Sush...(completed)

12

"Avantika!" Shailza cried out..I was stunned too..Mr Das though couldn't see the figure, was able to sense something in the machines.. 

Avantika smiled wryly at her sister and then ran backwards with her sister, Shailza following her blindly. We had no choice but to accompany Shailza. The way ahead was not clear, but my gut feeling said, we were going in the right direction..We followed the hazy figure of Avantika, and as we walked towards her, the cold, suffocation increased..The hair in the back of my neck stood up in fright.. I glanced at Shailza, as if she was in a traumatic trance..Her face unreadable, but her eyes were teary, lips shaking.  

After a decent distance, Avantika's figure faded into the mist..It was then we realised that we were in the middle of some scrubby grassland to the north of the land.. There was nothing anywhere. We looked around for a clue, but found no one..But the most surprising fact was that all the machines we had stopped working at that particular location..The long dried, grass surrounded us..And it was almost 3 at night - the dead end..

"They are trapped here! They are trapped !" Shailza started panicking..

"Shailza, Shailza calm down.." I tried to calm her down, but she grew restless , more and more..She panicked, ran, jumped..

"Okay..Okay..we will find out a way.." I said.."Mr Das, why aren't the machines working? Even my wrist watch stopped." 

"Mr Mehra, this means, this place has so much negative energy that the machines have failed to even record it..So these stopped."

"But why? That's the question Mr Das. Why are they trapped?" 

"Lack of closure! They are buried here!" Shailza panted..

"What?" I asked.'

"Right here..." Shailza stood to the left of me, pointing at the ground.."They want to go..They want to leave but they can't..Amaan, help them!" 

I breathed heavily..Desperately looking for some intrument to dig the ground - wishing to have a shovel nearby. But all we found were 2-3 iron bars lying at a distance... As Shailza suggested, me and Mr Das started digging the ground..With all our energy, all our hopes..Shailza was still in a trance. This communication with the spirits was taking a toll on her - I thought..

After We dug 3-4 beds of the earth, our iron bars hit a metal plate..Soon we realised that it wasn't just some metal plate..It was an underground metal door..Very ancient, iron rusted door, with certainly some scriptures inscribed...

                               "Hail British Raj. " 

"Holy crap!" Mr Das exclaimed! "An underground chamber of the British period! It's a historical site!" 

"NO HISTORY INVOLVED!" Shailza shouted in an unfriendly manner! Her face reddened with anger.."ITS A SHAME! You guys know, during 1857, the sepoy mutiny and the indigo plantation period, the british soldiers used to kidnap random peasant women for both harassing the peasants and also for their entertainment. They used to rape the women, torture them, use them as a sex toy and when the body was too injured for further entertainment, killing was the only measure. These bodies  were then dumped into  underground burial chambers like trash. This is not the only chamber. There are many.. And you guys think its historical! Atrocities on women were historical, brave..10 years old children were beaten brutally! They were enslaved. Not only by the british, everytime, throughout the past, the oppressors are torturing us. And the victims, what are they doing? Sush! Women are forbidden to get educate..But when a girl tries to voice it, what do the girl has to do? Sush! Domestic Violence..Sush!  Trafficking..Sush! whom are we gonna complain? The ones promising to keep us safe are the ones exploiting us! But what are we gonna do? Sush.....historical my foot! These damned souls are trapped here for eons! Historical.."

Shailza's words hit me hard. She was right. We ourselves were the biggest escapists. And I can't blame anyone. Even in my life too, I was a coward. Only if I could gather some courage and go to my mom, or police, voice against my monstrous dad, my life would have been so better. But I resorted to silence..I was Sush.. I tolerated those atrocities silently, let my mother died in front of me and did nothing. And my life, its so small..I had the habit of looking at my problems as biggest ones..But when we start to look at the bigger picture, personal problems appears so small.

When we opened the rusted gate, the negative energy revealed and exposed, and the terribly rotten smell of dead bodies knocked Shailza unconscious and made me vomit. Only Suranjan Das was able to tolerate the sight and smell - no wonder..The guys was sleeping with a dead corpse for weeks! 

Later when the archaeological department of Kolkata, the police, media were informed in the dawn.. About thirty six skeletons were found from the chambers which were later taken to the morgue, out of which twenty one were women and the rest were minors. It became a breaking news for the media, the hot case for Kolkata Police and the excavation department..After everything came out, the paranormal experts also took keen interest in our case. The broken machines were the key evidences..The tapes recorded in the night vision cameras also provided a clear presence of hazy figures, more than one..

The rest of the day was spent in giving interviews and as a post shock therapy from the emergency departments. ..But out of these things, Mr Das gained exposure, I was there, but Shailza seemed nowhere..After gaining senses she disappeared out of the blue...And I was so engrossed with the police and the media, that I couldn't even have a proper conversation with the girl.

But I knew where she would be. And I headed there. It was my last day in Kolkata. The site lacked the negativity that I used to feel before. The spirits were free. They all were in a better place now. My deal was sealed and the construction was to start from the next day.. But before leaving I had to meet Shailza.I had to thank her for changing my life for better. I had to tell her how I felt about her. This was my last chance. I wanted to take her to Bangalore with me. And to start a new life together. I had to tell her that..