I SHOULD HAVE WALKED AWAY

THE NIGHTMARE , THE ACCIDENT

A faint light shone over me, but my eyes remained closed. I groaned softly and turned my head away. The room was noisy—footsteps, voices, movement everywhere—but I was too weak and stubborn to open my eyes.

I just didn’t want to wake up.

The sound became irritating, and I kept groaning in discomfort. Suddenly, I felt someone draw the curtains closer. The noise reduced a little, and the room became quieter.

“Are you not going to wake up already, Judy?” a calm voice said.

That voice… it felt familiar.

Slowly, I forced my eyes open. Light hit them sharply, and I squinted. A hand immediately covered my eyes, blocking the brightness.

I groaned and turned my face slightly. “Hm…”

“Judy,” the voice called again.

Then the hand slowly moved away.

As my vision cleared, I saw him.

Zayn.

My eyes widened in shock. I sat up immediately.

“Zayn!” I called out.

He smiled softly. “I never thought I’d see you again.”

Emotion rushed through me, and without thinking, I hugged him tightly.

“I thought I’d never see you too,” I said softly, finally calming down.

“You two know each other?” a voice interrupted.

I quickly released him.

It was Maya.

I blinked in shock. “Maya…”

She exhaled and walked closer, sitting beside me. “How are you feeling?”

“I… I’m fine,” I said quietly.

Then reality hit me again.

“Oh…” I gasped, turning around in fear.

“It’s fine. They’re not here,” Maya said calmly.

I took a shaky breath.

“You saved me,” I said softly.

“Yes,” she replied. “I warned you about them. Now you’ve seen it yourself.”

“Thank you, Maya,” I whispered.

She sighed. “Well… I’m in trouble though. They know I helped someone escape, even if they don’t know it was you.”

My eyes widened. “They caught you?”

She nodded.

“You might not see me anymore, Judy.”

My heart dropped. “What do you mean?”

Nancy already removed me from the group. I’m done with them. I’ll be leaving… I need fresh air away from all this.”

I stared at her, speechless.

“Maya… why are you leaving?” I asked weakly.

“Nancy is dangerous. She removes anyone who disobeys her. I told you to leave while you still could… but now it might be too late.”

My hands shook. “What am I going to do?”

Zayn looked confused. “What’s going on?”

Maya turned to him briefly. “Long story… but Judy needs to stay away from Ray.”

My heart skipped.

“Ray?” Zayn repeated.

“How do you know her?” Maya asked.

“We met on the train,” he replied.

Maya nodded slowly, then turned back to me.

“Listen carefully, Judy. Ray never loved you. He’s just a pawn. He and Nancy have been together since grade five. Everything was planned.”

My mind went blank.

My ears rang.

“That’s not true…” I whispered, shaking.

Zayn looked stunned. “Wait… Ray? The guy she went out with?”

“Yes,” Maya replied.

My chest tightened.

Maya leaned closer. “You need to leave this school. Tell your father. Transfer immediately.”

Tears filled my eyes. “What… what is happening to me?”

Zayn held my shoulder gently. “Judy… I don’t understand this either.”

Maya stood up. “You have to go to class now. Act normal. Don’t show fear. Don’t let them suspect anything.”

“Class?” I repeated, trembling.

“Yes. Your guardian already called. I covered for you. Just go in and act like nothing happened.”

I nodded slowly, still shaking.

Zayn looked at me softly. “You’ll be okay.”

“Maya… what about you?” I asked.

“I’m leaving the country today,” she said quietly. “My parents already arranged my transfer.”

I felt my heart break again.

“I’m sorry… I dragged you into this,” I cried.

“It’s too late for that,” she said. “Just survive. Don’t trust anyone. And stop asking questions.”

I nodded through tears.

She turned to Zayn. “Take care of her.”

Then she looked at me one last time.

“Be careful, Judy.”

A car dropped me back at school.

“We’re here,” the driver said.

I nodded weakly. “I’m fine.”

I stepped out and ran straight into the building.

My heart was heavy.

I need to tell Dad… I need to leave this place.

As I climbed the stairs, a voice stopped me.

“Judy.”

I froze.

Ray.

He stood there, watching me.

Fear spread through my body instantly.

“Are you okay?” he asked, walking toward me.

I forced a weak smile. “Hey, Ray…”

“I heard you went to the supermarket to get books,” he said.

“Yes… that’s right,” I lied.

He held my hand gently.

“Take care of yourself. Things are going to get harder soon.”

I stared at him, confused and afraid.

Then he added softly,

“Whatever Nancy tells you… just do it. If you want to stay safe.”

My breath caught.

“Ray…” I called.

He paused.

“Did you ever love me?” I asked quietly.

He smiled faintly. “I enjoyed you, Judy.”

Tears filled my eyes immediately.

“So you never loved me…”

“I didn’t say that,” he replied coldly. “You just didn’t see the truth.”

My voice broke. “I only wanted you… I loved you so much…”

“I’m not a good person either, Judy,” he said. “You were just blind to it.”

Then he walked away.

I collapsed to the ground, crying uncontrollably.

My heart shattered completely.

Later, I dragged myself back to class and sat down without looking at anyone. My head rested on the desk.

Nancy and Jessi watched me silently. The whole class noticed something was wrong, but I didn’t care.

I felt empty.

Hours passed slowly. No proper lessons, just free periods. Eventually, the bell rang for break.

Everyone left happily for the cafeteria.

I stayed behind.

My body felt heavy. My mind kept drifting in and out of thoughts.

I had never felt pain like this before.

I didn’t know heartbreak could hurt this much.

I felt a soft tap on my shoulder. I waved a little. I opened my eyes and turned to know who tapped me. It was Karen.

“Judy,” she said aloud and smiled.

I managed to raise myself up. I nodded. I noticed the class was a little empty; everyone had already gone out.

“Karen, where’s everyone?” I asked softly.

“It’s break time already,” she said aloud.

“Are you okay, Judy?” she asked.

I nodded.

I turned to look behind me.

“She left the class already,” she said calmly, looking at me.

“Have you heard the news, Judy?” she asked anxiously.

“What’s that?” I said nervously.

“Maya was expelled this morning by the school authority,” she said in a whisper.

I looked at her and frowned. I wasn’t shocked or surprised—I already knew.

“You knew already?” she asked in shock.

I nodded a little.

“Then you must know what happened, Judy,” she said, looking at me curiously.

I just diverted my gaze and faced downward.

“Is it because of you she was expelled?” she asked suddenly.

I was shocked as I quickly looked at her.

“What do you mean?” I asked in shock.

“You were the one Maya was trying to protect, right?” she asked.

“What do you mean? How do you know?” I asked, shifting away from her a little.

“It’s because they already know that it was you that came peeping on them,” she said nervously.

My heart sank.

Immediately I remembered Ray saying the same thing—that I shouldn’t have come early to overhear their discussions.

My eyes opened widely.

“They already know… it means I’m dead already,” I said as I quickly got up.

“I… I have to go now,” I stuttered heavily, arranging my things in the locker.

“You are running away, but it’s too late, Judy,” she said softly as tears ran down her cheeks.

I was dumbfounded.

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“I shouldn’t have talked to you that day… I shouldn’t have been your friend. Nancy said she’ll make my life a living hell in school if I didn’t bring you to them,” she cried out.

I looked at her in fear.

I started trembling tremendously. I was breathing heavily.

“Please help me, Judy. Remember, I’m on scholarship here. My parents aren’t rich like yours. I can’t leave this school—it’s what my family hoped for me,” she said in heavy tears as she knelt down.

“Please help me, Judy. Go meet them and answer to them, please,” she begged heavily.

I looked at her frustrated and confused. I felt bad for her—she had nothing to do with all this.

“Karen, I’m so sorry… I shouldn’t have dragged you into this,” I said as I helped her up.

I helped her sit and wiped her tears.

“I never signed up for this… I can’t lose my scholarship, Judy, please,” she kept begging.

“I’ll help you, I promise,” I said quickly and hugged her.

“I wish I never met you, Judy… I wouldn’t have gotten in this mess,” she cried aloud.

I held her tightly and comforted her. I kept asking her for forgiveness. I knew it was my greed that caused all of this.

I spent the whole break period trying to comfort her, promising I would go with her.

In a few hours, under intense pressure, the school closing bell rang aloud. My heart sank heavily. I almost lost consciousness due to fear.

Suddenly, Nancy and Jessi immediately stormed out of the class. I just looked at them nervously. Everyone stared at them anxiously too. Quietly, they left one by one, looking at me weirdly. Some murmured continuously.

I knew whatever was coming for me had already caught up with me.

I kept shaking within as I arranged my bag.

“We have to be fast, Judy,” Karen said aloud behind me.

I turned to face her. She looked exhausted and weak from crying.

“Okay, Karen,” I replied sadly.

“We have 20 minutes to meet them. But firstly, you have to meet your driver and explain things to him. It’s going to be a long day today, Judy,” she said calmly.

I nodded in approval.

I came out of the class with Karen beside me. We both walked together as I approached Mr Samuel, my driver.

“Good afternoon, sir,” I greeted, smiling. Karen also managed to smile.

“How are you, Judy? Aren’t you prepared to go home now?” he asked, smiling warmly.

I nodded.

“I’d like to hang out with my friends a little. I prefer to walk home alone today, Mr. Samuel,” I said as I quickly held Karen’s arm with a bright smile.

We both laughed softly.

Mr. Samuel just smiled, staring at us.

“Alright then, you have my approval. Make sure you are home before it’s dark,” he said.

I nodded quickly.

“Don’t worry, sir. I’ll take her home,” Karen said with a smile.

We held hands tightly and smiled continuously.

Mr. Samuel smiled, started the car, and drove off.

I watched him leave as I removed my arm from Karen, but instead she held me tightly.

I was shocked.

“I’ll keep my promise, Judy. I’ll take you back home myself,” she said.

I smiled softly and nodded.

“Thank you, Karen, but whatever happens, I’ll take care of it. I don’t want you to get hurt because of me,” I said.

She smiled confidently, and we both left together.

We kept walking following the map Karen was given by Jessi for directions, but strangely the map was taking us into a very strange place—the subway. A very old subway no longer in use and abandoned.

People usually never used that place anymore.

We were scared.

“Are you sure this is the right place?” I asked in a low tone.

“I don’t know… I’m just following the map,” Karen stuttered heavily.

We were both scared.

We kept walking down the subway in a rush until we burst out into a building—an abandoned building. We got more scared.

I stopped already shaking.

“We need to go back, Karen. Don’t worry, I can help you, but this is dangerous for both of us. Let’s go back,” I said quickly.

Karen nodded, already shaken.

We both turned immediately to run away, but we heard a loud sound from the building, which triggered more fear in us.

We turned to look where the sound was coming from.

Suddenly, something heavy metal hit us on the head, and we both collapsed.

My ears echoed heavily as I struggled to open my eyes. I was tied to a metal chair. My heart sank heavily as I started breathing in fear.

“Finally you’re up, Judy. It’s okay, we won’t hurt you,” Nancy said aloud, sitting on a soft chair.

I looked at her in fear. I was trembling.

I looked around—I saw myself inside the abandoned building. Nancy, Jessi, and some other young students, about five of them, were staring at us.

I was shaking in fear.

“Nancy, you need to stop. This is wrong,” I said aloud, shouting in fear.

“It’s okay, Judy. We won’t hurt you. We just want you to join us, that’s all,” Jessi said.

“We knew you would never want to join us without doing this. All this is to make you join us. We won’t hurt you, but we can hurt the petty thing with you,” Jessi added.

I looked confused.

I looked beside me—Karen was also tied to a chair, but she was deeply asleep.

I looked at her, as tears started running down my cheeks.

“Please stop… please don’t hurt her,” I screamed aloud and begged heavily.

Suddenly a girl with short hair got up in anger. She had cigarettes in her mouth, smoking heavily. She walked toward me.

“You are beautiful, Judy. I need your face. It’s okay, you’ll be fine… I’ll take care of you,” she said smiling as she touched my thighs.

I moved backward in fear.

“Nancy, please let me go,” I cried out.

“I’ll let you go, but you have to promise you’ll join us. I’ll let both of you go. If I hurt you here, I won’t be blamed—instead Karen will be, since she was the last person seen with you,” Nancy warned.

I was confused. I didn’t understand what was happening.

“What do you want?” I stuttered heavily.

“Your body. We need your body. Don’t worry, you’ll be fine, but you must never tell anyone,” Nancy said.

She called two boys from the shadows.

They went toward Karen as she slept and untied her rope.

Karen woke up and started screaming heavily.

They dragged her to the ground.

She struggled violently.

They stripped off her uniform.

She screamed louder.

They continued and forcefully removed her outer clothes, leaving her in her inner wear.

I screamed and begged them to stop.

Karen kept struggling and crying heavily.

They held her arms and legs apart.

“Please stop!” I screamed at Nancy.

Nancy laughed.

“No, we are not going to r**e her… but we will r**e her in front of you if you don’t do what we say,” she said calmly.

I cried uncontrollably.

“Why are you doing this to me?” I screamed.

“Because you stole Ray from me,” Nancy shouted.

“I’m sorry… I won’t do it again,” I cried.

“Ray is mine already,” she said.

"it's fine, but I just need you , don't worry soon you'll get used to it" she added as she walked towards me, and faced me, " do you want to make out with Ray, I can give him to you, don't worry , it's my own free well" she said softly, " no, no, I don't want that" I stammered quickly, " ok then, I won't give you to him then, but , you'll be my own and do what I want from you" she said as she brought out knife from her pocket and cut the rope holding me bound, she released me, "Don't Tell anyone about this Judy, or she'll get it, rember, I have eyes everywhere if you report me, I'll punish you Judy , I promise you" she said as she walked away from me, she went towards Karen who was already struggling with her mental health, " Don't say a word about this" she warned as she immediately walked out of the place, the rest of the girls followed her, Jessi came to us, she dropped a new set if uniform and gave it to Karen ," don't let anyone know about this" she concluded as she ran off immediately. After watching them left , I ran towards Karen , "Karen I'm so sorry" I said wanting to touch her but instead she screamed at me , " stay away from me" she said with intense fear, I looked at her eyes, it was empty inside, like Karen herself was gone within, each time I try to hold her , she would keep screaming heavily like I was a beast in front of her, I quickly pull back not to hurt her more, immediately she took the uniform given to her as she quickly put it on within few minutes, she was fine she ran off immediately in seconds. I watched har ran away with intense fear, I knew since she wasn't on her right mind, she'll might hurt herself, I quickly ran after her calling her repeatedly, " Karen" I screamed aloud chasing after her, we both kept running as we burst out into the main road but Karen who was mentally traumatized kept running blindly on the road before I could get hold of her, a car speedily slammed against her as she flew up and crash against a wooden dust piled up, she was saved but she collapsed due to the accident, I screamed aloud standing at one position in extreme shock without noticing there was a car running down towards me, it horned so loud, I turned around holding my breath in a second when suddenly the car crash against me as I flew and hit my head against the car glass and black out.