Karnvir





**//__ Stuck __//**  "Can you hurry up now! Why is that you have to make everyone wait for so long!” yelled Mrs. Bela. The Bela family was all excited as they were going on a vacation to their favourite destination, Lake Placid. The family had not taken a vacation since the last four years because of their busy schedules. It was June and the best time to go! The family was taking their sons Cody and Zack with them for a perfect summer getaway. As they loaded their luggage in their van, they sang to each other. After a long drive of about ten hours they reached their cottage at the Lake Placid and to their amazement they saw another family staying there.

 Mrs. Bela was very mad and could not just hold it in. She called for the ranger and when he came she just pounced on him. The ranger apologized as there was some mistake that happened on their end. As a compensation for the carelessness, he offered the family the dream vacation package, a package that could never be refused especially by the Bela family. The family had worked very hard to afford this small yet great vacation, but now they were going to live the dream vacation all expenses paid! What better could they wish for?

The ranger offered them a semi detached house with a gorgeous basement, three complete bedrooms with attached washrooms and a beautiful home theatre and a big kidney shaped pool within the property. The ranger added, “There are no privacy problems guys, because no one lives in the next house”!

“We accept”, said Mr. and Mrs. Bela with a great big hug to each other.

Zack and Cody went to the nearby Blockbuster store to rent some games and movies. they were renting videogames and movies in excitement so that they could pull an all nighter. They planned to do it by watching movies and playing video games. Later that day, when Cody got ready with another bag of popcorn, they start hearing loud voices from the next house. Zack and Cody got frightened, and they paused the movie in a blink of an eye. They listened carefully and figured out that there was some conversation that was taking place. Zack and Cody felt lied too, so they ran to their parents and told about the talking, but their parents did not believe the situation. They thought Cody and Zack were tired, so they had to sleep early while hearing all sort of noises. Zack and Cody got furious at the lack of trust that the parents had towards them.

Two days later when they were playing a game of basketball, Zack and Cody were still thinking about that mind twisting situation. When Zack and Cody were playing, Zack tried scoring but the quick ball suddenly went to their neighbour’s house. While Zack went to get his favourite ball, it started rolling and moving towards the door, and then turned suddenly as there was a remote that was controlling it from a situation unknown.

“There is no time for jokes or mind freak tricks Zack, just get the ball and go inside”, said Cody in a serious voice.

Zack got scared, but he showed he is brave, so he followed the ball. The doggy door opened, and the ball entered the door. Zack heard barking from inside, but he still wanted to go inside, in a sudden Cody stopped him. Zacks rage start building up, so Zack went in and Cody left. Zack could hear his parents when he was inside, until he realizes that the house starts shaking outrageously, and making very high sounds. Zack panicked, he started yelling help, but there was no use, as there was no one who could hear him. Later on, their parents started worrying about Zack, and they wanted to know where Zack was, from Cody. But Cody had no option, but to lie. “He is at the pizza place, and is eating with a new friend”, said Cody in a terrified way

His parents believed Cody, as Cody was there trusted son. But then it was twelve o clock, Cody started to get worried because he knows the truth and he is frightened about what will he tell his parents the next morning. Then Cody decided to take a risky challenge, to help Zack. He went outside quietly, and the doggy door closed, but he got pale, as there was no light, no noise. He followed a blood trail which led to the backyard, but he got scared as the blood trail ended at a man with no head, and no legs. But he continued with confidence, saw an entrance at the back, and then he broke it. Out of know where, a dog appeared, he looked friendly wiggling his tail, but then he turned around and showed his mouth, there Cody saw the largest and sharpest teeth he ever saw. The dog start chasing him, first he ripped Cody’s shirt and then he had him on the floor. Cody saw an axe; he picked it up and sliced the dogs head right off. Cody saw a basement door, and then ran towards the door as fast as he can. He was downstairs, and he got changed feelings as he saw his brother. He started talking to him, but there was no use as Zack couldn`t hear or see Cody. Cody felt Zack, but then he realized it was a hologram, while he was touching the hologram, it exploded. Cody got hurt, but then the hologram changed to this face which said

“There is no escape”

Then one hologram turned into twenty, he showed Cody’s brother Zack.

“Listen you human, I have your brother in my death machine which will rip his body limb by limb, your job is to search for this code, to do that first you will meet a dangerous clown, which then you will have to get this kid out of his heart. Then you will meet pumpkin face, within the jaws there is the key you are looking for, and that key could release your brother from the my Death machine.”

He disappeared, and Cody continued his crazy challenge, he saw a door and quickly opened it, there was the dark minded clown. But he looked like a statue that was keep giggling, and spitting acid spit. Suddenly Cody sees an axe lying nearby, he attacks the clown with all might, and then all the acid came exploding in a burst. But then Cody fell on the floor, and he was seriously damaged, he couldn’t continue, but then he was keep thinking this is for my brother, and he got up and did what he had to do, got the axe and gave a last blow to the clowns heart. There was the boy; the boy gave Cody a medicine which will heel him overtime. The boy quickly grabbed Cody, and went to the next door. There he was the pumpkin that Cody had to defeat to rescue his brother. Cody felt wiled; therefore he rushed to the pumpkin face. The boy told Cody “Be careful”, he said in a wise way.

The boy tells him to put a rod in the pumpkin face, as the hand will burn, and look for the key. He tells that the iron rod will burn, when you put it in his fiery mouth, so be alert. As Cody was trying to get the key with the rod, it was melting rapidly. Cody didn`t care, he didn`t care about the rules he got an axe, and smashed it right on the pumpkin. There were pumpkin pieces everywhere, the positive sign was he got the key, but the disadvantage was his arm got burned. This time the boy couldn`t do anything. Cody still continued, but he only had two hours. The twenty holograms appeared again, he said

“You only have fifteen minutes left before you are going to be stuck here forever.” Cody saw a door, and he quickly opened it, and there was Zack. Zack tried thanking them too, but Cody wanted to get out. They saw the basement door, to get out of that place. They were fast and furious, in two seconds they were outside. They were so happy, until the boy found out, it was a hologram. There was only thirty seconds left. They went back inside, and the boy ran to the real entrance rapidly, as Zack and Cody were following them. In a sudden, they were finally outside. And this time it was not a hologram.

The boy had to say something; first he apologized, and said

“That the face was actually my dead father. Long time ago he got trapped in the spirits world, in the heart of the clown. My father tried escaping, but the spirits killed him, from that day my father could not rest in peace. He then decided to bring help as he could not do anything as the sprits had cursed him. That is when he saw you guys playing games outside and tried to bring you in. My father has finally escaped so he could go rest in peace in the heavens. But now I have to leave to my place.

As he left Zack and Cody were waving. Zack knew he owed Cody for saving his live, and that Cody is very mad at him. Zack was lucky that his parents didn’t find out about his insane adventure. It was three years later, and they were still talking about that frightening day, how they almost got killed, how Cody saved Zack, and how that boy left. Zack learned a very valuable lesson, and that lesson was, the game of life is a game of boomerangs. It is better to deal with the situation some other time as it will return to us sooner or later with amazing accuracy. Till that day they never slept, without having nightmares.