Tree by tree, chain of empty houses, dim lights and a fading castle; they were leaving the nightmare behind. It was like undoing of everything which had built itself around them to suffocate them. She looked back after having a satisfactory look at their escape. Manik was still looking at her ardently. For that moment, she again assured herself how he was there and they were going away from that nightmare. Her father was fast asleep in the dark of that trailer. Manik hadn't uttered a word since they had come out of those wooden boxes. He had held her hand for hours before letting her do whatever she wanted to. She had moved to look out as first thing to assure herself that she was going away from that fort. 

About him, she hadn't figured out a way to break the bridge of eyes. She wanted to touch him; each that bruise on his face, each that worry line on his forehead which seemed to be carved there. She wanted to take a look at his arm which must have bled because his coat was coated in blood. She wanted to ask him so many things; she wanted to tell more than that.  She wanted to do that everything which could heal them both. But then they had grown this bridge of eyes where words weren't going to do the talk. She knew he won't talk, she didn't know if she could calm overwhelm down ever.

Cold wind danced in her hair through that little window and he leaned on metal wall of the trailer. His eyes still intact on her, she could have him like that forever. She got up and walked to him. His eyes followed her each step carefully. Kneeling in front of him, she inhaled a long breath to continue what they had to halt abruptly. Her eyes welled up as she saw his each wound so close and her hand raised to touch each one of them but before she could execute what her heart was dying to do, his hand grabbed her upper arm to have her all. He filled her in arms as she landed on his lap. His lips stilled on her warm neck as he inhaled sharply. She could hear noise inside him. It was of fears and pain. She couldn't see him as he had clutched her so hard in arms that she was barred of every view.
Those stilled lips started to bestow endless tender kisses on her throat and her arm slid behind his nape to live that moment. Her hand soaked a bit in something unknown as her other palm rested on his nape. She tried to part away but he didn't let her.

"No," He protested, unpleased.

A deep kiss on her throat followed and she had to give in. Her hand kept caressing his nape and he kept having whatever he needed to mend the wounded he.

Nandini again exerted a little pressure on his shoulder asking him to let her have a look at him but he again denied her plea by digging his nails in side of her waist mercilessly. His lips kissed her cheek and tears who had threatened her till now broke loose. His dry lips groped her cheek violently and another trail of salt water flowed down her cheek. As soon as, wet of her eyes met his skin, he loosened the merciless grip of his and parted her from him holding her shoulders. She was crying and his heart ached.

"I am sorry," He murmured wiping those tears away and she shook her head.

"I didn't mean..." He continued to say as he blamed himself for being that brutally in love with her. She didn't have to go through this part of him.

She shushed him bestowing a long kiss on his forehead as her palms cupped his face.

"You don't need to," She said as she broke that contact and looked at his face finally. Her thumb trailed over that long cut just above his right brow. Another thumb traced the cut on his lip and he let her do whatever she wanted to.
She leaned and kissed the side of his lip as if trying to sooth his pain. His hands again reached to hold her waist firmly and she smiled.

"Say something," He demanded as she kept looking into his eyes for minutes.

"I missed your words more than anything," He said and she pressed her lips to manage that urge to break down in his arms.

She again leaned in to bestow another series of tender kisses on his bruised face. His breathing deepened and she knew that wall was coming down.

"What happened to your face?" She asked and before he could even start to answer, she got reminded of his nape. She pulled his head to level of her shoulder to have a look at it. It was bleeding a little. A gasp touched Manik's ears as she examined the wound.

"And this one...how did you get it?" She asked and he adjusted his head in crook of her neck. His lips tickled her neck but she didn't let him have her distracted.

"Manik," She called his name as he kept that silence going.

"Say it again," He demanded still brushing his lips onto her neck.

"How did you get this wound?" She asked impatiently.

"Not that, say my name again," He demanded and she had to close her eyes to serve that difficult man.

"Manik," She said it softly and he with a speed of lightening captured her lips. She couldn't even make out when his lips left her skin and reached her lips. She had to gulp the breath back as he sealed all her words. His lips moved roughly over hers and she tapped his chest. After some constant taping, he let go and groaned in displeasure. She immediately looked at her father and his eyes followed her gaze. She sighed in relief as she saw him sleeping peacefully. A smile crept on Manik's wounded lip as he got to understand her urgency to end the little contact they had started to make.

"Not now," She said and his eyes moved to her bruised lips. His thumb wiped the little red from it and his face twitched again.

"Not again," She complained looking at his twitched face. He was swinging between two parts of him. She could see glimpse of someone she knew and someone he had become.

"That wound," She asked and he sighed giving in.

"Those bastards..." He stopped and took a deep breath.

"Those soldiers did it," He answered as briefly as he could.

She kept looking at him and he met her gaze to know what was going behind that silence of hers.

"You have to go through a lot for me," She murmured as soon as he looked into her eyes.

He grabbed her nape in jiffy and placed his lips on hers to shut all the thoughts she was allowing to start. Prisoners of eyes got off the leash again. He let go soon enough for her to start with another worry.

"Never say that again otherwise I won't think twice to shut you up like this," He said and she couldn't help but smile amid cascade of tears.

"I missed you," She said as she got up from his lap only to settle there again in a much comfortable position. Keeping her both legs on one side, she put her head on his chest.

"I haven't slept in a long time," She said and he engulfed her in an embrace where nothing could touch her. 

"Sleep," He said and she breathed deep. He saw her falling asleep in his arms and then put his cheek on her head. He hadn't slept in a long time either and he thought now he could.
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Morning brought curse of light. Aryan had reached the little town where people were living as slaves. On other hand, castle had turned into a roaring palace as soon as news of Nandini went missing spread like wails. It was beyond understanding of every officer in there that how she escaped that fort with her father. There was this hustle of finding her somewhere, they hoped she hadn't gone out of castle and was hiding somewhere. Maybe one person knew how she escaped. As soon as Nandini and Aryan's connection got highlighted in his mind, it was not difficult to connect the dots. That person was Lieutenant Pal. He could see his death coming his way once dictator comes back. He must have got the news, Lt believed. He chose to keep his mouth shut; he couldn't tell them how his dear slave had bailed Nandini out. He could have these few breaths before they slaughter him.

Aryan drove slowly on tight roads of messy town. It was a colony of commoners who had agreed to accept the reign of dictator. None of army men had stopped him till now seeing the truck. It belonged to army only.

Manik knocked the little window between cabin and semi-trailer, and Aryan opened it.

"Where are we?" He asked and Aryan looked around to make sure no one was watching Manik.

"We are still in town," Aryan informed.

"News of Nandini's escape must have broken till now," Aryan put his concerns forward. His hands were shaking thinking about repercussions of his brave stunt.

"Don't quiver and keep driving," Manik said calmly and Aryan nodded.

"We need to find Harshad and Aabid too," Aryan reminded.

"They must be in outskirt," Manik assumed.

"It's difficult to make through it," Aryan showed his doubts.

"Don't tell me you already regret it," Manik tried to instigate his easy-pick brother.

"I am," Aryan accepted and Manik sighed.

"Just drive this thing out of town and I would take the wheel. I am there if anything goes wrong," Manik said and Aryan nodded.

Closing the window, Manik looked at Nandini who was trying to show some diary to her father. He saw Mr Murthy keenly as he had been noticing his strange behavior.

"You wrote this," Nandini said as Mr Murthy gaped that diary.

"You remembered it, Papa," She tried to remind him how he himself had lead her to his diary.

There was something very unusual about the conversation, Manik could see. He hated that man sitting there in front of his eyes but he couldn't hate Nandini's father. Nandini looked at Manik and smiled. She was trying very hard to look normal when nothing was normal.

"Food," Mr Murthy said closing the diary.

"Bread...water...bread," He couldn't make a sentence and Nandini frowned. She was feeling utterly helpless. Her father wasn't responding to her attempts to bring him back and she was closed in a trailer to worsen the situation.

"Aryan, we need food," Manik said opening the little window.

"We can't stop," Aryan refused outright.

"I cannot draw attention of those hawk eyed soldiers towards this vehicle by stopping unscheduled," Aryan elaborated and Manik looked at Nandini.

Nandini looked at her father who was sitting lost somewhere.

"It's okay," Nandini assured Manik and opened the diary again trying to distract her father.
It was going to be tougher than they had thought.
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Aryan halted the truck near a water body. They were out of busy town and now were heading towards border of new city. 

He stepped out and walked to river. Filling the bottle, he looked around only to find nobody. His heart was beating in his mouth as he walked back to trailer. Opening the little window, he handed the bottle to Manik. Nandini took it to her father. Mr Murthy had water and hid the rest of bottle under his coat. Manik could see how things were very strange. Nandini looked at Manik and Aryan. Manik closed the window and soon truck was back on road.
Mr Murthy soon drifted to sleep and Nandini walked to sit next to Manik. He extended his hand for her and she took it gladly. She was holding a lot inside her. She didn't even know how to let it out. Her touch could tell she was ached for various reasons. Instead of letting her sit next to him, he pulled her on his lap.
Silence lived as they both sat there trying to hear the unsaid.

"He doesn't remember me," Nandini said lowly.
Manik raised his chin from her shoulder and turned her to face him.

"He doesn't remember who I am," She said looking down.
Manik didn't know how to console her as her chin wobbled. He was so alien to these emotions.

"It is killing me," She said and he pulled her closer to enclose her in his arms.

"I try so much but it isn't working, Manik," She said sobbing.

"He is being treated so brutally and I couldn't do anything," She said breaking down. 

"I couldn't do anything to save him," She repeated.

"He doesn't remember anything," She added, crying. Her sobs filled the trailer.
Manik kissed her hair unable to sooth her with words. He didn't know what to say. He couldn't feel what she was going through except for agony to see her like that.
He kept cradling her till she calmed down.
________________
Aryan saw a convoy of army vehicles coming from opposite side. They passed his truck one by one and Aryan prayed each time they didn't stop his truck. Few kilometers went smooth but again he could see another convoy coming and this time it was huge. Very first one of them halted at distance indicating Aryan to stop the vehicle. Aryan's face went pale. One of officers walked to him wearing a rain coat. It was raining heavily.

"What's in the truck?" Officer asked and Aryan couldn't answer.

"Who are you and how come you are given an army truck?" Officer asked further and Aryan could see two more armed soldiers coming his way.

"I am carrying medicines, sire," Aryan replied politely.
He opened the drawer only to fumble with stuff in it. Drawing the authority letter out, He handed it to officer. He read it carefully before eyeing Aryan.

"Get your truck checked before you cross the border," He said giving the papers back to Aryan.

"Something wrong, sire?" Aryan asked trying to dig the matter.

"Minister and his daughter are missing. Every vehicle will have to go through checking," Officer answered as he wore his gloves back.

"Get going," He said tapping the trailer with his club.
Aryan drove it slowly away from that convoy only to go blank. He could see no way out.
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Unedited*