continued....
“I can go alone. I have gone to those defence class with you guys.” Eva said and put her raincoat on. Tessa looked at as it was same as hers.
“You have to go the way you came.” Said Aarifa and went downstairs adding, “Tess, would you hold the ladder while I bring you your surprise?”
Eva climbed down the stairs while Tessa held it from the window. Tessa looked outside. The fog has covered the road. She watched Eva cross the road thinking all the times she helped Eva through Friend proxy. She was lost in her thoughts that suddenly; she saw that three guys followed Eva. Before she could be sure who they were, road lights went out and the road was dark. She was sure, Eva was not gonna handle that well. Her emotional turmoil was gonna burst.
“Look, what I got you. You can take it home and eat whenever you want” Aarifa came back with another box of blueberry cake. Tessa turned to her ignoring what she just saw on the road. Last time she tried to help someone, it made her an abomination and she didn’t want to help anyone anymore.
“That’s a nice gesture but if I took it home, everyone will know I was here and that’s not good.” Said Tessa with a sad face. Friend proxy had made her good at faking emotions. That’s all she did tonight.
“I can understand it’s hard for you. You okay?”
“I would like it if my father is more supportive.”
“Yeah, that would be lovely and I am sure he would come around. You know what, you can make him.”
“How?”
“You said you tried to talk to him but didn’t work so you stopped trying.” They both sat down and looking into Tessa’s eyes, added Aarifa, “That’s the trick. Most of the time we give up thinking this isn’t gonna happen, and never try again. But if you do, you will get your way.”
“I hope so. I loved hanging out with you. Parents are gonna come home soon, so I am gonna head back.”
“Sure.” Aarifa hugged her. Tessa put her raincoat on and tied mask on her face.
Tessa climbed down the ladder and headed home on the same lane she came from, though it was scary now. It was dark and foggy, the chilling wind whistled making her run back to Aarifa. She walked slowly on the wet lane, again and again looking at the blurry moon, asking it to bless the lane with light. She wasn’t that scared of dying than walking on the lane alone.
Suddenly something dropped on the ground and scared she sat down, but nothing happened. As she opened her eyes, two legs looked at her and there was a hatch on the ground. She held her breath as the boy peed near her looking up at the moon. She looked around. Eva was struggling to get free of two other boys.
This was the moment she had been preparing in defence classes with Rosie. She stood up and looked the boy in the eye, who had a mask on too.
“Catch her.” another boy yelled as Eva freed herself and the third one ran behind her.
“Can’t you handle one girl.” said angrily the first boy, as he turned back to Tessa, she pierced the hatchet into his foot and he fell crying. Quickly, she ran to the second boy and hit him with the hatchet in his chest and he fell, too. She turned to the third one who came back pulling Eva holding her hair. Looking at her the boy left Eva. But Eva could not move and fell on the ground. Tessa was angry as hell.
“You monsters.” She yelled and threw the hatchet at him. The boy dodged the hatchet.
The First boy held Tessa from behind and kicked her in the belly multiple times that she couldn’t stand still and her eyes closed in pain that she couldn’t cry out loud. Her ears became deaf and she could feel that someone was dragging her. She kept struggling to set free but she couldn’t. At some point, she gave up. The boy tore the raincoat from the front. He hit again and again her face. She tried again to free and kicked him in nuts, quickly she pulled out the ricin syringe and injected him. She kicked the boy with her feet until he was immobile.
“Thanks for the try again story, Aarifa.” She mumbled. She walked back into the lane where the third boy was molesting Eva. She took the hatchet and struck it through his skull. The boy fell on Eva. She pushed him away and checked Eva’s pulse. Sudden grief ran through her veins. She could have saved her. None of this would have happened if she wanted. She just had to tell somebody when she saw those boys the first time.
She took out Eva’s phone and turned the emergency signal on. She kissed her friend Eva on her forehead as her lachrymose eyes looked at her for the last time and ran as fast as she could, for one boy was still out there somewhere. She could not see him anywhere around but looking at Eva’s dead body, she felt incredible fear that pumped her heart so hard she ran like wind.
By the time she woke up again, she was in the hospital and an anchor read the news on the TV. The energy she felt under that tree once again emerged in her. It was not something natural. She never felt it before. It reached the pinnacle as she heard Amir’s name on TV. He was one of the culprits. Her brother was one the first boy. How could she handle that? She killed one named Jayant and heavily injured Vikram; both of them were Amir’s friend. The third one who disappeared from site was Amir. She realised that the boy she was running from was her brother, same person who gave her those fluffy shoes.
The anger and the new energy rushing throw her body made her body shiver, and as she looked at those fluffy shoes on the desk near her, she screamed so loud that the TV shattered, with every medical equipment in the hospital room pierced into the TV screen. She didn’t understand how did that happen. Somehow, she did it without touching anything. Weakened, she fainted again.
***