Not for Sharad lovers.

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HOTEL BHAVYA ~ RAIGARH PALACE

Standing among low lying Aravali Hills was a grand palace - the Raigarh Palace, which had now been renovated and turned into a hotel for tourists who wished to spend their nights in the area.

The average footfall was scarce. It was barely enough to keep the hotel together and running. The taps were rusted, the doors were creaky and the lake behind the hotel had dried up. The beds in the rooms squeaked to welcome the guests and the food served was usually cold and stale. The staff wasn't interested in their chores. They only picked up pace when the evening arrived, none of them wanted to venture out of the staff quarters during night hours.

Word had it, that the 5th floor of the palace was haunted. Locals had claimed to witness odd sights from the floor. Some of the room service staff had repeatedly confirmed hearing voices from the empty floor. The previous chef at the hotel went missing for a few days and his body was later recovered on the stairs between the fourth and fifth floor.

The folklore had gained momentum with the incident and none of the staff members was ready to stay up for night duties.

Sharad Mirani (:p) , the bellboy was a new employee at the hotel. He had been pumped about working at a hotel of such grandeur but his hopes sinked when he actually saw the status of work at the palace. He had particularly been irked when his colleagues had told him about the ghost story. There were hardly any guests staying at the moment and this had pushed his spirits further down as he had always loved interacting with new people. This was his favourite part of the job.

Upset with his job, Sharad decided to take reigns of the situation in his hands.

"I'll walk up to the fifth floor and stay there all night to prove that the hotel is free from ghosts." He told himself and walked out of the staff quarters towards the main hotel and climbed the stairs that would take him to the fifth floor.

Outside the hotel, in the glowing moonlight water began filling in the dry lake. Limbs, legs and torsos began sprouting out of the mud. The rooms on the fifth floor were filled with screams of people in pain.

_________________________________

Far from the haunted silence of Hotel Bhavya, the students of VJN University were standing in a queue outside their college buses that were ready to take the long journey back to Ahemdabad.

Sameer, Munna and Pandit with other boys had just helped the conductor put all the refreshments inside the bus. An exhausted Sameer, rested his back against the bus with his arms crossed in front of him. He closed his eyes.

Their first college trip was over. All his friends had been excited about the trip and they had tried to spend each moment to the fullest. Happy moments seem to fly faster than sad ones do. The trip had ended and it was time to go back home.

Sameer felt an arm brush against his. He opened his eyes and saw Naina standing next to him, she was mirroring his pose. He turned towards her completely. She took out his mouth organ and began playing it.

Humein tumse pyar kitna ye hum nahi jaante
Magar jee nahi sakte tumhare siwa.

Sameer smiled at her. Naina smiled back, her eyes didn't leave his for a second. He took the the mouth organ from her hands and played it:

Tumhe koi aur dekhe to jalta hai dil
Badi mushkilo se fir sambhalta hai dil
Kya kya jatan karte hai tumhe kya pata.

He took her hands in his and played:

Ye dil bekarar kitna ye hum nahi jante
Magar jee nahi sakte tumhare siwa.

"Naina! Naina!" JBR came in their direction and with a jolt Sameer and Naina seperated from each other.

"Tum, tumhare dost aur tumhari best friend Sunaina ka group mere saath iss bus me jaayenge." JBR alone laughed at the best friend reference. "Bad joke. Baaki bacche Principal madam ke saath dusri bus me jaayenge. Thodi help karo meri jao apni bus ke group ko ikhata kar lo."

"Ok sir." Naina nodded

"Call me JBR. J B R." He ordered

"Sorry JBR." She said.

Sameer rolled his eyes. GS Naina pinched her ears and went to get the other students.
___________________________________

Sharad had lost sense of his surroundings. Between moans and screams he was being dragged out of the hotel. He felt his consciousness coming back. He opened his eyes, saw a silhoutte and then everything went black.
____________________________________

The buses were out of the picnic town and were heading through the highways bordered by dense forests.

Everyone was tired and were feeling sleepy. Preeti's head fell on Pandit's shoulder. He smiled at her peaceful sleeping face. Kamya and Hema were reading a film magazine under a torch's light. Munna was eating his refreshments while Swati was looking out of the window. He offered her his food, she hesitantly took it. The gang had forgiven her for her betrayal during college elections but she still had issues while facing herself in the mirror. Sameer and Naina were looking out of the window and were remembering the moments they had shared with the stars. Naina kept her hand over Sameer's as they remembered the 'star code' they had formed during their physical seperation when Sameer was at Delhi. They talked all the time as Kartik looked on at the couple. What would he not do to spend some alone time with Sunaina? But she was busy in a chit chat with the rest of the group.

JBR was saying "Bad joke" in his sleep when the bus crossed a milestone which read Raigarh Palace 1 km.
__________________________________

Sharad's roommate, Dilip tossed in his sleep. He turned around to face Sharad's bed. He was sleeping peacefully.

"Sharad, sharad so gaya kya? Mujhe neend nahi aa rahi. Ajeeb si thand lag rahi hai. Sun na pani le aa mere liye. Tujhe to dar nahi lagta na. Mujhe bahut dar lagta hai." He said.

Sharad opened his eyes and looked at Dilip. He was taken aback slightly when Sharad sneered at him. For a milisecond he thought he saw a glint of red in Sharad's eye but didn't point it out.

"Pani chahiye?" There was a cold air in his voice.

"Nahi." Dilip gulped his saliva. He turned his back to Sharad and tried to sleep but the wicked grin, the redness in his eyes and the coldness of his voice bothered him even in his sleep.
____________________________________

SamAina's bus was moving deeper into the forest along the highway. Everyone had fallen asleep. Even JBR had stopped murmuring Bad Joke in his sleep. The driver was consciously driving faster now. He had heard the tales of Raigarh Palace. He had no heart to linger in the area. As soon as he reached the hotel's vicinity he increased the speed. The bus was flying on the road. The driver's only aim was to run as fast as he could.

Sameer opened his eyes and looked at the trees rushing by. Naina was cuddling his arm and before he could take the sight in, the bus jerked at a speedbreaker. It was way above the speed limit and it turned towards the left with the effect, the bus got out of control and hit a tree.

All the passengers jerked forward and woke up with a jolt.

The driver turned around to face scared, questioning faces. JBR scolded him and asked him the reason behind his careless stunt. The driver told him that he was just afraid.

"Dekha bacho. Jo dar gaya samjho mar gaya." JBR laughed alone. When nobody joined in his joke he said, "Bad Joke"

JBR and the driver got out of the bus to inspect the damage.

"This doesn't look good." JBR got inside the bus and said. "Subah tak yaha se nikalne ka koi chance nahi hai."

"To humari nayi nayi GS ko kahiye na JBR peeche se bus ko dhaka lagaye." Sunaina said.

Sameer and Naina gave her death stares.

"Yaha aas paas koi hotel hai kya?" JBR asked the driver. He gulped his saliva.

"H-Hotel?" The driver was looking for an answer but before he could speak a word, they heard an unfamiliar voice outside the bus.

"Kuch help chahiye?"

Everyone looked towards the gate of the bus. A boy of about the students' age was standing at the threshold.

JBR scrutinized him.

"Mai yaha paas me ek hotel ka bellboy hu. Mera naam hai Sharad. Aap logon ko iss halat me dekha to socha help kar du." He beamed at them.

"No thanks." JBR said.

"Dekhiye bahut bada hotel hai. Yaha ka to sabse famous hotel hai. Hotel Bhavya. Raigarh palace ko renovate karke hotel banaya hai. Aapne suna hoga na? Nahi! Waise mere hisab se aap sab ko waha chalna chahiye. Raat kaafi ho gayi hai. Ladkiyan bhi hai saath me, yaha akele raat me kaha rahenge?" Sharad said.

JBR thought for a while and then nodded.

"Ok." He said. "Sab apne apne bags le lo. Hum inke saath chalenge."

Sharad smiled. Kartik, who was constantly looking at him, felt something strange about him. Sharad looked back at Kartik and he saw a red flash in his eyes. Kartik averted his gaze.

All the students began walking out of the bus. Naina was struggling with her bag, Sameer came to her help. He took one of her bags in his hand and with his free hand he helped her climb down the bus.

"Aise raat me kisi hotel me jaa rahe hai koi bhoot voot hua to?" Munna said.

"Bhoot? Abe ye champu Priyank se bada bhoot kaun hoga?" Pandit chuckled.

Naina felt a strong gaze over her. Sharad was staring at her without even blinking his eyes. She felt uncomfortable. Sameer sensed her uneasiness and stood in front of Naina. Sharad looked at Sameer and grinned.

All of them headed towards the hotel but the driver decided to stay back.

"Mai bus me hi so jaaunga." He thought. He took a worn out blanket and slept on the last seat.

Dust rose in little circles around the bus. The wind picked momentum. Heavy steps could be heard around the bus. The driver was trying hard to sleep but the eerie silence was giving him chills.

In the faint moonlight, silhouettes could be seen heading towards the bus. They walked slowly but surely inside it.

The driver felt that the students were back and woke up with a hope to get out of the place. He looked at the people who had entered the bus and colour drained out of his face.

In front of the driver was a group of men and women. Their clothes were torn, eyes were blood shot and body looked wrinkled and rotten as if it had been submerged in water for a long time. They opened their mouths to show pointed yellow canines. The driver tried to break windows and run out but their was no escape. They picked him up and moaned, wailed and screamed. His blood froze with the noise. Slowly, he felt life draining out of him and blackness enveloped his senses. He looked at the cloudless sky and full moon. Then he lost his consciousness.

Meanwhile, Sharad had alotted everyone their rooms ... On the fifth floor. The group had retired to their respective beds.

Naina had just changed into her night dress. Preeti was fast asleep. She looked at her sleeping sister and slipped into the duvet herself. She had barely closed her eyes when she heard frantic knocks on the door.

"Preeti dekh na kaun hai." Naina mumbled but Preeti didn't respond.

"Kumbhkaran." Naina said and went to open the door.

Humein tumse pyar kitna

Naina could hear the distant sounds of a mouth organ being played.

"Sameer tum ho?" Naina called out.

The sound of the knocks and the mouth organ died down. Naina opened the door and looked around. The corridor was empty.

"SAMEER! SAMEER!" Naina called. She was about to go inside when she heard the sound of shifting of feets. She turned around to face a little girl.

"Hello" Naina greeted her.

The girl swayed from left to right. She grinned in response to Naina's greeting. The grin had no innocence or warmth to it. It looked ghastly, to say the least.

The girl moved a few steps ahead. Naina took a few steps back. She hit somebody's torso. She turned around to look at the person but there was thin air behind her.

"Maine kuch mehsoos kiya tha." She whispered. She turned back to look at the girl but she was gone.

Naina decided to go back to her room but the door to her room was gone too. She was standing in a long corridor which seemed to have no start and no end, it extended endlessly to both of her sides.

"Preeti!" Naina called her. "Preeti kaha gayi tu?" Her voice faltered. She could feel cold sweat dripping from her brow. Where was Preeti? Where did everyone's rooms go?

"Preeti?" Naina cried.

She heard the loud music of the mouth organ playing

Hume tumse pyar kitna.

She was scared, more for the people she loved than for herself.

"Sameer! Sameer? Sameer!"

No response came from the other side.

Sameer was sleeping in his room but he began seeing strange visions in his dream. He could see Naina standing in a long corridor. She was calling out his name. He could hear footsteps around Naina. A group of men and women began appearing from the two ends. Naina was screaming for help. There was no way for her escape.

Sameer got up with a jolt. He could feel sweat beads over his brow.

"Naina." He rushed out of his room and ran towards Naina's room. He opened the door but Preeti was the only one inside. He shook her but she didn't reply. Her skin was cold.

Munna Pandit came running behind Sameer.

"Sameer kya hua?" Pandit asked him.

Sameer had no clue what to say. He just pointed at the sleeping Preeti. They tried to wake her up but she didn't move.

"Ye itni thandi kyu lag rahi hai?" Munna asked them. Nobody had an answer.

SAMEER

He heard a loud cry.

"Naina? Tumne suna wo?" Sameer's heart was beating in his chest.

Munna and Pandit nodded their head's in a no. Pandit tried shaking Preeti. He took her hand in his and began rubbing it.

SAMEER

He heard Naina's call again. He had to go out and find her. Without answering to anyone of his friends, he ran out of the room.

Pandit was almost in tears. Preeti wasn't responding to anything. He clutched her hands tightly. Fear began taking over him. He was shaking with the mere thought of losing her forever. A lone tear made it's way out of Pandit's eye. It landed on Preeti's cheek. Her cold skin began regaining warmth. As more tears fell from Pandit's eyes she began regaining her consciousness. Slowly Preeti opened her eyes.
___________________________________

Sameer had walked out of Naina's room but he had no clue where to find her. There was darkness all around him. Sameer decided to go back into the girls' room to bring a torch. He turned around but the door of the room was gone. He looked left and right. He was standing in a corridor that extended on both of his sides. He recognized it as the corridor from his dream.

"Naina? Naina!" He called her. He heard a girl's scream. For a second he thought that it was Naina calling him but he in the next instant recognized it to be a bait.

Sameer
Sameer
Sameer
Sameer

He heard voices from all around him. None of them were truly Naina's voice. He closed his ears and began calling out to her. The fear of losing her was growing in his head. He knew what was happening around him was not normal but if he wanted to save her, he could not lose focus or back out. He began calling her out with all the concern and affection he could.

All the voices of fake Nainas died down.

He was again standing in the empty corridor. For a while the silence engulfed him but soon he could hear distinct footsteps. He looked around, from one end of the corridor Sharad appeared.

"Sharad?" Sameer said. His relief lasted for an infinitesimally short time period because the boy standing in front of him was a distorted version of Sharad he had met hours ago. His eyes were blood shot, hair dishevelled, nerves were sprouting out of his ashen face.

"Naina ko dhundh rahe ho?" His voice was cold and high.

Sameer's blood froze as he felt Sharad's breath on his face. He picked up his remaining courage and nodded.

Sharad laughed hysterically.

"Naina to gayi." Sharad grinned.

"Kaha gayi? Kya kiya tumne meri Naina ko?"

"Tumhari Naina?" Sharad laughed again. "Ab wo tumhari Naina nahi hai. Ab wo hum me se ek. Tumhari kahani khatam."

Sameer, in a fit of anger pushed Sharad back. He hit the wall behind him but wasn't hurt.

"Jab se maine usse tumhari bus me dekha tha tabhi mujhe laga ki uska tum logon ke beech koi kaam nahi hai. Ab wo tumhari Naina nahi rahi. Thodi hi der me wo meri Naina ban jaayegi." Sharad's evil grin grew wider.

Sameer could not process what Sharad was saying. In that moment, they heard another voice. It was calling Sameer towards itself. It sounded exhausted but had a pull in itself. Sameer knew that this time it had to be his Naina.

Sharad looked at Sameer.

"Apni aakhri saansein gin rahi hai." Sharad said.

Sameer didn't knew where he had to look for her. Naina's voice seemed to radiate from every corner of the corridor. Sharad's useless banter was adding to his frustration.

Sharad laughed hysterically showing his horrible, yellow, pointed canine. His breath smelled of rotten flesh.

Not knowing what to do, Sameer pushed Sharad. He hit the wall behind him. Instead of pressing hard on the wall, Sharad seemed to sink in it. Sameer pushed Sharad harder. Sharad was out of sight but Sameer was still holding on to his collar. He could feel Sharad's filthy hands struggling to free themselves of his hold. He pushed him further and walked towards the wall. Instead of bumping into it, he got submerged into the wall and in a few steps he was standing on the rear side of the hotel that faced the lake.

Sharad couldn't believe that Sameer would come out of the corridor maze. While Sameer was trying to understand what had happened he got up and held Sameer's neck in his hand. Sharad lifted Sameer off the floor. Sameer was strong but Sharad's strength was inhuman. His eyes turned into slits as he laughed over Sameer's condition. Sameer was having difficulty in breathing. He tried to free himself from his grip but all his attempts were useless.

Sharad was about to choke Sameer to death when a stone hit his hand. He got distracted. Sameer found this as his opportunity. He kicked Sharad's stomach and got out of his clutch.

"Sameer" They heard Naina's voice and turned in it's direction.

Naina sighed a breath of relief as she saw Sameer. She ran and melted in his arms. Sameer, too, hugged her tightly. They held on to each other as if their life depended on it.

He looked at Naina. Her hair had been forced open. The ends of her night suit were torn. Her face and hands had nail scratch marks.

"Tum theek ho?" Naina cupped his face. He nodded.

Sharad got up. He began panting heavily. His stale breath filled the air. SamAina turned to face him. His back was now hunched and crooked. His arms were bent at the elbows and his mouth was open showing his canine. He moved slowly towards the duo. They began walking backwards.

The ground near their feet started developing cracks. Hands with sprouting veins and long nails began making their way out of the cracks. Naina clutched Sameer's shirt tightly. One hand after another, hundreds of hands started appearing in their vicinity. Heads followed and torsos appeared, legs came out next and they were standing in between hundreds of foul looking, dead humans dragging themselves towards SamAina. They had hunger in their eyes. SamAina were covered from all four sides. There was no escape.

Naina looked up at Sameer, Sameer looked back at her. If this was their end they wanted to be together, they wanted to look at each other while dying.

Suddenly, the lake's water began rising and falling abruptly. The moon was about to set. Dawn was knocking on their door. Soon, the lake's water began drying slowly.

SamAina looked around. Sharad and all the others were crying in pain. They began getting drawn towards the lake as if by a magnetic force. All of them began wailing, screaming, moaning. There was a race between them to reach the lake first. The ones who had reached inside the water disappeared. The others who were left began burning under the rising sun's light. Blood curling screams filled the air. Sharad too started screaming as his skin began burning. All of them ran towards the lake, one after the other.

The night made way for the morning. The last drops of the lake's cursed water disappeared.

"Ye kya hua?" Naina was still paralyzed with fear.

"Pata nahi." Sameer held her hand. He ran his fingers over her wounds and caressed her hair.

It had been a night no one had expected.
___________________________________

At 9:00 am JBR had finally managed to get another bus to take them back to Ahemdabad. The previous driver was missing since that morning. JBR ensured that all the students and their stuff was loaded in the bus safely.

"Aap log raat bhar yaha the?" The new driver asked JBR.

"Bilkul. Paanchvi manzil par bahut acche kamre diye the wo Sharad ladke ne." JBR chimed.

"Panchvi manzil? Kamal hai!" The driver mumbled.

"Kya baat hai bhaiya?" Munna asked.

"Kuch nahi. Kehte hai ki Raigarh me ek Raja hua karta tha Ratan Singh. Ek baar Ujjain ke rajya ne yaha hamla kar diya tha. Badi lambi ladai chali. Fir Ujjain ne Raigarh ko hara diya. Issi mehal ki panchvi manzil par usne Raja ke poore vansh ko jala diya tha aur unke shareer ko peeche uss talab me fek diya tha. Marte marte Rajmata ne Ujjain ke Raja ko shrap diya tha ki ye aatmayein humesha yaha bhatkengi."

"Bad joke." JBR said.

"Has lo sahab par kehte hai raat me chaand ki roshni me wo talab roz bhar aata hai aur usme se wo saare jale huye shareer nikal aate hai. Wo log aur shikar khoj rahe hai apne dal me shamil karne ke liye taaki Ujjain ke raja se badla le sake." The driver continued.

"Bhaiya ye kahaniya na aap apne paas rakho. Humein mat darao." Hema said.

"Aap jo mano beta par aaj subah hi talab ke paas wo naye ladke Sharad ka murda shareer mila hai." The driver added.

Dead silence filled the bus because everyone had met Sharad the night before. SaMunDit and PreeNa looked at each other. The colour had drained from their faces.

How was it?

This was my first time at writing proper horror genre.

Drop your views.