An Indo- German Expedition

Chapter 13

Arjun lay awake on his bed with dizzy and heavy eyes. One hour later, when all the other teens were fast asleep, Arjun had a strange dream. He was alone in a maze and was struggling to find a way out. It was common for him to have nightmares, but this was strange. He got up sweating to find the lights on. Ishaan was staring at him.

Are you ok? Why did you shout for help?
Ish, I had a bad dream. I was struck in a maze and was unable to find my way out.
Arjun, relax. You are okay. You were screaming so much that you scared me. Everything is okay. Just sleep.

Arjun rolled over for few more minutes before finally falling asleep. The next day, the families headed to Stuttgart to the famous Porsche museum. The guys were super excited about this tour, while the women didn’t show much interest. Germany is one of the world leaders in automobile industry. Owning a luxury car was getting more and more common for many in the country, while the German brands were adored and loved by the rest of the world. After paying for his entry ticket, Arjun looked concerned. He couldn’t stop converting Euros to Indian rupees on each cent he was spending. The entry is costing me 750 Rs he told the teens.

It is a common syndrome and eventually you will stop this mental conversion, we hope, Dharma assured him.

Once inside, the boys were raving about the cars and wanted to own all of them. The girls were busy clicking photos of the boys who were bad posers.

Do you even know that you could pose differently?
Can you please take that hands out of your pocket. Otherwise your friends will say that you have photo-shopped the backgrounds of the same picture, Maya giggled at Arjun.

After the guided tour, they all took a break for lunch and the elders went down their memory lane.
It is no more a luxury as it used to be in our days. Cars are an essential commodity now. I still remember that there was just one Fiat Padmini in our whole town until I was 24. The owner never wiped it with silk cloth back then. Sekar sighed.


The teens wanted to take a stroll around as the talks were getting boring for them. Devi was worried although Sekar and Dharma didn’t object to their idea. Just be careful and don’t go too far, they shouted at the teens who had already started walking fast. It was a warm day with blue sky. The temperature had just hit the double digits and the teens picked an ice cream and started walking. They spoke about their dream cars and the different traffic rules in India and Germany.

Just when they were about to detour back to their parents, a black SUV parked at a distance caught the sight of them. The indicators were still ON and they saw a note pasted on the rear mirror. They neared the car and took a closer look.

Get in Aarushi. I want to meet you

The letters were bold and in black.

Maya gripped Arjun tightly.

Let’s get back, Arjun suggested.
Why don’t we get in and see what this is all about? We should put an end to this, Aarushi asked.


While Ishaan was still debating over the thought, Aarushi pulled him to the left and made him take control of the steering. The maps in the car was set already and was guiding Ishaan.

You will reach your destination in 2 hours, the voice informed. Ishaan quickly checked the destination. Is it the castle?, the other three held their breath. Yes, it is, he replied in horror.

We have to go back. Our parents will be worried. This all looks scary. Somebody is plotting something against us. Why would a car be parked unlocked in that place? And that note to Aarushi was also strange. We should be careful and get back, Ishaan told sternly and got out of the car.

The others agreed and walked back. Thankfully their parents were still engrossed in a conversation with one of the Porsche employees and they joined the group silently.

That night when the elders had retired to bed, the teens sat around in their study room and discussed what to do next.

Someone wants to talk to you Aarushi. Looks like this is not any supernatural power, but merely someone we know or who knows us trying to tell us something, Arjun said looking worried.

The worst part, this person has already been stalking us for some time now, Maya continued.

But what about the visions we had? The card game, the royal image, the voices in the castle? How do you justify these? These are definitely not possible by the stalker as you call him, Aarushi argued.

Ishaan was quiet for a long time, and finally gave a loud sigh. Maybe we should go to the castle.
Shall we go now? Aarushi asked eagerly.

No, the three shook their heads in terror.

Listen guys. We have to go to the castle to solve this haunting mystery. We are not able to enjoy our vacation because of this stalker. And we will not be able to do this when our parents are around. So let us go now. It is just 2 hrs drive from here and we can reach by 11.

Are you mad Aarushi? It’s freezing outside. Also the castle would be closed by now. What do you want to do standing outside the castle? Let us forget everything and go back to sleep.

The trio tried to convince Aarushi for over half an hour, but ended up buckling their seat belts in their car.


Let us go, Aarushi, winked at Ishaan who trembled holding the steering. The castle was waiting for them.

 

Chapter 14

The road was deserted and Ishaan took the highway leading to the castle in 10 mins. He so badly wanted to turn around and get back home. But the others in the car were now excited on unveiling the haunting mystery. Maya was holding on to Arjun the whole time, while Aarushi looked outside the window. Am I putting my family into danger knowingly? What if something goes wrong? What if??? She stopped thinking too much and turned on the radio to divert her super active brain. Arjun was brave and wanted to put an end to this tormenting sequence of events, but the fear of Aarushi, Ishaan and Maya in danger was crumpling his will. They drove in silence, lost in their own thoughts.


They reached the foot of the hill and parked the car in the empty parking house. It was definitely scary to see the entire park house dark and deserted. Aarushi got down and opened the door for Maya. They took the same path as they did two days ago. The horses were tied in their stable and not a soul was visible in the hilly path that led to the castle. The café was shut down long ago and thin layers of snow could be seen on its windows.


Aarushi led the way up, followed by Arjun, Maya and ishaan in the order. Something was telling her that it is going to be disastrous. It is just my fear, she brushed it off. She was not sure what to expect in the castle. Why am I here at this wee hour? She questioned herself for the nth time. It took them 15 minutes to reach the final lap to the castle, when they saw “it” and stood still. They could see that apart from the decorative lamps on the exterior, one room in the castle had its lights ON. Maybe they leave the lights on? Ishaan suggested. If so, they should have lit the entire castle. Why only one room? Arjun questioned back.


Together they reached the main entrance of the castle and as expected by the teens, when Aarushi pushed the door, it opened. I am sure someone is setting a trap for us, Arjun whispered, holding Aarushi’s hands. Maya was kidnapped here by that woman. Now we are here, unarmed and at an odd hour. We should get back ASAP. Ishaan wanted to agree to him when Maya took a step forward and faced the boys. We have come so far. Let us see what happens inside. Come on, all of you.

She walked inside and the others followed. They reached the room where the lights were still on and could see it was locked from inside. Aarushi looked through the key hole and could see nothing.


Maybe it is the custom of the castle authorities to leave the lights of this room on, Ishaan said looking around. No, Aarushi, hushed. I can smell fresh cigarettes around. Someone is here. They tiptoed to the other rooms and found nobody around. Some of the rooms were completely dark and the teens held to each other when they passed them.


Guys, we have to go back, Ishaan stopped and told them sternly. A castle will never be open at this hour. And I am sure, we are not supposed to be here. This might be thrilling, but it is most certainly not a good idea. Also, you both are on visitor VISA and if something goes wrong, it would be difficult for you guys to get back to India on time. Let us leave right now.


Oh, but you have not even started on your mission, a voice scowled from behind. They froze and took a minute to turn around and face the voice. A man had appeared out of nowhere in the dark.

Welcome Aarushi. Been long, the man spoke with a High German accent.

He was a short man with brown hair, stout, clean shaven and had small grey eyes. He was wearing a black jacket and carried an umbrella in his left hand. He took long puffs from his cigarette and looked hungry for his prey.

Who are you? Why do you stalk us? What do you want? The teens shouted in horror, when he quietly withdrew his gun from his pocket.

I want you Aarushi, he said scornfully. And I am glad to have additional meal of you three as well, he grinned through his white teeth.

They stood silent not knowing what to do. Arjun looked around and winked at Ishaan. He had seen the candle holder near the man as well. Arjun said softly to the man.

Please let Maya go. I shall not say a word to anyone, he marched forward with his hands folded and in a split second pushed the candle holder down breaking the lamps and darkening the room. Before the man could react, the teens pushed him forcefully down and fled for life holding hands.

Seconds later, they could hear the man charging at them wildly. We should hide somewhere. There is no point running out of the door, He would find us, Aarushi breathed in horror. They tried all the doors on the way, but in vain. The man could be heard now few feet away. They took the main staircase and reached the garden. It was pitch dark there and the fountain in the center was also not lit at that hour. Quickly they ducked behind a huge bush and could hear the man shouting Aarushi’s name. He would not fire now, if he does, someone will hear him and will call the police, Ishaan thought.

He was right. The man ran across the garden shouting Aarushi’s name. Twice he was very close to the teens and missed them by inches. We need to hide somewhere else, Arjun nudged Aarushi. It was freezing cold and Maya was already controlling her fourth sneeze. It wouldn’t be too long until he finds us out, they knew. When the man was running across the garden, Aarushi held the trio and crawled back the castle. They reached the main entrance and quickly ran down to the basement where they had earlier seen the kitchen. The staircase was spiral and dark. As it was made of wood, loud echoes arose from their footsteps. So they walked slowly careful not to make any noise. Arjun-Aarushi-Maya-Ishan. Arjun spotted a small hallway and walked towards it. The other three didn’t notice him taking a sudden left and continued walking down. They reached the kitchen and whispered Arjun’s name. No answer. They crawled behind all the big vessels and heard their hunter shouting Aarushi’s name from the garden.

Arjun had walked into a room which had beautiful images of the queen and her children. There were fantasy images of the queen in different locations. He was running across the room and entered a small passage. His own footsteps was echoing loud, which made him believe that the others were following him. The passage was narrow and steep leading him to a large room of mirrors. “The hall of mirrors”, he knew. It was huge and dark. Before he could realize, he was lost in the room and was struggling to find the out, and was unable to see the way he had entered. The truth of being separated sunk in. I hope they are together at least, he breathed. It was scary and chill crept him. He could hear no sounds and was by then completely drained out. He sat in the corner, waiting and hoping to get help. The maze dream is coming true, he realized.

In the kitchen, ishaan crawled out of his hiding to search Arjun, when he heard low footsteps. Their hunter had come back to the castle and was scanning the kitchen with his torch. In a minute, they will be caught………

Did they escape from this man hunter and find out the hidden mystery? Did Arjun join the others? How is Aarushi and the man related to each other? Keep guessing.