ASRAN SERIES- ACROSS THE BORDER

Chapter - 63

When the slaves went away from there they did not take any of the magical potions that were dumped in that basement. Moreover, they left them unguarded as if they did not care even if they tried to use it against the evil witch.

This incident confused Peter as he could not understand why they would willingly work under someone so evil as Bairania.

‘What are they planning to do now? It doesn’t seem like they took anything with them,’ He wondered and ran his eyes around the lab where the evil witch experimented on all the creatures. 

“Peter, Let’s get Linda out of the cage first,” Sussan said and walked near the cage.

As Bairania told him that the cage was not poisoned unlike before, he did not stop his mother this time. As Sussan went to Linda, she sat up suddenly and crawled behind with a frightened expression.

“Shh… Shh… It’s ok! I am Sussan. The evil witch had already left,” Sussan tried to console her.

But Linda was in no mood to hear her words. She was trembling in fear and her face was pale. Sussan took sympathy on her as the last time she met Linda, she was wearing the militant uniform and was surrounded by an imposing aura.

Right now, Sussan did not know how to calm her and try to make her understand that everything was going to be fine.

“Linda… Please… Stop shivering and wake up! We need to find where David is! He had been captured by Bairania,” Sussan told her while kneeling in front of Linda.

Hearing the word, ‘David’, Linda swiftly lifted her head and glared at the person before her. Then her eyes turned guilt-ridden and she opened and closed her mouth.

Sussan understood that Linda wanted to say something but she was unable to. So, she asked her, “Did she take away your power to speak?”

“...” Linda blinked her eyes and shook her head.

After staring at Sussan for several minutes, tears dropped from Linda’s eyes continuously. She just kept on saying, “Sorry, I am so sorry… I am sorry… It’s my fault… I am so sorry… Sorry… Sorry… sorry… sorry… sorry… sorry...”

Sussan thought Linda was feeling responsible for them being captured by the evil witch. So, she hugged her and tried to comfort her. But Linda rejected that comfort by pushing Sussan away from her.

“Please… It’s not your fault. We came here on our own and it does not have anything to do with you. It’s our choice,” Sussan tried to explain to her but Linda shook her head to tell her that it was not the reason why she said ‘sorry’ to her earlier.

“Linda… Please stop crying… Everything will be alright now that we are here. We will defeat the evil witch and save our planet from her dirty hands,” Sussan assured her.

Meanwhile, Peter was wondering why Elly, Draven, and James had not come here yet. His first priority now turned out to be finding his sister Elly and the remaining people who came to rescue Linda. 

When Sussan opened the door of the cage and rushed towards Linda, he walked a little further into the basement to check for them.

As Sussan kept on trying to explain to her the situation, Linda could not take it in anymore. So she held Sussan’s hands and said, “ I do not deserve to hear your explanation or how you are trying your best to comfort me! Even though you had just lost your husband recently, David was already long gone, Sussan. It was all my fault. I did those sinful things to you and your kids. It's all because of me… It's all my fault… Mine alone..”

“What!” Sussan removed her hands from Linda’s grip and looked at her with shocking eyes.

She could not believe what she had just heard. Before she could come out of her initial shock, Linda continued to say,

“I have done a sin by letting David come back using Bairania’s help. My brother was long dead and I asked her to bring him back at any cost. I entered a deal with her behind everyone’s back and now I have brought the disaster to this planet. It is all my fault, now do you understand that I don’t deserve your comfort and neither do I deserve to live in this world anymore,” She asked in an inaudible voice.

Sussan sat there like a statue even though the evil witch’s dust power had already worn off from her body.

“He is gone! He is gone!” Sussan mumbled and then suddenly she held Linda’s shoulder and shook her.

“What happened to David? Who was that person staying with me all these days?” Sussan questioned Linda.

“I don’t know! I don’t know anything other than asking Bairania to bring my brother back from the dead. All I wanted was to be with my brother for a little longer but later I realized what a grave sin I have committed. But then it is all now too late… too late… Nothing can be changed now, nothing can be changed!” Linda sobbed as she leaned against Sussan.

Sussan rubbed her aching head. She did not know why she had been experiencing a severe headache after she entered the evil witch’s lair. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on her pain.

For now, she understood that blaming Linda would not bring David back to them. She needs to think with a clear mind and find a solution to all their problems. She patted Linda’s back and said in a low voice,

“Do not cry. It is ok, it is not your fault. If we have to blame someone then it’s fate to take David away from us so soon. For now, let us get out of this place first. Come on! Get up! We cannot stay here for long as we don’t know when the evil witch will come back.” 

Sussan pulled Linda up with all her strength to make her stand up. But Linda did not want to go with her and refused her. She said that she deserved to die and no one should show any mercy to her.

“Linda, please… This is not the time to make yourself feel guilty for something that had already happened long ago. Right now, you need to gather yourself together or else it would only bring disaster to us all,” Sussan tried to talk out of Linda’s stubborn decision.

Even after trying for a long time, Linda was not ready to come with her. So, all she could do was keep on pulling Linda out of the cage. At one point, when they were about to reach out of the cage door, Linda suddenly stood up straight and pushed Sussan outside.

Before Sussan could pull Linda out as well, Linda closed the cage and locked it from inside.

“Sussan, listen to me! Get out of here along with Peter before she comes back. I will try to hold her as long as possible. But please get out of here and this planet. They had already put someone powerful inside the militants' army. You cannot do anything right now. All you have to do is get out of this planet and try to take help from the others. Please go...” Linda told her with an unfound determination.

But Sussan was not ready to listen to her ideas. She put her hands inside the cage and held Linda’s hands. She then calmly told her, “Linda, this is not the time to play the guilt game. You know very well how much we need you and your help. Every individual’s assistance is required to send the evil witch out of our planet. So don’t lose hope and help us. I beg you.”

“How can I help you when I am the one who put you all in this situation? I am sorry, but I can’t do anything as I am not capable of doing any good deeds to anyone. So, please go away from here… Save yourself and your children. Go…” Linda said and pried open Sussan’s fingers which were holding her hands.

“No! I am not going anywhere without you! Unless you agree to come along with us, we are not leaving you behind. This war cannot be won with just me and my son alone. We need you all as you are the strength of this planet,” Sussan declared and squatted on the ground with a straight face.