Chapter 1 : Love story

It was late that day and neither Shawn nor Sophia knew the dangers that awaited them in the dark.

They staggered and walked out of the beach looking all drunk and gullible for harm.

While they strode in the dark, to the road, locked in each other's arms, a fine scent of danger swirled the air but Shawn and Sophia were all drunk and laughed it away.

Soon, they heard gunshots. Joana, who had been following the drunk couples, halted to the red flag and bad signal.

Derrick and his men were out for war and it almost seemed like a World War.

Joana gazed at her cousin, Sophia, and a pang of terror overshadowed her.

"We had fun at the party today. Damn! I wish the party never got to end.,” Planting a peck on Shawn's soft chin, Sophia recounted the fun she had at her birthday party hosted by her boyfriend, Shawn to celebrate their 4th relationship anniversary...

No one could imagine that he would throw such a big birthday party considering his low income. He broke the bank to ensure the relationship was well celebrated. It has always been Sophia's dream to have an elaborate relationship anniversary party at the beach.

And just when she thought it was never gonna happen, boom! Shawn came through with the big surprise party that swept Sophia off her feet.

"You deserve the world.

What you saw at the beach was just the tip of the iceberg," Shawn bragged as he locked lips with Sophia on the road, disregarding passers-by who were running in search of safety from the peril that was looming afar off.

"You two, we are in danger. Aren't you both worried?” Joana said, freaking out.

The streets were growing cold and she could see people running for their safety but her cousin and boyfriend were just having fun and not bothered about the gunshots.

"Who cares? Anyways, I wouldn't blame you. It's because you're single and go into a stupor..” Sophia teased Joana and resumed her scintillating romance with Shawn.

"That wasn't supposed to be funny, was it? We are stranded on this lonely road and all you can think about is romance. This is so ridiculous. You do realize how risky this is? We might get robbed or attacked by thugs. Doesn't that bother you? Well, if you're not bothered, I am.” Joanna let out her frustration at their nonchalance. They don't seem bothered by the dark clouds and danger hovering around them.

“Take a chill pill. No one's gonna get hurt while I'm here. Trust me, I'll be the knight in your shining armour.”

Shawn bragged and taunted Joanna for being scared.

Fortunately for them, a cab headlight flickered from a distance. At the sight of the cab, Joana almost urinated on her body thinking about her last day on earth and the menace that would surge them.

"Hey, are you stranded? Need some ride?” The cab halted.

Joana froze.

Being the only one who is sane among the three of them made her freak out.

“ Who are you and what do you want from us?” Joana asked apprehensively, turning and twisting her neck.

“ Hey, come on hop in, I mean no harm,” The cab driver said in exhalation, trying to subdue Joana’s fear.

"Told you. Here comes a cab to get us home," defending their act, Shawn said in a cranky voice. Still intoxicated by the strong liquor he struggled to get in the cab with Sophia, leaving Joanna alone to drop their luggage inside the car booth.

“7th Avenue, y close, please. Don't worry about the fee. Just get us out of here. I don't like the aura hovering around this place,” Joanna ordered the cab man, slipping a $300 into his palm.

Halfway through the trip, the cab stopped moving to compound their woes.

“What just happened?

I hope it is not what I'm thinking?”

Joanna rolled her eyes.

"I'm afraid there's a problem. I need to fix my cab,” the cab man admitted, descending from the vehicle to resolve the issue.

Joanna was pissed off and scared at the same time. She turned to her right and shook her head at her cousin and Shawn who were snoring like dragons. They were oblivious to what was happening.

It's 20 minutes past 10 pm and the car still hasn't been fixed yet. Anxiety was freaking the hell out of Joanna as she alighted from the cab and edged closer to the cab driver, scanning the environment carefully to be certain it was danger free.

“Have you fixed it already? What's taking you so long? I hate the way I'm feeling right now. Can't you call someone to come get us out of here?”

"I'm afraid, not. I'm so sorry it turned out this way. Now, we can only hope for a miracle.” The cab driver uttered in self-pity, trying to get Joanna to pardon his silly act, but she ignored him, constantly checking on Shawn and Sophia who were still rooted in deep slumber unbothered.

A few minutes later, they heard another loud gunshot in the air. Hurriedly, they both went into hiding.

“Oh, no. Seems we are in danger. Please do something! I don't wanna get hurt. Call the cops or something. I'm so scared. I don't wanna die,” Joanna shivered like a hen drenched by the rain as held on to the cab man for safety.

" my cousin and her man.

We can't just expose them to so much danger, they might get hurt. We need to go help them.” pointing at the cab, she quickly realized Sophia and Shawn were still asleep.

“You've got nothing to worry about. They'd be just fine. We need to protect ourselves first. We come for them later,” The cab driver said.

Joanna was obstinate. She rushed back to the cab to alert Sophia and Shawn of the impending danger.

"Wake up you two"

"Go away. Are we home yet?” Sophia yawned, polluting the air with her stinking breath.

"Home? You gotta be kidding.

Come out of the cab, you two. Seems there's an ongoing robbery. Can't you hear the gunshots?” Joanna prompted, dragging both of them out of the cab.

"What are you doing? Let me go. I need to sleep. I'm so damn tired.

You're hallucinating. There's no gunshot anywhere. Are you deaf or something?” Sophia protested and remained glued to the chair. Suddenly, another gunshot was fired in the air. With immediate effect, Sophia and Shawn dashed out of the cab and went into hiding with Joanna.

"How long has this been happening and why are we stuck on the road,” gasping for breath, Shawn. freaked out like a kid. He forgot where he bragged that he was gonna be their hero.

"Does that even matter right now? We should be thinking of getting out of here alive. For your question, the cab had a breakdown the cab driver couldn't detect.” Joanna responded, glancing sideways, ensuring her safety.

After a while, total stillness enclosed the atmosphere, raising their hopes that the peace was restored.

"I think they're gone now. Let's go back inside the cab. We can't be hiding like fugitives,” the cab driver hinted, limping to his car while observing the situation closely.

Just then many cars, suspected to be a convoy, drove past them and made a reverse, stopping in front of them. Winding up the windshield, a big tall light skinned extremely handsome guy in his late 30s spoke out, “Hey, I can see your cab is faulty. Come hop in for a ride to your destination. It's not safe out here. I'm sure you heard the gunshots,”

While Joanna and the others were contemplating if he was some sort of kidnapper, Sophia was already seated at the back, next to the stranger, abandoning their luggage inside the booth. “You heard him. It's late. Let's hop in already,” she yelled at them while sitting comfortably as though she owned the vehicle.

Staring at each other in the eyes, Sophia and Shawn hurriedly grabbed the luggage along and hopped in.

The stranger smiled at them. They didn't know him either but were running away from danger.