Story 1: The Rich Boy
Ayush was lying down comfortably on his warm bed on one winter's night. Thick, soft and velvety quilts covered him. The room heater was emitting mild heat which felt like a warm hand on his already relaxed forehead. A soft smile adorned his face. He was relaxing after spending numerous hours in office ending with a successfully signed up business deal.
He took a deep breath and exhaled peacefully. He felt thirsty. He got up and tried to reach his water bottle sitting at an arm's length from his bed. He couldn't find the water. It was supposed to be there. "Such irresponsibility ?!"he sighed. "Ramesh? Ramesh?". He shouted. "Fetch me my water."
"Shut up you pathetic psycho," said the guard outside cell 144. "This one thinks he is a frigging millionaire."he told the new guy on duty and slipped a glass of water from the small window.
Ayush drank the water with a sweet smile and returned to sleep on a cold and shabby metal framed bed shivering under the thin, worn and unwashed blanket.
"Thank you God for all the blessings,"he said and went to sleep.
Story 2: The Pizza Party
Kriti, Shraddha and Anamika were sitting in a cozy corner of a restaurant on a cold winter's evening having pizza and soda. They were laughing merrily. Kriti silently noticed a shady guy in a hood sitting on a table on the other corner having his drink. There was something eerie about him that made the night more chilly than it was. Kriti felt somewhat uneasy.
Her friends mocked her, "Why are you so silent Kriti? You don't even know how to party!"
Finally, she said farewell to all of her friends and started walking alone towards her flat on the dark street with stray dogs howling to the moon. She felt a strange sensation and looked behind. The hooded guy was following her. She increased her pace.
But, there was no use of running now.
She stopped and turned back facing the guy. He was now inches away from her. He removed his hood. He looked confused. Kriti smiled.
She caught hold of the guy by his collar and sunk her pointed front teeth in his neck drinking all the warm sweet blood. She paused for a moment and said while smiling," What do those bitches know about snack?"
Muffled screams were filling the night sky.
Story 3: The Betrayal
Shivi went camping along with some friends. It was night and the forest was cool and dark. They lit a fire and sat in a circle singing songs and laughing hard. Everyone was in a jolly mood.
Their heads turned all of a sudden towards an unnatural shrill echoing from somewhere in the forest. It was definitely a woman's voice.
Shivi jumped and caught hold of her torch and trekking stick. "We should go and check", she said looking up at others.
"Are you nuts ?" said Aryaa. "Haven't you seen horror movies? You are supposed to hide in situations like these."
"Yeah you guys can keep chickening out. I am going!" She jogged towards the sound. Aryaa and the others followed reluctantly.
Shivi went towards the voice and finally reached an old tree with drying branches and thick stump. There it was lying at the foot, an audio player, the source of the sound. She bent down to examine it and suddenly felt a hot and extremely painful sensation in her back. "Die bitch." It was Aarya's voice. "How dare you look at Rahul? Sleep around with demons in hell now."
There were three more stabs and Shivi was down on the ground on her belly gasping for breath drenched in red.
