C4 The pursuit

Three years later...

In an endless chase towards Indemnity, somewhere in an unknown town, hundred miles away from home, to escape one of the dramatic episodes of a never-ending torment from her ex-boyfriend, Rhea's feet could no longer hold her, after her successful attempt to escape the clutches of her tormentors.

The cold unfriendly wind in the lonely streets she took, had no soul within sight, and the distance ahead seemed unnecessarily long. Yet, the unruly appearance of her current look wouldn't tempt anyone to even spare her a glance or help her, even if she sees one.

The bruises on the skin reflected the hell she severely went through, and her exhaustion was to say the least of her worries, when she run from all the wild chase. But her refusal to withdraw her strong determination to exceed her body limits in its strength, kept her moving.

However, the state of emergency in her current condition, could barely allow her to firmly stand on her feet. In any case, she needed to keep going_unreachable to the heartless stranger whose only aim was to destroy her.

Her busted lips oozed with blood from violent kicks, and her face reddened from repeated slaps. Her knees were wounded from continuous falls, her tattered clothes appeared more indecent as she clutch tightly to her heels. Her heavy breaths lacked enough oxygen due to exhaustion. Rhea was a total mess. She could barely recognize her disheveled state. Nevertheless, she had to keep moving! Her desperate aim to create a distance, in case her tormentors soon notice her absence, and decide to come after her, barely allowed her enough rest.

All in her aim to safely reach home, where a safety from all harm resides, her competent loving sister's warm embrace, which she desperately needed right now, along with her comforting words that always soothe the deepest part of her soul...

She should have listened to her sister! Her warnings and fears... She shouldn't have trusted that brute! He was a liar...and a betrayer. She can't believe Sam had the nerve to do this to her, after all they have been through together.

The flashbacks down memory lane replayed once more in Rhea's mind, which rendered her subconscious numb. The images were vividly clear in her head, with every agony of her cries, memories of their tortures, the continuous echo of their evil laughter, and how devilishly they smirked from their cruelty, as she repeatedly suffered from immense pain.... an almost unbearable discomfort. And yet, there was no sign of remorse or pity on their faces. As well as the cruel betrayal of her trusted friend...the same betrayal over and over.

A friend and ally, she thought shared her dreams...but no! It turns out, he was as deceitful as the rest of his kind. Such were examples of the extremely evil-minded acts which they extended toward her. It knew no bounds and was quite unheard of, by one's closest allies.

In an urgent rush towards an emergency, a stranger drove his car speedily on the empty silent roads, towards the state of emergency required by his profession. In a far distance, he noticed an illusion of a human figure ahead, but he needed to hurry toward his summons.

Meanwhile, Rhea heard the loud horn from a car far ahead, and it brought her attention back to the reality of her distraught state. The recurrent visions of those awful memories would surely contribute to another series of her usual nightmares. It wasn't like this was her first experience in this hell, an endless nightmare that constantly haunted her every night she lay in bed to sleep, so awful, she would give anything to not experience it again...even dying seemed a better option.

To give up was the work of a coward. Yet, It was the only option now, to save herself from this pain_ the easiest way out of her misery, away from everything, was to end it all for good. It will be over after her lifeless body lay peaceful, eyes shut forever. No pain, no nightmares. A permanent solution that will relieve her of all regrets.

Right now, the matter of right or wrong wasn't a path she needed to reconsider, so Rhea swiftly moved in front of the approaching car ahead, to claim her life and free her from all this heart-wrenching pain. Suicide was surely the best remedy to end her unfortunate existence. She could no longer bear it. After all, her hopes to lead a better life ahead simply evaporated like ashes...It's all Over!

What exactly was she supposed to tell her sister, after all her sacrifices to free her from her formal wayward life?

"I told you so?" That was the least she could expect from her sister, yet, it was

exactly what she couldn't bear to hear.

Moreover, her will to live through it, one more time, has completely shattered! Her faith...crushed! her confidence and self-esteem which might never be recovered were all gone!

The depressing thoughts of all these realities ahead, run wild inside Rhea's consciousness and provoked her into attempting suicide. But luckily, She got saved in a nick of time by the driver's quick instinct to apply the brakes. A second delay on his part, Rhea would have been hit and died by now.

Even though pissed at the girl he nearly hit with his car, the driver got down out of concern, and worried as hell. It wasn't an illusion he saw a while ago, but a girl, who seems to renounce all hope in life, and wanted to end it for good.

On the other hand, Rhea had fainted from shock due to her near accident, so the Driver squatted on his knees to examine her. He effortlessly searched for her pulse like an expert at the job, and felt her faint breaths underneath his finger. He also noticed with concern, all the wounds and bruises on the girl's body.

"Odd...She would live! simply fainted from shock." He uttered to himself before he covered her with a blanket and lifted her. He placed the unconscious girl comfortably inside the backseat of his car, then hit the road toward the closest hospital.

Due to the emergency, he was called to, the driver drove his car at a full speed to also drop the girl off for immediate treatment.

About thirty minutes down the road, Rhea opened her eyes and found herself inside a stranger's car. Technically, she could only see a part of his face, as she was fighting to fully regain her consciousness, and her blurry eyes weren't helping the least.

After her eyes adjusted to the atmosphere in the car, she saw the driver's face in the rearview mirror. She wasn't sure where she was or where they were going. Rhea couldn't help but imagine the worst-case scenarios, even though from his appearance, he seemed like a decent guy. But he was a stranger afterall, that was why she couldn't help but be a little frightened.

However, Rhea tried to hide her inner fear and questioned him, but her voice held a momentarily fear of an answer she might not like. yet, she needed confirmation from him, whether he was the kind who takes advantage of damsels in distress, instead of helping them.

Rhea ignored all her bodily injuries and pushed herself to sit upright.

"Who are you? wh..ere are you tak..ing me!." She stammered, and on second thoughts, she remembered her tormentors... "Did he send you to come to get me? Are you part of them? Please! Let me go!" Rhea didn't even realize she was in tears until a few drops run down her cheeks. Why didn't she just die?

"You are up! Don't worry, I was only trying to help. You fainted a while ago, after you failed in your attempt to kill yourself, by surrounding yourself in front of my car, which might end up turning me into a convict. Anyway, how are you feeling now?." The driver replied with humor, to ease her tension.

Odd but true, she didn't realize the consequences of her actions toward another. In her haste to get herself killed, the offender might end up with a serious accusation.

But his comment left Rhea in doubt, she simply didn't have the luxury to trust a complete stranger. When the brutes she thought she knew, were the ones responsible for her current predicaments. She has to come up with a plan B, as an escape plan, so Rhea calmed herself to assess her chances.

"Thank you, mister. I am okay...But could you drop me off at the junction right there?" Rhea pointed towards an area across the street. "I would be able to find my way home from there." She lied.

But it seemed the stranger Rhea met was quite hard-headed, and doesn't seem to take a hint about her lack of interest in his help.

"Here?! it's quite dangerous, especially for a girl like you. I will drop you off at the hospital. It's on my way anyway." He reassured her with a pleasant smile.

The innocence in his smile could be interpreted as genuine, and fool anyone but not her. And what he said after, confirmed all her worst-case scenarios.

"I am Evans Kurt.....a doctor!" Evans introduced himself to finally get acquainted.

But instead, Rhea went pale at his introduction. The last thing she wanted was a doctor, who might end up snooping into her business, only to create more complications for her...all in the pretense of getting treatment with reports handed to cops.

Rhea insisted on her earlier comment to stop the car, and left Evans puzzled by her sudden abrupt reaction, so he refused to stop for her sake. Since the area, he was currently driving, was crawling with all sorts of pickpockets and thugs, mostly armed.

However, Rhea's instinct was to break free from her safety belt and opened the door, she nearly jumped out of a moving car. So Evans had no choice but to stop the car. He furiously turned to talk some sense into her and stop her from committing another worse mistake. Judging from what she just being through.

"What is wrong with you...do you have a death wish? I nearly hit you with my car a while ago and you are now trying to go into a death trap...This area isn't safe!" Evans lost his temper and scolded her.

Yet, instead of apologizing, All Rhea did was yelled to be left alone, and refused his measures to help. But it seemed Rhea had finally met a more stubborn Man than herself, who wouldn't yield to her threats and yellings.

It intrigued Evans how he simply couldn't give in to her and leave her alone, and he kept forcing his protection on a girl who doesn't seem to need it. And here came the struggle between his conscience and the call of duty as a doctor. But the girl simply trampled on his conscience through her actions, but his profession as a doctor kept him sane in all her struggles.

All her frugal attempts to endanger herself once more, made Evans result in threats, and even force her back into the car, after he blocked her from another escape attempt. She wasn't making it easy for him at all, so he had to result to using the hard way, which he did. She had his job 'to save people's lives', to thank for all his efforts. He couldn't believe how stubborn the girl was. She could hardly stand on her feet, yet she behaved aggressively.

The state of emergency in her condition simply wouldn't allow Evans to ignore her. All the bruises on her body were evidence of extreme torture. What exactly happened to her? He couldn't help but wonder, and a sudden curiosity engulfed him.

Especially with the bloodstains here and there, one or two broken ribs, when he examined her. She looked like She severely underwent repeated torture. She must have escaped from her tormentors, judging from her lack of trust and aggression towards him. Her perseverance intrigued him too, when she kept scratching and hitting him, to escape his firm grip, and he had to restrain her movements with the seat belt, to avoid another escape attempt. He quickly took the wheels again to continue on their journey, after binding her to the chair.

Her exhaustion kicked in, after all her struggles and abusive behaviors were ignored by him, and she finally sat quietly with no energy left to continue.

Therefore, the drive toward the hospital was made in comfortable silence. Evans kept staring at Rhea in the rearview mirror from time to time, until they arrived at the hospital.

The loud sirens from the ambulance in front of the hospital were shocking. Emergency patients were wheeled on stretchers into the emergency units. Evans quickly parked the car and rushed towards a seriously injured patient. Nurses were busily running around with stretchers to carry more patients inside.

"There seemed to have been a major car accident tonight." Evans thought.

From all the chaos around him, Evans completely forgot about the stranger in his car. The emergency state of the patients before him was alarming. So he fully concentrated on his work....to save their lives. He examined a patient in critical condition and then gave orders to the nurses to administer some medications before he moved on to check on the others.

Rhea freed herself from her restraint and came out of the car, she witnessed the situation before her. But instead, she took advantage of Evans's distraction towards the accident victims, and quickly took the exit gate towards the street, hailed a taxi, and got in.

"Textile state... Hurry!