Chapter 2 — The First Night in Bhangarh
The sky turned bruised purple over the ruins, and the wind carried the kind of silence that felt aware.
Somewhere, a peacock screamed from the hills—a sound too human to be comforting.
Arjun tightened the strap of his headlamp and checked the EMF reader. The needle trembled, then froze.
> A flat reading… good. Maybe we'll get through this night without anything dramatic.
But the thought died as quickly as it came. He knew better than to think that in Bhangarh.
---
The Camp
They had pitched three tents in the central courtyard. Lanterns cast soft halos over the cracked stones. The once-glorious palace rose behind them, its broken domes clawing at the moonlight.
Sid adjusted his tripod, muttering,
> "If I die here, I hope someone uploads this footage to YouTube."
Kabir snorted.
> "If you die here, Sid, I'm deleting your search history first."
Their laughter was short—nervous, brittle. Even Riya, usually calm, kept glancing toward the shadows beyond the gate.
Arjun sat on a fallen pillar, speaking softly into his recorder.
> "Bhangarh Fort, 8:47 p.m. Team of six—stable morale, though tension rising. Noted abnormal temperature drop and localized electromagnetic fluctuation near north archway. Continuing overnight observation."
He clicked the recorder off, exhaled, and looked up. The sky was a sheet of ink, moon half-hidden by drifting dust.
---
Ananya's Warning
Ananya sat cross-legged a few feet away, palms facing upward, eyes closed. The small silver bells on her bracelet jingled faintly though there was no wind.
Riya whispered,
> "Is she meditating?"
Arjun shook his head.
> "Listening."
A second later Ananya's eyes snapped open, pupils wide and black.
> "They're moving," she breathed. "The ones who died here… they're awake."
Sid looked around, panic creeping into his voice.
> "Who's moving? There's no one here!"
Ananya's gaze flicked to the broken temple tower.
> "There are dozens. But they're not walking on the ground—they're walking through time."
Everyone fell silent. The night suddenly felt too large, the fort too alive.
---
The Whisper
At 9:30 p.m., Dev adjusted his sound sensors.
> "Strange. I'm picking up something—almost like a heartbeat underground."
He pressed the headset closer. Then his face went white.
> "No… no, that's someone breathing."
Before anyone could respond, every lantern around them flickered violently. One by one, they went dark.
The fort fell into absolute blackness.
> "Stay together!" Arjun barked, pulling out his flashlight.
The beam cut through the dark—only to reveal nothing but swirling dust. Yet the sound persisted—slow, deliberate breathing, right behind them.
Kabir swung his light around.
> "Show yourself!"
A gust of icy wind slammed through the camp. The tents fluttered, ropes snapping like whips. And then, out of the darkness, came a whisper—low, gravelly, unmistakably male:
> "Arjun Malhotra… welcome back."
Arjun froze.
> Back?
His blood ran cold. Only one other spirit had ever spoken his full name before—during the Naggar incident three years ago. But that one had been sealed. Or so he'd thought.
---
The First Sign of Possession
When the lights finally stabilized, Ananya was standing at the edge of the courtyard, staring at the temple. Her hair blew wildly though the air was still.
> "Ananya!" Riya shouted, running toward her.
But Arjun caught her arm.
> "Wait. Look at her eyes."
They glowed faintly amber under the moonlight.
Ananya began to speak—but the voice that came out was not hers.
> "He searches for his bride… and you have brought him her scent."
Sid backed away, trembling.
> "Bride? What bride?"
> "The princess… Ratnavati. She never left. She hides in every woman who steps into his kingdom."
Riya felt something cold brush her shoulder, and she screamed.
Arjun moved fast—pressing a copper charm to Ananya's wrist. Her body jerked violently before she collapsed into his arms, unconscious.
---
Unraveling Fear
Kabir broke the silence first.
> "I'm done. We call this off and leave before sunrise. This isn't a game anymore."
Arjun placed Ananya down gently.
> "We can't. If we leave now, whatever's here might follow."
Sid looked at him like he'd lost his mind.
> "Follow us? You think this… thing can cross miles?"
Arjun didn't answer. He stared at the fort walls—each crack seemed to pulse faintly with light, like veins under skin.
> "It's not about distance," he murmured. "It's about names. Once something knows your name, it knows the shape of your soul."
The others fell silent again. Only the distant flutter of bats filled the air.
---
Footage Review
Midnight. Sid reviewed his footage on the small monitor.
The first few clips were normal—just stone corridors and empty halls.
But in one frame, a dark figure stood behind them near the temple gate—tall, robed, head bowed.
> "There!" Sid pointed. "That's not any of us!"
When he slowed the footage, the figure lifted its head. The face was pale gold, eyes like burning coals.
Dev muttered, voice barely audible.
> "That… that can't be real."
But then the screen glitched, and words appeared in distorted text, unprompted:
> "I SEE YOU."
The monitor shattered.
---
Night's End
By 3:00 a.m., the team had barricaded themselves inside one of the smaller chambers. The temperature had dropped again; their breath came out in misty clouds.
Ananya stirred awake, whispering hoarsely,
> "He's not angry… he's lonely."
Arjun crouched beside her.
> "Who is he?"
> "The one who loved too deeply. The one who cursed himself. He said… you'll help him finish it this time."
Her voice broke, and tears rolled down her face.
Outside, something dragged across the stones—slow, heavy, deliberate.
Kabir loaded his sidearm with shaking hands.
> "If that thing steps in, I'm shooting."
Arjun's heart hammered in his chest. He pressed his palm to the ancient wall. It felt warm—almost alive.
> You wanted the truth, Arjun, he told himself. Now it's staring back at you.
A loud thud echoed through the chamber, followed by whispering laughter that crawled into their bones.
> "The first will fall at dawn."
---
End of Chapter 2