"Pooja na ye mazak karne ki baat hai na ye mazak karne ka waqt hai."

Pooja laughs further.

"Arey konsa light jaane ka SMS humein roz milta hai. Aaj mila hai to socha tujhe daraun.",

laughs Pooja, teasing.

Naina laughs a little and throws a pillow towards Pooja that hits Pooja lightly and Pooja laughs further, throwing it back towards Naina.

The sudden loud grumbling of clouds and lightning outside result in Pooja's crying out in horror and looking towards the clouds.

Naina laughs and asks,

"Kya hua darr gayi Pooja?"

"Nainaaaa!!",

Pooja, smiling, throws the pillow towards Naina, feeling humiliated, blushing.

"Ji nahi!",

Naina throws back the pillow towards Pooja, laughing.

"Acha sunn sunn sunn!",

says Pooja, catching the pillow and hugging it, resting it in her lap.

Inclining towards Naina, Pooja, with her twinkling eyes, twinkling out of excitement asks,

"Tujhe Planchette ka pata hai?"

Naina who had rough idea about it, gets alert and hesitantly asks,

"Pla...n...che...tte...?"

Pooja nods her head in affirmative thrice in quick succession, staring towards Naina with her eyes wide opened more out of excitement than out of darkness in the room.

"Tu... tu bhi kya ye sub faltu baatein lekar baith gayi. Chorh!",

says Naina, trying to skip the topic.

"Arey chal na... karte hain use!",

exclaims Pooja in excitement.

"What???!!!",

exclaims Naina, shocked.

"Tu pagal ho gayi hai?",

she asks, finding her being ridiculous.

"Aur layega kon? Suriji lakar denge ya Brigadier Chandok khud chal kar ayenge tujhe Ouija board dene?",

taunts Naina in a friendly manner and rolls her eyes.

Lighting another candle, getting out of the bed, carrying the candle in her hand, Pooja opens her cupboard and pushes aside a row of her clothes and says in excitement,

"Tada... ye raha....!"

Naina gets shocked hearing that!

But more than Naina it turns out to be Pooja who is shocked upon the disappearance of the Ouija board!

"Arey kahan gaya? Yahin to rakha tha maine!",

she exclaims in horror.

👻👻👻👻👻

Naina's fear increases manifolds, hearing Pooja. She shifts in the bed out of uneasiness.

"Kahan gaya phir?",

she asks, staring towards Pooja and the cupboard in horror.

"Pata nahi yaar!",

says Pooja whilst searching desperately.

"Dhyan se dekh Pooja, wohin hoga.",

says Naina.

"Chhh...!",

Naina hisses in pain where she was bit, she immediately places her hand at her wound.

Pooja turns to look towards Naina upon hearing her hiss and asks in concern,

"Naina tu theek to hai na?"

"Haan?! Haan main theek hoon.",

assures Naina.

Naina wonders that her wound hadn't disturbed her much since last few hours. It suddenly has started paining again and acutely. But she manages to keep her mind diverted from the pain. Is it some kind of a warning? - wonders Naina.

And the thought turns her skeptical again,

"Poo...ja... rehne dete hain na. Nahi mil raha to chorh de. Kya inn sub faltu chakkaron mein parhna.",

she tries to divert Pooja's mind as well from the thought of performing Planchette.

Pooja turns to look towards Naina and says,

"Naina dekh mera mood kharab mat kar. Ek to waise hi ye board mujhe nahi mil raha; upar se andhera hone ki wajah se theek se kuch dikh bhi nahi raha; phir mujhe Planchette karne ka bhi mann hai. Aur tu hai ke mera saath dene ke bajaye, mujhe aur rok rahi hai.",

Pooja gets disappointed.

Naina realises it is futile to try to change her mind. Even if she succeeds in doing it this will create problems between Pooja and herself. Sighing, she gives up on the idea.

While Pooja was still turned towards Naina, their respective hearts skip a beat each when a fat book falls on the floor with a loud thud!

Pooja immediately turns and looks down towards the fallen book with her eyes wide open! Naina too sits on her knees in her bed in order to get a clear picture of whatever just happened and also out of concern for Pooja's well being.

"Tu... tu theek hai na Pooja?",

asks Naina, looking towards Pooja in utter shock and concern.

"Haan main theek hoon.",

assures Pooja, calming herself down.

"Kya hai ye?",

asks Naina, staring at the fallen book.

"Isse read karke hi to hum aatmaon ko bulayenge.",

says Pooja, excited.

"What?!",

exclaims Naina, shocked.

"Aur... aur ye board kahan gaya?",

Pooja tries to search here and there.

Although very sure that she won't find it there, she still bends down in search of the Ouija board under her bed but surprisingly she finds it there only!

"Ye yahan kaise aya?",

murmurs Pooja, confused.

"Kya hua Pooja?",

asks Naina.

Pooja says,

"Ruk!",

and pushes her hand further under the bed in order to get the Ouija board.

She had to turn her head several times sometimes to left; sometimes to right; then again left, left-right-left; left-right-left. If one moment she gets to touch a little of the Ouija board, the other moment she would find it gone far away again! But of course she wouldn't know because of the darkness that how far and hence she wouldn't find this fact weird or out of ordinary!

A smile of satisfaction comes on Pooja's face the moment her hand finally touches a good part of the board and she says in satisfaction,

"Mil gaya!"

Naina tries to peep in order to get the view of the Ouija board but gives up upon her try in moments.

"Mila?",

asks Naina, tilting her head to the right.

"Haan!",

saying so, holding the Ouija board in her hand, Pooja turns to look towards Naina.

While she was turning, Naina again tries to convince her,

"Dekh Pooja..."

But what freezes Naina to her place and chokes her throat for a brief moment out of horror is the sudden transition in Pooja's look!! No longer does she either look sweet and bubbly Pooja; nor does she look like the human Pooja!

All around her eyes there rest dark patches like the ones you get when you are deprived of sleep. But this darkness seems to be the deprivation of sleep not for days or months but for years altogether!! This was only about the area around her eyes but what about her eyes? Her eyes seem to be weak! Weak out of lack of nutrients as if she has been hungry not for hours or days or months but again for years!!

"Pooja...!!",

exclaims Naina in horror, eyes opened wide; throat dried!

Pooja stares Naina with a wicked smile on her face. The thunderbolt makes Pooja's horrible look all the more visible to Naina. The look when witnessed clearly, Naina knows will now stay in her memories forever!

"Teri dost ko bohot shauk tha na mujhe bulane ka?",

Pooja talks about Pooja to Naina.

"Dekh uske bin bulaye hi main aa gayi!",

Pooja laughs out loud, an evil laugh, throwing her head behind.

First for the fact that Naina is now familiar to the paranormal world; and second her affection towards Pooja, which is way... way more than her fear of the parallel world that exists on the other side, Pooja couldn't deter Naina's stubbornness to save Pooja from Pooja!

"Kon ho tum?",

asks Naina, glaring Pooja, unafraid.

She suddenly appears behind Naina and whispers into her ear,

"Poojaaaa!!!"

Naina turns around, quickly getting away from Pooja.

Pooja laughs at her own joke, which to Naina is anything but joke!

Laughing further at her own joke Pooja quickly runs towards Naina's cupboard, flinging the doors open of her cupboard Pooja quickly throws all of Naina's clothes on the floor, scattering them all over the floor. Pooja's face remains turned towards Naina's cupboard throughout.

The lightning and thunder repeat.

Naina turns away scared, frustrated, helpless. She shoves her fingers into her hair, unable to understand how to get her Pooja back. Suddenly she realises that everything has gone quiet. She wonders what could be the reason! She slowly turns to look towards Pooja but to Naina's horror she finds her gone! She turns around in order to find her. Naina's eyes opened wide. Her heart which was already thumping at a high speed, increases its pace.

She gets numb out of fear and hence she couldn't even manage to call out Pooja's name this time.

While her mind was blown by Pooja's sudden disappearance, her heart skips a beat before accelerating its speed of beating when she hears Pooja's weird voice whispering and saying -

"Main chhup gayi ab ye mujhe dhundhegi. Na dhundha to main yahin rahungi aur dhundh liya to...."

Naina's heartbeat accelerates further, she sweats profusely, out of fear. She holds her breath for that brief moment where Pooja pauses.

Naina's mind remains blocked and hence she fails to even try anticipating what could be Pooja's next words! All she could do is wait for Pooja to continue. Her whole focus is on Pooja.

Pooja suddenly appears in front of Naina out of thin air, which makes Naina to stumble back and fall on the floor. With her hands resting on the floor, supporting her body; her back tilted backwards; her knees popped up, Naina stares Pooja in horror, her chest expanding and contracting in quick succession, as Pooja completes her line in a horrible voice, getting close to Naina suddenly, without any warning,

"...main isse maar dalungi!!"

Saying so Pooja fists Naina's hair. Naina cries out loud more in fear than in pain.

Crying! Sweating profusely! Naina folds her hands and pleads Pooja,

"Please Pooja aur mujhe chorh do!!"

Slowly sitting in front of Naina on her feet, still holding Naina's hair, Pooja says,

"Jaane dun?"

Naina cries further.

"To tu mujhe yahan rehne de!",

says Pooja.

"Chorh dungi teri iss dost ko. Magar mujhe yahan rehna hai. Tere iss kamre mein. Bata manzoor hai?",

asks Pooja, her eyes burning with rage and challenge.

Naina gets shocked hearing that! First the motel incident followed by this incident make Naina to give upon her strength to fight it. She still gets goosebumps when she remembers that her body had been a vessel for a spirit. The spirit who was feeding on her energy.

Helpless, crying over and over, Naina nods her head, closing her eyes as she is bound to turn submissive in front of Pooja.

Pooja pulls her hair again, a bit lightly than before, and shouts,

"Bol!!!"

"Haaaannnn!!!",

Naina cries out loud and shouts simultaneously, trying to release her pain and frustration altogether.

"Haan!!"

"Haan!!!"

She repeats twice in succession but with each repetition, her voice turns lower and lower out of helplessness and failure in removing Pooja entirely out of their lives!

Pooja finally frees Naina's held hair, opening her fist. Naina immediately massages the part of her scalp where it was hurting because of clotting of blood when Pooja had held her hair tight. Even while doing so her entire focus was on Pooja and her desperation stayed intact to get her Pooja back. Naina notices with her eyes wide opened how Pooja takes a few backward steps and warns Naina,

"Yaad rakhio main yahin hoon!"

And before Naina could even acknowledge it properly, Pooja falls down on the floor unconscious!

Naina, forgetting all her pain, immediately crawls towards Pooja and rests Pooja's head in her lap whilst calling her repeatedly out of anxiousness,

"Pooja... Pooja uth Pooja...",

she pats Pooja's face lightly but in quick succession.

"Pooja please uth Pooja!",

she pleads and cries.

"Please uth ja...",

she continues patting Pooja to wake her up.

Pooja slowly opens her eyes.

Naina looks towards Pooja in shock. Her breath kept held as she wonders what will be Pooja's reaction after getting a little comfortable. Pooja slowly looks around, still unable to turn her head properly.

"Naina!",

Pooja address her, looking all around the room.

Merely hearing her name in Pooja's voice, where she could feel Pooja's affection in her addressing Naina, Naina breaks down into fresh tears, wrapping her arms around Pooja's rear side of the neck, Naina bends down, crying, closing her eyes, she rests her forehead lightly against Pooja's, to feel her further.

Pooja looks towards her messed up bed in horror and asks, her eyes opened wide,

"Ye... ye sub... ye sub kisne kiya???!!!"

Naina shakes her head, closing her eyes, trying to divert Pooja's mind.

"Kuch nahi....",

Naina tries to divert her mind.

"Ye... ye sub kisne kiya Naina?",

asks Pooja, holding Naina's forearm which is resting on Pooja's shoulder.

"Kisi ne nahi...",

Naina tries again.

"Koi aaya tha yahan?",

demands Pooja.

"Nahi koi nahi aya tha.",

Naina says.

"Phir ye sub. Kuch hua hai. Kuch zaroor hua hai jo tu mujhse chhupa rahi hai Naina.",

says Pooja, with full surety.

Naina cups Pooja's face and forces her to look towards herself,

"Pooja... Pooja... Pooja sun..."

Pooja finally looks towards Naina, desperate to get an answer that would clear her queries.

"Bhool ja isse. Teri... teri tabiyat abhi theek nahi hai. Tujhe aaram ki zaroorat hai. Baad mein baat karte hain.",

says Naina, calmly, smiling a little.

Pooja realises that indeed she is feeling weak.

"Ha...an... mujhe... mujhe kamzori feel ho rahi hai.",

she says, trying to feel her weakness to understand the level of her weakness.

Naina knits her brows; her eyes well up out of concern and love for Pooja. She brushes Pooja's hair strands away from her face then rotates her hand on Pooja's head lovingly.

"Magar... magar mujhe kamzori kyun feel ho rahi hai Naina?",

asks Pooja, looking towards Naina, absolutely clueless about what is going on in her own life. As if she has to now rely on Naina to know everything about her own life!

Naina stares her helplessly, with no answer to give to her.

"Pata nahi Pooja... nahi pata mujhe. Bus itna pata hai ke main tujhe theek kar dungi. Main tujhe theek karke rahungi!",

promises Naina, more to herself than to Pooja.

Pooja stares Naina, confused.

Naina again hugs Pooja.