10. The Bell-Room Adventure

A Chapter by Dr.Vishnu

10. The Bell-Room Adventure

Wills looked up, the roof of the room is continuous with a hollow vertical chamber, top of where, a big bell was attached to it. Then Stanley called him and showed him at the east corner. There was big machinery with wheels, pulleys, and chains. Seeing that wills said,

“This is the machinery for Bell functioning. This thing starts when the time on the wall shows 5.30. When this one starts, the chain moves and the bell sound!” And suddenly remembering about time, he again asked, “What is the time?”

“We have less than 10 minutes, come on lets go” said Stanley and pulled wills.

Wills stopped for a moment and looked at the machinery, something is wrong. Oh my God. The machine started to move. He looked around and he is confused. Then he understood that they do not have 10 minutes except one minute.

“What’s happening?”

“The bell is going to ring now” said wills.

“But it’s not time, still ten minutes to 6.00!” cried out Stanley.

“I too don’t know why? May be your time is slow or the church’s fast. But it’s happening, NOW!” said wills and was looking frantically all over the room. Then he took out his shoe. Stanley asked,

“What are you trying to do? We have to rush” said Stanley.

“You guys go! I will try to stop the ringing” said wills by holding the shoe in his hand.

“What, you can’t stop it. We have to go” shouted Stanley.

“If I stuck this machinery, I can stop the bell at least for sometime. You go, now” shouted back wills. Stanley looked forward in the room, there were the stagfield pillars. Desperately, he held Lucy’s hand and dragged her towards the pillars.

Wills went to the machinery and he kept his shoe between two outrunning wheels. Because of the shoe, the wheels stopped rotating. But he understood that the shoe can’t hold it. It was crushing between them.

Stanley reached the room after crossing the pillars. The room was spacious and its walls were filled with sculptures. There he saw a big rock on which there were several carvings showing almost all species. He was amazed for a moment, and then he shouted,

“Will, where is the tunnel door?”

Wills was keeping his other shoe between them. He already tired to stop it by pulling all the levers, turning all wheels. But none was effective.

“A hook on the lion’s face. Turn it thrice to left and twice right!” wills shouted. The sound was reverberating all over the rooms. Then suddenly the wooden doors of the bell- room were thrashed. Wills stopped doing his job and turned at them. Again there was a big blow to the door. The dombies were trying to enter the room. Wills perspired all over. And the second shoe was also crushing.

He ran to the door and defended it from inside. But there were several dombies from the outside. And the second shoe was squashed. The wheels started to move. Wills body shivered with tension and fear.

* * *

Stanley identified the hook and turned it. A door opened in the rock. Stanley looked in to it and switched the pen torch on. The tunnel was creepy, and he went in. Lucy came behind him. Then again Stan kept his head outside and shouted,

“Wills! we are going in!”

Wait, They are also coming. Wills thought. And he shouted,

“Go fast. . And Stanley, remember to keep it back there before the fifth ring!”

As the wheels turned a rotation, the bell rang. The first ring. Stanley stopped on hearing that. He was shocked. Lucy stood straight and looked at Stan. They ran faster inside the tunnel towards the tomb.

Wills ran back to the machinery leaving the door-defense. He took out the Rhodes diary and he looked at it. The bell rang again. The second ring.

Then without thinking anymore he kept the diary between the wheels. The wheels stopped. After hearing the second ring, Stanley told Lucy to go and help wills. She said Ok and moved back towards the exit of tunnel. Stanley went in.

The diary is also very weak to stop that machinery. Wills was looking at the diary. Then the clamps of the door started to wear off. Wills again ran to the door and tried to fix them. Then the door bust opened from outside force. With that force wills fell on the floor. The dombies came rushing in to the room. Wills thought -why in the world I accepted this party proposal? They fell on wills.

* * *

Stanley ran in the tunnel. He was happy not to hear the bell sound again. He felt that everything would be cool that they stopped the bell. He heard some rattling noises ahead, so he threw torch ahead. There was the skeletons room. The skeletons were still trying to break the chains. Stanley’s heart thumped. But he took a deep breath and headed forwards.

* * *

Lucy reached the exit and came out in to the room. She stopped for a moment as her subconscious was saying WAIT. Then from the side of the pillars, came a group of dombies with intense desire to kill. Lucy became terrified. She didn’t expect this. She turned back and popped in to the tunnel. The dombies ran to the tunnel. She closed the door, but she couldn’t lock it from inside. The dombies were pulling the door. She was holding it against them.

* * *

Stanley slowly stepped towards the skeletons. They became fierce, may be frustrated trying to break the chains. As Stanley went in middle of them, first one jumped forward and caught Stan’s legs. The Stanley forcibly pulled his leg from the skeleton’s hands. But in a moment, all the other skeletons were also trying to catch him. Stanley got irritated and started to pull his leg very much forcibly. But they were not leaving him. Some of them were poking, scratching, and scraping his legs.

The Rhodes diary was also defeated in holding the machinery. So, here comes the third ring.

With that sound Stanley’s temper went to the peak. He shouted,

“You bloody *beep* skeletons, *beep* *beeeeep*, I am gonna *beep* very much *beep*…*beep*

you *beep**beep*…”

And in the rage he forcibly pulled his leg and started to hit the skeletons. He blew off several skulls from their bodies.

But still they were bothering him. Stanley swung his legs at them and, he jumped out of them in to the tomb room.

The fourth ring.

Lucy couldn’t hold the door. There was no blood in her hands. She tried her best. And the bell ring added to her tension and fear.

Stanley looked at the Cerr’s tomb and he didn’t know where to keep the diamond. He became tense and he kept it in Cerr Hanley’s heart. And he looked at the skeletons, they were still alive. He shocked. This is not the place to keep the diamond. Then his sight fell on the witch stick. One end of the stick looks empty. So, Stanley took it.

The fifth ring. Just after the ring, Stanley kept the diamond. But he understood that he was late. I am late and I doomed us all, he felt. Then he saw the skeletons, they were dead.

Lucy also heard the last ring. Then after that there was no pulling force at her door. With confusion, she opened the door. The dombies were on floor DEAD.

Stanley didn’t understand, he was late but still the curse was over. How?

The sixth ring. With that ring, Stanley’s confusion cleared. Dr.Rhodes was wrong. It was six rings at 6’o clock. And Bob, thanks, you were right.

And Stanley shouted in a high pitch, “Hoooooooooohhhhh…ha ha…hoo”

Lucy heard that and she too shouted.

Stanley again joined with Lucy, “Hooooo, it’s over Lucy!” his voice reached Lucy’s ear after reverberating that tunnel.

“Yeah!” shouted back Lucy.

* * *

There were dead bodies all over the church. Outside the slaughter house, there were dead bodies of cattle. The bat that tried to come out from the oven in damaged Bob’s Store was still. The deer’s head with the big antlers was lying as a ceramic piece of decorative item on the grass. The bats that flew all over the church were now lying on the church’s dome. The air was very clear like it just rained. The whole place seemed like a war-worn field.

As Stanley came out of the tunnel successfully, Lucy received him with a warm hug. They were in that hug for sometime until their breathing slowed down. They kissed each other in the middle of the dead bodies, a rare possibility. Then they looked around, now, they smelled something offensive. So they kept moving. They came out of the bell room watching Rhodes crushed diary. They also saw wills dead body. They sat near his body. Lucy said,

“Sorry wills, we couldn’t save you!”

“Thank you Wills. You did a great job. Your name will be forever” said Stanley.

“What about mine?” came a sound from outside the room. It was John’s voice. At first Stanley thought it was an illusion.

“Hey Stan!” came john’s voice again.

Stanley ran out of the room in to the prayer hall. John was sitting down in the centre of all among other dead bodies. He was full of blood. He couldn’t sit completely even. His body was almost everywhere bitten. Stanley’s heart danced. He stopped for a moment and laughed his heart-full. Tears of happiness rolled down. John was also extremely happy. Lucy standing right behind Stanley was amazed with happiness. She got Goosebumps.

And Stanley ran to john and lifted him up. John stood with support of Stanley. Then Lucy came to him and held him on the other side. John encircled his hands onto the Stanley’s and Lucy’s shoulders.

“It’s wonderful to see you guys” said John.

“Hey! Why did you do this?” asked Stanley with anger in his eyes.

“Come on, I am alive right?” said John.

“John, How did you….?”asked Lucy in surprise.

“It’s just Bob’s idea. I acted!” said john.

“You-Acted?” asked Stanley and Lucy simultaneously.

“Yes. They came to me and started to bite me. I bear it for a minute and then I pretended like I am dead. They stopped biting me. And I stood up like a dombie and walked for some distance with all this pain. Man! That is very hard! That’s why they believed me. Just after the last bell, I fell down. As all the dombies starting to fall down, I understood that it’s over” said John. They were looking at him amazed.

“That was great, oh my god. Where did you get all this brain?” shocked Lucy.

“Whatever dude! I am extremely happy to see you” said Stanley. They were still astonished about john, and they were very happy.

With Stanley’s and Lucy’s support, john was slowly leaving the room. Suddenly john saw the satellite phone on the floor before them. He showed it to them. Stanley picked up the phone and looked at it revising what had happened because of this. Then he gave it to Lucy. She took it with her left hand.

“You can call your father!” said Stanley.

“Why? We are still going to Mexico, right?” said Lucy.

Stanley smiled and nodded his head. John also smiled about their reunion.

“Hey Stanley, with all the heck happened, you know what I will ask you?” asked john.

“What?” replied Stanley.

“Please don’t bury me if I die. Burn me!” said John. Lucy and Stanley laughed.

“No, no I am serious!” said john.

“Hey john…..uh…you are not going to die. Okay” said Stanley.

“Who knows buddy? They bit me everywhere. I am extremely bleeding” said John.

“I am a mini doctor, I know. You won’t die” said Stanley.

“Oh, come on. Doctor? Huh…who are your patients? Rhodes and bob? Come on Stanley!” laughed John.

Lucy also laughed.

“And we have to find Rhodes’, Betsy’s and bob’s bodies” said Lucy.

“Yeah…we will do that after we put john in hospital. Now call 911” said Stanley.

Lucy took the phone into the other hand and dialed 911…

“911 emergency!”

And they left the prayer hall.

* * *

Two months later (present)

And that’s how they forgot me. I am still under this antique table. I saw them leaving the prayer hall happily. I helped them a lot (really not), but they left me to rot here. That’s my second half of the story that explains why I am here and why there are only three bullets left in me.

Thank you for hearing me, now come and rescue me.

Since then I heard many stories from people coming to the church. They said that Stanley and Lucy were married with the permission of his father sir major bill etc. as Stanley saved his daughter from all this. And that john was perfectly okay now. And that government honored all of them who strived hard to stop the curse. Now the Cerr Hanley’s tomb is in museum with all the security. The diamond along with the witch stick was completely safe. Everyone knew this great adventure now, but no one noticed me and talked about me.

* * *

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