Stranded.

Chapter Two

Someone is shaking me, rather violently. "Hey!" She yells and that causes me to open my eyes and look around to scan my whereabouts. "What happen..." before I even finish my question, I remember. We fell. I jolt up "Hey, hi. I'm Mariam do you remember me?" The girl I met earlier asks me in a panicked voice. "Yes, I remember you." I nod, confused. "Alhamdulillah." She sighs in relief. "Good good you didn't hit your head too hard." Mariam says as she helps me to my feet.

I finally look at the others and they don't look hurt, besides the guy with the light brown hair. He has a cut on his forehead. And a worried expression on his face. I let out a little sigh. I thought that I would never see your face again. I'm glad I did. I reach out in to my bag and pull out a small hello kitty bandage. I get closer to try to put it on his forehead but then I remember he's a grown man. Just instincts to protect him- everyone. I hand it to the guy that was still in the corner and he nods with a tight smile. Why is nobody talking?

"Thank you." The guy with the bruise utters. "We are stuck!" The blondie says as she bangs on the elevator door with her fists. "Help! Is anybody there?" She continues banging on the steel doors. Her breaths are heavy and she's crying. I put my hand on her shoulder and softly guide her back. "It's going to be okay." I smile at her as I step in front of the doors. I put my fingers inside the small opening and try very hard to open it but I only hear a creak. "Let us try." The guys let me step back before walking towards the door. Mariam is trying to calm the girl down. She's in a bad shape. It seems like she can barely breathe. "Hey, what's your name?" I ask the blondie so I can stop calling her the blondie.

"It used to be Eve but it's Noor now." Even as she's having a panic attack she attempts to smile at me. "I've recently converted to Islam." She says and that seems to calm her a little "Sorry, you didn't ask. It's just that you seem like you're a Muslim, so." She let's out a strangled laugh. "That is amazing! Really?" I ask, surprised. "Yeah." She smiles. She's definitely more calm now. I didn't expect to be surrounded by so many Muslims at this time. I'm glad.
I hear the door slowly creak open from behind me. I look back. "Come on, let's get out of here. I'm starting to get a little claustrophobic." The guy that used to be in the corner says as he squeezes through the exit. "Let's go." The guy with the bruise makes way for us. Me and Mariam let Noor go first and she mutters a quick thanks. "Be careful, it's dark." He says softly as I pass by him to exit.

The moment he steps out, the door to the elevator closes abruptly and it forces a gasp out of me. Everyone turns to look. "Oh, no, no, no, no." The corner guy runs to the doors to try and open it but it's of no use. Doesn't even budge. "We're stuck." Noor let's out a whimper. "Hey, no. We're not. Okay? We'll find a way out, in shaa Allah." I smile at her and she nods.

"Okay, Adam. How about we try to find a way out instead?" He says to Adam (now a retired corner man). At last, Adam stops and turns around. Or what I can see of him turns around which is not much since the only light keeping us company is a dim red light coming from god knows where. Bright lights suddenly turn on and I have to squint my eyes until they adjust to the lights.

"Where are we?" Mariam asks in confusion. I look around us. We're in a long hallway, the walls and the floor are made of steel and metal, the doors don't have handles and are all shut. This place does not feel safe. It doesn't feel right. "I don't know." My voice shakes involuntarily.

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We've been walking for almost an hour and there is nobody in sight. Everywhere looks the same and I'm pretty sure we're lost. All the doors are locked and have no windows that shows the inside. "Maybe the people that are responsible of this place are stuck up there. You know? Because of the elevators." Adam breaks the hour long silence. We passed by more elevators but they did not work. "Maybe. But, why is this place so big, anyway? Does it stretch all over the city?" Noor asks. "The only thing we can be sure of is that we are definitely lost in this endless hall of steel ugly doors with no cell service." I say. We pass by a hall as we enter another and I see a glimpse of a blue poster. "Hold your horses fellows." I say as I walk backwards to look at the hall and they follow me. I stop and Mariam bumps into me. "What?" She looks at the place I'm gaping at "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?" I ask slowly "I think I might actually cry." Mariam says as we both stare at the bathrooms "Okay, don't start crying, now." Adam says to us as he hurriedly walks towards the men's bathroom. "Please tell me you've got a prayers mat in that bag of yours." I ask eagerly "Pfft, who wouldn't?" She says as she walks— skips— towards the women's bathroom.

I walk behind her as Noor passes by me then Mariam "Have you convinced yourself that you don't know me yet?" I heard the voice behind me. "Hm?" I turn around to face him. Almost. "I don't know what you're talking about." I smile innocently. He steps closer to me and I unconsciously take a step back. "We've had our Nikah already, so I think it's fine if I ask you to clean my bruise for me. It's kind of bothering me." He smiles, almost sadly. I reach into my bag to look for a clean tissue, mainly so I don't get to look in his eyes. "Wait here." I walk into the bathroom and wet the tissue before walking out.

I nervously step closer to him. "Can you, uh, lean down a little?" I ask awkwardly as I avoid eye contact. I focus my eyes on the plaster and take it off soon after he leans down. "You are unnecessarily close. What are you doing her, anyway?" I mutter. "Maybe I wanted to see my wife. You've been ignoring me for months." He says "I'm not your wife." I utter, unconvincingly calm. I wipe off the dry blood around the cut. "You technically are—" he hisses as I press hard on his wound, definitely not on purpose. "You don't want me to be your wife." I put a normal plaster on this time. "You do not know what I want." He glares down at me as a response to my own glare.

"You felt forced to marry me, to honor my dad. I can't let that happen." I take a step back. "I won't let it happen, you deserve to be happy with someone that you actually love." As much as it hurts me to say this, I say it with a straight face. He makes no effort to hide his hurt expression though. "I-" he was cut off when I started walking away from him and into the women's restroom.
Ya Allah please forgive me for hurting him.
But that's what's best for him.
Right?