Chapter 7

Akash's hand loosened from my hold; I fall on back, and feel all consciousness knocked out of me. I lie there in pain, moaning while trying to get back on my feet and climb my way out. "Manya!" I glance up and see Akash screaming my name; I turn towards him with all the power left in my body and reach out; he grabs a hold of my hand pulls me out.

The next thing I feel is something soft underneath me; I glance up and see Akash staring into my face with worry and another emotion in his eyes, I look away once again embarrassed by our position; and roll off of him. He frowns as I try to stand but only find myself falling back; grabbing me from underneath my legs and my back he lifted me in his arms and walked off, refusing to put me down. The entire walk back towards our camp was filled with quietness; hours later Akash set me down safely and took rest, while I wrapped my wounds together, drying off the continuous bleeding. He glances near me and walks carefully trying to help. I sigh and just nod negatively, moaning whenever the pain was unbearable.

The night passed slowly and in the early morning of peak hours the worst happened; I wake up to find myself alone surrounded by trees and strangers. I glare at them and ask, "Who are you and what do you want?" They smirk and walk towards me as I struggle to move back, how lucky of me to have a broken knee, arm and bleeding forehead on the day when I finally get to show what women can do! I mutter something under my breath and move away swiftly, glancing at every single face.

One of the men pounces on me; and with the rest of my power, I kick him where it hurts and roll away before the other catches a hold of my leg. The other two rush towards the man on the ground crying in pain; one of the men glares back at me, pulling out a knife and strikes. The next thing I feel is him stabbing me continuously on my arms, the bleeding increasing. Dizziness overcomes me, but I refuse to give up; taking a hold of his hand, I kick him off of me, than struggling to get up, finally I was successful.

"BOOM!" I turn around speechless, the man behind me was holding a gun targeted at me, I glance down and….

"Manya! Where are you, Manya!" Akash glances around in fear, he had gone to get some water for her just twenty feet away and now she was gone. "Where the hell is this girl?" His voice began sounding frustrating, he rushes west but stops, footsteps and blood were headed north; he followed the trail but then lost it, it was gone.

"Damn!" I mutter under my breath and rush towards the camp. Om, Rupa, Gul and the others approach me along with Ayesha, safe and sound. "Manya, where is Manya, did she come here?" the pain and fear in my voice easily expressed. All stare at me bewildered, "What are you saying Akash, she was with you, wasn't she?" Om spoke first. "yeah, Akash well I don't know for sure whether she was with you but she went with some others looking for Ayesha, we even sent smoke signals to all of you when we found Ayesha sitting here peacefully, but neither did you or Manya return; so eventually we called up General Shashank, and right now he is in the tent calling back up to find you, and Manya!" Rupa's voice full of tension.

"Oh my goodness, then where the heck is she? How can she just disappear like that?" I mutter under my breath; who was capable of answering my questions other than her. "Hurry, lets go we don't have all day, my best officer isn't here along with that girl!" Shashank's voice clear from behind the others. I turn around and General Shashank's face lightens up, "Akash, are you okay? Did she do anything to you?" he questions me, completely startling me; rather than asking if Manya was safe and sound here he was blaming the entire situation on her. Frustrated I turn back around, shooting another glare at him, as I walk away into the forest trying to find Manya anywhere safe and sound.

"Where the hell do you think you are going?" General Shashank's voice ranges into a higher pitch as I get further and further. I turn around and speak in a cold voice, "to find Manya, she fell in a pit, I helped her get out and in the morning I woke up to find her wounds continuously bleeding so I went to get water, I return and she was gone, but there was a bigger pile of blood, where she had been sitting!" A look of shock flashes across his face as he follows me into the forest with the others.

The search through the forest turned deadly as we found more and more blood everywhere; I frown this was starting to become creepy; and that was when I saw her, lying in a puddle of blood, wounded, bruised and unconscious. I rush towards her and hold her in my arms, she lay there lifeless. General Shashank rushes towards me and what he say scared him, we both feared the worst anything could happen to a woman but than that's when her last words spoke before she fell back into a deep slumber…."te…terr…terrorists, shot me, blood, I shot another, he there…!" she pointed one last.

A week later my eyes open and I find myself in the hospital covered in bandages, a broken arm, broken knee and ughh doctors and nurses themselves. I turn slightly to avoid the blinding light, to find mama and dadu staring at me with worried eyes, I smile at them slowly and find the others walking into the room, and that's when the memories struck me. I tremble slightly and lift my hands to my forehead blocking out all memories.

"Manya, it's good to see you awake however, you are being suspended, you do not have a place in training to become one of us especially after what has happened with you, we can not accept you or any other woman! We had warned earlier not to go beyond your limits, although you talked back to me I found courage in you to prove yourself but not only did you let me down but Ayesha as well! So I want all of you women out of training, we do not accept you any longer!"

My world crashes, thunder strikes, and I feel myself crying tears of pain, a slight whisper escapes my mouth, "I'm sorry papa…." before I fall back lost in a world of darkness….

To be continued tomorrow afternoon or Sunday morning…