Guess it

Yourself
Darsh P. Ladhane
 GUESS IT
YOURSELF
 Guess it yourself is a series started by Darsh
When he realised that the title of the story
tells too much about the story and what it is
about so, guess it yourself stories don’t have a
title nor do they have a cover page photo , you
have to guess it yourself !
No part of this book may be reproduced in whole or
in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or

transmi ed in any form or by any means

electronic , mechanical , photocopying , recording ,

or otherwise , without wri en permission of the

author. For informa on regarding permission,

write to plot no 29 A , Sai Nisarg society , Gat no.
36, Bhukum,

Pune - 412115

Copyright © 2022 by Darsh Ladhane.

Story 1 - 7
Story 2 - 24
Story 3 - 30
Story 4 - 37
Story 5 - 49
Story 6 - 57
Story 7 - 64
Story 1
 1
I woke up panting.
I had a bad dream again.
Why can’t I just have one peaceful sleep ?
Let me introduce myself.
I am Justin Phillips and I’m twelve.
The back of my T-shirt stuck wetly to my back.
And yes I can’t pass a night without any bad
dreams. That’s my problem since when I was little.
I checked the time on my watch. 7:30
Mostly I wake up early , but today I was tired of yes-
terday’s basketball practice.
I was about to go back to my nightmares when I re-
membered something.
I remembered that it was my birthday!
I jumped out of my bed and quickly took a shower.
I checked my watch again.7:45. I love my watch , its
Rolex. My grandfather gave it to me before he
passed away.
I ran downstairs. Where was Michael? He is our
servant.
I expected to see my parents and my bratty little sis-
ter
Julien. But they were no where to be seen.
I will make myself a sandwich I thought.
My father works in the films. The business side.
I opened the fridge for the mayo but I caught a
glimpse of something on the fridge door. I closed the
fridge again I saw a note on the door.
Probably from my parents.
It read -
Dear Jus n,
Sorry we aren’t there when you wake up on your
special day. We are taking your sister to the doctor.
You can make yourself a snack. We will return soon.
You can watch some movies.
- Your mom
Cool , I thought.
Definitely cool.
I am home alone I get to see a bunch of movies.
We have a collection of horror films.
I took my sandwich and rushed to the den.
I like watching movies and reading books.
Horror and Thriller especially.
Last time I told my parents to make a horror birth-
day party
for me , they brought some geeky party designer.
They must have forgot I was turning eleven not two!
Hope they don’t do something like that this time!
Anyway. I made myself comfortable on the sofa.
Hmmm...which movie to watch?
But before I could decide I heard a crash from up-
stairs which made me realise that I was no longer
alone.
 2
Stop scaring yourself Justin ! I scolded myself.
It must be blue, our black cat.
Funny isn’t it?
I have no idea why my parent gave her that name.
Their weird sense of humour maybe .
And then I saw her .
Sitting beside me, on the sofa.
Then what could have made that sound ?
The wind ? No
It sounded like a glass shattering.
What if the blue china vase broke?
Oh no I’m in big trouble then ,
The vase means a lot to my mom.
It was given to her by her mother which was given
to her by her mother
I have to investigate I decided.
The crash came from mom’s and dad’s bedroom, I
thought I rushed to the bedroom.
Opened the door and……….
………. gasped.
 3
His face was grim.
I mean his mask was grim.
The window was broken.
He was sitting on the bed.
“Wh-who are you?” I wanted to sound brave but my
voice trembled.
“Close the door.” he ordered. He had a deep booming
voice.
“N-No” I stammered.
I was never so frightened in my life.
“Close the door.” he repeated coldly. His voice sound-
ed familiar .
“I am calling the police!” I cried.
There was a telephone near the door. I quickly di-
alled the number and put the receiver on my ear.
Dead. The line was dead.
I quickly rushed out and closed the door behind me.
There were only three telephones in our house.
One in the hall and one in my parents bedroom and
the last one beside the door of my room.
I reached the phone in the hall .
Dead.
There was only one hope to try the last phone.
I reached my bedroom door and there I saw him cut-
ting
The telephone wire.
My heart skipped a beat.
Ok I thought.
I will just open the main door and run ,and find a
phone somewhere and call the police.
Simple as that .
I ran as fast as my trembling legs could take me.
I tugged at the door. locked.
I was locked in with a thief without any phones.
No way to communicate with the outer world.
 4
“leaving so soon ?” his voice boomed behind me.
I turned around and came face to face with the man.
He was fully covered in black.
“I don’t want to hurt you kid.” he said. “I just want
one thing.”
I was never so frightened in my life.
“I want your Blood.”
 5
“Huh?” I said. Why does this man want my Blood?
“You don’t want something to happen to your cat do
you?”
“N-no!” I stammered “What did you do to him?”
“You should ask what will I do to him.”
“leave blue alone!” I cried.
And then he laughed.
It sounded like hee-haw, hee-haw.
“ Look kid “ he said
I stared at him expecting him to say more
“ No really , look outside the window .” He said.
I went to the window and looked outside.
It was the most horrifying scene I have ever seen.
 6
Total destruction.
Fire. All the tall buildings had fallen.
Cars were burning on the road.
People were running.
What were they running from ?
“Aliens have landed. When they bite you, you turn
into an alien yourself . We need your blood to make
the antidote.”
Was I hearing what I was hearing ?
“You have to come with me.” he said.
Before I could reply the door burst open.
I screamed as the hideous thing jumped in.
It had mouth full of teeth and was blue in colour and
its head was as big as a watermelon .
It hurled the man out of its way and ripped his head
off
And came towards me.
It lowered its head. Ready to attack .
 7
It leaped at me with great speed.
My body thudded on the floor.
The creature was on me.
It growled , showing its teeth.
I knew my end was near.
But suddenly it said “Happy Birthday !”
 8
“Huh ?”I said .Did I really hear that ?
The creature let go of me and removed its mask.
Mask?!
From the corner of my eye I saw the man waking up.
The man removed his mask. He was Michael! No
wonder his voice sounded familiar
Suddenly it hit me.
My parents had planned all this!
“Happy Birthday!” Michael said.
“Uh ,thanks” I said.
“Your dad planned all this.” He said .
“But what about the buildings ?” I asked.
“Its all a setup.” He replied .
“And all those people ?”
“They are actors.”
Whoa. This must have cost a lot.
“Come on We have to go.” He said
“Yeah”
We went out side. A Limousine was waiting for us.
When we sat I said “I didn’t know you could act so
well”
“Neither did I. ” He said “But your father encour-
aged me to do it.”
Hey wait a minute.
Hadn’t the creature ripped Michael`s head off !
“ Uh , Michael hadn’t the creature ripped your head
off ?”
Michael stared at me.
“Stop the car!” He roared.
“Why ?” I asked as the tires screeched to a halt.
“You know my secret!” He said.
“What secret ?” I asked in a tiny voice. What was he
talking about ?
“That I am a Ghost !”
 9
“No !” I said.
“Yes !” he said.
Then he started laughing.
I hadn’t realized that the car was standing in front
of a graveyard.
“Just kidding.” he said. “It was special effects.”
I let out a sigh of relief .
He opened the door and went outside.
“What are you waiting for ? come out.” He said
“In the graveyard?”
“Yes ,that’s where the party is, you know to make it
Spookier.”
“Oh ” I said.
I jumped outside.
The gate of the graveyard creaked open.
He handed me a flashlight .
Even if it was almost afternoon the graveyard was
as dark as night. Michael told me it was also special
effects.
I could see the party going on at a distance.
My flashlight hovering over gravestones.
Suddenly a grave caught my eye.
It Read -

Michael Zarwid
1956-2011
Story 2
 1
What woke me up?
I couldn’t remember.
There! The scratching noise.
I heard it again.
I checked the clock. It was the middle of the night .
Maybe it was my dog Tuffy scratching at the door to
get in.
I had to investigate.
I got off the bed and opened my bedroom door and
went outside.
But when I reached the stairs I realised the scratch-
ing noises weren’t coming from downstairs.
They were coming from the attic.
 2
My heart started racing.
The attic was not opened since a long time.
We had just moved in. this was my great grandfa-
thers house.
I have to investigate I decided.
The attic stairs creaked under my feet as I reached
the attic door.
The old door protested as I opened it.
The attic was filled with old furniture and about a
hundred closets.
My great grandfather owned a furniture mall.
The scratching noise was coming from a closet. The
oldest of all.
He said the closet was cursed.
When he bought the closet and put it in his mall
suddenly the customers stopped coming.
He went in loss and had to close down the mall.
The scratching noise was getting louder.
I opened the door and gasped.
 3
As a strong whoosh of air escaped the closet and sent me
stumbling back.
The air almost sounded like ‘thanksss’
Whoa , the air came from inside the closet !
I looked at the closet and realised that the closet was look-
ing bigger from the inside than outside.
I climbed inside the closet.
And suddenly heard the unforge able sound of the closet
door slamming shut behind me.
 4
“Hey ! Let me out !” I cried. Banging the door.
Suddenly I saw a distant yellow light.
Distant ? Man I was in a closet !
I started walking towards the light.
No ! I thought. It can be a trap just like the closet .
I turned and started banging the closet door shout-
ing for help.
Little did I know that till I got my freedom , I had
plenty of scratching to do.
Story 3
 1
”I want to sit by the window!” my brother screamed .
”Trevor we are already seated — please cooperate.” I
pleaded my brother.
“No way, no way , NO WAY !” he screamed “I want
to sit by the WINDOW ! — NOW !”
“Alright, Alright” I said .
What could I do ? He’s so annoying , he always
wants things to go his way. He is ten, but sometimes
he acts like a baby.
“Devin let him sit by the window” my mom scolded.
Mom is always on his side.
My brother’s name is Trevor.
And my name is Devin carter .
It’s hard to get angry on someone who looks so much
like you .
We both have black hair and hazel eyes . We look
like mom.
Dad is blond and has blue eyes. He looks like a TV
actor.
We were going camping in the Fish bait woods .
I’m not really sure why it is called fish bait woods .
One day I’ll find out.
Finally we reached there . It’s a long car drive from
home , One hour or so.
“Finally there” dad muttered .
Mom and dad like to go camping .
So where are we at the starting of every summer va-
cation ? You guessed it fish bait woods.
They are the closest woods to us.
“Devin , get out of the car.” dad said impatiently.
“Oh, yes, almost forgot .” I muttered.
“Don’t forget to take your bags”
My dad is a safety freak. He packed our bags with
mini
first-aid kits extra food if we are lost and water bot-
tles.
“Lets set our camp here” dad said “Devin, why don’t
you take Trevor and wander around sometime ?” He
asked.
 “We will meet after one hour .”He declared.
“Okay” I shrugged.
“Lets follow that path.” Trevor said pointing to a
mud path.
“Alright” I said . Little did I know that the path
leaded to our doom.
 2
Few minutes after walking on that path Trevor
cried
“Lets turn around.”
“Ok” I said. I didn’t want to argue with him.
“Which way did we come from ?”
“We came from there” he pointed.
“I don’t think so” I muttered.
He ran in that direction. I followed him.
After a few twists and turns Trevor stopped in his
tracks.
He turned to look at me. His face was red and he
was panting.
“We are hopelessly lost!” he said .
 3
“Hey, don’t panic” I said.
For about a few minutes ago I had thought know
fish bait wood like the back of my hand.
“We have enough food to last for a few weeks.” I said
“We will send smoke signals or something and mom
and dad will find us, don’t worry.”
Trevor started walking again.
We passed a few weird looking trees .
I had never been this deep in the woods.
Suddenly I saw smoke rising from the trees .
“Hey look!” I cried.
But Trevor had already started running towards it.
“Wait for me !” I cried.
We reached the clearing.
There was a campfire at the centre of it
There was a board near the campfire.
I went closer to read it.
It read BAIT.
Suddenly a huge fish jumped out of nowhere and
caught us.
“LET GO!” Trevor screamed.
“You are my food !” the fish boomed “ And I am going
to eat you !”
Guess what ? The fish kept its promise.
But lets look at the bright side of things.
At least now I know why the woods are called fish
bait woods.
Story 4
 1
“Left!” cried Ray “ Left ,left!”
The tires screeched on the wet road splashing water
everywhere.
“`Tis okay man, okay!”
There were three of them hopelessly lost.
Their belongings were just the car Jonathan was
driving, the cloths they were in and Ray’s map.
BOOOOOM! The thunder boomed.
The map showed a cross just on the road ahead
where they were going.
Ray thought the cross might be a marking of a vil-
lage.
Ray really was nervous.
Who wouldn’t be, if you are lost in the middle of no-
where and it’s night time and to make the things
worst there’s a thick greenish fog floating up ahead.
Then they saw a board. It was rusted at the corners
and almost totally covered with climbers.
It read -

Street no. 13
The board was surrounded by other signs. Most of
them read -

Do not enter
But Jonathan didn’t pay attention to any of the
signs and entered .
BOOOOM!!!
Suddenly they were surrounded by bright flash of
white, so intense , almost as bright as the sun.
Slowly it all faded to black.
Rays eyes adjusted to the darkness.
His ears were still ringing from the noise.
He gasped as he saw that everything had vanished.
The car , Jonathan, Peter, all of them.
And he was standing in a graveyard.
 2
Ray looked all round him trying to make sense what
happened .
Why am I in a graveyard ?
Was I sleepwalking ?
What was the light ?
So many questions bombarded his mind .
He looked at the tree that was in centre of the grave-
yard.
He remembered the light.
So intense.
And the noise.
So loud.
Why was he here and his friends not ?
He was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't see the
dirt move on top of a grave.
Didn’t hear the moans.
Didn’t see the green hands slowly surfacing.
 3
The moans grew louder and louder.
Ray turned And screamed.
He ran leaving behind the graveyard as fast as he
could.
It was a couple of minutes before he realised he was
out of danger.
His heart was pounding.
The street was well lit with streetlights.
He was in a town.
Suddenly, a voice boomed behind him.
“You don’t look like you belong here, kid” it said.
Ray turned to come face to face with a man.
Even if the streets were so well lit the man’s face
was not visible .
It was all dark. His eyes appeared to be shining.
“uh, Yeah” Ray said.
“hmm, I know, you are from universe 509, aren’t
you?”
“Huh?” Ray said.
“And I think you want to go back. ” he said.
“But - ”
“Come with me.”
Ray knew he was from universe 509 .He had been
learning that from third standard. But what did this
man mean by saying that ? Did Ray really travel be-
tween universes?
 4
They entered one of the houses.
“This is my house.” The man declared.
The man entered a room, Ray went behind him.
“Whoa!” Ray gasped.
The room was lit with sparkling wires that filled the
room.
In the center stood a huge machine that was making
humming noises. It looked like an airplane without
wings.
“In you go.” The man said.
“Huh!” Ray cried “No way!”
“Look kid,” he said “You are not from this universe.
You staying here is dangerous, both for you and this
universe. You have to go. Now.”
“Uh ok,” Ray said not wanting to enter the machine
“But is it safe?”
“Safer than you staying here.” he opened the door of
the machine and motioned Ray to climb in.
Ray obediently did.
“What do I do?” Ray asked. Just to be precautious.
“You do nothing. Just wear the seat belt and enjoy
the ride.”
 5
He closed the door.
“Don’t worry you’ll be okay,” he said.
Ray heard him tapping some buttons
The machine turned on.
The man was setting the universe when he sudden-
ly cried “Oh NO !”
Ray heard a crash and everything faded to black.
 6
Ray woke up panting .
To his relief he saw that he was in his bedroom.
He tried to recollect what was going on.
It was just a bad dream Ray though, lost in a jun-
gle ,
traveling between universes. It all seemed so crazy
now.
Suddenly the room’s door opened and his mother
stepped in.
“Mom, which universe is this ?” Ray asked. He knew
the answer would be most probably 509. But he
asked just to be sure.
“It’s Universe 203, Why ?” His mother replied.
“You’re kidding right ?”
Story 5
 1
“Hey, Joe!” My friend called. “You coming or not ?”
“Coming” I muttered. I don’t really like cricket, I
mean I’m totally clumsy at it.
But today I had to play as I had promised my friend
Clay.
The fresh air met my face as I went outside. It was a
cold afternoon.
“Hey Joe, this time you’re gonna play, not just sit
and watch.” Clay said.
“Yeah, I know.” I muttered.
It was a short walk from home. We mostly play in
the abandoned parking lot.
Our parents tell us not to go there. Something about
it being haunted. I mean what is the big deal ? it’s
just an abandoned parking lot.
The gate of the lot creaked open.
I shivered.
A car door was our stump.
Clay said he found it lying on the ground, but I
doubt he wrecked it off a car.
“Here you go.” Clay said as he handed me a bat.
I took my position. Nathan was the baller.
He took a running start and hurled the ball towards
me.
Then the greatest thing happened. I hit the ball !
I heard a crack! As my bat came in contact with the
ball.
The ball zoomed through the air, and to my horror it
smashed a window !
The glass shattered.
For a few moments nothing happened, but the a
kid’s face appeared in the window. I knew him. His
name was Matt.
He saw me and shook his fist at me.
I looked around me, to my surprise everybody had
vanished. I glanced at the window. Matt was not
there.
Maybe he is coming for me, I thought.
It was becoming dark.
I have to go home, I decided.
Then suddenly out of nowhere a huge thing landed
in front of me.
I was making noise as if an animal eating..
Different coloured lights were coming from inside it.
Hey ! It resembled something.
It looked like a SPACESHIP !
 2
I went closer to the spaceship.
“Whoa” I muttered.
I never thought that today when I left my house that
I would see a real spaceship !
It was made up with a really shiny metal. The metal
had a weird glow coming from it. It smelt weird too.
I could hear some whispers coming from inside.
“But is this the right planet ?” The first voice asked.
“Yes its planet 6419.” The second voice said.
“Whoa !”said the first voice “I never thought I would
see planet 6419 ! It’s a legend.”
“Yes, the creatures here are superior to us by all
means. We have to be careful.”
“We will choose the smallest and the easiest crea-
ture we can carry.”
“Yeah”
Whoa, what were these guys talking about? Were
they really aliens ?
Before I could think more the door opened and the
aliens stepped out.
And then everything went black.
 3
When I opened my eyes I was in some kind of a
room.
My hands were tied at my back.
My throat was soar.
“Whoa, man we caught a giant !” Said the first voice.
“Yeah, our luck.” Said the second.
“Monarch 598AF will be happy.” Declared the first
voice.
“I hope the experiment will be successful.” Said the
second.
“Hey look the giant has waken!”
They turned their attention to me.
“Uh, Hi” I said.
The first alien uttered a voice from his throat that
sounded like screaming.
“It knows our language!” The second alien ex-
claimed.
Suddenly the rooms door burst open.
“Monarch 598AF !” The first alien cried.
“You !” Was all I could say.

To be continued…
Story 6
 1
“I’m bored.” I muttered to no one in particular as I
planted the Keys in the keyhole.
My parents work late, so I’m alone at home when I
return from school. Right now I was coming from my
friends house.
It was a cold afternoon.
Today was a boring day. No games Period, no art
and craft, no nothing, just Study, Study, Study.
And for your kind information, let me tell you that I
don’t like studying.
I’m Matt. I’m the athletic kind of dude with muscles
and all, and I like to play basket ball.
I changed into clean pair of jeans and a t-shirt.
Maybe I’ll watch some television.
I was skipping through the channels when I heard a
crash
Upstairs.
It sounded like a glass shattering.
I went upstairs to check.
The bedrooms window was broken.
I could feel the anger rising in my chest.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m a cool dude, but this was too
much.
It was the fourth time this had happened. And what-
ever happens in the house when my parents are not
there they blame it on to me
I looked from the window as all the kids fled from
the abandoned parking lot.
The parking lot was abandoned from when we shift-
ed in this house, about two years ago.
Everyone here believes that it is haunted or some-
thing, but what’s the big deal its just a parking lot
that is abandoned .
I saw a kid who wasn’t running. I knew him. His
name was Joe. He mostly doesn’t play.
I shook my fist at him. I am gonna get him this time.
I ran from the window to the hall and opened the
front
door.
Fresh cold air met my face. It was getting dark.
The parking lots gate was open.
“Whoa!” I gasped as I entered.
There was a shining spaceship in the middle, and
two tiny blue aliens were taking unconscious Joe in
the spaceship.
“Hey!” I cried. “Stop!”
2
The spaceship door closed on my face.
I have to rescue Joe, I thought, even if he had just
smashed my bedroom window.
I could hear faint whispering noises.
“Whoa, man we caught a giant !” Said the first voice.
“Yeah, our luck.” Said the second.
“Monarch 598AF will be happy.” Declared the first
voice.
“I hope the experiment will be successful.” Said the
second.
“Hey look the giant has waken!”
Then I heard a rustling noise.
“Uh, Hi” a third voice most probably Joe’s.
Then I heard a voice that sounded like screaming.
“It knows our language!” The second voice ex-
claimed.
Suddenly the doors opened with a sci-fi whirring
noise.
I stepped in.
“Monarch 598AF!” The first voice said.
“You !” Joe cried.
“Uh, what is going on ?” I asked.
“Hey, It is not our monarch.” The second voice whis-
pered.
The first alien removed a weapon from its belt and
pointed it at me.
I punched him in the face and knocked him out.
Then I kicked the other alien unconscious.
I went to Joe and freed him.
“Uh, thanks, and sorry.” He said.
“You’re welcome and it’s okay.” I said.
Then we both went home.
Joe called the police and the aliens were caught and
everything went to normal.
The next day, I went to school.
Everyone gathered around me asking me questions
as now I was famous as ‘the alien catcher’.
The news was viral how a twelve-year-old boy had
one handed caught two aliens.
Suddenly I heard a cry of “help!”
And I had a feeling that my rescue ranger career
wasn’t over yet !
Story 7
 1
Boooom! The thunder boomed.
It is gonna start raining I thought.
My mom and dad had just gone to do some work out-
side.
“We will return soon.” Mom had said, but almost
three hours had passed. I was used to this.
I was sitting on the warm and cozy sofa deciding
what to do, When I heard a noise from the base-
ment.
I got up, not really wanting to leave the warmth, but
I had to investigate.
The basement steps creaked under my steps.
We had just moved in, less than two days ago. I had
still not explored the basement.
I hesitated at first, dreading what might be inside,
but I opened the basement door.
I switched on the light and screamed as something
leaped at me.
“Whoa!” it was our neighbourhood cat Pancake .
Pancake was more frightened of me than I was of
him.
He jumped through the open window and went out.
“So that’s where he came from.” I thought out loud.
I closed the window and was about to go back to my
warm sofa when I saw something shiny inside the
open closet door.
It was a bottle, a really tiny one. I don’t know why,
but I had a weird urge to drink it.
I couldn’t hold it in longer.
I opened the bottle’s cap, a sweet smell met my nose,
it smelled like mango juice. My favourite juice.
I took a sip. It tasted really sweet.
The bottle was over in one sip.
I dropped the bottle.
I felt something weird.
I switched off the basement light and went upstairs
to
resumed my seat on the sofa, and switched on the
television.
And that’s when the trouble began.
 2
The people on the television were acting weird.