Siddharth

I land my first punch straight to his face before pulling him away from Aami. Holding his collar I throw him to the side before glancing at Aami. Seeing her bloodied and bruised body, anger curled hot and unstoppable in my gut, like a blazing inferno that wanted to burn him from the inside out. My fingers balled into a fist, and I punched him again making him falling on his butt.

My anger was nowhere near the cooling point. I looked at him furiously. He was trying to get up while holding his bleeding nose with his palm. A boiling fury swelled inside me. I stalked towards him and punched him in gut. He groaned in pain and covered his abdomen with his hands. I hit him again and he fell down. I straddled him and held his collar in one hand and started to punch him continuously until I felt someone tugging me from behind.

"SIDDHARTH." I heard someone shouting my name. My fist stopped mid air and turned around to see that lady with a terrified look.

"Siddharth, stop, that's enough. We have to get her out of here as soon as possible. Come on." She said with her fear filled face.

My breath was still uneven and the rage was still fresh in my blood. I looked at the person lying below me with a blood covered face and half closed eyes. I left his collar with a thud and punched his face one last time before I getting up and running towards my Aami.

She was lying there still unconscious. Her chest heaved with her slow breath. Her petite body was covered in blood and bruises. Half of her cute little face was swollen. I kneeled down beside her and pulled her tiny body towards my chest. Closing my eyes I hugged her tightly for a little longer to make sure that she is really there, in my arms. I pulled away from the hug and looked at her. I removed the hairs from her tear stricken face. "Aami." I called her while patting her cheeks softly.

A lump formed in my throat when she didn't respond. My eyes sting and tears were threatening to fall down. I again pulled her tightly to my chest and kissed her forehead. "Please, please wake up Aami. Please." I whispered while tightening my hold on her. "We should hurry." I lifted my head when someone patted my shoulder. It was that lady again and I nodded in response. I was about to lift her up when I heard a gunshot.

I flinched and saw that lady falling to the ground in front of me and lay there numb. There was blood oozing out from her shoulder making her white saree red. I looked up to see that man holding a revolver in his hand and looking at her with a maniac face.

He slowly walked towards her. His face held anger and hate. He tapped her face with his toes. "Yamunadevi!!! Thuuu." He spat on her face with at most disgust. "Bloody traitor." He said while hitting her abdomen. I was in shock. I didn't expect him having a gun. My eyes travelled from the lady to him. Then he slowly turned towards me.

His cold stare was giving shivers down my spine. Slowly he aimed the revolver at me and a sadistic smile crept on his face. I know he could kill me now; I eyed around the room trying to find an escape but could find anything.

He tilted his head to a side, giving me a victorious smile before pulling the hammer to cock the gun. I gulped hard. His smirk grew wider and he licked his lips in an ugly way making the bile rose up in my stomach. As if teasing me he slowly moved his finger to towards the trigger. I narrowed my eyes at him.

He was ready to fire. I heard the firing but luckily I was fast enough to dodge it. I rolled over and hide behind the cement pillar. Pressing my back against the pillar I heard him cursing under his breath. He was furious and I could sense him stalking towards me but before he could aim at me properly I dodged again missing the bullet merely.

He cursed loudly and gritted his teeth. He started to fire furiously but I still managed to dodge the next two bullets. I was hiding behind a wooden box and saw an iron rod lying there. I picked it up and got ready to strike back. I am not going to die. I will definitely get Aami out this hell even if I die in that process. I have to save her. Taking a deep breath I got ready to face the monster behind me.

But suddenly I heard something crashing and looked from behind the box to see a furious Ved tackling him down. The gun fell from his hand and they both engaged in a fight. They were punching each other and struggling to get an upper hand.

I stood up with the iron rod in my hand and was about to join the fight when Ved looked at me.

"Sid, take her out of here. Fast. Harsh will be here soon. Go fast." He shouted at me while trying to pin him down. I stood there in doubt. I hesitate for a moment leaving him there alone with that man.

"SID, GET. OUT. NOW." Ved screamed at me again bringing me back from my thoughts. I sighed and nodded at him. I hurried towards Aami and picked her up in my arms and ran towards the door.

"SIDDARTH!!!!!" I heard Ved shouting my name along with a gun fire.

I stopped on my tracks and turned around to face Ved's back which blocked my view further. I looked at him and saw blood dripping to the ground through his hand. Creases formed on my forehead and my breath got struck in my throat when I realised what had happened.

Ved stumbled and fell on his knees. I looked at my brother with horror filled eyes unable to move an inch. He turned his face towards me with his bloodied face and half open eyes. "RUN!!" He mouthed and then collapsed to the ground. He was shot!!!

I stood there rooted to the spot. My brain stopped working and numbness consumed me. I could sense him raising the gun towards me but I couldn't run. My eyes were focused on the motionless body of my brother lying in front of me. Sound of another gun fire echoed in my ears and my heart stopped beating.

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Everything around me seems disappear. Only thing registered in my mind is that my brother has been shot. I felt like my body was shaking in an aggressive manner. "SID, SID." I heard someone shouting my name. And then I felt a sting on my cheeks and that brought me back to the reality.

I let out the breath I was holding and looked up to see Harsh standing in front of me with a worried expression. Shaking my head I looked around to see police and paramedics rushing out with a stretcher carrying Ved's body.

"Leave her Sid. Let them take care of her." I heard Harsh saying. That's when I realised I was holding Aami tightly to my body. The paramedics were waiting for me to give her to them so that they can take a look at her.

"Sid." He called me again touching my shoulder in an assuring way. I nodded and loosened my grip on her and without wasting another minute the paramedics took her from me and placed her on the stretcher. They checked her vitals and took her out of the basement followed by me and Harsh.

We came out of the warehouse to see the ashram in complete chaos. I looked at Harsh and he gave me genuine smile while nodding his head.

"We got him. It took me a little longer than expected but the judge was convinced and ordered to remove the security and arrest him. And we got him red handed. He was making a deal with Michael D'souza, the drug lord of Goa. His people put up a fight but failed miserably. This time his connections with the higher ups won't be enough for him to get out of the prison. I will make sure that he will rot in there." He said gritting his teeth but then he looked at me apologetically.

"I am sorry for coming late Sid." He said and looked away. A lump formed in my throat and my fingers fisted while my nails dug into my palm. Harsh put his hands around my shoulder and lead me to the waiting ambulance.

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Looking through the glass window opposite me I could see the dawn breaking and the light begins to grow as the sun rises. I don't know how long I have been sitting in front of the operation theatre. When we reached the hospital both Ved and Aami were rushed into the intensive care unit. Ved was immediately transferred into the operation theatre and Aami was still lying unconscious in the ICU.

All worst scenarios were crossing my mind. I was completely exhausted but couldn't close my eyes even for a second. The image of Ved's unmoving body was still fresh in my mind. Is this what Ved went through during the time dad was hospitalized?? It's been hours since they took him inside and there was no news about his condition.

Harsh left a while ago to complete the formalities with the arrests. He had to address the media to give a complete picture about what had happened. The whole state is shocked about the news.

Staying alone in front of the OT and not knowing what is happening with my brother is a complete torture.

I was scared. Scared of losing him. Scared of not seeing him again. Scared of being left alone. My heart was beating like drum and my mind was in fire.

The door opened and a nurse came out of the OT. I jumped into my feet and rushed towards her.

"How is he?" I asked eagerly.

"The doctors are trying their best sir, but I am sorry to say this, his condition is critical. He has lost a lot of blood. Let's hope for the best. Keep praying." She said with a sad smile and walked away.

I stumbled back and leaned back to the wall behind me. "He will be fine." I whispered, more like convincing myself.

Yes, he will be fine. He is a fighter. He is my hero. He can't leave me behind and go. He is my only family. He is my protector. I can't do a thing without him. Who will take care of me?

"He can't leave me." I said shaking my head. All my senses were gone. I could feel the numbness swallowing me whole. My breath was becoming ragged and my chest was tightening. I felt difficult to breath and my vision was becoming blur. My legs gave up and I slide down the wall to the tiled floor. My eyes were stinging and I clenched my chest for some sort of relief.

"Sid. Sid." I heard someone calling my name and suddenly I was engulfed into a hug. The hands draw smooth circles on my back and whispered sweet things in my ears. Slowly my breath became normal and I came back to my senses.

I slowly withdraw from the hug and looked at the person who saved me from going into a panic attack.

The familiar brown eyes filled with tears were staring back at me. The tears slid down from her eyes wetting her already tear stricken face again.

"Niharika." I called her name and pulled her in for another hug.

I couldn't hold back anymore. My hands around her tightened and I rested my head on her shoulders.

"It's all because of me. He is in there because of me Niharika. I am the person to be blamed for this." He said and the tears fell free from my eyes.

"He was protecting me. It should have been me lying there instead of him. He took that bullet for me." I kept sobbing on her shoulders and she patted my back softly.

"I am such a bad brother. Why is it him who should suffer every time?" I said.

She slowly pulled away from me and held my face in her palms. "Sid, you are not a bad brother. He did what a sibling would do to save his brother. Please don't blame yourself for anything. He wouldn't like that." She said.

I sniffed. "I am scared. I am so scared that I will lose him too. I can't him lose him Niharika." I said while holding her hand tightly.

"You won't. He will make it through this Sid. I knew it." She said and I looked at her to see her face full of seriousness.

"He just can't leave like this." She said while looking at the door of OT.

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