The House Of Horrors - The End

Dhananjay blacked out after a fleeting second, upon seeing the surprising face of a person who shot him from behind. The wizard was in awe of his follower who appeared in the nick time to remove the impediment which was on his way. Five hours flew by. Dhananjay regained his consciousness only to find himself bound to the lonely chair. He tried to free himself but to no avail. A familiar face sat cross-legged on a table which stood opposite the cop Dhananjay. He hadn't taken his eyes off the cop who was now in a vulnerable position with no protection whatsoever. Will he be able to escape from the horror house that doesn't allow anyone outside alive?

"You bloody traitor," Dhananjay looked enraged.

The traitor lit up the cigar and took a deep puff at it, letting the smoke decorate the cop's countenance but the cop coughed unable to withstand the sudden gush of smoke. There was no tinge of guilt whatsoever but there was a quirky smile which reflected his eccentric demeanour. 

"I can make a great actor, isn't it sir?" The familiar face was none other than his fellow cop Suhas. 

"How can you act like a cop and go on a murder spree? Don't you have an iota of compassion running through your veins?"

"Shut up! I killed your wife and she has been offered to Devil Taramma on the instructions of my guru. Your son will be the next target and he will also satisfy the hunger of the Devil Taramma next Friday," he said "Once we erase your dear ones, you will be the final nail in your family's coffin. If you have any intelligence administered in your brain, try to escape from our clutches. You still have a week to save your son and two weeks to save yourself. All the best!"

His onslaught of caveats was unbearable for Dhananjay who still hadn't come out of the shock of his wife's untimely death. 

"I will not spare you," he fumed.

"Don't get annoyed! This is called the house of horrors and your power as a cop will not work here. Ironically, you will have to obey my commands instead of me obeying yours."

Had Dhananjay not been bound, he would have tossed himself at Suhas and beaten him to a pulp. He continued to glare at the betrayer still unable to come to terms with the classic betrayal.

"You will be in the custody of my guru. Don't try to play your tricks on him. He is very powerful and he can even communicate with Devil Taramma. You can have a smooth and pacifying death if you remain quiet. In case you try to create a ruckus, you will have to eat a barbaric death," Suhas warned him before pulling himself out of the house.

No ideas seemed to spawn in the cop's mind as he looked helpless around to see if there was an outlet to go out. He also knew the fact that no one would come to his aid as the entire village is frightened about the mysterious coupled with a fear-inducing horror house. The wizard appeared to offer prayer to Devil Taramma to gain more evil force which he could use against the entire village. The verses he recited sounded comical but that was what kept him going through the day. His incessant prayers were a testament to the evil power he imbibed over the years. After a couple of hours, his gaze shifted towards Dhananjay and his mind permitted him to spill the beans hitherto never shared before not even to Suhas.

"Anyway, you will be killed in the next two weeks and will be offered to our Taramma so I feel the urge to share this piece of confidential information with you. Suhas had a wife and daughter and was living a life similar to you. He always believed in me and my prayers to Devil Taramma. He knew about my power and never shirked away from the responsibilities tossed upon him. 

Every Friday, it is imperative for me to offer Devil Taramma with human life. We have to kill any person and then cut some of his hair and offer into the fire pit. We have been doing it ever since Suhas lost his family. By the way, the man who played an instrumental role in breaching his family's happiness was me. It was me who killed his wife and daughter in two weeks and that is how all this started. I offered their hairs to Devil Taramma and she was delighted and told me to appoint Suhas to do the killing work every Friday so I had to coerce Suhas, to kill someone every Friday and this will continue for three weeks until I finally offer Suhas himself to my Devil. Sounds interesting and also frightening, isn't it? Once I kill Suhas, this ritual will come to conclusion and I will be granted a superior evil force using which I can destroy anyone in the world.

The entire world will be in my fist and I can toy with it in whatever way I intend to. Your son will be followed by you and the Suhas will follow you. The ritual is coming to an end in three weeks and I will be accumulating the evil power which is so supreme no one can bear its wrath," The wizard broke into wicked laughter that threatened to vibrate the building. His voice reverberated in the empty hall.

The next Friday dawned upon the village and unfortunately, the murder incident did not go down well with Dhananjay as he lost his son owing to the absurd ritual carried out by the wizard. He shed tears uncontrollably and vowed to destroy the wizard and his horror house. The entire village looked distressed upon the harrowing deaths that materialized every week. They also believed Dhananjay succumbed to the evil powers of the horror house and the perpetrator Suhas who was behind all the murders pretended as of nothing happened. No one had an iota of doubt against the cop who seemed to breeze through killings with ease. There was no one in the village to assuage the fears of villagers who seemed to die out of fear. The loss of his family gnawed at Dhananjay who racked his brains to come up with some plan to put a full stop to the ritual. If he cannot curb the ritual and if the ritual completes successfully, then all hell will become loose as the wizard will unleash his atrocities on the village. 

On the death day of Dhananjay, which happened to be Friday, the wizard was busy offering prayers to Devil Taramma. It was night time and human hair had to be offered before the clock chimed 12.

"It's time to kill this cop," he said.

Suhas pulled out a knife from his sheath which glittered under the lights and craved more blood. He sauntered towards his fellow cop who was in a hapless condition.

"Get ready to..." 

An astonishing turn of events materialized which surprised the Wizard. Suhas had indeed removed the binds that clung to his limbs. The wizard looked astounded by his conduct.

"What are you doing? You must kill him. Why are you freeing him?"

"Mr Dhananjay had installed a CCTV camera which came to my notice. Upon seeing the camera, I came to know about the conversation you had with him. I couldn't believe that to achieve the evil power, you are ready to kill me. I will not let this happen. You will have to pay price for your evil deeds. You killed my family which did nothing to you. You used me as a weapon to unleash death on innocent people and now you want to stab me from behind."

"We shall not get into any conflicts. This cop is very cunning and he has chalked out a plan to create a rift between us. We must together accumulate the power and I was just kidding."

"We both will put an end to your life."

"I am scared, please spare me," the wizard's expression suddenly changed to incessant laughter. "You think I get scared by human beings? Devil Taramma has reinforced my powers and I am still better than you guys. You can do nothing to me and can't curtail my ritual which will be fulfilled by next week."

Just like that tables turned and the wizard had the upper hand over the two cops who made a futile attempt to fire at the demon. The revolvers they possessed broke in a jiffy at the power of the wizard who now seemed an insurmountable problem. He said something nonsense and quickly a whirlpool of glittering light emanated on his palm which he unleashed at the two armless cops who were now in a death trap. The wizard was now the biggest village issue and if he is not stopped, the agony will perennially find a place in the hearts of the villagers. He seemed to have gotten lost in ecstasy being awed at his own powers that he forgot the fact that it was five minutes past 12 which meant a Friday had passed without any offerings to Devil Taramma. Instantly, he lost all his powers and the death trap hurled at the cops cleared. The cops didn't waste a minute attacking the wizard who looked astonished beyond measure. The end of the wizard's life went viral across the village which pacified the frightened souls. No more Friday deaths; no more wizard powers. Finally, the village breathed in peace.