Don't Let Them See You

Chapter 2

The daylight only brought out more of the trembling shadows that loomed over the city. Faces etched with anguished suffering, not a single smile to be found among the citizens' faces. Everyone was unfortunate, and finding a place of tranquility was seemingly impossible, considering the vastness of the country.

She decided to leave the country, venturing to a new place that would not be a victim of corruption or darkness to such a degree. She learned many languages, which helped her fit in. By knowing more than her own, it would not be too hard to belong to somewhere entirely different, even if her accent or ethnicity would give it away.

At age nineteen, her responsibilities would only grow. Danger lingered at every corner, yet she knew she wasn't to forget her duty. She had to do everything in her power to protect her brother at all costs. Nothing even came close to the need; she had to subside her selfish wants and needs in sacrifice to her brother. She made a promise to give him a future and to nurture him through this world, a promise she vowed to never break.

When she was younger, around the age of thirteen, she grew to have a love for academics. Her brother and she would study together despite him being younger than her, as she helped him learn through his kindergarten experience. They spent a lot of time together as she was quite fond of the little boy that held a relation to her by blood. Often they would play games as their parents enjoyed watching them from the sidelines.

Eventually, her brother and she became more aware of their surroundings. They noticed how the world changed negatively. Her ability to freely obtain knowledge was no longer welcomed, and she had to go into hiding during the day. Men would often stop by to pester her father, each time never-ending in a good way. At the time, she didn't know what they wanted, but now it was all clear to her.

Her father hadn't paid off his "debts". The men who had ownership of the land were getting pretty irritated at the "useless peasants" of their area. Eventually, they set off a plan to abolish the whole town, soon succeeding in doing so. They took down their home, including their neighbors around them, adding her parents to the list of dead bodies in the process.

It was frightening to be hidden under the basement her father created. He did so in case they came to face any danger or emergency, hoping the basement would keep them hidden from those that wished to do harm. Luckily, it was completely unseen by the men that broke in, but sadly they saw them. Aadil and she saw the men who took her parents, and right before their eyes, everything became lost and broken.

Continuing their journey, the next day's temperature contradicted the night before. The cool night air with foggy mist that lingered was gone and then replaced with the wrath of light rays from the angry sun. With Aadil on her back, she walked countless miles, searching for their next stop to settle down for the night. Their empty stomachs growled in a rebellious tone, demanding for someone to fill them instantly.

She looked around the deserted streets in search of any sort of food establishments. The small amount of change they managed to grab weighed lightly in her pocket. There was a small amount of money, enough for them to get through a few weeks. The chance of getting robbed being high, therefore she kept both Aadil and her bags in a pillow which he had his head rested on while laying on her shoulders at the same time.

Before they became homeless, broke, and followed by unfortunate events, she once worked with a sweet school librarian. The amount she got paid was pretty decent for a minor, at which, at the time, made her extremely grateful. At a young age, she decided to save her money, eventually forgetting any of it existed. Thankfully, it was never used until now where it was needed. Now being the very money she kept hidden in her bag.

So there she stood with only four hundred dollars to last the few weeks. Walking through the streets in hopes of finding somewhere to rest until she could continue with their journey. Venturing aimlessly around, she became a witness to the sight of devious acts that occurred all along their country. Two men came and grabbed a petite girl from behind, one held her close while the other made attempts to tear off her clothes.

She tried to ignore the sight before her. Drawing attention to herself was not a great idea, and it would only cause trouble for Aadil and her. Though the thought of the endless possibilities of what could happen to that girl would not leave her mind. She could only put herself in the girl's shoes, and surely she would want someone else to help her in a situation as such.

She made up her mind, for once deciding to put her nose in business outside her own. There was no way she could just allow the girl to fall prey in such a way. She would not allow it to happen, and she couldn't even if she wanted to.

She laid Aadil down in a bush further away from the scene, in an attempt to cover him from any harm. It was a good thing he was still asleep; she wouldn’t want him to witness his sister being violent. After all, an eight-year-old boy needed his rest too.

When her brother was out of harm's way, she slowly approached the disgraceful men. Without a word, she landed a punch on one of the men in front of her while trying to keep the other behind him. This angered both of them, as they did their best to counter her assault.

Recklessly they both tried to attack her at once, but her efforts in defending herself became hard to match. She kept both men in a straight line, taking on the first one and easily dodging his slow attacks. The few blows she landed caused major damage, as he only grew slower as time passed.

When he tried to make his final move by going for her head, she instantly grabbed his stomach and brought him straight to the ground. He laid there for some time, to which she began delivering kick after kick, making sure to give no mercy. Soon after he grew unconscious and unresponsive to movement. His partner stopped seeing him on the ground and just stood silently by his side.

Staring at his friend, the other attacker turned his attention toward her with an evil glint in his eyes. Almost immediately he began to run straight toward her with no intention of stopping. There was no way for her to understand what was happening or have any time for a reaction, so she ended up with a stab wound to her side.

The pain was strong but she held in her cry before grabbing the man and hitting her head forcefully against his. For a few seconds, he held his head in pain, which allowed her room to make her next move. She pinned him down and started delivering punches left and right. Angered at the wound he had caused, her adrenaline shot up. She took his knife and stabbed him in the face, doing no more than what she already had. There was no need to dirty her knife with their sinful blood, and truthfully, she didn’t feel a single bit of remorse toward his pain.

Seeing as both men were down, she turned her attention to the pitiful girl on the ground. She had passed out most likely due to utter shock. Quickly she scooped her up in her arms and then gathered Aadil from the bush, before carrying both of them away from the enemies. Her breathing was heavy and labored from exhaustion, and it was no surprise to find she had exerted her limits. The stab wound on her side took no time to make its cry out for attention.

She grabbed her pillow and took out her bag, then opened it to use a small cloth and wrap it around her wound. It was not the best way to handle it, but would have to until the morning. A few minutes later she stood back up, placing both sleeping beings in her arms. Walking for a small amount of time, she finally found an abandoned shed. Gently laying both peaceful bodies down on the floor beside her, then sat to rest on the ground.

“Guess I may not get to sleep this time,” she thought to herself. Though she tried her best to keep her eyes open to stay alert, eventually the feeling of exhaustion caught up with her. Hopefully, she wouldn’t regret taking a quick nap.