23 Life/Death

Meenakshi slowly opened her eyes to the sound of gunshots and tires. She held her head, feeling a throbbing pain inside. Her eyes scanned around the car, finding the front seats empty and the glass pieces scattered on the seats. She turned to her right, gasping at an unconscious Dhruv lying on the seat. Blood trickled down his head, staining his suit.

She moved towards him and shook his body, trying to wake him up but he wasn't responding.

Meenakshi tried to slow down her rapid breathing. She pulled out her scarf and tied up the affected area with the cloth to stop the loss of blood.

She looked around for someone to help her,but all she could see was grey smoke filling the atmosphere. She stepped out of the car and her eyes caught Iqbaal and Vijay shooting people.

"Iqbaal!"

She called him with all her strength. Luckily, he turned towards her and noticed her condition. He told Vijay something who turned towards her direction, his eyes brightening up with relief.

Iqbaal carefully approached Meenakshi.

"Dhruv is not responding! We need to get him to hospital!"

Iqbaal looked inside the car, finding Dhruv lying on the seat.

"We're surrounded by enemies! How will we reach the hospital?"

He shouted because the gunshots overruled their ears.

Meenakshi looked around desperately, thinking of some way. An idea caught her head.

"Can you drive this car?"

******************

Iqbaal drove the car through the forest beside the highway, attracting a few enemy cars to chase him.

Meenakshi sat on the backseat, holding Dhruv on her lap. She saw the cars chasing behind them and the men aiming their guns at them.

"Iqbaal! Drive faster! They're behind us!"

Iqbaal took a straight U-turn towards the side of the road and pulled the lever on the fourth gear. The car roared as they drove through the highway, straight towards the city.

There was a nearby hospital in which they could admit Dhruv. But problem arose when the enemy cars matched their speed, trying to target them.

"Meenakshi!Duck!"

Meenakshi immediately bent her head, making the bullet cross her head by inches.  The windows were broken,due to which the men got an easy target over Meenakshi.

The men continued to shoot Iqbaal and Meenakshi, which was making their journey difficult.

"Meenakshi! We can't stop our car infront of the hospital! They'll shoot us too!"

"Then?"

"We've to mislead them!"

They both ducked again, as the gunshots continued to be fired towards them.

"How?" Meenakshi asked.

"I've a plan!" said Iqbaal

************

Meenakshi peeked through the bins, looking for any sign of life. It was possible,that one of the men had seen her moving out of the car when Iqbaal parked in a deeper end of the forest beside the road.

Dhruv's body was quite heavy, so she had to be very stealthy with her moves while carrying him through the forest.

The city hospital was just a few minutes near, which gave her some hope. But she still had to be careful from the men who might have guessed that she was aiming for the hospital.

Sound of a few footsteps reached her ears and Meenakshi hid down beside the group of bins at the back of the hospital building. She hid Dhruv's body with her, placing his head on her lap.

She heard a few conversing behind the blue bins.

"Where do you think she's gone?"one man spoke.

"Maybe she's already inside!" another man added.

"No! My calculation says she's nearby! Look around and if you see her,then shoot!"

The men nodded and scattered around the place. Meenakshi tried to slow down her breath,that was rising with the tension around.

What if she gets caught?

She stared down at the face of Dhruv, who seemed like he was in a deep slumber.

"You've to save him!"

Meenakshi agreed to her inner voice, while a tear escaped the brink of her left eye. She softly kissed his forehead, praying for his life.

She won't let him die, even if it demands her own life.

"I'll love you till my last breath."

She peeked through the bins, finding the area clean. She pulled out the revolver from underneath her dress, the one she found in Dhruv suite. It was a shiny silver revolver,with a lion emblem embossed on its head. She knew that it was his special,which he always carried.

She slowly moved out of the bins and looked for the backdoor of the building.

'There she is! " One of the men shouted from behind, making her alert.

Meenakshi gripped the revolver tightly, praying for her luck to be on her side. She turned towards the two men running towards her, their guns aimed at her. A single mistake and she can die.

She took a deep breath in, while her trembling hand aimed the tip of the gun at the left man.

"You've to save him."

She pulled the trigger, putting the left man down. She did it!

But the right man shot her right shoulder that made her wince in pain. She immediately cupped her shoulder with her left hand, trying to stop the flow of blood. It's her only chance.

Groaning in pain, she lifted her right arm with all the energy she had and shot the guy.

She got her second shot right,but all of a sudden she felt something sharp penetrating her waist from the side. A sharp pain coursed through her spine as the metal penetrated her tissues.

Meenakshi screamed in pain.

"Don't give up, Meena!"Her inner voice cheered her up and with a strong growl like a lioness she hit her attacker's head with the tip of her revolver and when he was down, she shot him.

The sound of bullets caught the attention of the staff and nurses of the hospital who rushed towards the place and saw three men lying dead and Meenakshi limping with her dress stained in red blood.

Seeing them coming towards her, Meenakshi screamed at them.

"T-ta-ke him in, d-oc-"Her words slurred, as she felt her eyelids drooping. Black and blue dots danced infront of her vision and slowly everything went dark,as she collapsed on the ground.

"Take both of them to the OT, right now!"the nurse screamed.

*************

Dhruv slowly opened his eyes to find himself in a hospital bed. He wanted to move but felt a stinging pain on his head. He watched a nurse check him. The nurse looked intimidated from his stare. She went to the door and called someone.

Immediately, Iqbaal and all the gang members gathered in the room.

Dhruv looked up, as he searched for someone in the crowd.

Dhruv spoke slowly, wincing in pain

"Where is she?"An uncomfortable silence remained in the room as no one replied.

Dhruv shouted at Iqbaal in anger.

"I asked you something! Where is she?" Dhruv was scared. He remembered the Bomb blast happening. And Meenakshi was in the same car.

Was she hurt?

Iqbaal gulped something in fear.

"The doctors couldn't save her."

"What? I didn't hear you! Say it again!" Dhruv shouted,his heartbeat rising with each second.

Iqbaal was about to speak, when someone interrupted him.

"SHE IS DEAD, DHRUV! And all we could do was nothing to save her!" Vijay shouted with bloody red eyes and disheveled hair.

Dhruv saw tears welling up in his eyes.

"When the blast occurred, we all gathered up ourselves to shoot the enemy. You were in a critical condition, and God knows why that girl took you in her arms and told Iqbaal to drive towards the city. She tackled three well trained men alone, just to save you! Her body was stabbed with a knife and her right shoulder shot. FORTUNATELY, YOU SURVIVED! D-D..."

Vijay couldn't control his emotions any more and started crying.

Dhriv stared at him, like he was some kind of an alien. His mind stopped working as strong realisation hit him.

Were they joking with him? Is Meenakshi really dead?

Dhruv couldn't comprehend anything. He kept staring at Vijay. Iqbaal saw him sitting like a statue, but what shocked him was a myriad of emotions flashing on those dark eyes. There was anger, sorrow, pain and a lot of things he couldn't understand. But, then the unexpected happened.

Tears started flowing from those vulnerable eyes. They made him look more human.

"S-she saved me! After what I did to her, how I treated her, she still sacrificed her life to save mine."His voice came out like small whispers.

Iqbaal turned to Vijay who was sobbing in pain. He placed a hand on his shoulders. Iqbaal had already shed his share of tears after he saw her terrible condition. Two days had already passed after the bomblast and all the time,he prayed for Meenakshi's life to get saved. But after the doctor signalled that she's in a critical condition,he knew that there was less hope.

And today,he heard that the doctors couldn't save her.

"Calm down, we all have to accept the truth."

"NO!"Everyone turned towards Dhruv, whose eyes were red as blazing fire. His chest started to rise and fall in sheer anger.

"NO! NO! NOOOOOOO! SHE CAN'T LEAVE ME! CALL THAT FUCKING DOCTOR! I AM GONNA SHOOT  HIM RIGHT IN THE HEAD! HOW DARE HE TAKE MEENAKSHI AWAY FROM ME! CALL HIM! IQBAAL"Dhruv shouted at the top of his lungs. Iqbaal saw his fury turn into insanity as he was trying to move out of the bed throwing everything out of his sight.

"Calm down Dhruv! Please!"

"MOVE OUT OF MY SIGHT, IQBAAL! OR I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL BRING MEENAKSHI BACK! SHE CAN'T LEAVE ME LIKE THAT!"

Iqbaal understood that the man in front of him had completely lost his sanity. So he decided to call the doctors.

He screamed, tears falling from his eyes, like rivers of immense pain.

"IT'S ALL MY FAULT! SHE DIDN'T DESERVE THIS! I DID! THEN WHY DID SHE DIE??? WHY AM I LIVING TO REGRET MY WHOLE LIFE!" Dhruv cried aloud,not caring about his underworld image. He knew he loved her,but because of his stubborn mind and ego,he didn't allow his heart to appreciate the gift he got.

His mother was right! She was his true soulmate. But he couldn't keep her.

Iqbaal walked out of the room, not being able to control his tears anymore. He wouldn't have stayed with Dhruv if he wouldn't have made the promise to Meenakshi.

Flashback

Iqbaal parked the car within the woods.

"I'll distract them by driving the car out of here! You in that time carry Dhruv towards the back of the hospital building. Be careful!"

Meenakshi held Iqbaal's hand, her eyes turned watery with tears.

"Take care, Iqbaal. Maybe it's my last day seeing you."She looked down towards Dhruv,her heart screaming with so much love.

"Promise me Iqbaal! Promise me that you'll be at his side when he needs you! You'll guide him towards the right path!"

"Meena! Why are you-"

"Please, Iqbaal! He's in the darkness! Save him from it, showing what light looks like. If you save him, then you save me. Because I've given my soul to him.He deserves another chance."

She pulled out the key necklace from her neck and handed it to Iqbaal.

"Give it to him when he wakes up.Tell him that I give the key to my heart for him to cherish forever!" she said.

Only if Iqbaal knew that those were her last words.

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