Broken Inside

17 - The Artist

Alex and Neesha was on their way back to the apartment. That morning, at breakfast, Neesha had asked if Alex wanted to go catch a movie with her and she agreed. So they went to see the latest Marvel movie and had lunch.

They were about to arrive when Alex suddenly remembered she wanted to stop by the drugstore to buy some stuff. So she asked Neesha to go ahead and she will meet her back at the apartment. 

After she was done shopping, Alex walked back home. She was about to go inside the apartment building when she saw Neesha on the curb about twenty feet away. She was with two large Indian men and they were having a heated conversation in Hindi. 

Alex watched them with piqued interest. Their voices carried to where she was standing. She couldn't understand the language but she could see that it required some elegant combination of words, hand gestures and head tilting. 

Out of nowhere, the skinnier guy grabbed Neesha's arm forcefully. The taller guy opened the car door and they tried to force her into the backseat. Neesha put up a fight!

Alex sprung into action. She rushed to Neesha's rescue. Using the strap of her bag, she pulled it over the head of the guy holding Neesha. She tugged hard, causing the man to choke and released her. Alex kept hold of the strap on the guy's neck, waiting for him to pass out.

The tall man saw her and yelled out. He tried to help his friend but Neesha managed to trip him and he fell hard on the pavement. Then he stopped moving.

Neesha was shocked. She was not expecting that. Then she saw Alex and she quickly came to help her. Together they tightened the strap and after a few seconds, the man made some gurgling sound before collapsing on his front.

Both Alex and Neesha stood over the fallen men. They were both panting hard.

"D-Did we kill them?" Neesha asked, her voice shaking. 

Before Alex could answer, both the men started to stir. She grabbed Neesha's hand and pulled her away. "We have to go, now!"

They started running, away from the attackers. "Where are we going?" Neesha yelled.

Alex raked her brain. They need to move fast to have any chance of escaping. "The train! They won't catch us if we're on the train." She turned to Neesha and she nodded in agreement. They ran as fast as they could, towards the nearest station. It felt farther than Alex remembered. 

They rushed through the crowd, pushing people out of their way. There were many cursing but Alex kept a deaf ear. They used the stairs down to the station, moving faster than the escalator. They moved through the turnstile and entered the train that was already there, not bothering to check the destination. Once inside, they both prayed under their breath for the doors to close.

When it finally did, both of them exhaled with relieve. They looked at each other and started laughing. They couldn't stop laughing until they were out of breath.

"Come on," Neesha said, pulling Alex towards some empty seats. They both collapse on the plastic chairs.

"I can't feel my legs," Alex reported. "I don't think I've ran that fast before."

"Yeah, me too," Neesha agreed. "Thank God we got away."

Alex glanced at her and asked, "Who were they?"

Neesha groaned inwardsly and said, "My cousins."

"What?" Alex exclaimed, sitting up straight.

"Yeah," Neesha said, exasperated. "My father sent them to take me back to India. When I refused, they resort to violence."

Alex sighed and leaned back her head against the glass window. They have exited the tunnels and she could see building moving past. "Well, we can't go back now. Where should we go?"