Exclusive chapter from FOREST OF THE DARK
From Chapter Eleven
The cracking sounds of bones
resonated in the thick cold night air. Aksh watched the girl in front
of him wriggle in her own skin. He was reminded of a snake shedding
its skin—a sight he had not been able to forget when he had watched
it on the science channel.
The girl who had been missing
for two years and whose
disappearance
had been riddled with conspiracies, was in front of him struggling
with a demon inside her.
Her bones was moving visibly
in her body and her mouth opened for a scream, but he heard nothing.
“Help me!” She managed
once,
before her face morphed into that of a wolf.
Aksh stepped back, wanting to
run away from the horrifying sight but too stumped to do anything
else but watch her be tormented.
She collapsed to the ground,
wriggling and fighting. Her arm raised, she was beckoning him, but he
wouldn’t move.
“I’m sorry,”
He mumbled and
raised his foot to walk away when she let out a scream- a human one.
“You took a Hippocratic
oath,”
She gasped.
“How do you—I can’t!”
“Please,” Tina begged,
clutching her stomach. “She knows everything. She won’t let me
go!”
Then she rolled on her back
and her eyes closed.
Aksh started to leave,
rationalizing with himself that he had to find his friends, but he
was reminded of Sumit in a flash and how he had neglected his oath
for his animosity.
He glanced over at the girl
lying still on the ground. The pain had
clearly exhausted her. Kneeling down, he tentatively placed a finger
on her wrist.
When she didn’t flinch, he
grew bold and placed another finger to check her pulse.
He felt the pulsating vein
under her almost translucent skin and used his forefinger and
thumb to pull at her eyelid.
He was aware of the cold
tickling sensation in the pit of his stomach, yet he knew he had to
ignore his fear. He had been trained to work in extreme pressure and
now was not the time to let his mentors down.
Besides, he told himself, he
should imagine and focus on the adulation he would receive when he
brought back the girl whose mysterious disappearance had shocked the
city.
With this in mind, he drew
courage within himself and put both his arms under her body. When he
picked her up, he was surprised to find that she barely weighed
anything and he was reminded of the one time he had carried a sack of
hay when he had gone to visit his extended family at the farm. There
had been a scarecrow standing in the middle of the fields and, though
the painted face was supposed to evoke
fear, Aksh
thought it had looked less menacing compared to Tina’s alter ego.
She’s possessed, he reminded
himself. He had to be careful not to awaken the demon inside her.
“Where do I take you?” He
asked, looking at her purple face. He was aware that her skin was
rapidly heating up.
Her eyes fluttered and she
opened her mouth. Aksh almost dropped her when she spoke.
“There...” She used one
frail hand to point and Aksh followed her tired gaze to a small
structure between two trees.
“What is that?”
But Tina had lost
consciousness again and her skin grew hotter.
Pulling in all his energy, he
huffed over to where she had gestured and stopped when he saw a small
cottage in the dark.
He took one step forward, when
the lights suddenly came on. There were lanterns hanging by the door
and on a string from the roof. A lone window was open and he peered
inside to see a small wooden cupboard and a single cot. He climbed up
the two steps and kicked open the door.
Pausing with bated breath, he
looked around the small space, seeing a wooden chair in the corner
near a messy cot that must have served as her bed.
He took her to the cot and
lay her down. Panting, he surveyed the rest of the room, noticing two
more doors at the back.
He turned back to Tina and
placed his hand on her forehead. The skin was hot to the touch and
Aksh hissed and pulled back.
He had to do something to
bring her fever down.
Staring at the two doors near
the end of the room, he rose slowly. It was too quiet except for the
soft moans Tina made as she twisted in her bed.
“You’ll be fine,”
He told her.
Walking to the doors, he was aware that his pulse was racing and that
a bead of sweat had rolled down the side of his face.
Taking a deep breath, he
walked five paces before he exhaled. He pushed open the door and
found a tiny kitchen inside—or what was left of it.
The cabinet doors were hanging
by the last hinge and the small cupboards seemed to be fragile enough
to disintegrate by the smallest breeze. The floors were covered in
dust, broken shards of pottery and straw which Aksh assumed had been
part of a broom once.
When he stepped inside there
was a loud crunching sound as he stepped on a tiny piece of wood that
immediately turned to dust.
Aksh coughed as the thick
musty air entered his lungs. This room hadn’t been ventilated in
years and he knew before he even searched,
that he wouldn’t find food or water. He opened up a tin with a
sticky lid and found the remains of unrecognizable grains. The few
remaining pots that were intact had no water in them—not that he
had expected to find any in the first place.
He opened the cabinets at the
bottom and jumped when the door crashed to the floor. More dust flew
out and Aksh coughed harder. He peered in the darkness and saw a few
tins. Removing them, he saw they were food tins from at least twenty
years ago. One of the brand names he recognized was of a company that
closed down a decade ago.
He got up and walked out,
keeping an eye on Tina as he made his way to the other room.
She was still gasping and
writhing, but he didn’t see any signs of consciousness. He had to
work fast if he wanted to avoid coming face to face with the demon
possessing her.
The next door had to be opened
with more force. Turning sideways, he pushed against it with his
shoulder. When the door wouldn’t budge, he chided himself for not
going to the gym more often, even though Dhiraj had advised him many
times.
At his fifth try, the door
moved a little and made a groaning noise.
Behind him, Tina let out a
cry. He turned, his hand still on the door handle, and expected to
see her right behind him reaching for his throat.
But Tina was still squirming
in her bed. No doubt the cry had been due to her spiking
temperatures. He pushed open the door and almost fell inside the dark
room. Grabbing a lit lantern from the nearby shelf, he walked into
the small room and slapped a hand over his nose when the stench hit
him.
He whirled and gagged,
clutching his stomach as the only thing that came out was a thin
string of saliva. He raised the lantern higher and saw a small hole
in the ground, a rusted mug on the side and a large rusted metal
bucket in the corner of the room.
He deduced this small room had
once been a bathroom. He rushed out, still with a hand clamped around
his mouth and nose, hoping he hadn’t inhaled any toxins.
Closing the door, he gasped
for breath. There was no water and since there was no waste matter
anywhere, Aksh realized with horror that Tina hadn’t eaten anything
or excreted any waste for who knew how long.
He went over to her and
thought that if he tested her, he wouldn’t find a single morsel of
food in her stomach.
Perhaps she ate animals, he
told himself. There was still a chance that she would go out and feed
on small animals that inhabited the woods.
Surveying the tiny room, he
realized something else. Despite the cottage being in shambles, he
had yet to see any vermin inside the house. There should have been
flies or mosquitoes at least, he thought.
This wasn’t comforting to
him at all. If Tina hadn’t reminded him of his oaths, he would have
walked out right now.
No, he would help her. If she
got healthier then she may be able to fight the demon who had a hold
on her. He walked toward the window on the other side of the room,
determined to do everything he could to help her. There was a tree
branch sticking inside through the window that had large leaves. It
had been raining a few hours ago and some of the water droplets still
clung to the leaves. He started to pluck them out, intending to spray
the droplets on Tina’s hot forehead. Then he would go out in search
of food or help, whichever opportunity came first.
There was a loud creak on the
floorboards and he jumped. Turning, he saw the bed empty and the torn
stained sheets on the floor.
He straightened, his heart
pounding in his chest.
“T-Tina?” His voice was
hardly a whisper.
The room was completely empty.
The lantern in his hand went off and he dropped it. It rolled over
and hit the legs of the bed where it rocked back and forth.
Aksh swallowed, looking at the
ajar front door and wondering if
Tina had walked out while he had been distracted. In her condition,
she probably hadn’t gotten very far.
He stepped forward when he saw
a hand stick out from under the cot and grab the lantern.
Aksh almost screamed. He moved
sideways, his hands skimming over the rough wood of the large
cupboard. He had to get out, now!
Moving slowly, he stuck his
back to the wall, and then the cupboard. As long as his back was to a
surface, he ran little risk of being attacked from behind.
Another lantern flickered off
and Aksh felt his harnessed scream clutch his throat. He heard soft
laughter coming from under the bed.
Aksh put his hands on the
sides of the cupboard. Just a few more steps and he would be outside.
The lantern rolled out of the
bed again and he saw the glass had been broken on the side.
Aksh moved toward the door
when the cupboard door creaked open. He froze, hearing his own heart
pound in his ear. His eye were fixated on the bed. He had to move
fast and avoid being grabbed by the demon.
The cupboard door let out
another long creak and Aksh turned his head slowly.
One of the cupboard door was
open and he saw a foot emerge.
He looked at the bed again,
from where he still heard laughter, and then the cupboard.
Backing away slowly, he heard
more creaking but not from the door. Bluish, swollen feet were now
clearly visible from under the door of the cupboard.
He was a mere five feet from
the door. Without another thought, Aksh sprang to his feet and ran
when the front door slammed shut with such force that the walls
rumbled.
“No!” He yelled. He tried
prying open the door, but it wouldn’t budge.
Behind him he heard more
creaking on the wooden floorboards. Someone was behind him.
Cold sweat trickled down the
back of his neck. It was only simple voluntary curiosity that made
him turn.
When he saw two women in
white,
with glowing eyes standing behind him, Aksh screamed as loud as his
lungs would allow.
The two women tilted their
heads and grinned as Aksh’s blood ran cold.
“Who are you?” He
screamed, panic and terror clawing at his throat.
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