Chapter 7 — The Possession
Night in Bhangarh was a living thing.
The wind didn't blow — it breathed.
The stones didn't crumble — they watched.
And every shadow seemed to breathe in the darkness.
By the time the group regrouped in the camp courtyard, silence had grown thick, almost suffocating. Sid refused to speak. Kabir's laughter had gone cold. Riya sat huddled over her notes, her breath shallow. Arjun's jaw was set tight — his recorder in hand.
Ananya was missing again.
---
The First Signs
The group gathered near the campfire as darkness swallowed the ruins.
Sid spoke first, voice low:
> "Something followed me earlier… in the corridor. I swear I heard my own voice calling me."
Kabir smirked, but the edge in his voice betrayed him.
> "This place messes with your head. That's all."
Arjun held up his recorder.
> "No. It's something more. Something alive in the stone. We've passed the point of doubt — it's hunting us."
Riya shivered.
> "It's in our heads now. I keep seeing it when I close my eyes — a golden face behind me. But it's not human."
The air turned cold. Ananya emerged from the shadows without a sound. Her eyes glowed faint gold. Her voice was calm, almost monotone.
> "It's my turn to speak for him now."
She stepped into the firelight. Her breath came slow and deep.
> "He chooses one to carry his mark. The rest… follow to the grave."
The group fell silent.
---
Splitting Again
Arjun ordered a split.
> "We can't stay together all the time. This way, if it takes someone, at least the others have a chance."
Kabir groaned.
> "That's suicide."
> "Better than all dying here," Arjun replied grimly.
Kabir took Sid to the south wing again.
Arjun and Riya moved toward the east corridor, near the sealed door.
Ananya stayed behind, her gaze fixed on the walls as if speaking silently to something inside them.
---
The First Manifestation
Arjun and Riya walked deeper into the fort's eastern corridor.
The air thickened with a metallic scent.
Every step felt heavier, as though the stone floor was pulling them downward.
Riya froze.
> "Do you hear that?"
Low chanting — faint but unmistakable — began to echo around them.
It was coming from inside the walls.
Arjun's flashlight flickered. The light caught on something carved into the stone.
Riya gasped.
> "It's writing. In gold… glowing."
Arjun read aloud:
> 'Bind the soul, call the bride.'
The words seemed to hang in the air, vibrating softly. The chanting grew louder. Riya's breathing became erratic.
Suddenly, her knees buckled. Her head lolled unnaturally to one side, eyes glazing over.
She whispered in a voice not her own:
> "He calls… I answer."
Arjun grabbed her shoulder.
> "Riya! Snap out of it!"
She stepped back, laughing softly, eyes still glazed gold.
> "You can't stop him, Arjun. You'll see… soon."
---
The First Touch
They heard Kabir's shout from far down the corridor.
> "Arjun! Sid—come here, now!"
They rushed toward him and found Sid kneeling on the ground, clutching his head, shaking violently.
His voice was gone — replaced by a deep chant:
> "Jeevan se bandha… mrityu se mukt…"
Kabir grabbed him roughly.
> "Sid! Stop!"
Sid screamed in a voice that wasn't his own.
> "He is here. He is coming."
The walls around them began to hum. The chanting came from all directions. Shadows pooled along the floor and climbed up the walls. Stone cracked, and whispers rose in a chorus of pain.
Kabir pulled his rifle and fired blindly into the darkness. The shot echoed forever.
Sid fell silent.
Arjun's voice was cold.
> "It's begun."
---
The End of Calm
By the time they returned to camp, the group was broken. Fear clung to them like blood. Ananya was waiting, eyes closed, whispering softly to herself.
> "One is marked. The others will follow."
Kabir spat into the dirt.
> "This place… it's alive. And it's picking us off."
Arjun didn't answer. He knew she was right. The first kill wasn't far away now.
And the curse wasn't satisfied with waiting.
Outside, the walls of the fort seemed to breathe softly, carrying faint chanting into the night.
---
End of Chapter 7