don't escape

Tari's eyes squeezed shut and memories of the accident came flooding back. Another round of tears escaped her eyes.

Her eyes fluttered open and she gasped out, chest rising and falling at an uneven pace. Loud, raspy breaths left her throat.

For a minute or two everywhere was blurry; she held her head and that was when her sight came back. Tears mixed with confusion as she stared at her unfamiliar environment.

A shockwave of pain hit her, and she fell back on the mat, hitting her head on the ground when she tried to sit up.

She squeezed her eyes, crumpling her face in pain, and held her head tight.

"Fuck," she muttered.

She opened her eyes again, and that was when she realized her hands were bandaged.

A frown appeared on her face as she raised her arms up to stare, then touched her head. She felt the bandage wrapped around it.

"Take it easy, my dear. You've been out for three whole days."

Tari swung her head to the side, to see an old woman with gray hair staring at her with a gentle smile on her face.

"Who the fuck are you!" Tari barked.

She made an effort to get up, but regretted it immediately as she hissed in pain and lay back down.

"Relax, my child. You are in a safe place," the old lady said.

"I am Ebiere," Ebiere introduced herself.

"Here, drink this herbal mixture. It will help you recover quickly." Ebiere stretched a cup of dark liquid toward Tari.

Tari used her hand to push the cup away; the earthen cup met the hard floor and shattered.

Ebiere stepped back with a gasp. "My dear..."

"I don't need your herbs! How the hell did I get here!" Tari barked, forcing through the pain to sit up.

"Keep your voice down," Barasa spoke, his voice cutting sharply through the quiet night.

Tari’s head snapped around. She tried to look at the figure over her shoulder, but that action only sent sharp, throbbing pain through her head and body. Still, she was too stubborn to care — she needed to see who had kept her here against her will.

"Frost," Ebiere called softly.

"Who the fuck are you?" Tari questioned, her eyebrows knitted tightly into a frown.

"Leave us," Barasa ordered, completely ignoring Tari’s question.

Ebiere used her cane to support herself as she stood up, then turned to face Barasa.

"Frost... I prepared two cups because I knew she would act this way. The spare cup is beside your foot. Please make sure she drinks it, or her condition will worsen," Ebiere instructed firmly.

She turned to walk away but paused, glancing back over her shoulder. "Frost... for my sake, be gentle," she said, then walked out of the mud house into the dark night.

The room fell into silence; the only sound was Tari’s heavy, raging breathing.

"Look... I don't know who the fuck you are or why I’m being kept here. But if you have been sent...." She trailed off sharply when Barasa pressed his boot directly into the injury on the side of her stomach.

"What the fuck!" Tari groaned in agony. She pushed his leg away quickly, clutching the spot he had pressed.

"Are you insane!" Tari shouted, eyes blazing red with anger. She tried to attack him, but he simply used his foot to block her. Her head hit his leg and she fell to the floor before she could even fully stand. Now she held her head with one hand and her stomach with the other, writhing in pain and grunting as she rolled on the ground.

"Get up," Barasa ordered. His cold, unfeeling voice sent fresh waves of rage through Tari’s body.

"Bastard!" Tari screamed.

"Get up, or this time I will hurt both injuries at once," Barasa threatened. Even while saying something so terrifying, he sounded relaxed — and that only fueled Tari’s anger more.

Who the hell does this jackass think he is? How dare he step on her wound and give her orders at the same time? It’s a fucking taboo! Nobody tells her what to do. Nobody orders Tari around or threatens her like a slave. She will make sure she gets her revenge.

Ignoring the searing pain, Tari managed to push herself up onto one foot. Her vision was spinning, but she forced herself through the agony and stood upright, nearly falling back down twice.

Tari staggered back, then forward. The second she got close enough to reach him, she landed a hard slap across his cheek.

Barasa’s head didn’t even budge, though he clearly felt the sting. A look of shock appeared and vanished from his face in a split second.

He raised his gaze to meet hers. Tari staggered, eyes wide at the intensity of his stare. He had this calm yet terrifying expression on his face that made her heart skip a beat — not out of admiration, but pure fear.

She bit her bottom lip, then swallowed the hard lump in her throat. She was limping badly, but still dared to speak her mind.

"How..." Tari opened her mouth to speak, but couldn't find her voice. All her words seemed to vanish as his unsettling gaze rested heavily on her.

He held direct eye contact with her, and it terrified her — though she refused to show it. Usually, she was the one who terrified people, but today the tables had turned completely.

"How dare you lay hands on me. How... who..." Tari tried to speak again, but the way his eyes stayed fixed on her terrified her to her core.

Even though she pretended not to be affected, she was shaken. This was the true definition of power meeting power. She fell onto her backside, mouth hanging open. Her legs felt numb, as if they no longer belonged to her.

"What do you want with me? Who do you work for?" Tari demanded.

"I work for no one," Barasa answered after a long minute of silence. He picked up the spare cup of herbs and stood up slowly.

"Why are you keeping me here? What do you want? Did Mitari send you to finish me off since the accident on the bridge didn't work?" Tari bombarded him with question after question.

He stretched out the cup toward her, completely ignoring every question she asked. Tari stared at the outstretched cup, then back up at his face.

"I won't drink that. What if it's poisoned?" Tari refused sharply.

Barasa clicked his tongue against the inside of his cheek. He was clearly running out of patience, and every bit of trouble followed wherever Tari went.

Seeing his mood shift, Tari decided to add more fuel to the fire.

"How much did she pay you?" she questioned, still clutching her injured side. Blood had now soaked through the bandage, and she was starting to see stars from the pain.

"It seems like you still don't know who I am. I am Tari Tariyefa Tonla..."

"One more word, and I will slit your throat, and have your head delivered to your paralyzed father," Barasa said, his voice edged with dangerous threat.

Tari frowned, wanting to say more, but the words paralyzed father rang loudly in her head. How long had she been unconscious?

She took the cup from him, her eyes still locked on Barasa. She sipped a tiny amount of the liquid but didn't swallow. The strong smell and bitter taste hit her nose and tongue so hard she frowned deeply.

She stared up at Barasa, pretending to show him that the cup was empty.

"Drink it all," he ordered. Tari frowned, ready to argue, but accidentally swallowed the liquid — coughing violently as if she had just drunk pure poison.

"You..." She struggled to say between harsh coughs.

Barasa walked past her toward the entrance of the mud house. Without turning back, he said:

"Rest while you still have the chance." He paused at the door. "Don't even try to escape. I will find you, and when I do..." He let the threat hang heavy in the air, then walked away, leaving Tari alone in her pain and confusion.

A few minutes after he left, Ebiere entered the hut. Seeing the blood-soaked bandage and the terrible state Tari was in, she gasped and rushed immediately to her side.......