Writer - WildestDreams | Graphicer - ExoticDisaster
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Theme - Bag
Title: Darkness Within The Suitcase
Winning entry for Mixed Bag Of Celebrations Contest
It was a cold and windy night when Inspector Arnav Singh Raizada received the call. An abandoned suitcase had been found in an old farmhouse on the outskirts of the city. There were no clues as to who had left it there or why. But the most disturbing part was that someone had reported strange noises coming from inside that cursed house, where no one had lived for years. Arnav sighed, glancing at Khushi Gupta, his longtime partner. She looked at him with the same expression as always, determined and focused, but there was something in her eyes that night, a spark of tension that he had never seen before.
“Are we really sure we want to go?” Khushi asked, wrapping her coat around her. “That house… has been the center of too many stories, and not the kind we can explain with logic.”
"We can't ignore it," Arnav replied, his voice calmer than he actually felt. “It's our job.”
They arrived at the farmhouse shortly after midnight. The house was a wreck of rotting wood and broken windows, surrounded by a thick fog that seemed almost alive. Shadows danced on the walls, and the wind made the old floorboards creak as if the house itself was breathing. The suitcase was there, right in the center of the main room, perfectly intact despite where it was located. It was brown leather, old and worn with time, with strange pattern of symbols etched on it. Khushi bent over it, observing it with suspicion.
"Don't touch it" Arnav said instinctively, but it was already too late. Khushi had placed her hand on the lock, and at that moment the noise they had only heard in stories materialized: a whisper. A subtle sound, like breathing creeping through the air.
"Did you hear that?" Khushi whispered, suddenly withdrawing her hand.
He nodded, his heart beating fast. The whisper grew louder, and seemed to come from the suitcase itself. Carefully, Khushi took out a small tool and clicked the lock. The lid slowly opened, revealing the inside. The suitcase was empty. Or at least that's how it seemed at first glance. "There's nothing," Khushi said, trying to stay calm. But Arnav knew it wasn't true. There was something, even if they couldn't see it. A dark energy filled the room, enveloping the air like a cold blanket. The whisper had become a moan, an indistinct murmur that seemed to come from another time, another place.
"What if it's a trap?" Khushi said, slowly backing away. At that moment, the door of the house closed with a deafening thud. The wind outside fell silent, and everything around them seemed to freeze. Arnav turned around quickly, but no one was there. No sign of life, just the suitcase and that increasingly urgent whisper.
“We're not alone," Arnav muttered, pulling out his gun. "Something is watching us."
Khushi nodded, her face pale as marble. And then, something started coming out of the suitcase. At first it was just a shadow, but then it took shape: a skeletal hand, followed by a disfigured, eyeless face, twisting as if trapped between worlds. “Who…who are you?” Khushi asked, unable to take her eyes off the figure. The creature did not respond. He moved slowly, dragging his deformed body out of the suitcase, as if gravity itself was hindering him. And then he spoke, in a voice that seemed to come from a thousand different mouths: "I am the guardian... of the truth you should never have sought." The room filled with an icy cold, and Arnav felt fear grip his heart. He tried to fire, but the trigger wouldn't respond, as if the air around them had become too thick, too heavy. Khushi screamed, but the sound died before leaving her mouth. The shadow got closer and closer, and with it, the whisper became a deafening scream. "You opened the door. Now... you will pay the price."
Arnav desperately looked for a way out, but the windows were blacked out, and the door no longer opened. The suitcase, now empty, seemed to pulsate, like a sick heart, as the creature approached. "We are doomed," Khushi murmured, her eyes full of terror. Arnav didn't answer. He knew he was right.
The creature advanced, and with each step the room seemed to contract, as if the very air was being sucked away. The whisper had turned into a bone-chilling wail that echoed in their minds, making them feel as if reality was collapsing around them. Arnav, with his hand shaking, tried to take Khushi’s arm. They had to find a way out, even if everything seemed hopeless. The creature was close, so close that he’d feel the chill emanating from its cadaverous skin.
Suddenly, Khushi stopped, her eyes fixed on the suitcase. "Arnav," she whispered, "the suitcase. That’s the key."
"What do you mean?" He replied, trying to move away from the approaching creature.
"The creature came out of there," she said, pointing to the cursed object. "Maybe we can send it back the same way." She approached the suitcase, ignoring the terror that paralyzed her. There was something wrong with that object, a power that seemed to pull back the darkness itself. As the creature approached, Khushi grabbed the suitcase with both hands, fighting against an invisible force that seemed to want to block her. Arnav moved instinctively, taking a position next to her. "What should I do?" he asked. "You have to destroy it," Khushi said, sweat dripping from her forehead. “Maybe if the suitcase disappears…whatever it is… will also vanish with it.”
Arnav, without thinking twice, raised his foot and hit the suitcase with all his strength. The kick rang out in the room, but nothing happened. The creature got closer and closer, stretching its bony fingers towards them. "It does not work!" Arnav shouted desperately. Khushi looked at him with wide eyes, then understood.
“We can't physically destroy it… we have to shut it down.” With a final rush of adrenaline, Khushi lifted the suitcase and tried to close it, but the creature's strength seemed to oppose it. Arnav ran to her aid, grabbing the lid and pulling it with all his strength. The creature screamed, a sound that seemed to come from another world, and its outlines began to blur, as if reality itself was trying to suck it back into the suitcase. Finally, with a terrifying snap, they managed to close the suitcase. The darkness in the room dissolved instantly, leaving only a heavy silence, broken by Arnav and Khushi’s labored breathing. The creature was gone, vanished like a waking nightmare, and the house seemed to have returned to its usual desolation.
Khushi dropped the suitcase on the floor, trembling. "Is it over?" She asked, not really expecting an answer. Arnav nodded slowly, but he knew something was wrong. The suitcase was still there, intact, and a thin whisper could be heard from inside, like a distant echo. "We managed to lock it up," Arnav said. “But that doesn't mean we won.” Khushi looked at him with tired eyes. "What do we do now?" Arnav looked at the suitcase for a long moment, then replied: "We can't let anyone find it again. We have to bury it. Far away, where no one will ever find it again."
And so, as dawn began to lighten the horizon, they took the suitcase to a remote place, where no one would ever come looking for it. They buried it deep in the trees, leaving no trace of it whereabouts. But as they walked away, in the wind that blew through the branches, a final whisper was heard, a warning. It wasn't over. The suitcase would wait, patiently, until someone, in the distant future, found it.
And the cycle would begin again.
•*•*•
Parm, you wrote it brilliantly. Mystery and Horror built well.
. It tells us right off the bat, what to expect from the story.
. It's spine-tingling, bone-chilling, blood-curdling.... well you get the drift 
. There are moments of serious terror about what is going to be unleashed and the ending keeps that apprehension ongoing. It's fitting for this Halloween-y season and I would like to add it to my 
Bade Achche Lagte Hain Naya Season
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