Ghost hunting-Book 1 (Part 2)

Randalf jumped into the back yard of the mansion and proceeded to the door. The mansion was the most feared place in the locality. A lot of people had strayed inside this mysterious mansion and nothing had been heard of them thereafter. Most people believed that they had been gruesomely killed by the ghosts of the house. This was the reason why they preferred to stay away from it. But Randalf was here for a purpose. He was here to avenge his friend’s death.

“This is it.” muttered Randalf gravely. He walked determinedly to the battered door and pushed it open. The old rusted door creaked at the hinges and opened grudgingly. He took out an instrument from his backpack. It was an ordinary looking radar with a big box attached to it. But there was more to it than that which met the eye. He pushed a few buttons and the instrument whirled into action. Hidden panels opened up from the box and a dozen lights started blinking and beeping. Only then did a hint of a smile pass on Randalf’s face.  The instrument was working perfectly.

He dragged the machine inside and inspected his surroundings. The mansion was sparsely furnished. The whole place was covered with dust and cobwebs. The construction was that of a 16^th century mansion. Broken chandeliers hung from the ceiling. Dry smudges of blood were splattered here and here. A portrait hung crookedly from a wall. “Definitely not a place to be” thought Randalf grimly. It reminded him of the painful memories from the past and his head reeled for a second. He shook his head hard and took control of his thoughts. The air inside was chilled. Just as expected. Randalf had made an extensive research on ghosts. From all the crap and loads of useless information, he had managed to gather some substantial facts. One such fact was that the presence of ghosts always had an aura of coldness and numbness around them. Randalf knew about this fact from experience too. Again his mind got flooded with the past memories. He resolutely brushed them aside with some effort and carried on with his mission. His instrument was designed such that it distinguished the cold regions and the warm regions. The warm regions were marked with red lights (which would also signify the presence of life) while the cold regions were marked with blue lights. That was where the ghosts would be. He looked into the LCD screen of his radar and was surprised to see a red light blinking. Could there be someone alive inside? Two girls had strayed inside the house that week and nothing had been heard of them ever since. “Perhaps it could be one of them” thought Randalf and made his way towards the spot. He climbed the rickety stairs carefully and moved towards the third floor with his eyes glued to the screen attached to the radar for any suspicious activities. 

“Ow! Drat these stairs!” cursed Randalf as a stair creaked under his weight. He managed to reach the room without any further trouble and peeped inside. The room was dark. Randalf called out softly-“Hello! Is anyone there? I’m Randalf! I’ve come to rescue you! Do not be afraid!” there was no response. Randalf flashed his torch inside the room and saw a beautiful girl lying on the floor. She was in her mid twenties and her lovely face was dirty and streaked with tears. Randalf quickly made his way inside and secured the perimeter of the room. There was no sign of any suspicious activity. He took out the water bottle from his backpack and splashed some water on the girl’s face. The girl coughed and sat up slowly. She blinked her eyes and looked around.

“Don’t worry! I’m a friend. I’ve come to rescue you.” said Randalf reassuringly.

“Uh huh... Where am I?” asked the girl in a dazed voice.

“We’re at the haunted mansion” explained Randalf. I think you....” he said and trailed off.

“Oh yes! Now I remember! My sister and I were playing with our favourite ball. She threw it a bit hard by mistake and it landed inside this house through the window. So we came inside to get it back and...” she broke off and started crying.

“Hey! Please don’t cry! I’m here now. There’s no need to be afraid. I promise I’ll get you out of here safely. Trust me.” said Randalf. “Here drink some water. It’ll help.”

“No its ok.. I’ll be fine!” said the girl weakly. “Just help me to get up please. So what’s your name?”

“I’m Randalf.” he said.

“Oh.. I’m Elizabeth. Thanks for the help Randalf! I can’t tell you how grateful I am!”

“That’s ok” he replied. “I’m glad I could help.”

“Hey, what’s that?” asked Elizabeth noticing Randalf’s machine.

“It’s a radar” said Randalf and explained its purpose.

He looked into his radar screen and saw another red light blinking. “There’s another person here in the room at the far end of the floor.” he said.

“That must be my sister!” exclaimed Elizabeth. "Please help me rescue her too!” she pleaded.

Randalf could make out the urgency in her voice. He felt a strange attraction towards her. She was truly beautiful and brave. He saw an image of himself in her. He had lost his best friend too in this very house and he knew the pain of losing a loved one.

“Ok then.” he said. “I’ll help you to rescue your sister.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much” said Elizabeth gratefully.

Randalf modified his plans and quickly thought of a way to rescue Elizabeth’s sister. He checked his radar once more to confirm the red signal and proceeded to the room at the far end of that floor to rescue her sister.

(To be continued..........)