Charu and the Etlen Mysteries

Charu ran up the stairs to look at herself in the vanity mirror. Someone once told her that mirrors are like a different dimension, a bad one, a ridiculously bad one. And your reflection is protecting you from crossing to the other side. She never believed in the statement as she grew up admiring her beauty time to time and the mirror always showed her elegant face with a charming smile. Today there’s no reflection of her. Myths suddenly enshrouded her about these giant sized mirrors.

She could see the piles of books arranged on her study table. She could see the lights, fans, and everything except her reflection. Slowly blackness began to appear on the mirror-like a silhouette, which transcended into a girl in a white dress. Charu’s lips muttered,”Sheryl…”. She saw the face, it didn’t have eyes, but tears flowed down the cheeks, nose was larger than an average human being’s nose, lips were pale pink but were cracked up all over. Charu touched her face she could feel her eyes, nose and everything and she was in her orange shirt and black jean but the reflection was completely different.

Back then…..

Dr Abbass was busy with his hypnotherapy making Charu’s attention get focused and taking her to a state of trance. But his repeated attempts were in vain. He exited the observation room with his dress drenched in sweat. He looked frightened and he had locked her room as her aggressiveness was beyond control. Sedation didn’t work and finally, he managed to chain her to the bed and put few securities on guard. Doctor tried calling Mani Oomen, Charu’s father but was unable to reach him.

Charu looked around trying to free herself. She took the satellite device that Sheryl gave her in their last encounter. She typed the code that Sheryl had mentioned. Nothing happened, she waited for few minutes. Then she heard someone calling “Sheryl”, she saw a dark figure standing by the window. A wrinkled face peeped inside and gestured her,” I am coming to get you out.” His artificial eyes read different frequencies of light and she could see it in his eyes. He was very old and looking fragile but his reflexes were very fast. His limbs were huge and he looked more of an alien from some outer space.

Charu whispered, ” Vincent Uncle… Hoping to get a response.” The old man turned back and gave her a wink. It was the character in the book, “The Unkemp parody” which she was reading and it was the story that she had written and had remained unpublished but she had bought it in the old book market in the most mysterious circumstances. She had explored the place mentioned in the book and had nearly escaped death with the help of a character from the book named Sheryl. The old man helped her out of the chains.

Soon the security guards came inside charging on them. Vincent uncle hid behind the window screens. She used her elbow to give a downward strike on the guard’s forehead. The force of impact made his entire body convulse and the vibration resonated across the floor. Charu simultaneously gave a round body kick to the second guard’s left temple which knocked him unconscious. There were two more guards advancing towards her, she gave them a rear leg push kick and took them down on the ground by tripping their legs. She landed few punches on their faces before moving out of the room.

After exiting the hospital Vincent uncle just handed her a piece of paper with an address and vanished. It was then she decided to follow the map to the place mentioned as a home. She reached the place in twenty minutes and it was a museum. The place was in isolation and it had a splendid mughal architecture that stood dilapidated. She went to the small library that was attached to the museum. She was looking for what she wanted. The last page of her book “The unkempt parody” had a book cover with a caption will be continued after the map. There it was at the top most rack on the shelf. A hard bound book it was with a painting that depicted a man standing with a sword in hand. The sword had a code -MV02FK09. There were few more details in the book and about Vincent Uncle too. The details shook her.

Present…..

At Egypt:

The lab was too large with physiological fluids flowing through networks of pipes. There a number of people lying on the beds with needles and wires attached to their bodies. There were huge screens that monitored parameters unknown to mankind. There were machines for enzymatic analysis. There was a pungent smell that was overwhelming. Inside the highly secured intense research unit was Vincent observing and injecting few genomes into his observation patients. Patients transitioned to foxes and foxes to humans.

Vincent gave out crackling laughter cherishing his success. Finally, he took out the sword and embraced it with his hands. “World is going to be my play yard”, he exclaimed.

At Kochi:

The book revealed Charu certain mysteries. Vincent was the last of the Etlean race, a race that was a hybrid of foxes and humans. All others of the race had died a thousand years ago due to wars between races. In order to replicate and recreate his race, Vincent took a human form and had settled in India, and had his secret operating center in Egypt. He married Martha and they had a son and a daughter.

What worried her was about the sword. The book mentioned,” Once the sword goes away from the museum the impending cataclysm is inevitable.” It was the sword that Charu saw in Sheryl’s hand the other day with which she dropped the E-Bomb. The code was the RFID key to be entered in an activating box that had the bomb. She recollected that day’s incident, Sheryl had inserted the sword into the activating box and after the RFID key on the sword was scanned the impact took place. The scope of impact was severe as it would destroy around 50kms from the point of impact. All electronic devices and lines would be broken, humans end up in a coma.

The Anthony statue was there in the museum but the sword was missing in its hand. There were few more questions bothering her. Who is Sheryl and Where is she?. Charu decided to go to Vincent uncle’s house to get answers. She equipped herself with her .22 calibre smart gun and with her handheld self-guide dog and drove to the address Vincent had given. She was welcomed by a young man in his teens named Ruth son of the caretaker Martha. After few brief exchanges, he said that Uncle Vincent was away to Egypt for some business purpose. Charu got Vincent's Uncle’s address in Egypt.

Martha heard a familiar voice outside and it seemed like the voice of Sheryl. Before Ruth could call her she came out calling ‘Sheryl’ and she shrieked hysterically at Charu and soon fainted. Ruth also was astonished seeing Charu and few words escaped his mouth but before he could complete he also fainted. Without knowing what to do she immediately closed the door and came back to her house in a hurry.

She soon went up the stairs and stood before her vanity mirror. She could see the things in her room but not her reflection. Suddenly the lights flickered, the TV screens flickered and the road lights went dim and even the stars disappeared for a second. Slowly she saw a silhouette in the mirror. The face resembled a portrait photograph on the wall of Vincent Uncle’s house- a girl with an oval face, solid jaws, red lips, brown eyes, and chocolate brown hair. Slowly the face changed to something else as that of the woman on the book cover with no eyes but tears flowed down and it had nose and lips. Charu muttered Sheryl..

The voice was speaking into her mind. ‘Sheryl.. Sheryl Vergese’ seemed to echo all through her head. She slowly opened her eyes and found herself on the hospital bed with Dr. Abbass injecting her some sedative. At the corner of the room was her father whose eyes were dried up with tears and his face was pale. The beeps of the machine started and the monitor screens came alive..