Episode 26: Shadows Don't Stay Dead
The world shattered with the sound of breaking glass.
Aaniya screamed as shards exploded across the back seat, stinging like tiny blades. She threw her arms over her head, but pain flared hot in her shoulder—a searing cut that made her gasp. Blood mixed with the rainwater soaking her clothes, warm and sticky against her skin.
"Down!" Suleman's voice was a thunderclap. One hand yanked the steering wheel, the other shoved her lower into the seat. Tires shrieked against slick asphalt as the car swerved violently, bullets slicing the air where her head had been a heartbeat ago.
Her heart slammed against her ribs. Her breath came in broken sobs, each one tasting like metal and fear.
"Suleman!" she choked, clutching her bleeding arm. "I—I'm hit—"
His jaw was stone, eyes locked on the storm-smeared road ahead. "Hold on."
The car roared like a beast, eating up the flooded street, throwing waves of water into the night. Lightning split the sky, painting everything in stark flashes—his face, carved from fire and fury; her trembling hands, slick with crimson.
Another shot cracked the darkness. The side mirror exploded into glittering shards. Suleman cursed under his breath and slammed the accelerator to the floor.
Aaniya bit back a cry as the car fishtailed, skidding dangerously close to the edge of the road before straightening again. Rain hammered the windshield, drowning the world in chaos.
"Who are they?!" she shouted over the storm, her voice raw with panic. "Why are they after us?!"
"Not now," he growled, muscles taut, veins standing out on his hands as he gripped the wheel like it was the only thing keeping them alive.
"Not now?" Her voice broke into a sobbing laugh—wild, hysterical. "I'm bleeding, they're shooting at us, and you still—"
"Enough!" His roar silenced her like a slap. His gaze flicked to her for the briefest second—dark, burning, and filled with something she couldn't name. "You want the truth?"
Lightning ripped the sky open again, and in that savage white light, his face looked almost monstrous—shadowed and sharp, a man carved from secrets.
"Yes," she whispered, throat tight, tears burning hot in her eyes. "Tell me."
He hesitated, jaw clenched so hard she thought it might shatter. Then, through gritted teeth, the words came like broken glass.
"That man back there…" His voice was low, deadly. "I left him to die once."
Her stomach plunged. "You… what?"
Suleman didn't look at her. His eyes were two pits of darkness, locked on the road. "I thought he was gone. Buried. But ghosts don't stay dead."
Aaniya's breath hitched, horror clawing up her throat. The storm outside felt like nothing compared to the hurricane inside her. She stared at him—at the man who had dragged her into this nightmare, whose hands had held her like a lifeline only hours ago—and she couldn't tell if she wanted to scream or sob.
Before she could speak, the night exploded again.
Bang! Bang!
Two more bullets punched into the trunk, making the car jolt. Suleman cursed, jerking the wheel hard. The tires lost grip. The world spun in a dizzy blur of rain and headlights. Aaniya screamed as the car skidded across the flooded street, water spraying like shattered glass.
"Hold on!" His voice tore through the chaos as he fought the wheel, muscles straining, veins like steel cables under his skin. Somehow—miraculously—he regained control, the car roaring forward again.
Silence crashed down inside the car, broken only by the ragged rasp of their breathing and the pounding rain.
Aaniya slumped against the seat, her entire body trembling. Her shoulder burned where glass had sliced deep, blood soaking through the fabric of her dress. Her head spun, not just from the pain but from his words.
Left him to die.
What kind of man was sitting next to her?
Her lips moved before her brain could stop them. "Suleman…" Her voice was a whisper, shaky and small. "Did you… kill him?"
For a moment, there was nothing but the sound of rain and the engine's snarl. Then he spoke, so soft she almost didn't hear it.
"I thought I did."
The air left her lungs like a punch. She turned her face toward him, searching for something—remorse, humanity, anything—but all she saw was a wall of fire and shadows.
Before she could say another word, the world went white.
A deafening crash. A brutal jerk. Her scream was ripped from her throat as the car lurched sideways, metal groaning in protest. Another impact—harder this time—sent the vehicle spinning. Glass shattered. The seatbelt bit into her shoulder, pain screaming through her body as the car flipped.
Once. Twice.
The world became a storm of metal and rain and darkness.
When everything stopped, it was upside down.
For a moment, there was only silence. Then the hiss of the engine. The drip of water. Her own heartbeat, wild and desperate.
"Aaniya!" His voice—hoarse, urgent—dragged her back. She turned her head with effort, vision swimming. Suleman was beside her, blood running down his temple, eyes blazing even in the dark.
"You hurt?" His hands fumbled with her seatbelt, his fingers slick with rain and blood.
"I… I don't know," she whispered, tasting iron on her tongue. Every breath hurt.
"Stay with me." His voice cracked, just a little, and that tiny fracture made her chest ache worse than any wound.
Then—footsteps.
Slow. Deliberate. Crunching on wet asphalt.
A shadow loomed in the fractured glass of the shattered windshield—a tall figure, gun glinting in the rain.
Suleman froze, eyes lifting. His jaw tightened, his body going still as stone.
The man stepped closer, boots splashing in shallow water. The storm howled around them, a chorus of rage. And then, through the broken glass, Aaniya saw his face.
Smiling.
"Round two," the stranger said. His voice was silk and steel. "Ready to finish what you started?"
The gun rose, black and cold.
Aaniya's scream tore through the night.
To be continued…