Devil in Disguise?

Unaware of the world, when your eyes are fixed on those molten eyes, everything that happens around you just appears to be a blur.

**

Darkness.

"Is she cold?"

.

"All right."

.

"Yes, I will fetch it."

.

"No, you stay."

.

"It seems fine."

.

"Nothing to worry."

.

"Just some rest."

.

"Thank you."

.

"I will stay here."

.

*

The words at some intervals knocked her head, as the darkness continued to overpower her.

Her mind failed to fathom, what was happening and where was she? What was really happening?

.

Her body still trembled, as she felt her entire being shudder in cold.

And that is when she suddenly felt someone wrap her tightly in a quilt.

.

Sensations?

..Was this supposed to mean, that her senses still worked?

Did that mean, she was still alive?

.

But if she wasn't dead, then why did her body feel as weak as being dead?

Being lifeless?

.

At that thought, her mind traveled back to the events, which it had stringently captured.

The deadly sight.

.

Even with eyes closed, the vague flashes of that rainy scenario made her body shiver and her blood ran cold.

She could sense her heart beating rapidly as if it would throb out of her chest any minute.

The Pentagon..

.

The Bloody Pentagon..

.

Another jolt of extreme fear embarked upon her, as the deadly sight made its way through her mind and vision once again.

And then..

Him..

.

"Let me go.."

Her mind dictated her own words back to her, as she recalled struggling under his ministrations, and failing miserably.

.

"Ssshhh"

The devil's soft voice still rang in her ears, as her mind prayed fervently, begging him to leave her.

.

"Please.."

Her pleas to the cold-hearted person, resurfaced once again in her mind, as she felt her hands suddenly becoming mobile and she fiddled with the end of the quilt she was wrapped in.

His strong grip on her wrists..

His gaze locked upon her..

The endless rain..

And finally..

Nothing.

.

Darkness.

.

She fell into his arms..

.

"I should be dead."

.

She felt the blood flowing in her veins, as the last vision flashed in front of her eyes, making the deadly silence reappear once again.

Her eyes opened in stark shock, as that uncanny sight occupied her mind, her body, her soul.

**

"Khushi!"

.

The voice seemed so familiar.

So loving.

"It should be Mom.."

She could feel her insides bursting with joy, as she heard that divine, familiar voice.

The voice of her life-giver, the voice of her mother.

.

"But why can't I see her..?"

.

Another stream of fear ran through her blood, as she found it difficult to discover a fine line between the Real World and the Other side.

And more than that, it was next to impossible for her to conclude, which one she belonged to, at this hour, at this moment?

.

"Honey! How are you feeling?"

.

At that statement, followed by her loving touch, she thought she got her answers.

She was alive..

In the Real World..

At least..

For now..

.

"Mom!"

She managed to speak out, lifting up her head, as she threw her arms around her shoulders and hugged her into a tight embrace.

Adrienne rocked her like a little child and she could see Jazz sitting next to her on the bed.

She was in her room.

.

"Was this some kind of a miracle?"

.

The words echoed in the back of her mind.

She wasn't supposed to be here..

She assumed she would never be able to see the people she loved ever again..

Then..

Then, how?

.

"Don't question miracles"

Some part of her, answered.

.

"Oh sweetie! How are you feeling now?"

Her mom finally asked her, pulling out of the hug.

.

"..Good."

"..Just a sore throat.."

"..And a bit dizzy."

She answered softly, giving breaks to every sentence.

.

"Oh! That must be because of the sedatives the doc gave you."

Jazz stated.

.

Khushi smiled faintly, thanking her fate to be back to her family when she thought she had lost it all.

.

"Thank god!"

Adrienne smiled in gratitude to the almighty, because her daughter was fine.

However, her next sentence shocked Khushi out of her wits.

"But we are really thankful to the guy who brought you here, else you would have caught pneumonia after getting drenched in the rain and staying cold for so long."

.

Her statement made Khushi's heart skip a beat and the flashes returned back to her.

"What was she talking about?"

"What does it mean?"

Her nerves hit a shock as the thoughts echoed in her mind.

.

"Who..?"

She whispered, as her throat continued to give her trouble with the irksome ache.

.

"ASR."

"That's his name, I guess."

"Right Jazz?"

.

Her mom wavered at her sister to confirm her guess, as Jazz nodded in approval.

.

"Nice guy."

She added with a smile.

.

Adrienne's verdict on Arnav immersed Khushi in a pool of questions.

"He brought me back?"

"..Back home?"

She couldn't fight the questions her conscience posed.

.

She drowned deeper into the questions as waves of confusion continued hitting her.

"..Why?"

Perhaps, some conditions, some questions, some things never have an answer to "why.."

They just happen.

.

There was no way she thought she would be spared today after whatever happened hours ago.

When she didn't even consider remaining alive, then anything else would be beyond consideration.

But

Here she was, sitting on her own bed with the people who meant everything to her.

.

But wait a minute.

If her mind triggered so many dicey questions at him bringing her back home safely, then..

.

"Did I actually think he would kill me?"

As the question boggled her mind, she felt as if someone snatched the ground beneath her feet.

Suddenly her mind took her back to that unusual, fearsome nightmare that she had days back.

.

The violet roses..

The fire..

The fury..

And..

.

Death..

.

Her body shivered at that thought, and she snuggled up, closer to her mother as if she needed her warmth, her affection just like a small child.

.

"You should be thankful to ASR, sweetheart. Nice classmate you've got. If he wouldn't have brought you home, then you would have stayed there unconscious, for god knows how long. That too in that awful rain!"

.

Adrienne said with a frown, caressing Khushi's hair.

Her eye brows furrowed at that surprising statement, and she withdrew herself from the earlier position, looking directly into her mom's eyes.

"What the hell did he tell her?"

Her inner thoughts popped the question and she had to know the answer to it.

.

And fortunately or unfortunately, there was no other option than the weapon of innocence.

Though she resented pretense, today she was helpless and hence she had to take the help of it.

.

"..What happened, Mom?"

She asked her softly, putting up an innocent face as if she really didn't know anything.

And she did hit the bull's eye.

After all, she was unconscious until now.

Wasn't she?

.

"Oh sweetie! He told me that after the fresher's party when everyone went home, you were getting to your car and suddenly you fainted."

"..It was so cold out there. Moreover the rains added to it. But then ASR discovered you and drove you back home."

Her mom narrated her the story that was narrated to her.

.

.

"..So he skipped the complete episode and narrated only a part of it."

Khushi thought.

.

"But sweetheart, I thought you were to go with Mason for the fresher's party. Then how come you took the car?"

Adrienne questioned.

.

"Oh no, mom! Mase had some work. He came late. So I went by myself."

She felt terrible lying to her mother, but at times that was the only way she could evade certain things that she didn't want to witness.

What made it worse was that she was lying to protect the devil..

So indirectly, she was defending him..

Saving him from her mother's outrage, which would have been on full swing if she knew how he blocked her way, manhandled her and refrained her from escaping that bizarre and bloody scene.

.

"But then, he saved you."

The words were equally hard to digest as for her to think, but her conscience prompted it to her anyway.

But that didn't change the fact.

She was here, because of him..

And she realized she wasn't really repenting the lies that she had to utter because of him.

"..But why?"

.

She had no answer to this.

.

"Oh all right sweetheart. You take rest now. I will make hot chocolate for you and then you can sleep."

Adrienne said, in her typical protective voice.

Khushi nodded, as her mom and sister went started heading downstairs.

.

"Hey! Sleep well!"

Jazz said, as she smiled at Khushi before leaving.

"You too"

Khushi replied.

*

As she rested her head on her bed's headboard, she slowly closed her eyes.

The silence felt so phenomenal for reasons unknown.

The ticking of the clock.

The sound of my her breathing.

Everything appeared so clear.

..Apart from his Intentions..

.

Dimming the light of her bedside lampshade, she struggled to decode the problems which seemed to have no solutions.

.

He stopped her..

She couldn't escape..

He did not let her go..

.

Then, why did he save her?

Her mind failed terribly, calculating and analyzing the meaning of the incidents.

She faltered with disappointment at coming to logical conclusions.

She had lost every sense of logic and she couldn't rely on her senses anymore.

.

Suddenly a vision appeared in her mind.

Those people..

Wearing Black Cloaks

..

The illuminated room..

The bloody pentagon..

.

Her eyes opened in terror as those flashes returned.

But her heart questioned just one thing,

"How could I forget it?"

.

At that question, her thoughts took over me completely.

That was after all the thing that needed her utmost attention indeed. But she almost forgot about it.

.

Because of?

.

"Arnav"

As his name escaped her mouth, she felt an absurd element of happiness running inside her.

.

After whatever he did, she had absolutely no grudges against him?

"Am I this naive?"

.

At this thought, she was redirected to the fearsome incident that happened with her days back in front of her washroom mirror.

Though now everything seemed vague and she thought it was just a nightmare, she couldn't deny that even then it was his face that let her sleep peacefully, despite that horror that occupied her mind terribly.

.

Did that incident really happen?

She didn't even want to think about that night, as that voice still gave her goose bumps.

The same voice that insisted her to find that key.

.

And today..

When she should be worried about something else, which appeared to be the main issue of concern, she was lost, thinking what were his intentions?

.

"Why am I acting this way?"

"Why does his very presence makes me detached from the entire world?"

"How could he distract me from every darn thing?"

.

That too without doing anything literally?

.

She felt like a fool as she grasped the facts.

And then the weird conversation of his blonde haired, skinny girlfriend along with her strange confrontation with her later, did the remaining task of making Khushi exasperated.

She slowly removed the quilt off her body and was about to get up from the bed, when her phone's vibration stopped her.

.

"Hello!"

.

"Hey Silly! What's up?"

.

"Nothing!"

.

"What happened to your voice?"

.

"Choked!"

.

"How the hell?"

.

"Got drenched in the rain and caught cold."

.

"Stupid! I told you to get inside, didn't I?"

.

"Does my Bio Data say I'm obedient?"

.

"Ofcourse not."

"Get well soon girl"

.

"Thanks"

.

"Will see you tomorrow then."

"You coming right?"

.

"Yes,I shall."

.

"Good. Take care."

.

"You too. Night Mase"

.

"Night Khushi."

..

As she hit the red button of the phone, ending the call, she laughed at the irony of things.

She was accusing the devil for not narrating the complete episode to her mother, and here she was following suit, the same policy, herself.

.

And to add to it, she didn't even feel a little sense of regret for not telling the whole thing to Mase.

.

"Wow! Now I second the Devil!"

She thought, as she realized that she had no right to convict him for lying, when that is exactly what she was doing too.

.

"..But why?"

"Fine, skip that question!"

.

Getting down from the bed, she took a glance of her reflection in the mirror.

"God, I look terrible."

Her hair was all damp due to the rain.

Her skin, all pale.

But to her surprise, the corsage with violet roses still stayed on her right wrist.

.

As she touched it softly, a faint smile appeared on her face, recalling nothing yet everything.

But the next minute it vanished as she realized what she was wearing!

.

"Jesus Christ!!"

She exclaimed in disgust intensifying the hideousness of her already choked voice.

.

The night pyjamas with the weird blue ducks!!

.

"Didn't mom find anything else in my closet to replace the drenched clothes that I was wearing?"

She muttered angrily.

She had abandoned this night dress long back, but her mom felt too attached to it, to let it go.

After all, she loved keeping all the childhood till date things of her children safe and secure.

Memories were too precious, weren't they?

But that doesn't change the fact that she looked like a complete ugly duckling wearing it.

Or so she thought.

"What did she think I was while changing me to this weird thing?"

"Seven?"

.

Her anger subsiding, she chuckled at her mom's craziness.

She opened the door of her closet, to take out a decent night suit.

She so needed to get out of that weird attire!

"God, it's been ages since I arranged my closet."

She uttered in surprise seeing the condition of how things were kept inside her closet.

Everything was a mess.

"First thing tomorrow, organize all your clothes properly."

She commanded herself.

.

After a lot of moving things here and there, she finally discovered a decent piece of night suit.

Taking it out with her hand, she turned to get into the washroom to change, when suddenly she realized something had fallen down, due to her carelessness.

.

Alarmed, she looked at the floor, trying to find out what fell down.

.

As her eyes wandered on the white floor, she finally got her answer seeing the contrast of red stones against the white color.

.

The bracelet

.

"Shit"

She couldn't help the word escaping her mouth, as she panicked and quickly took it in her hands, making sure it wasn't broken.

.

To her relief, it seemed fine.

She sighed deeply, as her suddenly tensed muscles finally relaxed after seeing that the ornament wasn't broken.

As she proceeded to keep it back, safely in its place, something strange struck her mind.

Something unceremonious, unprecedented, yet something tempting.

.

A frown of confusion took over her face, as she brought the bracelet closer to her eyes and analyzed it thoroughly.

.

Seeing it from all the angles, her eyes finally settled on the unusual element.

.

The chain..

.

"What's this weird small shape hanging with it?"

The thought struck her mind.

.

She struggled with the questions as she tried hard to refresh something in her mind.

As she tried harder, a wave of shock hit her, when she realized,

"Perhaps.."

"Perhaps, I found it."

.

"The wooden box from the basement."

"The... the"

.

She felt like an idiot, realizing how and why didn't she notice this strange thing before?

As she held it more close to her, she finally felt the answers coming out explicitly.

.

"The weird lock."

.

"This.."

.

"..This has to be the Key"

**