The last thing she saw were the four men grinning down at her misery as her consciousness slowly coalesced with darkness.

°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•°•

The storms of the night before haven't stalled yet but a little storm had never stopped Sid from racing through these wonderful woods. Squinting through the falling droplets of the rain, ducking, dodging, and jumping over fallen and swinging trees alike. With a flying jump, he broke through the forest line and on the sandy secluded beach.

He sprinted easily on his long athlete's legs. Rain droplets rolled off the tip of her nose and submerged him in the earthly scents. He'd been out running even before the violent storm turned into a soft drizzle, his feet flying, his heart pumping in a furious attempt to erase from his mind the events of the night before. It had all been fine. It had all been going fine. It had been so well. And then it had all unraveled.

He shook his head as if to shake free of the memory. He lengthened his strides and quickened his pace, pushing his body as fast as it would go. Fast, fluent, invincible. That's what he had always been, that's what he needed to be. The constant. 

The sudden cackling overhead as a blinding light split the sky in two, followed by a thunderous deafening sound. The sea roared to life, a humongous wave washing over his running form. Nature was in upheaval and from his point, he couldn't differentiate between the darkness of sea and sky. The line where the sky meets the sea seemed to have blurred. There was no way someone could differentiate between the stormy blue of the sky or the sea. 

Something was very wrong. 

Siddhant decided turning away from the angry roaring sea, wailing sky, and howling winds. Breaking into another sprint towards his home, stepping into the shadows of the sal trees. 

Dr. Siddhant,recently appointed govt. doctor of Salabari was the most loved and adored being in the reserve as well as in the villages around. And for as long as Siddhant could remember he had been running around the forests whether it was the Chandaka forest, Kanchenjunga or the Rajhamsa island it didn't matter. Running has been the only constant in his life.

Something that never changed.

He was back under the protection of the dense forest, listening to the chortles of Mahanadi following nearby when a sudden violent stance of blood assaulted his senses. Fresh blood. Worried he changed his tracks and sprinted towards the smell of blood tainting the earthly stances. 

"Narayana," He heard himself speak almost involuntarily. 

It was not a pretty sight. There was a body in front of him. A female mud and blood-covered body. He couldn't actually differentiate the blood from the mud. It was an odd mixture. The brown of mud, the red of blood mixing and clashing against each other. Even with the violent rains overhead. The face with blood spilling and painting her lips a vivid dark scarlet amid the dark monochromatic hues of nature. The scene in front of him was truly a bloody and muddy mess and the clothes that used to cover her body once were ripped to shreds. Surrounding her like flowers spread around dead. 

He was almost afraid of touching her. He didn't want to tarnish her essence more than it already had been but he needed to check whether she was really dead or not? Even if the scene in front of him made it seem highly unlikely for her to be alive. He still needed too. The healer in him won't rest until he checked. Gently his fingers glided over her vitals and to his utter surprise, there was a pulse.

He hadn't truly expected her to be alive. It didn't seem possible yet she was and draining fast. 

Discarding every thought about possibilities and miracles. He scooped her in his arms and darted towards his abode. He might save her or it might be truly too late. But he had to try. He really had too with that in his heart he sprinted full speed towards his wood and stone mansion.

"ARNAV," He bellowed for the only brother who could help him and not become a hindrance in his path.

Not even waiting for his answering yell, Sid threw out his orders "Meet me in the emergency room with water and towels. We have a situation,"

Sure, his brother will follow through with being the most caring and emotional one after all. Sid took the girl in his arms to the emergency room checking again and again whether she was still there or not. Placing her on an empty stretcher, he started the work on the primary cleaning and healing bits. 

After few minutes, Arnav joined him with clean water and towels and together they cleaned the mud, dirt, and grime off her careful of her wounds and there had been many including a bullet wound and Sid have been totally and thoroughly involved in the art of healing. 

Not paying any attention to the world as he focused only on his patient and the tries to save her life. Running scans, checking for internal bleeding and wounds, putting up drips and doing blood transfusions, and all he could do to save the girl's life. After spending hours on stabilizing the girl while controlling his anger on the people behind her condition.

Sid finally took a deep breath of relief. She seemed stable now. But still, he would keep checking on her and see how she recovers and reacts to the treatment and everything. How she deals with everything will pave the way for future treatment and how to handle her trauma. 

Satisfied with his plan, of course, he turned around and became distinctly aware of his brother's withdrawn behavior throughout the healing procedure. The sudden chalk-white pigmentation of his younger brother didn't make him feel any relief.  

"Nav...What happened?"

"Nav...baccha, What's wrong?" 

Sid questioned Arnav very worried as he held his brother's slack body in his arms and guided him towards the recliner. He seated Arnav on the recliner and sat beside him looking all worried. What happened to his brother? Siddhant had never seen Arnav so pale, drowning in what felt like anguish and terror. 

"Nav!!!" Sid called his brother gently, almost coaxingly while worry tormented and ate him from inside. What happened to his brother all of sudden? Sid thought all worked up as he checked and scanned Arnav trying to deduce what happened to his youngest brother.

Arnav was the youngest of the brothers and the heartbeat of all of them. He was seven years younger than Siddhant and almost 11 years younger than their eldest Iresh. Arnav always has been less of a brother and more of a son to them. After their parents' demise, they had raised Arnav together, shielded him from everything, and loved him with all they had. He was the warm sticky glue joining them together and needless to say, even the slightest thing affecting him affected them the most.

And right now, Siddhant was going out of his mind worrying about his little brother. What was affecting his little Nav so badly? It isn't like Nav hadn't seen blood and gore before. Nav was always interested in the fine art of healing and have helped him deal with his brother's injuries. Nav was a certified vet himself working on the reserve than what sent him in shock this time?

What's wrong with him?

What's triggering him?

"Could it be? No, it couldn't be it, could it?"

~to be continued~

Hello everyone. 

So dear Arnav is finally in the story. What do you think about his entry and if you're wondering about the ages of the characters here they are,

Arnav is 23 years-old.

Khushi is 19 years old.

Siddhant is 30 years old.

Aryaman is 29 years old.

Saesha is 30 years old.

Lavanya is 29 years old.

Sheetal is 31 years old.

Payal is 23 years old

Akash is 29 years old.

NK is 24 years old.

Anjali is 34 years old

So, that's the age systematic. Hope it makes sense and don't forget to tell me what do you think of Sid and Arnav?

And why is Arnav is in shock, frozen or gone blank? 

Bring on the guesses people.

Theories are welcomed.

Will meet you again with the next part till then stay safe and happy.

And keep on supporting this story.

Bye-bye.