WE CAN'T LEAVE EACH OTHER

FINDING A WAY OUT OF THE TRAIN

The mess they had gotten into bewildered them. Their eyes turned reddish, knowing their exams start in a few hours. They stared at each other, wondering how they got trapped inside the train. Suddenly, Jude hit his fists on the ground repeatedly after remembering his silly mistake.

"My goodness! I've made the biggest mistake of my life! I mistook my sister's drugged pack of juice as mine," he yelled.

"Wow! How could you make such a silly mistake?"

She approached him and kicked his genitals angrily.

Ouch! Are you alright? Do you want to render me childless? Jude painfully said.

"You don't deserve to bear my kids! You fool!"

"Don't you ever use such words on me again."

"Just shut up! Isn't it because of your silly mistake that we are trapped here? You fool!"

Jude got angry and smacked her in the face. Ella was surprised. She couldn't believe what he had just done. Her reflection showing a reddish cheek heightened her vim.

"You raised your filthy hands on me? And you aren't even apologetic. It's over between us." She said

He recognized his goof. But refused to pander to her.

"You were the aggressor, yet you want to manipulate me into feeling sorry for my actions? To hell with you and the relationship!"

His unapologetic attitude irked her. She sighted a metallic frame and pushed him towards it. His head hit the frame; he landed on the ground. His body remained unmoved thereafter. Jude was notorious for playing pranks. Ella thought that was another script from his numerous playbooks. She ignored his helpless-looking body, went to the door of the train, and started pushing it. But all her efforts were in vain.

"I pushed as hard as I could. But the door didn't even show any sign of opening. We are doomed." She said as tears rolled from her cheeks.

Ella hadn't heard Jude's voice in a while. She turned back only to see him still lying in the same position. She rushed towards him and tapped him on his shoulder several times. But he didn't wake up. Her anxiety increased when she tickled his underarms without getting any response.

"My goodness! What have I done?" She loudly said.

Her palms were placed on his chest. Some racing sensation was felt. Her trepidation plummeted.

"Thank goodness! He's still alive."

Ella tried resuscitating him by sprinkling some water. But he didn't budge. Gazing at his motionless body made her teary once more. She cried endlessly and pleaded with him to open his eyes. Suddenly, his hands moved, and legs thereafter.

"Wow! He's no longer motionless," Ella screamed.

She sprinkled more water until he woke up finally.

"What happened to me? Why am I on the floor?"

"You entered a state of comatose from my push. I'm so sorry. It's been a battle trying to resuscitate you. I'm so happy that you're alive."

They embraced tightly until he gazed at his watch.

"Time is running out. We have to find our way out immediately. Our exams begin in a few hours. We can't afford to miss today's papers. Especially the first. Else we wouldn't make it to our final year." He warned

"Yes! The first exam is a prerequisite. We have to find a way out. But how?"

Jude got up immediately. Then walked around thinking of how they could get out of the train. He wished his parents weren't out of town; otherwise, they would've been the perfect people to call for a rescue mission.

"Please, can you buzz your parents to come rescue us?" he said.

"What did you just say? You know how displeased my parents would be seeing us together. Neither of them approves of this relationship. Your middle-class background has always been an issue for them. Buzzing them isn't an option."

"So you prefer us to miss our exams rather than call for their help?"

"Yes! If that is the only option left. I have to protect you from them. Even dying of starvation wouldn't make me reconsider my stance."

With the time ticking speedily, he continued racking his brain for more solutions.

"I think we should shout at the top of our voices for help." He suggested.

"That might work. Hopefully, a passer-by helps us."

Nobody came to their aid after shouting relentlessly for help. They became tired and crestfallen.

"Now, we have only one option left," he said.

"What option could that be?"

"Break the door of the train!"

"That door is really tough. What can we use to cause its c*****e?"

"With a metallic object, we should be able to break the door."

Swiftly, he pointed at a metallic frame that must be dissociated.

"We have to get the metallic rod from that frame and begin to hit the door with it."

The dissociation started right away. They were making headway until her phone buzzed. She brought out her phone, looked at the screen, and dropped it on a seat. The phone continued ringing non-stop.

"This call has been endless. You've got to answer it. Your dad might want to communicate a very important message."

Grudgingly, she grabbed her phone and answered the call.

"Hello, Daddy."

"Will shut up your mouth!" He replied in his usual baritone voice.

"I'd been buzzing you tirelessly. But you ignored my call. Why?"

"It wasn't intentional. I was asleep while you called."

"Shouldn't you be preparing to leave the hostel ahead of your exams?"

"I'd start preparing soon. I spent most of the night in the library. So I needed more sleep."

"You are always in the library, but it never shows in your results. Anyway, I'll send some pocket money when I arrive at my office. Better bring home an improved result this semester." He warned and ended the call.

"I'm gradually getting tired of Gareth. He's always on my toes. I just can't catch a break." She muttered under her breath.

Jude had just finished the dissociation when her call ended. They started hitting the door with the metallic rod, one after the other. Ella got tired after striking the door with all her strength. She sat and started gasping for breath.

"This is definitely the wrong time to relent. We have to leave here as soon as possible. If not, we wouldn't catch up with the only bus heading to the college," he said.

All her tiredness vanished after looking at the time from her watch. She got up and joined in striking the door again.

"How long are we going to keep hitting this door? I'm getting exhausted once more." She said.

"We have to keep on going. Some cracks have started appearing on the door. We just need to continue hitting with a lot more force."

She obliged and subsequently struck the door very intensely. Her strike shattered the door completely.

"Yes! I did it." She said while hugging him.

"I was right! The door just needed to be hit very hard. I knew it'd open soon."

Afterwards, they stormed out of the train and headed to the highway. They had to catch up with the bus as soon as possible. The atmosphere was still dark and the ground very rocky. He advised her to stop walking hurriedly. But she mildly rebuffed him.