Aman stared blankly in front of him.
There was something there. Something he didn't want to see. Something that clawed its way out from the pit of his nightmares the twisted, unexplainable horror of seeing himself killing another version of himself.
It made no sense. A hallucination? A memory? A premonition? He didn't know, didn't want to know.
But he was forced to know.
"Weird," he muttered.
"Cruel," he whispered.
"Bastard!" he shouted.
Aman coughed violently and his eyes shot open.
He was lying in bed. Bandages wrapped over most of his body. Pain flickered like fire under his ribs.
It wasn't the first time Mei Lian had to act like a nurse. Last time he was like this, he'd been tortured. This time, he'd fought and no one expected he would survive.
Aman turned his head slowly, his neck stiff and sore. Mei Lian was standing at a table, arranging supplies.
He wanted to live.
"Aman!"
The voice came from beside him. Latif. He was sitting by the bed, his expression shifting from joy to mock anger.
"You're still alive... Good. I wouldn't forgive you if you died, idiot! You left us all there like that."
Aman gave a strained smile and tried to sit up. Pain stabbed through his back.
"Yeah... Sorry, okay." His eyes drifted to Mei Lian, who noticed.
"You're not going to ask why you're here?" she asked.
"Alright, what happened?" Aman grunted.
"Oh! Oh!" Latif chimed in. "She told us that when you came back, you just collapsed and passed out. Your body was bleeding badly she dragged you here alone."
Aman nodded slowly, then tried to lift Latif onto the bed beside him. He winced and gave up.
"Ouch... my back's killing me. My arms are weak."
"You sound like an old man with back pain!" Latif teased.
"I'm just... older than you," Aman groaned.
Mei Lian narrowed her eyes and walked over, glaring at Aman. She rapped her knuckles lightly against his skull.
"You idiot. Do you know how hard it was to carry your half dead body all the way here? You pushed your body to the brink. Adrenaline only gets you so far."
"Ouch! Hey, I'm the one wrapped in bandages here!" Aman rubbed his head and blinked. "Where's Melati?"
The door slammed open. "Mei! I brought everything you asked for. You won't believe it they traded food and medicine for just a few cigarettes. I told you I'd pull it off. Well sure food and medicine important but for sure they can't live without their tobacco"
Melati stepped in, handing over a bag to Mei Lian. Then she turned to Aman. "Oh, you're awake. Here, take this. It'll help with the pain."
Aman swallowed the pill while Latif fetched him some water.
"You guys really took care of me," he said, half smiling. He clucked his tongue and looked out the window. "It's already dark."
"Midnight," Mei Lian said. Her voice was quiet, unsure. "They'll enter the city tomorrow."
"Yeah... The only reason they've paused is to resupply. They'll likely attack in the morning."
Latif, now huddled beside him, whispered, "Are we going to be okay?"
Aman smiled faintly and ruffled his hair. "As long as we're together, it'll be alright. We leave tonight."
Melati hesitated. "But... how?"
...
They stood in front of a black Ford Prefect. Their belongings were already stuffed inside.
"Rahman had good taste, I'll give him that," Mei Lian muttered.
"Wait, how much you know about car?" Aman asked.
"Yeah. New, too. Just interest."
Latif clapped his hands. "I've never ridden in a car before!"
"Don't ask questions you don't want answers to," Aman said as he climbed into the front seat.
Latif and Melati hopped in the back, while Mei Lian took the wheel.
She paused. "Wait... do any of us know how to drive?"
"I watched Rahman drive once. That's enough, right?" Aman took the wheel, hit the gas and slammed straight into a lamp post.
"Nope. Not enough," he grunted, holding his back.
"Let me try," Mei Lian said, taking over.
She gently pressed the pedal and hit another post.
"We're a menace to public infrastructure," Latif sighed.
"I used to drive," Melati said, raising her hand.
Everyone turned.
"Wait, you know how to drive?!"
"A guy once tried to impress me. Let me drive his car. I don't have a license though."
"WHY didn't you say anything earlier?!"
Melati shrugged as she slipped into the driver's seat and started the car like a pro.
The car moved smoothly through the road. For the first time in what felt like days, things were calm.
But none of them noticed the three vehicles slowly rolling out from shadowed alleyways behind them.
...
Inside the car, Latif leaned forward and rested his head on Aman's shoulder. Aman looked down, surprised.
"You really scared me, you know," Latif whispered. "Back there, we thought you wouldn't make it."
Aman gently patted Latif's head. "I didn't plan to leave. I just... I couldn't stop. I needed to finish it."
Mei Lian looked at the two of them from the rearview mirror. She didn't say a word, but her thoughts ran wild.
She remembered Kampar.
How Aman, broken and bloodied, fought Carter alone not for victory, but to protect her. How he refused to give up even when his eye was torn out. That moment was seared into her memory.
And now...
She glanced again at Latif resting against Aman. Is this boy can use to tame him?
Would Aman let himself get caught again? Hurt again? Or worse could someone use Latif against him the way the Japanese once used her to control him?
She bit her lip. Her stomach turned. It's the same all over again, she thought. The Major dangled me in front of him like bait and Aman accepted the mission just to keep me safe.
Now, if anyone figured out how much Latif meant to Aman...
She couldn't finish the thought.
They were all running again. Running from war, from ghosts, from blood stained memories. But something always followed. And sometimes, it didn't matter how fast you drove.
Mei Lian's fingers clenched the side of the door.
They had to survive this.
They all had to.
Aman looked down at Latif again, his expression unreadable.
He whispered softly, almost too soft to hear.
"I'm still here because of you."
Then...
A deafening crash.
A sudden, violent impact slammed the car sideways.
Screams. Shattered glass. Tires screeching.
The world turned upside down.
Darkness.
Part 1 Finished