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About a week later
It was a warm summer day, and Rahul and Elisa were once more happily traveling in Rajasthan, finally completing their unfinished journey. They had overcome their trauma from escaping the hair-raising churel and her disastrous enchanters. They were currently at Jaisalmer Fort—Rahul in blue capri pants and white tank, and Elisa in a white romper dress—holding one another’s hands, smiling and laughing, drowned in their love.
“It’s such an amazing place. What do you say?”
“Absolutely. The best place for couples,” replied Rahul. “Especially if they love historical places.”
“I completely agree,” said Elisa. “Look at the fort’s beauty. Look around the place: there’s the fort up on the hill there, houses down there on the flat. It seems like we’re a part of the history. Do you agree?”
“I do. I do,” said Rahul. “But I’m upset about how the local couples treat this place. They rush into the fort and spend all their time having sex. Seriously, is this place for sex? How many times have we found those lustful couples about to get it on and then had to turn around? Seriously, the government needs to do something about it.”
Elisa hummed in agreement.
“Anyway,” said Rahul, locking his eyes on her, and holding her hand. “Shall we leave for the village? Maybe it is time to return to Kendraa.”
“We must. But don’t get lost again this time!” Elisa mocked, knowing full well that it was her error that had first led them there after she destroyed the map.
“Oh, yeah!” Rahul pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her waist, while Elisa chuckled, keeping her hands on his chest. She looked up into his eyes, and jokingly he whispered in her ear. “I was planning to leave you here for a churel to find. I’m tired of you.”
“You—” shouted Elisa. Rahul ceased his grip and ran away from her. “I will kill you!”
When Rahul stopped at the car, Elisa tripped on a tiny stone and he grabbed her in a hug. Both stared at each other for a moment, and then Elisa pinched him on the shoulder.
“Ouch!”
“I’ll let you go this time, mister,” said Elisa, narrowing her eyes. “Next time, I’ll kill you for sure.”
“I’m sorry, my sweetheart,” said Rahul. “I love you. I can’t imagine a life without you.” He kissed her on her forehead.
“I love you, too, my baby,” she said, giving him a quick kiss on his lips.
After everything they had been through, they were pleased to find each other safe and secure together, and they kissed fervently.
* * *
After driving for a few hours, they arrived back at Kendraa Village, though the time passed quickly as they were excited to meet with the villagers and explore the desert. They stepped out of the car, broad smiles on their faces, but were met with black smoke whirling around in the sky, coming from the far end of the village, where the cave had been. Their smiles disappeared.
All they could see were dark clouds over the village and sand wafting in the air, which blurred their vision. All they could hear was a heart-thumping silence.
Rahul was in shock. Dansh and Dali are dead, so who could have destroyed the village? The villagers were courteous. They loved to help one another. They loved to stay together. Who could turn a heavenly place into Hell?
Elisa stared up at Rahul, hoping he would say something comforting, but he was out of reach, his eyes still transfixed on the smoke. He didn’t want to believe that something like this could happen, even after the death of Dansh and Dali.
“Rahul!” said Elisa, pulling on his arm gently.
Rahul startled and returned to his senses. “I’m sorry.”
“Is it them?”
“Probably not,” he said, but with hesitation as he was not sure. “I don’t think so. It must not be them. Maybe another natural disaster?”
“I hope everyone’s safe.”
Rahul nodded. Then he began to walk toward the village. Elisa followed him.
When they got closer, everything became clear. They saw no huts, but thankfully, the villagers were there still, sitting or lying on the charpoys. They found Banjeet sitting with his family.
Banjeet stood up and hugged Rahul tightly. Through his hug, Rahul sensed the sorrow buried in Banjeet’s heart. From this alone, he could tell that something tragic had happened in the village.
Banjeet stared at Rahul, unsure where to begin and how to explain. But seeing Rahul and Elisa, there was now a hope inside him. Maybe Rahul and Elisa would help them out of this dreadful situation?
One by one, the villagers found them, and they gathered around Banjeet’s charpoy, all waiting for someone to speak, anticipating an immediate solution to the catastrophic situation.
“Tell me what happened, my friend,” said Rahul, putting his hand gently on Banjeet’s back. “Who did this?”
Banjeet began to sob, and almost as if on cue, half of the villagers also began to wail, all of them having flashbacks of what they had experienced and feeling the pain as it rushed into their senses.
Rahul gently put his hands on Banjeet’s shoulders. “Tell me, my friend. I’m here for you.”
Elisa looked around at the villagers sobbing in panic and horror. Her heart was racing to find the truth. She was desperate to know what had happened in the village. They had only been gone a few days.
Finally wiping off the tears against his palm and sniffing, Banjeet exhaled deeply. “Dansh has returned ... with Dali ... and with an evil force of hundreds of pishachas ... the flesh-eating demons of the Underworld.”
Rahul gaped at Banjeet and stared, his eyes having forgotten how to blink. Elisa’s eyes widened as well. The villagers were all looking down—the fear was clear on their faces.
“Dali’s powers have grown. Dansh has become immortal. And soon they’ll attack this country, and then another, and then another one. They’re planning to rule the world.”
Rahul and Elisa stood in silence, the full weight of expectation and pressure on their shoulders.
We’re not ghostbusters, Rahul thought. It was a natural disaster that saved everyone last time. But how can we fight flesh-eating demons?
“How did they survive?” he asked.
“If you remember, Dali only fainted. She didn’t die,” said Banjeet. “When they fell in the chasm, Dansh managed to put a spell on Dali and himself. It was the spell that saved them. It created a shield around them.”
“How do you know about this?”
“Upon their return, Dansh came to meet me,” said Banjeet. “He was looking for you two. When I told him you’d left, he threatened us he would find you and bring you back. He wants to present you to Dali.”
Banjeet took a deep breath.
“When we refused, he destroyed the village. The worst is that we can no longer provide for ourselves. We are all living off the nourishment that Dansh provides us, but he only comes once each night, rarely in the morning or afternoon. There is even a condition: all of us have to finish eating in two minutes; the food, water, juice, and whatever else vanishes after that.”
“Why does he want us? We didn’t do anything. It was the villagers who began chanting the hymn, and Dansh was stopped by the earthquake—or whatever it was—that trapped them beneath the earth.”
“I know,” said Banjeet, “but you helped us break out of the cage, so he believes it is your fault. And also, because you dared to fight him. His ego is hurt.”
“Nothing makes sense to me,” said Rahul. “I can’t believe he wants us just because we broke out of the cage. This is bullshit.” He sighed. “Anyway, the moment I dared to fight him, I realized I could get rid of all my fears. It wasn’t easy at first to overcome that experience, but Elisa and I have come out of it stronger. I no longer feel the fear of that ordeal. I learned I can fight to survive. And so, with that being said ... I’ll help.”
A terrific sound of drums emanated in the air from the side of the cave. Everyone froze in fright.
Rahul has defeated all his fears, thought Elisa, who had stayed quiet all this time. But I am full of dread.
Rahul shifted his gaze toward the cave, and along with the villagers, they both saw something like demons emerge. There were ten of them: rotting flesh, hollows in the place of eye sockets, and two horns on their heads.
They all stood at the border, playing drums—for what reason, Rahul couldn’t tell.
“What are they?” he asked.
“They are pishachas. They are described in many Hindu mythologies. They are flesh-eating demons,” Banjeet clarified. “Based on my mythology knowledge, traditional pishachas don’t play drums or anything like that. They attack in an instant, but maybe, as they are bound to follow Dansh and Dali’s orders, the drums are of their influence. They play them when they sense an outsider’s presence in the village, or when a villager must visit Dali.”
Rahul was so scared that it seemed like his heart would come out any moment, and Elisa’s fear was so intense that she felt her brain pressing inside as if it would explode in horror.
