Chapter 2

Maria wakes up and looks for the patient whose life she just saved. But she's nowhere in sight. The whole operation room is empty except for the nurse taking out the stretcher. "Where is that girl?"

The nurse leaves the stretcher in the middle of the gate and walks to her. "Dr. Maria, you're up?" she extends one hand to support her back as she rises to sit.

Maria feels her right hand as light as air. Gulping in a glass of water she asks again, "Did that evil woman took her?"

"No, that woman had left when she fainted. She went alone," states Nurse.

"How did she pay her bills?" she digs in further.

"She couldn't so I asked her to get away before anybody could notice," replies the nurse looking around the room.

Maria runs her hand over her face. "You should have at least waited for me?"

"I'm so sorry Wells," says the nurse lowering her head.

Maria stands up with the nurse's support and walks into her cabin. After getting cleaned up she puts her things in the bag and walks out of the hospital. The wind is blowing wildly, many street lights are gone already.

Dirt in the wind has made the air hazy and small particles hit over her milky white cheeks. Covering her face with her bag she walks to her car in the parking lot. She drives it out to meet the road in front.

Maria's eyes gaze at a little girl walking with both hands over her face. The little one's pink fluffy jacket is having wild rides flying towards her back. She turns to her left side to get hold of the flying jacket but a strong wind knocks her to the ground.

A large man runs from her behind. He sits around her with his back turned towards the wind's origin direction. The guard of the man around her makes the wind slow down. She pulls the jacket from the back and zips it to her throat.

"You okay sweetie?" the man asks in a loud voice trying to overpower the shrilling sound of the wind. "Yes, Dad," says the girl. "Let's go then," the father standing up, grips the girl's left hand. 

Few steps forward they go and the father knocks on a door.  He gets into the house as a woman opens the door. She wraps the girl in her arms as tears fall down her eyes. They both move in and the gate shuts close.  

Saddening thoughts about the girl Maria treated clouds her mind. How would that poor soul survive this stormy night? The thought sends a chill down her spine. She takes her phone out and dials the nurse.

"Katy, do we have any information on that girl?" she asks over the phone.

"Her parents didn't register her details on being admitted and she also left without payment," replies Katy in a gloomy tone.

"Do we at least have her name?"

"I remember...it's Emma Shwagner."

"What? Are you sure?" she asks dropping her jaws.

"I am...that old woman called her name and also said she would no longer be a Shwagner," Katy recalls.

"Of course, their pride is costlier than the lives of people," speaking in a disgusting tone. She hangs up. Her eyes trail to the tallest building of the town. It has the dark red symbol of DNA's three loops.

Her nose scrunches and she grits her teeth gazing at the symbol. Her head feels heavier and she lets it lean on the steering wheel. Taking a long breath she raises her head and starts the engine. 

The car stays low in speed and she keeps looking on roads through both windows and windshield in front. The night is darker than usual as many street lights are fused. Wild winds with dirt at times have made the air dense. 

She's keeping the car's headlights on and at their full strength but it is of no use. She's able to see only a few meters in any direction. Many people are rushing towards their home but there's no sign of the girl with the baby.  

Her phone buzzes. She looks at the caller id showing Bill. Putting it on speaker she keeps driving. "What's up with you, Bill?" she asks. 

"Nothing just checking up on that girl I admitted...she looked gross," he says in a concerned voice.

"It's too sad Bill, she's been abandoned by her family...I'm looking for in the streets," she states in a dismal tone.

"What? I had warned you."

"I couldn't do much, Bill...I fainted," she says recalling.

Bill goes silent taking in the weird explanation. "What do you mean fainted?"         

Lost in worry and conversation. She takes an unknown turn. A dark narrow alley appears in front of her. She keeps on going forward.

"I had to give her blood…she had lost too much."

"Oh god...are you okay now?"

The dark alley no longer has any buildings around. Both sides of it are only having large and dense trees. 

"I am...what's shocking is that her name is Emma Shwagner."

"What? Are you serious?" he asks, shocked.

Noticing the weird alley she checks on the car navigation which does not show any road in the place she is. "Her family took out her title though...wait," she says and looks at the empty road having only trees on sides in her front.

She turns back to get a good look at where she got in. The last street light appears almost a kilometer away from here. "I think I took a wrong turn," she says, a little worried, noticing the complete darkness and emptiness around her.

"Where are you exactly?" he asks.

"I don't know, I took a right turn from Hagrid's Cafe...the road ahead is empty, having only trees," she says looking in front of her car that has now stopped.

"Listen to me carefully, get your engine on and drive forward as fast as you can," Bill states in a serious voice.

"How do you know my engine's off?" she asks, surprised.

"Just do as I say please," his voice is now getting deeper and deeper.

She puts the car's engine on and stomps on the gas. "Do not stop at any cost...I repeat do not stop," Bill's voice is now turned into a growling.

"Bill, you're scaring me, now" her body hairs elongate listening to his voice. She stomps on the gas harder and her grip over the steering grows tighter. She narrows her eyes to focus on the road now passing at rapid speed.

Suddenly a man appears in the middle of the road. "Bill, there's a man in front," she says, almost crying as her eyes twitch, focusing on it.

"DON'T STOP," he growls.

She puts all her weight on the accelerator. The car goes forward blazing. As it nears the man at an almost thin air distance. The man jumps upwards and disappears from her vision through the windshield.

She turns her head backward. The same dark figure of man lands on the road with a loud thud. She jerks her head back to the front. "What was that?" 

But no answer comes out of the phone. "Bill..are you there?" she asks now terrified. Her eyes are filled with tears. "BILL!," she shouts out loud as three men appear in front, almost blocking the whole road.

Nothing comes out of her phone. She doesn't let her weight even shift a little. The car's engine keeps roaring and it goes at the speed of light. 

Only a blink her eyes take but the men in the road are no longer there. A road horizontal to the one she's driving into appears in front. "Should I slow down now?" she asks, moving her mouth closer to the phone on the stand.

But no voice comes out of the phone. The junction seems to be in the immediate front. There is no road going straight anymore. It only goes to the left and right.

Taking in a long breath she puts her leg on the break and moves the steering wheel as fast as she could to the right. 

The car gets on the horizontal road screeching its tires. Grey fumes rise in the air around the wheels. The cars slip from one end of the road to the other rotating to the right. 

She hits another car passing by in the opposite direction from its sides. Glass windows of both cars shatter to the ground with a shrilling sound. 

She puts her leg harder on the brakes and the car stops with a massive jolt forward. Her head hits hard on the car's steering wheel.

A loud horn goes on as her head sways to the horn button. Her eyes get closed and her mind slips into darkness.