Fernhills hotel, ooty

WHISPER BEHIND THE WALL

Book Two of The Last Whisper

Copyright © 2026 Aimaira Singh

All rights are reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, copied, stored, or distributed in any form without author’s permission.

This is a work of fiction. The characters and events in this book are created for storytelling purposes. Any resemblance to actual people or events is purely coincidental.

First Edition: 2026

Written by Aimaira Singh

Meet The CHARACTERS

Aarohi

Aarohi was the one who usually took charge and successfully every time controlled it too. She was confident, practical, and rarely allowed panic to take over. Whenever the group had a problem, everyone instinctively looked at her first. She loved exploring new places and believed that every strange story had a logical explanation. At least, she believed that before Ooty.

Aerika

Aerika was curious about almost everything. She noticed tiny details that everyone else ignored and was always asking questions. She loved history, old buildings, and mysterious stories (just HUMANITIES students things), which made the abandoned-looking places around Ooty interesting to her especially.She was also the first person to wonder if the palace was hiding something and she was right.

Bani

Bani was the energetic one of the group. She could turn even the most boring moment into something fun and was usually the reason everyone was laughing. But beneath her playful personality was a sharp mind. She was good at putting clues together and remembering things others had forgotten.That skill would become much more important extremely importantthan she ever expected.

Avika

Avika was brave …or at least, she liked to think she was. She was the kind of person who would volunteer to explore a dark hallway just because someone said, “I dare you.” She loved adventure and rarely backed away from a challenge. But there was one thing Avika didn’t know. Some places don’t like being explored. Untill ….

Shreya

Shreya was quieter than the others, but she was extremely observant. She often noticed changes in the atmosphere before anyone else did. A strange sound, a sudden silence, a door that wasn’t where she remembered it ,nothing escaped her attention.

She didn’t believe in ghosts

Not yet

_______________________________________________________________________

Together, the five friends had explored countless places, laughed at scary stories, and dared each other to do ridiculous things.

But their trip to Ooty was going to be different.

Because this time, they weren’t just exploring an old palace.

They were doing something….

That they would remember in their whole life

CHAPTER: 1

THE LAST STOP

The mist had already begun covering the hills of Ooty when Aarohi looked at the clock.

8:43 p.m.

“Oh no”

Bani looked up from her phone.

“What?”

Aarohi pointed at the clock

“It’s getting late.”

Aerika glanced outside the car

The road ahead disappeared into a wall of white mist

“We should have left an hour ago,” she said.

Avika laughed.

“You’re saying that now?”

Aerika said while rolling her eyes

“I was busy taking pictures!”

“So was I” said avika

“So was everyone,” Shreya added quietly.

Bani held up her phone.

“Exactly nobody is allowed to blame me.”

The five friends had spent the entire day exploring Ooty. They had wandered through the town, taken hundreds or even thousands of photographs, stopped at viewpoints, and complained about the cold at least fifty times and still not satisfied cursed it too.

They had planned to leave before sunset.

Obviously, that had not happened.

Now the winding mountain roads were becoming darker, the mist was getting thicker, and none of them wanted to continue travelling for hours at night.

Aarohi sighed

“We need a place to stay.”

Everyone went silent

Aerika immediately opened her phone

“I’ll find something.”

She searched through several hotels, but most were either too far away or unavailable.

Then she stopped scrolling.

“Wait.”

“What?” Avika asked.

Aerika turned her phone around.

A photograph of an enormous heritage palace filled the screen.

It stood among trees and gardens, its old architecture looking completely different from the modern hotels they had passed earlier.

At the top of the page was the name:

Fern hills Palace.

Bani leaned forward.

“That’s a palace?”

“Technically, it’s a heritage hotel now,” Aerika said.

Shreya studied the photograph

“It looks... old.”

“Really old”

“It is old,” Aerika replied

“How old?” Aarohi asked.

Aerika began reading.

“It’s connected to the former summer residence of the Maharaja of Mysore. It’s surrounded by a huge estate with gardens and dense woods.”

Avika’s eyes widened.

“So we’re sleeping in a palace?”

Bani grinned.

“Best accidental decision ever.”

Shreya didn’t smile.

Something about the photograph made her uncomfortable.

Not because the palace looked frightening.

Actually, it looked beautiful.

That was what bothered her.

It looked like the kind of place that had been standing there long enough to remember things nobody else did.

Aarohi looked at the road.

“Is it available?”

Aerika checked.

“Yes.”

“Then that’s it.”

The decision was made.

They turned toward Fern hills.

---

The road became quieter as they climbed. The city lights gradually disappeared behind them.

Tall trees surrounded the road on both sides. Their dark branches reached through the mist, disappearing above the car.

Bani turned down the music.

“Okay, this is officially giving horror movie.”

“Don’t start,” Shreya said

“I’m just saying!”

Avika looked through the window

“I can’t even see anything.”

“That’s because of the fog.”

“Thank you, Ms. Professor”

Aerika rolled her eyes.

A few minutes later, a large gate appeared through the mist.

Aarohi slowed down.

Beyond it stood Fern hills Palace.

The real building looked even more impressive than the photographs.

Its old-fashioned architecture stood against the dark hills, surrounded by gardens and trees. Warm lights glowed from some of the windows.

For a moment, none of them spoke.

Then Bani whispered,

“Okay... wow.”

They drove through the entrance.

The palace seemed strangely quiet.

Not empty.

Just quiet, the kind of quiet where every little sound seemed louder than it should.

Their footsteps echoed as they entered.

The interior was filled with old-fashioned details: wooden furnishings, paintings, decorations, and the unmistakable atmosphere of a place with a very long past…. really long

Aerika looked around excitedly.

“This place is incredible.”

Bani pulled out her phone.

“I’m taking pictures.”

Aarohi laughed.

“Of course you are.”

Shreya stayed near the entrance.

She looked back outside.

The mist had swallowed the road.

She could no longer see their car.

“Guys?”

Nobody answered

She turned around.

The others were already walking toward the reception area.

“Coming”

She followed.

None of the five friends knew much about Fern hills Palace

They knew it was old

They knew it had royal connections

They knew it was a heritage hotel

They knew….

That was all

They didn’t know the stories people had told about the place. They didn’t know which parts of its history had been forgotten.

And they certainly didn’t know what they were about to discover.

For now, they were simply five friends who had arrived at a beautiful old palace because it was too late to continue their journey.

They checked in.

They collected their room key.

And at 9:16 p.m., they walked down the corridor toward their room.

Aarohi opened the door.

Inside was a large room with antique-style furniture, tall windows, heavy curtains, and five beds.

Avika dropped her bag onto one.

“I’m taking this one.”

“Why?” Bani asked.

“Best view.”

Aerika walked toward the window.

She pulled the curtain aside.

Outside was nothing but darkness and mist.

“That’s not much of a view.”

“Exactly”

Everyone laughed.

For the first time that evening, Shreya relaxed.

Maybe she had been imagining things.

Maybe the palace was just old.

Maybe the strange feeling she had experienced when they arrived meant absolutely nothing.

She turned away from the window.

Then she heard something.

A faint sound

From somewhere beyond the corridor

Knock.

Shreya froze.

Another knock

Knock.

She looked toward the door.

“Did you hear that?”

The others stopped talking.

“Hear what?” Aarohi asked.

Shreya listened.

Nothing

She shook her head.

“Nothing”

Bani smiled.

“You’re getting scared already?”

Shreya forced a laugh.

“No.”

Outside their room, the corridor remained completely silent.

But somewhere deeper inside the old palace—

Something had heard them arrive.