Abhay

"Don't turn around till you have heard your name thrice, his soul has been cursed to call twice."

With this last advice, our tour guide parted ways.

"Is this even a good idea? Mountaineering is one thing, endangering our lives is another", Shyam said, with an angry look on his face.

"We are close buddy. The summit lies few metres ahead. We won't stop because some guide wants to sell us a spooky story. They do this all the time. Spooky stories attract people looking for thrill. Fear sells. You of all people should know that", Kunal said, with a nonchalant tone. He was the "calm one" in our trio.

You see, in every group of friends, there is one guy who is there just because his "bros" asked him. He lacks the will and the resources to afford the trip, but is carried along anyway because, well, who would entertain the other 2 then? That was Shyam.

Then there's the one who is prepared to leave the monotonous beating of life and take a taste of life with friends. That was Kunal.

Then comes the one who is the mastermind of all plans. The one whose only purpose in life is to gather his buddies and go on a trip that makes him feel alive. Or in this case, close to death. That, was me.

The trekking was just an excuse to satisfy my curiosity. The real reason for the trip was something else. No-one had reached the summit of the mountain we were trekking on. And the reason for that, was the real reason for which I had planned the trip.

They too were a group of 3. 3 cannibals. They lived on the mountain, surviving on whatever they could find. But they missed no chance to eat their favourite meal- human flesh. They used to silently follow a group. Their leader would imitate the voice of the group members and call the name of someone from the group who was alone. Any unsuspecting individual would look back, thinking it was his teammates, while the other 2 would attack him and eat him alive.

Many mountaineers were murdered by them. This led to a decline in the inflow of tourists. A special task force was sent to capture them. All except the leader surrendered. He single-handedly killed dozens of officers. But when he called the name of the chief of the force while he was out in the open, the ever-ready officer shot him twice in the head. The last thing the cannibal said was the name of the officer, twice.

That happened 17 years ago. But rumours had it that his soul still wandered the mountain. And a confrontation with the mountain cannibal was all I ever wanted! It was not that I was some brave soul. I just didn't believe in spirits. I thought that there was something amazing at the summit which was being kept hidden from the public. That was the reason that guides were told to advice the people to return back. If only I had known the truth!

"Abhay. Abhay". I heard Kunal calling my name twice. Hearing my own name sent shivers down my spine for the first time. I fought the urge to look back. We were few metres to our destination. I was not sure whether to look behind or not.

The snow, the sound of the approaching footsteps, and my own fear was making me nauseous. A tap on my shoulder made me jump. "What are you doing here, standing like a frozen pole?" It was Shyam.

"Where on earth were you, you moron?"

"You are not understanding the essence of trekking buddy. The pace of the group depends on the slowest not the most excited. Look, here comes our turtle."

A lethargic Kunal entered the scene. "Can't you guys slow down a bit? It's not like we are going to get a medal for reaching fast."

"I have told you so many times that smoking does that to your lungs. We both non-smokers have reached this spot quite some time before you", Shyam said to him.

"Sorry Mom, I will cut it down," Kunal mockingly replied.

"Why were you calling my name dude", I asked him.

"Trying to scare me are we? Dude, Shyam is the one who would get afraid from such gimmicks of yours. I am not affected by such things. Besides why would I call your name? I can climb this thing all by myself. Let's go now."

I decided against telling them how afraid I was after hearing his response. There were no other people this high up. And Kunal wouldn't have lied to me about such a thing.

"You want to be scared you fool," I said to myself. "You are looking for a confrontation. So this is your mind playing games with you. So that you're not disappointed when you realise that this legend is a hoax"

Soon enough, the summit was within our reach. We cried with joy as mist started making it difficult for us to see the summit. My 2 idiots were shouting on top of their voices when I ran towards the summit. I cannot describe the joy I felt when I reached there.

That's when I heard it.

"Abhay, Abhay", the voice came.

Excited, I turned around to give Kunal another lecture as to how smoking had made him come second in this self-made race that was being contested only by me.

What I saw made me choke. Both of them were still there, hugging each other and jumping with joy. The mist covered my vision and I was no longer able to see them.

"Abhay, Abhay" the voice came again. This time it was not the voice of Kunal but the voice of a predator who had been hungry for years and had finally found his perfect prey.

The last thing I remembered seeing before dying were his hungry eyes as his canines dipped into my neck before he started eating me alive!