Zero

"Everyday life bored me, and I yearned for excitement that my parents would never approve of."

I can't believe I'm doing this. I look at myself in the mirror and sigh, trying to convince myself that I won't get caught by my parents. "Don't worry," I reassure myself, but just as I do, a pillow comes flying and hits me in the head.

"Why are the lights on? What the hell are you doing this early in the morning?" my sister mutters irritably from under the blankets, shielding her eyes from the bright lights.

"I'm going for a walk," I state.

With a jolt, she springs up from her bed and marches towards me, her hands clasped tightly on either side of my face as she shakes it vigorously.

"If a spirit is possessing my sister, please leave," she says dramatically. I yank my head back, freeing myself from her grip.

"I'm going for a walk. What's so weird about it?" I stare at her, and she bursts out laughing.

"Hey, it's Sunday. You don't even attend hockey practice when it's held on Sunday mornings. I thought you were joking when you asked Mom and Dad for permission last night."

"I wasn't. Now will you let me go?"

"HELL NO...You can't be serious!" She shakes her head in disbelief. "Our parents thought it was a joke."

Turning around, I flick her forehead. "Sorry, we don't allow cursing here."

"I'll be home before you know it. Bye," I rush out of my bedroom, quickly grabbing my phone and shoes before heading outside.

I make my way down the stairs swiftly, out of our society's premises. The frosty morning air bites at my cheeks as I zip up my hoodie for warmth. The streets are quiet, and the only sounds are the occasional chirping of a few early birds and the distant hum of a passing car. A soothing symphony of leaves accompanies each step on the pavement, crunching underfoot. As I breathe in, the cool air fills my lungs, giving me a refreshing feeling.

After walking a few blocks, I spot a black car and a red-haired girl waving from inside. "You are late, KAYA. HURRY UP!!!"

Entering the car, I greet the driver and then turn my attention to the red-haired beauty. She is dressed in baby blue sweatpants and a white faux fur hoodie, her blue eyes shining as bright as ever. "I'm sorry, Layla. So, where are we headed towards?"

"The client's house is in Andheri. They have been experiencing poltergeist activities for a month now."

"Just to confirm, are we going to fight the ghosts there?" I ask, all excited.

"No, silly. We are just going there to collect evidence. You are a trainee, and even though I'm a full-fledged agent, we are not allowed to perform exorcisms yet," Layla explains. I hum in disappointment.

"And we don't even know if there are any spirits to begin with," she continues.

I turn my attention to the window, trying to distract myself from the view outside, but my thoughts are consumed by questions.

Will I make it in time before my parents wake up?

How did I end up agreeing to this?

Agreeing to what, you ask? To join a Ghost-hunting agency. I know, I know, you must be thinking, what crap am I talking about? Well, there is a registered organization that frees trapped souls, helps people with curses, cleanses areas with bad energies, and so on.

Believe me or not, it's REAL.

I was just like you three months ago, living my life blissfully unaware. But now, I've discovered that spirits are present everywhere, day or night. And to top it off, my psychic powers have been awakened.

"Earth to Kaya, we have reached our destination," Layla declares, stopping my train of thought.

Our client greets us. "Hello, are you both from the PARAPYCHE association?" he questions.

"Yes, sir," Layla smiles. I can sense his scepticism about two young individuals being here.

"So, Mr. Joshi, when did you start experiencing these events?" I ask, taking out the camcorder and starting to record.

"Well," he begins, "I would say about 2 weeks ago."

"Please continue," Layla encourages him.

"But the camera?"

"Oh, that's just for the record. We keep the information of our clients private," Layla assures him.

"Where should I start... We moved into this house a month ago. At the start, everything was normal. First, a few items were out of place. I thought I placed them somewhere and forgot, but it only increased from then on-furniture moving. At night, I get the feeling as if someone's watching me. My daughter was attacked. She has scratch marks on her arm. Constantly, things are falling. The house smells like dead rats."

"Where is your daughter?" Layla questions, noting down everything that was said.

"Oh, she is sleeping inside. She couldn't sleep at night. You people are here so early. Will ghosts appear this early?" he adds as an afterthought.

"Well, can you wake her up and leave the house for 30 minutes if possible?" Layla requests.

Mr. Joshi nods and leaves. After a while, he returns with his teenage daughter, who does not seem pleased to have us. She argues with her father, and they soon leave.

As we enter the house, it's filled with an eerie silence. Both of us carry backpacks filled with equipment, including a camera, tripod, infrared camera, EMF meter, spirit box, digital voice recorder, power bank, batteries, water bottles, and more.

"Do you sense anything?" Layla asks.

"No, not a thing, but the house does stink," I state, covering my nose.

"Mr. Joshi did mention the smell."

I guess Layla senses my uneasiness. "Remember, Kaya, we're here to uncover the truth, not to be scared," she says, patting my back.

I nod and begin exploring the house. First, I go to Mr. Joshi's room, the room that stinks the most. I put my backpack down and set up the cameras. I close my eyes, trying to sense any energies, but I can't detect anything. The smell is so distracting, I think to myself.

I move to his daughter's room, but I still can't sense anything. Neither does the EMF meter show any spike, nor does the crystal pendant detect any energies. Suddenly, the door creaks open, and something flies towards me. I duck, narrowly missing it by inches.

I can hear Layla's scream from outside. I rush towards the hall, where the furniture is moving around. I look for Layla; she seems fine. She has set a voice recorder on an ornate table and whispers questions into the darkness, questions only the spirits might answer.

I brought my EMF meter with me, but there was no response. No spike. How can this be happening? There was such a big change taking place, but there's no reading on the EMF meter. A while later, the activities stop.

"Did you find anything?" I ask Layla.

She shakes her head, and I see the unspoken understanding between us. This doesn't seem like a ghost.

"But what do you say

about the smell?" Layla questions.

The foul smell is one of the signs of the paranormal, but it stops there.

"I think I have an idea. Help me with this," I say, picking up a chair. We head to Mr. Joshi's room, and I climb the chair to open the A/C duct.

The nasty smell produced by the decomposing bodies of the rats is overwhelming.

"This seems to be solved sooner than expected," Layla comments, passing me the camera.

"Sadly," I murmur as I click pictures. The revelation of the rat infestation has taken away the spookiness but has not resolved all the mysteries in the house. We're left wondering if there might be more to the story than meets the eye.

"Mr. Joshi," I called out to the homeowner, who had been waiting anxiously outside. "We believe we've found the source of the smell but not of the disturbances."

He rushed inside his expression a mixture of curiosity and concern. We showed him the rat's nest, and he seemed both relieved and embarrassed by the situation. "I had no idea this was going on in our air ducts," he admitted.

"Your house is not haunted," Layla stated.

He looked relieved. " Hoax like you would say that" came the voice of his teenage daughter. ''Anita no."

'' I'm telling you it's Mom's spirit she just wants to stay with us," Anita screamed. I glared at that brat. I noticed the scratch on her arm.

She was shut out by her father. " Oh and about the moving of furniture our agency will contact you soon and explain everything. bidding them we left.

In the car, "Did you notice those scratch marks on her hand? She did that to herself.'' I told Layla.

"yaa, also those rats she must have put them in the vent." we nodded at each other.

"I think she is maybe unable to cope with her mother's loss. that's a reason she is RSPKing. The agency will recommend them a therapist."

"What a bummer, I got excited when I saw the furniture move." I slummed.

"you can have the fun when you reach home" Layla looked at me with playful eyes.

Shoot that's when I remembered my parents. I was indeed gonna get a good lecture.