It had been seven months since Monica began her life on the road and while she had plenty to complain about, it wasn’t enough to deter her to moving back into a settled life. In fact, it was the exact opposite. Every adventure she had so far kept pushing her forward to see what the world had to offer. However, nothing would prepare her for the dark depths that this cruel world would eventually pull her into.

It was going to be a long ride. A very long ride. She was to board the cab at three in the evening and reach the destination at nine. Nevertheless, the idea of a cab ride had her excited. All this time, her main mode of transport had been a bus or a train. She eagerly awaited the day when she would board a flight but for now, a relaxing cab ride had to do. Things started out pitch-perfectly. The cab was on time and the three-hour ride across the flat plains of the west seemed like the perfect way to ride under an evening sky. The car was spacious, and the driver was quiet and kept the chatter to the minimum. The roads were clear of any traffic making the ride a smooth sail and the orange hue of the setting sun lit up the green pastures on both sides of the road. It was a soothing experience that she felt she really needed.

They stopped by a roadside restaurant just before nightfall for a quick break and then continued on with the journey. Soon the cramped space, despite being big enough for Monica, began to take a toll on her. This didn’t matter for too long however, as the heavy meal put her into deep sleep. By the time she awoke, she found herself riding through tall buildings made of concrete. They were still ways away from the destination, but it was a sign that they had left behind the rural outback and entered the urban centre. Vast swathes of green land was replaced by clumps of concrete buildings and the beautiful orange sunset was replaced by florescent city lights. The roads got thinner, and traffic began to grow out of control, slowing their progress. The jammed highway forced the driver to take a detour, cutting through a town he did not wish to visit. Then, things got worse.

Giri was anxious. His hands shivered as he ran his fingers across the various components of his car’s engine, but the truth was, he had no idea what was wrong with it. ‘This is bad, really bad,’ he told himself. He wasn’t really worried about the car, rather the place it suddenly decided to breakdown at. The highway was jammed and looked as though there was no signs of it clearing up anytime soon. Maybe he should have stayed on highway, but he was running out of time. The clock was past ten and he had another customer waiting for him. He made a choice that in the end backfired. Now, he was stuck in a dangerous neighborhood with a broken car and no idea what was wrong with it.

Monica on the other hand sat in the backseat of the car, calm as the sea on a windless night. She heard him cursing repeatedly and wondered how bad the state of his car was. She quickly took notice of where they were. A small town called Kasipuram. They were parked beside a thin roadway, that cut through a block of concrete homes. The whole place was drowning in darkness, except for a shop or two, who were still running. There was an ominous feeling about this place, but she chose to ignore it for it was nearing midnight and everything at this time would feel a bit scary.

‘Giri?’ Monica called out to him.

The driver immediately perked up and ran to the side of her door. ‘Yes ma’am!?’ he replied with a stuttering voice.

Monica popped out of the open window and asked, ‘any idea what happened?’

‘I am fixing it, ma’am. Just few more minutes.’

‘If it is bad, why don’t you call service?’ Monica asked.

‘I have called them just to be sure. But they will be late as there are no service nearby. Just five more minutes and we will be done.’

Monica didn’t like it but there wasn’t much he or she could do about it. ‘Alright,’ she replied, and the driver darted back to the front.

Five minutes passed and she could still hear him cursing. It had been quite a while since she ate anything, and her stomach began to growl. Turning back, she noticed a small shop with the lights still on. Observing it more closely, it became evident that it was indeed a small restaurant. Monica felt a bit relieved even though she was a bit suspicious about the quality of the food. She got out of the car, which caught the attention of Giri. He looked around the hood to see Monica walking up to him.

‘You want to go have some food?’ she asked.

‘No. It is fine. I will be done soon and drop you off quickly,’ he replied nervously.

Monica felt his desperation. She was certain he was late for his next pickup and that he would turn down her offer no matter what, so she decided not to persuade him any further. ‘Fine. I am going to go have some food at that restaurant,’ she said pointing at the restaurant behind her.

‘No no,’ he protested, ‘I am almost done.’

‘Its fine, I will be back before you are done.’

He stopped suddenly and let out a dull sigh. ‘Ma’am, this is not a good place to be right now.’

‘Why?’ Monica asked naively.

‘This place is always in the news for all the wrong reasons.’

Monica understood but that didn’t bother her a bit. She always felt confident in her ability to protect herself, although she was a bit too confident. ‘No problem. I will be right there. You can even see that it has a few customers.’

He closely observed the restaurant and saw a few people walking in and out of it. Nevertheless, he still protested, ‘ma’am, please don’t.’

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‘You don’t worry about me. Take care of the car first,’ Monica replied rudely and walked in the direction of the restaurant.

Rage tuned Giri’s veins hot. He was annoyed beyond all measures, first with his poor choices and now with his customer who was willing to walk into danger without any heed. He began to violently tug at the engine parts as he gritted his teeth to hide his anger.

Monica approached the restaurant with caution, but on taking a look at it up close, she felt like she didn’t have any reason to fear it. It wasn’t a typical restaurant, for it appeared like they had turned a one floor house into a small restaurant. The gate of the house was replaced with a metal frame housing a steel rolling shutter. Just behind stood a small table where the cashier sat. The yard had a roof covering it, made out of asbestos sheets, while a neat layer of cement covered the floor. The tables and chairs were neatly arranged in two rows, and all looked good on first glance. She walked in, trying to put her doubts in the back of her head. There were very few people inside and one of them was the cashier, who appeared to be in his late fifties. He had dark skin, a balding head with small patches of white hair, and a decent size potbelly. He observed her with steely eyes, but Monica didn’t pay too much heed to them. She placed an order for a full meal, which typically consisted of rice, flatbread, and various assortment of curries and spices, before taking a seat at the second table from the entrance.

She set her purse aside on the table before pulling out her phone. There were no new messages or calls, which made her a little relieved. Usually by this time, she would have received a bombardment of text messages from her manager and all her colleagues. She could only guess what they were all up to. It didn’t take long for her meal to arrive. A short young man appeared before her holding a steel plate overflowing with food. Monica had a faint smile of her face looking at the steam rising out of the hot rice. He set the plate before her and a steel tumbler filled to the brim with water, before disappearing into the door beside the cashier. Monica wasted no time digging into the food.

She did not remember how long it took for her to realize. The food did not taste funny, nor did the water, or she might have been too hungry to realize. She began to sway gently and the phone in her hand doubled in number. A part of her adamantly refuse to acknowledge what was going on but the inevitable truth hit her like a truck. She cursed, cursed out loud but no words came out. Her head began to spin, and the light began to hurt her eyes. She quickly got on her feet, steading herself by holding onto the table. But just then, something or someone grabbed her from the back and then everything went blank.

***

It was no use. He had no idea how to fix the machine. Just as he seemed to be losing all hope, his phone began to ring. Looking at the name on the screen bought a big smile on his face. He tapped on the phone and immediately began to curse and say, ‘where did you disappear to?’

‘I just got back to the garage and saw your missed calls. What happened?’ asked the voice on the other side.

‘Everything that could go wrong, went wrong. The car broke down and I have no idea what is wrong with it.’

‘I figured as much but you sound even more tensed.’

‘That is because I am stuck in Kasipuram.’

‘At this time?’ the other exclaimed.

‘I had no choice, highway was jammed. I just wanted to cut through the cursed place. But now I am stuck here.’

‘Okay… at least your passenger didn’t have any ladies, right?’

‘Hmm…’ his words got stuck in his throat.

‘Are you serious?’ the other asked in a cold voice.

‘I tried getting another ride for her, but it was no use. You got to help me man!’

‘Fine. Let’s check on what is happening first,’ the other said as he began to instruct him.

***

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.