Nicholas Koh Eng Soon was commissioned exactly a week ago. He would never forget the pride he felt that day. Since then, he was known as 2LT Nicholas Koh instead of being called a cadet for the past ten and a half months. He had gone through so much and he was determined to make full use of his newly gained status. He had only received his posting the day before. He was to report to Pulau Tekong Camp 2 as the new MTO (Military Transport Officer). Nicholas had to admit that he was a little disappointed. He had hoped to be posted to some combat unit as a PC (Platoon Commander), where he could lead his men into battle. Instead, for the rest of his NS career, he would have to be stuck in a transport company, away from all the action. However, he had not forgotten his oath on the first day of his enlistment to do the best in whatever he was assigned to do.
As instructed the day before, he arrived at Changi jetty at a quarter to eight. He was met by a Malay corporal called Ibrahim. Together, they took a ferry from the jetty to their destination. Nicholas had never taken a ferry before in his entire life and the trip was rather interesting to him. He had only been to Pulau Tekong once during his OCS course and they had taken a military RPL, a huge barge like vessel. His impression of the island was limited. He remembered the humid forest and long stretches of tarmac where he and his fellow cadets had trekked. The temperature there was always one or two degree higher then the mainland and the whole island seem to have an air of desolation. Nicholas turned his attention away from his string of thoughts to the waters. Surprisingly, he thoroughly enjoyed the sea breeze and the emerald green of the see. Along the way, the small ferry passed by several large islands and a few kelongs, which Nicholas observed with acute interest. The trip slightly longer than thirty minutes. Upon alighting onto Ladang jetty, the ferry on Pulau Tekong, he was struck immediately by the heatwave. Ibrahim ushered him to a waiting jeep and both of them proceeded to Camp 2.
Nicholas saw that the island was pretty much the same as the last time he was there. Time seems to stand still here on the island. There was the familiar dense vegetation on both sides of the single lane road. The street lamps were the type that could be found on the most rural areas of the mainland, the most unique feature about Pulau Tekong was the absence of traffic lights on all the roads. It was a driver's paradise. After ten minutes ride, they arrived at their destination. Camp 2 was very much like one of those old camp at Changi. The buildings were colonial bungalows of the early twentieth century. They were obviously very old and desperate need of a new coat of paint. Ibrahim parked the vehicle at a corner of the parade square. He then led Nicholas towards a cluster of one storey buidings at the edge of the camp, which were the living quarters for the soldiers. The officers bunk were at the very edge of the group. Nicholas was the one on the extreme left along the row next to the jungle. Surprisingly, the corridor and the drains were well cleaned. The interior of his bunk was also very tidy. It was definitely more spacious than his previous one at OCS. It was approximately the size of a master bedroom in a HDB flat. The room was sparsely furnished with a single metal bed, a study table and a wardrobe. There was a window with wooden shutters near the entrance of the room. There was also a back door, which Ibrahim explained, led to the common toilet behind the building. Nicholas then excused Ibrahim and started to unpack his belongings.
it took him about twenty minutes to unpack all his stuff. It was then that he noticed the rusty old kris hanging above the back door. It had tarnished with age and humidity. Curious, Nicholas took a chair from the desk and placed it at the door before climbing up to removed the kris from its perch. The metal with which the cover was made of was green with oxidization and had stained his hands. It was wet and cold to the touch and he was quite repulsed by the clamminess. With his hand on the elaborately carved handle of the kris, he slowly withdrew the blade from its sheath. To his disgust, a stream of murky and evil smelling liquid which had gathered inside spilled out onto his No.4. He shrank back instinctively and, simultaneously, threw the kris onto the ground before wiping his hands on his pants. Upon impact, the kris broke into two. He then noticed that the blade of the kris had strange inscriptions on it. Whatever it meant, the kris had stirred a sense of uneasiness in Nicholas and he decided to get rid of it. With a broom and dustpan, he swept up the mess and dumped it into the dustbin outside. Nicholas had just changed into a new set of No.4 when there was a knock on the door. He opened the door and there stood a short and wiry Malay. He introduced himself as 1st Sergeant Mohan, the senior vehicle mechanic. He had accidentally discovered the broken kris in the dustbin and had come to find out the cause. Nicholas described the accident and how he had dumped the broken pieces into the bin. He noticed that 1SG Mohan had suddenly turned very pale, as if in shock and was speechless for a moment. When he finally regained some composure, he explained that an officer friend of his used to reside in this same room and had left the kris behind when he was discharged from service.
Somehow, the lack of conviction in 1SG Mohan's statement made Nicholas suspect that he was not telling the whole truth. However, he decided not to pursue the matter as he was already late for an interview with his OC. Captain Lee Yew Hock was a huge disappoinment. His appearance was unimpressive, unlike his instructors in OCS. He was only about thirty plus and was already balding prematurely. He had a slight paunch and a thin moustache which reminded Nicholas of a centipede. He looked more like a hawker in the market than an officer. He shook Nicholas hand half heartedly and started to brief Nicholas on his duties. Nicholas was rather surprised by the amount of work he was assigned to. As the briefing continued, Nicholas realized that he would be covering both their duties. He was then dismissed and brought to his office by a junior clerk. He spent the rest of the morning going through the things in his office and interviewing the few clerks. During lunch, Nicholas had his first chance to visit the cookhouse, which like everything else there, was a disappointment. It was old and dilapidated and baldly in need of renovations. The food looked more fitting for animals and he immediately lost his appetite. At the cookhouse, he also saw 1SG Mohan. The Malay sergeant was with a few colleagues but he kept stealing glances in Nicholas direction. He would then point to Nicholas discreetly and whisper excitedly with his colleagues. Nicholas was rather amused by this. He thought that it may be because he was new and they just needed some time to get used to him.
After lunch, he went back to the office and started doing some paperwork. If fact, he was so occupied by his work that he almost forgot that it was time to knock off. His lazy OC had left the office long before the stipulated time to catch a ferry back to mainland. He was a married personnel and was accustomed to going back to his family a few times a week. The rest of the staff, however, were not allowed to book out during weekdays. As he strolled out of his office into the cool evening air, he saw a group of younger drivers and clerks having a game of soccer on the parade square. They called out for him to join them and he sportingly accepted their offer. After about an hour of vigorous soccer, the group broke up for dinner. This time, Nicholas decided against the cookhouse and joined his men at the canteen. The food there was much better and he enjoyed his dinner thoroughly. They stayed behind after that to chat and to watch TV. Nicholas then noticed 1SG Mohan at a corner of the canteen. he was staring absent mindedly at Nicholas before realizing that he was being watch in return. he immediately looked away and got up to leave. Nicholas was getting irritated by all these but decided not to take any actions for the time being. Something in 1SG Mohan's look frightened him. He looked terrified every time he looked at Nicholas. He was quite curious to know what frightened the obviously experienced sergeant so much when the others were not the least bit intimidated by him. He made a mental note to find that out the next time he saw 1SG Mohan.
After dinner, he took a nice slow stroll back to his quarters. On the way back, as he passed by the other bunks to reach his own at the extreme corner, he found that they were all unoccupied. He remembered vaguely Ibrahim telling him that all the NSF officers had ORDed recently and he was the first to be posted here since. When he reached his door, he let himself in and switched on the light. He peered out of the window at the lighted bunks of the specialists and enlistees some distance away. Sounds of people laughing and talking drifted through his window in the cool night air. He began to feel a sense of loneliness and desolation. he wished, at that very moment, that he was just a junior rank instead of an officer. As an officer, he was taught always to behave in a manner that distinguished himself from the rest of the men. In other words, he had to often keep his distance from them whereas the other ranks were not restricted by such unwritten regulations. After office hours, specialists and enlistees were free to mix with each other without any feelings of restrain. Nicholas could only sigh in desperation. As a recruit, he had hoped to go to Officer Cadet School after his BMT because he had always been consumed by a desire to be superior over everyone else. He had worked hard to achieve that. Now, that he finally had it, he was beginning to have second thoughts. He decided that it was probably a passing phrase and he would get used to it in time.
Nicholas decided to take a nice long shower and retire early for the night. He reached for his towel and toiletries from the wardrobe and proceeded to the toilet from the back door. He was surprised by a draught that hit him the moment he opened the back door. He reasoned that the air at the back could be much colder than the front. There was further humidity in the air, almost a clamminess that made him feel uneasy all over. However, at the shower, the feeling left him as mysteriously as it came. The water was cold, but he did not mind as it helped cool him down in the hot weather. On the way back to his bunk, Nicholas was once again aware of the unsettling feeling he has felt prior to leaving his room. He dismissed it as chills from the cold shower. In his room, he did a bit of reading before going to bed. It was approximately ten thirty. The cold was really getting to Nicholas. He subconsciously pulled the blanket up his neck. Suddenly, a stiff wind blew across his body. It was so chilling that he was rudely awakened. He opened his eyes and then got yet another rude shock. Instead of looking up at the ceiling of his room, he saw the lush, leafy branches of a tree swaying in the wind. he sat up and found himself in the open! There was a door on his left. He was in the damn courtyard outside his back door. Even his bloody bed was there. That certainly ruled out the possibility of sleepwalking, which was never a problem for him.
He looked at his watch and saw that it was four in the morning. In addition to the cold of the morning, he once again felt the chill that he had felt while walking past this exact place earlier on. He quickly jumped out of bed and tested the back door. It was unlocked though he was sure he had locked it before going to bed. It was then that he realized that he could be the victim of a very sick practical joke. He carefully looked around him, but could spot no hidden figures in the shadows. Frustrated, he dragged the bed back through the back door. For the rest of the night, he was so perturbed that he could not get back to sleep. Nicholas got out of bed at first light the next morning. By six, he was dressed and proceeded to the cookhouse for breakfast. Throughout the entire night, he had thought things over and was convinced that someone had played a practical joke on him. The first person that came to his mind who would have a motive for doing so was 1SG Mohan. He believed that the incident of the broken kris must have had offended him more than he had suspected. That must have sparked off the mischief. Hence, he was determined to find 1SG Mohan within the day to force the truth out of him. At the cookhouse, he tried to keep a lookout for 1SG Mohan but failed to find him. After attending his company roll call, Nicholas made his way to the vehicle repair sheds some three hundred metres into the forest at the back of the HQ building. Arriving at the run down shed, which housed all sorts of vehicles in various states of repair, he only managed to find the same group of people that 1SG Mohan had hung out with. He questioned one of them concerning the whereabouts of Mohan and was told that he was running a high fever the night before and was sent to the Medical Center at the other side of the island this morning.
Disappointed that he had failed once again to find the elusive 1SG Mohan, he left a message for Mohan to see him the moment he returns from the Medical Center. Later that same afternoon, Nicholas was informed that 1SG Mohan had been sent to Changi Hospital on the mainland because the Medical Officer had felt that his condition was too serious for the inadequate facilities on the island. The rest of the day passed uneventfully as Nicholas occupied himself with his work. That evening, after dinner and a few drinks at the canteen, Nicholas returned to his room. He decided to put the previous night's incident on hold until Mohan was back. Though he still experienced that awkward feeling on his way to and from the shower, he was no longer as badly disturbed by it as the previous night. It also occurred to him that when he went to the toilet this morning, the feeling was not there. Therefore, he was further convinced that it was just the cold of the night and nothing else. That night, just before he turned in, he double checked the doors and the window to make sure that they were locked. When he went to bed, it had suddenly begun to rain heavily. he had caught a glimpse at the clock on his table. It was midnight. Water was dripping on Nicholas and that had awakened him. He used his palms to wipe away the trickles from his face before opening his eyes. He did not realize that the ceiling was leaking so badly. He was getting frustrated for being disturbed the second night in a row. Until he fully opened his eyes and realize that he was no longer in his room. He was at the exact spot as he was the night before.
The rain had dwindled into a slight drizzle. His entire mattress was almost soaked and his pillow and blanket were wet. Nicholas was furious this time. His watch showed that it was again four in the morning. Whoever had done this was going too far. He sprang out of bed and searched the surrounding area, challenging the responsible party to come out and face him like a man. Still there was nothing but shadows in the rain. Finally, he had to give up and drag his wet bed back into his room. After he had dried himself, he had to make a makeshift bed in a corner with his spare No.4 uniforms. However, the night was so cold that he spent the remainder of the night huddled in his spread of clothes. The next morning, Nicholas went back to his office to inform his OC that his bunk had leaked and he needed the rest of the day off to make some repairs and repack his room, which was a lie of course. His OC was annoyed that he would be shorthanded and grumpily allowed him only the afternoon off. Hence, Nicholas had to struggle to prevent from dozing off after two successive fitful nights. He had also decided to feign ignorance tonight and lead the pranksters into trying their tricks again, while he set a trap to ambush them.
At noon, he was finally allowed to leave the office and return to his bunk. The entire place was isolated at this time of the day. He laid out his bedding to dry in the sun and changed his bedsheet and pillowcases. He spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping in his makeshift bed. When the intruders came again, he thought, he would not hesitate to breaks a few bones. After discovering their identities, he would ask his OC to charge all of them and send them to the Detention Barracks. Then, everyone would know not to mess around with 2LT Nicholas Koh. Nicholas woke up slightly after four in the afternoon, after about three hours of undisturbed sleep. He felt wonderfully fresh, better than he had felt in the last two days anyway. He collected his bedding, which was completely dried by the extra hot Pulau Tekong sun, and proceeded to pack up his room. Slightly after five, he went for dinner at the canteen. He tried to act as normal as he could, all the while keeping a lookout for any suspicious characters, but everybody seemed to be going about their business without paying any special attention to him. Earlier in the day, he had made inquiries and had found the 1SG Mohan was still in hospital. He had to concede that whoever the pranksters were, they were playing it cool and were not giving themselves away. After dinner, he lingered around, all the while trying to detect if anybody was keeping tabs on him. At about nine, he slowly walked back to his bunk. As usual, he got his things and headed for the shower. Once again, he got that distinctive eerie feeling on his way to the bathroom. After a quick shower, he went back to his bunk where he began to get ready for the night.
First of all, Nicholas took out his spare uniform, poncho and other large clothing items. Using the poncho, he covered the shutters of the already closed window. He used the other items to block the slits below the two doors and any other openings that might emit light. He wanted to give the intruders the impression that he had already gone to bed. As he noted that they usually strike at about four in the morning, he decided to keep himself awake until then. That was why he sealed all the openings but kept the lights on. He was afraid that he might doze off if he waited in the dark. Next, he plugged into his earphones, settled in bed with a thick novel and began the long wait. After a desperate struggle to stay awake for the past few hours, the time eventually drew nearer. It was three thirty in the morning, and Nicholas got out of bed quietly. First of all, he switched off all the lights. Then, he slowly and silently took away all the clothing he had used to seal up the room. He then returned to bed with his personal changkol stick by his side. He pulled up his blanket to the neck and continued waiting. It was three forty. After approximately ten minutes, he suddenly sensed sounds of heavy breathing in his room. He was surprised that he did not hear the pranksters come in. He had locked the door although he knew that it could not deter them as they had managed to undo the lock before. However, he did not expect them to be so quiet that he could not even notice them until they were already in the room. He heard them undo the rusty old latch of the back door and the slight creak as it was opened. By then, he had opened his eyes to a slit, and managed to catch a glimpse of four figures in the darkness. He tightened his grip on the changkol stick and watched as they slowly took their places at the four corners of his bed.
Up until then, except for their heavy breathings, these fellows hardly made a noise. Then, he saw them bend over and lift his bed slowly from the ground. With amazing fluidity, the whole procession began to move slowly towards the opened back door. This was the moment Nicholas had been waiting for. He pulled his changkol stick from under his blanket, raised it over his head and swung it sideways at the head of the nearest figure with all his strength. He felt the impact of the stick against the head and the sickening crunch of breaking bones. At the moment of impact, the head was actually scythed from the shoulders of the figure and it flew right across the room. The figure gave such a chilling scream that Nicholas felt his blood freeze in his veins. It was a scream from hell! Then as abruptly as they came, the four figures vanished into thin air altogether, along with the severed head, leaving Nicholas by himself again before he passed out from shock. Nicholas felt someone shaking him by the shoulders. Memories of the previous night began to flood back into his mind. He struggled with the pair of hands gripping him by the shoulders and opened his eyes. He saw the familiar face of 1SG Mohan and immediately relaxed. 1SG Mohan was first to speak. He had returned to camp late last night and had heard that Nicholas was looking for him urgently. he instantly knew the reason. He came to see Nicholas as soon as he had awaken. He has knocked on Nicholas front door for almost a minute and getting no response, came around the back to find the back door open and Nicholas completely knocked out. Mohan then told his tale.
When he was first posted there two years ago, he had became good friends with 2LT Shah, the previous inhabitant of that room. After some time, Shah had confessed to him that the room was actually haunted. The site of the whole camp had previously been a training area for mortar fire. One day, a group of four men had secretly sneaked into the area to pluck some rambutans. Without realizing that they were in there, the exercise begun. Later, the four men were reported to be missing and their badly ravaged bodies were later found in the area, at the exact spot where Nicholas bunk now stood. The spirits of the four men had came back to haunt the place where they died. The previous inhabitants never stayed there for more than a few days. They would request for a change of bunks. However, when Shah had moved in and experienced the haunting, he had gone to see his uncle, who was a bomoh. His uncle gave him the kris which he had blessed through a special ceremony, to keep in his bunk. True to his word, for the remainder of his stay there till he ORDed two weeks ago, Shah never experienced any disturbances again. However, when Nicholas moved in, he broke the blessed kris and Mohan was worried that the disturbance would start again. However, as it has been such a long time since anything strange had happened, Mohan hoped that the spirits were driven away permanently and he saw no sense in worrying Nicholas unnecessarily if that was the case.
He wanted to tell Nicholas the truth at the first sign of any unnatural happenings. Coincidentally, however, he had suddenly become very ill and had been unable to keep an eye on him. That very day, Nicholas had applied for a change of bunk, citing a leaking as the reason. Mohan had helped him move to his new bunk at the other end of the camp and he had not experienced anything strange since then. Some say that perticular bunk still stands but it had long been uninhabited and was used for storage purposes. Those who passed by the back door after dark still complained of a sudden eerie feeling.
Disappointed that he had failed once again to find the elusive 1SG Mohan, he left a message for Mohan to see him the moment he returns from the Medical Center. Later that same afternoon, Nicholas was informed that 1SG Mohan had been sent to Changi Hospital on the mainland because the Medical Officer had felt that his condition was too serious for the inadequate facilities on the island. The rest of the day passed uneventfully as Nicholas occupied himself with his work. That evening, after dinner and a few drinks at the canteen, Nicholas returned to his room. He decided to put the previous night's incident on hold until Mohan was back. Though he still experienced that awkward feeling on his way to and from the shower, he was no longer as badly disturbed by it as the previous night. It also occurred to him that when he went to the toilet this morning, the feeling was not there. Therefore, he was further convinced that it was just the cold of the night and nothing else. That night, just before he turned in, he double checked the doors and the window to make sure that they were locked. When he went to bed, it had suddenly begun to rain heavily. he had caught a glimpse at the clock on his table. It was midnight. Water was dripping on Nicholas and that had awakened him. He used his palms to wipe away the trickles from his face before opening his eyes. He did not realize that the ceiling was leaking so badly. He was getting frustrated for being disturbed the second night in a row. Until he fully opened his eyes and realize that he was no longer in his room. He was at the exact spot as he was the night before.
The rain had dwindled into a slight drizzle. His entire mattress was almost soaked and his pillow and blanket were wet. Nicholas was furious this time. His watch showed that it was again four in the morning. Whoever had done this was going too far. He sprang out of bed and searched the surrounding area, challenging the responsible party to come out and face him like a man. Still there was nothing but shadows in the rain. Finally, he had to give up and drag his wet bed back into his room. After he had dried himself, he had to make a makeshift bed in a corner with his spare No.4 uniforms. However, the night was so cold that he spent the remainder of the night huddled in his spread of clothes. The next morning, Nicholas went back to his office to inform his OC that his bunk had leaked and he needed the rest of the day off to make some repairs and repack his room, which was a lie of course. His OC was annoyed that he would be shorthanded and grumpily allowed him only the afternoon off. Hence, Nicholas had to struggle to prevent from dozing off after two successive fitful nights. He had also decided to feign ignorance tonight and lead the pranksters into trying their tricks again, while he set a trap to ambush them.
At noon, he was finally allowed to leave the office and return to his bunk. The entire place was isolated at this time of the day. He laid out his bedding to dry in the sun and changed his bedsheet and pillowcases. He spent the rest of the afternoon sleeping in his makeshift bed. When the intruders came again, he thought, he would not hesitate to breaks a few bones. After discovering their identities, he would ask his OC to charge all of them and send them to the Detention Barracks. Then, everyone would know not to mess around with 2LT Nicholas Koh. Nicholas woke up slightly after four in the afternoon, after about three hours of undisturbed sleep. He felt wonderfully fresh, better than he had felt in the last two days anyway. He collected his bedding, which was completely dried by the extra hot Pulau Tekong sun, and proceeded to pack up his room. Slightly after five, he went for dinner at the canteen. He tried to act as normal as he could, all the while keeping a lookout for any suspicious characters, but everybody seemed to be going about their business without paying any special attention to him. Earlier in the day, he had made inquiries and had found the 1SG Mohan was still in hospital. He had to concede that whoever the pranksters were, they were playing it cool and were not giving themselves away. After dinner, he lingered around, all the while trying to detect if anybody was keeping tabs on him. At about nine, he slowly walked back to his bunk. As usual, he got his things and headed for the shower. Once again, he got that distinctive eerie feeling on his way to the bathroom. After a quick shower, he went back to his bunk where he began to get ready for the night.
First of all, Nicholas took out his spare uniform, poncho and other large clothing items. Using the poncho, he covered the shutters of the already closed window. He used the other items to block the slits below the two doors and any other openings that might emit light. He wanted to give the intruders the impression that he had already gone to bed. As he noted that they usually strike at about four in the morning, he decided to keep himself awake until then. That was why he sealed all the openings but kept the lights on. He was afraid that he might doze off if he waited in the dark. Next, he plugged into his earphones, settled in bed with a thick novel and began the long wait. After a desperate struggle to stay awake for the past few hours, the time eventually drew nearer. It was three thirty in the morning, and Nicholas got out of bed quietly. First of all, he switched off all the lights. Then, he slowly and silently took away all the clothing he had used to seal up the room. He then returned to bed with his personal changkol stick by his side. He pulled up his blanket to the neck and continued waiting. It was three forty. After approximately ten minutes, he suddenly sensed sounds of heavy breathing in his room. He was surprised that he did not hear the pranksters come in. He had locked the door although he knew that it could not deter them as they had managed to undo the lock before. However, he did not expect them to be so quiet that he could not even notice them until they were already in the room. He heard them undo the rusty old latch of the back door and the slight creak as it was opened. By then, he had opened his eyes to a slit, and managed to catch a glimpse of four figures in the darkness. He tightened his grip on the changkol stick and watched as they slowly took their places at the four corners of his bed.
Up until then, except for their heavy breathings, these fellows hardly made a noise. Then, he saw them bend over and lift his bed slowly from the ground. With amazing fluidity, the whole procession began to move slowly towards the opened back door. This was the moment Nicholas had been waiting for. He pulled his changkol stick from under his blanket, raised it over his head and swung it sideways at the head of the nearest figure with all his strength. He felt the impact of the stick against the head and the sickening crunch of breaking bones. At the moment of impact, the head was actually scythed from the shoulders of the figure and it flew right across the room. The figure gave such a chilling scream that Nicholas felt his blood freeze in his veins. It was a scream from hell! Then as abruptly as they came, the four figures vanished into thin air altogether, along with the severed head, leaving Nicholas by himself again before he passed out from shock. Nicholas felt someone shaking him by the shoulders. Memories of the previous night began to flood back into his mind. He struggled with the pair of hands gripping him by the shoulders and opened his eyes. He saw the familiar face of 1SG Mohan and immediately relaxed. 1SG Mohan was first to speak. He had returned to camp late last night and had heard that Nicholas was looking for him urgently. he instantly knew the reason. He came to see Nicholas as soon as he had awaken. He has knocked on Nicholas front door for almost a minute and getting no response, came around the back to find the back door open and Nicholas completely knocked out. Mohan then told his tale.
When he was first posted there two years ago, he had became good friends with 2LT Shah, the previous inhabitant of that room. After some time, Shah had confessed to him that the room was actually haunted. The site of the whole camp had previously been a training area for mortar fire. One day, a group of four men had secretly sneaked into the area to pluck some rambutans. Without realizing that they were in there, the exercise begun. Later, the four men were reported to be missing and their badly ravaged bodies were later found in the area, at the exact spot where Nicholas bunk now stood. The spirits of the four men had came back to haunt the place where they died. The previous inhabitants never stayed there for more than a few days. They would request for a change of bunks. However, when Shah had moved in and experienced the haunting, he had gone to see his uncle, who was a bomoh. His uncle gave him the kris which he had blessed through a special ceremony, to keep in his bunk. True to his word, for the remainder of his stay there till he ORDed two weeks ago, Shah never experienced any disturbances again. However, when Nicholas moved in, he broke the blessed kris and Mohan was worried that the disturbance would start again. However, as it has been such a long time since anything strange had happened, Mohan hoped that the spirits were driven away permanently and he saw no sense in worrying Nicholas unnecessarily if that was the case.
He wanted to tell Nicholas the truth at the first sign of any unnatural happenings. Coincidentally, however, he had suddenly become very ill and had been unable to keep an eye on him. That very day, Nicholas had applied for a change of bunk, citing a leaking as the reason. Mohan had helped him move to his new bunk at the other end of the camp and he had not experienced anything strange since then. Some say that perticular bunk still stands but it had long been uninhabited and was used for storage purposes. Those who passed by the back door after dark still complained of a sudden eerie feeling.
No comments:
Post a Comment