Sun Moon & Stars Volume II Call Of The Skull Men

CHAPTER 38

Sashidhar wasn't in his room. Neither was that dark figure that had suddenly emerged from nowhere. 

They went to check other rooms but couldn't find Sashidhar.

"Her daughter's room?" Shomak pointed at the last room in that dark corridor.

The interiors were partially lit by the lights coming from the adjacent street, but apart from that, uncanny darkness had surrounded the house.

"Shomak wait," Ragnik pulled him back. "This house reeks of that same smell we got in Bose Villa."

Shomak gulped. He too noticed it, "Could it be?"

Without wasting another second they ran towards Sashidhar's daughter's room.

Their steps abruptly halted again getting another shock.

"Sashidhar kaka!" 

Breath caught in midway they were even scared to check if the body was really of Sashidhar.

Slashed from the middle in two parts Sashidhar's dead body was mercilessly lying on the ground in a two feet distance. The bloodied floor was attracting flies and insects. Sashidhar's spectacles remained untouched at the edge of the bed.

Slowly accepting that cruel reality Shomak fell on his knees with a long exhale and banged his fist on the floor. Ragnik held his shoulder as they both felt the rush of hot tears at the back of their eyes. "Why him?" Shomak asked gritting his teeth.

"Why him!" Shomak shouted. His voice echoed through the dark corridors of Sashidhar's house sending ripples in that silent night.

He curled on the floor over his knees banging his fist against the hard cold tiles again and again. His grief, his anger, and his guilt for not reaching on time were hitting his conscience; pulling him towards the path of insanity. His mind didn't function to see beyond. He could only see the aged man's corpse lying in two pieces screaming for justice from the depths of death.

What were these skull-men? Were they even men?

No, they weren't. They were just living deads feeding on every innocent soul that gathered the courage to go against them.

"Why him!" Shomak whispered lifting his head. Tears blurring out his vision. For a moment he thought miracles can happen and Sashidhar would stand before him laughing, talking, giving him advice on how to survive in this challenging industry.

His conscious mind reminded him once more. Death didn't have a reverse gear. It was the only truth that cannot be overshadowed by a lie. Sashidhar was gone. His warm hand would never caress Shomak's head to bless him, would never pat his back for his achievements, would never hold his shoulders to encourage him after every failure and would not come back to shake his hands to congratulate him. His time with Shomak was over, slipped away forever.

Ragnik didn't attempt to stop Shomak. He stood beside him, his hands rounded up in strong fists as if to prepare for an unseen battle that had defeat written all over it. He knew they were getting defeated in every step and probably would not last long in front of those skull-men. Sashidhar's corpse was another prediction of their loss. But that didn't mean they would bow down!

He looked at Shomak and knew. Never in a lifetime. Shomak had not learned that word. He didn't bow down to his opponents, he faced them. Sashidhar's death for him was a battle cry. His opponent was maybe a thousand times stronger than him, but he won't bow before those filthy skull-men. 

His friend would never back out and he would support him till his last breath. He stood there, refusing to take even one step towards the balcony looking over the backyard.