C3 SAVING THE STRANGER

Bee looked at the man lying on the floor with his face on the ground, she held her heart which was thumping audibly to her. She was scared, for a moment she really felt as if she would collapse out of fear; well, who won’t be if you get attacked by someone at this hour of the night and that too when you are alone.

Maintaining her safe distance of three steps away from the man who was lying lifeless on the floor she scanned him from carefully. It was dark and the street lights were too pale for her to scan his face, all she could make out was that he was a bulky man. She observed him for some more time but he showed no reaction, it was as if he was a statue which fell off the pedestal waiting for someone to pick him up.

“Are you drunk, mister?” Bee managed to squeal out these words after she finally managed to clam herself down. The girl waited for some more time but her concerned question met with a wall of silence. Strange, she thought to herself. Was really this man this drunk that he had completely lost his sense but there was no pungent smell of the alcohol which she was accustomed to.

Bee gathered her courage, looking around she found a stick. Lifting it up she carefully poked his shoulders, “Mister... Are you okay? Can you hear me? Hello...” Like before the man remained still, Bee panicked. After making sure that he really won’t cause her any arm she crawled up to him and poked him harder.

Same as before, no reaction!

“Is he unconscious?” Bee just entered her world of fantasies when the man suddenly moved. “Aaaaahhhhh....” Bee screamed but was quietened by the man; he weakly covered his lips indicating her to be silent.

Bee quietened down and observed his face again which was not possible by the faint light. “Who are you, mister?” Bee whispered, the man remained silent to himself or to be precise looked too weak to utter a word. He silently reached for his lower abdomen, after feeling around his left abdomen he removed back and observed his palm.

Even though there was no lighting Bee could still make out the red liquid, which was stained all over his palm, reflecting the faint light of the street.

“B... Blood?” Bee felt herself swooning to numbness; a million question popped in her meddled head.

Who was this man? Why is he bleeding? What on Earth is happening with her?

The man could feel his energy and consciousness draining out, with what remained within him he managed to spell out few words to her, “T... They are after me. R... Run away or they will k... kill you too.” Saying his fainted words he collapsed back on her.

Bee held the man and questioned impatiently, “W... Who will kill, who is coming. I... Call the cops?”

The man murmured, “No enough time... Don’t worry about me, save... yourself.” Bee looked at his face from the close proximity; his face rendered his speechless. She stared at his face, she was unable to believe what she was seeing.

"You... You..." Before Bee could finish her sentence the man let out a painful groan which instantly reminded her that he was injured; she pushed away all her second thoughts and keeping her shocking discovery to herself she stammered, she couldn’t let a man die in front of her eyes. “I... I am not letting you die...” Saying this she started to look around for shelter. Panicked and afraid, her mind went on a short circuit for some time.

“What should I do? What should I do?” Bee muttered to herself before she remembered a safe place for them. “Cooperate with me, I will save you!” Saying this she removed her shirt and tied it on his wound to prevent the blood from flowing out, draping his arm around her shoulder she stood up with all her might with him. She was lean and thin while the man had a perfectly maintained body; it was a hard chore for her to even take a step supporting him.

Lurching and falling, she somehow managed to pull him to the other end of the street. Opposite, on the other end of the road was an abandoned park which had a old warehouse, she believed that they would be safe there. Her energy was drained off; the man had long fainted on her shoulders. Her own clothes were starting to get wet by his blood. She was even sweating and heaving like crazy, her vision started to blur away but stubborn and determined she managed to drag him and herself into the park.

Afar she could even hear the sound of men chattering and yelling for some ‘Ryan’. Their presence was inching closer, scared bee hurried her steps and jumped into the park. The park was dark with tall and old oak trees leaned over the path. Standing in front of the warehouse Bee looked at it; the warehouse or to be precise a pile of old woods had now became too old; she pushed open the door silently lest she makes and noise and kept the man on the ground. She hurriedly covered him with a few branches and leaves; even if someone were to come it was too dark for someone to spot him among this pile.

“Stay here! I will save you...” Bee whispered to the man before running out of the warehouse. The warehouse was already in a corner and had a tree grown up on it but still Bee tried to adjusting the branches here and there.

After doing that she picked up a wood and hid at the corner. The man inside was dying and she had to work fast and call for the ambulance but she was too afraid to run out lest the bad guys catch her. She sat and looked at the warehouse not too far away and the main gate of the park restlessly.

The footsteps inched closer; Bee held her breath as she could hear the voices of impatient men talking to themselves.

“F*ck this b*stard, he still managed to escape.” A man with a really frightening voice groaned in anger. “You are on fool1” another voice scolded, “You could have shot him with a gun but you chose to stab him with a knife and that too the cut wasn’t deep enough.” The first voice yelled, “You couldn’t even hold tightly a twenty year old mother*cker, you let him slip.”

The men were accusing each other and hiding inside the park Bee understood that they were talking about the man she had just hid. She heaved a sigh of relief, judging by their words it seemed that the it was failed murder attempt.

A third voice yelled, “Can you both stop with this bulls*it and try to find him.”

“I really don’t know, we beat him up yet he managed to vanish! Just where on Earth are you hiding, Ryan?”

“Hey, there is something over there; let’s go in a check.”

“No... No... No...” Bee got tensed, what if they find them. She couldn’t let them reach here, it could be dangerous.

Bee kept her eyes locked at the door, she was running out of time and the men seemed to be entering. As expected, she saw their shadows converging in.

Bee squeezed her very cell of her brain, she was at the verge of crying when she remembered an incident.

That day she and two of her elder sisters sneaked out of the club to roam; by the abandoned areas which was not too far away from the club the three noticed some bushes dancing and weird sounds were coming out from there. The two blushed whereas Bee fell into confusion. She was 13 back then and couldn’t guess why the bushes were shivering and what that weird sound was. She could understand that it was a voice of a woman.

She took a step towards it out of curiosity but was stopped by her sisters, she protested, “Sis, there is a girl who is being killed by someone, we should save her. She seems to be in pain...” For this the two girls laughed and explained, “No one is killing anyone. Bee, you should never go to any place which is both shaking and emitting such noises. You are young; you will understand when you grow up.”

It’s been three years but Bee still couldn’t know what that phenomenon was or bothered to know what it was. It was only imprinted in her mind that no one will come to that place from where those voices come. Bee looked at the park of the door and held the bushes together. As she saw the figures enter she squeezed her voice and tried to imitate the noise she heard back then.

A little unprofessional moan escaped her lips and as expected the men stopped; Bee was highly motivated with this and started to shake the bushes making such noises again. She started to moan loudly with all her might, imitating carefully the noises she heard that day.

“Oh, babe... Yes Yes!”

“G... Go ahead... Aaaah...”

“You are killing me... Oh my God.”

From the corner she observed the men’s reaction; they were clearly hesitating to go in and were furious.

A man who was cussing before said in an embarrassed tone, “Where the f*ck did you bring us, there is something else going on in here...” Another commented, “Y... Yes, he won’t be here. I won’t go in.. You both can go ahead.”

Hearing this Bee was panicked, she amplified her moaning, this made the men both blush and embarrassed. The three were deciding whether to go in or not when they heard a gunshot; Bee involuntarily screamed but the men themselves were tensed.

“F*ck, his men are here. We should leave.” Saying this the three ran out without even caring about anything. Bee ran back to the warehouse and removed the leaves and piles off the man.

She lightly slapped him, “Hey, wake up... I successfully saved you. Your men are here it seems, wake up...” The man groaned in pain, Bee was just about to help him stand up when something hard hit her head. The sharp pain surfaced all over her head; her world became dark as she fainted above the man.