My Dead Friend - Chapter 13

I froze there for some time, unable to stop myself from staring the glowing blood soaked face of the spirit, who was looking towards me with a look of hatred.
A cold wind was blowing across me; I was standing there frozen in time, until I saw him raising his hand towards me, in a gesture of calling.
“I a..m.. trying… to help yo..u..”, I stammered as I regain my conscious.
But the intense glare from the spirit didn’t change his hand still raised; He was coming near to me, almost floating in air.
I tried to pull the door, the latch of which I was still holding. But it didn’t even move a bit, somehow it was jammed at the same position. I felt some force was trying to take me inside. I felt thousand of voices crying in my ears. I put my hands on my ears, as I went down on my knees.
I was losing focus, ‘He is weakening my mental barriers to over-power me’, I realized.
For a change Ankit Saxena in me rise, I was filled with anger.
“You can’t make me do anything you wish”, I said defiantly looking at him.
Suddenly everything stopped, the wind, voices & it felt like I was standing in a vacuum, But he was still standing in same posture only his expressions have changed from angry to sad. And he starts receding inside the room, his hand still in same posture.
I didn’t went inside, as I stood there for a moment, the same cold & dampness has fallen in the room, I felt the door was not jammed anymore, but I didn’t tried to close it. I turned back and started walking down the stairs to the first floor.
After walking down 2 steps, I turned back; the door was slowly getting closed. I felt relieved but something in me was troubled & I felt I have committed a grave crime.
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I got down to my room worn-out, I didn’t opened the lights & straight away went to the bed, the Laptop was still on, I turned my face to other side & closed my eyes as I tried to control my heart-beat. Sleep was miles away from me; I turned towards the Laptop to check the time.
It was 3:34 AM. “Only 4 minutes”, I confusingly said to myself.
“All this happened in 4 minutes?, I went up, the faceoff with Varun, I returned back, I tried to sleep, everything in just 4 minutes’.
“Does actually time freezes/slows down when I am facing that spirit?”, I asked myself, “I have heard about same thing happening when encountering any entity from the other world, but it’s not with humans, it’s with Non-human entities or Magus, but I am neither of them, I am very much human & I have no-idea of any sort of Magic”.
Unable to sleep, I again turned on my lights, started looking in the trash Sanjay sent me.
‘Nothing useful’, I thought again putting back the papers in the carry bag.
I looked at the last paper which I was about to put in the bag, One Seized article ‘Phone’, I smiled as it remind me of the Videos folder.
But that smile vanished as soon as it appeared. The LOCKED FOLDER.
‘What could be it password?’, I asked myself. As I again laid down trying to sleep,
‘For whom that letter was written & by whom’, I thought recalling the paper, ‘and what could be that no.’
“Wait, that’s it, I sat again, the no. is the password to that folder, how stupid I can be, it’s so obvious, it happens all the time in every movie”, I said to myself.
I placed the Laptop in my lap, as I took out the crumbled paper from below my pillow, with a smile on my face I opened the Card & then opened the Folder-Lock.
With a great enthusiasm, I typed the password 8324689XYZ (XYZ being number’s),
‘Invalid Password’, a Pop-up appeared.
“Sh*t, it’s impossible, this no. has to be the password”, I tried again more carefully choosing each number. Again the same pop-up appeared.
“Come-on this is insane, I am hovering with these half clues, and I can’t do anything with these clues, how am I supposed to--- help him” I said to myself as I put my head on my knees.
“You can’t help him, you can’t even help yourself damn’t”, a voice from inside call out, “And why on this earth you want to help him, who was there to help you, when you needed it”, It was Ankit Saxena in me igniting my anger, I guess he was frustrated with these half clues and what had happened on the third floor some moments back.
“He has asked my help”, I said trying to calm myself. “Do you want me, to do the same which I myself hate the most, Leaving someone in the midway?”, I challenged myself.
“Like Shweta…”, I stopped in between.
“What will you get?”, the voice asked.
“Content”, I said as a tear dropped from my eyes.
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I woke up with the knocking on the door, rubbing my eyes, I opened the door.
“Good Morning”, Sanjay said.
“Good Morning”, I mumbled.
“Its 8:30, you are still sleeping”, he said.
“Only 8:30, I never wake at 8:30 even on weekdays, & I slept late…”, I stopped midway.
He gave a puzzled look.
“Forget it”, I said as I gave way, so that he can step in.
“You found anything?”, he said almost taunting, “HE was sure that you will be a great help”.
I told him my opinion about Love affair, “How do you know?”, he asked.
“Just a strong gut feeling”, I hide the paper & SD-Card details.
“So what do you want from me?”, he asked
“I just want to know about all the girls in this building and the opposite building”, I replied
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We went to the broker & asked him the same.
“As for unmarried girl, it’s only one, that Amit’s Sister”, Broker replied, “Amit was your next door neighbor”, he said to me
“I know Amit”, I replied

“By the way, Where is the keys of 308?”, I asked
“I have kept it with Amit”, broker replied, “So if I am not here and some other broker want to see the flat, than I don’t need to rush”.
“Second key?”, I asked
“There is no second key, this one’s Pankaj’s, he put it on the holder, when he shifted”, he said.
“He didn’t even meet me the last time, he was so angry like I was responsible for Varun’s disappearance”, he said angrily,
“Always complaining, that I was responsible for him staying with Varun & all the mess created after he was missing”, he continued
‘After he died or rather killed’, I said to myself.
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“Time to ask some questions to Amit!”, Sanjay said.
“Yes, But what kind of personality was this Pankaj, I tried calling him last night, his phone was not reachable”, I asked Sanjay.
“If you ask me or the investigating officers”, he said smiling, “He was a Dramebaaz, initially we suspected him, but there was no clue against him, so we left him, we never touched him but, he used to cry like a Girl, did too much drama, when we told him that he can go back to his native”, he said grinning, “He hugged everyone in the Police Station”.
I laughed, “Was he alright?, I mean, Was he straight?”, I laughed again
“Where is his native place?, I need to contact him”, I said.
“Jabalpur, He has one Step-father who doesn’t want anything to do with him”, Sanjay replied, “During our interrogation, we called his father once to do a background check, but he replied, my son is dead for me”.
“I wonder what he did to tick him off”, I said to Sanjay, “Maybe hugged everyone in Jabalpur too”, we both had a hearty laughter.
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We reached the third floor, 308 was locked. The glimpse of last night went past my eyes. I literally ran the distance from 308 to 309.
Sanjay gave a questioned look, I avoided the answer.
Thak Thak… We knocked for the second time.
“Who is it?”, Amit said opening the door.
“Hi”, Sanjay said, “I am investigating Varun’s case, your previous neighbor”.
He was still sleepy. I could see her wife sleeping on the bed. I gave a grumbling look to Sanjay.
“Shikha, wake up and get inside”, Amit said to her wife. She almost sleep-walked to the other room
But my eyes were searching his sister.
,cAmit called us in.
“How long have you been staying here?”, Sanjay asked.
“Almost 2 years”, Amit replied.
“How many of you are here?”, Sanjay asked again
“Three of us”. Amit replied, “Initially we were just two, me & my sister she is studying MBA, but I got married 6 months back, so now we are three”.
“Ok, Shikha, right?, she is your wife?”, Sanjay asked.
He nodded.
“Where’s your sister?”, he asked.
“Simmi”, he called, I could see sweat on his forehead.
Nobody replied
“Shikha is Simmi inside?”, he called a bit louder
“No”, the voice from inside replied.
Amit was now sweating profusely.
“Maybe she went with her friends; today is Sunday, right, she sometimes go with her friends for outing”, he replied
“Without even telling you?”, this time I asked.
“Not every time, but Ya…, sometime she didn’t disturb us”, he replied
“Give me her number, will talk to her”, Sanjay asked
“But why, she has nothing to do with this”, Amit stammered.
“That I will decide”, Sanjay said grinding his teeth.
He gave her number.
“Ok, will come later”, Sanjay said rising from the chair. I followed suit.
As I approached the door, I saw an id-card placed over the TV, I gave a glance on the name. Surprised I turned back, “Her actual name is…”,
“Shweta”, Amit completed.
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With a grim face, I was walking with Sanjay. Who was telling me something, but I was lost in Shweta.
“Hmmm…”, I said
“What Hmmm…?”, he asked, “I asked you, something?”.
“Sorry, I was…”, I stopped.
“Lost”, he said.
“Sorry, what were you asking?”, I asked Sanjay
“This Amit looked like a strange character to me, did you noticed how he react when we asked about her Sister”. Sanjay said.
I nodded.
We were now passing the second floor.
“Do you think; he is hiding something from us or maybe hiding her?”, I said
“I feel something is wrong”, he said.
“I have an idea”, I said as I started walking back to the third floor.
I put my ears near the glass window, “Dial her number”.
He did.
No sound came, but I felt something. I closed my eyes and concentrated.
“Stop”, I said. He did.
“Dial again”.
I opened my eyes. “Her phone is vibrating inside”.
We knocked the door again.
Amit opened it, anybody could see that his face was filled with fear.
“What now?”, he said trying to hide his expressions.
“Where is Shweta?”, Sanjay asked
“With her friends”, Amit replied
“Her phone is inside”, Sanjay said, now his tone was filled with anger.
Amit’s jaw dropped, he gave a ‘how do you know’ look, “She might have forgot to take it with her”, he finally replied.
“I am asking you for the last time, where is Shweta, my next question to you will be inside Police-Station”, Sanjay said holding Amit by his collar.
“I d..o..n’t k..no..w”, Amit stammered