Sahithi's Adventures

Missing Girl - Part 2

The Escape

Sahithi desperately looked around for something to save herself – any hard object she could use as a weapon to defend herself. The man who had smeared himself with black charcoal was obviously a professional molester. Why else would anyone take such precautions to abduct a woman?

She inched backwards slowly – her pallu going wayward in her attempt to go away from her assailant and giving him a perfect view of the shape of her left b****t of her blouse. He smacked his lips as he saw that, increasing her heart-beat wildly. ‘No, no. No!’ she thought as she crawled backwards further, finally hiding the hard surface of the wall. She was trapped.

He gave a laugh of triumph – an indication of the victory of the powerful against the weak, the sign of a predator about to make its kill. He started removing the clothes he was wearing – his skin charcoal black. He had gone to the extent of smearing every part of his body with charcoal – he was a professional soldier who had won the Crown Star for best Camouflage – she could never say it was a pale-faced soldier who had taken her virtue.

‘She should be grateful for this!” he thought as he stripped, the thought increasing his arousal. ‘It is the white man’s burden to educate the savages!’ He liked the look of fear in her eyes – it made him strong and invincible. It satisfied his male ego – for a male was always in charge – taking what he wanted from a woman he liked.

Now completely in his birthday suit, he walked towards her in deliberate, measured steps, as if he were going to receive a medal from the Crown. She spoke waving her hands wildly, making her pallu go awry, giving him a nice glimpse of her assets, increasing his anticipation of how she would react when he took her. It thrilled him to think of what he was about to do, the result of which could be seen below his waist. He was stopped short by her words that stunned him for a moment.

“Please,” she said in English. “Please don’t do this to me. I beg you, please let me go.” A savage was speaking the King’s Tongue? And that, too, a female? How was it possible? Before he could recover from his surprise, he got another shock. The woman actually got up, which actually spurred his brain into action. He moved swiftly trying to pin her to the wall – he would have done that if she hadn’t moved. She was surprisingly fast for a native – he had to give her that.

A game of cat and mouse ensued – she trying to escape from his clutches – he trying to add her to his kitty of women he had enjoyed. She ran here and there making him run after her too – it would have been really funny – a naked male running after a fully dressed female – if they had been husband and wife. Since that was not the case, it was extremely tragic and tense – tragic for the victim and tense for the perpetrator.

Finally, as happens when a tiger chases and closes in on a deer for its final kill, the man closes in on her, trapping her finally in a corner where she can’t escape from. He pinned her hands to the wall, taking in her smell, passing his tongue over her face, every cell in her body revolting at the unwanted invasion of her body. Urged by the revulsion, she raised her leg and kneed him between his legs, making him kneel with pain. She had found the opening she wanted.

Using all her strength, she kicked him black and blue relentlessly till he was forced to defend himself. A cat fights when it is cornered and so did Sahithi. She gave a final kick to her abductor, making him fall back. She stepped on his chest as she ran along the room and over the steps, pulling the door of the dungeon open and into the fresh air of freedom. She didn’t stop till she had finally reached a well-lit street.

She kept her hands on her knees, trying to catch her breath. She had run so fast without looking that she had no idea where she was. But she knew she was not out of danger yet – the man would now hunt her like a wounded tiger. She had hurt his ego and escaped from him – he would take it as an insult to his manliness. She needed a safe place to hide till he gave up on her.

‘Should she go back to her house?’ she thought. ‘But, what if he’s waiting in the dark alley again? It would be stupid to go back. But, she couldn’t waste time standing there either. Think Sahi, think.’ She racked her brain desperately for an answer. She was startled when she heard a voice jumping out of her skin in terror.

She turned her head in the direction of the voice, ready to bolt if it was her tormentor. She found a well dressed woman wearing expensive jewellery. What was a wealthy woman doing here at that time of the night? Wasn’t she afraid someone would rob her of both her jewels and her virtue? What did she want with her? Why had she called her?

The well-dressed lady looked kindly at the terrified girl who appeared ready to flee like a cornered deer. Her heart melted when she saw such a young girl in the town’s most notorious place imaginable.

“Are you being pursued?” she asked the obvious question, as she knew no girl in her right mind would come deliberately to a place like this.

“Yes. Please help me! A man just tried to –tried to.....” she broke into sobs, unable to express her trauma.

“Don’t worry child. You are safe with me,” she said gently. “But we can’t stay in the open. We need to hurry.” The girl looked around looking confused.

“Where am I?” the lady smiled, surprising her.

“That’s not important right now. What is more important is to find a safe place for you. Come with me.” She took Sahithi’s hand and took her into a side street, walking with a confidence that seeped into Sahithi’s bones as well, making her follow her like a fawn follows its mother.

“Ummm....Where are we going?”

“To my house. It is the safest place for you now. I will send you home with my men tomorrow.” She increased her pace. “We need to hurry before your assailant discovers us.” That spurred Sahithi on as she blindly followed the older woman swiftly into a brightly lit building.