LUDUS PART-II

The boys heard footsteps again. Elijah said,

"Could it be that man again?"

"I don't think so. Listen, these are not a single person's footsteps. A lot of people are coming this way," Bram said.

"Hide!" Elijah whispered. They both ducked down fitting their legs somehow. The people were nearing. They were very much near them now. They were standing at the car's window. A lot of time passed and they sat there crouched up. Elijah finally got up taking the support of the seat. He looked through the window. There was something red splattered across the window. A face suddenly appeared. The eyes were wide open. Blood smeared across his face. The gate of the car opened and Elijah was pulled out of the car. Bram stared in horror.

How did he not lock the door?

He closed his eyes. His friend was gone, probably dead. And his end was near too. The surroundings got cold. The hair on his hand stood up. Something was nearing him, maybe his death. The man at the window climbed into the car. His features were barely visible. The man grabbed his arm.

He was being dragged by his arm. His lower hand had gone pale. The man was leading him to the Prayer House. The man almost threw him at the door. The door opened and he fell inside. When he looked up, he felt a mixed feeling of joy and fear. In front of him was a party. People were cheering inside a big hall. Waiters were serving food and laughter was booming all around in the room. Maybe these people could save him? His thoughts were broken when a tight hand grasped his elbow. He looked up to see a short, stocky woman who was smiling. Her lipstick, probably meant for her lips, was smeared all across her mouth.

"Oh, Sammy. You are late as usual. Come on, join in with your lot. You remember me, right? Anne!" she said.

"Sammy?" Bram said.

"Ah! How does it matter? But you never liked anyone calling you Sammy, did you? Alright Samuel, come on with me."

Samuel? That was what Elijah called me.

He went with the woman. There was a table around which a lot of people sat. Not all adults, in fact, the majority of them were children who seemed to be in a trance. Every two or three minutes, loud laughter erupted. The lady thrust Bram into a seat and sat beside him. He was feeling numb.

Where am I? Though these people don't look dangerous, they can hurt me.

He did not know this place, no one did. And here these people were, treating him like he was some family member. He had to get out of this place. He just could not trust these people. He did not know what these people were talking about. Anne said,

"You know Cher, you spoilt him bad. It is small but still, you should not have given him a car!"

"Oh, the boy deserves it. He has done such good work," Cher said. He looked around as if looking for someone and fixed his gaze on Bram and said loudly,

"Ah, there he is! Sammy, he is just behind you."

"Who?" Bram asked, as innocently as he could.

Everyone looked at him in shock. Finally, the man who had spoken before said incredulously,

"Why, it is the Lord! Just turn around, boy."

Bram turned around. And there in front of him stood a man. Only it was not a man. It was a rabbit. A person with the face of a rabbit. It was as if he was wearing a mask but his head looked so connected to his body that it looked like it was.... This man really had a rabbit's head. There was only the difference of an inch between the Rabbit's face and Bram's. Bram could hear his breath. He began to back off. Anne shouted,

"Stay where you are, boy!"

Bram froze. For a few seconds, no one moved from their positions. He heard some sound coming from the Rabbit. He was growling. The growls grew louder and louder.

"He does not like you, boy. Why does he not like you? What have you done?!" Anne screamed. She started laughing like a maniac and was staring at Bram. She froze. She just stared at Bram with her mouth open. Without a warning, she fell on the ground as if her knees had refused to give support. Bram looked around, no one was reacting. Like it was usual for them. She woke up with a start and her face looked like nothing had happened in the past few seconds. She said,

"Oh, Sammy. You are late as usual. Come on, join in with your lot. You remember me, right? Anne!" Bram sat up and rushed for the door. That was when he felt a hard blow on his head and he lost consciousness.

When he was up, he was sitting on a chair and a lot of chairs were assembled in front of him. It was as if some performance was about to begin. People were taking their seats. They were passing in front of him. Bram saw someone he recognized. The man who had chased their car. He was wearing a hat. His face had no blood and he was smiling. He looked at Bram and took off his hat and presented it to Bram as if he was paying respect. He moved forward and sat on a seat. Bram got up, at least he tried to get up. But his hands were tied to the chair.

God, I am in bad trouble.

Anne stood in front of them all and said,

"So, siblings! Let the ritual begin now."

They all stood up and made a circle. They grabbed each other's hands and started moving in circles. Bram could see their eyes. There was only white in them. They started chanting something; swaying like they were lost. They were lost in prayer. Bram was just about to leave when a familiar voice said, "Stop!" Some force urged Bram to stop and he did. He turned around and saw that it was the Rabbit speaking. Anne and the rest of the group looked at him and burst into laughter. Anne broke it up and said,

"You got scared bad. You really got scared bad. You thought we had some ritual like that?"

It felt like something had been taken off his chest. He was feeling light now. So, this is what it was. A prank. A story to tell!

"Who is that masked man?"

The Rabbit took off his mask and it was whom Bram had expected, Elijah. He was bearing a smile reaching high up his cheeks.

"I gotcha this time, Samuel!" Elijah said.

"Why are you calling me Samuel?" Bram's eyes widened. "Were you planning this the whole time."

Silence. All of them were quiet. And after a while Elijah said,

"You see Bram, the people were not all wrong."

"What do you mean?"

"They call it a cult. We are a Society. We have certain beliefs, you know."

"Elijah, what are you talking about?" Bram said. Elijah's tone changed into a fierce one.

"Children. Children live so long under their parents. They do nothing for anyone, nothing to benefit the world. They mean nothing to anyone till they become adults. But is this right? Should they not be used in some work? Should they not serve? They should be tied. They should be made to work."

"What do you mean 'serve'?"

"They have to sit, sit down all day long and meditate on the Elder. They sit until the Elder is impressed with them. If they pass that test, they enter his court. And there they entertain Him."

"How?"

"They have to dance with the ones who left this Earth. Those not in this realm of ours."

It was as if Bram's brain refused to act any more. He could not think of anything else except what his ears just caught. Even if he ever got out of this place, this memory would always haunt him, it would always follow him, whenever he would go to the cemetery....

They have to dance with dead people, their skeletons.

Elijah continued, "Anne has served Him since she was a child. Everyone here has served since they were children. I chose this path and here I stand proud. I was a stupid boy like you. I am still grateful to Anne because she was the one who showed me this path. I was also afraid of Him. He...."

"Why do you do this?"

"Did I not tell you? To make the Elder happy, to impress him so that He showers His grace on us. He gives us boons." His voice was now earnest.

"He brands us. Nothing is more important to us than him"

Elijah took off his shoe and revealed his feet. There was a long bloody scar there.

"We all have it, Bram. The thing is that it is not a question. Children should serve the Elder. They should strive to please the Elder."

"Elijah, this is madness. Do you not see? You are hurting yourselves. Who is this Elder?"

"If I tell you will call him by disrespectful names that you people call Him by. But the truth is, He is all. We pray to Him here, in His house. Samuel was the last one on whom the Elder showered His grace. But he was a traitor, he betrayed us. He ran away. It was for him whom I came looking in your school. That was when we found you, a loner with no one who would take you seriously. Break your shackles and contribute in this noble cause. Bram Cape, prove your usefulness to Him!" He thundered with the last sentence.

Bram had been thinking over it since he had got here.

It is actually my uncle's. He gifted it to me just a few months back on my birthday. My mother scolded him badly for it, said he was spoiling me.

Bram understood. He understood it all.

"Anne, she is your mother. She did this to you. I know they did not hurt you but they told you such things that.... Elijah, you are mad. You have lost your mind. I have heard of it. A disorder in which one person having delusions passes it on to another person close to them. You have been told this since you were a kid. There is not any Elder, this is all your imagination. It has been going on for too long. It has spread too much. You were trying to convince me into it too by trying to scare me, make me a part of your group. That strong smell of mixed sandalwood and rose. It played with my head. It made me believe there was some man chasing us but there was not. That is why you people never get caught. You give some drugs to people which makes them hallucinate. This Elder is a fragment of your imagination. These scars, no one is responsible for them. You do this to yourselves. You are your own leaders. You are a cult."

Everyone was quiet. All their eyes were fixed upon him. A waiter appeared in front of him and thrust a glass in Bram's hand. The glass had that same strange mixed smell of sandalwood and rose. He was giving it to everyone in the room.

"Oh, Sammy, did it not take long to prank you!" Elijah said as he dipped his hand in the glass that he was holding and ran his hand over his face "Siblings, let the true ritual begin now." And all across his face, there was blood.

The lights went out and there were only screams that came that night from the Prayer House.

                                                                                            THE END