Chapter 24 Horror OF RIG
Along the journey, a mischievous smile crept onto his face, an unusual sight for someone heading to such a serious place.
However, he seemed unperturbed by the inconsistency.
Upon reaching the vicinity of the Thane police station, he sought out a suitable vantage point.
An alleyway lined with parked bikes caught his eye.
Seizing the opportunity, he settled himself onto one of the bikes, positioned strategically to afford him a clear view of the station's rear side.
The area appeared devoid of any suspicious activity, with few people milling about, offering Shivam the perfect setting to carry out his plans without drawing undue attention.
Without hesitation, Shivam sprang into action.
—
—
Inspector Rajesh Mhatre sat alone in his dimly lit cabin, surrounded by stacks of paperwork that seemed to multiply with each passing hour.
The late morning sun struggled to penetrate the thick curtains, casting eerie shadows across the room.
As he meticulously reviewed case files, the silence of the police station was broken only by the occasional shuffle of papers and the distant hum of office activity.
But then faint whispers began to drift through the air, like a haunting melody echoing in the depths of his mind.
At first, Rajesh dismissed them as mere figments of his imagination, the byproduct of fatigue and solitude.
Yet the whispers persisted, growing louder and more insistent with each passing moment.
Unease prickled at the back of Rajesh's neck as he glanced around the room, searching for the source of the unsettling sounds.
But the shadows danced mockingly, concealing their secrets within their depths. Rajesh shook his head, chiding himself for succumbing to irrational fear.
He was a seasoned inspector, respected and admired by his colleagues.
He couldn't afford to let superstition cloud his judgment.
Just as Rajesh attempted to refocus on his work, a voice pierced through the oppressive silence—a voice so innocent and pure that it sent shivers down his spine.
"Inspector uncle, inspector uncle, I want help," the voice pleaded, its timbre that of a young girl in distress.
[[These sounds remained confined to Rajesh ears, devoid of any loud disturbances that might have alerted occupants in nearby rooms.]]
Rajesh's heart lurched in his chest as he whipped around to locate the source of the voice.
To his horror, tendrils of fog began to seep into the room, coiling and twisting like sinister serpents.
Panic clawed at Rajesh's throat as he scrambled to his feet, his rational mind warring with primal instinct.
Before he could react, a figure materialized from the mist—a little girl, her cherubic face framed by tendrils of wispy fog.
In her hand, she clutched a tattered doll, its features warped into a grotesque semblance of innocence.
"Inspector uncle, please help me," the girl implored, her voice a haunting melody that reverberated through the room.
But as quickly as fear had gripped him, Rajesh felt a surge of determination wash over him.
He couldn't allow himself to be paralyzed by fear, not when his life is at stake.
Summoning every ounce of courage, Rajesh squared his shoulders and met the girl's gaze with steely resolve.
"Who are you?
What do you want?"
He demanded, his voice ringing with authority but in a trembling voice.
The girl's lips curled into a chilling smile, her eyes gleaming with an otherworldly light.
"If you speak of this or do not help me, you will regret it," she warned, her voice echoing with a sinister promise.
With a flicker of movement, the illusion dissipated, leaving Rajesh standing alone in his cabin, his heart pounding in his chest.
But the sense of foreboding lingered, a dark shadow cast over his once orderly world.
With that, the apparition vanished into thin air, leaving Rajesh shaken to the core.
He stumbled back in his chair, his mind reeling with fear and confusion.
Was it a trick of the light?
A hallucination brought on by stress?
Or something far more ominous?
As Rajesh struggled to compose himself, he repeated to himself in a shaky voice that he must be hallucinating.
He tried to convince himself that the eerie encounter with the little girl and the haunting whispers were nothing more than figments of his imagination.
But just as he uttered those words, a chilling sound pierced the air—the unmistakable laughter of the little girl echoed in his ears, freezing him in place.
Rajesh's heart raced with fear, beads of sweat forming on his brow as he grappled with the realization that this was not a hallucination. In broad daylight, the inexplicable events were unfolding before his eyes, plunging him into a state of profound disbelief and apprehension and sending shivers down his spine.
He was being haunted by something beyond his comprehension, something that defied logic and reason.
As this inexplicable occurrence unfolded in broad daylight, Rajesh's assumption was shattered. He had believed that such entities didn't haunt people in the daytime.
Yet, the overwhelming dread he experienced felt undeniably real, impossible to dismiss or ignore.
Desperate to escape the room of horrors, Rajesh's mind was consumed with the single thought of leaving as soon as possible.
Desperate to escape the suffocating grip of fear, Rajesh made a decision: he needed to leave his cabin and seek solace in the company of his peers.
As he moved to exit the room, his eyes fell upon his desk, where a swarm of red ants had gathered, moving in a strange and unsettling pattern.
With a sense of dread gnawing at his insides, Rajesh watched in horror as the ants formed words before his eyes.
His heart skipped a beat as he read the message they spelled out:
"Find Missing Girls complains of the past six months of state.
"Find this in an hour's time!"
"Goosebumps erupted across Rajesh's body, and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end, a physical manifestation of the intense fear coursing through him.
Rajesh knew that he couldn't ignore the ominous message.
Despite the terror gripping his soul, Inspector Rajesh Mhatre summoned every ounce of courage he had and left the room.
He knew now that he didn't have any choice in the matter.
The haunting encounter with the little girl and the ominous message spelled out by the ants left him with no doubt—he had to act, and act quickly.
The task ahead of him was clear.
Rajesh needed to find any complaints from the past six months related to missing girls. Fortunately, this wouldn't be difficult for him.
As a seasoned inspector with years of experience, he had the skills and resources at his disposal to access the necessary information with ease.
Arriving at one of his subordinates's desks, Rajesh requested the use of the computer.
His subordinate, puzzled by why the inspector wasn't using his own desk, looked troubled, as if he sensed that Rajesh was monitoring his every move.
But Rajesh paid no heed to the subordinate's unease.
He had a mission to accomplish, and he couldn't afford to be distracted by suspicions or doubts.
Rajesh instructed his subordinate to leave the cabin as he didn't want his subordinate to see what he was up to, determined to press on with his task despite the unsettling events unfolding around him.
Ignoring the lingering sense of dread that clung to him like a suffocating shroud, Rajesh logged into the online database of the police department.
With practiced efficiency, he navigated to the Case Department server, where all the details of ongoing investigations were stored.
With a few swift keystrokes, Rajesh selected the parameters for his search: missing girl cases within the past six months that remained unsolved.
As the database churned through its records, Rajesh felt a surge of anticipation mixed with apprehension.
He knew that the answers he sought lay within the digital archives, waiting to be uncovered.
And then, the results appeared on the screen before him—a list of names and case files stretching back six months.
With a steely resolve, Inspector Rajesh Mhatre began to sift through the data.
He didn't care to bring justice to the missing girls; he just wanted to get rid of the haunting horror that gripped his soul.
As he scrolled through the list, his heart sank at the sheer number of names—more than a hundred girls have gone missing from Maharashtra in the past six months alone.
Rajesh's hands trembled slightly as he reached to download the PDF file containing the details, eager to be done with this ordeal and log out of the system as quickly as possible.
But before he could click the download button, a familiar voice whispered in his ear, freezing him in place.
It was the voice of the little girl—the ghostly presence that had haunted him since his encounter in the cabin.
"Thank you," the voice giggled, sending a shiver down Rajesh's spine.
"But I have one last request: the people who were investigating these cases, with all their details.
Rajesh's blood ran cold.
He knew that fulfilling this request would mean delving into sensitive information and breaching the trust of his colleague.
[["Shivam proceeded cautiously, addressing one request at a time. He couldn't help but notice the inspector's deteriorating condition, and he knew he had to tread carefully. Pushing too hard might make the inspector defensive or suspicious, so Shivam opted for a gradual approach, hoping to avoid any unwanted attention or escalation of the situation.]]
But Inspector Rajesh knew he had no choice because the entity's hold on him was too strong to resist.
With a heavy heart, Rajesh accessed the files containing all the officers who were investigating the girls missing cases, which included Aadhvi's details as follows, his fingers moving mechanically as he extracted the information.
He printed out the documents, along with the details of the missing girls, as instructed by the ghostly voice.
As he held the papers in his trembling hands, Rajesh heard the voice once more, instructing him to leave the documents on his cabin desk while he either left the cabin or stayed while she browsed through them.
Fear gripped Rajesh's insides, overpowering his resolve.
Without a moment's hesitation, he fled from his cabin, leaving behind all the printouts on his desk.
Unable to bear the thought of facing the horrors that awaited him, he hurriedly vacated the room.
Outside in the corridor, Inspector Rajesh Mhatre leaned against the wall, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he tried to calm his racing heart.
He knew that he had succumbed to the will of the entity, and now he could only wait in fear for the consequences of his actions.
With the memory of the horror still fresh in his mind, Rajesh made a firm decision: he would never enter his cabin alone again, nor would he stay alone in it.
The experience had left an indelible mark, and he was determined to avoid being haunted by it again.
As he emerged from his cabin, many of his subordinates, who had seen the distress on his face, approached him, offering concerned inquiries and a glass of water.
Accepting the water gratefully, Rajesh tried to compose himself, but the memory of the haunting encounter with the little girl ghost lingered in his mind like a dark shadow.
He couldn't shake the feeling of dread that clung to him like a suffocating shroud, and he knew that he would be haunted by the events of this day for a long time to come.
Meanwhile, inside the room, the illusion created by Shivam continued to unfold.
The girl, a mere figment of Rajesh's imagination, flipped through the pages of the papers, her movements guided by the intricate manipulation of the RIG and the sound effects created by Shivam's skill.
To Rajesh, it seemed as though the supernatural presence he believed he was experiencing was very real indeed.
He kept the illusion of having hands on the papers without being found.
Unbeknownst to Rajesh, the real papers were being carried by small insects through the window of the cabin.
In a display of incredible coordination, the insects worked together seamlessly, effortlessly transporting the bundle of papers to the other side of the wall.
Shivam watched in awe as the insects completed their task with precision and efficiency.
Despite his initial doubts, he marveled at their ability to carry out the mission with ease, each insect playing its part in the intricate dance of deception.
As he observed the insects' remarkable coordination, Shivam couldn't help but feel a sense of pride.
This was just the beginning of what he could accomplish with his new rewards.
Shivam quickly stashed the papers inside his bag, mindful of the importance of keeping them hidden from prying eyes.
He knew that carrying official police documents could raise suspicion if spotted by anyone, so he made sure to conceal them securely.
Boarding the bus, Shivam headed to the back seat, seeking a quiet and secluded spot where he could examine the documents without drawing attention to himself.
As he settled into his seat, he felt a wave of relief wash over him.
Here, surrounded by the anonymity of the crowded bus, he could finally take a closer look at the information he had obtained.
With practiced ease, Shivam retrieved the papers from his bag and began to scan through them, his eyes quickly absorbing the details of the missing girls cases and Aadhvi Shrivastav's information.
Despite the gravity of the situation, he couldn't help but feel a sense of relief for obtaining the crucial information about Aadhvi and the many other missing girls.
He received the details of the people who were investigating this case, as he knew in those there would be Aadhavi's name, which he got.
Unbeknownst to Shivam, Aadhvi had been removed from the case, and her details were likely removed from official records.
However, luck was on Shivam's side, as he managed to obtain Aadhvi's information by chance.
As Shivam scrolled through Aadhavi's career information, he couldn't help but be impressed by the young sub inspector's accomplishments.
At just 27 years old, she wore her sub inspector cap and uniform in the photo with a sense of authority and professionalism.
Her educational background and the journey that led her to her current position were laid out in an organized manner on the paper, showcasing her dedication and hard work.
While Shivam couldn't deny that Aadhavi possessed stunning looks that could easily belong on a magazine cover, he respected her choice of career and the commitment she showed to her role in law enforcement.
To him, Aadhavi was more than just a pretty face—she was a capable and determined officer dedicated to serving her community.
As he perused the documents, Shivam's mind raced with plans on how to make contact with Aadhvi.
He knew that time was of the essence and that he needed to act swiftly to provide her with a valuable lead on the case of the missing girls.
With only a day left before Bukhari transferred the girls to the other party, Shivam realized the urgency of the situation.
He needed to establish contact with her to provide all the information about what criminal activities were happening inside the villa.
Checking Aadhvi's location, Shivam discovered that she was stationed in Chembur, a Mumbai suburb that was a considerable distance away from his current location in Thane.
Realizing that it would take her at least an hour to reach his location, Shivam weighed his options.
Realizing that time was of the essence, Shivam accessed Aadhvi's phone number and contemplated his next move.
He wasn't stupid to directly call Aadhvi and tell her about his finding about Bukhari's horror villa; that would be stupid to do so.
Shivam's determination to remain anonymous spurred him to devise a plan that would cloak his true identity.
Deciding to abandon the bus journey, he swiftly exited and made his way to a secluded telephone booth.
Aware that Aadhvi, being a sub-inspector, might possess the means to trace his call and might gain access to the camera of the telephone booth, Shivam sought a method of communication that would evade detection.