Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56Copyright © 2019 by Abhik Dasgupta
Disclaimer: This is an original work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, actual places or actual events is purely coincidental.
The reference of ghosts, supernatural entities, black magic, occult rituals, superstitions etc. in the content are necessary elements for creation of plot and the author does not in any way endorse or promote the same. The readers are requested to enjoy the story with an unprejudiced mind.
Mental illnesses play a significant role in the story. Through the work, the author wishes to raise mental health awareness and tackle the social stigma associated with psychological diseases.
All rights reserved. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material including blurbs, descriptions, cover/ promotional photos, teaser, trailer etc. is prohibited. No part of this story may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including scanning, photocopying, recording, word of mouth or by any information storage and retrieval system without written permission of the author.
Mature Content: This Story contains foul language, description of erotica, acts of perversion and graphic violence intended for mature readers. There is going to be a lot of brutality, blood and gore you are about to experience ahead which you might not be comfortable with. Reading discretion is solicited.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
The series has its origins in Indian mythology with occultism, ghosts, black magic in the backdrop and psychological illnesses playing an important role in the protagonists' lives. Nothing is unsolicited - neither belief in ancient texts, rituals etc. nor modern scientific explanation, when survival is the only necessity.
Genres: Horror, Crime, Mystery, Thriller, Dark Fantasy
Setting Place: Places in Kolkata, West Bengal and a remote village in Dodamarg, Maharashtra are primary settings in the plot with occasional secondary settings being Delhi, Rajasthan locations, India.
Setting Time: December 2019, July 2009, 19th Century, 1st century BCE
Tone: Scary, action, romance
Season: One
Status: Ongoing
BACKGROUND:
Rural Superstitions:
He is a fierce warrior who primarily dwells in charnel grounds and can take vague, shadowy or evanescent forms mingling with the darkness of night. His piercing eyes throw an ominous gaze. A gaping mouth reveals sharp fangs. A sword is held in one hand for slaying enemies and a skull bowl in another for drinking blood. A scorpion dangles around his waist girdle made of bells and serpents entwine as armlets. A garland of human skulls adorns his neck. Large circular earlobes swoops over his shoulders and skeletal body frame shows pronounced rib cage. Veetal - the chieftain of ghosts rests in a dilapidated temple atop the Vetaal mountains in a remote village of Dadoka district of Maharashtra. The villagers seldom pass that way after dusk.
Hidden inside a secret chamber of the sanctuary is an ancient book. It is said that anyone who finds the book and follows the instructions will inherit the wits, wisdom and powers of Veetal - the knowledgeable, fortune-telling, paranormal entity who controls all spirits stuck in the twilight zone, between life and afterlife. An accepted disciple can become the richest or most powerful man on earth and can inflict harm upon his enemies remotely. No humans, ghosts, demons, monsters or any supernatural being can compete with a person who has won the trust of Vetaal. However anyone who invokes his wrath is sure to be doomed. He can drive people mad in sleep, kill children, and cause miscarriages in women. Being unaffected by the laws of space and time, he has an uncanny knowledge about the past, present, and future and a deep insight into human nature. It is impossible to escape the Veetal's army of undead unleashed behind anyone. They will never rest till they had found their prey out, killed and carried the body to be devoured by their master.
STORY:
'Season One' starts with a Kolkattan philologist coming to Dodamarg, Maharashtra in search of an ancient book, but disappears soon after taking shelter in Vetaal temple for a night. His driver, apprehended by the police commits suicide in the lock-up before they could get anything out of him. Ten years later when the police had wiped her uncle's name off the records, a young girl visits Dodamarg in search of her missing relative. From a diary where he used to scribble notes, she traces the acharya on whose request her uncle had gone to Dodamarg to retrieve an old scripture which could open new vistas of research for hindu religion. Despite the acharya's warnings she sets out to explore the place from where her uncle had disappeared and is found to be brutally murdered the next morning behind bushes near the temple. Prima facie evidence suggested a wild beast, possibility a leopard but the local people had other interpretations.
Ten Years Later, Kolkata
Shivangi and Suparna, both sisters suffer from Narcolepsy - a psychological disease in which the patient has sudden attacks of sleep, regardless of circumstances. When Shivangi files a missing person report in the name of her sister who has disappeared from her apartment, the police is initially unconcerned. However when homicide inspector Arunava Sarkar learns of two similar disappearances and discovery of two mutilated bodies - cases which had been dumped as unsolved by his department earlier, he finds a connection - except that the killer seemed to be a magician too, who could make bodies disappear from closed rooms.
The signature and modus operandi of the killings pointed to 'The Mechanic' - a dreaded serial killer of the nineteenth century accused of having executed more than twenty-five horrific murders in and around Kolkata, hoodwinking the police everytime they closed upon him and to have committed suicide in the end. He'd pose as a plumber, electrician, mason or carpenter and gain entry into homes - hence the name earned. All his victims belonged to the upper class of the society and were primarily women. Police had traced him to an acclaimed ventriloquist whose shows ran to packed houses in the city . A photo of him clad in a black leather jacket, a red bow-tie with face covered by a puppet mask dominated page one of all leading dailies in those days along with the reports of his misdeeds.
The sisters lost their parents in a car accident long ago. Suparna had stayed with Shivangi and her brother-in-law Upendra post their marriage for sometime . Then following an altercation with Upendra over their family property she moves on to an apartment in Saltlec. Suparna is an introvert who loved to thrive in an imaginary, make-believe world. It was peculiar that given her age her bookshelf still abounded with fairytales and childhood fantasy books. She derived the thrills from horror shows on television.
In her own life Shivangi is looked down upon by her husband for her inability to bear child. For her very first time Shivangi develops a liking for the handsome, helping and compassionate Arunava. Arunava who happens to be a loner reciprocate her feelings too. The duo comes closer after the young police officer goes a step ahead and rescues Shivangi from a terrible accident a second time.
The police in the mean time apprehends a puppet vendor, believed to be involved in the murder of the young girl and her mother - whose mutiliated bodies were discovered from a house in Joka. The father, a businessman had gone missing from the spot . Raghu, from whom the man had purchased an automatic doll for his daughter was the only lead in the Joka killings so far. But he was shifted to mental home soon following his arrest . When Arunava's informer apprises him of the death of Raghu's sick daughter who was in a coma since months, he immediately makes arrangements to meet Raghu at the asylum and blackmail him emotionally into speaking the truth without divulging about his daughter's death.
Raghu confesses to have raised Vetaal through an ancient book and sought his help in exchanging her daughter's soul with a young girl of her age. However as the experiment failed he'd try killing more girls, having grown powers from his master now. Arunava couldn't get any information about the location of the book from him. The very evening Raghu flees the prison after killing the janitor and a number of security guards. He is after Arunava now. Almost at the same time Shivangi gets pulled into the mechanic's parallel universe in her dreams, just like her sister.
Arunava has to go back into time now, find the mechanic and kill him in his time frame if he has to prevent Shivangi's soul being imprisoned by Vetaal forever . But how? If legends are to be believed Vetaal's undead soldiers carry their victims to their master by getting inside their dreams, travelling through space and time . The only other way to go back in time was to get hold of the ancient book and perform the rituals to please the chieftain. Arunava's flight to Dodamarg is delayed owing to bad weather and as he tries to bat an eyelid, settling down on the airport lounge at DumDum, he suddenly finds Raghu before him.
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Don't Fall Asleep Episode One - The Mechanic Appears
A non-ending, black expanse of nothingness ..A silence broken by sound of liquid trickling ..Was it from the ceiling ?Maybe. Though it didn't seem to be that high .A low-height ceiling ?She closed and opened her eyes a couple of times with the hope of gaining some visibility .. Then strained her ears .. Did some sound get lost into the sound of trickling ? The sound of grinding of some metal plate on something solid .. maybe stone ? Or was it hammering ? Like the sound of mincing of .. meat ? Her nose twitched at the thought. 'No it was just her wild imagination .. the effect of those horror series she loved watching on TV', she tried to convince her mind. 'Hmm .. What have I been watching last night ?' 'Strange!!! Why can't I remember the name ?' she asked herself. She tried to remember the story, instead.A young woman suddenly wakes up to find herself caged inside a dungeon. A masked figure was pulling a body, chained and gagged. It
Don't Fall Asleep Episode Two - One Night at a parking lot
He ducked below and crouched behind a rear wheel, waiting and changing positions around the cars; while all the time straining his eyes through the little light trickling under the floorboard to watch the movement of a pair of ankles and boots. One delayed or hurried move and he would be found. The sound of thwacking of iron on the pavement followed at intervals. Pressing his mouth with a hand in order to prevent his pantings from being heard, he carried out with the cat and mouse game, well aware of the futility of it.The figure seemed to wait for sometime after breaking a glass, perhaps checking inside the cars for something. He tried to ring the security but no one picked up. 'Why was he running, anyway ?' He was suddenly surprised at his tomfoolery. 'Perhaps this was only a thief stealing car stereos', he tried to cheer himself up. It was quite late and the huge parking lot was empty except for a few cars belonging to the top bosses of the company, who retired home only
Don't Fall Asleep Episode Three - A Unique Birthday Gift
I ran down stairs hearing the calling bell ring. I could hardly wait to open the door. The delivery boy gave a broad smile and handed me the box. I looked at the thing neatly packed inside and sighed . 'Remember the days when we were young ?', my wife reminded, flashing her eyebrows.My daughter's indulgence with dolls had taken on a high since she started going to school. She would be enchanted with a new doll for few months, then it would find a place in our store room along with the previous abandoned ones .The figurines of plastic and rubber - stripped of clothes and crippled with an arm or leg, with a missing eye, an ear plucked off, a 360 degree twisted head or body severed from the hip sat on the shelves like clowns leaving her in splits whenever she saw them.She had had her tryst with dolls which came with home furniture and kitchen appliances - the ones which closed eyes when laid down and those big ones which simply looked at you with round eyes and wi
Don't Fall Asleep Episode Four - A Creature on loose
Trying to keep my cool in the face of adversities, I contacted the bus operator and came to know that my daughter had suddenly halted the bus in the middle of the road, stating an emergency and got off near the market. My wife grew hysterical hearing the news and started screaming, while never stopping to blame me for everything . The teacher who accompanied my daughter later told the bus driver that Isha was not feeling well, so she had sent her home.I immediately set off for the teacher's house but when I reached Mrs. Gomes's complex, an one hour drive from my place, she was not there. I had the class teacher's number and learnt from her that on the way to school Mrs Gomes came to know of her mother-in-law's heart attack and immediately had to return back, pack her bags and go. 'And where did her mother-in-law stay ?' I asked excitedly. 'Versova, Mumbai', Isha's class teacher said matter-of-factly.After lodging a formal FIR at the local P.S. I was wondering how to
Don't Fall Asleep Episode Five - A New Family
Turning behind I saw nothing. 'Must be field rats' I thought, looking at the rice fields behind the house and kept walking .A small room led to a big hall and it was here that the smell was more prominent. My torchlight illuminated heaps of cardboard boxes lying on the floor all packed with dolls. So this was Raghu's godown, I told myself. Did he live nearby or his friend had misguided me ? As the light shone on one of the boxes, a barbie doll's face peeped from inside the transparent cover.. I could recognize the company's logo instantly. As I began to open the top cover an uneasiness gripped me . Then I realized this one had a different face. And also a different body.This was ridiculous. It was an older version of Nisha, in fact an old lady wearing a gown and not a young girl wearing fancy dress . Her skin was shrivelled of age and hair dry and unkempt. Out of curiosity I took the doll in my hand and watched it open its hazelnut brown eyes. Wondering why
Don't Fall Asleep Episode Six - A Mysterious Disappearance
'Since when has your sister gone missing, did you say ?'Last night Sir.What brought you to her apartment ? You told she stayed alone'.She had called me.''You mean she called you to say she was leaving ?'I got a ring from her mobile number, but couldn't make out anything other than her groans and laboured breaths at the other end.What ?She was trying to spell out something amidst her gasps. I tried to call back but without result. I even tried to reach her landline. I thought maybe her health had deteriorated . She has asthmatic problems you see.Hmmm .. I see. At what time did you receive her call ?8:30 PMYou too stay alone or .. ?My husband is out of the city .. business tourWhat business ?Building promotingAnd you ? Are you working ?No. Housewife.Hmmm .. From Chandannagar to Saltlec .. takes two hours to reach by carYes. Aro
Don't Fall Asleep Episode Seven - The Investigation begins
It was difficult to believe that Suparna would finally give in and take such a drastic step. They weren't on talking terms after that argument following the decision to sell off their ancestral property in Burrabazar. Actually it was Upendra's decision.Suparna was in the final year of her college when their parents died in a car accident. She had reluctantly stayed with her elder sister's family - Shivangi and her husband in Chandannagar for a couple of months. Then after she landed a job in BPO she moved over to Saltlec. Shivangi had caught her taking anti-depressant pills one day . Though she had pledged to dessist from such acts of self-destruction again, she knew once alone she would resume her habits. How many times Shivangi had asked her to refrain from watching those bullshit on TV. She had even locked up some TV channels in her Saltlec flat - but to no avail. She said the shows gave her thrills and made her forget her loneliness.But Shivan
Don't Fall Asleep Episode Eight - The First Clue
'Did you notice the TV Mrs. Ghosh ? Shivangi looked at the broken LED screen in horror. The screen was sunk inwards giving rise to a vent which went deep into the wall behind, yet it didn't bore a hole through it . It looked as if someone had dug a tunnel inside the TV to pull something in. 'Could be a chemical reaction which caused the explosion', Arunava Sarkar murmured to himself. 'Can a TV explode by itself ? Is there some major electrical dysfunctioning in the circuits in this flat ?' He called the constable to collect samples of the wreckage. The forensics would take care of the rest.'Your sister had placed requisition for a mechanic .. a TV mechanic. The apartment owners' association informed us. She had complained that a particular channel was always showing up whenever she pressed the remote. And then videos would keep playing all by themselves with the remote failing to pause/ stop them. Reporting the cable operator had not helped - there are many users of that net
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Episode Thirty Eight - Creatures, Creatures!
Arunava shouted his lungs out. But his cries got lost amidst the incantations and noise. Tears rolled down his eyes. He remembered the police station he served. He found himself sitting at his desk with coffee. He saw the white board crammed with charts based more of his imagination than clues or crime scene evidences - which appeared like jigsaw puzzles to others in the Department, a child's meaningless scribblings to his boss who wondered how Arunava had passed the IPS interview. But it was an exercise which always led to the truth in the end, much to the discomfort of his peers eyeing the promotion ladder. He always knew he was made for the job. Images of his village, his home, his parents flitted by. Since when did he last paid them a visit? It's been ages he had food cooked by his mother. Would his parents be able to cope up with the pain of their eldest son's death? After he was gone, who would pay for his brother's education? He was a good painter too and had ambitions of holdi
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Episode Thirty Seven - The Atonement
Now pronounced disability stood around him like the leafless trees smeared in darkness. Nobody was walking. Nobody was standing properly either. Nothing was moving anywhere. A subtle consciousness of mixed emotions - astonishment, sorrow and loneliness formed lumps inside the throat but wasn't able to manifest itself fully in the end. The divine revelation continued his speech above their heads. 'Those of you who have made it till here - the time for your final verdict has appeared. From here the path will divide into two. One goes towards heaven, the other towards hell. A sky-scraping wall separates the two. Positioned on the wall are my dedicated messengers since time immemorial. Judging the karma of your human births they will decide who chooses which path. The door of heaven would never open for those who've insulted me, been rude to others. But those who've never lost trust in me, have been honest throughout their lives, always cared for others shall always find place in heaven.
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Episode Thirty Six - Sara
Scaring the shits out of him a young lady stormed inside. He recognised her immediately to be Sara - his neighbour. They stayed in the same barrack quarters. Despite their age difference of ten years they were quite friends. She was physical instructor Mr. Snehashish Dutta's only daughter. This was the man who had cured him of acrophobia. 'What's up? Won't let me in? Whom did you expect at this hour? A hooligan? A fugitive? Well he must be lion-hearted then .. a gem of a criminal .. to have hoodwinked the security. Did you expect an old rival?' When Sara spoke her words flew copiously like a mountain spring without giving the listener any chance to reply. Then eying the bottle and half-filled glass on his table she asked. 'Partying alone?' There was a twinkle in Sara's eyes. 'Just stressed out a bit', he shrugged. 'Well .. lemme guess .. you must've had a fight with your boss .. no .. you have that every other day. Then any particular case you're worried about?' The words were cascad
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Episode Thirty Five - The Gateway to Hell
Slowly the living souls came down on the muddy road. They started their journey again. She was walking beside him. Her eyes held that same innocence. But a question was aimed at him this time. And it seemed to pierce his heart. He increased his pace. He wanted to walk away from her. From others. But an individual's wishes were not considered here. One had to go with the tide.Suddenly a voice boomed in the sky above. 'I don't like torturers. Severe punishments await them. But if anyone is repentent and makes best efforts to rectify themselves I may forgive them. Those of you who have played roles in destruction in your lives - I won't spare you. Those who have been cruel to the orphans, the destitute and homeless would have to burn in fire to cleanse your souls of the evil. I hate those who have misused funds. Those who were busy maligning others and spreading hatred will be punished. Those who have wrongly accused innocent women would be dealt with severly. Those who are proud, arrog
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Episode Thirty Four - Lost
There was darkness all around. He strained his eyes but could hardly make out anything. Then slowly shapes of wild bushes and creepers appeared. He discovered himself lying on his back with no sky above his head. How long had he been lying there? He had no idea. He rose up and sat down on the ground with legs straightened before him. He turned his head around in the hope of finding a way around. He didn't feel any fatigue. As if a long period of sleep had rejuvenated his energy. But how strange the shrubs were here. There was no smell in them. He tried to touch them but couldn't. The branches were withered and dry without leaves. Is it winter here? How did he come to such a place? He tried to remember but in vain. Nobody was speaking around him. But there had been people even a little while ago, he could bet. He had felt their presence. Were they too sleeping like him ? Where are they now? He couldn't remember anything before or after that incident. He was feeling very lighter now. H
- Don't Fall Asleep
Episode Thirty Three - Wait for me in your dreams
She heard Dad calling her mother. It was too cold outside. Dad had been calling her name since long. Why wasn't Mom getting up? Like previous times Dad had returned late from work. Even in her sleep she could feel his presence. He had knelt down before her bed and parted the strands of hair on her forehead. Then he had bent down and kissed her cheeks. The next morning when she had woken up Dad was gone again. How tired he must've been and to keep him waiting at such an hour of the night in the nail-biting cold was a crime. And then she realised that Mom had fallen asleep after a hard day's work. She hurried down from the bed and ran towards the main door. She knew immediately after getting in Dad would curse at Mom with 'Were you dead?'. Then he'd rush upstairs into his study and lock himself up. Despite knowing eavesdropping was wrong she had tiptoed up to her Dad's closed door many times. Anirban would be having a row with someone over phone. She could recall a few words like 'Tende
- Don't Fall Asleep
Episode Thirty Two - Dad's Not The Same
It was a December night at Kolkata before Christmas. The cold had just started to show it's teeth and nails. A time when people hid themselves inside the trusting sheathe of blankets and quilts.However, barely a month more would the residents of the city be lucky enough to get a taste of winter. For the rest of the year the tiresome humidity and untimely rainfall awaited them. Perhaps I should've said a number of people and not all when I said people slept peacefully inside the cosy comforts of blankets and quilts. For many weren't lucky enough to procure them or to even have a roof above their heads for that matter. These hapless people who were generally beggars or ragpickers lighted little fires with twigs and dry leaves of trees. Often stray dogs joined them in their struggle to somehow pass away the night and long for the mercy of sun god when his seven horses would spread radiance and heat into the earth and rescue them from their state of helplessness. And this hope and wait c
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Episode Thirty One - The Chase
A man was walking leisurely down the road. When Arunava asked where the nearest bus stop was he measured him with a mixed expression of surprise and irritation. 'No buses ply in this road. You seem to be a newcomer to this area. What happened? Your car broke down? Hmmm .. there's a mechanic who lives three kilometres down here. I can give you his number. But I need ..'Arunava knew what he needed. At other times he would've slapped him twice. Once for seeking bribe from a police officer and twice for talking too much without listening; but now in a remote place several kilometres away from Kolkata, in a devastated condition; he needed help desperately. He had tried to reach railway enquiry on mobile but could not. The internet had also stopped working. The man seemed to be a local from his accent. His torn clothes, sewed at places and a large jute bag on his shoulders told him that he was a vagabond, probably a ragpicker.. 'I want to reach the nearest railway station quickly. How far i
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Episode Thirty - Vishnu's Sword
Suddenly he felt a hand pull him away and close a door behind. There was a flicker of light and it appeared someone had lit a candle. Then everything went black around him again. When he regained consciousness he found himself lying on a cot with a pillow tucked under his head. It was day and the sunlight was streaming through the openings in the white coloured walls around him. The fragrance of agarbattis filled the room. A fair, benign, saintly man in his mind sixties was caressing his forehead. The man had long, curly hairs, a tilak drawn on his forehead and a soothing smile. In his other hand he held a rudraksha garland. 'Where am I?' Arunava asked and tried to get up. But the man gently laid him down saying 'Not now, now, you are still weak, my son' Then looking at the inquisitive expression on his face took him into confidence. 'You are in safe hands now. Don't worry. Take some more rest. Come, have this glass of milk first. Then some breakfast. I'm sure you haven't had anythin