One Night With Mr Braxton

Run!

Emma’s mind screamed and immediately, she took off in a fast sprint. her heartbeat also sped up when she saw the car draw even closer to her.

Why was she being followed? Emma pondered as she ran with all her might. Suddenly, it seemed like the street was getting too long. She couldn’t seem to get to the end of the street fast enough.

She cursed aloud when she hit her feet on a stone but couldn’t stop to attend to the pain. She could tell her feet were going to bruise but her life was of more importance to her. With the string of unfortunate events which has been her life recently, she was convinced that the men behind her weren’t good news.

Emma looked behind and saw the car moving at a normal pace and was almost close to her with confident looking eyes. She looked ahead and there was no one. It seemed like it was a planned move because the roads felt too empty.

Something told her it was just her luck that when she needed help and cover, there was no one. Everything seemed to bend over in order to make sure she didn’t have things easy in life.

With shaky legs, Emma soon realized she couldn’t continue running. At least not for long. The roads were scanty and her pursuers had a greater advantage over her. She noticed they weren’t making as much effort to capture her in the streets.

It almost seemed like they were leading her somewhere. They were too lax in their pursuit and even while running, she wondered if she was doing exactly what they wanted. If she was making their job easier by going the obvious way.

Could it be that there was even greater danger ahead of her? Emma thought and before she could think up an answer, she saw a road between blocks and immediately disappeared from sight, taking a path only accessible by foot.

The men, upon seeing her diversion, immediately stepped on the breaks. Throwing curses, they stepped out and rushed after her, taking the same route and hoping they didn’t get to lose her.

” You go this way while I keep moving. Signal me if you find her!”

The scarred eyed man said to his accomplice and they separated, hoping they hadn’t just lost her. They couldn’t afford to lose her, she was literally money walking and needed to be possessed.

Although they were being paid to get her, he also had other plans up his sleeve which made her too valuable to be lost. She was a rare gem and opportunity!

Emma was hiding in the garbage. She took a quick decision to hide after hearing them search for her and figured she was safer in hiding than in motion. From her horrendous hiding place, she could tell the directions the men were headed in search of her and when she heard them split up, she was even more certain of the fact they were after her.

Covered in heaps of garbage, Emma struggled to breath properly. Her environment didn’t help with the fact that she was yet to eat something. her feet hurt and her heartbeat refused to slow. She was terrified, hungry and homeless.

All part of the perks of being twenty one.

Seconds felt like minutes and minutes, hours. She wasn’t hearing anything and wondered if they had left. She wondered about the chances of them getting tired of looking for her and calling it a day.

She wasn’t too convinced of that theory and instead stayed for an even more extended period of time hoping to wait it out some more before taking the risk.

One aspect that Emma didn’t consider was the fact that the more she waited it out in the cold stinky garbage, the darker it got and the less people were on the streets.

In other words, she was unconsciously putting herself at a disadvantage for getting help while attempting to escape the claws of her enemies. Things got to a point and she fell asleep, cramped behind some garbage but was jolted awake by a scampering squirrel.

It took her a while to register her surroundings and afterwards she got up on her feet, only then noticing how much pain she felt. Her body ached, her legs at the forefronts with the intense pains from her joints which almost took her by surprise.

” Surely, they are gone by now.” She thought within herself and noisily exited the place. The fresh night air immediately engulfed her, washing away the polluted air she’d been inhaling for the longest time.

Somehow, her nose had adapted to the offensive smell from the garbage. She was even now convinced of the fact she was in dire need of a shower. Her clothes cleaved to her skin and the staunch morbid smell of garbage stuck to her.

Emma limped out of the place, contemplating where to go. She couldn’t head home. Neither could she head back to the studio. She has an inkling that those men could be waiting for her over there which effectively canceled that option.

She was now left with nowhere. Nowhere to go or hang around. Her stomach in that moment growled, as though trying to . She emptied her pockets and the fact she was totally broke glared at her.

Somewhere during her run, she must have dropped the last money she’d planned to use in getting some food. Her stomach growled again and this time around, with pain.

Emma doubled over with her palms on her head. She felt angry and frustrated. Her mind decided at that moment to bring up the sumptuous meal she’d been offered at the maniac’s house and how she’d left it in a hurry to leave.

A decision she was sorely regretting and now wishing she could turn back the hands of time and actually put something in her stomach. It was too late though. Life always found a way of hurting and hitting her where it hurt the most.

Emma felt disoriented. Her usually creative mind was blank as she looked at the starry night sky. For a moment, she contemplated heading home and letting herself get caught. After all, that would mean she got a plate of food and a roof over her head.

That idea was soon contested by the reality that she didn’t actually know the reason behind their tailing her. She had no idea of their intentions and honestly speaking, she couldn’t shake off the thought of her being killed and forgotten.

If those men were assassins, she was probably going to be walking into her death and if they were kidnappers, she was probably going to end up being discarded anyway. It wasn’t like her family weren’t already desperate to get rid of her.

It would most definitely be a favour to them if she disappeared and if they were to receive word of some bail, they’d pretend it wasn’t received.

Emma was surprised at herself. Despite the amount of hatred she bore for her family, she still managed to learn, understand and adapt to their way of life.

She was a walking manuscript of their capabilities having lived under them for so long. With that train of thought, the idea was totally scrapped out. She couldn’t get caught, discarded and forgotten when she had a lot to do.

It may not seem like it but there was a lot she believed in. Emma was convinced of the fact she had a purpose. She had valid dreams which she couldn’t allow to die. She couldn’t let herself diminish. She had to fight for her life.

She was convinced that even if her life was nothing now, she could still make something out of nothing. Matter of fact, it was her forte. She always survived terrible situations. She was a born survivor and she was determined to pull through.

She just needed to find the strength to get up and do it. She needed to be in motion and action. She was done overthinking everything. At least for now.Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org exclusive © material.

Emma got up with utmost difficulty and propelled herself forward. She was careful not to make too much noise in case they were still around and reeled in the fear that threatened to break out from within.

The roads were quiet. Too quiet. She was certain it was late in the night from how silent the world seemed at that time. The world was asleep and she was here; dirty and hungry while finding a way out of her terrible situation.

Oh what she wouldn’t give to get a plate of food and somewhere safe to rest.

Her energy was depleting and she needed rest and attention and she was crumbling within. She was only surviving on will power and it was only a matter of time before she ran out of that too.

” There you are. ”

A husky voice said into the silence, shocking her to a stand still. Emma slowly turned around and what she saw eradicated the remnants of hope she had in her.