EVANGELISTA'S POV
"Listen Evangelista, no matter what happens, those people must never know your real name!! They must know nothing about you!! Keep this call active! I will find you, Evangelista! I will find you!" the deep emotion in Israel's voice could not be missed.
The white car was flying, and it was getting much closer to us. When I looked and saw two men in it, realizing that they were that close, I let out a sharp scream, dropping the phone on the car floor and I curled up into a ball on the car seat.
"I can't go on!! I can't keep going" Dan cried out!
"Why? Keep going! We can't stop now!" I cried out.
"I am scared!!" Dan shouted back.
"Drive on, man!! You can't give up now!!" we both heard Israel's voice coming through my phone. "Where are you now!!" Israel asked.
None of us responded. We were too scared to say anything. Dan maintained his tight grip on the steering wheel and he further increased the speed of the car. The Mercedes Benz was literally flying. He managed to widen the gap between us and the white car. I was shocked and I am sure that he also shocked himself for driving at such a high speed. But the white care was not giving up; it was also coming up very fast.
"Airport road! Are you there yet?" we heard Israel asking.
"I …I missed the turn", Dan stammered.
"Damn!!" Israel cursed. "Keep going, man!"
The white car behind us was drawing closer and closer, and we were getting more scared. I screamed out loud, and alarmed by my screaming, Dan must have lost control of the car. It swerved off the road and was headed for the trees nearby.
"Dan!! Dan!!" I screamed out, not knowing what else to say or do. Dan managed to control the machine and brought it back on to the road. It screeched loudly and sped at an unbelievable speed.
"Keep going!" Israel's voice encouraged through the phone. "Remember what I said! Keep your names to yourselves!" he sounded desperate. Both Dan and I did not respond.
I opened my eyes to see the car headed towards a sharp curve, and by just looking at Dan, it looked like he was not even looking at where he was going. All he was doing was making sure that the car was flying, regardless of where it was headed.
"Curve!! Watch out for that curve!" my voice shrieked so loud that even I failed to recognise it. It sounded like a strange woman's voice. Dan stepped on the brakes and screeching noisily, the car came to a halt just as it hit into a tree which stood just before the sharp curve. The airbags deployed, cushioning us immediately. The white car also stopped just next to ours.
"What happened? What happened? You have to keep going, man!!" I heard Israel's voice screaming. Then he went on. "Listen, whoever you are! If you harm them in any way, I will come for you! With my own bare hands, I will take my revenge on you!"
Two men came out of the car and walked towards us, both of them were dressed in blue overalls, but one had a green cap while the other one did not have.
I screamed even louder when the one in a cap opened the car door and pulled me out. Without saying a word, he threw me on to the back seat. Dan was also thrown in beside me, and both of us shivered while we sat there. The man wearing a cap leaned forward, picked my phone, switched it off and slid it into his pocket. "Phone", he said as he stretched his hand towards Dan. Dan quickly nodded and handed over his phone to the cap man.
I started to scream again. "Shut up!" he was about to slap me hard when his friend held his arm mid-air.
"Remember Zuri's command. She wants them alive. Unharmed."
The cap man nodded his head; hopped into the driver's seat and drove. His friend went back into the white car and followed closely behind. The two cars went into the deep forest, right in the middle of nowhere, and the cap man parked the car and came out, lit a cigarette and puffed away into the air.
I was highly terrified. It seemed to me that the men were taking us upon the orders of someone higher than them. Although my greatest fear at first had been that the men would gang-rape me, that fear subsided when I heard one of them saying their boss had instructed them to keep us alive and unharmed. We were dragged out of the car, Dan's hands were tied and I was pushed to stand beside him.
"Who is this?" the cap man asked me while he pointed at Dan.
"M-my bo-b-boy ff-ffriend."I cried
"Where're the baby?" he demanded. I remained silent.
"Where's the baby?" he repeated.
"There is no baby. I don't have a baby. We- we d-don't have a b-baby". I continued to cry.
The man held my boyfriend by the collar and asked him "where is the baby?"
"I have no idea, sir," Dan cried.
"They must be alive and unharmed", his friend cried out.
Cap man sneered and said "only the woman and the child must remain alive and unharmed. As for this boy, I can kill him if I want!"
At his words, I felt chills running down my spine. In my heart I cursed my brother; oh Israel, what have you gotten us into? Then I immediately remembered the lady at our house; the lady with a baby girl. It was obvious that these men were after her, not us, so I had to clarify that. I needed to tell them where she was, and set us free.
"I...I can lead you to where the baby is", I stammered.
"Where is the baby?!" he screamed in my face.
"Please don't hurt us, don't hurt him!" I cried out to both of them. "I'm not the one you're looking for! You got the wrong person!" I tried to explain.
"Wrong person? You're driving Lucas' car, and you claim to be the wrong person? Didn't you leave Southrain in this same car, and here you are, trying to play dumb!! Doesn't this car belong to Lucas la Martina, your employer?"
I blinked several times as I failed to understand what he was saying. I was about to start explaining that I was just a university student and I knew nothing about the car, when the man coughed violently. It seemed like the smoking was choking him, yet he would not stop it.
Dan was standing, shaking from too much fear. I felt my heart breaking into pieces.
The cap man stared at me and demanded, "start talking, babysitter! Where is the child?"
"No I am not the babysitter, believe me!! Please let us free and I will tell you where the baby is! I know where she is. I saw her with my own eyes?"
"She?" the cap man frowned. "Woman, we aren't playing games here!! Since when did the child become a 'she'?"
"I swear I saw the child, it's a girl. I saw the little girl with my own eyes…."
"Lucas la Martina does not have a daughter! He has a son! Listen, young babysitter; we are not here to play games. We're here for business. We need that boy, and if you don't tell us where he is now, you will soon regret what we will do!" the cap man's eyes were blood red, his voice seething without mercy.
"Ok I will tell you everything. The child that I saw, a little girl…" I started to talk.
"Liar! You're starting with lies already. We know that the child is a boy. You really think we're here for games, don't you? The child is a boy!! Where is he?"
Dan looked at me with pleading eyes, "tell them what you know, love". His voice was very low, and pain was written all over it. His whole being was begging with me to say the information that was being requested of me.
Before I could open my mouth to say anything, the cap man said to his friend, "Zuri said he wants the woman and child alive. As for this man, he is not needed. I think he will just add stress to us. Deal with him."
The friend nodded and took Dan, leading him deeper into the thick forest.
"W…where is he taking Dan to?" I could not help but ask.
"He will be fine," cap man responded.
I knew what was about to happen. I felt it in my body.
"What did you mean when you said deal with him? How are you going to deal with him?" I cried desperately.
The man ignored me. It was a short while later when the man's friend came back, without Dan.
"Where is he?" I cried out. "What did you do to him, please tell me!"
The men acted like I was not even there, for none spared even a glance in my direction.
"Is it done?" the cap man asked.
"It's done," his friend responded.
Done? What on earth were they talking about? What had they done to my dear boyfriend? Although I refused to believe it, I knew exactly what had happened. I did not need to have it spelt out for me, for it was all but clear. Had I known that this was how his life was going to end, I would have never called Dan to take the drive with me.
I wailed out like I had never wailed before. My tears refused to fall, but my whole body trembled. I dreaded the truth before me; praying for it to be a dream that would just vanish into thin air. It was the most horrific traumatizing experience of my life. I was left alone with the two men. Great fear enveloped me and I shook like a leaf.
I wanted to talk, I opened my mouth and nothing came out. Even if my voice had complied and came out, I don't think I would have had anything to say.
The two men said nothing. Everything seemed to be normal for them. The one who was smoking a cigarette continued to do so. I prayed and hoped that I was just having a nightmare. I opened my mouth and cried out very loud; my voice echoing throughout the mountains and the thick forests. I cried so loud that I felt like my throat cracked, but I wailed all the more.
And then I saw darkness surrounding me, I felt my heart ripping apart; my stomach churned and roared angrily, my knees gave way as I slumped to the ground and everything became dark….