Chapter 18: Evolution of Primitive Instincts
I stood across from Victor, anticipating and preparing for another ruthless ugly Neogen battle. Jasper stumbled forward, his boots scuffing the concrete, until the sight of his family among the dead broke him. He dropped to his knees, as tears streamed down his dirt-streaked face, his hands clawing uselessly at the cold floor.
Alessandra emerged from behind him, her frail form swaying as she walked toward me. She was pale as a ghost, haggard, her clothes hanging loose from days of captivity and starvation.
Her eyes, wide with exhaustion, locked onto Victor, and she lurched to my side with what little strength remained. She tripped, her legs giving out, but I caught her before she hit the ground, her thin frame trembling in my arms. “Please,” she whispered, her voice a ragged plea against my ear, “get me out of here. I want to go home. Please...”
Victor stepped closer, “Alessandra! I came to rescue you from these brutes. Are you okay?” His tone carried a tenderness that clashed with the carnage around us, his eyes fixed on her with an intensity that unnerved me.
She shrank back, pressing herself tighter against me. “It’s him! He kidnapped me! Get away from me!” She screamed sharp with terror. Was it a one sided romance. I was under belief that she was Victors girlfriend. But the fear in her eyes was raw, undeniable.
My mind raced in confusion. Victor’s face softened with concern, his brow furrowing as he reached out a hand. “I didn’t mean to take you by force,” he said, his voice low, almost pleading. “I just wanted to save your life. Alessandra, you know I love you. These people—they’re the ones who took you away from me.”
“You’re crazy!” she cried, her voice cracking with desperation. “Please, sir, get me out of here! I want to go home!” Her pleas clawed at me, urgent and piercing, as she gripped my arm like a lifeline.
Wild thoughts swirled in my mind—I needed the truth. “Tell me what happened. What did he do?”
Her gaze darted to Victor, then back to me. “He stalked me at night. I told him I didn’t want anything to do with him, but he wouldn’t listen. He drugged me—something on a cloth, I don’t know what. I lost consciousness, and when I woke up, I was tied up in a suitcase. They brought me here against my will.”
I turned to Victor, my stomach knotting. “Victor, is this true? Did you really kidnap her?”