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.

"Please, calm down," the man pleaded. Inaaya met his eyes, wondering despite her panic why he looked hurt. Soft whispers arose from the people around them, gathering her attention. They all looked at the man with empathy though he paid them no heed. His perturbed eyes were fixated upon her. "Please, listen to me," he said, forehead creased and mouth downturned. She was panicking and it looked as if he was too.

"Where am I? Where is my family?" Inaaya asked, keeping her exterior calm and composed, even when inside she was anything but that. She was afraid. But never would she let this fear overtake her and make her lose any semblance of control she might still possess over the situation.

"They are safe," the man rushed to reassure. "They are being taken care—"

"What do mean they're being taken care of?" Inaaya shouted, taking a menacing step forward. His words reminded her of how the villains in the films would ask their goons to "take care" of someone. No, that couldn't be it. Those are films. This man wouldn't do that to her family. And for what reason! Her worry for her family gave way to a heated anger as she jabbed a finger in the man's chest. "I asked where is my family?"

The man stepped backwards, taken aback by her rage. His grey eyes spoke volumes of the hurt he felt before he closed them shut. He sighed, rubbing his forehead and meeting her gaze again. "They're fine. They've been taken back to your hotel," he took a step closer to her. "What is your name?"

Inaaya arched backwards, eyes wide in pure surprise at his abrupt change of topic. This was hardly the time or place for an introduction! "Sure I'll tell you that. How about I also give you my Aadhaar number while I'm at it?" she quipped rhetorically, eyes narrowed in scorn.

"What number?" the man asked, bemused.

"Ugh!" Inaaya groaned, diverting her eyes from his as she sighed. "Forget it," she gritted out, not wanting to explain to this foreigner about the unique identity number of India. She focussed back on the situation at hand, her eyes narrowing at him. "Why am I here if my family is back at the hotel?" she challenged, not believing a word he'd said. Her family wouldn't merrily go back to the hotel leaving her behind. If she was alone here, there was something terribly wrong.

Inaaya was struck with a realisation as the man continued to stare at her silently. She glanced back at the two burly men standing near the door, now facing her. She turned back to the foreigner again. "You're abducting me," she stated, her jaw clenched and eyebrows furrowed. She called it as she saw it. There was no point beating around the bush.

"What? No! I'm not abducting you—"

"So I can leave?" Inaaya shot at him, taking a step back towards the door, intending to catch his bluff. As expected, the two gatekeepers blocked her exit. Her heart beat faster; her fright increased. Though, she didn't let it show, she couldn't. She only clenched her jaw tighter and raised her eyebrows at him, challenging him. "Can I? Leave if I want to?"

"No," the man responded in a small, resigned voice, casting his eyes down. "Not right now. Please, try to understand."

"Understand what? That you need a better dictionary?" Inaaya crossed her arms over her chest, eyes unflinching, opposed to what she really felt inside. This stranger nearly confessed that he was going to abduct her. To keep her alarm from overtaking her mind, she dug her fingernails into the skin of her upper arms, forming immediate crescent moons. The sensation of this slight pain provided her with something to focus on other than her dread.

In a movement too fast for her to register, the man had pulled her into his chest and was holding her wrists behind her back. Inaaya struggled against him but he hardly noticed. He caressed the crescent moons on her skin with his free hand, trying to soothe the redness of it.

Shock lined Inaaya's face as she watched him, casting utmost attention to his task at hand. Inaaya too directed her gaze to her upper arm, watching his fingers caressed her skin with great care. She couldn't find it in herself to resume grappling against him. Rather, she stood there encased in his arms, transfixed by him. Her actions puzzled her but even that puzzlement had taken the backstage in her head.

The man breathed deep and low, his chest rising and falling against hers. Both seemed to be feeling a sudden breathlessness that Inaaya couldn't understand. He moved his gaze to her face, causing her chestnut brown eyes to meet with his light grey ones. It felt as if an invisible force was pulling her to him.

"Your name?" he whispered, his warm breath fanning against her lips.

"Inaaya," she answered softly, unable to blink away from his captivating stare.

"Axel." He smiled and Inaaya felt a flutter in her stomach. All she wanted to do at that moment was to nestle in his arms and touch his lips with hers. It was inexplicable, perplexing. Yet, it felt so right. As if she were meant to be here. With him. In his arms.

"I just need you to accompany me for now. I need to talk to you. It's going to be okay, I promise," he whispered, his eyes coaxing.

Being this close to him, her mind had become inactive and her heart, overactive. His words were blaring loud alarm bells in her head yet she found herself nodding, entranced by his eyes.

Axel smiled, leaning in, his lips closing in on hers. And just like that, the moment was broken. With her insecurities returned her thinking ability. "Let go," she hissed, trying to free her wrists from his hold. There was a pleading undertone in her voice that she wished wasn't there. Axel's eyes widened in brief surprise before narrowing at her, seemingly not liking her sudden struggles. Her tussles increased, his hold tightened. "Let go!" she yelled, her mouth twisted in pain.

A hand wrapped around Axel's arm and Inaaya heard a woman say, "Axel, let go of her!" The dark skinned woman moved in an attempt to free Inaaya as Axel glared at her from over his shoulder, his hands tightening around Inaaya's wrists more painfully. "Axel," the woman warned for Axel to only push her back.

Continuing in her struggles, Inaaya stomped her foot down on Axel's, causing his glaring eyes to shift towards her. In an instant, his eyes lost their coldness and his hands let go off her wrists. Inaaya stumbled backwards, rubbing her wrists that had turned a light shade of red. She flexed her wrists, checking for injuries before looking at Axel bitterly. His eyes were focussed on her pinkened wrists, not braving to meet her eyes.

Despite what had just transpired, Inaaya didn't feel fearful or angry at him. No, one look at his face told tales of his guilt. What worried her though was her own odd reaction towards him. The brief moment of intimacy she had just shared with the man wasn't a regular occurrence for her. The way he had clung to her, not wanting to let go of her, didn't set her on edge as it should have, as it usually would have.

Axel cleared his throat, stepping forward and entwining his fingers with hers despite her effort to pull back. "We're leaving," he announced to no one in particular, beginning to lead her out the train.

Inaaya had no words to say to him, no resistance to offer him against his gentle hold as he dragged her towards a fleet of black Escalades. One brief moment of intimacy and she was behaving like a complete goner. It was so unlike her, which didn't sit well with her at all. She needed to get a grip on herself.

"Get in, please," Axel said, opening the car door for her. Once she took her seat, several other strangers climbed in after her. She watched through the window as other strangers from the train filed into two other Escalades parked behind the one she was within. Soon enough, Axel pulled out of the parking, leading the fleet of Escalades.

Inaaya once again checked the time on her iPhone which was handed to her by a stranger along with her camera bag. The phone was of no more use to her than a watch as the SIM card had already been taken out.

It was nearly four hours into the drive already and Inaaya was yet to formulate a plan for her escape. Axel drove through vacant roads at such high speed that yelling for help or jumping out weren't an option. However, her prayers were answered when he pulled over at a gas station.

"I need to use the washroom," Inaaya said aloud, not meeting anyone's eyes. From the corner of her eye, she could see Axel peering at her through the rearview mirror.

Axel watched her for a moment too long before sighing and nodding. "Fine. Vanessa will take you." Following his command, the woman sitting beside Inaaya stepped out, reached her door and opened it. Inaaya walked towards the washroom with Vanessa following her closely like a shadow. Inaaya looked around, noticing the several of Axel's men and women scattered around the place. It would be impossible for her to run away and not be caught.

Once inside the washroom, Inaaya tried to discreetly make her way inside the stall with the largest window but Vanessa was quick to stop her. "Not that one," the woman exclaimed, shutting the door again.

Inaaya's jaw clenched and she pretended to follow the woman's order only to push her down with a sudden movement and make a run for it. However, Inaaya had hardly reached the door of the washroom when she was slammed into it. "Please don't force me to harm you. Beta Axel wouldn't like that," Vanessa sighed, grasping Inaaya's forearm. Inaaya had hardly the time to focus on Vanessa's words as she lamented over the loss of her first and probably the last opportunity for escape.

"I don't suppose you have to use the washroom after all," Vanessa said, dragging her out the door. For a petite looking woman, Vanessa packed more strength than Inaaya anticipated. The woman dragged her all the way to the car, depositing her unceremoniously on her seat. From her seat near the window, Inaaya could see Vanessa talking to Axel and Axel turning to scowl at her. She averted her eyes, wringing her fingers in her lap. Escaping from him was becoming more impossible with every passing moment.

She watched as Axel, looking exasperated, shouted for everyone to immediately get back into the cars. He himself resumed his position on the driver's seat, eyes narrowed at Inaaya's reflection in the rearview mirror. Soon enough they were back on the road. However, the car was yet to pick up speed, something Inaaya did not fail to notice.

There was only one thing left to do now.

Jump.

A/N:

So... that's the first chapter. Thoughts? Liked it? Hated it?

What did you guys think of Inaaya and Axel so far?