In Search of Sophie

A trip I wish I could forget

Author: Sanghita Nandi
The fog made it impossible to see the road ahead. I pressed the brakes for the third time tonight. I could
hear voices in my head urging me to turn back. I tried to tune those voices out & pressed my foot down
on the accelerator slowly. The fog made me feel creepy. It had taken every ounce of my courage to
come to this decision. We were headed to Kurseong, near Darjeeling. Yes, we. We were a group of four
friends - Me, Dev, Naina and Garry.

Dev was the most courageous among us all. It was him who had come up with this idea a week back.

“We cannot just sit silently doing nothing about it,” Dev had said, may be for the hundredth time.

“But what can we do? We have done everything we could have done,” I blurted out, as usual. I had tried
my best to forget that chapter of my life.

“There must be something we have missed. She cannot just vanish into thin air. This is insane,” He said
again.

“But I was there wide awake when it happened,” I snapped back.

It has been almost a year since Sophie went missing. Sophie was Garry’s girlfriend. We were all batch
mates during our MBA years- Sophie the youngest and the most lively among us all. We five used to take
a holiday break once every year just to keep in touch.

That fateful night we were camping at a forest on Dow Hill, at Kurseong. We had found out a clearing
earlier that day while hiking through the jungle. Naina, I & Sophie were sharing a tent that night.

I woke up at the middle of the night suddenly, when I heard someone whispering outside the tent.
Though I was sleepy, I could figure out that it was Sophie’s voice. At first, I did not find anything
suspicious about it as I thought it was Garry she was speaking with. Then suddenly she laughed, the
sound of which sent a chill down my spine. It was nothing like Sophie. It sounded more like a hoarse and
fierce snarling. The sound started fading after that, as if it was going away from the tent towards the
forest. I don’t know what came upon me at that moment and I decided to check. May be I should have
called Naina, but I did not. Very slowly and silently I crawled out of the tent. I could not forget the sight
that met my eyes. I put my hands on my mouth to muffle my cry. Sophie was sprawled on the ground
about 12 meters away from our tent, crawling towards the forest on her stomach, her tongue which
appeared to be at least 2 feet in length sticked out her mouth in a horrifying manner, as if someone was
pulling her by her tongue. But I could see no one there. I wanted to shout for help but I could not find
my voice. And then something happened. As if she sensed me looking at her, she got up faster than I
would have imagined and looked straight into my eyes. There was something terrifying about those
eyes. She was not Sophie. Those eyes were blood red and she had blood smeared on her mouth. Her
tongue lolled on one side as she looked at me panting. I felt the ground slip beneath me and as I fainted
the last thing that I heard was a blood curdling shriek.

I woke up after two days in a hospital in Darjeeling. Naina had found me on the ground outside our tent
unconscious. There was no sign of Sophie anywhere. They had done everything they could do to find
her, but in vain. I told them what I had seen that night. May be they thought I had lost my mind. But I
knew what I saw & whenever I closed my eyes after that day I saw those evil red eyes staring at me.

Dev had won the argument, with the support of Garry & Naina.

“By what you saw & said, it sounds like something had possessed her that night. But I don’t believe such
things exist. And even if they do, I don’t care. I am going to search Sophie whatsoever,” Garry directed
his comment towards me. “You guys need not accompany me there.” Garry was shattered after that
incident. He loved her too much to let her go.

“You are not going anywhere without us!” Dev & Naina shouted almost together.

“You need not come if you are scared Piya, but we are going to try one last time” Dev had then declared
finally.

I knew I was a coward. But my conscience did not let me stay back at home.

So here I was, driving the three of them to that place that had haunted my dreams every night for the
past one year. I switched on my fog lights & drove carefully around the hairpin bends. One simple
mistake and we could be rolling down the steep sides of the mountain. ‘Better way to die then being
brutally killed by a supernatural force’, I thought.

After another stressful hour of driving, we reached our destination. I had already made it clear that I was
strictly against the idea of camping at the forest again. So, Garry had contacted the forest officer and
arranged for us to stay at the forest bungalow. He had the bungalow keys with him.

“We would start the search in the morning” Naina said as I pulled into the garage.

‘If we survive the night’, I thought grimly.

I turned off the ignition & stepped out. It was December and the air outside was freezing. Again on my
insistence, we four decided to spend the night together in the master bedroom of the bungalow. I knew
if something evil has to happen, it made no difference even if ten people stayed together in a room. It
just made me feel a bit secure with Dev & Garry present there.

All of us were very tired after the day’s journey so once dinner was over we tucked into the quilts that
were placed on our beds already.

The night was surprisingly uneventful, though I still saw those blood red eyes in my dreams and this time
she was beckoning me to follow her. I felt a strong pull towards her. I wondered if centre of gravity has
changed overnight. She led me to a mirror erected in the same clearing where we had pitched our tents.
She signaled me to go and look into the mirror. Again I felt as if a thread pulled me towards the mirror. I
stared at my mirror image and screamed. My tongue has lengthened enough to touch the ground
between my two feet and my eye sockets were empty.
When you wake up sweating on a chilly wintry morning, it means things are not normal. I was aware of
Naina calling me for breakfast and Dev making fun of me screaming in my sleep. But I was thinking
about my most recent nightmare.

‘We have to be extremely cautious’, I thought. I got up & started packing my backpack with the
essentials needed for the long trek that awaited us. I did not forget to take my semi-automatic pistol,
whose license I had acquired a year after I had passed college. I thanked God that I had insisted on
learning shooting after MBA & had passed out as a fairly good shooter. Neither did I forget to hide my
Katara dagger inside by boot shoes. This was a gift from a friend of my father. All these might be of no
help when faced with any supernatural force but it never harmed to be a bit prepared just in case.

We ate our breakfast silently. I was relieved to see that both Dev & Garry were carrying a switchblade
and a compass each.

We were walking towards the garage. I was walking ahead of the others. The moment I opened the
garage doors, the sight that met my eyes brought bile to my mouth. I heard Naina gasp in horror behind
me. A beheaded crow was lying on the bonnet of my car. Somebody has drained all its blood & smeared
it all over the windshield. I felt sick. I wanted to throw up.

Dev & Garry cleaned up the mess while I recovered. By the time they were done, it was twelve noon. It
took us an hour to reach our camping spot. It did not look dangerous at all during the day.

“Let’s split & search,” Dev said to Garry. “Piya and I will go this way. You and Naina go that way. We
meet back here before dusk.”

“Is it that necessary to split?” I glowered at Dev.

“Don’t you trust me Piya?” He asked.

“More than I trust myself,” I admitted meekly.

I wondered why he even asked that. He had known the answer to that question all along. I trusted him
more than anyone else, so I succumbed to whatever he said.

We split & started searching…

1 hour.

2 hours.

3 hours.

“It’s getting dark,” I reminded Dev, eyeing the setting Sun on the western sky. I had kept very close to
him all these time. We had already searched this portion of the forest twice. There was no sign of Sophie
anywhere, though I had a feeling that someone was following us all the time.
The others were already there when we reached the clearing. Their conclusion was same as ours. They
found nothing. That night, after dinner we discussed out next day’s plan of action. We were going to
cover the rest of the forest tomorrow. We were so tired that we decided to call it a day & retired to our
beds.

A sudden ringing sound pierced the silence of the room so shrilly that it made us all jump, wide awake
and alert. After a moment’s confusion, we realized it was Naina’s cell phone ringing. We sighed,
relieved. But Naina had a worried expression on her face. She was a brave girl. I have seen her getting
unnerved only once, long back. And by my previous experience, I could almost guess who was calling.

“Hello Papa,” She answered the call. Yes, she got nervous whenever her parents called her up at unusual
hours. What she feared was bad news.

We could hear only one side of the conversation. By the look of her face, I assumed that whatever it
was, it was definitely bad news. By the time she kept down the phone, she was hyperventilating. When
she explained to us, all I could make out between her sobs was that someone has fallen down a flight of
stairs & has injured his head badly. I wanted to ask who it was, but thought that could wait. I could
clearly tell by her expressions that the person was a family member.

Within minutes, Naina was standing there in front of me completely dressed and packed, ready to leave.
She asked me to drop her at the nearest bus station from where she can take a bus to Darjeeling. I
stared at my watch. It was 12 in the midnight. The last night bus leaves at 12.30, I thought. I wanted to
ask her to stay back till morning. But, I never voiced that out as I knew how stubborn she was.

“I’ll come with you,” Dev said getting up.

‘Of course, you must idiot’, I thought. Otherwise I would have to drive all the way back from the bus stop
alone. I slid my Katara inside my jacket pocket before leaving the room.

“I am really sorry, Garry,” Naina whispered. “I really need to go.”

“That’s ok. I can understand,” Garry assured her. “You two come back soon,” He added looking at us.

We were midway to the bus stop when Naina suddenly shouted, “Stop!”

Dev pressed the brakes and the car skid to a halt. Both of us stared at her with questioning eyes.

“How could Papa call me?” She was talking to herself. We were looking at her confused.

“It’s a jungle. Are you receiving any networks on your cell phones?” She asked us, evidently growing
impatient at our lack of comprehending.

Realization hit us like a thunder. She was right. This place does not receive mobile signals.

We turned and sped back towards the bungalow.

Dev dropped us at the bungalow gate & went to park the car. As I approached the bungalow with Naina,
I had a gut feeling that something was terribly wrong. My instincts were screaming at me. I felt the dark
presence in the bungalow even before I saw the half-open door. Turn and Run!, my brain was telling me.
I wouldn't listen. I couldn't. Garry was inside. We bolted for the open door. The scene that met my eyes
in the hall tore a scream from my throat. Blood was splattered all over the white walls. The possessed
form of Sophie stood in the hallway laughing menacingly.

“Where’s Garry?” Naina demanded, trying to keep her voice steady.

Sophie pointed us to the direction of the kitchen. There on a pool of fresh blood, lied the lifeless body of
Garry.

“No!” I screamed. My stomach twisted into a knot of guilt and anger. Tears blurred my vision. ‘No!’

There was hardly any time to think. My fingers closed around the handle of the dagger hidden inside my
jacket. I wished I had brought the gun instead. My eyes narrowed as I quickly measured the distance
between us. I launched myself at Sophie. I slashed at the air where she stood but she vanished an
instant before the blade met flesh.

I kicked myself. I should have expected what she was capable of. I crouched low to the ground, turning
in place. My eyes scanned the hall. She was gone. After a few moments, I allowed myself to relax. In the
silence that followed, the only sound I could hear was my own harsh gasps as my lungs fought for air. I
stood, lowering the dagger but not putting it away just yet. It was still my best defense if that thing came
back.

I was suddenly aware that Naina was standing very close to me now. “Naina, we have to run! Go!” I
shouted frantically at her. She didn’t look frightened, like I expected. Instead her face was blank of any
emotion. Out of the blue, a cruel smile spread across her face. Her eyes, which had been their usual
black, suddenly flashed blood red. My heart almost stopped. A strong fist in the back of my head threw
me flying across to the floor. My dagger got knocked off from my hand. I didn’t see where it landed.

I turned around & tried to perceive my surroundings. I had landed in the pool of blood in which Garry
was lying a while before. His body was levitating 5 feet above the floor. Naina walked slowly towards
me, revealing the Katara that she held in her hand now; the cruel smile still on her lips. A soft but
menacing chuckle came from Sophie, who was now standing where I had been standing just before I fell.
I squeezed my eyes shut, as the shock wave hit me hard. My own friends were going to kill me, I
realized. Death was closing in on me from all directions.

A sudden gunshot startled me. My eyes flung open. Blood was spilling out of Sophie’s forehead. Naina,
her hand held high with the dagger in it, shrieked maniacally and ran towards the doorway cursing. I
jumped at the sound of another gunshot. I turned towards the source. Dev was standing at the doorway
with my pistol in his right hand and a lit torch in his left hand. I could see the fire in his eyes.

“Piya help!” the voice which belonged to Naina, was merely a whisper.

She looked up at me, her eyes back to her normal self again.
“Do something!” I shouted at Dev, trying to reach where Naina was lying.

“She’s lost too much blood. There is nothing I could do to save her now!” Dev replied in a flat voice. “We
need to get out of here as early as possible.”

“Yes, and we take her with us,” I argued furiously as Naina succumbed to her wounds.

“She’s gone and it is not safe for us to linger here anymore. The fire is not going to last long,” He said
impatiently.

I knew he was right; I just didn’t want to admit it. He put the gun in his jacket and picked me up. I kicked
and punched, bit and screamed; I tried everything to escape him. He was just too strong. He carried me
to the car and placed me gently besides the driver’s seat. As he reached across to get the seat belt, I
slapped his hand away. I didn’t want his help. I curled up on the seat, covering my face. Streams of tears
ran down my cheeks. I was in pain. I wanted to die too. I felt the car moving.

“I found your gun in the car. When I turned up the walk after parking the car, I stopped dead in my
tracks. I could see the insides of the bungalow clearly through the open door. I had believed you all
along, but I never wanted to admit that. I could see it was happening now; there was no denying that,” I
was just vaguely aware of his blabbering tone.

As we left the forest boundaries, I heard a piercing scream over the roar of the engine coming from the
forest behind us. Neither of us said anything. Dev hit the accelerator hard and the car sped into the
foggy night, leaving my worst nightmare behind.