Superstar: Horn OK Please (9 page)

The evil force seemed very potent in the mansion. I doubted it if Jenny would see the night of her 23
rd
birthday.
Her Doppelganger was the truth we had to deal with. It was obvious that the doctor and the teacher were both clueless about how to stop her.

It was also a fact that the ghost was a manifestation of pure evil and her formation would be complete on Jenny’s 23rd birthday, if history were to shape the future. That, to me, seemed possible only if we understood the family’s dark past.

It was Jenny who was to spawn the beast against her free will inside her head.  It could only be her who could find an answer. It lay somewhere deep inside the recesses of her sub-conscious mind. The only thing that we could try to help Jenny with was to cope with the present and help her find the way to kill her Doppelganger.

We decided to split up and do some investigation before the nightfall. While Derek would go to the graveyard with Jenny and spend time with her, Hound would coax Jeremy for some family history. Of course the Scotch would be the savior.

Goose and I would explore the property and hunt for clues. We would meet at sundown and exchange notes before we got ready to get spooked by the Doppelganger again.

Something in there was portending the times to come. Good or bad?  We were soon to find out. It had me disturbed.

***
 

CHAPTER FIVE

***

***

Roses are red and violets are blue,

She had a dark, black past; she wanted a future new;

Strange things happen to us all, she was no exception,

She just had to suffer in pain, fight for redemption;

The mysteries of the past lie buried somewhere deep,

It haunts her in the dreams, she only knows when she’s asleep;

There are answers on the walls, they’re underground,

There’s something in the darkness, the answers must be found;

She must try her best to know, the answers lie inside her head,

She must help us find it all, else, she’ll wind up dead;

She’s found love, now she’s confused,

The pain may not have gone, but the intensity has reduced;

She’s tasted real love; she’s greedy for more,

She would love him till death, her love is so pure;

Ironic when she loves and doesn’t get enough,

And there’s someone more to love, it was kind of tough;

The smiles she smiled were now real; she loved it all,

She’d fallen in love real hard, it was now a free fall;

But if smiles and Imagination makes you say ‘Cheese’

Drive on, that’s the spirit of Horn OK Please…

***

The Bridge:

Goose and I set out to explore the place. Goose said that the best starting point would be where we had first chanced upon Jenny. This thought had trespassed his mind after listening to Cathy’s tales today, he was sure they’d never tell us the complete truth. Not that he felt there was a motive or a hidden agenda, but the past was way too murky and gory for them to spill the beans. We were the outsiders, now the intruders into a dark past. It sure seemed like a logical point to start.

Since it was a bright sunny day, a drive around the property did seem inviting as well. Goose whirred Motormouth into action. We passed the thick lantana bushes and a charm of magpies hovering around in search of insects. At a distance, a troop of monkeys was busy loitering near the banana trees. In nutshell, the place was full of an aura of happiness, it was a morning of revelry. In no time we crossed the cemetery. We’d left it to Derek to crack the secrets within along with his new sweetheart. The cemetery was the most romantic place Jenny could ever think of. I wonder how Derek could accept this sordid fact. Love sure can do strange things to strange people.

“There it is, Goose, the same place where it all began”, I said pointing to the bridge as Goose expertly drove down the narrow road and brought Motormouth to a halt.

“Alright, Chief, this is it. I say we go the point on the bridge where Jenny climbed the railing before Hound pulled her down”, said Goose thoughtfully, as we walked towards the bridge. It was a narrow bridge and looked very different in the daytime. In fact, the whole scenery was so soothing and relaxing to the eyes that it was hard to believe that the mishap with Jenny had happened at the same place that rainy night.

There were coffee plantations all around and the bridge was a very small one connecting the two sides of the canal that were about 100 meters apart. The canal must have been in existence for a long time for this was the only canal that was being used by the planters for irrigation. There was a narrow, muddy footpath on one side of the canal lined by thick undergrowth on either side. The rains had lashed the place so well that new sprouts bobbed up here and there carefully fostering the dream to turn into tall trees. The sallow leaves that parted from the branches lay motionless on the ground as a colony of ants passed by. The rhythmic croak of the frogs mingled with the did-you-do-it cries of the brain fever. I was completely lost in admiring the nature when Goose’s remark brought me back from my imaginative sojourn in the lap of nature. 

“You know, the whole region belongs to the D’Silvas and I would suppose that all this would belong to Jenny if it all started with her great grandpa…” said Goose, as we neared the bridge.

“Aw! Don’t tell me that we got a typical horror story around the place where the uncle is trying to bump off the sole-heir just to take possession of this property and get her out of the way from the will”, I said, unable to digest the existence of a single reason for the same. 

We reached the point on the railing where we had rescued Jenny. There was not a soul around as far as the eye could see except for our own reflections that flickered in the waters of the canal as a gentle wind caressed the mirror like surface now and then.

“No, Chief, that’s not what I meant. After last night, I don’t think that is the case here. I’ve seen the Doppelganger and I know it’s real. The bitch almost killed me! What I mean is that the plantations on both sides belong to the D’Silvas. So if there is something there inside this canal, right here, it belongs to the D’Silvas as well”, Goose pointed to the point under the bridge where the water gushed. The rains had kept the water muddy.

The dark, murky waters gurgled underneath the bridge. If she had jumped that night when it was pouring, she would surely be sleeping with the fishes. From the force of the water, one could easily make out that it would be at least 30-40 feet deep below the point where we stood right now.

“Come to think of it, Goose, I didn’t know the waters were so deep. Now I’m glad that you and Hound rescued that foolish girl. Derek and I didn’t expect it to be so deep. I mean, we could barely see anything beyond a few meters”, I said, realizing that we had been wrong in not rushing out to rescue Jenny. I felt deep respect for Hound at that moment.

Sometimes, it is better not to think twice and rise to the occasion. I cold shiver ran down my body as I set my thoughts on a rewind. May be there was a good force, that nested in each of our hearts and wanted to see Jenny alive. 

“My guess is, there is something down there, Chief. This canal is definitely more that 400 years old, if I were to take into consideration that ancient temple on the other side”, said Goose, as he pointed to a really old, ancient looking temple at the banks of the canal. He had a point.

The temple walls were lined with a layer of green algae. A flight of stairs led to its entrance from the water level. The prop roots of the Banyan tree had cocooned one of the temple buildings. It looked like a pot of mystery getting churned every day to spit the answer one fine day. The forest had eaten away into the sculptures making it camouflage so well that it looked blended with the surrounding. Had Goose not pointed to the temple, my eyes would have missed it completely. 

“Get ready to take a dip, Chief, you’re getting down there”, said Goose, pointing to the water under where we stood on the bridge, smiling.

“What? Are you freaking out of your mind? Is that you, Goose, or your Doppelganger? You want me killed or what?” I hollered, shocked by Goose’s utter lack of common sense. I was sure the happenings had had a bad effect on the bird’s mind, completely muffling the nervous synapses of his pea-sized brain.

“Trust me, Chief, I have an idea. I am Goose, not my Doppelganger. Look, my instinct tells me that there is something down there. We go back to Motormouth and get the rope. You tie it around your waist, get your swimming goggles and see if you can reach the bottom. If you get to see something, bring it up. OK?” said Goose, his right hand on my shoulder, looking me straight in the eye. I can swim, he cannot. Anyways shit floats, so I agreed.

Goose ran like a mountain goat and brought back my swimming goggles and a large rope from Motormouth’s bonnet. We’d bought it when we’d driven down to Jaisalmer in Rajasthan. It was the stuff they use to tie camels to trees. We’d been drunk one evening when we bought it and used it to tie Motormouth to a tree. That was the first time we’d used it for an extremely dumb purpose. This was the second dumb purpose it was about to be used for.

“Trust me, Chief, I will tie the other end of the harness to the railing and hold the rope. Get your tee off and tie one end around your waist. If you’re in trouble, just tug…..I’ll call for help since I cannot swim”, said Goose with an evil grin. I couldn’t believe he had just suckered me into doing something as stupid as this.

“Well? Are you OK with the tugging idea or not? Your cellphone will not work down there!” said Goose, unable to control his laughter. It made me even more nervous with every passing minute.

The dive:

We came to the side of the bridge, close to the water. Goose tied one end of the rope to the railing and gave me thumbs up. I wondered how he had talked me into this. That was vintage Goose. His way with words could make anybody do anything. Wouldn’t it have been a lot simpler if Goose could ask Jenny to plunge into the dark recesses of her mind and figure out a better way to kill the Doppelganger herself instead?

“Get in, Chief. Don’t worry, I won’t let you die so easy”, said Goose as I adjusted my swimming goggles and checked the rope around my waist. I took off my tee and shoes and dived into the water. The water was so muddy that it entered my mouth and nose and I came up sputtering. Still, it tasted better than the soup matchstick Nanny had served us last night.

“Keep going, Chief, a few more trials and you’ll get there”, yelled Goose at the top of his voice, holding on to the rope, smiling. The bastard was obviously enjoying it. After about five dives in, I got a grip of navigating myself to the deep. It wasn’t so bad after all. I started enjoying it. Looking around, it took some time getting used it. With my lungs full of air, it was practically impossible to go deeper than what I could manage. I surfaced again and crawled back to the bank.

“This isn’t working, Goose. I’m just not able to reach the bottom”, I said, gasping for breath and wiping my face with my sullied palms. The depth was probably more than what we had anticipated. Probably it was unfathomable like the dark secret of the ‘Mansion of the Gods’. We didn’t know, there was no way to know it either.

“Hold on, I’ve got an idea”, chuckled Goose as he got up and sprinted towards Motormouth and came back with an empty rucksack. He looked around and picked up all the stones and pebbles around and sealed it. “Here, wear this. You’ll sink like the Titanic. Once you find it, take off the rucksack and I’ll know from the weight to pull you up”

“OK, now I get it, you’re just wanting to make sure you get to drive Motormouth all the time” I said warily, knowing fully well that the fat bird will make sure he has things done his way. Beads of sweat trickled down my forehead as I stood there watching Goose lower the rucksack. The sun had already reached the apex and being a tropical area, it had begun to get warmer and humid. No doubts, the cold muddy water was a big relief from the scorching heat.  

I did as he told me to. This time it worked and I reached the bottom with ease. I tried scratching the bottom of the canal, I was surprised to find the bed not rocky, but soft and squishy. After repeated attempts, my foot touched something that seemed like an iron box. I couldn’t see anything, but I got down on my knees and felt it. There was a handle and I grabbed it. My lungs were about to implode in need of air and I was on the verge of blacking out. I somehow managed to get the rucksack off my back and shot to the surface as Goose gently pulled me up. I couldn’t swim with both hands holding on to the iron box.

“Pull me up!” I shouted as I gasped for air as Goose frantically dragged me to the banks. I finally crawled back to
terra firma
. It took me a while to get back to normal state of mind. As I gulped in mouthfuls of fresh air, the oxygen balance was restored in the body. It was then when I realized what exactly had happened in the past few minutes. 

“I told you there was something down there!” Goose couldn’t control his excitement as he snatched the box away from me. I took off my swimming goggles and caught my breath. Goose was busy wiping the box with his t-shirt. It was a small iron box about 10-inches long and 6-inches wide, thick as a brick. It had weird floral patterns on it.

“Here, see! Note the floral pattern on the box? Does it ring a bell, Chief? It’s exactly the same as we have in the room. You see the strange flowers that look like poppy flowers? I’m sure we’re onto something now!” said Goose going ‘Eureka!’, pointing to the design on the box. He was right. It was exactly the same pattern as on the bed, the table and the chair. They were the same, strange flowers that seemed to grow out of Jenny’s great grandpa’s evil desires.

“Let’s get back to the resort and get you some dry clothes. I can’t wait to tell the others, Dude, I’m so excited”, said Goose, lifting me up, “Good job, Chief”. I was exhausted but happy at the fact that we finally inched closer to unveiling the secret. Goose’s intuition is something that always got us somewhere.

“Open the box now, bro, I want to see what’s inside right now. Just be careful. Dry clothes can wait, but curiosity cannot!” I said, getting up and stumbling on my feet as I walked like Donald Duck post Bacardi.

“OK, I’ll yank it open with a spanner”, said Goose, running like a rabbit yet again. By the time I reached Motormouth, Goose was busy trying to yank open the rusted iron box with a screwdriver.

The lid gave way and dirty, rusted water flowed out. Inside the box, there was something wrapped in dirty muslin cloth. Goose took it out and used his pocketknife to tear the cloth. As the bandage unwrapped, a thick, big metallic key fell to the ground. It looked hundreds of years old. The key had jagged edges and a handle on the other side. I concluded that it must have belonged to Jenny’s great grandpa.

“Wow! Cool, so we have found a key. Now all we need to do is find a door, right? Don’t ask me to jump in again!” I said, worried that he’d ask me to now go look for a door underwater.

“No, dude! We just got to get back to the mansion. I can bet my life on it that this key belonged to Jenny’s great grandpa. He’s the one who threw it here. That’s why Jenny was here, walking around like a zombie. She wanted to find the key”, said Goose, proudly flashing the key at me, “There’s got to be a secret chamber in the mansion. We just need to find it. Come, let’s go”.

It was around 2:00 PM when we headed back to the mansion. Goose threw in the box and the key inside Motormouth and drove like a maniac towards the resort. Within minutes, we were there. Derek and Hound were not to be seen. I went to my room and took a shower. No blood, only water flowed and cleansed my body. It was a great relief. Still, I’d have preferred to have a bath in mineral water. Every inch of my body demanded some sleep after such a tiring exercise. But, on the other hand, my heart fluttered at the thought of our success.

“Here, drink some coffee, you’ll feel better”, said Goose, thrusting a mug of piping hot coffee in my hands as he pointed to the four-poster bed, “Look, the floral patterns match. The funny flower all over the box as well. There is something about this peculiar flower and this De Saliva family. Weed heads!”

“Come, let’s go out and study the building first and then study it from the inside”, I said, taking a sip from the mug, “If there’s a hidden room, the size of the room from the outside will be different from inside”. The hot coffee reopened the blocked pores of my mind and I felt fresh.