Tug Of War - Coming Back Soon

Chapter One

With a steady rise in her heartbeat and breathing, Inaaya was regaining consciousness. She squeezed her already shut eyelids tighter in the hope of holding on to her sleep a little longer before a soft, tired moan escaped her lips.

"Hum pahunch gaye kya?" she mumbled, opening her eyelids to reveal a pair of dazed chestnut brown eyes. Her lips parted in a wide yawn, causing her eyes to flutter shut again as she brought a delicate hand up to her mouth. A half smile graced her lips, relishing in the freshness, only for it to be shocked away.

[Translation from Hindi: Have we reached?]

"Don't you speak English?" a male voice rushed, sounding distraught.

Inaaya sat up with a start at the sound of the stranger's voice. She blinked a couple times before her eyes widened, more aware and sharper now. Two strangers — a man and a woman — were staring back at her. Not her family but two strangers.

The woman sniggered, smirking at the man. "Wouldn't that be hilarious? Finally finding a mate this late in your life and she can't even speak your language!" Her smirk grew as the man growled lowly at her.

Inaaya's eyes narrowed in confusion. While everything felt a bit foggy and bleary, she was sure this wasn't some peculiar dream. She tried to make sense of her whereabouts, realising a moment too late the slight drool dribbling down the side of her mouth. "Oh, shit!" She hurried to wipe it with her palm, clumsy and utterly mortified as she looked back up at the strangers again. The man laughed, almost adoringly, as if her drooling was nothing short of cute and lovable. Though Inaaya knew better. His laugh was nothing if not derisive.

A loud snicker from the female next to him brought their attention away from each other. "Oh, lord! This just keeps getting better and better!" the gorgeous, dark-skinned woman exclaimed, turning to her white companion. "Even she," she inclined her head towards Inaaya, "with all her doltishness, seems too good for you," she challenged.

The man bared his teeth at the woman, ready to respond but Inaaya cut him off. She knew the dolt in question was she herself but thought better of it than to respond. This was a different country and Inaaya was more rational than to defend her person to these strangers.

"I'm sorry, I," she paused, addled eyes wandering around the interiors of the train, "uh, think I'm in the wrong seat." Her words sounded more like a question than she intended. She was quite sure these were the seats she had occupied earlier with her family; fallen asleep next to the window while her father and brother sat opposite her. If only she had seen the tickets, she could have checked for the seat numbers.

Perhaps they made a mistake. Occupied the wrong seats? But if so, why wasn't she woken up earlier? Where were her father and brother? She knew they wouldn't leave her behind. Not when her father aimed to have eyes on her twenty-four-seven. He would never leave her alone, in a foreign country no less. But as impossible as it seemed to her, it had to be the only logical explanation.

Inaaya stood up, gathering her camera bag and iPhone before walking down the aisle, eyes roaming over the faces of the many men and women seated in the cabin. None was familiar, yet each one looked at her with sympathy. Her bewildered eyes settled on a window and she halted abruptly. The train had stopped. Had they reached their destination?

Inaaya walked towards the end of the cabin, to the doors that led the way out but were blocked by two burly men facing away from her. It looked as if they were guarding the exit. But why? As panic began to set in, Inaaya unconsciously stepped backwards, colliding with a sturdy body. A startled yelp escaped her lips as her phone and camera bag cluttered to the floor. She turned around to find the man from earlier holding her arms, keeping her upright. At once, she jerked away from him, her back colliding with the glass door of the train.