Part II: https://www.reddit.com/r/nosleep/comments/179suvg/muthangas_curse_part_ii/
Part 3: coming soon
Every year, the state of West Bengal enjoys Durga Puja during which schools and offices are closed. Keeping this in mind, me and my friends decided it would be smart to spend autumn vacations in an old lodge owned by a friend’s uncle in the Muthanga Forest, Wayanad, Kerela. It was rated well and hence we expected the trip to be smooth and fun.
Accompanying us was my brother, a Lieutenant in the Indian Navy, with us for our safety. We were overjoyed; having known him for years, I knew he needed that trip, (he doesn’t get many holidays). Along with the luggage and some BBQ equipment, he also brought his gun, a Beretta RS 200, quite an old model but still useful. Knowing that we were about to live in unchartered territory for 5 days, this was deemed a thoughtful precaution, though, breaking the law by doing so.
Our group consisted of me, my brother, and 2 other friends. One of them, Ayan (name changed) was the one whose uncle owned the lodge. Like me, he was an amateur crime investigator and we would enjoy spending weeks developing theories about famous criminal cases (the Noida Double Murder Case is our favourite). The other, Mannie was an ex-scout member and Ayan’s roommate. He was the annoying Wikipedia of the team, never hesitating before dropping some unwanted insight on topics like how to identify edible mushrooms, or how to properly set up a tent and other nonsense. Yet, he always received praise and treats from us for his constant academic support. Something that linked these 2 boys was a mutual craving to do dangerous and daring things. Through these links and years of togetherness, we formed a sturdy friendship.
Upon reaching the lodge, we realized it was a complete mess. The only good thing was the fireplace. So, we spent the first day, arranging everything, preparing the fireplace and making the rooms somewhat livable. It seemed that the place was recently renovated, but the workers forgot to clean it before leaving.
2nd day
On my suggestion, we decided to play tag in a small perimeter around the lodge. I was the seeker. Soon, I uncovered all, except Mannie, who was now getting on my nerves. After doing my best to search for him, I declared the match and everybody called out to Mannie. He jumped out of a tree, perfectly hidden all this while, much to my annoyance. While heading back, we all heard a voice, >!my voice!<, coming from the forest. Also, there was this disgusting, strange smell whose source was unknown. It smelled like something had died and the corpse had decomposed some days ago. Everyone looked at me, and I put a finger on my lips to prove my silence: Someone was mimicking me. Big Bro took charge and called out to ‘him’ several times, but it reiterated the same line,” Come on out Mannie!” He then went into the treeline to investigate. Mannie initiated his own expedition. Soon both returned with nothing exciting to share. We dismissed the case as a prankster who was good at mimicking people’s voices.
During dinner, we heard a low-pitched shriek from the forest. “It’s a fox.”, Mannie clarified nonchalantly. Sometime later, a thud. Something banged against the wooden walls of the lodge. I opened the door just to check, but what did I see?
A lifeless incapacitated head of a rabbit, bloody and disgusting, was thrown on the main door.
The stench was back.
“Do foxes leave heads of their prey on doorsteps?” I pressed the matter. This time everyone was quiet. In a desperate attempt to get rid of the smell, I threw the head back into the darkness. Nobody slept that night. In the morning, we found its gory body, a little further from the lodge.
We were almost certain that something was after us, yet, no one wanted to leave the lodge other than me: the boys were thrilled and wanted to see where the situation went, which made me wonder if this was another sick joke of theirs. Using tin cans, we set ‘alarm traps’ around the lodge, so that we would get time to prepare in case something was too close.
3rd night, things get uncanny here.
At roughly about 10 30 in the night, we were enjoying a game of solitaire, when our alarms ran off. Also, the smell came back to greet us, the smell of death. Mannie and my brother were on either side of the door’s threshold, I went to retrieve our only weapon while Ayan stood clueless. Anxiously we opened the door: nothing. Despite using four flashlights we couldn’t see no one. Big Bro wasn’t taking any risks though.
“ If I don’t come back within 15 minutes….. car keys are in my bag.” This sentence was more unnerving than whatever was going on outside our shelter. About 20 minutes after he left, we were supposed to flee, but how could we?? While I was zoned out, there was another massive bang on the door, like, someone just slammed themselves on the door, desperate to get it. Again. We grasped some knives and heavy books; any makeshift weapon would do. More silence. After waiting for a solid 10 more minutes, I peeked out to check whatever was there.
This time, a damn dead deer was on the other side. This one had his head intact, but his body was skinned and his organs everywhere. I puked. We should’ve left long ago.
Then Ayan noticed it. Someone emerged out of the trees. He was wearing my brother’s clothes, though very dirty along with a cap, which I don’t remember bringing at all.
“Come out boys!! Case closed! That sick fuck is no more, I didn’t even need to shoot it!”
No one moved, hearing the near-perfect voice of my brother. He wasn’t carrying his beloved gun. And he never showed his face. It was enough reason to not trust him. Upon realizing he failed big time, that thing ran back into the woods. The smell was gone. The deer was still there, but the smell was gone. So that humanoid figure was the source of this smell, I can’t believe we were so close to him during the second day.
“I told you to leave,” my real bro said, arriving a few minutes after that standoff. He had turned pale.
“ We’re leaving. Now”. And just like that without any further ado, in the middle of the night, we packed our stuff and left. We were given enough chances to get out of this land. Even Mannie was sick of the lodge now. No one could tolerate the smell and more importantly, we were in no state to fight that imposter. After an approximately hour-long drive, we reached a small town. It was morning already so we decided to have breakfast.
However, My usually chill soldier boy was not looking very healthy. When we asked about it, he showed us this: >!On second thought, I think, some parts of human imagination are better left alone.!<
It’s been months since we first stepped into the forest. I don’t know why, but an eerie curiosity pulls me back to that lodge.
May God give me the strength to pray some more.