In the eerie darkness a girl ran holding her heavy dress, her feets leaving blood stains on the road as she dragged herself far away from what may be her destruction. The moisture of her tears turned dry now replaced with a determination to escape. But what was she running from?
A girl once dolled up in a bridal attires turned into a escapist with her clothes torn.
The idea of reasons could be many but in her case, she wasn't escaping a marriage. A sacred bond which waited for her, she was escaping her destruction. The people who would leave no bite of her when they caught her so she did what she felt right, She ran and ran until she couldn't.
"Find that bitch, she must be somewhere near" A man's voice ringed in her ears, his voice disgraceful full of anger and frustration.
She looked around, finding no one to trust, to lean over until she did see someone sitting at the shore of the lake, a dark silhouette with its back turned towards her. She dragged her injured feets towards it and collapsed just beside it.
The stranger, shocked by the sudden appearance of someone, jolted him out of his thoughts and he paused his hands which held a brush in it. He shifted his attention and found her lying next to him, her blouse sleeves torn slipping down revealing her breast. He took his jacket off and wrapped around her body and tapped her cheeks trying to get a word from her.
"S- save me" all she could whisper before falling unconscious in his arms. Her energy all drained and she had no choice but to trust a stranger with her life before she fell in his arms letting him decide her next morning.
He looked around, finding four men walking furiously towards him. He stared silently before taking her in his arms and settling her inside his car. "Give her to us right now." One of the men spat when he locked the car and turned towards them.
"And why should I?" He asked, stepping forward with his hand tucked in his pants pocket.His voice flowed like the undisturbed surface of the water nearby, calm and unyielding.
"She ran away from her wedding, she must return." The man scoffed and revealed a part of truth while he glanced over his car and turned his head back at them.
"Did she?" His voice remained calm yet a dark aura surrounded him. "Look boy, don't get yourself involved in our matter. Give her to us and leave before we do something." They threatened to scare him off by revealing the gun tucked in the men's waistline.
He chuckled, amusing them by his reaction. Wasn't he scared of a gun? "It could kill you in a second and you dont look like someone from here, your family won't be able to find you either." He spat.
"So choose wisely" and continued as he whispered near his ear before getting thrashed on the ground in a swift motion.
The other hovered over him but couldn't stop him. He overpowered them and made them kiss the ground.
Kicking their stomach, they groaned in pain while he chuckled, breathing unsteadily. "It could kill me, but it didn't." He said and walked over to his car.
Before he could get inside and drive off a loud sound entered his ears, he turned and saw one of the men standing on his wobbly legs with a sinister smile on his face and a gun in his hands. Before he could register the scene that was folded in front of him, he hissed in pain and placed his palm on his left arm.
Blood poured out of his bicep turning his white shirt red and his palm covered in blood. He was shot as he realised a groan left his mouth.
He got inside his car and started the engine while pain continued to creep in his body. Veins popped out on his forehead as he drove the vehicle, his face turned red as he drove away. "Argh" a painful moan left his mouth before he pulled over at the sideline.
His eyes searched for something to wrap around his arm to stop the bleeding, his eyes landed on the veil that was attached to her head. He leaned over groaning in pain and unpinned her veil. Wrapping it around his bicep and tightening it with a knot.
"What have I gotten myself into" he breathed out, throwing his head back and relaxing his body. A stranger who minded his own business sitting by the shore of the lake was entangled in a web of dangerous games that he didn't even know how to play, or maybe he did.
His eyes turned towards her, who lay unconscious in the passenger seat, makeup smudged on her face while his jacket wrapped around her upper body like a blanket and a heavy skirt dropped down her waist with heavy gold embroidery on it. Her hands were full with bangles and covered till her elbow from henna.
The only sound that was audible in that eerie silence was the mixture of their breaths. While his breathing raged with pain, hers were soft and stable. Dried tears sticked on her cheeks and a frown rested on her face.
Two strangers came together where one acted as the saviour while the other one was the one being saved. What tomorrow held for them was far away from both of their minds because all they currently wanted was a sigh of relief.
He rested his head on the seat headset for almost 10 minutes while his eyes stared at her sleeping self before he sat back properly and took the first aid box out of the glove compartment.
The car was parked in a dark, empty lot, its windows tinted enough to keep out prying eyes. The faint glow of a streetlamp filtered in, just enough to illuminate the chaos inside. His breathing was ragged, jaw clenched tightly as he yanked the blood-soaked sleeve of his shirt up over his bicep.
The bullet had lodged deep, its dull ache now a sharp, fiery pain every time he moved. His fingers trembled as he reached for the small first aid kit in the glove compartment, pulling out tweezers and a bottle of antiseptic. He cursed under his breath, shaking his head at the thought of calling for help. He couldn't. Not now.
Propping the rearview mirror at an angle, he examined the wound-skin torn, blood trickling steadily down his arm. With a steadying breath, he poured antiseptic over it, the sting biting deep into his nerves. He gritted his teeth, muffling a groan, and pressed a clean cloth against the wound to slow the bleeding. His vision blurred for a moment, but he blinked hard, forcing himself to stay focused.
"This is gonna suck," he muttered, voice low and hoarse.
The tweezers felt cold and foreign in his hand as he brought them to the wound. He probed cautiously, wincing as the metal scraped against something hard. The bullet.
His muscles tensed as he braced himself, pressing deeper. Sweat beaded on his forehead and dripped down his temple. His jaw locked tighter as he tugged, feeling the resistance of the flesh holding onto the intruder.
A sharp hiss escaped his lips as the bullet finally gave way, sliding out with a sickening pull. He dropped it onto the dashboard, its small, bloodied form a grim trophy of his resilience. He tossed the tweezers aside and reached for a fresh piece of gauze, wrapping it tightly around his arm. His breathing slowed, shoulders slumping against the seat.
The pain was still there, throbbing like a heartbeat. For now, he was alive. And that was all that mattered.
He breathed out in relief and closed his eyes letting himself fall in a deep slumber because that's what he needed the most right now.
None of them knew what the future held for them, but were they ready? Were they ready for the storm that was approaching them slowly and silently to turn their life upside down.