1.

Hayat's POV:

I felt dizzy, my head was spinning and my throat was dry. I tried to move but it felt like there was no ounce of energy in me. I felt numb, too numb to move a muscle or finger.

I could hear a few sounds of some people talking. I couldn't make out their words as they faded before falling into my ears. I tried to open my eyes, only to realise that I was blindfolded. My insides tensed and I gulped in nervousness and horror.

Although my head was empty and I was struggling to understand the situation, deep down in my heart, I could feel myself in this same position. A tiny anamnes, craved and coerced in every cell of my body, was peeking out from the locker of my memories; memories that I dodged to somewhere in the back of my head whenever they proclaimed their existence and disturbed my peace.

I attempted to scream, with the awareness in my mind that either I'd have someone rescue me or shoot me on the spot. I think the latter. I still wasn't in contact with the intensity and depth of the situation, I don't think the reality has yet poured on me because I had no time to think, I still don't have it. I just know that I need to get out of here. Anyhow.

As I tried to make a difficult effort to open my mouth, I once again was hit by the fact that I was tied, and so was my mouth. It's silly of me to think that they'll leave my mouth open to shout and scream for help when they have blindfolded me to not perceive and counter their acts.

I slowly was now getting my other senses back, feeling something tightly wrapped around my wrists and legs. I discovered that they were ropes.

I shook my head, tilting it slightly in an attempt to get rid of the dizziness. I scrunched my eyes, a stinging sensation irritating the hell out of me. My cheeks itched and resisted any sort of movement because of the tape on my mouth.

My body felt stiff and weak, taking a mountain amount of energy to do any movement.

I could hear vague voices from afar. They were loud but unclear to my ears, too faint to be understandable. I didn't know it was because of the drug in my system or the distance.

The air felt hot around my body, causing it to be sweaty and itchy. The obnoxious smell of the room which tortured my nostrils wasn't helping in the headache. It was taking me more than a normal rate to breathe, the disgusting smell only making it more hard for me. I felt nauseous, to say the least.

Amid the struggle to breathe and not throw up, I heard a clicking sound, as if a door was being unlocked. I stilled in my spot, holding my breath and listening to the sounds of door opening with a creak and the tapping boots on the floor anxiously.

As the footsteps got closer, their sounds became more clearer and audible, making my heartbeat rise and my muscles tense.

My head showed me the images I spent years forgetting. I knew I wasn't successful, but at least they weren't as visible to me as they are right now.

They were coming to me. This all felt familiar, too familiar.

I took in deep breaths, making myself ready for whatever that was to come. There's no escape, at least not at the very moment.

The footsteps now came to a halt, a silence suddenly prevailing as a frightening ambience. I felt their presence in front of me but no one made any noise. I was quiet, and so were them, until one of them decided to break it.

"Should we untie her?" I gulped. I know this voice, I know who possessed such a deep and gravelly voice. I could never forget him, not after every scar he has given me is engraved on my skin, a dreadful reminder. Yet, I hoped that this was not what my mind kept on indicating to me.

People can have identical voices. Or maybe it's just me listening to it in his voice.

"Should we? She's awake anyway." Another one laughed. I breathed out some air, feeling uncomfortable and queasy as I felt their burning gazes on me, making shivers run down my spine.

Before I knew it, the cloth was pulled out and away from my eyes. Sudden exposure to light after being blindfolded for hours made my eyes sting painfully. I shook my head a little, gasping for air. My head still hung low. The throbbing in my head and itch in my eyes holding me back to look up. With my blurred vision, I took in the image of the legs of three men, two wearing black pants while the other wore somewhat grey trousers.

I blinked several times, trying to get adjusted to the bright sunlight in the room which illuminated through a window.

"Hello there, beautiful. Remember me?" I lifted my face with all that it took me to do so. My breath hitched, the air which was in the process of exhaling out of my lungs got knocked somewhere in my throat, and the muscles around my chest tightened as I took in the sight of the same man from 4 years ago.

He wore a perilous smirk on his face. He purposely held a mischievous hint in his eyes, deriding me back to the times I was chained up like this, helpless and tortured, which he was the cause of.

I stared at him with moisture in my eyes, a lump in my throat and my taped mouth. If only I could speak at the moment, I would have used every single word in my vocabulary to describe my distaste and disgust towards him.

He laughed at my impotence, knowing well that I could do little to nothing to him. I gritted my teeth and blinked back the tears that were pooling in my eyes and threatening to escape.

"You know how resisting she was back then. I beat her until she was a bleeding mess. Yet, she won't give in." He shook his head with a laugh, nudging the other two guys as he proudly stated his evil doings, making them laugh with him too.

"But you know what," He leaned closer to me, "You're lucky this time. I'm not in charge of you. Someone else is."

I didn't react, just gazed at him with pure disgust as he deserved every bit of it, while he bore holes into my eyes with a threatening glint in his blue eyes and a venomous flat smile covering his face.

I would be lying if I said that I wasn't terrified by my situation. Heck, I was losing my mind. I was in the pit hole again which I had been trying so hard to escape, I was tied to the same shackles again which I thought I had broken free from, I was sitting in the presence of the same man again who was the reason for my nightmares all these years. But, I can't show it on my face, that would just give them a way to put me down more, and I can't let that happen.

He had leaned back and pulled out his phone from his pocket, dialling a number.

"Hey man, where are you?" He asked to the one on the other line.

I watched him warily as he listened to the person on the other side speak. I could listen to that person, due to the deafening silence in the room, but they only seemed like mere whispers.

"Okay." He hung up, turning on his feet before giving me a look with that same smirk again. If I ever got the chance, I would break his face in a manner he would never be able to do that.

All three of them walked out of the room, locking the door with a thud. Since I no longer was blindfolded, I scanned my eyes around the room. The only source of light was the small window at the side of the room, the bright rays of sun focused on a particular part of the floor more than it did in any other.

I looked at my lap, my head hanging low. They were no more in my presence, and that was enough for my tears to finally escape from my eyes. They fell onto my lap, sitting like pearls on the smooth cloth of my chiffon abaya before flattening and dispersing in it.

Everything replayed in my mind once again like a movie, from the first day to the last, from the moment I was pulled in forcefully into this mess to my successful escape. Each striking memory tortured my sanity, bringing waves and waves of fresh tears that burned my skin with their warmth.

Moments and minutes passed, I don't know how long I kept crying and weeping. I stopped after a while, staring at nothing in particular. I still contained salty moisture in my eyes but I couldn't keep on crying like this anyway. Mourning over past tragedies won't help, I need to think of an escape.

It was starting to become a little dark now, indicating that it was evening already. The sun rays coming into the room were slowly fading and disappearing.

The door lock opened with a clicking sound, making me turn my head in the direction.