Guess it

Yourself
Darsh P. Ladhane
 GUESS IT
YOURSELF
 Guess it yourself is a series started by Darsh
When he realised that the title of the story
tells too much about the story and what it is
about so, guess it yourself stories don’t have a
title nor do they have a cover page photo , you
have to guess it yourself !
No part of this book may be reproduced in whole or
in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or

transmi ed in any form or by any means

electronic , mechanical , photocopying , recording ,

or otherwise , without wri en permission of the

author. For informa on regarding permission,

write to plot no 29 A , Sai Nisarg society , Gat no.
36, Bhukum,

Pune - 412115

Copyright © 2022 by Darsh Ladhane.

Story 1 - 7
Story 2 - 24
Story 3 - 30
Story 4 - 37
Story 5 - 49
Story 6 - 57
Story 7 - 64
Story 1
 1
I woke up pan ng.
I had a bad dream again.
Why can’t I just have one peaceful sleep ?
Let me introduce myself.
I am Jus n Phillips and I’m twelve.
The back of my T-shirt stuck wetly to my back.
And yes I can’t pass a night without any bad dreams.
That’s my problem since when I was li le.
I checked the me on my watch. 7:30
Mostly I wake up early , but today I was red of yester-
day’s basketball prac ce.
I was about to go back to my nightmares when I remem-
bered something.
I remembered that it was my birthday!
I jumped out of my bed and quickly took a shower.
I checked my watch again.7:45. I love my watch , its Rolex.
My grandfather gave it to me before he passed away.
I ran downstairs. Where was Michael? He is our servant.
I expected to see my parents and my bra y li le sister
Julien. But they were no where to be seen.
I will make myself a sandwich I thought.
My father works in the films. The business side.
I opened the fridge for the mayo but I caught a glimpse of
something on the fridge door. I closed the fridge again I
saw a note on the door.
Probably from my parents.
It read -
Dear Jus n,
Sorry we aren’t there when you wake up on your
special day. We are taking your sister to the doctor.
You can make yourself a snack. We will return soon.
You can watch some movies.
- Your mom
Cool , I thought.
Definitely cool.
I am home alone I get to see a bunch of movies.
We have a collec on of horror films.
I took my sandwich and rushed to the den.
I like watching movies and reading books.
Horror and Thriller especially.
Last me I told my parents to make a horror birthday party
for me , they brought some geeky party designer. They
must have forgot I was turning eleven not two!
Hope they don’t do something like that this me!
Anyway. I made myself comfortable on the sofa.
Hmmm...which movie to watch?
But before I could decide I heard a crash from upstairs
which made me realise that I was no longer alone.
 2
Stop scaring yourself Jus n ! I scolded myself.
It must be blue, our black cat.
Funny isn’t it?
I have no idea why my parent gave her that name.
Their weird sense of humour maybe .
And then I saw her .
Si ng beside me, on the sofa.
Then what could have made that sound ?
The wind ? No
It sounded like a glass sha ering.
What if the blue china vase broke?
Oh no I’m in big trouble then ,
The vase means a lot to my mom.
It was given to her by her mother which was given to her
by her mother
I have to inves gate I decided.
The crash came from mom’s and dad’s bedroom, I thought
I rushed to the bedroom.
Opened the door and……….
………. gasped.
 3
His face was grim.
I mean his mask was grim.
The window was broken.
He was si ng on the bed.
“Wh-who are you?” I wanted to sound brave but my voice
trembled.
“Close the door.” he ordered. He had a deep booming
voice.
“N-No” I stammered.
I was never so frightened in my life.
“Close the door.” he repeated coldly. His voice sounded fa-
miliar .
“I am calling the police!” I cried.
There was a telephone near the door. I quickly dialled the
number and put the receiver on my ear.
Dead. The line was dead.
I quickly rushed out and closed the door behind me.
There were only three telephones in our house.
One in the hall and one in my parents bedroom and the
last one beside the door of my room.
I reached the phone in the hall .
Dead.
There was only one hope to try the last phone.
I reached my bedroom door and there I saw him cu ng
The telephone wire.
My heart skipped a beat.
Ok I thought.
I will just open the main door and run ,and find a phone
somewhere and call the police.
Simple as that .
I ran as fast as my trembling legs could take me.
I tugged at the door. locked.
I was locked in with a thief without any phones.
No way to communicate with the outer world.
 4
“leaving so soon ?” his voice boomed behind me.
I turned around and came face to face with the man.
He was fully covered in black.
“I don’t want to hurt you kid.” he said. “I just want one
thing.”
I was never so frightened in my life.
“I want your Blood.”
 5
“Huh?” I said. Why does this man want my Blood?
“You don’t want something to happen to your cat do you?”
“N-no!” I stammered “What did you do to him?”
“You should ask what will I do to him.”
“leave blue alone!” I cried.
And then he laughed.
It sounded like hee-haw, hee-haw.
“ Look kid “ he said
I stared at him expec ng him to say more
“ No really , look outside the window .” He said.
I went to the window and looked outside.
It was the most horrifying scene I have ever seen.
 6
Total destruc on.
Fire. All the tall buildings had fallen.
Cars were burning on the road.
People were running.
What were they running from ?
“Aliens have landed. When they bite you, you turn into an
alien yourself . We need your blood to make the an dote.”
Was I hearing what I was hearing ?
“You have to come with me.” he said.
Before I could reply the door burst open.
I screamed as the hideous thing jumped in.
It had mouth full of teeth and was blue in colour and its
head was as big as a watermelon .
It hurled the man out of its way and ripped his head off
And came towards me.
It lowered its head. Ready to a ack .
 7
It leaped at me with great speed.
My body thudded on the floor.
The creature was on me.
It growled , showing its teeth.
I knew my end was near.
But suddenly it said “Happy Birthday !”
 8
“Huh ?”I said .Did I really hear that ?
The creature let go of me and removed its mask.
Mask?!
From the corner of my eye I saw the man waking up.
The man removed his mask. He was Michael! No wonder
his voice sounded familiar
Suddenly it hit me.
My parents had planned all this!
“Happy Birthday!” Michael said.
“Uh ,thanks” I said.
“Your dad planned all this.” He said .
“But what about the buildings ?” I asked.
“Its all a setup.” He replied .
“And all those people ?”
“They are actors.”
Whoa. This must have cost a lot.
“Come on We have to go.” He said
“Yeah”
We went out side. A Limousine was wai ng for us.
When we sat I said “I didn’t know you could act so well”
“Neither did I. ” He said “But your father encouraged me
to do it.”
Hey wait a minute.
Hadn’t the creature ripped Michael`s head off !
“ Uh , Michael hadn’t the creature ripped your head off ?”
Michael stared at me.
“Stop the car!” He roared.
“Why ?” I asked as the res screeched to a halt.
“You know my secret!” He said.
“What secret ?” I asked in a ny voice. What was he
talking about ?
“That I am a Ghost !”
 9
“No !” I said.
“Yes !” he said.
Then he started laughing.
I hadn’t realized that the car was standing in front of a
graveyard.
“Just kidding.” he said. “It was special effects.”
I let out a sigh of relief .
He opened the door and went outside.
“What are you wai ng for ? come out.” He said
“In the graveyard?”
“Yes ,that’s where the party is, you know to make it
Spookier.”
“Oh ” I said.
I jumped outside.
The gate of the graveyard creaked open.
He handed me a flashlight
Even if it was almost a ernoon the graveyard was as dark
as night. Michael told me it was also special effects.
I could see the party going on at a distance.
My flashlight hovering over gravestones.
Suddenly a grave caught my eye.
It Read -

Michael Zarwid
1956-2011
Story 2
 1
What woke me up?
I couldn’t remember.
There! The scratching noise.
I heard it again.
I checked the clock. It was the middle of the night .
Maybe it was my dog Tuffy scratching at the door to get in.
I had to inves gate.
I got off the bed and opened my bedroom door and went
outside.
But when I reached the stairs I realised the scratching nois-
es weren’t coming from downstairs.
They were coming from the a c.
 2
My heart started racing.
The a c was not opened since a long me.
We had just moved in. this was my great grandfathers
house.
I have to inves gate I decided.
The a c stairs creaked under my feet as I reached the a c
door.
The old door protested as I opened it.
The a c was filled with old furniture and about a hundred
closets.
My great grandfather owned a furniture mall.
The scratching noise was coming from a closet. The oldest
of all.
He said the closet was cursed.
When he bought the closet and put it in his mall suddenly
the customers stopped coming.
He went in loss and had to close down the mall.
The scratching noise was ge ng louder.
I opened the door and gasped.
 3
As a strong whoosh of air escaped the closet and sent me
stumbling back.
The air almost sounded like ‘thanksss’
Whoa , the air came from inside the closet !
I looked at the closet and realised that the closet was look-
ing bigger from the inside than outside.
I climbed inside the closet.
And suddenly heard the unforge able sound of the closet
door slamming shut behind me.
 4
“Hey ! Let me out !” I cried. Banging the door.
Suddenly I saw a distant yellow light.
Distant ? Man I was in a closet !
I started walking towards the light.
No ! I thought. It can be a trap just like the closet .
I turned and started banging the closet door shou ng for
help.
Li le did I know that ll I got my freedom , I had plenty of
scratching to do.
Story 3
 1
”I want to sit by the window!” my brother screamed .
”Trevor we are already seated — please cooperate.” I
pleaded my brother.
“No way, no way , NO WAY !” he screamed “I want to sit by
the WINDOW ! — NOW !”
“Alright, Alright” I said .
What could I do ? He’s so annoying , he always wants
things to go his way. He is ten, but some mes he acts like a
baby.
“Devin let him sit by the window” my mom scolded. Mom
is always on his side.
My brother’s name is Trevor.
And my name is Devin carter .
It’s hard to get angry on someone who looks so much like
you .
We both have black hair and hazel eyes . We look like
mom.
Dad is blond and has blue eyes. He looks like a TV actor.
We were going camping in the Fish bait woods .
I’m not really sure why it is called fish bait woods .
One day I’ll find out.
Finally we reached there . It’s a long car drive from home ,
One hour or so.
“Finally there” dad mu ered .
Mom and dad like to go camping .
So where are we at the star ng of every summer vaca-
on ? You guessed it fish bait woods.
They are the closest woods to us.
“Devin , get out of the car.” dad said impa ently.
“Oh, yes, almost forgot .” I mu ered.
“Don’t forget to take your bags”
My dad is a safety freak. He packed our bags with mini
first-aid kits extra food if we are lost and water bo les.
“Lets set our camp here” dad said “Devin, why don’t you
take Trevor and wander around some me ?” He asked.
“We will meet a er one hour .”He declared.
“Okay” I shrugged.
“Lets follow that path.” Trevor said poin ng to a mud
path.
“Alright” I said . Li le did I know that the path leaded to
our doom.
 2
Few minutes a er walking on that path Trevor cried
“Lets turn around.”
“Ok” I said. I didn’t want to argue with him.
“Which way did we come from ?”
“We came from there” he pointed.
“I don’t think so” I mu ered.
He ran in that direc on. I followed him.
A er a few twists and turns Trevor stopped in his tracks.
He turned to look at me. His face was red and he was
pan ng.
“We are hopelessly lost!” he said .
 3
“Hey, don’t panic” I said.
For about a few minutes ago I had thought know fish bait
wood like the back of my hand.
“We have enough food to last for a few weeks.” I said
“We will send smoke signals or something and mom and
dad will find us, don’t worry.”
Trevor started walking again.
We passed a few weird looking trees .
I had never been this deep in the woods.
Suddenly I saw smoke rising from the trees .
“Hey look!” I cried.
But Trevor had already started running towards it.
“Wait for me !” I cried.
We reached the clearing.
There was a campfire at the centre of it
There was a board near the campfire.
I went closer to read it.
It read BAIT.
Suddenly a huge fish jumped out of nowhere and caught
us.
“LET GO!” Trevor screamed.
“You are my food !” the fish boomed “ And I am going to
eat you !”
Guess what ? The fish kept its promise.
But lets look at the bright side of things.
At least now I know why the woods are called fish bait
woods.
Story 4
 1
“Le !” cried Ray “ Le ,le !”
The res screeched on the wet road splashing water every-
where.
“`Tis okay man, okay!”
There were three of them hopelessly lost.
Their belongings were just the car Jonathan was driving,
the cloths they were in and Ray’s map.
BOOOOOM! The thunder boomed.
The map showed a cross just on the road ahead where
they were going.
Ray thought the cross might be a marking of a village.
Ray really was nervous.
Who wouldn’t be, if you are lost in the middle of nowhere
and it’s night me and to make the things worst there’s a
thick greenish fog floa ng up ahead.
Then they saw a board. It was rusted at the corners and
almost totally covered with climbers.
It read -

Street no. 13
The board was surrounded by other signs. Most of them
read -

Do not enter
But Jonathan didn’t pay a en on to any of the signs and
entered .
BOOOOM!!!
Suddenly they were surrounded by bright flash of white,
so intense , almost as bright as the sun.
Slowly it all faded to black.
Rays eyes adjusted to the darkness.
His ears were s ll ringing from the noise.
He gasped as he saw that everything had vanished.
The car , Jonathan, Peter, all of them.
And he was standing in a graveyard.
 2
Ray looked all round him trying to make sense what
happened .
Why am I in a graveyard ?
Was I sleepwalking ?
What was the light ?
So many ques ons bombarded his mind .
He looked at the tree that was in centre of the graveyard.
He remembered the light.
So intense.
And the noise.
So loud.
Why was he here and his friends not ?
He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't see the dirt
move on top of a grave.
Didn’t hear the moans.
Didn’t see the green hands slowly surfacing.
 3
The moans grew louder and louder.
Ray turned And screamed.
He ran leaving behind the graveyard as fast as he could.
It was a couple of minutes before he realised he was out of
danger.
His heart was pounding.
The street was well lit with streetlights.
He was in a town.
Suddenly, a voice boomed behind him.
“You don’t look like you belong here, kid” it said.
Ray turned to come face to face with a man.
Even if the streets were so well lit the man’s face was not
visible .
It was all dark. His eyes appeared to be shining.
“uh, Yeah” Ray said.
“hmm, I know, you are from universe 509, aren’t you?”
“Huh?” Ray said.
“And I think you want to go back. ” he said.
“But - ”
“Come with me.”
Ray knew he was from universe 509 .He had been learning
that from third standard. But what did this man mean by
saying that ? Did Ray really travel between universes?
 4
They entered one of the houses.
“This is my house.” The man declared.
The man entered a room, Ray went behind him.
“Whoa!” Ray gasped.
The room was lit with sparkling wires that filled the room.
In the center stood a huge machine that was making hum-
ming noises. It looked like an airplane without wings.
“In you go.” The man said.
“Huh!” Ray cried “No way!”
“Look kid,” he said “You are not from this universe. You
staying here is dangerous, both for you and this universe.
You have to go. Now.”
“Uh ok,” Ray said not wan ng to enter the machine
“But is it safe?”
“Safer than you staying here.” he opened the door of the
machine and motioned Ray to climb in.
Ray obediently did.
“What do I do?” Ray asked. Just to be precautious.
“You do nothing. Just wear the seat belt and enjoy the
ride.”
 5
He closed the door.
“Don’t worry you’ll be okay,” he said.
Ray heard him tapping some buttons
The machine turned on.
The man was setting the universe when he suddenly cried
“Oh NO !”
Ray heard a crash and everything faded to black.
 6
Ray woke up pan ng .
To his relief he saw that he was in his bedroom.
He tried to recollect what was going on.
It was just a bad dream Ray though, lost in a jungle ,
traveling between universes. It all seemed so crazy now.
Suddenly the room’s door opened and his mother stepped
in.
“Mom, which universe is this ?” Ray asked. He knew the
answer would be most probably 509. But he asked just to
be sure.
“It’s Universe 203, Why ?” His mother replied.
“You’re kidding right ?”
Story 5
 1
“Hey, Joe!” My friend called. “You coming or not ?”
“Coming” I mu ered. I don’t really like cricket, I mean I’m
totally clumsy at it.
But today I had to play as I had promised my friend Clay.
The fresh air met my face as I went outside. It was a cold
a ernoon.
“Hey Joe, this me you’re gonna play, not just sit and
watch.” Clay said.
“Yeah, I know.” I mu ered.
It was a short walk from home. We mostly play in the
abandoned parking lot.
Our parents tell us not to go there. Something about it be-
ing haunted. I mean what is the big deal ? it’s just an aban-
doned parking lot.
The gate of the lot creaked open.
I shivered.
A car door was our stump.
Clay said he found it lying on the ground, but I doubt he
wrecked it off a car.
“Here you go.” Clay said as he handed me a bat.
I took my posi on. Nathan was the baller.
He took a running start and hurled the ball towards me.
Then the greatest thing happened. I hit the ball !
I heard a crack! As my bat came in contact with the ball.
The ball zoomed through the air, and to my horror it
smashed a window !
The glass sha ered.
For a few moments nothing happened, but the a kid’s face
appeared in the window. I knew him. His name was Ma .
He saw me and shook his fist at me.
I looked around me, to my surprise everybody had
vanished. I glanced at the window. Ma was not there.
Maybe he is coming for me, I thought.
It was becoming dark.
I have to go home, I decided.
Then suddenly out of nowhere a huge thing landed in front
of me.
It was making weird noises like an animal ea ng some-
thing.
Different coloured lights were coming from inside it.
Hey ! It resembled something.
It looked like a SPACESHIP !
 2
I went closer to the spaceship.
“Whoa” I mu ered.
I never thought that today when I le my house that I
would see a real spaceship !
It was made up with a really shiny metal. The metal had a
weird glow coming from it. It smelt weird too.
I could hear some whispers coming from inside.
“But is this the right planet ?” The first voice asked.
“Yes its planet 6419.” The second voice said.
“Whoa !”said the first voice “I never thought I would see
planet 6419 ! It’s a legend.”
“Yes, the creatures here are superior to us by all means.
We have to be careful.”
“We will choose the smallest and the easiest creature we
can carry.”
“Yeah”
Whoa, what were these guys talking about? Were they re-
ally aliens ?
Before I could think more the door opened and the aliens
stepped out.
And then everything went black.
 3
When I opened my eyes I was in some kind of a room.
My hands were ed at my back.
My throat was soar.
“Whoa, man we caught a giant !” Said the first voice.
“Yeah, our luck.” Said the second.
“Monarch 598AF will be happy.” Declared the first voice.
“I hope the experiment will be successful.” Said the
second.
“Hey look the giant has waken!”
They turned their a en on to me.
“Uh, Hi” I said.
The first alien u ered a voice from his throat that sounded
like screaming.
“It knows our language!” The second alien exclaimed.
Suddenly the rooms door burst open.
“Monarch 598AF !” The first alien cried.
“You !” Was all I could say.

To be continued…
Story 6
 1
“I’m bored.” I mu ered to no one in par cular as I planted
the Keys in the keyhole.
My parents work late, so I’m alone at home when I return
from school. Right now I was coming from my friends
house.
It was a cold a ernoon.
Today was a boring day. No games Period, no art and cra ,
no nothing, just Study, Study, Study.
And for your kind informa on, let me tell you that I don’t
like studying.
I’m Ma . I’m the athle c kind of dude with muscles and
all, and I like to play basket ball.
I changed into clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt.
Maybe I’ll watch some television.
I was skipping between channels when I heard a crash
Upstairs.
It sounded like a glass sha ering.
I went upstairs to check.
The bedrooms window was broken.
I could feel the anger rising in my chest.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a cool dude, but this was too
much.
It was the fourth me this had happened. And whatever
happens in the house when my parents are not there they
blame it on to me
I looked from the window as all the kids fled from the
abandoned parking lot.
The parking lot was abandoned from when we shi ed in
this house, about two years ago.
Everyone here believes that it is haunted or something,
but what’s the big deal its just a parking lot that is aban-
doned .
I saw a kid who wasn’t running. I knew him. His name was
Joe. He mostly doesn’t play.
I shook my fist at him. I am gonna get him this me.
I ran from the window to the hall and opened the front
door.
Fresh cold air met my face. It was ge ng dark.
The parking lots gate was open.
“Whoa!” I gasped as I entered.
There was a shining spaceship in the middle, and two ny
blue aliens were taking unconscious Joe in the spaceship.
 2
“Hey!” I cried. “Stop!”
The spaceship door closed on my face.
I have to rescue Joe, I thought, even if he had just smashed
my bedroom window.
I could hear faint whispering noises.
“Whoa, man we caught a giant !” Said the first voice.
“Yeah, our luck.” Said the second.
“Monarch 598AF will be happy.” Declared the first voice.
“I hope the experiment will be successful.” Said the
second.
“Hey look the giant has waken!”
Then I heard a rustling noise.
“Uh, Hi” a third voice most probably Joe’s.
Then I heard a voice that sounded like screaming.
“It knows our language!” The second voice exclaimed.
Suddenly the doors opened with a sci-fi whirring noise.
I stepped in.
“Monarch 598AF!” The first voice said.
“You !” Joe cried.
“Uh, what is going on ?” I asked.
“Hey, It is not our monarch.” The second voice whispered.
The first alien removed a weapon from its belt and pointed
it at me.
I punched him in the face and knocked him out. Then I
kicked the other alien unconscious.
I went to Joe and freed him.
“Uh, thanks, and sorry.” He said.
“You’re welcome and it’s okay.” I said.
Then we both went home.
Joe called the police and the aliens were caught and every-
thing went to normal.
The next day, I went to school.
Everyone gathered around me asking me ques ons as now
I was famous as ‘the alien catcher’.
The news was viral how a twelve-year-old boy had one
handed caught two aliens.
Suddenly I heard a cry of “help!”
And I had a feeling that my rescue ranger career wasn’t
over yet !
Story 7
 1
Boooom! The thunder boomed.
It is gonna start raining I thought.
My mom and dad had just gone to do some work outside.
“We will return soon.” Mom had said, but almost three
hours had passed. I was used to this.
I was si ng on the warm and cozy sofa deciding what to
do, When I heard a noise from the basement.
I got up, not really wan ng to leave the warmth, but I had
to inves gate.
The basement steps creaked under my steps.
We had just moved in, less than two days ago. I had s ll
not explored the basement.
I hesitated at first, dreading what might be inside, but I
opened the basement door.
I switched on the light and screamed as something leaped
at me.
“Whoa!” it was our neighbourhood cat Pancake .
Pancake was more frightened of me than I was of him.
He jumped through the open window and went out.
“So that’s where he came from.” I thought out loud.
I closed the window and was about to go back to my warm
sofa when I saw something shiny inside the open closet
door.
It was a bo le, a really ny one. I don’t know why but I
had a weird urge to drink it. I couldn’t hold it in longer. I
opened the bo le’s cap, a sweet smell met my nose, it
smelled like mango juice. My favourite juice. I took a sip. It
tasted really sweet. The bo le was over in one sip. I
dropped the bo le.
I felt something weird.
I went upstairs and resumed my seat on the sofa and
switched on the television.