Chapter II

Panting, Danielle looked at the wall in front of her. It was too high, there's no way she could climb it up. She was forced to enter the alley in desperate move to lose the men that were following her.

And now, she might get stuck there and wait for her death. But if she could go back on the road-

"Get in! Quick!" Suddenly, a pink car pulled over, blocking the alley's small entrance.

"Now! They're coming!" The lady in the passenger seat shouted at her.

Danielle didn't want to involve anyone in her dangerous situation. But she had no death wish yet.

So without thinking twice, she hopped in the car.

Maybe God sent them to help her! Her prayers were heard all along!

"Why are they after you?" The beautiful lady in the passenger seat asked her.

"T-thank you... Sorry, I also don't know why." She answered.

"They've spotted us," another lady in the driver's seat, said while looking at the rear view mirror. "Don't worry, we'll get you out of here."

"Thank you, miss..."

"Jane, call me Jane." Jane smiled at her, perhaps the most beautiful and the most genuine smile she had ever received in her whole life.

"I'm Ruth," the other lady also introduced herself. "How about you?"

The two were just relaxed like danger wasn't trailing them. While Danielle's sanity was about to snap. Besides, she was already exhausted from running.

"How did you know I need help?" She asked instead, catching her breath.

"We saw you running like crazy. And then we saw two men running after you." Ruth explained.

"I promise, I'm not a bad person."

"We believe so." Ruth smiled at her.

"They saw us. And they're catching up," Jane said, stepping on the accelerator.

Soon, they were leaving the city at a very fast speed. But the car behind continued following them.

"We should get back to the city," Ruth suggested. "The crowded place will keep us safe."

"We can't. We're running low of fuel." Jane answered. "We can't keep up long just circling around the city. We need help."

Danielle looked back and saw a man sitting on the other car's window, aiming a gun at them.

"Don't look back, we can still make it to a safe place."

But Danielle was afraid. If they fire shots at them, Jane and Ruth might get shot as well. How would her conscience bear that?

"Jane, pull over... Drop me here."

"What? No..."

"They will kill you," Ruth agreed. "You're safer with us. Hang on a little."

"But-" she was interrupted by two gunshots. Horror was evident in Danielle's eyes. She knew she was going to die and there's no escaping that fact.

However, Jane and Ruth shouldn't die with her.

"Please, stop the car. They're only after me." She cried.

She wasn't crying when she was running alone. She even thought that she was not afraid to die. She shouldn't have accepted their help.

"We already helped you, why would we push you to your death now?" Jane reasoned.

"I know. And I'm thankful. Believe me, I do. But you're going to get yourselves killed... Please, I wouldn't want that. You've got nothing to do with me..."

"God will take care of us," Ruth reached for her hand and held it, turning a deaf ear to her words.

She was touched. Jane and Ruth were strangers to her. They've only met few minutes ago and they're insisting on helping her despite the danger.

Jane sped up and gunshots could be heard. Danielle noticed that they're driving towards the mountains. Both sides of the road were rice fields and no houses could be seen.

The road was getting steep and blind curves were getting sharp and frequent. Still Jane was driving like she was very familiar with the place.

"What's your name?" Jane suddenly asked.

When she looked at her, she noticed that her left arm was bleeding. "Jane, you got shot!"

"You are too, honey..." Jane chuckled at how she wasn't aware that her shoulder was already wounded.

"Must be the adrenaline," Ruth chimed in.

"Won't you still let me go?" She asked. "You'd still going to live. You just have to leave me here."

"Leave you to die? I'm sorry, but we're on this together." Jane was determined.

But Danielle knew that their chance was slim. The fuel indicator had been blinking for several minutes. How long could the vehicle take the chase?

She looked at the car's door but Ruth was quick to hold her hand again. She shook her head in disapproval like she could read her thoughts.

"The police should be here any moment," she said. "Trust us."

Police? When did they call the police?

Suddenly, the car trailing them, sped up. This time, two men aimed their guns at them. In the next few seconds, they were rained with bullets.

The tires at the back were shot causing Jane to lose control.

The next thing Danielle knew, they collided head on to another vehicle that was coming down the mountain.

The impact caused their car to fall in the cliff next to the sharp blind curve. And as the car plummeted, all she saw was red. Shards of glass flew in a slow motion, cutting through their skin.

"Hey, you still haven't said your name..." Jane, bathing in her own blood, asked softly.

She was shocked. When she looked at Ruth, she was already motionless and here was Jane, looking to pass out anytime.

"Danielle!" She cried. "Danielle Williams!"

"Nice name," Jane smiled, closing her eyes.

"No!" Danielle shouted. "Don't die on me, Jane!"

"I'm sorr-y... L-lucas..." Jane murmured before passing out.

Tears mixed with blood, Danielle fought to stay awake. But eventually, she also passed out.

--

"Are you ready?" Her handsome doctor, Dr. Levi Del Fierro asked her with a smile.

She stayed for another week in the hospital and today she was going to be discharged.

She nodded, returning his smile. But deep inside her, guilt was eating her up.

A lot had happened from the time she woke up to that day.

She learned that Jane died on the spot. Ruth, on the other hand, died after spending three days in the hospital.

Danielle fell into a coma for three weeks and was not able to speak for two days. All she did was cry as she learnt of the demise of Jane and Ruth.

Fear also engulfed her whole being. She was afraid that the families of the two women would get mad at her. They must be blaming her for the untimely deaths of Jane and Ruth.

Danielle knew that it was selfishness when she decided to fake amnesia. But she didn't have much choice. If she tells them who she was, they would return her to her family.

If that happens, she would not live another day and the sacrifices of Jane and Ruth would be for naught.

But as days passed, she wanted to regret her decision of pretending to lose her memory.

She met Jane's parents and her only sibling, Jio. They were sad but they didn't blame her or express their hate towards her. In fact, she was surprised when they volunteered their home to be her temporary home until she recovers.

The Del Fierros, on the other hand, showed nothing to her but kindness. She found out that Ruth's father, Marcus, was a Minister.

They told her that it was painful for them to lose Jane and Ruth. But they could no longer do anything about it. What they could do was to take care of her, the person whom Jane and Ruth sacrificed their lives for.

"Be careful," Dr. Levi helped her transfer from the bed to a wheelchair.

Right. She broke her legs in the accident and it may need her some time to walk again.

"Thank you, doctor," her tears fell.

How could she ever thank him enough? Levi was Ruth's older brother and yet he took good care of her like she didn't cause his sister's death.

"Recover fast," Levi patted her head.

Jane's parents were the ones who fetched her from the hospital. She would be staying in their house until she fully recover.

"This is Jane's room," Tabitha, Jane's mother brought her to her daughter's room. "I hope you don't mind using her room."

She shook her head as she looked around. Jane's room was neat and simple. It's like one of those minimalist people would have. No unnecessary things but a cabinet, a bed, a table and a chair. 

The room has a balcony that overlooks the small community.

"You might be wondering why we're letting you use Jane's room." Tabitha helped her get to the bed. "Believe it or not, my daughter told me to."

The woman got emotional, but she was quick to manage a small smile when she looked at her.

"I'll leave you to rest first. Call me if you need anything."

"Thank you, auntie," she forced a smile.

Once alone, sadness and guilt overwhelmed her. Why even in Jane's death, she was still helping her?

"I'm sorry for causing your death, Jane..." tears immediately formed in her eyes. "I promise to repay your kindness through your family."

She dried her tears away when she saw a framed picture in the bedside table. She moved to take a closer look.

It was Jane with a man. In the photo, they were very happy showing off a ring in Jane's ringfinger. Jane was very beautiful, she possessed an angelic face and her smile was very sweet. And the man beside her was also very handsome. His pair of captivating eyes, perfect nose and thin lips...

What a perfect couple they were. If only Jane hadn't die saving her, if only-

"What right do you have to even look at that?"

Surprised, Danielle accidentally dropped the photo. The glass frame shattered at her feet.

Next thing she knew, the man in the photo, attacked her.