Beneath the snow

Wakinah could not bear seeing him like that.His face was all bruised with cuts.He was now on the ground,whimpering like a puppy in the cold winter.The whimpering stopped,he had blacked out.She could feel her eyes getting watery.She was at turmoils,her fellows were watching her.She could not show them that she was weak.She had to keep fighting,she had to kill him.She drew a deep breath and closed her eyes.She was now ready to finish the job.She looked around,her friends were in position,ready to strike immediately the job was doneStill holding the pocket knife in her hand,she made a tighter grip.Midway through the swing,her hand got weaker.She felt as if something was holding her back.She did not understand,what was this feeling that she had.She could not do it.She looked around again,weakness was drawn all over her face. The gang had one rule.That was"Never back down on a fight".She was just about to do that.They saw the look on her face,they knew that they had lost another one.They struck at once following orders from Jabal,their leader.She was swift.She couldnt lose her life in a stupid fight with some teenagers.She wanted a legendary death.This was not ideal.With her strong arms from all the working out she did everyday,she lifted the man off the ground.She carried him on her shoulder and started running towards his car.It was a black Roll Royce with shiny gold tyres.She put him on the back seat and took the wheels.The gang was still on her back.The steering wheel was cold and had a few fingerprints.She looked around,everything seemed spotless,the dashboard was untouched.She knew it was a new car."Cool!"She said.She then heard shouts from her fellows outside,they commanded her to open the door.She came back to her senses and started the engine.It had always been on her bucketlist,running away in a Roll Royce.She seemed to enjoy the ride even though her driving was reckless.She was only seventeen and hadnt even gone to driving school.She had learnt her driving from Jabal who was three years older. After an hour of driving to nowhere in particular,she slowed down.She knew that she had lost them.Her heart was now at peace.It was getting dark and she needed a place to spend the night.She looked around,"Still in the city."She was glad.She had never been outside the city before.The city had been like a playground to her since childhood.She knew every corner like the back of her hand.Music started playing out of nowhere,startling her from her thoughts.It was a phone,the man's phone.She looked around but could not see it.The music was still playing,she was enjoying it.It was her favourite song,"All over ".For a minute she got lost in it and sang along .The music stopped.She remembered that she still had to search for it.She parked at the roadside and then took her sweet time looking for it.The sound had come from the backseat but it was nowhere in sight.She then remembered one place she had not searched,the man's pockets.She made him sit up and took the phone out of his pockets."Darn it!"She exclaimed.It had a password,she could not even see who had made the last call. While still checking the phone,she heard sirens.She had to run.Without debate,she quickly slammed the back door shut and got in the drivers seat.She started the engine and took off in a rush,this time,she was not aimed at sticking within the city.Just as long as the police lost her trail.A continuous beeping sound kept distracting her."Oh s**t!A tracker?!"She had not noticed that before.How did she miss it.She quickly pulled out the pocketknife and destroyed the gadget with countless hits.The police cars were now in sight,shetried increasing the speed but she had already reached the limit."Okay...Prison is not so bad,"She said with a trembling voice.Police cars were everywhere now,she had nowhere to run.A thought then came through her mind.She had to crush the car.She had seen it in movies before and the people survived.She had to crash but make sure that she and her passenger did not die in the process. Her heart was in her mouth,the possibility of her life ending in the next few seconds and the thought of herself being the cause of it scared her.Either way,she had no other choice.She waited for the right moment and swerved off the road.She had made a perfect aim towards a tree but she missed it by an inch.The land was slopy and forest- like.The car continued moving down the slope but she did not bother taking control.She knew that her end had come.She only closed her eyes and prayed for her life to be spared.The car hit a boulder and started rolling over.She now knew that it was over for her.Her head hit the roof of the car multiple times making her head spin.After a few moments,it stoped.She was ready for a fire and sat there waiting for it to blow up.It did not,instead it went silent and the lights went off.Its battery had been damaged.All this time,she was seated eyes wide open. "Oh God!"She exclaimed in a whisper.She was afraid of the thick forest she was now in.She sat there for a while now hoping for the police to come and arrest her but nothing happened."What kind of country is this?"She asked out loud.She tried switching on the lights again to no avail.She then remembered that she had her phone in her pocket.She quickly turned on the flashlight and proceeded to check on her passenger.He was on the floor, more bruises due to the incident.She struggled to lift him bak on the seat successfully.His wounds were still fresh with blood.Her heart felt strange,she knew the reason but pushed it aside.She put her hands above his nostrils."Still alive!"She sighed with relief.She quickly took the first aid kit that had fallen on the floor during the attempted crash and opened it.She was used to doing first aid on herself since she often had bruises after fights.She had never done it on anyone else though. She took some cotton and applied the sterilising fluid.Her hands were trembling as she wiped off the blood from his wounds.She felt a lump on her chest that developed int a big cold ball the more she wiped him.She knew that she was the cause of all of this.Her eyes became watery again.This time,she let the tears flow and wet her face.It was refreshing,she needed it.She had not done it for a while since Jabal always told her that she could not be weak.After making sure that his face was fine,she put sterile gauze on the deep wounds to cover then.She did not want him to get infections.She then put a soft cloth below his head before letting him rest.She knew he would be up by morning.She went back to attend to herself.Her hands had blisters but she could not give a damn.All she wanted was to get out of that place.She locked the doors just to make sure of their safety.She then sat staring into the forest,the moon was bright.Her eyes slowly got heavier and finally,she let them close.She had had a tiresome day after all. The bright light from the sun shone through her eyes.She could not compete with that,she gave in.Stretching her arms with her eyes still closed,she felt refreshed.She then opened her eyes.She had never seen anything like that before.The view was breathtaking.The sun had just started rising,displaying only half of its perfect circle.The trees absorbed some of the rays,allowing only a glimpse of the sun to be seen fom her position.Birds were flying all over chirping harmoniosly as if singing a melody.For the first time in a long time,she felt she had a reason to smile.She let a smile draw on her face.It was genuine and felt nice.She then heard noises from outside.Someone was there.She looked at the back seat to check on her passenger but he was missing."Oh what the hell!"She knew he had tried to escape but in his condition,he could not have gotten anywhere.She rolled her eyes and looked outside. She was right,the man was struggling to walk.He was carrying his jacket in his hands trying to take out his phone from it.She unlocked her door and got out off the car."What do you think you're doing?"She asked with a cold voice.She was always cold,especially to strangers.The man stopped in his tracks and turned around."What does it look like am doing.Going home ofcourse..."He said as he continued walking."Youre not getting anywhere..." "Am getting away from you"He said immediately,cutting her short.She pulled out his phone from her pockets,"Then you're gonna need this."She said waving it at him.He turned again and saw her."Hey,give me my phone."He said authoretatively.She liked that,he was now acting like a real man."Come and get it."She said with a thin smile on her face.It was her trademark smile just before a fight.But not thus time,she only wanted the man back in the car. He looked at her for a while,she knew he would not resist that.He would not be able to reach home without his phone.He then turned and continued walking.She was surprised,she really thought he would fall for her bait."No thank you."He said.She knew that he did not trust her but she had to earn his trust."Andrew...right."She said almost immediately.He stopped,"How do you know my name?"He asked visibly curious."I...I..."She fumbled.She had vowed to keep it a secret from the world and now telling it seemed like the only choice she had.Even before she could finish the statement,a rackoon appeared from behind her.Without delay,she rushed towards him and hid behind him."What are you doing...kill it!"He gasped."What!Am afraid of animals." "Well..am afraid of them too."He said almost in a whisper."The car!"She said as she quickly held his arm,helping him walk to the car.When they were finally safe inside the car,Wakinah on the drivers seat and Andrew beside her,both avoided eye contact. They sat in silence for a while until Andrew broke the silence."How do you know my name?"He asked sgain,still looking into the forest.Wakinah looked at him and then back at the forest.She decided to tell her little secret."You are Andrew Madrilan.Son of Mr.George,one of the wealthiest men in the city.Ofcourse people know you.I mean..."He cut her short again."You're lying.I have never been involved in any of my father's businesses.I have always kept my relation to him a secret and he does the same.Everyone knows me as Lee.How do you reallyy know me?"He said.His voice was deep and commanding.He seemed furious but his face was calm.She looked at him again and decided to tell the truth.She was not going to keep it forever anyways. "Okay...you caught me."She started."Andrew..."she said"Ive always known you since childhood.I was seven when I first met you.My dad had just left us and my mother got a job at your house.She was a maid.She didn't have anyone to take care of me so she told me to tag along.She would tell me to stay at the servants quater and not let snyone see me since it would get her in trouble.But I was naughty,I would not listen.I would sneak out and go play with the dog.I never really knew who the dog belonged to until one day .I was playing as usual and heard someone calling"Otto".I quickly hid and left the dog there.I then saw a boy....I saw you pick him up.Your mum then called you to go back inside.Thats when I heard your name."She explained like a typicall teenager expecting prince charming to be touched by her story.He was still silently staring at the forest.His father had had countless maids so he bought her story.She felt stupid.Why did she tell him all that.He then cleared his throat."And why did you want to kill me then?"He asked.She did not want to feel cosy with him and expose herself ."Id do it again."She said dismissively.He could see the lie through her."Why didn't you do it then?"A huge bolus now formed in her throat.She could not answer that. She tried starting the engine."Its dead dummy."He said with a cold voice.Nobody ever spoke to her that way,she did not allow them to."Go fix it then!"She said with fury."Relax.I was only kidding...Ok.Help me up."She looked at him ,her face brightened.The mood suddenly changed.She rushed out and helped him to the bonnet.He started the work."So you knew how to fix your car but you were still going to escape on foot leaving your clearly...expensive car with a stranger?"She asked as she hande him tools he asked for."The world is full of idiots.Oh my God!"She concluded."Hey...hold up.I was not going to wake you up and take you out of my car in my condition.Knowing very well that you had earlier attempted to kill me!"He said with anger."Ok..am sorry.""You will be."He said with a smile. "What do you mean?"She asked protectively of herself.He closed the bonnet and walked to the drivers seat."Andrew..what do you mean?"She asked again.She was now getting scared.He gave no response but continued walking."Youre not gonna leave me here are you?"Andrew gave no answer.He successfully got in his car and started the engine.He let the windows down."Youre right.Am not...but I am taking you to the first police station I set my eyes on." "I cant go to jail.Am just a kid.You really gonna do this to a kid?"She asked expecting him to pity her.He did not."You tried to kill me for heaven's sake!Where are your parents anyway...do they know you kill people?" Andrew asked.Her face became pale.This was another secret she wanted to take to the grave."I dont kill people,I rob the.You were stubborn thats why we wanted to end you.If you had not seen our faces we would have just let you go..."She said looking away with shame. He looked at her.He saw an innocent child.He owed her for sparing his life.He decided to let it slide."Okay...get in.Am not taking you to prison.But I want you to promise me that your gang should never cross my path ever agai ."He said with a serious look on his face."I promise"She said with a salute.He thought she looked silly.He smiled at her.She smiled back.She got in the car and they drove off. Andrew was a master driver.Even in his wounded body,his skills still remained excellent.Wakinah thought so too but kept this to herself.A stretched smile that she tried so hard to keep in kept showing on her face.Andrew noticed this but kept silent too.Finally,the tarmack was in their view.Wakinah had never been that happy to see it.Andrew increased the speed as they went up the hill and within no time,they were on the road.Andrew knew the way to the city.The distracting noises during the bumpy ride were gone.The silence became loud.Each of them was concentrated on something.Andrew on the road,Wakinah on the trees? The ride was smooth and they both enjoyed it.Something about it just felt nice.Wakinah wished she could spend her whole life like that but she knew her lot in life.She undwrstood clearly that people like her did not have a chance for that."Um...so about your family.Is it just you and your mom?"Andrew asked,distracting her from her thoughts."Uh..yeah.My mom only had me.She says it was an accident since my dad got her pregnant at 18.She didn't want any more kids so...just us."She said in a low tone.Her face was pale.He could feel the sadness in her voice.Her eyes were watery,balancing tears were visible.He wanted to wipe them off but kept himself composed. "Am sorry about your dad..." "No,its fine.Shit happens you know."She said cutting him short.A smile was drawn on her face but it was not jovial like the other one.It was a fake smile,she just wanted to smile the pain away.Andrew understood,she was not comfortable talking about it.He changed the subject."So,where do you live.Where do I drop you off?"He asked. "Just drop me off at Jakes Casino.The famous one.I'll find my way home."She said.They were approaching the city now.It was busy as always.This was good for them since nobody would bother asking them questions about the wrecked up car.They were all busy with their businesses.He pulled up at the Casino.It was time to say goodbye,but Wakinah did not want to.The door was locked. She reached for the door handle and unsuccessfully tried opening it.Andrew knew that he had the option of unlocking it from the drivers seat but did not.He leaned towards her and unlocked it for her.He held on to it and turned to face her.He looked deep into her eyes and smiled.She was tensed.She had never been this close to a man before.He then went closer and whispered into her left ear,"Remember the promise."She knew what he meant.All this time she was uncormfortable.She wanted time to run away but she was trapped in his arms.He then let go of the door her handle and watched her leap out of the car and disappear into the casino almost immediately.He stayed there for a minute ,his head resting on the steering wheel.He seemed to be in deep thoughts.He sprang up and sighed then started the engine and drove off.They had vowed never to cross each others paths and both wanted to do just that.