Kabir finally returned from the dhaba looking ten times more peaceful.

"Life is good again," he declared while sitting inside the SUV.

"Congratulations," Vihaan replied dryly. "Humanity was worried."

Kabir rolled his eyes and started the engine.

The SUV roared back to life.

And slowly—

they drove deeper into the forest.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The bright afternoon sunlight had almost disappeared now.

Orange skies faded into purple.

Purple faded into grey.

And with every kilometer—

the road felt lonelier.

The trees on both sides had grown taller now, blocking most of the remaining light. Their shadows stretched across the narrow road like twisted fingers.

Nobody noticed when the jokes became quieter.

Nobody noticed when the silence started lasting longer.

Until—

"Guys..." Reyansh suddenly pointed outside the window. "Look."

A small building stood near the roadside.

Old.
Cracked.
Weathered by time.

A faded tricolor flag fluttered weakly outside it.

POLICE STATION — DHARMPUR

"At least civilization exists here," Reyansh smirked slightly. "Mujhe lag raha tha poora trip bas bhoot kahaniyon mein nikal jayega."

Vihaan laughed.

"Exactly. Kam se kam asli police waalon se milne ka mauka toh milega."

Meanwhile Kabir was staring at his phone screen with growing horror.

"No no no no..."

"Kya hua?" Raghav asked.

Kabir lifted the phone dramatically.

"One signal bar."

Silence.

Then—

"ONE SIGNAL BAR?!"

Raghav sounded genuinely heartbroken.

"Aarav..." Kabir said slowly. "Yahan internet hoga na?"

"Hona toh chahiye," Aarav replied casually.

Raghav instantly turned toward him.

"'Hona toh chahiye' ka KYA matlab hai?!"

He pointed at himself dramatically.

"Main bina khane ke survive kar sakta hoon..."

Everyone looked at him.

"...probably."

"Lekin bina internet ke nahi."

Aarav smirked.

"Keh kaun raha hai? Duniya ka sabse bada bhukkad."

Kabir ignored them both.

"Nahi seriously. I need proper connection. I still have international trades running."

"Haan yaar tension mat lo," Aarav replied lazily while looking outside. "Yahan ke bhoot bhi ab modern ho gaye hain."

A pause.

"Reels banate hain."

Vihaan immediately started laughing.

Even Reyansh smiled.

But somehow—

the laughter felt weaker this time.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Dharmpur slowly disappeared behind them.

The last village before Rakt Ghat.

The last place that actually felt alive.

As the SUV passed through the narrow streets, villagers silently watched them from doorways and old tea stalls.

Old men stopped smoking their hookahs midway.

Women carrying water buckets pulled their dupattas closer.

Children stared silently.

Nobody smiled.

Nobody waved.

They just watched.

Like people watching someone walk toward something terrible.

Raghav noticed it too.

"Guys..." he whispered quietly.

"Kya sab log hume aise kyu dekh rahe hain?"

Nobody answered.

Because honestly—

they were wondering the same thing.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

Then suddenly—

the SUV slowed down.

Ahead of them stood an enormous bridge.

Ancient.
Rust-covered.
Half swallowed by fog.

Its iron pillars were stained dark orange with age while the wooden planks beneath looked old enough to collapse at any second.

Below it—

a deep river flowed silently through the gorge.

Vihaan leaned forward.

"Ye kaisa baba adam ke zamane ka bridge hai? Yahan se gire toh seedha Yamraaj ke darshan honge."

"Shut up," Kabir muttered while gripping the steering wheel tighter. "Ye kaafi narrow hai."

The SUV slowly rolled onto the bridge.

CRRRRKKKK—

The old wooden planks creaked beneath the tires.

Raghav immediately grabbed the door handle.

"Nope. Nope. Nope."

Halfway across the bridge—

Reyansh suddenly noticed something.

"Guys..." he pointed ahead.

A rusted yellow signboard stood crooked near the end of the bridge.

Covered in dirt.
Half broken.

But the words were still visible.

Reyansh leaned forward dramatically and read it out loud—

"NA AAYE KABHI JO GAYA..."

A pause.

"...VO LAUTA NAHI."

Silence.

Then Reyansh burst out laughing.

Vihaan instantly joined him, making horrible ghost noises.

"Ooooooo..."

"Ganji Chudail welcomes you—"

But this time—

Raghav didn't laugh.

He just stared silently outside the window.

The dark forest moved endlessly beside them.

Tree after tree after tree.

His fingers nervously tapped against the car door.

Something felt wrong.

Very wrong.

And for some reason—

that signboard didn't feel like a joke.

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

The atmosphere inside the SUV slowly became heavy.

Even Kabir noticed it.

Reyansh finally turned around.

"Arre buddy..." he said softly. "It was just a joke."

"Haan yaar," Vihaan added immediately. "Tu itna darr kyu raha hai?"

Then he puffed out his chest dramatically.

"Jab tak Vihaan Malhotra zinda hai—"

Kabir sighed already.

"—tab tak koi Ganji Chudail tera baal bhi baanka nahi kar sakti... kyunki uske paas baal hain hi nahi!!"

Vihaan started doing the dumbest dance imaginable in the passenger seat.

Raghav stared at him blankly.

Kabir intentionally drove through a pothole.

THUD.

Everyone bounced violently.

"BRO—"

Kabir smirked.

"Oye Raghav. Agar tu abhi nahi hasa..."

A pause.

"...toh next food parcel main tere liye nahi mangwaunga."

Raghav finally cracked.

First a small smile.

Then a laugh.

Then full chaos.

"You guys are actually stupid," he laughed while holding his stomach.

"Thank you," Vihaan bowed proudly.

The tension inside the SUV slowly disappeared again.

For a moment—

everything felt normal.

Like five friends on a random adventure.

Nothing more.

Nothing dangerous.

Nothing waiting for them ahead.

Then Aarav suddenly spoke.

Quietly.

"Guys..."

Everyone looked forward.

Through the thick fog ahead—

a massive iron gate slowly emerged from the darkness.

Tall.
Rust-covered.
Wrapped in dead vines.

The headlights illuminated the crooked sign hanging from it.

RAKT GHAT.

And instantly—

the laughter died.

______________________________________________________________________________

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