Mussoorie – At Night

The night was covered in mist and fog. The road was eerily quiet but still beautiful. The path was surrounded by dense forest, stretching endlessly into darkness. There wasn't a single soul in sight. Only the soft fluttering sounds of leaves, moving with the cold wind. And then a sudden screech of tires shattered the silence. A jeep. Inside, four boys. Loud Careless. Clearly not in their senses.

"Abey yaar, kya hua?" one of them asked, leaning forward.

"Shayad tyre puncture ho gaya  wait, let me check."

Aman who was driving stepped out, slightly stumbling. His movements slow, unsteady. Drunk. He bent down, checked the wheel and cursed under his breath.

"Shit I was right. Tyre puncture hai."

"What? What the hell, Aman! Itni raat mein ab wapas kaise jayenge?" another guy snapped, irritated.

"Don't yell at me," Aman shot back.

"Tum logon ko hi masti karni thi. Maine mana kiya tha itna drink karne ke liye bola tha jaldi nikalte hain. Itni raat ko safe nahi hota. Par tum logon ko toh bas hot girls chahiye thi. One night stand karna tha."

"As if tu enjoy nahi kar raha tha," Niraj replied instantly. " Sabse zyada time toh tujhe hi laga." Aman gave a careless shrug.

"Ha toh lost control, yaar. She was hot." 

"Shut up, both of you," the third guy interrupted.

"Yeh time nahi hai yeh sab discuss karne ka. Pehle yeh problem solve karo."

"Kaunsa solution?" Aman scoffed.

"Hum log phas gaye hain. Itni raat mein, jungle ke beech na koi garage milega, na lift."

"Yaar, isse accha toh hum wahan ladkiyon ke saath hi ruk jaate," Niraj muttered.

The moment he said that, his leg slipped.

"Shit" He fell slightly forward, his hand hitting a sharp stone."Ouch!"

A sharp cut opened across his palm. Blood slowly began to ooze out.

Niraj held his hand tightly, wincing.

"Saala... deep cut hai," he muttered.

"Dikha," one of them said, stepping closer.

But before anyone could say anything else...

The wind changed. It wasn't strong. It just stopped.

The leaves that were rustling a moment ago—

suddenly went still.

"Tum logon ne feel kiya?" the third guy whispered.

"Feel kya?" Aman frowned.

"Pata nahi... bas—" he paused, looking around, uneasy,

"aisa lag raha hai koi dekh raha hai."

"Drama band kar," Niraj snapped, though his voice wasn't as confident now.

A drop of blood fell from his palm onto the cold road.

And then another.

"Guys..." Aman started—

but stopped mid-sentence as a low as inhuman, guttural groan echoed through the forest.

Everyone froze. The old streetlight at the corner began flickering—

on... off... on... off...

And with it, the entire forest seemed to fall still.

"Yeh... kaisi awaaz thi?" Niraj asked, his voice shaking now.

"Shayad... koi jungli jaanwar hoga," Aman replied.

But even he didn't sound convinced.

Then—

Aman's gaze shifted to the end of the road.

Something was there. A silhouette barely visible through the thick fog.

He slowly raised his hand, pointing.

Everyone followed his gaze.

And saw it. The silhouette began to move step by step...

walking towards them. As if the fog itself was parting for him.

No rush. no hesitation. Just coming closer.

"Bhai... help chahiye," one of them called out, trying to sound normal.

"Jeep ka tyre puncture ho gaya hai."

No response.

"Ajeeb hai..." Aman muttered.

Then a little louder,

"Yahan aas paas koi jagah hai kya stay karne ke liye? We can't go back like this."

Still nothing.

The figure kept walking.

Closing the distance.

Slowly.

Silently.

And then—

He stepped under the flickering streetlight.

For a second... the light went out.

Darkness.

Then it came back.

And they saw him.

And in that moment—

it didn't feel like a person standing in front of them.

It felt like... death.

His face was calm. Too calm.

Skin pale under the weak light.

And his eyes—

deep blue.

Unnaturally still.

Locked onto them.

No—

not them.

On Niraj's bleeding hand.

A drop of blood fell.

And something in his expression... changed.

Very slightly.

That was enough.

"Bhaag!" someone shouted.

They stumbled, turning, trying to run—

But before they could even take a proper step—

he moved with the speed of the light and in the next moment right in front of them.

No sound.

No warning.

And then—

four screams tore through the silence of the forest.

Sharp.

Sudden.

And just as quickly—

cut off. The streetlight flickered one last time...

...and went out.

Next morning

The sun had risen, casting a soft golden hue across the sky. Inside a room, a girl in her early twenties was still fast asleep completely lost in her dreams. Her alarm rang. Loud and annoying.

"Abey yaar... itni jaldi subah kyu ho jaati hai..." she mumbled, half-asleep.

Without even opening her eyes, she turned it off and pulled the blanket over her head and went right back to sleep.

"Aastha! Get up!" her mother's voice echoed from outside.

"Uth jaldi, college ke liye phir late ho jayegi!"

"Bas 5 minute aur, Mrs. Kaur..." Aastha replied lazily, her voice muffled under the blanket.

"Hey bhagwan!" her mother sighed dramatically.

"Main kya karu iss ladki ka? Maa ko naam se bulati hai! Iske papa ne hi bigaad rakha hai isse." Then, louder more threatening this time:

"Agar tu do minute ke andar nahi uthi na... toh teri saari parties aur night-outs band! Samjhi? Apni girl gang ke saath kahin nahi jayegi!" Silence. One second. Two seconds.

And suddenly the blanket flew off. Aastha sat up straight.

"Uth gayi!" she said quickly, already getting out of bed. Within seconds, she rushed toward the bathroom. Her mother, standing at the door, just shook her head.

"Drama queen," she muttered under her breath.