7. She's in Trouble

Maya walked along unfamiliar streets, unsure where they would lead. However, as the atmosphere grew quieter and more suspicious, Maya decided to return to the original path.

Looking around, the slender woman swallowed her saliva. The silence was the only thing coloring the atmosphere around her. Closed shops and graffiti spray-painted by street artists made Maya certain that she should not have taken this route.

The sun was almost setting. Soon, it would be dark. If she didn't find her way back soon, this vacation would surely turn into a disaster, or even worse.

"Oh, God! How could I still call myself a secretary?" Maya cursed her own stupidity.

It was all because of a trivial matter. She couldn't remember the name of the hotel she was staying at. Since it wasn't her who arranged everything, Maya forgot to remember all the details.

The problem worsened when she used too much cash and forgot to bring her credit card. Buying a lot of milk and biscuits at the minimarket was unplanned. Moreover, before that, she had used quite a bit of cash to buy a pair of silver necklaces that drained her wallet. If only she had enough cash, she could have taken a taxi to avoid her feet from getting tired while searching for her way home.

Maya continued to walk back to her original location with a pounding heart. Why was her sense of direction so bad? Tears began to well up in her eyes. She prayed in her heart that God would keep her safe no matter how bad the situation got. Hopefully, things wouldn't get worse than they already were.

Unbeknownst to her, two men were observing Maya from behind. Earlier, they had been targeting a tourist who bought a lot of food to be distributed to the homeless children. A very rich woman! That's all that was on the minds of the two thugs. They intended to do something bad to Maya as they often did to many tourists who fell into their trap.

Maya got lost not only because of her own carelessness. The two men changed the street name directions that Maya remembered. The direction that was supposed to go right was actually turned left. They also took a warning sign of a dangerous area written in English so that Maya wouldn't read it.

The two guys exchanged glances and signaled to each other that it was time to execute their plan. They both nodded in agreement. Then the bald one yelled out, "Miss, do you need help?"

"Lost, huh? Let us give you a ride," added the chubby one.

Maya's heart sank. She turned around to see who was talking to her. It turned out to be two shabby-looking men with lots of tattoos all over their bodies and scars on their faces and exposed skin. They quickly gave her some brief info about their identities. The bald one had a smug grin on his face, while the chubby one looked downright scary.

Maya swallowed hard. She knew that these guys were definitely not good people to be around. So, she didn't answer their question and ran away as fast as she could without looking back.

Unfortunately, Maya's running speed was not supported by the soft leather flat shoes she was wearing. Her feet already hurt just a few seconds after running. Luck seemed to have not yet favored her. Her shoes were now torn from hitting a rock, causing her toes to stick out and bleed.

However, Maya didn't care about the pain in her feet. She continued to run for her life. She would rather have her body get a little hurt than lose the most valuable thing to her.

The bald guy yelled, "Hey, miss! You're pretty hot! Come back here, we won't hurt you!"

Chubby guy added, "Yeah, just come with us. We'll take you to a better place. Trust us."

"Oh, God! Help me!" Maya cried out in prayer.

The unfortunate woman's face looked like she had seen a ghost, her skin reddened and sweating, but her lips were so dry that she licked them repeatedly to make them wet. Unfortunately, her tongue was also dry.

Maya's breath was heavy and labored. She felt like she couldn't run any longer. Her feet were also very sore due to the open wounds on her fingers. Nevertheless, Maya pushed her exhausted legs to run faster.

Maya looked back to check the whereabouts of her pursuers. Unfortunately, she stumbled on a rock and fell because her gaze was briefly distracted. Maya's struggle was over. Her knees and elbows were now injured and bleeding profusely, with no hope of compromise.

The two criminals chasing Maya laughed in satisfaction. "Is your struggle over, Sweetie?" mocked the bald one.

"I thought we would play cat and mouse for longer," taunted the chubby one. "Thank goodness, my breath is almost gone."

The chubby one then approached the woman in front of him, who now had a face as white as paper. He observed the woman's body, now covered in wounds. Her white jumpsuit was no longer white. Dirt and blood had dramatically stained it.

"Wallet!" the chubby one extended his hand.

Maya had no choice but to comply. She then handed over all the money in her wallet, which was only enough to buy two cheap meals.

Naturally, the chubby one was not satisfied. "Is this all there is!" He threw the money back at Maya and grabbed her chin while examining her. "Your jewelry is not gold! Useless—"

"Calm down, Bro! Look carefully!" said the bald one, showing his right ring finger. His eyebrows raised. His eyes spun, pointing towards Maya's hand.

The chubby one furrowed his brow. However, he soon understood what his friend meant. An evil grin crept onto his face, revealing yellow and black, hole-ridden teeth. "A diamond ring! Hahaha."

The chubby one raised Maya's hand and forcibly took her ring. However, Maya refused and fought back. "No! That's my wedding ring! Don't take it!"

The impatient chubby one punched Maya right in the face. "Do you want your life or this ring?" he bellowed.

The chubby one forcibly pulled Maya's hand again. However, Maya struggled again and bit the chubby one. The chubby one struggled and hit Maya again. Maya endured the pain and did not let the chubby one take off her wedding ring. She kicked the chubby one's vital area as hard as she could to release his grip.

The bald one then helped his friend handle Maya. Maya screamed for help. However, the bald one silenced her until her screams sounded like incomprehensible murmurs.

"Because you didn't obey us, we will not only take this ring!" the chubby one yelled with sharp, menacing eyes. He still seemed to be in pain from Maya's previous attack. "Taste my revenge!"

Tears began to well up in Maya's eyes. No one could help her at this moment. She was about to lose something very valuable to her. Just as she felt that all hope was lost, suddenly a man's voice shouted out.

"Stop!"