"Veda's right," Arya agreed, clapping him on the shoulder. "You stick to the books, buddy. That's where your superpowers lie."
After a bit more back-and-forth, Gauri finally made the call. "Okay, basement it is." Isha let out a little whoop of excitement, a triumphant grin spreading across her face.
The door to the basement groaned open with a long, mournful creak, as if protesting their descent. A thick, musty odor, laced with something vaguely unpleasant, wafted out from the darkness within. Arya, ever the bold one, took the lead, his phone flashlight cutting a swathe through the gloom. The smell intensified with each step they took. "Something's definitely rotting down here," Jai muttered, wrinkling his nose. "It's horrible."
Gauri and Arya remained outwardly calm, their flashlights sweeping across the damp stone walls and uneven floor. The basement was surprisingly vast, a sprawling network of shadowy corners and forgotten chambers. They spread out, their beams of light dancing in different directions as they tried to make sense of the layout.
Jai, moving cautiously, suddenly stumbled, his shoe sliding slightly. He caught himself before falling, but a startled "whoa!" escaped his lips. Looking down, he saw that he had stepped in a patch of something dark and viscous. "Ugh! What is this?" he exclaimed, a look of disgust on his face. The stench emanating from it was overpowering. He quickly covered his nose with his handkerchief. "Guys, come here! I think I've found something."
The others converged on his location, their flashlights illuminating the disturbing patch. Jai pointed to the thick, sticky, crimson substance clinging to his shoe. Gauri crouched down, ignoring Arya's immediate protest – "Don't touch that!" – and lightly touched the liquid with her finger. She rubbed it between her thumb and forefinger, her eyes widening slightly. "It's blood," she stated, her voice low and grim. "And it's rotten."
Following the gruesome trail of dried blood, Gauri moved with deliberate caution, her gaze fixed on the floor. Arya and Jai positioned their flashlight beams to illuminate her path, casting long, dancing shadows on the damp stone walls. The trail eventually led them to a section of the wall that was particularly disturbing. Two thick, heavy chains hung down from the ceiling, their metal links stained with dark, crusty blood. The sight sent a fresh wave of unease through them.
The wall itself was scarred and cracked, as if it had been repeatedly struck or pierced. "Looks like this is where it happened," Arya murmured, his flashlight beam tracing the damage. "Someone was probably hung here… beaten… brutally."
As Arya recounted his grim theory, a prickling sensation ran down Gauri's spine. She felt an undeniable presence behind her, a shift in the oppressive atmosphere. She whirled around, her heart leaping into her throat, but there was nothing there. Just the cold, empty space of the basement.
"Gauri? What is it?" Jai asked, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
She shook her head, trying to dismiss the feeling. "Nothing… just felt a bit… cold."
Another day crawled by, filled with more unsettling discoveries but no concrete answers. That night, however, Gauri found herself inexplicably drawn back to the basement. As she stood in the chilling darkness, a horrifying scene unfolded before her eyes, as vivid as a nightmare.
She saw figures – six or eight of them – their faces obscured by shadow, carrying a large, muscular man. He was unconscious, his royal attire torn and soaked with blood. His head lolled to the side, his messy hair matted and wet with crimson, obscuring his face. They dragged him towards the hanging chains and brutally hoisted him up, the heavy links groaning under his weight. His breath escaped in ragged, shallow gasps.
The shadowy figures then produced sharp, glinting weapons. They tore open his bloodied jacket and shirt, revealing a toned but brutally wounded torso. With cold, deliberate movements, they began to make small, precise cuts across his body, watching as his blood dripped down onto the stone floor, mirroring the ancient stains beneath Gauri's feet. He was alive, barely, but his life was slowly ebbing away with each crimson drop. The silent, gruesome spectacle played out before Gauri's eyes, a terrifying echo of the basement's bloody past.