Rudra Sen The road to Blackmoor village twisted like a serpent through the mist, narrow and slick with rain, the headlights of Daniel’s car cutting pale arcs across hedgerows that seemed to lean in and whisper as he drove. He was late, later than he had planned, and the countryside had that unnerving quality of stretching endlessly, as though he were circling the same patch of earth again and again. His editor had sent him here on what was meant to be a small piece—an article on forgotten English villages, the ones people left behind when the railways stopped running…
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Aarav Sen Episode 1: The Wrong Turn The air thinned as the trail rose, a slow, needling cold that found the seams in jackets and the cracks in bravado. Rhea Banerjee kept her camera slung against her ribs like a warm heart she could press to; every few minutes she paused to frame a ridge, a smear of cloud, the ant-line of pilgrims far below. Aditya Malhotra walked ahead with his hands in his pockets and that steady, skeptical pace that made him look like he was measuring the mountain and finding it slightly overrated. Tara and Naman, their friends…
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Ritoban Chatterjee Part 1: The Snowline Ends Here The road to Solang wasn’t a road anymore. Past the tourist checkpoints and the snowmobilers shouting into the white wind, the tar peeled into gravel, then to silence. Ishaan Sen stood beside the BRO milestone that read SOLANG – 1 KM, the last marker of civilisation before it disappeared under the crust of old snow. His taxi driver had refused to go further. “Bad season,” he’d muttered, not making eye contact. “Locals don’t go that side after winter sets in. You shouldn’t either.” Ishaan had smiled. Writers didn’t scare easy. Or so…
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Rudra Sen Chapter 1: The Arrival The moors stretched endlessly, cloaked in a veil of mist that clung low to the earth, as though the land itself held its breath. The carriage creaked along the gravel path, its wheels crunching through the frost-laced ground. Inside, Elena Blackwood sat with gloved hands clasped tightly in her lap, her gaze fixed out the window. Her reflection shimmered faintly on the glass, pale and ghostlike against the gray sky. Beside her, Arthur sat in silence, his expression unreadable. “It’s just ahead,” he said quietly, as though afraid the wind might overhear. As the…
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Arif Khan Arrival at the Lodge The winding road snaked through the mist-cloaked forests of Simla, flanked by towering deodar trees whose branches interlocked like conspirators. The hired taxi, an old white Ambassador with rusted edges and a rattling engine, coughed its way up the slope. Rhea looked out of the foggy window, her breath forming tiny clouds on the cold glass. Her fingers tightened around Aarav’s hand. “This feels like a scene from an old horror movie,” she murmured with a nervous chuckle. Aarav grinned. “Romantic horror, maybe. Like Honeymoon in Hell.” “Not funny,” Rhea said, swatting his arm.…