THE CASTLE

CHAPTER FIVE - BEGINING OF A NIGHTMARE II

DEVANAND

Thump. Thump. Thump.

My footsteps echoed in the corridors as I looked around to find a hint of oval necklace. Somehow this place doesn't fit my image of abandoned corridors. What I imagined were moldy brown wallpapers with dozens of cowebs and furniture with century worth dust. Flooring that creaked with every step. A place where rodents wreaked havoc and not even a silver of sunlight can be seen. But what I got is exactly opposite.

It's just like any other corridors in entire castle. The only difference is the windows are only present at highest point. The corridors are half underground and half above ground. The decorations are well crafted and new. Well definitely not your typical haunted castle type. The few doors are closed and locked. Humming a song I bended down trying to searching beneath the tables and cases.

It is above my understanding why on earth Sandy came down here in search of network and why always it's me. She could have very well asked Dhruv or Radha even that one girl who is eyeing her like latest phone model she wants. Totally lost in her yet she had to ask me. I looked down as I felt something hit my feet only to find a oval object skidding away towards a locked door. I jumped behind it only to find it slipped below a locked double door.

"Even my bad luck is rotten." I thought as I pushed opened the door a picked the necklace and slipped it in my pocket. I looked up to see where I am only to find myself standing on a large balcony overlooking a huge ballroom. Terrified I tried to run away only to slip into another nightmare.

A flighting laughter accompanied by the sounds of bells. The yellow lights danced on the surface of blues and pastels. "Robert. Stop it." A voice shouted as the laughter echoed. The pure and innocent laughter turned into far more sinister. A girl in a white nightgown collapsed in the middle. Her sobs racking through the entire room. A man with aristocratic features stepped into the hall. His steps shadowed the sobs. "Only if you were not in my way. What would have it taken for you to sit quite. I can't let you spoil my plans." The man said before dragging her away. Her shouts, her pleas for help echoed as the man began to drag her away by her brown hair. A trail of blood is left behind soiling her light gown into bloody red. The girl cried holding her stomach as the person dragged her somewhere outside. Half way to somewhere the hall became quite.

The man stopped in his way. The girl quitened. The colors peeled from the environment. The blue wallpapers gave way to walls with muted grey. The atmosphere which first turned from joyess to dreadful now turned frightening utterly terrifying. The man fallen down his body burnt into almost nothing. The girl which once being dragged stood up. Her brown hair covering her features. She stepped away. Bodies began to appear one after another. Each in varies stage of burning. She slowly stepped away and opened a door which barely shown a dark corridor. She went behind it but suddenly gave me a fleeting glare.

The glare broke what ever trance this place had on me. I fallen back in fright totally drenched into cold sweat in middle of cold alert. Before even trying to collect my breath I stood up and ran. The sweat dripped down from my forehead as I ran without looking in any direction. I ran with only thing in my mind. Away. Faraway from that place. I somehow ran across the wings and ended up in another corridor.

Whispers began to wreak havoc in my brain. Right. Straight. Thirty steps and left. Four steps and right stairs. Whispers began to breach my mind. Subconsciously my feets began to follow them. Unable to control them I was rendered as a puppet whose strings are in someone unknown's hand. Sweat dripped down my forehead dispite the bone chilling cold I felt down to my core. The whispers took me into somewhere not introduced during the tour.

The place was desolated and eeiry. The entire place was in colours of muted grey. The furniture and things looked totally out of the century. I stumbled into a candle holder and watched as it fallen down. Burning the curtain nearest to it. Terrified I ran in opposite direction. Not noticing that everything other than me is in colours of muted grey. Even the flame and curtains. My feets stumbled into a old worn door which banged open. I fallen down on the dusty floor.