2:07 AM.

The tournament was over.

The trophy had been secured.

And somehow.

none of them could sleep.

The adrenaline was still alive inside their veins, buzzing louder than the silence of the night.

Raghav lay upside down on his bed, staring at the ceiling fan spinning above him.

Then suddenly—

his brain produced the worst idea possible.

He grabbed his phone and called Reyansh.

The call connected after two rings.

"...Do you even know what time it is?" Reyansh's sleepy voice came through.

"Bhai," Raghav whispered dramatically, "I think I've gone insane."

"That's not new."

"No listen—what if we go on a treasure hunt?"

Complete silence.

Then—

"At 2 in the morning?"

"Yes."

Another pause.

"Raghav... are your exams actually over?"

"Haan. Parso hi khatam hue."

Reyansh exhaled slowly.

"Unbelievable."

"Kya unbelievable?"

"Tournament jeeta. Ghar ka rashan khatam kiya. Ab treasure hunt pe jaana hai."

Raghav started laughing like an idiot.

"Hehehehe—"

"Stop sounding possessed and go to sleep."

Call disconnected.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

NEXT MORNING.

The group call started with Vihaan screaming.

"GOOD MORNING LOSERS!"

"Abe chillaa kyu raha hai?" Kabir groaned.

"Energy, bro. Winners wali energy."

Reyansh ignored them all.

"Guys, honestly... hume kahin trip pe jaana chahiye."

That instantly caught everyone's attention.

"A vacation?" Aarav asked.

"Yes."

"Actually..." Vihaan stretched lazily. "Tournament jeetne ke baad trip toh banti hai."

Kabir replied instantly—

"Fine. I'll manage the expenses."

Dead silence.

Then—

"OHHHHH!"

"Ameero ke ameer chochle!"

"Rathore Group strikes again!"

Kabir sighed deeply.

"Jaana hai ya nahi jaana?"

"Arey bhai gussa kyu ho gaya?" Raghav laughed.

"Because tum log insaan kam aur unpaid comedians zyada ho."

Aarav chuckled softly.

Then his tone changed slightly.

"Actually... I know a place."

The voice chat quieted.

"I was planning to visit it alone for story research..." he continued. "But maybe we can all go together."

"Story research?" Vihaan frowned. "Kaisi jagah hai?"

A small pause.

Then Aarav replied—

"Rakt Ghat."

Even through voice chat, the name felt strange.

Heavy.

Cold.

Reyansh frowned immediately.

"That sounds disturbing."

"Exactly why it's interesting," Aarav replied calmly.

Kabir leaned back in his chair.

"Aur wahan kya hai?"

"A villa."

"Cheap rent?" Raghav asked suspiciously.

"Very cheap."

"That's a red flag."

Aarav ignored him.

"There are rumors around that place. Old stories. Missing people. Strange noises."

"Urban legends?" Vihaan asked.

"Yeah."

Silence.

Then Raghav spoke carefully—

"Guys... mujhe abhi yaad nahi aa raha urban legends ka matlab kya hota hai."

Vihaan nearly died laughing.

Aarav immediately answered—

"Matlab woh stories jisme koi bolta hai maine chudail dekhi... phir hero banke uski choti kaat di."

"Phir woh Ganji Chudail ban gayi," Vihaan added instantly.

Raghav gasped.

"BHAI PHIR SE GANJI CHUDAIL?"

Reyansh was laughing so hard he had to mute himself.

"Relax," Kabir smirked. "Maybe she misses you."

"I hate all of you."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

ONE WEEK LATER.

The city slowly disappeared behind them.

Tall buildings turned into endless roads.

Roads turned into forests.

And forests turned into silence.

The SUV sped through the empty highway while old Bollywood songs played softly in the background.

Raghav looked out the window.

"Yaar... hum exactly jaa kahan rahe hain?"

"Shamshaan Ghat," Vihaan replied instantly. "Wahi chhod ke aayenge tujhe."

"HAHA. Very funny." Raghav said sarcastically.

Aarav finally looked up from his notebook.

"Shamshaan nahi."

A pause.

"Rakt Ghat."

The mood shifted slightly.

Even Kabir stopped scrolling his phone.

Reyansh frowned.

"That name seriously sounds cursed."

Kabir nodded.

"That's what I told Aarav too."

"But?" Vihaan asked.

"But Mr. Writer Sahab wanted 'atmosphere' for his next story."

Aarav smirked slightly.

"And because the villa rent was suspiciously cheap."

"That's even worse," Reyansh muttered.

The SUV drove deeper into the forest road.

Trees surrounded both sides now.

Thicker.
Darker.
Denser.

Almost like the road itself was being swallowed.

Kabir suddenly sat up straighter.

"Guys."

"Hm?"

"I need a washroom."

Vihaan immediately grinned.

"Leakage se bachaye..."

Reyansh joined instantly—

"Acchi nini laaye..."

All together—

"MANY POKO PANTS!"

The entire car exploded with laughter.

Kabir looked genuinely offended.

"I regret funding this trip."

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

A few minutes later, they stopped near a small roadside dhaba.

The place looked old.

Too old.

Rusty tin roof.
Flickering yellow bulb.
Broken signboard.

Beyond it—

nothing but forest.

Kabir immediately rushed toward the washroom while the others stretched outside.

"Finally fresh air," Vihaan sighed.

Raghav, meanwhile, wandered off curiously toward a group of local villagers standing near a small stone shrine.

The moment he approached—

their conversation stopped.

Completely.

The old men stared at him silently.

Then slowly...

their eyes shifted toward the road leading deeper into the forest.

Toward Rakt Ghat.

And for the first time since this trip began—

Raghav felt something cold crawl up his spine.

One of the villagers finally spoke.

His voice was barely above a whisper.

"You boys..."

A long pause.

"...are going to the villa, aren't you?"

________________________________________________________________________________

Do u all like this chapter??

Which was ur favourite part?? and which part u find most amusing do share ur experience with me.

and wht do u all think what is awaiting for them in that villa???