Dark Horse Arts and Sciences

Ramadevi Women’s College, Saturday Morning:

“Is everything ready?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“See, everything needs to be as it was discussed. Can’t afford a single mistake. One mistake, and we are done and dusted.”

“Noted, ma’am.”

Vani Vihar, Saturday Evening:

So, I get out of the bus and put my feet on the capital soil, after so long. I am now a bit relaxed after that conversation with that guy on the bus. I wasn’t interested in any of that talk, but I had to, as talking kind of makes me forget the anxiety of the forthcoming events. Furthermore, I hate these kinds of guys who always try to impress girls on the bus or train or flight. What do they think of themselves, some Bollywood hero, who will take me away to some fairy land, thinking that I would be impressed with their shallow talk? Well, they are mistaken. Anyway, fuck them and their small talk. 

However, I got an auto up to Ramadevi. He is asking me for 20 rupees. Man, it’s 10 rupees. You will take 20 for this much! He starts saying some stuff about petrol prices and all. I just hand him over the 10 rupee note and leave that place. Maybe he will be cursing me, well I don’t give a shit. 

So, there I am. At the front gate of Ramadevi. As I enter the campus, I see arrow marks leading to the hall where the interview is being taken. I slowly walk through those arrows. It’s slowly getting dark as evening approaches and dust settles. Lights are on and there are lichu lights sparkling as we move through those arrows. Such a long path. Then I see the arrow going into a corridor. It looks a bit dark. I hesitate a bit, thinking I should ask somebody before entering that dark corridor, but there is hardly anyone here. Possibly everyone’s busy with the interview thing. So, as I am going into the dark corridor, suddenly someone from behind holds me tight and puts some dark cloth in front of my eyes. I can’t see anything. A sudden rise of panic begins to elevate within me as my heart starts throbbing faster and faster. My body starts shaking out of utter anxiety and panic, as I still can’t hold off the reality occurring outside my visual senses. I try to shout, but the sound isn’t coming out. My mouth is again shut with some cloth. And then blank! I am gone, into the world of the unconscious, at that moment. And after that I don’t remember anything. Nothing. Only a blank slate of dark desert, filled with black sand, hoping to see a mirage soon.

Ramadevi Women’s College, Saturday Morning:

The woman walks out of the big hall after seeing through all the arrangements. The man stays, waiting for someone to arrive in the hall, an important personality, as he has heard, but he hasn’t seen him ever. He has been looking forward to meeting this personality ever since he has joined “The Tunnel”. He has heard so many legends about this man. And finally, he will meet him. He knows he is nothing in front of that legendary figure, but still he has had his share of experience in “The Tunnel” as he has been working as “The Watcher” of “The Tunnel” for the last ten years, and it wouldn’t be wrong to say that he has almost seen everything he had never imagined he would ever see in his wildest dreams. Anyway, as he is introspecting about all this, the door of the big hall opens and there arrives a giant tall man, around 40, and 6 feet tall, with really dark beard and moustache and really dark hair combed back. The man has a strong build and looks like the one he has been hearing about for so long. He is also wearing black sunglasses, not exposing his eyes, a gateway to what a man might be thinking inside. He also has put on so many rings in his fingers, probably as signs of stature in “The Tunnel”. The more rings you wear, the more stature you have in this dark, secret society. Finally, the Watcher meets the Bearded Man and both of them bow each other, as a sign of respect. Then the Watcher takes the man’s palms and kisses them softly as a mark of respect and slavery to the higher authority. Then, the Bearded Man seats himself comfortably on the ground in Chakra Sana position, with his hands placed upon his knees and eyes closed in a meditative state, slowly diluting himself into the state of “Yoga Nidra”, concentrating all his energy into his own self, filtering the outside noise and just focussing on the task at present, which is just to meditate, till the bigger event of the day, until the evening approaches and dust settles. He has to gather all the dark energies from the utter empty state. He has to extract all the darkness lurking around inside him and put those into effect at the later part of the day, in the evening, when “The Ritual” will be held.

Ramadevi Women’s College, Saturday Evening:

I don’t have any idea where I am. Have I been kidnapped? What’s happening to me? Where am I? All sorts of questions start pondering the walls of my head as I am sitting here, somewhere I don’t know. I can hear noises and chantings. What’s going on? Is this some temple or what? If it’s a temple, why have I been kidnapped and put a blindfold on?

Then someone slowly puts off my blindfold as my eyes perceive everything as blurred in front of me. I can’t see anything clearly. Maybe they have given me some sedative or something. Then slowly clearness approaches my vision and I see a giant man sitting in front of me, with his eyes closed, and also people standing behind him with candles in their hands chanting something in some unknown language. Everything seems very sinister and spooky. I am getting very nervous right now as blood is rushing through my veins at the speed of light. Then my eyes fall upon the arms of that bearded man. And I can see something written there, as a form of Tattoo. The tattoo simply says “Ricky J”.