"Before the Blood Clots" delves into the mysterious encounter between Aryan and Vidya on a fateful Saturday night. As Aryan navigates through a series of peculiar events, he finds himself drawn deeper into a world of darkness and the occult. This chilling narrative explores themes of temptation, disbelief, and the blurred lines between reality and time travel.

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Aryan parked his car in the basement of a pub. It was a Saturday night, and he proceeded to have three shots of Jägermeister while waiting for his blind date to arrive. Aryan, a habitual drinker, believed he still had his wits about him despite being sloshed. Finally, Vidya arrived, and they began with small talk. Aryan found it odd that she suggested a first date at a shady pub after midnight. He wondered if Calcutta was even safe for women this late.

Vidya’s pupils dilated as she laughed and said, “Whom do I need to fear?” Aryan was intrigued by her confidence. Vidya complimented Aryan, saying he stood out from everyone else there. There was something divine about her, but her face seemed familiar. Aryan paused and asked her about it. She laughed and replied, “Do you not read the newspaper?” Lust clouded Aryan’s judgment, and he dismissed his curiosity, thinking she might be a supermodel. Vidya ordered a whole roasted chicken and five pegs of whiskey for herself. Aryan was surprised by her appetite given her classy demeanor. After dinner, Vidya went outside to smoke. As Aryan was a non-smoker, he stayed inside, contemplating his chances with her.

When the bill came, Aryan was astonished at how cheap it was and noticed the chicken and whiskey were not included. He thought the waiter must have been too drunk to notice. Aryan’s head felt heavy and dizzy, but he still went to search for Vidya. She was nowhere to be found outside, and he became frustrated. On his way to the basement, he saw Vidya in the garage near his car. He asked, “Wait, wait, are you a stalker or something? How did you know this was my car?” Vidya flirtatiously replied, “You look like you drive a BMW.” Aryan thought it was a wild guess since all the other cars were middle-class, and she had said he stood out from the others.

Vidya threw today’s Times of India with the front page of “A Girl’s Skull Found in Drains” from the front passenger seat and sat beside him. Aryan said, “Hey, I wanted to read those. Why would you do that?” She replied that they had printed her photos of winning the Miss Calcutta competition, which made her very shy. Vidya hurriedly asked to be taken home. Aryan, heavily drunk, paid triple the parking fees. The watchman advised him not to drive because of a high-profile car accident nearby, but Aryan ignored the warning, thinking a damsel in distress needed his help.

Despite knowing Calcutta's roads well, Aryan found a shortcut that night, bypassing the accident scene. He commented on the unusually light traffic, feeling as if the shortcut had opened the door to somewhere unknown. He dropped Vidya at her home, and she said, “Okay then, I’ll see you next time,” before heading upstairs. Aryan cursed her in his mind, feeling he had wasted his money and should have drunk alone. As he drove back, he suddenly braked hard, realizing he forgot to exchange numbers with her. “How will I ever get lucky now?” he lamented.

At home, Aryan freshened up and reflected on Vidya. She was a bombshell, but he was puzzled that none of the staff, the waiter, or the watchman paid her any attention. He wondered if she was a known prostitute there but dismissed the thought.

In his dreams, Aryan saw Vidya, feeling aroused until it turned dark and pungent, with flies buzzing around and heavy body pain. “Ahh, this Jägermeister has been so rough,” he thought as he dozed off again. He dreamt of Vidya asking for his help, constantly slitting her own wrists and screaming with her all-white eyes while stuck in her own room. The next morning, he dismissed the dreams, thinking there was no way such a beautiful girl could be involved in witchcraft or the occult, he shamelessly went to her neighbourhood to stalk her. Seeing no movement in her house, he barged in and found Vidya unclothed, doing laundry. Embarrassed, he started to leave, but Vidya stopped him and took him to her red room, filled with idols of gods associated with occult practices, all cracked or marked with strange lines.

Aryan thought it was finally time, but Vidya asked, “Have you ever done Tantrik Sex?” Seeing the fresh cuts on Vidya’s wrist, his arousal vanished, replaced by a sense of creepiness. Vidya suggested he should have lunch before getting too excited. In the mirror’s reflection, Aryan saw rice being cooked, but to his horror, there were human skulls in the kitchen. Disgusted, he ran away for his life.

Days passed, and Aryan was haunted by dreams of Vidya by his life and limb. His health deteriorated; he lost his appetite and felt constant shoulder pain. Despite the negative attraction, he couldn’t resist learning more about her. One night, Vidya apologized in his dream and She confessed, "I am the girl whose skull was found in the drain." She then revealed that if Aryan

performed Shava Sadhana on her dead body, she would be able to live again. She offered her veins to drink blood from, In his dream, Aryan was driving the car and taking the shortcut, but he constantly refused, insisting that he couldn't do it, Then it shifted to a jungle where Vidya, now a bloodthirsty pishachini with red eyes, attacked him. Aryan felt a hard substance hitting his chest and something bursting in his brain. She bit his neck and drank his blood, causing him to pass out.

Aryan woke up sweaty, relieved that it was just a dream. Scratching his neck, he found a blood clot and blue bruises. He realized he was trapped in a car involved in an accident outside the shady pub. He saw all the familiar characters—the waiter, the watchman, the police—and people taking pictures of his broken BMW.

By Anagh Datta

From: India

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