CHAPTER 2

Anna's breath hitched at the back of her throat. Shocks ran through her body as she considered the situation before her. Was she dreaming? The site looked so similar to that. The images of what happened last February came ruining back to her.

She started shivering out of pure horror, and her hold on the umbrella loosened as she stared at the black car whose headlights, although broken, were still blinking. Her eyes wandered forward on the road. Pieces of glass and broken parts of the car lay scattered meters away from the where it lay. It seemed like the car had dragged a long way after the collide, or whatever on earth that had happened. Anna blinked furiously, feeling dizzy. She was certain that she would collapse, when a sudden thunder struck above, jolting her out of her trance. It was soon accompanied by a wind so strong that it blew away the umbrella from her hands, just what she was afraid of.

Everything happened so quickly that she had to invest a few seconds to process it. As she tried to run after the umbrella which was now being dragged on the road by the force of the wind, a low shuffle from inside the car caught her attention, and her invisible cat ears perked out. She froze.

Oh my God, there's someone in there.

She didn't move, feeling momentarily paralysed as the rain seeped into her clothes and drenched her whole form. This wasn't how she planned her evening to be. Slowly and cautiously, she turned around, facing the damaged vehicle. Her subconscious was yelling at the peak of her lungs to turn around, take the other way which would lead her home safely, away from whatever she was getting herself into. Her clothes were sticking to her skin, which was turning white.

Gulping hard and reciting some silent prayers in her mind, she slowly moved forward. Every step carefully measured, not to get too close. Stopping a few steps away from it, she stooped down and peered in through the broken window glass. There was no one.

Huh? Did she just hear things? She let out a breath, still tensed, as her eyes flickered due to the rain water rolling down her face.

I freaked out for no reason.

A sudden grunt from the front seat had her jolting up, holding her chest. What the hell?

Anna stumbled back as the grunts stopped and were soon followed by heavy breathings, almost like choked breaths. Her eyes balled out.

Anna was uncertain what got over her that she was acting so brave when she knew she couldn't handle such situations alone. And the scene of last February replaying in her head was not helping the situation at all. Taking a deep breath, she stepped forward.

I need to help whoever is in there.

She dropped to her knees on the wet road, palm pressing over her thighs, and bent down to peep inside the car. Her vision unfocused and focused like a camera before she was able to see who was inside.

A man hung upside down, his body held tight to his seat by the seat belt. It was dark inside, but thanks to the sole street lamp lit over a distance, she could see him. He wore a white shirt, that was soaked in his blood.

Blood. Oh my God, so much blood.

Her breathing quickened as she quickly ran her eyes over the man's wrecked condition. His seat belt was tangled tight around his chest and abdomen making it even harder for the poor fellow to breathe. She noticed his chest was hardly moving.

He isn't breathing?

Anna knew she would have to help him. Now after coming so close, she couldn't turn back because the view would probably haunt her for the rest of her life, and what could get worse? The man might die.

She took a deep breath and reached out to the other side of the seat, careful not to brush against him, and tried to unbuckle the seat belt.

Damn, It's stuck.

She dug her finger into the button but nothing clicked. Now even her own breathing was escalated, as she tried to stay as calm as possible. She tried again, holding the loose side of the belt and pulled it so that it would loosen up.

The man shifted in his position, a little whimper escaping his lips. Anna stilled at the sound and gulped. Common, just get over with it already.

She pushed the button again and it finally clicked open, as the man slid out of it and his upper body met the roof of the car. Anna heaved a breath like she was the one who was suffocated by that seat belt. After a moment of catching her breath she glanced at the man. His head was towards her and feet in the opposite direction which gave her a topsy-turvy view of his face. He was as still as a corpse.

''What do I do? Phone. Where is my phone?" she opened her sling bag but soon realised that her phone was resting at home, soaking the tea she had spilled over it last night.

Shit! She cursed silently and turned towards the man, running a hand through her wet, dishevelled hair. He was still motionless, no movement at all, not even his chest moving, and a sudden shock ran through her spine.

Wait! is he dead? Oh my God.

Reluctantly, she reached forward, tapping on his shoulder softly. He didn't budge. She tapped again but all she could hear was the rain pouring and the sound of her own ragged breathing.

No no no don't die. You can't die. She bit onto her lip and tried not to break down.. If he dies now, she would die too, of guilt, that she wasted time over-thinking when she could have saved him.

As she continuesly shook his shoulders and hit his arms to wake him up, a hand abruptly grabbed her wrist and she almost let out a scream. Anna looked at the strong grip on her hand before her eyes travelled down to the man. His head moved, side to side, panting and said something inaudible to her.

"What?" She leaned forward , bringing her ears closer to his face as his breath tickled her ear and she unconsciously inhaled his strong cologne.

"I -I can't...I can't b-breathe" he stuttered out through hoarse voice and visibly gulped trying to soothe his dry throat. Anna's eyes went wide.

Can't breathe? What if he dies?

Without thinking twice, she slid her hands under his armpits and with all the force in her body, tried to pull him out.

He was bulky. Anna pulled, panted and struggled as she laboured the hardest in those few minutes than she had in her entire life. She tried harder and after a lot of struggles was finally able to get him out of the broken window and onto the wet road. She dragged him away, from the wrecked vehicle which looked like it would blow up any minute, at least that's what she saw in movies.

Dragging the bulky structure towards a nearby tree, she panted, hardly able to feel her arms which were slowly growing numb. While getting him to the side of the road, away from the car, she tripped on her back foot and landed right on her butt, with his upper body over her lap. Anna froze for a moment before groaning as his body weighed down on her.

God, he is heavy.

He didn't look fat, there were muscles and only muscles everywhere her eyes went across his skin through the torn shirt.

What a fine specimen.

Wait, What?

Realizing where her thoughts were leading even in the unexpected situation, she shook her head, trying to clear her mind. This is not the time Anna.

She tried to get him into a sitting position, trying to push him off her lap but he was practically double her size which made things even harder. After trying to move the heavy man again and again, she grew tired and gave up. It was still raining, not as heavy as before but light showers. She looked at the man whose head was in her lap and it was the first time that she saw his face clearly.

His black hair stuck to his forehead, a calm look over his face. There were pieces of glass pierced into the sides of his neck and down his chest. Anna gulped as she again inhaled his strong scent that made her dizzy and quickly turned her head away.

"Oh God Please help me. How did I even end up here?" She pushed her face into her palms, silently praying to God to show her a way out of the situation.

Anna sat there with the bulky structure over her lap and with no clue of what she was going to do next. She was mentally cursing herself for being so helplessly curious all the time, which was also the reason she was sitting on that road.

Maybe God heard her requests because from the opposite direction she saw a beam of light shining towards her direction. It was a car, but she visualized it as a ray of hope, a saviour coming for her rescue—their rescue.

Anna felt relief washing through her as she raised her hands in the air from where she was sitting, and started waving at the approaching car.

"Help! Please Help us!" She yelled with all the energy left in her body and kept waving and shouting until the car driver noticed her and pulled over to the side. He hopped out of the car and hurried over to the pair on the ground.

"What happened? Is he okay?" He bent down to check if the man was breathing as he moved his fingers near his nostrils. He was breathing but shallow.

"Please help me get him to the hospital," she said, almost cried. Well, the man was heavy and her legs were numb already because of his weight and she was about to faint due to the smell of his cologne lingering near her nose.

"Miss, you can't get to the hospital right now. Due to the storm, there are trees fallen over the roads and the way to the hospital is blocked" He shook his head.

"What? But, He needs to be taken to the hospital" she could not believe all of that was really happening.

"Miss, better than getting wet in the rain and making the situation worse, I would advise you to take him home. You can call the doctor over." He suggested.

"No. I can't. I can't take him home" She blurted out. How could she take a random stranger soaked in blood to her house? But also, she could not abandon him there, go home and rest.

The man looked at her like she was talking Greek. Of course, the way she was sitting with the man, looking so concerned but refused to take him home had him doubting over her mental stability, for he didn't know what their relationship was.

Letting out a huge sigh, Anna nodded to the man as both of them tried to carry the man to his car. Even the two of them were struggling.

Ugh! What does he eat to be this heavy?

After some pulling, falling, dragging and pushing, they were able to get him to the car and in the back seat. His long legs did not fit in so she folded them on the seat and shut the door. Anna got in the passenger seat beside the driver and they drove away from the accident spot. She gave him her address and in another five minutes, they were in front of her house, struggling to get the heavy figure out of the car. They carried him over the steps, with each of his arms around both of their necks. As they stepped on the front porch, Anna abruptly stopped in her tracks when the main door creaked open even before knocking and a screeching voice pierced their ears.

"Oh my God, Who the hell is that?"