Superstar: Horn OK Please (16 page)

But Jenny’s blood froze when the Wolfman had said that. He seemed to know everything about her. There was certain coldness in his raspy voice. It was inhuman. She tried to speak but no words came out of her mouth.

“Perhaps, you do not like my physical appearance. But what can I do? This is exactly what Winston D’Silva would have looked like had he lived in a human shell for 350 years…” said the old man, clumsily moving away from her as he took a few awkward steps.

Jenny looked at the doddering old man called the Wolfman not feeling as scared as she should have been. He suddenly turned around and his face looked like a skull with loose, decaying flesh hanging from it. Jenny screamed out loud as she saw a huge, hairy beast with red, shining eyes that stood in front of her and he thundered, “Is this what you expected, you foolish girl? I can read your puny mind, you disgusting mortal!”

Jenny trembled with fear when she saw the grotesque beast with huge bat wings standing in front of her. It was the face of the undead with two dark holes from which the red eyes shone through. It was the face of pain, agony, misery and fear. It turned around again to resemble the shrunken old man walking in front of her. Maybe it was her eyes that were playing tricks on her or maybe, she had just stared at death for a brief, fleeting moment.

“So you are here to find out how to break away from the curse that Winston has brought upon you? Isn’t that what you seek, my child?” spoke the Wolfman in a voice that seemed to resonate with a coldness that Jenny could best associate with death.

Gathering her wits, Jenny tried to assimilate her thoughts as she spoke, “Yes, I’m here to stop this madness. Tell me what it would take to free me from the curse? I don’t want anyone to die young”.

The Wolfman reached for the stone table at the dark corner of the cave. He slowly turned around to face Jenny and flashed an evil smile. It was the merciless face of death that stared at her in her face. Pointing to her heart, he whispered, “The promise must be fulfilled. It cannot be wished away just by your foolish emotions. Just like you cannot wish away your Doppelganger for it was born out of your own mind. It is a being of pure evil born out of your own free will!”

Jenny was scared and tried to hide it. She stared at the old man pleadingly as she said, “Show me the way, I will satisfy your hunger. What are my choices?” Her voice trembled as she spoke, it was not easy to look at the Devil straight in the eye and speak from her heart.

“Stupid mortal! You are just like that greedy fool, Winston. Young and stupid! You really want to know?” spoke the evil one as he twisted his forefinger, beckoning her closer.

“Yes, I do. I shall not let evil walk the earth ever again if I can help it”, said Jenny, feeling a surge of confidence in her knowing that there would be a way as she bent over close to see the hollowness that she could see in his eyes.

“Give me the soul of the one who loves you and the 199 poor souls….or give me the soul of the one you love along with the tornado of souls that you hold close to your chest. Give me the 200 souls by your own free will that Winston promised me when he came here. Can you?” said the Wolfman, his wrinkly face sported a smile as he looked at Jenny and gave a wicked smile.

Jenny’s heart sank as she heard those words. Derek’s wicked smile formed in her mind as she felt his warm embrace around her. She loved him more than she loved herself. There was something about him that had touched her soul. Fine, he didn’t have a way with words like others did, but he did care for her. He’d promised to keep her safe. In all her life never had she met anyone who had stirred her passions so much. The very thought of parting from Derek repulsed her and now the Wolfman wanted her to kill him and take away his soul. Derek was the one she loved. Derek was the one who had taught her how to live, made her feel like a woman.

As the smoky image of Hound formed in the depths of misty recesses of her mind, Jenny heard Lobsang chanting in the background. Hound – the one who loved her without reason, the one who cared for her endlessly, selflessly. He was the one who had saved her from death that night. Had she not been in love with Derek, it would have been so easy to fall in love with Hound. He had always protected her, taken care of her and tried his best to keep her safe away from the evil that lurked all around her.

Jenny knew that Hound loved her and maybe she loved him too. Sometimes, when that insensitive Derek broke her heart, her deepest desires longed for Hound. She’d hated it yet she’d welcomed it; just like her Doppelganger, that had formed from the evil inside her head.

Sensing the confusion inside Jenny’s mind, the Wolfman spoke, “So what’s it going to be? Give me that urn and a soul full of love and walk away from here free from the curse. Of course, the choice must be yours!”

“Isn’t there any other way? Please? Haven’t you done enough harm?” said Jenny pleadingly, pressing the urn with both hands closer to her chest. As she spoke, tears welled up inside her eyes and streamed down her cheeks.

“Death is only the beginning, you fool! I am the other side of the coin. If there is good in this universe, evil, there must be. But you, foolish mortal, are torn between your selfish heart and greater good. I give you the choice, use your free will…” said the Wolfman as his bony fingers moved shakily towards Jenny’s chest to grab the urn. Jenny cringed and turned to the side as the Wolfman’s bony fingers touched her arm instead. It was the touch of death and she heard the silent screams of the trapped, hopeless souls. The touch of the Wolfman flashed many images inside her head as though setting the deep recesses of her mind on fire as she stepped back.

“NO!” screamed Jenny, as she held on tighter to the urn, “You shall never have the urn! Go to hell!” She turned around and ran towards the entrance of the cave, trying to retrace her steps as Lobsang’s chants reverberated inside her head.

Upon reaching the threshold of the cave, she saw there were no steps. It would be a free fall to somewhere. Turning around to face the huge two-legged beast that had now shed the old man’s avatar, she spoke with a smile, “Burn in hell, you slave to the Devil. I know what I must do…thank you for giving me the answer! We shall never ever have a deal…I’m not like Winston!”

Holding tight to the urn, Jenny closed her eyes and let herself fall from the mouth of the cave. It was a free wall. As she fell, she felt pure happiness. She was filled with love for the ones who loved her.

And then she woke up. Lobsang and Cathy peered at Jenny as she opened her eyes. She realized that she was still inside the Circle of Light. She was alive and she was back with the ones she cared for.

“Did you meet the Wolfman?” asked Lobsang in a calm, soft voice.

Jenny smiled and said, “Yes. I met the Devil’s stooge. Now I know exactly what to do”. Her smile soon faded away and sadness took over once again. She couldn’t help it. Tears trickled down her cheeks. Cathy ushered Nanny out of the room and then she shut the door. Inside the room, they spoke for a long time as Jenny told the others about her meeting with the Wolfman.

Blood rain:

Meantime, back in the Hound’s room where we had been forced to retreat to, the windowpanes shattered violently as screeching sounds of a banshee rang through the dark stormy night. The howling of the wolf from afar had begun. Winston and Jenny’s Doppelganger knew that Jenny was not going to give up easily. The walls began to ooze blood once again and Cathy and Lobsang moved into the Circle of Light. Jenny was sad. Her sobbing increased and the fear inside her suddenly knew no boundaries. I stood numb, unable to move. It was like I had been immobilized by something evil.

The soft, flickering candles in Suite room number 7 seemed to get a life of their own as they rose to form a virtual whirlpool of fire as it encircled them in a ring of protection. Jenny’s mind was fuelling the fire. Clutching tight the urn as a mother would clutch her baby, Jenny looked up at the ceiling and let out a painful scream that was a mix of fear, sadness and unmatched anger.  Her eyes were bloodshot as the pain inside seemed to make her heart explode and something inside Jenny snapped. She wouldn’t take it anymore.

The whirlpool of fire around her that protected Lobsang, Cathy and herself rose and touched the ceiling as her screams filled the air as the incensed Doppelganger tried to enter the ring of fire around them. The howling continued for some time as Lobsang and Cathy watched in helplessness.

Jenny’s screams could be heard all over as Derek dashed towards the door of room number seven. Hound followed as I ran behind Hound, followed by Goose. Jeremy was at the door, pounding on the door helplessly.

Jenny stopped screaming to fill her lungs with air and the ring of fire around her came down. Lobsang stood quietly, watching in horror as the ghostly flickering apparition stood screaming right outside the circle of fire. It was repulsed by the element that Jenny controlled. The Doppelganger was waiting for the flames to subside to make its move. Lobsang’s blood froze when she saw Jenny’s Doppelganger standing right outside the ring of fire, waiting for a chance to get to them. The blood from the walls gushed out and was filling up the room and she saw pieces of limbs scattered all around. The Doppelganger had killed Nanny, ripped her into pieces and thrown her limbs all around.

Cathy’s eyes were filled with fear as she saw Jenny’s Doppelganger’s hand come towards her and grab her throat. Cathy screamed as she helplessly watched the Doppelganger’s cold hands of death encircle her throat. She heard it snap before she died. The Doppelganger dragged her out of the Circle of Light and mercilessly hacked her body into pieces and threw it all around.

The banging on the door continued as Derek kept pounding on the door, trying to break it down. The balcony window gave way at the same time Derek lunged at the door to break it open. As the door gave way to Derek’s might, he fell on the floor along with pieces of the broken door. Hound stood behind him watching; as a huge, hairy beastly wolf lunged at the weakened ring of fire around Jenny only to snap its jaws shut on Lobsang’s face and dragged her out of the Circle of Light as the Doppelganger mercilessly shredded away pieces of flesh away from her weakened body.

In a flash, the blood from the floor disappeared as Jenny arose to watch the dance of death inside the room and the Doppelganger flickered out of sight and the beast leaped out of the broken window, back into the darkness where it came from. Only torn limbs of Nanny, Cathy and Lobsang lay splattered all over the room and Jenny slumped unconscious on the floor.

Derek took Jenny in his arms and held her tight. The sight of the scattered limbs around him made him cringe. He knew he loved his Jenny now like never before. She had loved him and now she was watching all her loved ones die right in front of her eyes. Barely 23, she was being driven insane by the greed of her great grandfather. As he held on tight to her, he saw the severed heads of what would have been Cathy, Lobsang and Nanny alive. The sight sickened him as his heart burned. If he had to die trying to save Jenny, he decided that he would. Derek knew that he would not let Jenny get out of his embrace till it was all over. He would love to die for Jenny.

Hound slumped to the ground beside Derek as he saw the bouquet of severed limbs all around. “Get three bags. This cursed place is going to see a few funerals tomorrow”, said Hound, without looking up. Goose and I stood rooted to the floor. Jeremy broke down at the sight of the seeing his Cathy gone.

Goose and I walked across the lobby and tore down a few curtains. We had work to do. It was something that no one would ever like to do. We walked inside room number seven and lay the curtains on the floor. And then we silently went about picking up the pieces amidst feelings of unknown pain, boundless anger and extreme sadness. Three people from Jenny’s family had been insanely hacked to death that night.

It’s not a night we would forget in a hurry. The Doppelganger had arrived. Winston had shown himself. With less than 24 hours to go for Jenny to turn 23, I had no idea how all this would end. It had rained blood that night….

And then I woke up in a pool of cold sweat. It was morning already as I heard a knock on the door. Derek was fast asleep on the sofa set beside the balcony door with Jenny safely tucked in his arms. Hound was snoring loudly and Goose stirred uncomfortably in his sleep.

“Good morning, morons! Rise and shine! It’s Jenny’s birthday eve already!” said Lobsang as she sashayed into the room along with Cathy, both of them fresh and lively. I jumped out of the bed and hugged them tight, unable to share the intensity of happiness I felt at that moment when I saw them alive. I couldn’t tell them that I had just watched them die.

“Yo! Big boy! Are you ok?” said Cathy warmly as she hugged me back. For once, I was speechless, not knowing what to say. I was just happy to see her alive.

Though it was Jenny whom we all cared for, but having spent hours and eventually days with Cathy and Lobsang had made me grow fonder of them. In no time, it was a big family that had stood strong and tall against the devil’s detritus. We had our souls knitted in unison to form a protective cardigan for Jenny. Without Lobsang’s and Cathy’s help the four of us would never have been able to help Jenny. It made my heart cry that night when I saw their bodies getting ripped apart by the Doppelganger. I, in all means, wanted it to be a worst nightmare and finally as I saw them all alive and cheerful, I couldn’t hold myself back.