1 hour ago
(This post was last modified: 1 hour ago by girrich9486. Edited 1 time in total. Edited 1 time in total.)
“You motherfucker. I am your death.”
She closed on him before he could set his feet. The knife flashed toward his upper chest. He twisted at the last instant; the blade scored across the meat of his shoulder and upper chest instead of the centre, deep enough to open a bright line of blood but not enough to end him. He shouted in pain and surprise. Nisha followed with a hard kick to his midsection and another to the side of his knee. Drunk and wounded, he staggered, hit the wall, and slid down into the corner. His eyes rolled and closed. He did not get up.
The room went quiet except for heavy breathing.
Nisha turned to the bed.
Vidya stared at her as if she were seeing a ghost. The restraints still held her. Her body was marked by the intensity of the night, but her eyes were sharp with recognition.
“Nisha… Nisha. You came.”
“Yes. I came here to save you.”
Nisha moved fast. She cut and released every cuff and strap, freed wrists and ankles, and pulled Vidya upright. Vidya’s legs were unsteady; the hours of restraint and intensity had left her weak. Nisha got an arm around her waist and took most of her weight.
“We move now. Stay with me.”
They left the room the way Nisha had entered. The corridor outside was still empty for the moment. Nisha half-carried, half-guided Vidya toward the route she had already mapped — the service turns that avoided the main junctions and led toward the outer storage side and the jetty.
They almost made the next corner clean.
Two more men appeared at the far end of the hall, drawn by the noise from the lower room. They saw the women and started forward. Nisha did not give them time to call out. She pushed Vidya into a shallow doorway, closed the distance in a sprint, and hit the first man with a rapid combination that dropped him before he could raise his hands properly. The second swung wide. She ducked, drove her shoulder into his midsection, and put him down with the same efficient violence she had used on the others. Both stayed on the floor.
She was back at Vidya’s side in seconds.
“Can you keep going?”
Vidya nodded, jaw tight.
“Yes. Just don’t let go.”
![[Image: 35be9e6342f64a52b520db66e73c0d10.gif]](https://i.ibb.co/9948Wtms/35be9e6342f64a52b520db66e73c0d10.gif)
She was back at Vidya’s side in seconds.
“Can you keep going?”
Vidya nodded, jaw tight.
“Yes. Just don’t let go.”
Nisha adjusted her grip and they moved again — two figures in the soft corridor light, one supporting the other, leaving the barred room and the unconscious men behind them. Ahead lay the rest of the maze, the outer door she had already tested, and the dark water beyond the compound. Behind them the alarm had not yet risen, but it would. Every second counted.
Nisha kept them moving, knife still in her free hand, Vidya’s weight solid against her side, and the single clear purpose that had brought her onto the island finally in motion: her friend was out of that room, and they were not stopping until the island was behind them...
Nisha turned to the bed.
Vidya stared at her as if the world had tilted. The restraints still held her in place. Her voice came out rough and disbelieving.
“Nisha… Nisha. You came.”
“Yes.” Nisha was already at the cuffs, cutting and releasing them one by one. “I came here to save you. Hold still.”
“I thought— they said you were dead.”
“I’m not. Arms free. Now the ankles. Can you feel your legs?”
Vidya flexed carefully as the last restraint came off.
“They’re weak. Everything is weak. But I can move.”
Nisha pulled her upright and got a solid arm around her waist, taking most of her weight.
“Then we move now. Stay with me. Do not stop unless I stop.”
“Where are we going?”
“Out. Same way I mapped. Service corridors to the outer storage side. Jetty after that. Talk less. Walk.”
They left the room the way Nisha had entered. The corridor outside was still empty. Nisha half-carried, half-guided Vidya along the counted turns, staying close to the wall, listening for any change in the building’s rhythm. Vidya’s breathing was harsh but steady. Her bare feet made almost no sound on the floor.
They almost cleared the next junction clean.
Two men appeared at the far end of the hall, drawn by the noise from the lower room. They saw the women and started forward at once.
“Hey! Stop right there—”
Nisha did not give them the chance to finish or to call for backup. She pushed Vidya firmly into a shallow doorway.
“Stay.”
Then she closed the distance in a sprint. The first man reached for her; she slapped the arm aside, drove a strike into his throat, and followed with a knee that folded him. The second man swung a wide, heavy punch. She ducked under it, stepped in, and hit him with a short, brutal combination — body, jaw, knee — that put him on the floor beside his partner. Neither of them got back up in time to matter.
She was at Vidya’s side again in seconds.
“Can you keep going?”
Vidya’s jaw was tight, but her eyes were clear.
“Yes. Just don’t let go of me.”
“I won’t. Come on.”
Nisha adjusted her grip and they moved again — two figures in the soft corridor light, one supporting the other, leaving the barred room and four downed men behind them. Ahead lay the rest of the maze, the outer door she had already tested with a stolen card, and the dark water beyond the compound. Behind them the alarm had not yet fully risen, but every second brought it closer.
Nisha kept them moving, knife still in her free hand, Vidya’s weight solid against her side, and the single purpose that had brought her onto the island finally in motion.
“Almost there,” she said under her breath. “Stay with me, Vidya. We’re not done until the island is behind us.”....
![[Image: 9d1304a8b51744328d247d18bec2151c.gif]](https://i.ibb.co/9mp3tRRk/9d1304a8b51744328d247d18bec2151c.gif)
Corridors turned back on themselves. Doors looked identical. Soft lighting erased depth and direction. What had been a counted route in Nisha’s head began to blur once they were moving under pressure with Vidya’s weight against her side. They took a left that should have led toward the outer storage and found only another stretch of the same blank walls. They doubled back, tried a service turn, and ended up closer to a junction they had already passed.
“This place is a cage,” Vidya muttered, breath short.
“I know. Stay quiet. I still have the path. We just lost a turn.”
They kept moving. Every sound behind them felt closer than it was. The alarm had not fully risen yet, but the absence of the men Nisha had dropped would not stay unnoticed for long.
It broke sooner than she wanted.
Four men appeared at the far end of a connecting hall — two from a side door, two from the main stretch. They saw the women at once.
“Hey! Stop!”
“Stop right there!”
They came forward fast, no weapons drawn yet, relying on numbers and the narrow space. Nisha pushed Vidya behind her against the wall.
“Hold the wall. Don’t move.”
She met the first two head-on. The corridor gave her less room than before, but it also stopped them from surrounding her cleanly. She dropped the lead man with a hard strike to the throat and a follow-up that put him down. The second swung; she took the glancing hit on her shoulder, stepped in, and put him on the floor with a knee and an elbow. The third and fourth tried to rush together. She used the first as a momentary shield, then finished the sequence with the same short, brutal efficiency she had used in the lower room. In under a minute all four were down — groaning, moving weakly, or still.
From another corridor, further off but closing, more voices rose. Footsteps. The sound of people being directed toward the noise.
Nisha’s decision was instant.
“We can’t outrun the whole floor. We hide. Now.”
She got Vidya’s arm around her shoulders again and pulled them away from the junction, back along a secondary passage she had noted earlier — the one that looped toward the hospitality wing where the selected dancers were kept. The same suite Duke had shown them. The same room where Spurthi and Taboo had been left to sleep.
The door was still unlocked from the inside. Nisha opened it without sound, guided Vidya through, and closed it behind them.
The suite was as she had left it: three large beds, low light, the table with covered food and water. Spurthi and Taboo were still asleep, breathing evenly, unaware of the fight that had moved through the corridors outside. Nisha eased Vidya down onto the nearest empty bed.
“Take rest. Here.” She brought water first, then uncovered some of the food. “Eat what you can. There are clothes in the cupboard — stage spares, but better than nothing. Change when you have the strength.”
Vidya’s hands shook as she took the glass. She drank, then sat with her head lowered for a long moment. When she looked up, her eyes were wet.
She reached out and pulled Nisha into a tight, desperate hug. Her voice broke against Nisha’s shoulder.
“Thank you. Thank you, Nisha. I thought no one was coming. I thought—”
Nisha held her firmly, one hand steady on her back.
“It’s my responsibility. You went in my place. No need for thanks. Just stay quiet, recover what you can, and be ready when we move again.”
Vidya nodded against her and did not let go immediately. When she finally eased back, Nisha checked the door once more, listened to the corridor, and then began sorting the spare clothes and the remaining food into what they would need for the next stage of the escape.
Outside, the compound was beginning to wake to the fact that something had gone wrong in the lower rooms. Inside the hospitality suite, two dancers still slept, and two officers sat in the dim light — one exhausted and newly freed, the other already planning the next move through the maze that still stood between them and the water....
She closed on him before he could set his feet. The knife flashed toward his upper chest. He twisted at the last instant; the blade scored across the meat of his shoulder and upper chest instead of the centre, deep enough to open a bright line of blood but not enough to end him. He shouted in pain and surprise. Nisha followed with a hard kick to his midsection and another to the side of his knee. Drunk and wounded, he staggered, hit the wall, and slid down into the corner. His eyes rolled and closed. He did not get up.
The room went quiet except for heavy breathing.
Nisha turned to the bed.
Vidya stared at her as if she were seeing a ghost. The restraints still held her. Her body was marked by the intensity of the night, but her eyes were sharp with recognition.
“Nisha… Nisha. You came.”
“Yes. I came here to save you.”
Nisha moved fast. She cut and released every cuff and strap, freed wrists and ankles, and pulled Vidya upright. Vidya’s legs were unsteady; the hours of restraint and intensity had left her weak. Nisha got an arm around her waist and took most of her weight.
“We move now. Stay with me.”
They left the room the way Nisha had entered. The corridor outside was still empty for the moment. Nisha half-carried, half-guided Vidya toward the route she had already mapped — the service turns that avoided the main junctions and led toward the outer storage side and the jetty.
They almost made the next corner clean.
Two more men appeared at the far end of the hall, drawn by the noise from the lower room. They saw the women and started forward. Nisha did not give them time to call out. She pushed Vidya into a shallow doorway, closed the distance in a sprint, and hit the first man with a rapid combination that dropped him before he could raise his hands properly. The second swung wide. She ducked, drove her shoulder into his midsection, and put him down with the same efficient violence she had used on the others. Both stayed on the floor.
She was back at Vidya’s side in seconds.
“Can you keep going?”
Vidya nodded, jaw tight.
“Yes. Just don’t let go.”
![[Image: 35be9e6342f64a52b520db66e73c0d10.gif]](https://i.ibb.co/9948Wtms/35be9e6342f64a52b520db66e73c0d10.gif)
She was back at Vidya’s side in seconds.
“Can you keep going?”
Vidya nodded, jaw tight.
“Yes. Just don’t let go.”
Nisha adjusted her grip and they moved again — two figures in the soft corridor light, one supporting the other, leaving the barred room and the unconscious men behind them. Ahead lay the rest of the maze, the outer door she had already tested, and the dark water beyond the compound. Behind them the alarm had not yet risen, but it would. Every second counted.
Nisha kept them moving, knife still in her free hand, Vidya’s weight solid against her side, and the single clear purpose that had brought her onto the island finally in motion: her friend was out of that room, and they were not stopping until the island was behind them...
Nisha turned to the bed.
Vidya stared at her as if the world had tilted. The restraints still held her in place. Her voice came out rough and disbelieving.
“Nisha… Nisha. You came.”
“Yes.” Nisha was already at the cuffs, cutting and releasing them one by one. “I came here to save you. Hold still.”
“I thought— they said you were dead.”
“I’m not. Arms free. Now the ankles. Can you feel your legs?”
Vidya flexed carefully as the last restraint came off.
“They’re weak. Everything is weak. But I can move.”
Nisha pulled her upright and got a solid arm around her waist, taking most of her weight.
“Then we move now. Stay with me. Do not stop unless I stop.”
“Where are we going?”
“Out. Same way I mapped. Service corridors to the outer storage side. Jetty after that. Talk less. Walk.”
They left the room the way Nisha had entered. The corridor outside was still empty. Nisha half-carried, half-guided Vidya along the counted turns, staying close to the wall, listening for any change in the building’s rhythm. Vidya’s breathing was harsh but steady. Her bare feet made almost no sound on the floor.
They almost cleared the next junction clean.
Two men appeared at the far end of the hall, drawn by the noise from the lower room. They saw the women and started forward at once.
“Hey! Stop right there—”
Nisha did not give them the chance to finish or to call for backup. She pushed Vidya firmly into a shallow doorway.
“Stay.”
Then she closed the distance in a sprint. The first man reached for her; she slapped the arm aside, drove a strike into his throat, and followed with a knee that folded him. The second man swung a wide, heavy punch. She ducked under it, stepped in, and hit him with a short, brutal combination — body, jaw, knee — that put him on the floor beside his partner. Neither of them got back up in time to matter.
She was at Vidya’s side again in seconds.
“Can you keep going?”
Vidya’s jaw was tight, but her eyes were clear.
“Yes. Just don’t let go of me.”
“I won’t. Come on.”
Nisha adjusted her grip and they moved again — two figures in the soft corridor light, one supporting the other, leaving the barred room and four downed men behind them. Ahead lay the rest of the maze, the outer door she had already tested with a stolen card, and the dark water beyond the compound. Behind them the alarm had not yet fully risen, but every second brought it closer.
Nisha kept them moving, knife still in her free hand, Vidya’s weight solid against her side, and the single purpose that had brought her onto the island finally in motion.
“Almost there,” she said under her breath. “Stay with me, Vidya. We’re not done until the island is behind us.”....
![[Image: 9d1304a8b51744328d247d18bec2151c.gif]](https://i.ibb.co/9mp3tRRk/9d1304a8b51744328d247d18bec2151c.gif)
Corridors turned back on themselves. Doors looked identical. Soft lighting erased depth and direction. What had been a counted route in Nisha’s head began to blur once they were moving under pressure with Vidya’s weight against her side. They took a left that should have led toward the outer storage and found only another stretch of the same blank walls. They doubled back, tried a service turn, and ended up closer to a junction they had already passed.
“This place is a cage,” Vidya muttered, breath short.
“I know. Stay quiet. I still have the path. We just lost a turn.”
They kept moving. Every sound behind them felt closer than it was. The alarm had not fully risen yet, but the absence of the men Nisha had dropped would not stay unnoticed for long.
It broke sooner than she wanted.
Four men appeared at the far end of a connecting hall — two from a side door, two from the main stretch. They saw the women at once.
“Hey! Stop!”
“Stop right there!”
They came forward fast, no weapons drawn yet, relying on numbers and the narrow space. Nisha pushed Vidya behind her against the wall.
“Hold the wall. Don’t move.”
She met the first two head-on. The corridor gave her less room than before, but it also stopped them from surrounding her cleanly. She dropped the lead man with a hard strike to the throat and a follow-up that put him down. The second swung; she took the glancing hit on her shoulder, stepped in, and put him on the floor with a knee and an elbow. The third and fourth tried to rush together. She used the first as a momentary shield, then finished the sequence with the same short, brutal efficiency she had used in the lower room. In under a minute all four were down — groaning, moving weakly, or still.
From another corridor, further off but closing, more voices rose. Footsteps. The sound of people being directed toward the noise.
Nisha’s decision was instant.
“We can’t outrun the whole floor. We hide. Now.”
She got Vidya’s arm around her shoulders again and pulled them away from the junction, back along a secondary passage she had noted earlier — the one that looped toward the hospitality wing where the selected dancers were kept. The same suite Duke had shown them. The same room where Spurthi and Taboo had been left to sleep.
The door was still unlocked from the inside. Nisha opened it without sound, guided Vidya through, and closed it behind them.
The suite was as she had left it: three large beds, low light, the table with covered food and water. Spurthi and Taboo were still asleep, breathing evenly, unaware of the fight that had moved through the corridors outside. Nisha eased Vidya down onto the nearest empty bed.
“Take rest. Here.” She brought water first, then uncovered some of the food. “Eat what you can. There are clothes in the cupboard — stage spares, but better than nothing. Change when you have the strength.”
Vidya’s hands shook as she took the glass. She drank, then sat with her head lowered for a long moment. When she looked up, her eyes were wet.
She reached out and pulled Nisha into a tight, desperate hug. Her voice broke against Nisha’s shoulder.
“Thank you. Thank you, Nisha. I thought no one was coming. I thought—”
Nisha held her firmly, one hand steady on her back.
“It’s my responsibility. You went in my place. No need for thanks. Just stay quiet, recover what you can, and be ready when we move again.”
Vidya nodded against her and did not let go immediately. When she finally eased back, Nisha checked the door once more, listened to the corridor, and then began sorting the spare clothes and the remaining food into what they would need for the next stage of the escape.
Outside, the compound was beginning to wake to the fact that something had gone wrong in the lower rooms. Inside the hospitality suite, two dancers still slept, and two officers sat in the dim light — one exhausted and newly freed, the other already planning the next move through the maze that still stood between them and the water....


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