The closer Raghav got to the villagers—

the quieter the world became.

The faint laughter from the dhaba faded behind him.
Even the forest felt still.

The old men standing near the stone shrine slowly stopped talking one by one.

Their eyes shifted toward him.

Then toward the black SUV parked near the road.

And finally—

toward the dark forest route leading deeper into Rakt Ghat.

Raghav swallowed nervously.

Something about the way they were looking at that road...

felt wrong.

One of the elderly men stepped forward slightly.

His skin looked rough and weathered, like time itself had carved fear into his face.

"Beta..." he said quietly.

A pause.

"Tum log... us villa mein ja rahe ho na?"

A cold shiver crawled down Raghav's spine.

Not because of the words.

Because of the way the man said them.

Like he already knew the answer.

"J-ji..." Raghav replied carefully.
"Kyu dada ji? Kya hua?"

The villagers exchanged uneasy glances.

Nobody answered immediately.

Then suddenly they all began speaking at once in low, hurried voices.

"Woh jagah theek nahi hai..."

"Shapit hai..."

"Wahan raat mein awaazein aati hain..."

"Kayi log gaye... wapas nahi aaye..."

Raghav's heartbeat started rising.

The old man pointed toward the forest road with trembling fingers.

"Woh villa..." he whispered.
"Zinda logon ko nigal jata hai."

The air suddenly felt colder.

Even the wind moving through the pine trees sounded unsettling now.

Raghav quickly turned around.

"AARAV!"

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Aarav walked over calmly while adjusting his glasses.

Unlike Raghav—

he looked interested.

Almost excited.

"Kya hua?" he asked casually.

Raghav pointed toward the villagers.

"Ye log... villa ke baare mein ajeeb baatein kar rahe hain."

Aarav's eyes instantly lit up.

"Really?"

The villagers looked disturbed by his reaction.

One of them stepped forward.

"Beta, us villa mein mat jao."

A pause.

"Woh jagah shapit hai."

Aarav tilted his head slightly.

"Aur aapko aisa kyu lagta hai?"

The villagers exchanged nervous looks again.

"Jo bhi us villa ke paas gaya..." another man muttered, "kabhi laut ke nahi aaya."

"Hum log uske saaye se bhi door rehte hain," a third villager added fearfully. "Wahan ki hawa mein hi maut hai."

For the first time—

Raghav genuinely wanted to leave.

But Aarav?

He looked fascinated.

Like a writer hearing the perfect story unfold in front of him.

"Lekin..." Aarav asked softly, "kya aap logo ne khud kuch dekha hai?"

Silence.

The villagers avoided eye contact.

One of them finally spoke.

"Kayi saal pehle..." he whispered, "gaon ke kuch log raat mein us raaste se guzre the."

A pause.

"Subah sirf unki gaadi mili."

Raghav felt sick.

"Bodies?" Reyansh's voice suddenly came from behind them.

Everyone turned.

Reyansh, Vihaan, and Kabir had walked over quietly.

The villager slowly shook his head.

"Nahi."

Another pause.

"Sirf khoon."

The forest suddenly felt ten times darker.

Kabir folded his arms.

"And police?"

"Kuch nahi mila."

"Typical horror story," Vihaan muttered, though even he looked slightly uncomfortable now.

Aarav stepped closer.

"Aakhir hua kya tha us villa mein?"

The old man's expression changed instantly.

Fear.

Pure fear.

"We don't speak about that night."

His voice trembled now.

"Woh bohot khaufnaak tha."

And before anyone could ask another question—

the villagers walked away.

Fast.

Almost like staying near the conversation any longer was dangerous.

Within seconds, they disappeared into the shadows surrounding the dhaba.

Silence remained.

Heavy.
Uncomfortable.

Reyansh looked toward Raghav.

"Arey..." he smirked lightly.
"Tera face aisa kyu lag raha jaise asli bhoot dekh liya ho?"

"Yaar mujhe seriously darr lag raha hai," Raghav admitted quietly. "Hume wapas chale jaana chahiye."

Kabir immediately scoffed.

"You call yourself a gamer?"

He leaned against the SUV casually.

"Ek purani gaon ki story se darr gaya?"

"Exactly," Vihaan nodded. "Ye sab bas bedtime stories hoti hain. Taaki log raat mein bahar na niklein."

Reyansh looked toward the dark road ahead.

Then calmly said—

"Aur waise bhi..."

A pause.

"Bhoot se zyada dangerous insaan hote hain."

Everyone looked at him.

"Bhoot mar chuke hote hain," he continued quietly. "Wo khud ki zindagi nahi sambhal paaye... humari kya bigaadenge?"

Vihaan smirked slightly.

"True."

Then his expression darkened.

"Real monsters are alive."

A pause.

"Double-faced."

"Dikhte kuch aur hain..." he muttered.

"...karte kuch aur."

Silence spread again.

Then Aarav spoke softly while staring deep into the forest road ahead.

"Haan..."

A small smile appeared on his face.

"Bhoot toh dikhayi bhi nahi dete."

The wind moved through the trees.

Cold.

Sharp.

Almost whispering.

Aarav's eyes darkened slightly.

"Dikhayi toh insaan dete hain..."

A pause.

"...jo humare itne kareeb hokar bhi pata nahi kya-kya chhupa rahe hote hain."

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