"The wire was cut, but none heard the snap—
They joked in the storm, unaware of the trap.
When voices are stolen, when messages fail,
The hunt begins without leaving a trail."
A rhythmic bang-bang-bang on the wooden door shattered the sleepy morning quiet.
Sakshi, half-asleep, cracked open the door—and was met with a flashlight in the face.
"Local police. We need a word."
Three men stood at the doorstep, khaki uniforms neatly pressed, moustaches sharper than their tone. The lead officer, Inspector Manjeet Thakur, stepped inside like he already owned the place.
Behind him followed Constable Chandan and SI Poonam Rawat—who looked less suspicious, more amused.
"Who are you people?" Thakur barked, scanning the seven bleary-eyed friends, still in pajamas and blankets.
Arjun groaned, "Bro, it's 8 in the morning. Even ghosts don't work this early."
Kabir stepped forward, trying to be diplomatic.
"We're just here for research. Students, actually. From—"
"Everyone's a student till a body shows up," Thakur interrupted.
A chill floated in with his words.
The Interrogation Begins
Thakur circled the room like a hawk.
"You came here, seven people, in a tempo traveler. You didn't inform the Gram Pradhan. You've been seen near old temples, fields, even the forbidden lake—and now locals are saying their animals won't stop howling at night."
Aarti whispered to Mitali, "Wow, we're famous."
SI Poonam Rawat chuckled. "You folks got Instagram accounts with that information? Maybe some reels near the ghost tree?"
That's when Thakur clapped his hands.
"Phones. All of you. Give us your phones."
They froze.
Arjun: "Wait… what? Why?"
Thakur: "For verification. For checking any potential unlawful activity. You're outsiders. This is protocol now."
"Until we're satisfied, you're not… trouble."
The group hesitated.
Sakshi muttered, "We're not criminals…"
Dev laughed nervously, "Bro, you can't take our phones, that's like… taking our souls."
Rawat raised an eyebrow. "And what exactly are you afraid we'll find on your souls?"
Awkward silence.
Abhay, without emotion, handed his phone first.
The others followed—reluctantly, one by one.
Their last contact with the outside world, gone.
The police placed the devices into a black sealed bag, and Thakur said, "You'll get them when we're done. No guarantee how long."
Alone Again. But Changed.
When the police left, the room went quiet. Too quiet.
Dev broke the silence, "Okay, this is creepy. Now we're like… legally trapped."
Mitali laughed, "We are the horror movie now."
Aarti looked at Kabir. "Can you… feel it?"
Kabir nodded, slowly. "It's like the village just swallowed us whole."
Arjun peeked through the curtain. "They didn't even leave a receipt."
Everyone laughed—nervously.
But Abhay didn't.
He was staring at the floor where SI Rawat had accidentally stepped on a chalk symbol someone had drawn during the night.
None of them remembered drawing it.
Outside, the wind picked up, rustling the leaves.
And from far off in the trees—a deep metallic bell rang once.
Just once.
No temple nearby.
No one spoke of it.
"The cord has snapped, the birds won't sing,
The watchers now pull on their unseen string.
Cut from the world, the prey shall roam
In a village that does not let its secrets go home."