FF. MY OWN ASYA STORY!! Ch.37 Updated. Pg 79. - Page 17

Chapter 23 Zoya gets bitten

Asad suddenly woke up when he heard an animal sound. He realized he had fallen asleep. He looked over and saw that Zoya was fast asleep. She looked very uncomfortable and was curled up in fetal position. Asad walked up to her and knelt down beside her. He took off his jacket and placed it on her. He lay her head on the bag that he was using. He caressed her face and pushed her hair away. She stirred and he quickly got up and walked away. He went back to his spot and sat down. What was he going to tell her? Maybe he could use the same reason he gave his mom. That might just work. He looked around and realized they really were in the middle of nowhere. He was starting to feel spooked by all the darkness and eeriness. He decided to wake up Zoya and start moving on. He went up to her and before he could wake her, she screamed, "Ammi, don't leave me, Ammi...AMMI...!!!! She had bunched his jacket and was holding it tightly against her chest. Asad knelt down and gently shook her. "Ms. Farooki, wake up. It's just a dream." She suddenly sat up, breathing heavily. Her eyes were wide with fear until she saw Asad and took a deep breath to regain her momentum. She closed her eyes and then slowly opened them when she felt her heart beat get back to normal. She tried to stand up but kept slipping. Asad put his hand her knees and the other under her back and lifted her to feet. She held on to Asad's arm to steady herself.

She then looked around and realized where they were and why they had stopped. She looked at Asad and said, "Hello Mr. Khan, I said I am not leaving until you tell me the real reason you are sending me off to the farm." Asad shook his head. Zoya was shell shocked. This man was stubborn. Well he did not know who he was dealing with, she was the queen of stubborness.

She turned around and was about to drop herself on the ground when she heard him say, "stop. Fine, I will tell you. Those goons that kidnapped you on your first day here are the ones after you."

"You mean Akram?" asked Zoya.

"Yes." replied Asad.

"So, you are telling me that Akram's man is the one who attacked me behind the mall and then again at your house?" asked Zoya.

"Yes." replied Asad, not sure where she was going with all these questions, but he suddenly felt like he was in trouble. It sort of felt like he was in school and he had done something wrong and was lying but the teacher knew he was lying and asked all sorts of questions to trap his lie.

"So, Akram's man is the one who attacked me and then wrote a message on my cast about only 3?" asked Zoya.

Asad just nodded. He seemed to have lost his voice.

"So before Akram's men were eager to kidnap me and take me away but now they are just attacking me and leaving msgs and walking away. How does that make sense?" asked Zoya.

"I don't know, am just telling you what I think and what I found out and am just trying to keep you safe, that's all." replied Asad. "Now, can we please keep moving?" said Asad.

Zoya looked at him incredulously. She did not believe him for one minute but she would accept his answer for now and keep moving. She started to walk. Asad heaved a sigh of relief. He knew she did not believe him and was expecting that she would put up a fight but was surprised and a little relieved that she had let it go.

They continued walking for about another 15 mins when Zoya felt a cramp in her back. She silently cursed so that Asad would not hear and stop again. She kept walking and felt a something pinch her leg. Great, a mosquito bite. She felt her leg burn. She reached down and felt her leg. It was hot. She kept on walking and ignoring the pain. Asad turned around to make sure Zoya was still following him and Zoya pretended that everything was fine and smiled forcefully.

Asad turned back and continued walking. Zoya limped for a bit and realized she could barely feel her foot anymore. This was just great. One leg had a cast and the other leg decided that was not fair that one leg was getting all the attention and decided to attract a mosquito to suck some of her blood so as to even out the two legs. She kept on lifting one foot and then the other and felt like she was walking in 3 feet of snow. She stopped and took a deep breath. Asad had walked away a bit and realized he could not hear Zoya's footsteps. He turned around and noticed she was far away and had stopped. He quickly walked back to her and asked, "Are you ok?"

She looked at him and nodded, tears forming in her eyes. Asad noticed the tears and how she was biting her lip. She was obviously in pain but this stupid girl would never ask for help. Before she could say anything, he lifted her and started to carry her. She gasped and protested for him to let her go and she would manage but Asad continued to walk. Zoya gave up and relaxed a little. Her leg was throbbing and she had figured that it might not be a mosquito bite as it felt like her whole leg was on fire.

Asad walked for a bit and stopped. Something was not right. He was holding Ms. Farooki with one hand under her knees and the other at her shoulders and her leg felt really hot.

"What's wrong, Mr. Khan?" asked Zoya.

"Ms. Farooki, are you ok?" asked Asad.

"Yes." lied Zoya. "I'm fine. why?"

"Just wondering, because your leg feels hot even though you have pants on." said Asad.

"Oh, well, that's normal. I usually have hot legs." said Zoya and then blushed when she realized what she had said.

Asad turned away so she would not noticed how red his face had gotten although it was dark and kind of hard to see.

Asad continued walking and came to an intersection. There was a bench and he put Zoya down and sat down beside her. He then looked at her and noticed she had closed her eyes and her face looked contorted like she was supressing pain. Oh No!! He just realized he had carried her and not realized that her ribs were broken too and he had not bothered to be gentle when lifting her. He cursed himself for not realizing that. He gently asked, "Zoya?" She opened her eyes in shock. He had never addressed her as Zoya. She looked at him questioningly.

"Are you ok? Do your ribs hurt? I'm so sorry, I should have been more careful and gentle." said Asad.

Zoya reached out and touched his hand. "I'm fine. And no you did not hurt me."

"Then how come you looked like you were in pain." asked Asad.

"I was in a little pain, not much but not because of you. So, don't feel guilty and I'm fine now." said Zoya.

Asad did not believe her. She looked like she was in so much pain. He stood up and lifted her again and this time she did not protest, which was a definite sign that she was not ok, otherwise she would have protested till she was blue in the face. He started walking and after a few mins, his hand had cramped and he stopped. He let Zoya slide down. She then started to walk a bit and after a couple of steps, started wobbling.

All of a sudden Zoya felt like her world was spinning and she was being sucked into a black hole.

Asad noticed her about to hit the ground and ran to grab her. Her head lolled over and it seemed like she had fainted. Asad quickly placed her on the ground and reached inside the bag for a water bottle. He sprinkled her face and tried to pat her on her cheeks calling out her name. He felt her forehead and it looked like she had a fever. She suddenly felt very hot. Asad looked around and noticed no one or nothing in sight. What was wrong with Ms. Farooki?