"Cough! Cough! Cough,"

"Blanca!" said Eman in a hoarse voice. Her throat was dry, and she could barely speak properly. When her personal maid didn't rush to her side, she immediately lost her patience and hissed, "Blanca!" Still, there was no response. She opened her eyes and slowly sat up in her bed, looking around. It took her a few seconds to properly adjust to her surroundings, but when she did, her legs sprang up, and she jumped out of the place where she was sleeping moments ago. Her chest rose and fell dramatically as she stood against the wall, looking around with a questioning look on her face. "WH-What is this? Where am I?" she exclaimed.

The place she was lying in seemed to be a mattress covered with a thick layer of dirt, with the sheet on it white on the sides and brown in the middle, clearly indicating how many filthy beings had been on it. The room was rundown, with cracked paint and green algae growing on the walls. The amount of filth was enough to make Eman faint, but for some reason, she was still on her feet. Her back against the wall started to feel wet, and the moisture tingled on her skin, making goosebumps appear on her body, and she hurriedly pulled away from the walls with horror. She stood in the midst of what seemed like an abandoned apartment where water ghosts lived.

"Where is this place?!" she shrieked, pinching her skin to remove anything that had come in contact with her. The fact that she had been shot was forgotten, and all she was worried about was the extreme feeling of nausea building up in her chest. "Why am I here?" Her voice trembled, and she looked around with hostility in her gaze. "Did someone kidnap me?" She shivered as she pondered deeply.

Click!

The door behind her suddenly made a sound, causing her to look at it defensively. She grabbed the nearest vase and was ready to throw it at whoever was coming in. The door opened, and without thinking, she threw the vase, hitting the guy right in the nose, causing him to let out a painful scream. He crouched in the doorway, holding his bleeding nose. Eman took the chance and rushed to the door. In her head, she imagined jumping over the guy and landing safely on the other side, but she knew that her non-athletic body would not follow her plan. Still, she decided to do so as an escape plan. She jumped, miraculously executing the move, pushing the man even lower and leaping off his shoulder, making her way into the hallway.

"Hey, stop right there!" the bleeding man growled, but Eman’s instincts told her to run as fast as she could. She realized she wasn't wearing any slippers and was running barefoot on the rough floor, but that didn't matter. Her body was still aching slightly, but she felt better than ever for some reason.

"Catch him!! He's running away after breaking my nose!" the man growled, prompting others to join in the chase. Eman was unsure where the exit was, so she continued to run around the place. She encountered many people along the way, all acting calmly as she ran like a lunatic. They didn't meddle and let her run, and one even held a door open for her, and she gladly ran in. It was a stair room, and she rushed down. She heard the man shouting at someone else, but she didn't have time to hear the name. When she reached the end of the stairs, there was another door. She clenched the doorknob, but it wouldn't open. "Damn it!" she said in a frustrated tone, while the footsteps kept following her.

"He went down there! Catch that bastard! I want to break his nose!" The man's voice thundered in her ears, and her fear reached a boiling point. She yanked the door with all her might, surprised by the newfound strength surging through her body. The door swung open, and she rushed out into the parking area. But just when she thought she might escape, someone grabbed her shirt from behind, yanking her backward and throwing her with brutal force. Eman hit the ground like a sack of grain, the impact momentarily numbing her from the pain. But as she slid on the rough ground, her exposed body parts scraped against the harsh surface.

"Cough, cough, cough!" She struggled to breathe, the burning pain of the scratches searing through her senses. Pushing down on her trembling hands, she attempted to rise, coughing endlessly from the harsh treatment.

"Such a psychopath he is!" said the man with a bloody nose, crouching beside her. He yanked her by the shirt, forcing her to face him. His sadistic smirk sent shivers down her spine. With a vicious swing of his hand, he landed a brutal blow to her face.

"Ack!" She choked, her mouth filling with the taste of her own blood as her flesh collided with her teeth. Her jaw vibrated from the impact, and she was certain something was broken. The relentless assault continued as he struck her cheek with unyielding force. His fists were as solid as rock, and he showed no sign of stopping, intending to teach her a brutal lesson.

Before Eman could recover from the first blow, he struck her again. Each hit felt like being pounded with a sledgehammer. She could barely comprehend what was happening amidst the agony. The man behind him intervened, gripping his arm, and firmly stating, "Don't hit him now! The Lord wants to meet him." His deep and serious voice halted the punishment momentarily. The man cast Eman a deadly look before releasing her shirt, causing her to collapse back to the ground. The will to live was draining from her, her mouth filled with the foul taste of her own blood, which she spat out, watching it drip across her cheek.

"Take him to the truck!! We can't make the lord wait for him!" announced the man who stopped the beating. He shot the assailant a disdainful glance before turning away. Eman could only recall a deep scar etched across his sharp jawline.

Eman's brain was violently shaken by the relentless punches, and her ears rang with a sharp, continuous beeping noise. She struggled to steady herself, shaking her head to clear her scattered vision, all the while trying to make sense of the reverberating voices of the men around her. Fear gripped her heart as she wondered, 'Am I going to die?' But there was no one willing to answer her frantic questions.