Something felt off as we sat around the dinner table, discussing how to make our vacation more adventurous. Diljeet and Peter kept looking at each other nervously, like they were hiding something. Even Diljeet seemed upset this time, even though Peter was known for surprising everyone.
Amit and I spoke at the same time, helping to ease the tension.
"What if we visit Nawabshah to look for ghosts?"
I suggested. "There are old crematoriums and abandoned cemeteries nearby, especially near that run-down hotel."
We instantly lowered our voices at the idea.
The Reaper of Midnight, a ghost said to haunt a local crematorium, became our obvious target. Local stories and history describe her as appearing at midnight with a big rusty sickle, dressed in white, and her face covered. She doesn't move far. She goes hunting.
Excitement mixed with fear in a strange way.
"But where can we get ghost-hunting equipment?"
Amit asked.
At that moment, Peter pulled out an EMF detector and an EVP recorder from his bag.
Then, with a grin on his face, Diljeet set up a thermal vision camera that was much better than anything a hobbyist would have.
"Where did you get that?"
Amit whispered.
Diljeet said, "Don't ask."
"I brought it hoping we would do this."
Everyone was inside.
Peter and Amit went ahead despite not having much paranormal experience. Diljeet and I both warned them. Relationships had consequences. They didn't listen.
Abdul, the night watchman, and the hotel management were our only challenges.
We pretended to be checking for a potential gang threat while showing our police and detective IDs. The management reluctantly agreed.
Abdul's face turned pale when we told him about the Reaper.
His eyes were full of tears.
"Please," he begged.
"I have kids and a wife. Don't make me go there."
He agreed after a lot of reassurance, but only after warning us.
She appears after two in the morning.
The hotel becomes quiet then. I've heard her crying. She will chase you if she sees you. No one who saw her up close ever came back.
We hesitated.
We entered the heavy darkness exactly at two in the morning.
It felt strange to be so quiet. Whispers followed. Crying. Getting closer.
I loaded the guns with Diljeet.
Abdul turned on the light.
We saw her at that moment.
Twisted and quick, a white figure came out, holding a long, curved sword. Her scream sounded like a curse, cutting through the dark.
We started running right away.
We couldn't sleep, so we went into our rooms and just sat quietly.
We planned to look into it more tomorrow.
But we had seen The Reaper of Midnight tonight.
She was real, just like the rest of it.