Chapter 4: Encounter.

"Hey. I will cut the rope tying your feet. Be ready to run when I am done." Anaaya took out a pair of scissors from her backpack and started cutting her rope. The girl stood still without saying anything. It even felt like she had no intentions of wanting to escape.

"Come on. Let's go." She whispered softly as she tugged the girl's hand. The girl didn't budge an inch from her place as she continued to stare at her blankly. Anaaya huffed as she raised a brow and gave her a death glare.

"Look! I don't know your reasons nor do I know your situation. But I know one thing. If I did what I did to you, to others, they would be more than happy to leave with me. And by chance, if you walk free from here, you owe them the credits and not me. I am sure you know what kind of unimaginable consequences they will face for causing this commotion. If you want their sacrifice today to be in vain, stay put right here! If not, then take my hand!"

Hearing her words, the girl's lifeless eyes became moist. She turned around to look at the people who were fighting for their freedom. Looking at her hands which was tied, uncontrollable tears rolled over her cheeks for the first time in a long while.

"Please, please take me with you. Please... Please..." Her soft pleas for help and her tears broke Anaaya's heart. She grabbed her hand and started running towards the forest next to the village to take cover.

"Over there! That little bitch is escaping!" One of those thugs who were working for the guy selling those women, spotted Anaaya and the girl running towards the woods. The girl panicked, but Anaaya kept her cool.

"Don't worry. We will not be caught." The girl hissed in pain as she tripped on a stone and fell flat on the ground. Anaaya helped her up but found that she scratched her knee from the fall and was unable to walk properly.

"I think, I have sprained my ankle. Maybe this is the end. You can escape as long as you leave me behind. I will never blame you, since you are the only person who thought me the sweet taste of hope which I had long lost. Thank you. Now go!" The girl pushed Anaaya away with a sorrowful smile on her face.

Anaaya stood there quietly, took a deep breath, senses open, listening carefully to the footsteps of the people who were following them. 'One... two... three...' She guessed their numbers in her mind. Opened her backpack and took out the pepper spray.

"Thanks for the offer. But the situation is under control." Her calm voice and those confident looking eyes, gave the girl a new hope. She watched Anaaya's back, clenching her fists, eyes wide open, observing her each and every little action of hers.

"We were after one bitch but found two. What a lucky day!" The man licked his lips in a disgusting way eying both the girls with a nasty look.

"I am not responsible for anything that's going to happen now. Don't blame me later for not warning you." Anaaya stood tall in front of those thugs with just a pepper spray on her hands. Her unwavering confidence made them laugh. One man approached her from her side, she sprayed the it all over his face making him scream in pain. Witnessing this, the other two thugs hesitated a little but if they were to go back without the girl, their master will have them killed.

Anaaya didn't wait for them to take a step forward. She sprayed the rest on their dumb looking faces before they approached her. Their screams echoed in the woods. She quickly grabbed the girl by her arm and started to walk farther away from those thugs.

Anaaya decided to take a break since she was sure they are far from those thugs and the girl needed to rest a bit. Her ankle was looking terrible. She was brimming with pride, her nose high in the air, "I told you the situation was under control. Heh!" A soft chuckle escaped the girl's lips. Their joy didn't last long, as they were startled from the rustling of the bushes behind them.

Two men in their early twenties dressed in a pair of plain looking dhoti and a maroon dyed shirts with a pair of swords approached the girls. Before Anaaya took out her pepper spray to do her thing, the man in the front, dropped his sword to the ground and raised his hands high up in the air.

"We mean no harm. We mean no harm. Dhruv, drop your sword!" The other man dropped his sword too. But for some reason he looked like he was missing a few screws on his head.

"Brother, we found our sister now. We found her. Yay! Yay!" He clapped his hands twice as he did a cute little idiotic dance in front of them which made Anaaya's jaw drop down to the ground.

The girl eyes were filled with tears, her voice full of uncertainty and fear, "Brother... is that really you?" The man ran towards her, pulled her into his arms as he caressed the back of her head lovingly. The other guy named Dhruv, had no choice but to follow the man as his hand was tied to his belt with a piece of cloth, which Anaaya conveniently assumed that it was to make sure he don't stray away from him.

The man's eyes were filled with tears as he held his sister closer to his heart, "I am sorry for being late. I am really sorry for making you go through all this." The girl didn't say anything, she just hugged him as the silent tears rolled over cheeks staining his shirt. The scene was heartbreaking to watch. Anaaya couldn't help but shed a few secret tears.