They went into the mountains to seek forgiveness from those pandits, but they couldn't find a cave, and after calling out to them in vain, they returned disappointed.
"Hmm... so all of this is the doing of these Hindu pandits," said Sarim, with a thoughtful look. "One thing I don't understand is, Hindus are already misguided, but what happened to the Muslims? Why did they abandon the mosques? Were their faiths so weak? Didn't they know that the Quran has the cure for every type of magic?"
"The fear of the unknown overtakes everything and robs one of their intellect. These are simple people, far removed from deceit and trickery. In such a disaster, they grew fearful, and all faith was forgotten, leaving only fear behind," the waiter replied.
"Yes, you are right," said Sarim. "But now we must do something. First, we need to install cameras at various locations in the valley and track where these bloody hands are coming from and where they go. Can you guide us to the entrance and exit points of the valley so that we can install the cameras?"
"Yes, sir, I will come by tomorrow at eleven after breakfast. I will take you to the locations. For tonight, sleep peacefully, but do not open the door or the window of your room. No matter what happens, do not step outside," the waiter said before picking up the dishes and leaving.
The group sat in silence, deep in thought.
The night passed peacefully. At first, they were scared, but by midnight, when nothing happened, they slept comfortably and didn't wake up until late in the morning. Before eleven the next day, the waiter arrived with breakfast. After they ate, they gathered their necessary items and set out with the waiter.
It was daylight, but an eerie silence hung over the place, as if no living soul existed there. As they passed through the streets, the faint sound of a child's cry could be heard, but it was quickly silenced. By the end of the day, they had installed cameras at all the entrance and exit points of the valley, and exhausted, they returned to the hotel. After dinner, they chatted for a while and then went to bed. But as night fell, loud screams echoed through the streets and markets. It sounded as though many people were screaming together, shouting, "We are hungry! Give us meat! We are thirsty! Give us blood!"
Terrified, the three of them huddled in their beds, too scared to even approach the window. No one had the courage to look outside. The screams continued until five in the morning, and then, all of a sudden, they stopped. The silence that followed was so complete that even a falling needle would have been heard.
The next morning, they opened their room door as soon as the waiter arrived.
"Has another girl gone missing today?" Nida asked the waiter.
"She must have, Madam. But so many girls have gone missing in the last six months that now people don't even go out during the day to find out whose girl is gone," the waiter responded.
Nida felt her throat go dry after hearing this.
They finished their breakfast quickly and left the hotel. The waiter was with them again. Together, they removed the cameras and returned to check the recordings on the laptop. The daytime footage was empty, but the nighttime footage was telling.
From a distance, it looked like an army of insects was coming from the northern mountain side, but as they came closer, it turned out to be many hands - severed, bloody hands - crawling on their fingers. As soon as these hands entered the town, a strange noise began, and then, the cameras cut off.
It was now clear that whatever was happening was coming from the northern mountain side. The next course of action needed to be decided. The three of them decided to head into the mountains the following day.