Is this Destiny?

“I wish I had killed Sam.Why did he have to make that proposition? I am such an idiot. Why did I fall for the trap? I have to stop listening to my friends. I feel like that bee who gets attracted to the vibrant colors of a pitcher plant. On reaching the flower, is captured and pulled inside with no escape. Only death seems to be the dreaded destiny….

Am I also going to never see my dear ones again!! No, this cannot happen. I will fight till the end and will go back. Go back to my family and friends. Go back to home, sweet home. Go back to my life. I just have to….

Roger was gasping for breath! He was hiding in that dark cold dungeon for 8 hours now. His hands were all cold and numb. His throat was all dried up. He hadn’t taken a bite for the last 24 hours. How can he save himself from these devils…? He had an entire troop of scavengers after his life. How he wished all this had never happened. He should never have accepted that dare. He wished he could erase that dreaded day from his life.

Date :15^th May, Year: 2018, Time: 1:30 a.m.

Four friends have gathered to celebrate their graduation day. Big achievement for all of them. There is music, dance and champagne. The night is very beautiful. The skies are clear and the shining moon and twinkling stars adorn the entire atmosphere with serene calmness. These friends start playing the very popular game called “Truth and Dare”.

“Hey Sam, pass me the bottle. It’s my turn to spin” says Mike. “No! I think you are too drunk. You have already played your chance. I am supposed to spin”. said Chris. The bottle started making rotations incessantly. In the moonlight it looked like a delicate damsel making ballet spins repetitively. The green bottle stopped and pointed at Sam. He said” Oh damn! I am the target, shoot.” Roger asks him” Truth or Dare?” Sam says” Truth, of course”. Chris then asks” Fine then, tell us one thing you hate the most about Roger”. Sam said “Here it goes—I hate the fact that Roger never wants to try something different. He wants everything to be in a certain manner. He never experiments with anything. He is too stubborn to accompany us in our experimental or daring acts. He always backs out and never gives it a chance. I think he is a chicken”. To defend himself Roger said, “No, that is not the case, I just think it is very childish. I have my own set of principles which I don’t want to change for anyone. I am not scared of anything.” Mike says “How do we believe you. You have never accompanied us in any ordeals.” Roger’s ego is hurt. He says” Alright, give me a dare and I shall perform it alone for the first and last time. But after this, no one is ever going to call me chicken”. Roger and Sam’s eyes meet. Sam then said” Ok, if you say so. I have a dare for you. Can you see that dark, huge bungalow opposite this field? It is believed that anyone who goes past that gate, never returns. Today, we all were going to conclude our party by breaking this superstition. We were planning to spend the remaining part of the night in that haunted house and come back tomorrow morning. Now, since you offered to do it all alone, be our guest. Would you like to try this dare or want to chicken out”? There was a mocking smile on Sam’s face. This ignited Roger’s ego even more. Without giving it a second thought, he    said “Yes, for sure, you’ll wait here for me and I shall return.”

Roger went home, packed some clothes and stuff and returned to the party spot. His friends were eagerly waiting for him. He said” Ok friends, here I go and shall meet you’ll tomorrow morning”. He proceeded towards that haunted house. It was pitch dark. Nothing was moving. Roger walked with utmost caution. The haunted house looked like a dungeon. The garden in front of it was all dried up. The windows were all broken and dilapidated. It looked like no one had entered this place for maybe 1000 years now. The double storeyed bungalow with its pitched roof looked like a witch sitting on her broom all ready to fly off to the hidden lands of hell.

Roger could hear his friends boosting him from the back. Gradually their voices died down. He turned back to see them. But they were so far away that were now invisible. After a while he could hear only silence. The crumpling of grass under his feet was the only distraction amidst this tranquility. The garden was all rotten and dried up. The creepers were traveling in all possible directions. Finally, he arrived at the door. He took a deep breath. Gulped a big ball of saliva. Gathered all the courage he had and pushed open the door. It opened very slowly with a creaking sound. As soon as the entire door opened, there was blinding light. Roger could not see anything. With closed eyes he took steps forward and suddenly felt the ground was missing beneath his feet. The next moment, he started accelerating downwards. The fall was very deep and went on and on. He lost his consciousness on the way. Thump! He landed on the floor. His eyes opened and he was profoundly confused and scared of the sight in front of him.

A group of creatures resembling aliens were preparing something in a big black bowl. Their backs were turned towards him. He could see big heads with no hair on them. Their skin appeared to be rough and green colored. Their postures were all crooked. It seemed like they had no bones to support their body. One of them happened to turn towards Roger. His heart skipped a beat. The face almost took his breath away. The eyes were big and blue,3 in number and were all popping out from his face. His mouth was massive and black and was placed on his forehead. There were no eyebrows on his face. For a moment Roger thought that his eyes and the aliens had met. It started slithering towards him like a snake on its stomach. But when it came close to him, it went passed him. “What just happened? Did he not see me? Am I dead? Is this hell? Someone please tell me.”

As these thoughts crossed his head, he accidentally toppled a nearby glass vase. This vase fell very slowly as if it was being controlled by someone. Roger found this quite strange. As soon as the vase crashed on the floor and made a loud splattering noise, the alien turned towards him. “Oh, so the creature cannot see but can only hear”. The creature started chasing Roger. He ran for his life. This new friend was accompanied by about 10 more doppelgängers. “What place is this? Is this hell or some other planet? How can I find out?”.

After running for a few hours now, Roger landed on a road that looked just like his house lane. “I think I should follow this road”. On reaching a house which was a replica of his own home, he stopped to read something. There was an LED display panel mounted next to it. Along with the address was mounted a date. It read:

Date 15^th May, Year 2058, Time 1:30 a.m.

He was shocked and confused to read this. “This means I have travelled 40 years ahead in time. But how is that possible? Who are these weird creatures?”. Lost in these thoughts he forgot that he was still being followed. Suddenly he heard some hustling noise. This sound brought him back to his present and he started running again. He found an old dilapidated dungeon and hid in it.

Roger was gasping for breath! He was hiding in that dark cold dungeon for 8 hours now. His hands were all cold and numb. His throat was all dried up. He hadn’t taken a bite for the last 24 hours. How can he save himself from these devils…? He had an entire troop of scavengers after his life. How he wished all this had never happened. He should never have accepted that dare. He wished he could erase that dreaded day from his life.

After some time, he stopped hearing anything. He thought it was safe to come out now. Wondering and pondering on his present circumstances, he started walking aimlessly. ” How did I travel ahead in time? Does it mean that we will be  invaded by aliens and they will rule over us? I have to get into the details of this and find out. But before that I need to protect myself from these demons. I have to return back and save our world from this fate.”

Just then he heard some laughing voices. He started moving towards the source of sound. Gradually the sound become clearer and louder. “These noises sound very familiar. I have heard it previously as well? Is this….

Just then the black curtain comes down and standing in front of him are his 3 friends Mike, Sam and Roger. All three were giggling away to glory. Bewildered Roger doesn’t understand. Then Mike says” This was all a prank. You always portrayed yourself to be very brave, so we decided to teach you a sweet lesson. Don’t know about you, but we sure had great fun”. With this all started laughing.

The frustrated Roger did not know what to say and joined them in laughing. It sure proved to be a memorable experience for all the four friends which they shall cherish forever.

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