There was not a single person on the walkway as the full moon shone over the deserted streets. With her head bowed low and her hoodie concealing the sheer, delicate part of her flesh, Bella Dante had bravely passed through the teasing area. She may have been pushing herself a bit too hard.
The sound of her phone ringing reverberated through the quiet space. It was swiftly removed from Bella's bag and applied to her ear. Bella greeted the unidentified caller, “Hello,”
"Bella! What is happening? Flora called and questioned, "Why haven't you been picking up your calls?" "Good thing you picked."
“I forgot to turn off silent mode on my phone while I was working my shift.” Bella explained, “What did you want to say?” Bella asked in a hush, she looked around her as she continued walking.
“Nothing much; are you still at the hospital? I was thinking maybe you can stay over there tonight; James is around, and I don’t want to inconvenience you with his presence,” Flora said as she listened in for Bella’s response.
Staring deep into the streets, Bella had thought for a short while about how she was going to explain to Flora that she was only a few blocks away from her place and doubted if there would be any transport service willing to take her back, but as it was, Bella was greatly indebted to Flora, and so she wouldn’t want to continue placing her burden on her.
"Bella, you still there? You haven’t said anything; look if you are already¬¬---” Flora had thought of speaking after a long-suppressed silence of guilt, but Bella had weighed her options quicker and had cut in before she could hit a landing.
“I am still at the hospital, Flora. I can sleep here tonight. Make sure to have fun with James. You deserve it,” Bella, though hurt, managed to say it with enthusiasm, trying her best not to show how she felt.
“Good gracious, I was worried that you wouldn’t agree. It is late now; make sure to get some sleep; I know I won’t,” Flora gave a short laugh at her sudden thought of how her night would go, and Bella followed with a simple "I will" before hanging up.
She had looked back into the road and turned to head back to the bus stop; if she was lucky enough, she might find a bus or cab to take her to the hospital.
Bella’s life sucked!
How unfortunate could her life get from here? Gone were the days she had the whole world revolve around her back in high school and college, and then she had no clue what life was. Apart from being popular at school, Bella was exceptionally beautiful, which gave her popularity in the first place. Now, though beautiful, it was worth nothing in the real world.
She had lost all her friends and was left with just her family, Flora, and her job, which she managed to get as a pretty privilege; besides, it wasn’t a job to be so proud of. While her mate went on to do greater things, she ended up a janitor; surely there was something wrong somewhere.
Of course, she blamed her refusal to study at school for being mostly stuck with bad grades and never trying to improve; she didn't even care. Bella’s life is this way because of her, and she has never tried to make herself feel better about it.
Bella sobbed silently as she shifted her body towards the billboard placed beside the bus stop. She quickly wiped away the bead of tears that fell from her eyes as a cab driver appeared out of nowhere. She was sure she didn’t see any cars pass by or flashes from the headlights, but she was too vulnerable to think more of it.
"Ma’am, where are you headed?" The cab driver asked her.
"Uhm… Grace Hospital is not too far from here; do you know where it is?” Bella inquired quite stupidly; of course he would know there; it was a famous hospital, and he was a cab driver; sure, he would have driven there once too many times.
Knowing how stupid she sounded and the short laugh the cab driver made, Bella could not be any more embarrassed at her foolishness. “Yeah, I do; come in,” the cab driver said.
Bella wore her black tote bag over her shoulders as she went over to the cab. Upon closer inspection, she was astonished. The man was handsome; he should be on the covers of magazines, billboards, or on her damn TV screen, not behind the wheel driving around random strangers.
“Are you going to stand there and admire me, or will you get in?” The cab driver said this with a mocking gaze as he caught her staring. She toggles at the door before getting in and sitting perfectly still.
The drive was silent and peaceful, except for the FM radio playing. Bella had wanted to request for it to be turned off, but the cab driver seemed to enjoy whatever was being played from it, so she chose to remain mute. She used the spare time she had to think of someone who still listens to the radio. What a weird man, Bella thought to herself.
The radio began to screech at a very high frequency; the noise had been loud as, “Please… it is too loud, would you mind turning it off?” Bella beckoned on him, but he didn't. Instead, he turned to her and said with a cool, chilling voice that sent shivers down her spine, "We have arrived."
Bella looked around her; they were nowhere close to the hospital; rather, they stood amid a cross-section. "What do you mean we have arrived? This isn’t the hospital? In fact, where are we?” Bella asked numerous questions in the span of a few seconds, but the man's blank face proved that he was barely listening or that he didn't care, as he was focused on fixing his radio.
Bella was confused; she could barely pinpoint their exact location, and this man didn’t even care. She was just about to explode.
There was no use sitting there. Bella tried to open the door, but all efforts went down the drain as it was unmoving. "Why did you lock the door? Get me out of here, you psycho!"
"I said we are here. Just wait," the man said to her. This time, his skin color was starting to turn pale, and his eye color was changing, “Our time is far spent,” he said looking at his watch.
At this time, Bella was shivering and started screaming for help, but her reach didn’t even pass the car they were seated in. Her phone began to ring; hopefully, she could get some help. It was Flora and this time she used her actual line.
Bella picked up the call as she spoke in a shaky voice, “Flora! I am in---"
"Where the hell are you, Bella?" Don’t you dare tell me you are working late again? I thought we agreed that you needed to rest.” Flora said over the phone, worried for her friend.
"Flora?" Bella's forehead furrowed as she became more and more baffled. It was Flora who called and told her that she wanted to spend time with James, so why does she sound so clueless? What the hell was going on?
“Bella, are you there? Fucking talk to me,” Flora’s voice faded into the background as the connection began to screech.
"Flora, can you hear me? I think I've been kidnapped.” Bella said, without warning, the man smashed Bella's phone to the floor and her eyes widened with shock.
"That's enough," said the man.
"Let me out of here!!!" Bella screamed as if her life wasn’t bad enough; something else just had to happen.
The headlights of a truck approaching them flashed before their eyes; it was the last thing Bella saw before the cab went tumbling over and smashed into pieces. The impact was brutal, jolting Bella's body violently as the truck rolled over. The deafening sound of metal crushing against metal filled her ears, drowning out any other noise. Time seemed to slow down as the cab spun out of control, her body thrashing around like a ragdoll inside.
Fear gripped Bella's heart as she desperately clung to anything within reach, her fingers gripping the seatbelt with a white-knuckled intensity. The world outside the shattered windshield became a blur of darkness and chaos, fragments of glass flying through the air like deadly projectiles.
As the truck finally came to a halt, Bella's body was left suspended in the wreckage. Blood dripped from a gash on her forehead, mixing with the dust and grime that covered her face. Pain radiated through her body, every movement sending sharp jolts of agony shooting through her limbs.
She tried to call out for help, but her voice came out as a weak, raspy whisper. Panic threatened to consume her as she realized the severity of her situation. Trapped and injured, Bella knew that her fate now rested in the hands of fate and the arrival of emergency responders.
