Superstar: Horn OK Please (6 page)

It was only this Jenny chick that had him freaked out. Hell! He was cool for he knew she fancied him. He smiled as he thought about Hound who had gone out of his way to rescue her for him. Suddenly, there was a soft knock on the door.

He walked across the large suite room to the door and peered through the door lens. Holy cow! It was Jenny! Quickly setting his hair, still wrapped in a towel, Derek opened the door and Jenny walked in. She too had had a bath and smelled good.

Dressed in a yellow night suit, her hair was almost dry. She had put a red lip balm on her lips that smelt of strawberry. She looked fresh as a daisy.

“Hi…Mind if I make…myself comfortable here?” said Jenny sweetly, fumbling for words as she avoided looking at Derek. There he stood towering in front of her, all of 6 feet and two inches, just wrapped in a towel. He was the dream boy and she did find him immensely attractive.

“Well, you just did, Jenny”, said Derek, closing the door and locking it from inside as he moved close to her. Without saying a word, he reached out to her face with both hands and studied her face. She was beautiful, much more so when he studied her from so close.

Her big eyes, perfectly positioned nose and baby lips could make any man on earth fall for her. Derek felt lucky as he took in her scent. They were so close that their breaths clashed with each other before giving a chill through Jenny’s spine.

He let his hands slide down her back as he pulled her close and covered her sweet mouth with his. She feigned to resist but gave in to Derek fully as he kissed her face.

Derek let the towel drop. Jenny took a step back and admired his body and blushed. She clumsily unbuttoned her shirt and let it fall to the floor. And then, the rest of the clothes followed. Derek roughly pushed her onto the bed. Expertly pulling the sheets to cover them, Derek lay down on the bed as Jenny crawled beside him.

Finally two flames fused into one as they made love. Derek reached out to the bedside lamp to dim the lights. He liked the perfect lighting. Their bodies moved in unison and in perfect rhythm as Jenny panted and Derek grunted like an animal. After it was over, Jenny snuggled with Derek and planted a soft kiss on his lips.

“So, that’s it?” said Jenny, laughing, brushing her hair away from her face. Derek pulled her and pinned her down by his side on the bed. “I love you, Jenny, I love you the way I never loved before”, said Derek as he lay by her side and gently tickled her. He whispered into her ears and that made her go crazy. She was loving every bit of it. 

“Do you really mean it? I mean, I fell for you the moment I saw you when you rescued me tonight”, said Jenny as she played with his hair.

“That was Hound who rescued you and Goose who helped you get into the car. I was inside Motormouth, enjoying the sight of your stupid act when you climbed the railing”, said Derek, smiling his famous smile that he knew could melt any woman’s heart.

“You mean you were watching me die?” said Jenny, pulling away from Derek, in disgust.

“Yes, I was watching you die. It was so cool! It’s your life, you decided to end it, what could I do? Anyway, I was just kidding. At the most, you’d just have fractured your leg or your arm. You’d have survived, I would have jumped into the water to rescue you”, replied Derek, his sardonic laughter ringing in Jenny’s ears.

“You monster, I love you…” said Jenny, as she smiled and hugged Derek. They made love again. She’d enjoyed it, but she would have appreciated some gentleness. She loved his barbaric behavior. He was raw, uncouth and beastly. Maybe, it was this that animal she loved. At least, he didn’t lie. He’d said he loved her.

“You know I love you? A love so pure, a feeling so divine, I really hope this works out. You are my dream come true, I’ll cherish you forever. I just love the way you are…..You know what? I’m turning 23 this week. So, will you be nice to me tomorrow night? A little gentle?” asked Jenny, smiling, looking at Derek; hoping he would say something nice to her.

He didn’t respond, he just put his arm around her. She snuggled up close to him and she continued talking to him. She didn’t know he was fast asleep. The beast had been satiated for the night. The beauty loved the beast.

“Honey! Are you awake?” whispered Jenny as she placed a finger on Derek’s lips. No response. She sighed and smiled before planking a loving peck on Derek’s lips before getting up. She slipped into her nightdress and looked at herself in the mirror to check her hair.

She smiled when she looked at Derek one more time that night before she stealthily left the room, taking care not to wake him up. She was madly in love with him.

At last, she’d found her soul mate. He was a bit crude, perhaps, but nonetheless, he would come around. She believed him. She felt like a complete woman with him.

She couldn’t have asked for a better gift for her birthday.

Hound’s Suite:

Hound had hit the sack after a bath. He’d slipped into the bed naked after a couple of drinks. He needed to get some rest before starting to work on his passion. He’d taken due care to remove the painting of Jenny’s great grandpa from the wall and kept it in the bathroom.

He’d make sure to remove it from the bathroom next morning lest it leave him constipated. That was one ugly looking fellow, he thought. He wondered how an evil looking great grandpa could have an angel in the family.

Hound felt something very strong about Jenny the moment he’d held her, shaken her up and slapped her to bring her to her senses. Foolish girl, she’d got everything that anybody could ever long for.

She had the looks, the wealth, the lineage, everything. Yet she wanted to hurt herself.

It was 11:45 PM when Hound turned off all lamps and watched the room getting engulfed in darkness. It was pitch dark, spare the bathroom light he’d kept switched on. He’d briefly stared at Jenny when all of them were sitting in the cemetery and he knew he had the hots for her. 

Just then, there was a scratching sound on the balcony door. Miffed, he wondered if that would be a stupid owl or a foolish cat trying to scratch its way into the room, wanting to enjoy the warmth of his room. He pulled open the shades and his heart skipped a beat.

In the darkness, he saw the silhouette of a woman scratching on the balcony door from the outside, trying to get in. From the silhouette, he could now make out that it was Jenny.

Quickly regaining his composure, he grabbed his boxer shorts from the couch and put them on before opening the door for her. “The foolish woman is at it again”, he mumbled to himself.

“Jenny! Is that you? You mad woman, can you not understand that life is precious? What the hell are you doing in my balcony and why on earth would you not use the regular door like everyone else? What do you want?” yelled Hound as he fumbled for the latch in the darkness.

It was Jenny. But before he could reach for the switches to turn on the lamps, Jenny grabbed his arm and whispered, “Hush! No lights. Others will know. I came in through the balcony so nobody could see. You see I wore a black negligee just for you!”

Hound was dumbfounded as Jenny pushed Hound on the bed, “I know you have the hots for me; I know you were thinking about me before I walked in”. Hound groaned with pleasure in the darkness as Jenny expertly touched all the right spots to make Hound lose all sense of reason and logic.

“Wait! This is not right! Yes, I have the hots for you and you are an extremely desirable woman and I want you like crazy! I am falling in love with you, Jenny! But I know you have a thing for Derek. I just can’t do this!” said Hound, pulling her away from him and pushing her as she stumbled and fell on the floor.

She let out a throaty, guttural scream that shattered every bulb and mirror in the room. As she continued to scream like a banshee, Hound covered his ears as he watched her levitate from the ground and flicker like a ghostly white apparition.

It was Jenny for sure, dressed in black clothing from head to toe but her body was ashen.

Slowly looking up, Hound saw her face. The flickering apparition floated a foot above the ground and her eyes were black.

Her jet-black hair was wet and it partially covered her face. She cackled and hissed at Hound, “You bastard! How dare you deny me my pleasure? I hate that bitch, Jenny! I’ll kill her!”

Hound was horrified as he saw the glowing white apparition stretch out her arms as the balcony door flung open and banged on the side walls. The sound of shattering glass filled the room as her evil, unholy cackle filled the air.

Before Hound could blink, she flew out of the window and was gone.

The banging on the door must have brought Hound back to his senses. He quickly slipped into his boxer shorts and t-shirt and ran to the door of his room. He’d never been so scared in his life before.

“What the hell is happening, bro? Are you okay?” asked Derek as he yanked Hound out of his room and hugged him.

Goose and I rushed to Hound who was shaking like a leaf, shivering. Hound couldn’t speak for some time.

Soon, Jeremy came along with a few scrawny security guards. Toothpick Nanny walked in, prayer beads in one hand, a pink handkerchief in another. Jenny wasn’t around - maybe, she was sleeping.

“Mr. Hound, are you OK?” Said Jeremy, as he walked into Hound’s suite to close the balcony windows. He was shocked to see the broken glass all around. Jeremy knew the time had come.

Nanny muttered something and sprinkled some kind of holy water on Hound. It was a trifle irritating to watch her doing that.

Hound grabbed her pink handkerchief and wiped his face and made sure to blow his nose into it before handing it back to chopstick Nanny. He felt a lot better after that.

We’d had enough of rain and shit today. Sleep be damned, we all moved to Derek’s room for the night. There was much to discuss…

Every belief I ever had around supernatural changed that night.

***
 

CHAPTER THREE

***

***

Roses are red and violets are blue,

Come midnight, her soul it would chew;

The pain is unbearable; she bleeds every night,

She can’t do anything’ she can’t put up a fight;

A creature of pain, a being of pure evil it is,

Death would be a welcome thought, endless bliss;

It lashes out in anger; it is born of hate,

She longs for it to end, she dreams of Heaven’s gate;

Her mind is a cage that holds the beast,

It ravages her soul every night; it comes for its feast;

The creature is a part of her, her soul it shall seek;

She is her own enemy; she is not a freak;

She’s a prisoner of passion, a prisoner of pain,

She bleeds every night; the creature drives her insane;

She hates it when she can sense her near,

She howls in pain, she trembles with fear;

But it shall have a piece of her soul, night after night,

She must pay for something, she knows she can’t fight;

But if smiles and Imagination makes you say ‘Cheese’

Drive on, that’s the spirit of Horn OK Please…

***

Accepting the unseen:

Chopstick Nanny had set up extra mattresses in Derek’s Suite for Derek had reported nothing unusual happening to him that night. It certainly felt like a better idea to spend the night together in the crazy mansion.

Two guys could sleep on the bed and two on the floor. It was good to have a thermos full of hot, herbal tea from matchstick Nanny. The only bad thing about it was that the flask was pink. I thanked her and shut the door.

Hound had asked Jeremy to remove the ghastly painting of Jenny’s great grandpa from our suite rooms in the morning. He had obliged. I just hoped that he wouldn’t put up paintings of the wolf instead. Goose filled us all with his crazy experience that night.

I didn’t hold back anything either. But it was only when Derek told us what happened with him that night did Hound open up and seemed shocked, “Dude, how come everything happened just before midnight?”

“True that! Anyways, I know one thing for sure, you’re never going to make love close to the midnight!” said Derek, laughing out loud as Hound threw a pillow at him.

“Bastard, we three get buthered by freaks tonight, how come only you get to have a ball?” said Hound, in mock anger. Of course, he hated the fact that Jenny was lost to Derek. But Hound was happy for his friend. At least he pretended to be.

“Anyway, Dude, we got to get serious about this. If we don’t analyze everything that’s happened with us right from Goa, we’re going to be in serious trouble. We could have been killed tonight. Er…at least, I can say that for Chief, Hound and myself. There is something crazy going on out here. I say we should leave tomorrow morning and find a new place”, said Goose as a matter-of-factly, grabbing a pillow, making himself comfortable.

“I vote for that. This dump is a freak show paradise. Let’s get out of here at dawn”, I said, filling my cup with tea, “I knew the girl was trouble the moment you took her in, Hound”.

“That won’t be fair on Jenny, Chief. After what happened to each one of us tonight, I have a feeling that she might need us around more than ever. I can feel it in my bones. How can I just leave her behind when there’s a floating ghost-chick in black that has threatened to kill Jenny?” said Derek, as he nursed his cup.

“Don’t tell me you’re in love with her already?” said Hound, as he stretched out on the couch.

“No way, man! I just got laid with her. Like I always do, said I loved her and she went all soppy. I got the time of my life, what’s wrong with that? I surely could use her body for a few weeks”, said Derek, as though that was the most normal thing on earth.

Hound got up and walked across to Derek and hissed, “Bastard. Don’t talk cheap about her in front of me ever! I’ll gouge your eyes out, you understand? I am in love with her”.

Derek glared back at him and said, “What I do with her is none of your business. You want to get laid, next time get a human being!”

“Wow! Chill out, guys! This is not done. Are we fighting over some random chick here?” said Goose, as he tried to pacify both of them, “So, we leaving tomorrow morning, you folks in?”

“Bro, listen up and listen hard. One, she is not a random chick. Two, she made a mistake with this freak right here. Say what you will, I’m staying put here. You guys can leave if you wish to, but I’m going to see her through this mess. She’ll need my help again. Anyway, she’s going to get no help from Derek, we’ve seen that”, said Hound, staring at the balcony door.

I gave a knowing glance to Goose, who was smiling. Hound did have a soft corner and a hard center for Jenny. There was trouble in paradise.

“You heard the man, Derek, what’s your vote?” I asked as I pulled out a cigarette. I knew the answer.

“I’m staying, folks. Hound’s right. She’ll soon need our help. She loves me and wants me to be around on her birthday”, said Derek, looking at Hound and nodding in agreement with him. Hound gave a sardonic laugh.

“Wait! What did you just say? Her Birthday?” said Goose, as though he’d got it all figured out.

“Well, she said her birthday is a week away from now and she’ll turn 23. Why’s that so special, Goose?” said Derek, surprised by Goose’s reaction.

“Well, I would say that we must all hang around till then. Whatever be the reason, I say, we’ve got a free stay for a week from her Uncle. We don’t get offers like this every day”, I replied, remembering Jeremy’s promise.

Hell, free was good. A week without a bath was a cool proposition. Anyway, I was not very hopeful of getting any action around the place.

“So it’s settled then. Let’s hang around till Jenny’s birthday and we’ll figure out what to do next. All for one and one for all, OK?” said Hound, extending a handshake to Derek.

It was bro code. I was happy. Jenny had been a problem child right from the start. I’d sure be very happy to leave soon.

“Ok, now that’s all sorted, what do you make of the wolf we spotted? Did any of you gauge Jenny’s reaction when I asked her that question?” I asked, remembering how she’d gotten on the defensive mode and I’d let that one pass.

“I do. In fact, I’ve got to tell you this. When I pulled her down from the railing, she seemed to be in a trance. She was like a zombie. I had to shake her up real hard to get her back to reality. That wasn’t sleepwalking, Dude”, said Hound.

“Yeah, it wasn’t. If you recall, the distance from here to the bridge must be a good one to two kilometers. How on earth did she get there and why? That too when it was pouring cats and dogs? I’d say Jenny isn’t your regular girl. But I do believe that she’d walked to that place. Why? I wouldn’t know”, said Goose, clutching his pillow tight.

“I don’t know if you remember what happened at the cemetery, Dudes”, I said, “I swear I saw the flames leap towards her and she made them come towards me as though she could control it.

“I remember that, Chief. In fact, when you were talking to her, I was staring at the wall. I noticed something really strange. While Hound and Derek’s shadow moved because of the fire, Jenny’s shadow remained fixed in one place. It didn’t seem to budge at all. I guess I told you that before? Also, there was one grave in the cemetery, the one with the angel standing by the grave, well, I don’t know why, but it sure did stand out to me as something special”, said Goose, as he looked around to see what others would say.

Everybody agreed for that one grave did get noticed by all of us.

We weren’t the kind of folks to believe in ghosts and ghost stories, not after our past adventures. Neither did I ever believe in broomsticks draped in pink clothing before tonight. But every adventure did end up shattering one myth or another for us.

I was happy that everybody was talking about their observations and didn’t feel shy to sound stupid and unscientific.

“Jenny said that everybody in the cemetery has a story to tell and she goes there often to listen to them. I wonder why those 200 dead people want Jenny to listen?” said Hound, scratching his chin as he continued, “Also, I wonder if it was she who caused the tree to fall….I may sound crazy, but I do believe that all these are connected for a reason and that reason is Jenny”

“I’d say so too. Add that garish painting of that evil great grand pa everywhere, this creepy mansion, well, just about everything…we have one week to find out how it’s all connected. Maybe, her 23rd Birthday is going to be super special!” said Hound, smiling as he pulled out a cigarette from his pack.

Thump!......Thump!.....Thump!......

“Aw! Cut that out, whoever is doing it. It’s not funny at all!” I screamed, getting up, trying to see who was doing it. Hounds feet were on the couch. Goose was sitting cross-legged on the mattress, Derek’s feet were on the bed and I was standing.

“Oh! I can’t take this anymore! When will this night end?” said Hound, slapping his forehead as he closed his eyes.

Thump!......Thump!.....Thump!......

“Wait. I know where it is coming from”, said Derek as he looked at the floorboards. We’re right above the seventh room…”

Thump!......Thump!.....Thump!......

He was right. The thumping sound was coming from the seventh room, the room they called Winston. Soon, the floor shook on the impact with every thump. It was like someone or something was there in the seventh room and was hitting the ceiling every few seconds.

“Dude, turn off the lights and nobody moves. Listen hard!” whispered Goose as Derek reached out to the bedside table and gently switched off the lights. As the room plunged into darkness, the frequency of the thumping increased.

Thump!......Thump!.....Thump!...... Thump!

Sure enough, between the thumping sounds was the muffled sound of a woman screaming out in agony and pain. Goose got up and tiptoed to the bed to sit on it. Nobody was on the floor now, it shook at regular intervals and the screams turned into muffled sounds of howling painful moans and then, it all stopped.

“Wow! Looks like somebody’s having a great time down there. Only one hitch though, he’s got the bed stuck to the ceiling” I said, hoping the wise crack would lighten the mood. Derek put his hand and covered my mouth as we heard the sound of shuffling feet below and then some chanting of prayers.

After sometime, there was the creaking sound of a door opening and closing as we heard people walk away. The sound of a wolf howling from afar could be heard. 

“OK, here’s what my theory is”, said Derek, as he switched on the lamps, “I believe that Jenny is in deep trouble and there is something going on in this mansion that we folks are deliberately being kept in the dark about. I’d say this place is haunted”.

“You call that a theory, you moron? Of course we know the house is haunted! Just ask me!” exclaimed Hound, anger management in progress, “Tell us something new!”

“Well, that’s all my theory is all about - that this place is haunted. Anyway, instead of yelling at me, you’d be better off if you suggest something,” said Derek, disappointed that the peak of his intelligence had gone unappreciated.

“Knock it off, you two, this is so juvenile! OK, what I believe is that we must wait till tomorrow morning instead of coming up with half-baked theories. Right now, we don’t know anything. Maybe, that old witch of a nanny can give us some information”, I said, quite irritated to see that our two friends were bickering out of jealousy.

“And listen to some grandma tales? Chief, give me a break, there’s got to be someone better than that old broomstick to tell us more?” quipped Goose, as he stretched out in the bed.

He was right. Maybe, the exhaustion wasn’t really helping us get this right.

“OK, remember that prick, Jeremy mentioning something about two guests who are getting here tomorrow morning?” said Hound, as his eyes suddenly seemed to light up, “I remember him saying that one was a teacher and one a doctor”.

“So? Maybe they’re just poor morons like us who got conned by what is mentioned in the website. The Mansion of the Gods? Hah! It doesn’t talk about this place being haunted. What are you leading to?” said Derek, scratching his head, trying to fathom the depth of Hound’s intelligent guess.

“Maybe there is a connection. I distinctly recall that old walking stick of a Nanny’s dull eyes light up when Jeremy mentioned about them. I mean, which Nanny would be happy to have more guests? It would only increase her work”, said Hound, reaching out for a pack of cigarettes.

As Hound took out a matchstick and struck the matchbox, there was a loud sound of thunder as the bolts of lightning were visible through the dark shades.

Hound stared at the burning matchstick and wondered if it caused the thunder and lightning. After what we’d seen today, anything seemed possible.

He did make sense and anyway there was nothing we could firmly place a finger upon. As I lay on the mattress, I pondered over what I’d been through in the day, hoping I might find some clues. Surely, Jenny was at the center of it all.

Everything had gone awfully wrong since we met her. In fact, meeting her itself was a wrong thing. Maybe, some call it fate. There seemed to be no scientific explanation behind what I’d been through myself when I woke up in the bathtub in a pool of blood.