Her Unremitting Struggle

"Drive faster," she did not yell but her tone was laced with rage. Had her mind been sane enough, she would have questioned herself if she had the right to talk to him the way she had been doing ever since they sat in the car.

He was choosing not to react at every point where she was being rude. She was not considerate about the fact that he was just helping when he actually did not need to but somewhere deep down, it was pricking her heart.

"Ah."

"Careful."

Both words were uttered in unison as a bunch of stones landed on the windshield and he had to halt the car abruptly. Fortunately, the windshield did not break.

"Just a minute," he requested with his eyes before he quickly opened the door of his side and got out to see where the stones came from.

'Weird.' He thought to himself as he stood in front of his car, scanning the area around.

He could not see a glimpse of a single living being there. Neither humans nor animals! His one glance at the sky confirmed that there were no birds either.

Apart from the huge tall trees that stood tall on both sides of the road, almost making it seem like they were acting as protectors of the road, and the deep forest area on both sides justified why the place was abandoned.

It undoubtedly had the creepy vibes.

Scratching the back of his head, he let his gaze travel around as far as possible but no, there was nothing that could give away where those stones came from.

He was immediately back in the car after removing the stones from the windshield that had not fallen on the ground on their own.

"Can you please drive?

"Yes, I am sorry."

He did not seem offended by the thing that she had almost ordered him in a curt voice and if he was, then he had concealed it way too promptly for anyone to figure out. He quietly started the car again.

Just a couple of minutes later, he realized that the car was being steered to the left. He shot a quick look at her and prepared himself for being lashed out at by her.

He had to stop the car.

"I think the tire is punctured." He sighed helplessly.

He stepped out first and he was right. Could it be any worse? He had urged her not to take a cab. He was supposed to drop her and one by one, things were messed up.

"Look, I cannot wait. I have to go. Thanks," she said, her voice still holding the same panic.

"I have a spare tire. I can fix this." He made an attempt but he just knew that she was not going to stand there until that long.

"Please fix it and come soon. We have to take Ayden to the hospital but I have to go. We are almost here. I think he must be nearby." And she ran. She could not afford to waste more time.

Ayden was hurt. His pain-stricken voice on the call had terrified her. She could not even call him. His phone was dying as he told her.

If she went as per what he said, his phone must have been dead by then.

'But I can at least try.' She dialed his number, as she desperately searched for him on that road.

His phone was still on but he did not answer and that made her more anxious. Was he okay?

She continuously chanted, praying for his safety.

"Where are you, Ayden? Where are you?"

On the other side, Ilyan had taken out his spare tire. His hands worked faster than they ever had. He needed to get it done the soonest possible.

She had walked alone on that road that was rumored to be cursed and even though he did not believe in it, letting her go alone there was not what he was comfortable with.

Her heel broke on the way, and she almost fell. Her ankle twisted and a sharp pain had her shut her eyes.

'Ayden is hurt.' His voice, begging for help was still echoing in her ears. She straightened herself, took off her heels, kept them aside on the road near the tree, and continued her search.

She was limping but it was not enough to make her give up on finding Ayden.

'He is hurt.'

'He needs me.'

'He is hurt.'

'He needs me.'

She repeated those words silently as if they were keeping her going despite the awful pain that was not letting her take a step without wincing.

She was looking around for him like a crazy girl.

She kept screaming for his name, hoping to hear a reply from some corner.

Her unremitting struggle paid off when she caught him sitting near a tree on some distance. Her eyes brimmed as she dragged herself hurriedly toward him, limping.

"Ayden. Are you okay?" She screamed while covering the distance between them. "Don't worry. I will take you to the hospital. Nothing will happen to you."

Her face had a relieved smile along with the tears in her eyes but she slowed down on her steps as she reached closer.

Something was not right.

Ayden did not have a scratch on him.