• It wasn't a hallucination...

After a quiet dinner, the others excused themselves and headed back to their rooms, the weariness of the day finally catching up to them. Gauri, however, remained in the kitchen, the task of washing the dishes looming before her. The silence of the castle settled in again, punctuated only by the clinking of plates and the running water.

Suddenly, a faint shink echoed in the stillness, like a knife being drawn from its block. Gauri froze, her hand still holding a soapy plate. Then came another shink, and another. Her heart began to pound in her chest. She swallowed hard, trying to appear nonchalant, pretending she hadn't heard anything.

Just as she reached for another dish, a sharp whoosh sliced through the air. Instinctively, Gauri ducked and slid behind the sturdy stone wall that separated the kitchen counters. A split second later, she heard a sickening thud as a knife embedded itself deep into the wooden cabinet just inches from where she had been standing.

Her breath hitched in her throat, coming in rapid, shallow gasps. The kitchen tap was still running, the steady stream of water a stark contrast to the sudden violence. Trembling, she cautiously peeked from behind the wall, her eyes scanning the room. There was no one. The kitchen was empty, the only evidence of the attack the quivering knife embedded in the wood.

With a surge of adrenaline, she darted to the sink and slammed the tap shut, the sudden silence amplifying the frantic beating of her heart. Her legs felt weak, and she slid down against the cold cabinet, the rough wood pressing against her back. A wave of fear, quickly followed by a shaky sense of relief, washed over her. That had been too close. Someone, or something, was actively trying to harm them.

Jai hummed contentedly as he placed his toothbrush back in its holder. The warm water filling the bathtub felt luxurious, easing the tension that had been building throughout the day. He leaned back, closing his eyes, savoring the momentary peace.

Suddenly, a sharp, brutal force gripped his ankle, yanking his leg downwards with alarming speed. His body slid beneath the surface of the water before he could even gasp. The shock of the cold embrace stole his breath. Panic flared in his chest.

He thrashed, instinctively trying to pull himself up, his hands scrabbling for purchase on the slick porcelain edges of the tub. But an immense weight pressed down on his chest, an invisible force pinning him beneath the water's surface. His lungs burned, his desperate attempts to scream only resulting in a mouthful of water. The warm comfort of the bath had turned into a suffocating prison. He kicked and struggled, his vision blurring, the silence broken only by the muffled sounds of his desperate fight for air.

Gauri scrambled to her feet, the adrenaline still coursing through her veins. A desperate need to warn the others propelled her out of the kitchen and towards the stairs. As she hurried towards Arya's room, Jai's door swung open, and he stepped out, vigorously toweling his soaking wet hair. His brow furrowed as he took in Gauri's wide, terrified eyes. "Gauri? What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Gauri frantically recounted the terrifying incident in the kitchen, her voice trembling as she described the knives and the near miss. Jai's eyes widened in disbelief. "Knives? Flying?" He followed her back downstairs to the kitchen, his footsteps echoing in the sudden silence.

But when they reached the kitchen, Gauri stopped dead in her tracks, a gasp escaping her lips. The wall where the knife had embedded itself was smooth and unmarked. The knife stand on the counter held all its blades, undisturbed. It was as if the terrifying event had never happened.

Jai called the others down, his voice laced with concern as he explained Gauri's account. Arya, still sporting his bandage, looked skeptical. "Maybe you were just seeing things, Gauri. You haven't been sleeping well. All this stress can mess with your head." Veda remained silent, his gaze shifting between Gauri and the pristine wall, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Gauri tried to insist that she wasn't hallucinating, that it had been real, but Isha gently took her arm. "Come on, Gauri. You need to lie down. All this is getting to you. Let's get you back to your room." Despite Gauri's protests, Isha and a still-skeptical Arya guided her back upstairs, leaving Jai and the quietly observant Veda in the now-calm kitchen.

Veda, who had been observing the interaction with a keen intensity, suddenly turned to Jai. "Jai, would you mind if I used your bathroom? My room seems to be out of water for a shower."

Jai's response was immediate and surprisingly firm. "No."

Veda looked taken aback, a flicker of suspicion crossing his features. Jai, noticing his reaction, offered a weak smile. "Sorry, Veda. Mine's out of water too, actually. Weird, huh? Maybe ask Arya?"

Veda simply nodded, his gaze lingering on Jai for a moment longer before he turned and headed towards Arya's room. He found the scene within exactly as Jai had described – Gauri nestled between Arya and Isha on the bed, her face tear-streaked as she recounted her terrifying experience in the kitchen. "I'm telling you, they were there! The knives… I saw them!" she pleaded, her voice thick with emotion. "Please, you have to believe me."

Veda's voice cut through the emotional turmoil. "She's telling the truth."

Arya and Isha stared at him, their expressions a mixture of confusion and shock. Veda offered a small, decisive nod. "I saw a few small drops of what appeared to be blood on Jai's sleeve just now. And his reaction when I asked to use his bathroom was… abrupt. Something isn't right." He looked directly at Gauri, his usual skepticism replaced by a newfound conviction. "For now, I believe you."

He turned to Arya and Isha. "There are two possibilities that come to mind, however unsettling. Either the stress and atmosphere of this place are starting to severely affect Jai's mental state, or… he might be possessed by something." A chill permeated the room at his words.