Trail of the Beast — Part 1

Trail of the Beast is an interesting Suspense Thriller fiction set in the village of Bulandgarh, an imaginary forest range somewhere in the Indian Subcontinent. Enjoy the Read!

“Please have a seat, Sangram Ji. RFO Saheb should be here soon. I will be right back with tea and some refreshments.”

Sangram Singh, a potbellied hefty man with a massive grey mustache, neatly clad in dhoti-kurta and a traditional turban, took the chair at the visitor’s side of the desk. Alongside Sangram sat Shantilal, a dusky lean man somewhere in his late fifties, having traces of sweat all over his forehead. One could easily notice that he hadn’t changed that kurta since last night.

The hustle and bustle of the office broke Shantilal’s constant gaze at the floor, and his fidgeting feet paused for a moment as the cubicle door opened briefly. Ahmed, an old stumpy guy wearing khaki, came back with two cups of tea and a plate of cashew biscuits kept on a tray that he sincerely offered to the guests.

“The new Saheb has joined last week itself. I wonder why he is late today,” said Ahmed, wearing an apologetic smile.

“I see,” replied Sangram in a firm yet polite tone as he took a cup from the tray.

Shantilal was so busy staring at the floor that he couldn’t even notice the tray being extended towards him. As Ahmed kept the tray on the desk, he feebly heard greetings being exchanged outside the cubicle.

“Ah! The Saheb is here,” and he rushed out of the cubicle.

Ahmed held the door as a young man entered the room. Draped well in a khaki uniform, Prithvi had a well-built physique and a fair-complexioned chiseled face. He greeted the visitors with folded hands. Sangram and Shantilal stood up and greeted him back. Prithvi sat on his well-cushioned office chair.

“So tell me, Sangram Ji, what brings the Sarpanch of Bulandgarh to the Forest Department office?”

“Prithvi Ji, this is Shantilal, a dairy farmer in our village. Something happened last night, and two of his buffaloes are found dead. Shanti, please tell Saheb what you saw last night.”

All eyes are on Shantilal. He folded his hands and started speaking in a struggling tone.

“Saheb Ji, it was around midnight. My family and I were all asleep when I heard grunting sounds coming from outside and got up. I slid the curtains and started looking from the window. It was dark, and I hadn’t worn my specs. There was some commotion happening with my cattle, they were grunting and calling out to each other. It was then that I saw it…”

(Prithvi interrupts)

“Ahmed chacha, what happened to the air conditioner I had asked for? This summer heat is just killing me. Just look at how profusely Shantilal Ji is sweating.”

“Ji sir ji, actually the air conditioner might take some time. I have asked for a desert cooler instead. It should be here by tomorrow,” Ahmed replied at once.

Prithvi let out a deep sigh as he leaned backward on his chair, resting his chin on his right hand.

“Ah, whatever. Just see to it that it is done at the earliest. Yes, Shantilal Ji, please continue,” said Prithvi as he picked up a spherical paperweight from the desk and began spinning it.

“Saheb Ji, I wasn’t able to see clearly what it was. It was sitting on the ground, its back facing me. One of my buffaloes lay dead in front of it. Then it stood up, erect on its hind legs. It was massive, more than twice the size of a human. Its head turned, and I could see it had been chewing something with that enormous snout. Suddenly, the chewing stopped, and it was looking at me cross-eyed. I have never seen eyes like those, they were radiant like the morning sun. A chill ran down my spine, and I moved away from the window, shutting the curtains back. I reached for my specs and came back to the window, slid the curtains slowly, and started looking from a corner. I could see the buffalo lying on the ground, dead. That creature was nowhere to be seen. I didn’t step out until the morning. Two of my buffaloes were lying there, being scavenged by crows. I went directly to the Sarpanch Ji.”

“Hmm. Shantilal Ji, are you sure you weren’t drunk last night? I have heard this Hooch is pretty common among the villagers here, and supposedly it has hallucinating after-effects,” replied Prithvi.

“No, Saheb Ji, I wasn’t…”

(interrupts)

“Sarpanch Ji, this is a reserved forest area. The forest department is closely and constantly monitoring the wildlife here. We haven’t received any reports of tiger or leopard sightings for a very long time. It surely must have been a pack of jackals.”

“Yes, Prithvi Ji, I understand,” replied Sangram.

“I would suggest we enhance our fencing in the village areas that are close to the forest in order to prevent such intrusions in the future. I’ll also appoint two of our rangers to night patrol the village starting today. I hope that will be helpful. And yes, Sarpanch Ji, it is a humble request not to spread this story among the villagers. It would just create an unnecessary ruckus.”

“Sure thing, Prithvi Ji. Thank you so much. Namaste!” replied Sangram as he stood up to leave. Shantilal followed him, greeting under his breath, a sign of disappointment clear on his face.

As promised by the young forest officer, two rangers patrolled the village every night, but no such incidents were reported, either by them or the villagers. Three weeks hence, Prithvi dismissed the case citing it as a one-off incident, and the night patrolling activity was terminated.

Almost a month had passed since the incident had taken place. Prithvi heard his doorbells ringing continuously while he was still in bed. It was 10 AM already. Prithvi had overslept. Reluctantly he pushed himself out of his bed, dragging his heavy legs till the door.

“Sir Ji! Are you still asleep? I have been trying to reach you for over an hour.”

“For god’s sake, Ahmed chacha, it’s Saturday,” replied an annoyed Prithvi. He went back inside gaping and picked up his mobile phone, trying hard to unlock it as his eyes refused to cooperate.

18 missed calls — Ahmed Chacha

5 missed calls — High Command

Prithvi’s drowsiness vanished in a jiffy. He immediately asked Ahmed what had happened. Ahmed told him it was very urgent and asked Prithvi to come along with him.

Ahmed stopped the jeep outside a house in the village. It was so crowded that it seemed as if the entire village had gathered there.

“Please make way for the Saheb Ji!” gushed Ahmed as he guided Prithvi inside through the crowd. The nameplate read — ‘Shantilal Dubey.’ Prithvi and Ahmed stood in the backyard of the house. He saw a few men standing there, Sangram Singh and a couple of people from the Forest Department among them. Prithvi turned his gaze towards the ground and witnessed something he had never seen before:

A decapitated man lying flat in a pool of blood, the head tossed a yard away from the body.

Head over to “Trail of the Beast — Part 2”

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