Chapter 5: Zar Hhital and the Land that doesn’t exist

"This eerie sound again!" said Vikaya shrugging off the ominous feeling as she walked across the wide-spread graveyard

"Ugh, I can't even figure out where it's coming from!" she roamed around desperately.

After walking for a while, tired and thirsty she gives up and stops, resting her hands on her knees. The sound suddenly stops and the grave beside her begins to vibrate violently. Vik steps backs fearful.

"I hear you are looking for me" said a voice, sending a spine-chilling energy across the soulless plains

Vikaya's heart almost stopped. She looked around trying to find the owner of this voice but to her surprise all she saw was empty, still land

"It won't be easy to drag me out of here" the crusty voice said again but Vik looked around in vain

"Up here Super Cop" said the voice and Vik looked up only to be startled again

Someone was hanging from the waist from the branch of a large tree, head bent down

"Excuse me?" said Vikaya

"Yes, it was me" said the body and lifted their head, long grey hair ruffled across the face, a frightening sight indeed

"Umm, who are you?" asked Vikaya

"First, get me down from here" he said

Vikaya walked ahead and helped the person down, almost giving him a piggy back ride on her. She rested him against the tree

"Who are you?" asked Vikaya staring at the peculiar man. His skin was dry and grey, his body looked like it hadn't gotten anything in centuries, a body hanging between the realm of the living and the decay

"I am the one you have been sent for" said the man

"I have been sent to recover a corpse" said Vik doubting the sanity of the man

"Yes, I know. I am that corpse. I mean not the corpse directly, that is the corpse. I am the owner of that corpse" he pointed to the grave which was vibrating violently

"Alright" said Vik "I'll just take that, thank you" she said and walked ahead.

The man chuckled "You mean you will try to" he mumbled

As she stood in front of the gravestone, sheer disappointment hit her

"My bag!" she yelled in anger

"You mean this?" said the man and pointed behind her

Vikaya turned and to her surprise found the rucksack lying peacefully behind her

"How did this get here? It wasn't here before" she said to herself but it was futile to let logic have a seat at this table.

First, she brought out her water bottle and gulped to her heart's content, next she popped a cookie and fished out a shovel

"You are so meticulous Super Cop" he remarked

"Who are you man?" she said as she began to dig "How do you know I am a cop?"

"Ugh this digging again" she groaned to herself

"You are the only good cop Ms. Vikaya Pekassador" he said standing up

Vikaya stared at him in shock, who the hell is this ghost-like know-it-all?

"Oh no, don't stop. There is plenty of time to find the answer to all questions" he said slowly hovering across towards her

Vikaya quickly dug out the ground and finally reached coffin. She opened her bag and pulled out a heavy chain. Securely attaching it to one of the handles of the coffin, she prepared to pull it out

"Smart" commented the man observing her from a distance

Planting her feet firmly on the ground she pulled the coffin with all her power but to her shock it didn't even budge an inch

"Huh? What?" she exclaimed

She pulled again but still nothing. She got down and dug around the bottom to loosen the space. Then she pulled again but she felt like a mouse trying to move a mountain

"Looking at the condition, this seems to be from a very long time ago" she said examining the coffin "Hardly anything is left of it, then why is it so heavy?!"

"Soul Pekassador, the soul" said the wraith-like man

"Who are you man? And why do keep talking in riddles? Either come here and help me out or stop distracting me with you commentary" said Vikaya scowling

"Alright alright, fair enough" said the man taken aback yet intrigued. He hovered across, almost floating above ground and stood beside Vik who was staring at this strange occurrence

"What did you mean before?" asked Vik finally accepting within, with difficulty and shock that this is an outlandish place, maybe even another realm and this man is no ordinary man either

"If the soul lurks around, hanging between the Realms of Existence and Dispersal and it is near the body and if the soul wants the body to stay here, no matter how hard you try, you cannot move the body" he said

Vikaya stared at him then glanced at the coffin, she looked around intently

"What are you looking for?" he asked curious

"Please let me take your body, respected person" she called out "You can come with it. Someone wants to perform your last rites and bid a proper farewell"

The man sighed, tired already while trying to fight a snicker

"Try one more time" he said

Vikaya sighed, turned around and got to work again, she picked the chain and pulled, still nothing but before she could drop the chain to turn around an give him a look of disappointment, she felt icy cold fingers grabbing her wrist. The man carefully held her hand and without even a single effort the coffin floated out of the ground and landed beside Vikaya

Vikaya dropped the chain and hurriedly stepped back, shaking away the man's hand as if it was a spider

"What was that?" she yelled at him

"You still don't get it? Come on Pekassador, ignite that cheetah brain" he said sighing

Vikaya contemplated the situation stepping back mentally, this was not the time to freeze in shock

"Are you…" she stopped breathing in "Are you the soul of this body?" she finally uttered

The man nodded

"But how? I can touch you! This…body…whatever you are right now is so real" she said

"Who are you?" she said

The man stepped closer but at the same moment Vikaya stepped back

"Fair" he said "I am Zar Hhital" he said

Vikaya stared at him with a blank dead expression

"My name is Zar and I am a Hhital" he said

"Hhital? Do you mean.." began Vik

"Yes exactly that. All that you know from your childhood folktales is true. I am dead, technically but I have possessed another corpse, so I cannot be put in the category of a ghost you see" he concluded with an air of pride around him

"That is…demonic" said Vikaya "You can't possess your own body?" she asked

"Nope, it is prohibited due to the rules of Omniverse. If I try to enter it I am immediately thrown out" he said kicking the ground

"Alright" said Vikaya

'He definitely has some issues' she said to herself

"So please Mr. Zar, let me take your body, someone is waiting for you" she said "I think then you can finally pass over in peace

Zar Hhital snorted with disgust

"You mean that ass for a face Alekon Do?" he asked with tiny boils of rage bubbling within

"Well, yes, you know him?" she asked

Zar ignored her question and walked ahead

"I will let you take the corpse on one condition" he said his eyes turning into sharp snake-like glances

"You can come" said Vik promptly

"That is a given Ms. Pekassador" he hissed sarcastically "You cannot even move it a millimeter without me" he said

"The condition is that we play a little game, while you drag this heavy storage box across the gate to crossover" he said his tone suddenly too polite

"What is this game?" asked Vikaya squinting her eyes and clenching her jaw, she stopped and turned him to face her

"It is just a simple story time" he said fumbling with his bony fingers

"And?" asked Vik

"That ends with a riddle" he hissed and stepped closer towards her "You just need to answer that riddle. So, tell me do you agree?" he asked and stretched out his arm

Vik put his hand down "There is something else" she said with deep skepticism

Zar sighed, "yes" he said slightly disappointed

"Just a few rules" he began "If you give a wrong answer I will immediately cut off your head and well, if you answer correctly you will find me hanging on that tree again" he smiled

"That's catch 22! That's criminal-level entrapment!" she yelled ready to swing punches at this wraith

"I know!" he said delighted and laughed

"But.." said Vik helpless "I cannot agree" she blurted

"Well, that's on you. Do you wish to spend the rest of your remaining breath in this god-forsaken land of the dead? Or you wish to escape this hell?" he said beginning to walk away

"But that gate.." began Vik and turned to run towards it

"Won't be there Pekassador" he said and Vikaya saw with horror as the gate disappeared like particles of sand, carried away by the wind and what remained were the never-ending cursed plains

"Think about it Vikaya, no water, no food" he began and Vik turned to get her bag only for it to disappear right from the grip of her hands

"I will keep you alive as long as I am entertained, then you can go away…forever" he said finally reaching his haunted tree

Vikaya sat down, horror and fright engulfing her. How did she find herself in this situation? Those damn fruits! That lunatic rat bastard Alekon Do!

"I will kill you Do" she promised herself

"Alright!" she called behind him but as she looked around, the Hhital had disappeared

"Huh?" said Vikaya and turned around and jumped to find him behind her

"Good choice indeed" he said and grinned, showing his rotten teeth

"You should pay attention to the upkeep of this corpse" she said

"So do we have a deal?" he asked and reached out his hand. Vikaya sighed, she hated giving in to people's demands. She stretched out her hand unwillingly

A smoke-like ribbon emerged from Zar Hhital, slithering over his arm and the same happened with Vik which made her eyes pop out her head. His hard ice hand suddenly grabbed Vik and pressed it firmly. He pulled her closer

"If I find that you are stalling to answer my question, in order to reach the gate, I will decorate your head on that tree" he threatened her, his eyes turning sharp like a snake

Just when Vikaya had tried to get out of the prickly thorns, she fumbled across into the bottom-less gorge