章 79: Chapter 79
The village of Chandrapur sat silent under the heavy heat of the sun, its narrow lanes bordered by homes that looked as if they'd forgotten the world around them. For weeks now, the air had been thick with something people couldn't name, a quiet dread that had crept over the town, as if it had always been there, just beneath the surface.
People were missing. Some were young, others old. It didn't matter. The bodies never turned up. The villages grew nervous, huddling inside their homes when the sun sank low, but they couldn't stop the fear.
A whisper had traveled through the land, from one village to another, that a detective—one of legendary repute—was being called. The name of Raghav Patel was spoken in the same breath as the word "solution." He had solved the impossible before, cracking cases that baffled even the sharpest minds.
But as soon as word of him spread to Chandrapur, the villagers were split. Some were hopeful; others, afraid. What did it mean to bring someone like Raghav into a place like this?
He arrived one evening when the village was bathed in the orange glow of twilight. His sharp, angular face betrayed nothing of the dread that had swallowed the village. He had seen too much in his life to be scared of what men whispered about.
His boots crunched against the dry dirt as he made his way through the streets. A few villagers eyed him from their windows. No one approached. The quiet seemed to close in tighter, and Raghav didn't need anyone to tell him the air had already grown colder.
The chief of the village, an older man with shaking hands, led Raghav to the site of the latest disappearance. The man's daughter, a girl of sixteen, had vanished the night before. The girl had always been careful. She had a routine.
Yet, one by one, the children had started disappearing. There were rumors of strange figures wandering the edges of the village at night, figures with pale faces, but no one ever saw them clearly.
They reached a field just outside the village. It was far enough that the homes seemed like dots in the distance. Here, the air tasted dry, and the only sound was the occasional rustle of leaves. Raghav crouched and examined the ground. The soil was disturbed, but there were no tracks. No sign of struggle.
"I don't understand," the chief said, his voice faltering. "Every night, they disappear without a trace. The villagers... they're terrified."
Raghav stood, his face unreadable. "You should be."
The chief flinched.
"I want to see where the last one was taken."
They walked farther, the fields stretching out, quiet and empty. As the night settled in, Raghav's sharp mind worked through the facts: the disappearances were getting more frequent. The pattern was random, the timing even stranger. People would vanish, but nothing connected them. Yet, there was something wrong. Deeply wrong.
When they reached the edge of the village, where the land met the dense forest, Raghav felt it. A sudden drop in temperature, a coldness that was unnatural. His breath came out in small clouds as he stood still. Something was wrong. He could feel it in his bones. Something was here.
The chief stepped back, mumbling. "We... we shouldn't be here. They say no one who enters that forest—"
Raghav ignored him, his gaze fixed on the dark mass ahead.
"I'll be fine." He walked into the forest, the trees thick with shadows.
The air grew heavy with each step. It wasn't the kind of weight that came from the oppressive heat or humidity. It was something else. Something deeper. The trees here seemed to twist and bend unnaturally, the branches thin and gnarly, like hands reaching out.
Raghav continued. The silence around him pressed in, crushing. Not a single bird chirped. Not a leaf rustled.
He reached a clearing, a small, secluded patch where the moonlight broke through the canopy. Something moved in the center.
He stepped forward, trying to make out the shape. The hairs on his neck prickled. The figure was still, hunched down, almost... kneeling.
The ground around it was wet, and a deep, foul stench filled the air. Something was wrong here.
Then, the figure stood. Slowly, deliberately. Its back was hunched, its face shrouded by the darkness. Raghav took a step back, his hand going to his holster. He hadn't even drawn his gun before the figure spoke, its voice rasping like it had come from the earth itself.
"Leave. Leave now."
The words were clear, yet foreign. They didn't sound like they belonged to the figure, but came from somewhere else entirely.
Raghav hesitated, his pulse quickening. His eyes scanned the dark forest around him. "Who are you?"
There was no answer. Only the sound of the figure moving closer, dragging something behind it.
Raghav pulled his gun, but before he could aim, the figure lunged at him. It moved too fast for him to react, its twisted hand grabbing his wrist. His gun fell to the ground.
Something sharp pierced his chest. He gasped, the air rushing out of his lungs.
With one final, agonizing breath, Raghav fell. The world spun.
As his vision blurred, he saw the figure standing over him, holding a grotesque, twisted face just inches from his. Its smile was cruel, hollow. The last thing Raghav felt was a sharp sting in his mind, the realization that he wasn't just dying. He was becoming part of the forest.
The figure whispered again.
"Now you belong to us."
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