Chapter 1

Sandra's POV

From where I am standing now I saw a road in front of me and mountains. The view in front of me feels unreal. It's breathtakingly beautiful with the sun peeking from behind the mountains. The sun will soon be completely hidden behind the mountains and darkness will engulf half of the world.

The sky has turned orange.

The birds are returning back to their shelter, to their babies. I don't know how I came here or what I am doing here but I am happy to be here. The view is providing peace to my mind. The surrounding was peaceful with the chirping sounds of birds returning to their homes, the pleasant breeze and the dim brightness. While I was still enjoying the landscape in front of me I heard the sound of an engine raving and caught sight of a red car coming from my right. I can make out that three people are sitting in the car, two in the back seat: a man and a woman and the third one is the driver itself. The male and female in the backseat were talking with big smiles on their faces. They look like a couple from their interaction. When the car came closer and the faces became clearer, I was shocked to see that the female in the car was my mother but I didn't recognize the man. Besides the couple there is a little girl also there in the car, whom I didn't see at first as she was hidden behind the driver's seat.

The car came closer to me and for the first time I saw the baby's face. She has green eyes just like me and has silver coloured hair. Her eyes are shining while looking outside the window. She has brightness in her eyes just like a child would have when he goes to an Adventure Park or Disney World.

She is about two or three years old. The little girl smiled at me and I smiled back and waved to her. The car was about to pass me. Suddenly from the corner of my eyes I saw a black figure moving. I looked towards my left and saw a man in black outfit with his face covered with a mask, a black cap on his head, holding a gun in his hand, which was targeted at the car. I looked back at the car with wide eyes and tried to alert the driver of the car by shouting but.......... no sound came out of my mouth.

I tried to move my body but my body felt rigid.

The man in the car beside my mom looked at me at this moment. I tried to alert him by signaling him with my eyes but he just looked at me and smiled with gentleness in his eyes.

I never felt this much helpless in my life. I wanted to save them but I couldn't do anything. I saw the sniper position his finger on the trigger and..........................

My phone rang. I opened my eyes and gasped for air. It was a bad dream. I rubbed my hand over my face.

I put off the alarm in the phone, got out of the bed and walked into the bathroom.

Today is 5 February 20XX and I have to go to the XXX university for the interview. The interview will start at 8:30 in the morning. I had set my alarm for 5:00 am the previous night.

I have dreamed the same dream about seven or eight times. I don't know why I kept dreaming about it again and again. I only started seeing this dream after a small accident six months ago.

I was crossing the road when a car almost ran over me. If not for me falling backward I might have died that day. My mother was really frightened that day and we shifted to a new city a few days after that accident. I told my mom that it was just a small accident but she kept saying that the car driver was trying to kill me which I thought was a little exaggerated. The car turned towards me because the driver was trying to save a child who came in front of his car while playing.

I started my morning routine by brushing my teeth, washing my face. It takes half an hour to drive to the university. But it will be the rush hour so I will be leaving at least an hour earlier than the interview time.

After I was completely dressed I walked out of my room to the kitchen and saw my mom working in the kitchen. The wall clock shows 6:30am. I have enough time to eat my breakfast slowly.

"Good Morning Mamma!!"

After greeting her I gave her a hug. My mother smiled at me and returned my hug.

"Good Morning Sweety. Wait a few minutes. Breakfast will be ready soon."

Just then my father came out of the bedroom.

"No hugs for this old man? Tut tut!!"

My father acted miserable. I smiled and greeted my father giving him a hug too.

"Good Morning Pa!!"

My father laughed heartily and patted my head with love and sat on the dining table beside me.

My father works in a private company as a manager in a far away city. He could only come back for only two or three days a month. My mother is a housewife.

I am my parents' only child.

I left my home exactly at 7:30 am. Bidding my parents farewell I walked to the main street. It's easy to get a taxi from there.

I got a taxi soon and reached the university entrance at exactly 8:07 am.

I am here to apply for a physics professor job.

It's been an hour since I was done with my interview and I knew I got the job but I wasn't happy. I never wanted this job. I came to the interview just for my parents sake. The interview started at 8:30 am and ended at 10:00 am. There were only six candidates including me, so the interview wasn't long. I checked the time on my cell phone, it's 11:03 am now.

I was roaming around the streets while thinking about all these.

I didn't want to go home yet. I just wanted to get some air, so I decided to walk the distance from the university to the bus stand instead of taking a taxi.

I will be 26 this year. So, my parents wanted me to settle down. But I don't want to get married yet. I wanted to get a job and roam around the country freely. It's February, the last of winter, here in India now. Spring is around the corner so the warmth the sun is providing is pleasing to the body. Walking helps me clear my mind sometimes. As I was lost in my thoughts, I didn't notice three weirdly behaving men behind me .

There wasn't anyone on this street except the four of us. Suddenly a hand came from the back and a cloth was put on my mouth forcefully. Because of a sudden attack my body got numb, I forgot to breathe. When I came back to my senses my instinct told me not to breathe but I couldn't hold longer and breathed in whatever drug they had put on the cloth.

I was scared and only one thought came to my mind at that time, if I didn't fight now then my life is going to be a living hell.

First I tried to scream for help but my voice came out muffled due to the cloth on my mouth and there wasn't anyone else on this street. So I opted to fight back. I knew from somewhere that if you wanna tackle someone in a fight then a person's chin, Adam's apple, ribs and genitals are the weakest part of the body.

so I tried to elbow the one behind me in his ribs and then kicked the one who was trying to hold me on his genitals but all in vain. They were faster and stronger than me. One of the men held my both hands. A black car with tinted windows stopped at some distance.

Till this moment the drug has already started showing its effect. My eyes became drowsy and the view in front of my eyes became a blur. I panicked. I felt like I was losing my strength due to the effects of the drug.

Once again I gathered all the strength I have left in me and pushed the men holding my hands hard. I got my hands freed from his grip and scratched the man's face, as hard as I could, who was holding the cloth on my mouth from behind. The men didn't expect that. He loosened his grip and stepped backward. This was enough for me to run. I ran. But regretfully the drug has already taken its effect. I couldn't run faster. I staggered like a drunkard trying hard to escape. While staggering I screamed for help again.

"HEL-"

The third man who was in the car till now, came out and caught me. He covered my mouth with his hand.

"mmhhm......"

Noooooo!!