Uncaged

Chapter Twenty Five

Mrunali fought the trembling, threatening to betray her false bravado facing down the formidable spectre before her. Up close, Akash appeared even more menacing than in fragmented nightmares - hair grown long and matted, clothing dirt-stained and tattered, frame gaunt yet corded with lean, hungry muscle. He looked less human remnant and more savage, feral thing teleported from wilds unknown.

Beady eyes raked her diminutive form with bemused contempt as his tongue flicked over thin lips in ugly recollection. "My cunning girl puppeteered her way straight into the lion's den just for another glimpse...yet no pack to hide behind this time?" His rasping sneer raised every fine hair on Mrunali's neck. "Careful though, pup...lions quickly weary of timid pets once their distraction wanes."

Mrunali bristled at the demeaning address, rallied by his goading tone. She matched his glare inch for inch, refusing outright dismissal. "No need to strain your limited imagination concocting threats...we both know why I'm here tonight."

She was gratified to see the taunting leer slip slightly, even as a large grimy hand shot out and clamped over her throat. Rancid breath assaulted her as Akash yanked her onto her toes, suddenly nose to nose.

"You still don't realize your rightful place, do you girl?" he growled, sadistic delight dancing in his veins at her panicked wheezing. "Let me educate you properly then..."

Just as oxygen deprivation dimmed Mrunali's frantic vision, she glimpsed a syringe materialize in Akash's free hand, gleaming wickedly in the low light. As darkness seeped swiftly in, her mind conjured Rahul's sweet, steady gaze, despair and longing welling up one last time. A single tear slipped free, just as the needle pierced vulnerable flesh and ended all earthly light.