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.

***

The darkness was fading, the fog was clearing up, her mind was calm as the sea, even as she felt her body being touched inappropriately. When she opened her eyes, the two men stood beside her towering over her naked body. The elder had his shirt off exposing his thin yet well-built torso while young lad had nothing on, preparing for the sinful deed.

He looked down at Monica to see her eyes staring back at him. ‘She woke up again,’ he said to the elder one. The other didn’t respond as was typing away at his phone. The young boy knelt down, his right hand gracing her inner thigh as he said with wide smile, ‘don’t worry. You are going to enjoy this.’

Just as he finished those words, Monica’s hand shot into the air, wrapping her fingers around his neck. She watched his eyes bulge, and his cheeks puff up. He quickly grabbed on to her arms, trying to free himself but to no avail. She rose up slowly, looking right into his eyes. Pulling her arm back, she pushed him away with all her might, sending him tumbling across the room floor before slamming into the wall on the other side.

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‘What the…’ the elder one began seeing his accomplice on the floor across the room. But before he could finish, the girl who was on the floor moments ago, stood in front of him with her fist travelling towards his stomach. Instinctively, his arms fell inward, trying to block the fist but they were too late. His abdomen folded inwards as sharp pain radiated from the point of impact, that nearly caused him to faint. But he was strong. He fought back, dropping his phone, he grabbed on to Monica’s shoulders in an attempt to spin her around. However, Monica stood like rock, not moving even an inch. She thrusted her right arm in and pushed his left arm off her before throwing her fist into his jaw. He felt something crack as the room around him began to spin. Monica the grabbed his jaw and smashed his head into the wooden door. His unconscious body fell onto the floor with a dull thud.

Just as she found a moment to breath, an arm wrapped around her neck and lifted her into air. The grip tightened but she did not panic. Instead, she slammed her right elbow into the assailant’s belly causing him to let go. She spun around almost immediately and grabbed onto his right leg. Lifting it up, she delivered a power blow right between legs before pulling him in and covering his mouth with her hand.

He felt pain like never before. Knife cuts, bullets wounds, blunt force of a hammer, he had felt it all. But this was different. It felt like an electric shock had shut down his body. His knees weakened and bent to his body weight. Taking advantage of this, Monica got around him, pinning him down with her arm around his neck. He dug his sharp nails into her forearm in a vain attempt to free himself as his screams for help wouldn’t even leave his throat.

‘A woman in an orange saree. She came with me. Where is she?’ she asked.

‘I don’t know…’ he whimpered.

‘I know you know!’ she said angrily.

‘Down the hallway. First room. She is with Pandian.’

That is all she needed to hear. She chocked him long enough for him to lose consciousness before letting him fall onto the floor. She stood still, looking at herself and the room around her. Words couldn’t describe the disgust and shame she felt at the moment. A kind of violation she had never felt before. She shuddered uncontrollably as tears formed at the edges of her eyes. She wiped them away immediately and looked around to find her clothes lying on the floor next to the door.

Getting dressed immediately, she looked back at the room one last time. This small dusty room had etched its place in her brain. She spat onto the floor before unlocking the door and disappearing through it.

The room sat the end of a short hallway. Two dimly lit green walls stood on each side with no other door on either of them. Monica felt a shock of fear wave through her body. She gritted her teeth and proceeded towards the other end. She stopped just before the corner and took a quick peek around the corner. The hallway continued for another few yards with several door lining each side. Noises of all sorts echoed through the empty hallway and made Monica’s heart heavy with fear and dread. She could hear several women moaning, pleading, crying, and sounds that clear indicated abuse. Monica forced herself to drown out the noises, for she knew she couldn’t do anything for them, at least in that moment. ‘One. Just save her…’ she told herself.

‘Fucking hell!’ someone yelled. The first door around the corner opened with a loud bang, causing Monica to jump a little. A tall burly man walked out with his hands in the air while stomping with anger. He slammed the door shut and walked down the hallway, away from Monica.

She wasn’t sure want happened, but according to her source, the girl she was looking for was in the room the man left moments ago. Sneaking around the corner, she pushed open the door to reveal a near empty room. It was dimly lit but there didn’t seem to be a soul in sight. She pushed her way in slowly before looking down to see a naked body lying on the bed. She starred at the round face of the woman whose soul had left her eyes. The freckles on her cheeks and shabby hair was enough for Monica to know for sure who she was.

She froze looking at line of blood drawn across her throat. A shard of glass, dripping with blood, laid in the woman’s hand which was hanging off the bed. Monica shut her eyes to contain her tears, but it didn’t help as they swelled and poured down her cheeks. She stood stiff as a statue and didn’t utter a word.

***

‘What the hell happened here?’ said the stranger as he stood at the door looking into the room where two of his men were lying unconscious on the floor.

‘Nayar! Get over here,’ someone called from outside the room.

He hurried over to the room Pandian was in to see him standing before a giant hole in the wall. A naked woman was lying on the bed beside the hole that was once a window. ‘What happened?’

‘Fresh meat. But killed herself before I got to her,’ Pandian said.

‘And that?’ Nayar asked pointing at the hole.

‘Someone broke out.’

‘Wasn’t there a steel bar guarding it?’

‘Yes. How the fuck did they manage to do… this?’

It wasn’t just bars; the entire frame had been ripped out.

***

Monica felt a dizzying mix of emotions. Her mind had switched off as she walked through the narrow lanes of the small town, trying to find her way back to the car. Strong emotions had crashed her brain which was now trying to reboot itself.

Her feet hurt, her knees felt weak, her head spun lightly, and all her senses felt overwhelmed. Her chest weighed heavy, and it felt suffocating just to think. Her eyes began to get misty again and before long streams of tears flowed down her red cheeks. She stopped walking and looked around her. It was an open ground covered in soft sand and drenching in darkness. There was not a soul in sight and after a long while, she finally felt safe to breathe easy.

Her knees gave in, letting her fall on to the ground. Sadness overwhelmed her. Looking into the starry sky, she tried to hold her tears back, but they refused to stay bottled up. She shut her eyes, trying one last time but Monica always had a problem containing her emotions. She bowed down onto the ground and let sadness flow out. Drops of tears fell on to the sand beneath, but it wasn’t enough to turn it green. She grabbed on to her chest as she struggled to bear the weight of it. Her soft cries were silenced by overwhelming darkness that surrounded her.

For the moment, she felt all alone. Isolated from the whole world.