“Oh, tonight I gave you my soul, I am dead”     - Phantom            

 “The eyes only shows you what the mind is prepared to comprehend”

     Night Shift @ Haunted Workplace   

“Who is there?” I yelled.  My heart was in my mouth, that thing sent shivers down my spine.

Windows opened and closed as if manipulated by invisible hands. Doors were banging, moving with creaking sounds as if someone was controlling them from far. Lights were flickering – ON. OFF. ON. OFF.  The uncanny thing was yet to commence for something evil to crawl out. I was petrified.

“Who are you? What are you?” I was yelling all alone in the empty corridor.

No response. All ghost-quite silence.

I could only hear someone wailing. I stood there, frozen, in dread. In an unusual motion, all the corridor bulbs flickered for the last and went off. I was now standing in the middle of total darkness, turning on my cell-phone’s flashlight. My hands trembled in fear. Thoughts of all kind of negative emotions lingered in my skull.

 Then, the glint of flash fell on the window and this time, I saw it – it was not a human, it wasn’t even some animal, it was a shadow; those yellow eyes glinting with my flash felt like were staring directly to my soul.

Tragic twist of fate, it was my very opening day at this place and it began with such a sheer terror experience.  I knew I was no match for the vicious thing. I ran with all the breath in my lungs, with the highest pace I could.  The stairs were creaking as I stepped down rapidly.

Clinging the phone in my hand I dialled the police but fate had kept something else for me in the closet, my phone battery died. This malevolence thing will kill me if I fail to make an escape from here.

This all started when I was running out of money and my expenses were going quite high. Also, anything worse that could happen was end all my savings during pandemic period.  I needed a job but recruitments were not being made during this fragile time by companies, but somehow, I finally got a job at this recently opened BPO in Delhi.

The hurly-burly noise of traffic, Metro jolting on the tracks of Red-Line and corporate workers going for their jobs had made me nostalgic. It felt like ages to be here again.

I reached the place at sharp 10 a.m. in the morning – as instructed to me.  It didn’t take me long to be-friends with my co-workers, within an hour, many of them were sharing their perspectives on ‘how the company pays them much lesser than they need’ & ‘how dislikeable the boss is'.

Many told me stories of the building and how it is haunted by a ghost seeking vengeance. And like any horror story – do you think I will believe such story?

 Shakespeare once said that the women who chewed ginger and claims that she wept on her third husband’ death isn’t to be believed.

But Shakespeare also said, “This is the only hell and everyone is a devil.”

I enjoyed those stories until that evening.

Like all horror stories, this also needed an eerie atmosphere for a perfect ghost tale to take place and hence – I am now alone at this place.

Why? Not because I was forced to do overtime but I really want to see this ‘work of fiction’ ghost. Even Mr. Ritesh Bakshi, the owner of this firm was so impressed on hearing that he even hugged me and said, “You are brave, my boy!”

I have no clue if he was sarcastic with his words or not.

When 7 p.m. struck on the clock, the employees began to leave for their home and at sharp 8 p.m. the security guard ring me on the office phone asking me for some coffee or chai. I agreed; got to my feet, just then the phone on my table rang.

“Greetings, this is Delhi Tech Incorporations, how may I be useful to you?” I answered, faking a confident tone as the firm told me to do it.

I waited for the response on the other side of telephone line but the call ended within a few seconds.

So, I logged off the desktop and turned the lights off & went downstairs.

Down, outside the building – which had two floors including a basement, the guard was waiting for me, sitting outside the SECURITY CABIN with a cigarette – half finished by now, in his hands. He was sitting on a stood and the table in front of him had two cups of hot tea, with this strong aroma of ginger.

“Sir, I was waiting for you!” A smile dropped on his face when he saw me, wrinkles formed over his eyes.

“Thank you for the tea, bahiya! Brother”, I responded.

While drinking tea with him, I got to know more and more of the firm and since how long he has been working there. He told me why the charges of duty during the night is thrice the sum paid to the guard during the day and how stupidly people here believed in such myths while living in such a metro city  state like Delhi.

His name was Mohit Desai & he has been working here since 2020. While leaving he wished me and instructed me to turn the lights off whenever I am not around the workspace.

“But? I had turned the lights off, Desai ji?”

“Sir, why are you fooling me?” he pointed his hand towards the window where I can see the lights on. I wish I had understood this sign.

I doubted my consciousness and left without any word – a feeling of disapproval and shame lies in me right now.

Perhaps I was too busy that I had forgotten to do it? Perhaps I had pressed the wrong power switch? Or perhaps there is a ghost in here...No I am not going to think that.

Just then, all the lights went off. This could now be devastating. From the back of me, I heard a disembodied voice, wailing loudly – “LEAVE”

This was nerve racking. I was all alone here.

“LEAVE. LEAVE. LEAVE. LEAVE”

The rest is history..

I was dancing in the jaws of terror. The corridor seemed never-ending.  I wish this night had never crept in my fate.

I entered a room I had no idea about, it was closed, felt like it was never used in ages. It felt like the time had paused and I was in a totally new world. I could see people working there – there, where no one was present a second ago. What was it? Are my eyes to be believed?

“The Best employee of the week goes to Rishi!” I saw my boss with this new character of about my age, standing beside him.

Things changed again and this time, I saw Rishi working in the office all alone. He received a call of the guard and he went downstairs. Everything, that had happened with me repeated with him as well. Same story. Different Characters.

Things changed for the last and this time, I saw the guard – Mohit Desai stabbing Rishi with this knife. One. Two. Three.

My eyes rolled and I saw Rishi standing in front of me, gesturing a sign to stay quiet and whispered “Leave”

I was jerked back to the reality, all alone in the dark room.

I heard footsteps from far.

“Sir? Sir....Where are you sir? You had forgotten your wallet downstairs, here, take it” He was yelling in the empty corridor unaware of where I was hiding.

“Sir? Come out quickly...I have more works to do”

I opened the door slightly; I was barely visible to him in this darkness. He was holding a knife.

“So, you will not come right? Okay, why not we play a game of hide and seek? If I win, you will certainly loose.” He was playing with the knife in his hands. Is he the same person, I met some time ago?

“Are you coming out or I should treat the things my way? Two years..Since two years no one dared to o night time here and you bastard, do you think I will let you play with my job and rumor? You are wrong, totally wrong kid. Anyways...you will die because of the poison I mixed in your drink..HAHAHHAHA ”

So that means all this time, the light control was in his hands? The call earlier; the projection; everything?

Within seconds, he slammed the door behind him, where I was, and held me from my neck, placing the knife on it. I could feel the cold, edgy tip of it over my neck.

 If you moved...you are gone, If you act smart, you are gone. Look, I have nothing to do with you but if you stay alive, that would make everyone question my job and hence, I am doing my work. So, will you be kind?”

My heart hammering in my chest, I began to lose consciousness and heard gunshots.

“Hands up! Don’t move!”

The last glimpse I remember was Mohit eyes staring me without blinking, his body now cold, sound of police and ambulances and two ward boys taking me out.

After I recovered, they came in to question me.

“How are you feeling now?”, asked a senior inspector.

“Quite fine now, Sir”, I answered in a low voice.

“We are Delhi Police, here to inquire something about the event that took place last night.”

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 I dialed 100 from the office telephone and explained the situation; if they would be late by any minute...I would be dead.

But what about that ghost? The ghost of Rishi? All those rumors were true somehow. If Rishi was not there to warn me about the real murderous intentions of the guard, I would have been killed by him. Rishi is to be praised... He didn’t want the history to be repeated again. First as tragedy, second as farce.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Okay, I know this was quite cringe but I had this project left since 4/2024 and I wanted myself to get done with it. Hope you didn’t get much of a brainrottttt, do give your feedbacks either at Instagram : @writer_agastya or in my email box : madmonkeygaming001@gmail.com

Thanks!!!!