"So, where is this village we are looking for ?"

I asked as I look at the map in my hand.

I was assigned in Team 7 and given my first mission as an exorcist.

Few days back, someone sent a letter to the headquarters of AWIYN saying that their village is experiencing very bad time. The letter said that at night, the children suddenly disappear if they go near the village lake.

Quite strange and exciting !

Claire said that this was going to be our first mission as she didn't see much danger in the disappearance of children near lake. So, it will not be much problematic for me to help Kio and Tyler with this mission as a newcomer. And I will be able to learn a lot as well.

Great !!

Before coming here, I was sent for a training session which lasted one week. I learnt the basics of exorcism and now, I am completely ready to go.

"Will you stop bothering us with the same question again and again ?"

Kio remarked in an irritated voice.

It was not great to know that one of your colleagues is very very displeased to see you as a part of the group. Kio seems to have an unknown problem with me. He snaps at me whenever he sees the chance and honestly, I can somehow, understand his frustration.

All his life, he has worked with Japanese people who are more trained than himself and now, he is stuck with a newbie such as me.

"We are here."

Tyler stops, smiles in my direction and signals ahead.

I could see the board with the name of the required village.

Tyler is really very friendly with me and is very supportive. Whenever Kio snaps at me, he comes to my rescue.

"Are you from A Walk in your Nightmares ?"

An old man comes to us. He has a hunched back and is very lean. His voice is too hoarse and his eyes are very intense.

"We are."

Tyler replies on the behalf of our entire team ( as he is our assigned leader of Team 7 ).

"Follow me."

Old man says and starts leading the way. I turn to Tyler and whisper.

"Why is he ordering us ? And why should we follow him ?"

"As if you have an idea of what we are going to do in this village."

Kio whispers beside me. His voice holds pure irritation.

Why doesn't he like me ? And what have I ever done to be in his bad books ?

"We should sometimes go with the flow Lyss. None of us know much about this mission and if the old man is willing to give us a clue, we should grab it. Even if it's no clue at all."

Tyler whispers to us. He always is on the neutral side. But, whatever he speaks is a little bit confusing at times.

And did I mention that Tyler is a little bit too informative ?

"This is the palace of our former tribe head."

I didn't notice but, we were now, standing before a ruined castle like structure.

When we were children we would probably have agreed with the National Trust's re-designation of Corfe as one of the UK's top castles. It certainly has everything we wanted and never got on our castle visits: nearby shops, ice creams, steam trains, beaches, and for the relentlessly would-be-goods, information panels, guide books and interpretive centres.

Our Indian castles were a bit different. They were what I now think of as proper castles. We were sick to death of them, to be brutally honest. And, this, was a proper castle in my eyes.

I think some of the the creepy castles all have something in common. They have lights projecting from the windows of the castle. All dangerous castles are first seen at night to look creepy at first sighting. Most of those castles are haunted with a handful of disturbing, evil ghosts. Many castles have turrets, battlements, moats and prisons. And maybe, a treasure room... But, I am not sure about that.

They also include secret doors, a crown room, hidden animals or clothes or scattered bones and secret pathways.

You can now, imagine how this; which I can define as a cousin of Indian castles; would have looked like.

As I moved inside, I noticed that the creepy haunted castle had shadows popping out of the shattered windows. The broken tall tower like pillar crashed into the hallway of photos. The castle had almost broken down into a complete destruction, from inside. One of the large turrets had broken through the roof, leaving debris everywhere. The knights stood strong as the debris slid everywhere. Water mysteriously appeared out of nowhere while the situation was happening. The statues of dragons looked like they were real.

Suddenly, I could hear thunders outside. But, when we were entering, the sky was crystal clear.

What the hell is happening ??

Deafening noises created by thunder could be heard from miles away, as the lightning crashed almost hitting the mysterious, haunted castle.
Dim lights surrounded it and you could only just see the pinkish light coming from the windows. The eminently old board walk was creaky and the paint was coming off.
Anyone who even dared to enter was never seen, or heard from again.

I can bet my life on that. Then, why the hell am I here... Well, because I wanted thrill in my life by joining AWIYN.

I stared into the flames of the burning fire sizzling away in front of me. It felt like someone was taking care of this castle. But why will anyone do that...

In this strange castle, I had already noticed that one of the turrets had broken through the roof leaving debris everywhere, but, I could sense that the debris followed a particular pattern. Which pattern... I couldn't guess that as the old man was busy, and moving really fast, in showing the castle.

The walls held some dragon statues. Those statues of dragons looked like they were real. And suddenly, I don't know what got into me but, I peeked into one of the Dragon's eyes. They were hollow and completely dark inside.

The silent abusing wind crashes against the castle's windows. I could feel the silenced cries and pleas of the lost souls who were forever forgotten.

This place was giving me goosebumps.
And suddenly, something echoed in my ears...

"One day...you may be one of them."

Oh my God !!

The voice knows what I am thinking. This is not right.

Did I just hear a warning from a ghost ??!!!

I shifted to my left, the opposite from the source of that echo. I bumped into Kio and held his arm. He looked in my direction but, didn't say anything. I must be looking like a scared child right now. Complete horror must have been written on my face.

And suddenly I remembered what my mom used to say when she narrated me a bedtime horror story...

"The last castle is going to haunt your dreams forever, when you sleep at night. So, beware when you sleep........"