Ch 6 - A Peek Into The Abyss
Chapter - 6
"Who are you?" Suraj asked, still trying to process what was happening. "What are you?" Rudhir chuckled and replied, "What am I? I'm the one who punched you, so you're going to punish me, isn't that right?" He slowly walked towards Suraj, taunting him.
Suraj unconditionally stepped back, fear evident in his eyes. The others on his side shouted, "You bastard! You think you can fool us all? You just attacked with the element of surprise; now you're done for!" But Suraj remained silent, still stepping back.
Rudhir chuckled and walked towards Roshni, who was still in shock. Her clothes were torn, and tears fell down her cheeks nonstop. Rudhir sat beside her, and as he was about to pick her up, Suraj's teammate tried to punch him. But Rudhir just looked at Roshni's beautiful blue teary eyes and stopped the punch in mid-air. Everyone was shocked; no one saw when and how Rudhir stopped the punch with his palm.
He got up, still holding Suraj's subordinate's fist and squeezing it like paper. The subordinate cried in pain, shouting, "You monster! Leave me alone!" Everyone muttered, "Monster Rudhir." He smiled mysteriously, twisted his arm, and let the subordinate fall to Roshni's feet.
Roshni opened her eyes, feeling something touch her foot. She looked at Rudhir with curiosity, thinking about when he saved her in the morning and now again. She smiled unconsciously, and her heart skipped a little faster. Rudhir saw her smiling and smiled back, then picked up Suraj's subordinate by his hair and lifted him into the air. He kicked him with his right knee, and the subordinate fell unconscious.
Rudhir turned to the group and said, "Just wait a few seconds; I'll deal with you in just one minute." Suraj and his friends didn't know what to do; they stood there without moving a muscle, gritting their teeth in regret. Rudhir saw they weren't trying to run away or attack him, so he smiled and said, "Good decision."
He turned to Roshni without a care or fear, returned to her side, and sat down, leaning towards her. He laid his hand on her cheek, rubbing away her tears with one hand, and with the other, he hugged her, rubbing her back. Roshni's eyes widened as he hugged her; she wanted to push away but didn't. She closed her eyes, and tears fell down more as she hugged him back, trying to feel his body warmth.
She knew he didn't try to harm her or anything; heck, if he didn't come, she would have been in a worse situation. Still crying, Rudhir caressed her back, trying to comfort her. Then he whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, I'm here. Stop crying," and hugged her a little tighter.
Roshni, still thinking about what would have happened if he didn't come, came out of her senses. She looked at his face, still crying, listening to him, and started sobbing, trying to stop crying. Rudhir broke the hug, lifted her in a princess style, and walked towards a giant rock. He placed her on the rock and said, "Just wait a few minutes; this won't take long."
Then his eyes turned cold, like a serial killer's. Roshni was also afraid of him a little when she looked at his eyes, which were glowing a little black and red with a mixture. She thought her mind was playing tricks on her and forgot about his eyes. Rudhir turned towards the group with red glowing eyes, his anger at its limit.
He didn't know why he was so angry, seeing Roshni cry. Perhaps Roshni was reminded of his sad, tragic past. A scene started appearing in his mind: someone trying to help, saying, "Priya, Priya, where are you?" A girl with a blurred face was lying on the floor under the burning ceiling, coughing and crying, saying, "Rudhir."
He came out of his senses when he heard Roshni's voice, "Rudhir." He turned to her, and she said, "Be careful." He smiled and said, "Don't worry," then turned towards the group again, remembering his pack, his eyes glowing red in anger, clenching his fist, and said, "Now shall we begin the cleanup?"
Suraj and his three friends started shaking; they couldn't see that Rudhir's eyes were glowing red. They stared, stepping back unconsciously, afraid in fear.