Sharp pain radiated from the back of her head, jolting her back into consciousness. Her eyes blinked, softening the harsh yellow light that penetrated through her blurry vision. She was confused and dizzy, trying to make sense of the situation. She couldn’t feel her body and her voice stopped in her throat, causing her to gargle senselessly. The fog in her eyes slowly dissipated, revealing a dull, featureless room soaking in tungsten yellow. A man sat at the corner of her eye, fiddling with something. She tried to move her head to see who it was, but her body refused to obey. It wasn’t just her head, however, she felt numb throughout, like she was trapped in a dead body. Monica felt fear gripe her heart, making her want to scream but nothing came out.

The door creaked open above her head before she heard the footsteps of man walk beside her. ‘Started already?’ he said as he came into her vision.

The other looked up and said, ‘nah. I just wanted to see her shape. What about the others?’

The one who just entered, knelt down beside her and looked into her face. Monica saw a young boy, probably just old enough for college, stare into her face. His expression turned into that of surprise as her said, ‘shit! She is awake!’ A sinister smile appeared on his face.

‘Seriously?’ the other said and appeared beside the young boy. He looked slightly older than the other. They watched her eyes scan their faces while her lips tremble in fear. Senseless jargon spouted out her mouth.

‘What happened to her?’ the young one asked.

‘Looks like the drug is still in effect. Her mind is awake, but her body has shut down.’

‘Wow,’ the young one said as he placed his hand on her thigh, ‘will she feel anything?’

‘Can’t say. Maybe, may not be.’

‘Really?’ the young replied as he proceeded to feel her with his palm.

Monica found herself sink into a deep black sea. Immense pain flooded her chest with no real outlet. She felt her heart swell, her throat choak up as she tried to scream with no avail.

‘No. This can’t be happening. Why? Why won’t my body respond?’ she asked herself. She remembered something she had heard a while ago. They called it sleep paralysis where one’s mind disconnects from their body during sleep. However, there was only one problem, she had no idea how to free herself from it. Her mind went blank, unable to come to terms with the situation she found herself in.

They gazed at her with an evil look in their eyes. ‘Are they enjoying this?’ she asked herself. Her eyes turned misty, blurring her vision as streams of tears poured down sides of her eyes. ‘No. I can’t give up… Not now. Not to this.’ The fog that clouded her thoughts cleared up, letting her think straight. A thought popped in her head. A simple technique she learnt a while ago.

She shut her eyes and tried to clear her mind. A process she had mastered years ago but now found hard to repeat. Fear, anger, and resentment clouded her mind. Emotions that Monica believed she had under her control, were now creating havoc in her mind. However, despite the trouble, she pushed through. She pictured herself sinking into a sea of darkness, away from the blazing white light above. Before she knew it, her mind had moved into the unconscious.

‘What happened?’ asked the young one who saw her close her eyes and seemingly fall asleep.

The elder one bent over and took a closer look at her face, ‘I have no idea.’

‘And what the hell happened to her?’ he said looking at the scars that ran throughout her body.

‘I wonder if this is not her first time.’

‘Think our guys caught someone who had escaped before?’

‘Whatever. She still looks smoking hot. You want to go first?’ the elder asked.

‘You have to ask?’ the young boy replied.

***

Floating in the darkness of the abyss, Monica remembered a moment not too long ago. Flashes of it appeared before her eyes and a strange feeling in her heart pushed her to remember it. She remembered a voice, soft and timid, it whispered as it spoke to her.

‘Oh god… why?’ it said as it sobbed continuously.

Monica’s head spun like she was on a merry go round. Her forehead throbbed and her eyes stung as they tried to adjust to the darkness. ‘Where am I?’ she asked.

The voice paused for a second before saying, ‘I don’t know.’

Monica felt like she was in motion. She quickly deduced that she and the other were in the back of a van. Her vision cleared up, revealing the inside of a dark and empty van. She laid on its floor beside another woman. ‘Oh god… I was drugged,’ Monica said as she realized how badly she had messed up.

‘Please be quiet. Otherwise, they will come,’ the other woman said, trembling.

‘I can’t move…’ Monica said as the dizziness returned. She looked at the woman, trying to make sure she remembered her. The other woman was dressed in an orange half saree. She had a round face with freckles and her hair was dry and shabby. She looked at her misty eyes and felt a sharp pain. ‘Don’t you worry,’ Monica told her, ‘I will come for you.’

Everything went blank once again.

***

The sound of the engine starting sent Giri jumping into the air with joy. ‘Thanks brother!’ he screamed into his phone. He was back in the driver’s seat, trying to get the engine running after doing the fix suggested by his mechanic.

‘Sure. Now get out of there and call me,’ the other person on the call replied.

‘For sure,’ he said before cutting the call. Popping out of the car, he ran to the hood and closed it with a delightful sigh. He looked around to see the place relatively peaceful and quiet. The puffing of the engine was the only noise he could hear.

Time on his watch showed it to be close to ten thirty. ‘How long was she gone?’ he wondered. In the rush to get the car running, he had lost track of time. Standing beside his car, he tried to peer into the dully lit restaurant, but he couldn’t make out anything there. He paused for a moment, scratching his head while wondering what he should do. But there was no two ways about it, for it was best he goes get her as they were ready to leave.

As he approached the restaurant, he felt uneasy. Something about the place felt off but he couldn’t put his finger on the cause. Nevertheless, he made his way into the place and to his surprise, he found not a soul at any of the tables. Cold sweat poured down the side of his forehead.

‘We are done for the day, no more customers,’ said the man at the billing counter.

Giri looked at him and his deadly cold gaze which sent a shiver up his spine. His fingers twitched, making him extremely cautious of what he was to say.

‘A lady, about this tall in a green chudidar came here. Where did she go?’ he asked.

‘Nobody came in here,’ the man replied.

Giri swallowed hard, his heart was beating out of his chest. Nevertheless, he asked again, ‘she came in here. I saw her. She had short hair and a scar…’

‘Are you deaf?’ the man interrupted, ‘I told you no one came.’

The man had a cold deep voice that frightened Giri. He simply nodded and quietly walked back to his car. He didn’t say anything, nor did he even attempt to do anything. His muscles had tensed up as he kept looking back to see if anyone followed him. He quickly got into his car and shut the door before letting out a loud scream. He planted his forehead onto the steering wheel before screaming out again while banged his fist onto the dashboard.

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