One Midnight

Chapter one.

With a, strong wind a snow flake blew on Noras face. She quickly closed the window. As she was already shivering with the very sudden cold winter in near summer time. " I hope these two girls come on time. For this visit to these chalet in the mountains. Great where do i get such plans aftee seeimg some holiday ad in a, magazine " Nora said. She was a bit plump attractive young woman who had invited her friends Janie and Tisha for the three day weekend. Her boyfriend Jeremy was also supposed to join them there. He was a dj in a famous discotheque. So saying this shw turned. Away from the window and was mulling on this topic. That Janie a, red haired was a wild one. ' Hope she doesnt do any thing rash on this trip. While Tisha blonde one was always cautious about everything. But one thing not sitting comfortable with her was this that her personal psychic had told her not to go on this trip. She firesaw some misadventure and something but Jennie had responded to this information of Noras by saying that this readers are mostly wrong all the time. So here atlast Nora had decided to take on this trip.

And so she did some light packing. Jeremy thought this was a great idea. Tisha had said " on this trip we will do something scary and unconventional. " To which Nora had replied " its supposed to be a calm weekend dont think of doing anything weird okay. " So they were on their way in Noras car driving through the mountain side. With a, chill breeze blowing. Tisha who was sitting in the backside said " i can hear the wolves howl from here this far. " " I really do hope that you do encounter the wolf. " Nora who was driving. Suddenly halted the car. " What happened why did you stop " Jenny said. " Its the fog i cant see clearly and the cliff on the right side is steep " Nora said. " Here come om let me do the driving, you scare too easy " Tisha, said. " And you are too daring ok. No way you are driving on this narrow road " Jenny told Tisha. " So are we going to sit here for the fog to clear up or are we going ahead " Tisha, said. " Okay i will drive slowly then because we have to reach that chalet before night as on this roads there aee no lights " Nora told and started her blue silvery car. Late evening became and the moon was rising up from the tall trees. " Exactly where is the lodge or chalet whatever its almost becoming night now and we are still in this lonely wild " Jenny said bit angrily. " Here it is you see that mountain cliff there, behind it the chalet is " Nora said pointing in front. " This is so exciting i cant wait to go " Tisha exclaimed. " It looks kind of gloomy to me nothing is, around here except this, trees and maybe there are wild, anals, around here " Jenny said. " And the caretaker whose he have you met him " Jenny asked. " I talked with him on the phone he is reliable. So here we are atlast " Nora parked her car in front of a one one storeyed house which was, almost hidden by shrubs. But it looked kind of palatial. They got out of the car. And slowly walked towards the house. Nora ringed the door bell. A man came he was smoking a cigar from behind them suddenly. This gave them bit of a jolt. He said " i am the caretaker my name is, Stoodge and you are the people who wanted to stay here for the weekend. Come inside with your bags " he said removing a key from his pocket and opened the door. Inside it looked like a movie set of some movie. With a, deer stuffed face on the wall and some sofa and all regular stuff. A fire too was going on the corner. But what really caught their attention was a two big swords above the fireplace. " A bit different it is but quite fine for a place to stay in the cold mountains i think " Jenny said. The caretaker asked them if they wanted anything special for dinner to which they replied " anything will do. " Nora said " did you people observed one thing about that man. His face looked like it had been done with some plastic surgery on. I mean stitches. " " Maybe he had a fight with some wild wolf here " Tisha laughed. Nora didnt found it funny. Soon he came with dinner for them and before going said " dont open the doors at night if someone knocks or anything as such. " Ofcourse we wont open to strangers but why you telling us this " Tisha asked him. " Last time a, two people who stayed here said that some one was knocking the door at midnight and when they opened the door there was no one outside thats why " he said. But Nora had a doubt that there was more to this story. " We will not open the door even if you knock really " Nora said to him. He went away. Laughing at this sentence of Nora.

Later in the night. A knock came on the door. Nora went to open it.

She looked through the peephole but no one was there. Tisha too got up and followed her and asked whose it that is knocking this late at night at the door. " Its no one that i can see. He told us not to open this, door no matter what remember " Nora whispered. " This is freaky but on our first day such a thing happening " Tisha said. Jenny too got up and said " i will go out and see once and for all who this is. "

Nora, stopped her. " You cant go outside its, 2 am in the night ! " Again the knock came. " Lets just ignore it and go back to sleep " Nora, suggested.

So next morning. They all woke up to the caretaker who had brought them breakfast. " Well its pancakes and coffee for the ladies. You must be hungry. The mountain air makes one. " " You are right we are " Tisha said. Jemny said to Nora " and you were saying hes kind of spooky yesterday. He seems, nice to me. See how hospitable hes. "

" Well lets have coffee then " Nora said pouring herself a cup.

After that they just sat. A historical movie was playing on the tv channel. Tishasaid" here let me make some cheese popcorns for all of you. " " Why are we even just sitting inside and watching television. We didnt came all the way out here to do this. Lets go out and explore the area. See how nice dewy weather it is " Jenny suggested. " Yes right we should take a, walk around this woods. The atmosphere is too good. Just a, bit of rain and all cool around " Tisha said. " Wait the movie is just ending. After that we will go okay " Nora said. Soon as the movie ended Tisha was at the door standing impatiently waiting for Nora and Jenny to get up. So they switched off the tv. And wore their hiking boots and went. Outside caretaker was sitting smoking on a log. " I see you girls are goimg hiking but be careful there are lots of wild animals out there. Be back before evening " he said. " Dont pay heed to him. Hes just a, superstitious and trying to scare us " Tisha said. " No i think he is may be right. We should really return back quick " Jenny also added. " You two listen quietly do the walking and we will be back before late evening " Nora told them. " Twilight ! What are you saying. I am not going to be in this mountainous forests till that long " Jenny said. " Okay i m returning lets just cancel it " Nora was getting a bit angrier. " All right lets hike and not fight " Tisha interrupted in between and they walked off. The air was wet and birds were making lots of noise. The sound of their feet on the watery grass below was making. Nora removed her phone and tried calling her mother but as the network was weak she wasnt able to connect so she kept it back in her small sling purse. " Here let me check the map you have to know exactly where we are. Didnt the caretaker said there was a small waterfall here. And he told us not to vemture too deep " Jenny said. " Wha map , i dont have any. I thought you had it " Tisha said to Nora. " Not me. I told you to carry it. It was on the table. I knew you would forget it im your impatience " Nora said irritably. " Now we are lost. What do we do " Jenny started panicking. " Nora stopped walking and sat down on a flowery branch of a tree and said " first lets take some rest. For the last half an hour we are hiking. I can hear the waterfall from here. Its somewhere nearby here. We will go there then return back. We go straight. Because i think we didnt took any turns. That would be enough to help us return to the chalet " Nora said. So after taking a break of ten minutes they got up and went ahead. The waterfall came in view. It was picturusque wit wild flowers growing all around on its side. " I am in the mood to get drenched in it " Tisha said excitedly. " Dont remove your clothes wait what if some black jaguar is, around here " Jenny said. " Why suddenly you dweeb thinking of jaguar now when such a beautiful sight is in front " Tisha said while removing her jacket and jumping in the watee splashing water on Nora and Jenny. " Stop it will you im getting all wet. And so you know let me tell you while coming here i saw a horizontal black shadow dwart through the trees once thats why i told you " Jenny said a bit frightened. Nora was stunned for a moment to hear this and said " do jaguars swim too what if it came here. There is no hiding place here. " " You two fools stop that jaguar talk and come and have fun in the water. Its so cold see. And by the way Nora your green blazer is camouflaging you with the trees. So the panther or jaguar whatever will have a hard time finding you " Tisha laughed. " Really we shouldn't have brought you along on this trip " Nora said and joinef her in the waters. While Jenny just sat on the green grass watching them. " Come on Jenny dont behave like this " Tisha shouted. Her voice coming low because of the sound of the water fall. ' You wild one enjoy there while i keep a watch here for any wild animals " Jenny said and removed a magazine from her small bag to flip through. " Hurry up will you people its getting late. I dont want to be lost here in this woods with some predator on the loose " Jenny was getting worried. " Okay calm down here we are lets go back. We had never seen such cool waters before till now " Nora said drying herself with a napkin. There was a rustle among the back tres. " Its just the wind now hurry up " Tisha said putting on her boots.

As soon as they got up. To go a animal sound could be heard. " What was that dont tell me its se wolf or such " Jenny said. " I told you there was something here but you wouldn't hear now lets go hurry up " Jenny added. " Oh no its some animal. Black in colour and huge. Its a panthere there see. Now what do we do " Nora shouted.

They stood transfixed and unable to move. Nora was the first to react. " See there is a tree there we can climb it fast come from this side " she said and they followed her from the right side of the flowing stream. A huge tree was there. " Run start climb it " Tisha said. " I dont know how to climb " Jenny said. " Dont be a fool. Stop looking back and just climb here " Nora said. The black panther who was still suddenly jumped from the bushes straight for them. In few seconds he was near them. As Tisha was last to climb he was, able to scratch her leg. But she climbed the top branch and they sat. On it looking down as the panther was wildly jumping down below. " Now he cant climb can he. In some magazine i had read they can " Nora, said. Its big teeth were all out and almost he was trying to jump to the top branch. The panthers charcoal eyes were mean looking. " I think i will fall " Jenny said. " Stop looking at it. He will go after some time " Nora said. " But afraid to go through this forest now and its almost evening now " Tisha. Nora was surprised that Tisha was frightened. He quietly sat down waiting for them to come down. And they sat clinging to the tree like a life saver. Atlast he got up and went. But it was twilight now. And in the thick woods it looked almost like night. Wearily they got down. " Can you make out the route in this darkness now " Jenny asked Nora. " Yes we have to just go straight " Nora, replied. " What if it comes back again " Jenny asked. " The caretaker do you think will come to searc for us " Tisha asked. " Do you want to sit here and wait for someone to come " Nora shrieked. Only the noise of their boots could be heard as they stealthily made their way back. Only the sound of crickets and a owl nearby could be heard. Once a sound of something huge moving among the trees could be heard. Nora really thought it was the panther. But it was just a monkey. " Just keep running and dont think about that panther okay " Nora, told them. " But i feel hes not gone too far " Jenny whispered. " They hunt at night so stop wasting your time and and just keep walking " Tisha said. " You are sure we on the right tracks " Tisha, asked. " Yes i hope so " Nora replied. Tisha reacted angrily to this. " You hope so thats just it. " Nora did not replied. To her on this and just kept walking. " Are we any nearer or no " Tisha asked. " I dont know. This, patch looks similar to me " Nora, said. " Forget similar. I think we have come more deep in the woods " Tisha said looking at the huge trees. " We should stay here somewhere for the night. In morning we can continue. Because the flashlights are running out of battery too " Nora said. " Find some large branch where we can stay for the night " Nora suggested. Jenny found a, fallen log and told them that, here they can sleep. " Yes its only two more hours till morning. Till then we can make a fire and sit or sleep here " Tisha said. " The first day of our holiday and see how it went. You must be happy with this adventure " Jenny said to Tisha. " Now you two dont fight " Nora, told them.

Tisha was having some doubt. Panthers can climb trees then how this one did not. " Hey how come that panther did not climb our tree " she asked. " Did you wanted him to climb. Foreget it maybe it got too excited by seeing three people at one go " Nora said. " Dont build the fire because any animal can get attracted because of it " Jenny said. So they just sat quietly. Then after a, few moments there was rustle among the trees. They were stunned to hear that hoping it was not that panther. Then like a blur a, figure jumped at them. It was the panther. Jenny screamed as it clawed her. Nora didnt knew what to do and Tisha, kept screaming. And then there was, a, gunshot. Hearing that the panther ran away. Jennys hand had a, big scratch. Out of the trees two guys came, out with rifles in their hands. One was Jeremy. Tisha was surprised. And Nora, rushed forward joyfully. " How you knew we were here " she asked. " As i had told you i would join you. This is, Jeff here my friend. We went to the chalet and the caretaker told you went hiking. So i knew you got lost here in the night. So both of were searching for you. Jeff is, a good tracker. On the way i found a keychain. It was of Jenny so we knew you were nearby somewhere. And then the howl of the panther and we followed it and here we are " Jeremy said. " You have no idea how happy i am to see you here. If you hadnt come " Nora said. " Our jeep is in the right side parked. Lets go " Jerem said and they followed him. Jeff was a muscular guy and he had his gun in position in case. " There our jeep is get inside guys " he said.

So they got in the jeep. And drove off in the cold night. Through the wild forests. " I am happy you came " Nora said. " You shouldnt have come like this in the forests " Jeremy said. " It was Tishas idea. And we were having fun until the panther came. Why you dont have a closed jeep. Am getting a feeling that an wild animal can come out in this open space " Jenny said. " But we are driving and not still so its fine " Jack said who was sitting beside Tisha on the backseat. A few rain drops fell on them.

Very soon they reached. It was midnight and the moon was half in the sky. As Nora got out of the jeep rain started falling. " Hurry up inside or last thing we know we will be drenched " Jeremy shouted. So they all ran inside. And were surprised to find the caretaker awake and outside. Tisha was the first to remark " you knew there were wild animals out in the forest then too you did not warned us why. " " Remember i did told you to return early if you have forgotten. And it is not my fault if you people decided to rendezvous there. Inspite of my telling not to " caretaker replied. " Allright lets go and sleep now " Jeremy said to them. Jack too followed them.

Inside the house it was chill. The fire too had extimguished of the fireplace. Jack exclaimed " it really looks like a, mountain cabin. Where did you find it by the way. " " On a, website i came across it " Nora said. " She is, always, seaeching for some out if the box things " Jeremy said. " I am so tired lets just sleep. And find a first aid kid for my leg " Jenny said. " In all of this we just forgot about her. Its a, deepscratch. A, bandage will do fine " Jeremy said bringing a, box from a drawer. " What are you doing " Nora said to Jack. As he was searching something in the cupboard. " Look what i found you wont believe it. Its sone worn ancient seanse board " he said holding it in his hands. Nora took it from him. And saw that the board really was ancient looking. " It must be belonging to him the caretaker man. Whats his, name he said Reg something. And return it to him. Nothing we are doing with it. Already enough happened for one day " Jenny said. " No we will play it tomorrow Jack and i sure. You people can stay out of it if you want. Nora took the board from him. And put off the lights out. " Now if nothing then this will make you people sleep. It almost near morning " she said.

So they slept away. And in the morning as they woke up. Jack was already woken up. " How come you up so early " Nora, asked. " Went for a, small walk among the mountains " he said. And he showed a, bunch of wild flowers he had brought. In his hand he was holding white lilies.

He was looking for a vase. To keep the lilies in the room.

" So did you bring those lilies for me " Tisha asked. " You can have them if you want " Jack said. Jeremy too got uo and entered the room. " So caretaker has breakfast or not or do we have to make it ourselves. By the way where is he " Jeremy asked. " We have not seen him from morning too " Jenny said. " And hows your feet doing today " Jeremy asked. " Bit better " Jenny replied. Jack said " that caretaker guy looks to me a weirdo. " " He is. Have you seen the way he acts suspicious and now hes just gone " Nora said. " And in the night i heard some noises coming from that car shed at midnight " Tisha said. " What really wait let me check up on our car there " Jeremy said and went. Jack followed him along. After few minutes they returned. With a, look of dismay on their faces. " Car tyres are punctured one of them " Jeremy said. " We have a, spare one i will fix it " Jack said. " But who did it " Jenny said. " It sure has to be that weirdo. Thats y i heard him in the shed " Tisha replied. " I think we should cut short this trip and return. See on the radio new came of an impending wind storm too. It would be difficult for us to drive on the roads " Jenny said. " Wait let me think " Nora, was saying. " Ler me call the cops " Jack said and went towards the phone. " Lines dead " he said. " And mobile network too not proper " Jenny said. " First lets fix that car " Jeremy said. " And wait to hear his, explaination on this " Nora quipped. " What if hes vanished " Jenny said. " Its his cottage he will return wherever hes gone. But first lets have coffee and eat something " Jeremy said on his way to make some coffee.

After they had the coffee. A loud knock on the door surprised them. " Who it may be now " Jenny said. Jeremy went to open the door. But Nora stopped him by saying that it would be better if they stay together and do things. " And ofcourse not opening that door. I dont trust that caretaker anymore " Jenny said. After few moments the knocking stopped. And they in group went outside again towards the shed. " It must have rained in the night. See how wet the grass is " Tisha said. " And in such a stormy night what was he doing outside that man " Nora said.

Few drops of rain was falling. And a chill breeze was blowing. Nora said " this trip is going like right out of a movie type isnt it. " " You should always select more frequent places thats why " Jack said. " What exactly do you mean by that " Nora asked. " Nothing forget it. I meant that this place is so is so isolated type " Jack answered. " Heres the shed hurry u with fixing of the tyre. And now i think go and collect your stuff we will go then " Jeremy said. Suddenly caretaker came. They were surprised to see him. " Do not worry folks. Before this too some mischievous guys had punctured a, tyre of a, previous guests. You dont have to cut short your trip " he said. Hearing him say this they didnt knew whether to believe him or not.

So they decided otherwise. And cancelled their plan to return. After fixing the tyre all of then went inside the house. " But why is the phone connection dead " Tisha asked the caretaker. He said " its because of this wind storm. Havent you people seen on the news channel that a wind storm is approaching this area " caretaker said. " Really. This weekend trip is turning out to be something " Jenny said. Jack was happy with this new development. And said " a perfect setting for an board then. " What board. I rather would say you dont do anything of this sort here " caretaker said and went.

They sat for some time. Afternoon came and they had lunch made by Jeremy. Jack said " Hey look out there see how the trees are swaying. It looks like the glass of the windows will break any moment. " " He was wrong. Its more stormy then he the caretaker had said " Tisha said. Jenny added " in this gusty winds i think our car wont run too maybe will it. " Nora went and closed the windows. Jeremy said " so now what do we do. " " I have a, plan. Instead of that silly board lets do something else. How about a game of cards. "

So they sat down. To a, game of cards. Jeremy distributed the pack. Nora said " lets play with money ok. " Jenny said " what was that at the window. I saw someone standing there. " " Ofcourse it is no one. Becsuse of the wind you must have seen some tree branch blowing or something " Jack said. " Was it the caretaker spying on us " Tisha wondered. Jack laughed at this. Nora, didnt found it funny at all. " A very vivid imagination you have " Jack said to her. " Again someone ran across outside " Jenny blurted. Jeremy got up to check out side " wait let me see whats going on outside. " But Nora stopped him saying " let it be. Dont go. After all the things here. "

So he did not go out. To check instead of that they drew up the curtains. " Its almost looking like night look at the grey clouds in the sky " Jenny said. " Yes on the weather forecast it came that its going to be a wind storm " Nora replied. To this Jack said. That they should have thought on this before coming. " How i was to know that a windstorm was coming " Nora asked. " You should have seen the weather reports " Jack said. " She directly talked with the caretaker and booked this place from a newspaper advertisement didn you " Jeremy said. " Yes and now lets think what we do instead of arguing here " Tisha interrupted them.

And they just sat down. Quietly for some time as the wind was getting gustier. Jenny suddenly said " I have no interest in playing any card of pokers. Would rather go and read some book upstairs. As you people are mostly doing the fighting more then anything else. " And she went up. " Because of you Jenny went see " Tisha said to Jeremy. " Let her be. Lets continue with the cards " Jack said. After a few moments there was a scream from upstairs. They all rushed up and saw Jenny closing the windows. Nothing seemed out of place. Then why did she scream. Nora asked " what happened why did you shout here Jenny. " " Look at the floor boards. Shoe prints are there. I think someone climbed in from the window and maybe is still here " Jenny told them. Jeremy bent down to inspect the footprints and said " yes some one did climbed here. As we were all downstairs. Did you kept the windows open " he said. " Yes she keeps them open for fresh air " Tisha said. " Wait let me check everywhere if someone is still hiding " Jack said. He checked the cabinet and below the bed but nothing. " No oned here. I think whoever it was went " Jack said. " Was it the caretaker " Nora wondered. " We cant just doubt on anyone. But from the time we have come something or the other seems to be happening. Leave the panther incident out of it. And he that caretaker does seems suspicious to me by the way " Tisha said.

Lets just take some rest. Jeremy suggested this so they listened to him. Nora, said " i think we should check on all the doors. " " And cut off this, trip short maybe " Tisha added.

So they checked on all doors. And were surprised to find the backdoor open. Nora said " How come this is open because i think i did locked it at night. " " Maybe you must have forgotten it or something " Jeremy said. As Jack was closing it a sheer chilly wind blew in causing her to shiver. " It really is, very cold outside " Jenny said. " Jack volunteered to prepare dinner. As it was getting late evening. To divert their attention from the happenings. Tisha said " you all sit and watch tv or something while Jack and i make pizza for all. " And towards kichen they both went.

After half an hour or so. Tisha came out of the kichen with plate of pizzas. " Is it chicken or vegerable " asked Jenny. " Made both so you can whatever you like " Jack replied. Nora took the veg one and went near the sliding glass, door. She opened it up a bit. " I think we can sit in the balcony. The snow has stopped " she said. " Yes lets go i need some fresh air too. Full day we were inside the house " Jenny said. " But its dark. Its nine o clock in the night. What if some wild animal comes along " Jack said. " So far the only wild animal around here is that caretaker " Nora said.

They all decided to sit outside. As they were sitting out under the stars. Which were showing now. Jack saw a figure run in the trees.

" What was that just ran across that slope over there " he said. " Now dont start again " Tisha, said. " No really i saw something dart among the trees. Im not pranking " Jack said. " Wait i will check and come who is it " Jeremy said and got up. " Let it be dont go out there now " Jenny was saying. Jack got up to go with Jeremy and they both went. Nora sat feeling quite cold outside and more then fifteen minutes went and still they had not returned. " I had told those fools not to go. Have they gone all the way inside the forest now to search for someone who was darting here " Jenny said. " Shall we go and search for them " Tisha suggested. Nora was confused she didnt want to go. Inside those mountaineous woods at all. As she reluctantly agreed to go. Jack and Jeremy emerged from among the trees. " Nothing out there we searched up thoroughly " Jack said. " Lets just go inside now okay " Jeremy said.

As they were just turning. Around to go someone jumped behind Jack. It was the caretaker. Jenny screamed. He had a baseball bat im his, hand. With it he hit him behind the head. Jack fell down. Jeremy jumped on him. And tried to take the bat frim him. Nora was stunned. To move. Jenny saw a big rock lying on the ground. She picked it up and threw it at the caretaker. On his hand it hit him. Momentarily he was taken aback. At this quickly taking the chance Jeremy with the baseball bat hit him on his, legs. And leaving him there they all rushed inside. Helping Jack to get up with a bleeding head. After closing the door. Jeremy said " quick pack up your bags we are leaving from here right now. So it was him afterall behind those punctured tires and fleeting shadows among the trees " Jeremy said hurriedly. " He is not dead. Hurry up " Tisha, added. They went upstairs to take their bags as Jeremy opened up the back door to go towards the car shed. Upstairs Tisha was saying " where is my diary i cant find it. " " Forget it just go " Nora told her angrily. " Here it is lying under the bed " Jenny said handing it to her. As they were hurrying down the stairs. From below Jack was waiting for them. " I think it would have been better if we have had tied him up or something " Jack said. They went towards the shed. Jeremy was sitting in the drivers sit. After getting inside and locking the car doors. Jeremy with his key tried to start the car. But it wont start. Jenny saw the key and said " this is not the car keys you have wrong one. " " Where are the car keys then " Nora said horrified. " Upstairs lying on the dresser maybe " Jenny said. " Wait here i go get them " Jeremy said and got out to go. " Wait where is that caretaker. He was lying on the ground there. That means he is somewhere inside the house " Tisha said. " I will take this baseball bat with me " Jeremy said amd ran inside. As they impatiently waited for him to come. After few moments. Still no sign of him. Nora said " i go and check inside you all wait here. " " We both go together " Tisha said and they too got uo and went inside the house. Leaving Jenny and Jack inside the car. As snow too started falling and that too heavily.