The End Of Life

After a few more minutes, Mark slowly walked out of the washroom cleaning his hands using his shirt. He noticed Suzie was standing next to the door waiting for him. She had her head hung low, like a child who got caught doing a mistake. She looked deep in thought, not even noticing Mark who stood right before her. 

Seeing her thinking deeply about something, Mark could only shake her shoulders, snapping her out of her thoughts. Suzie finally noticed him and looked ahead. She had a small smile on her previously emotionless face, making Mark secretly relieved. He was scared the plan might have backfired and she could have gotten worse compared to before. 

Seeing her smile, a small smile formed on his face too as he said, "Let's go back to the room first. You must be really tired. Take some rest." 

Suzie nodded, and they slowly made their way back towards the security room. Walking through the hallway, Mark asked, "How do you feel?" 

Suzie did not reply immediately but after a few seconds, she answered, "I am fine now. It is like a huge burden in my heart and mind is lifted and I feel a sense of freedom. All the anger and fear I previously had decreased a lot. So, I am fine right now." nodding to herself as she explained how she felt. 

Seeing her normally talk and respond to his words was a huge relief for Mark. Her previous condition was so severe that she could not even speak and reply normally. He also nodded, and they made their way into the corridor and reached the room. Mark slowly opened the door and noticed Kevin and David were already awake. 

Kevin noticed the door open and saw Mark come in with Suzie behind him. If it were normal times, his dirty brain would have already made a million assumptions seeing them disappear, but after knowing both their conditions, he could only worry and wait.

He quickly went for a bear hug. Mark could only smile at his worried best friend and receive his wholehearted hug. Mark patted his back and said, 'It's good to see you again, Kevin. Sorry, I was late, and you had to go through that stuff because of me." 

Kevin shook his head as they separated and he said with a wide smile, "Nah, man. It's alright. I knew my position here when I noticed that bastard in the museum. And I knew you would come for me as quickly as you can, so I waited and remained calm. But if you didn't and were too late, I would have haunted you for the rest of your life." and laughed out loud.

Mark could only laugh at his friend's proclamation. Kevin then looked behind him and noticed Suzie standing right behind Mark with a small smile on her face. 

"Suzie, it's nice to see you again. How are you?" cautiously, he asked. He did not want to make her scared and so maintained some distance. 

Seeing him being cautious, Suzie's smile widened, and she stretched her hands out for a hug and said, "I am fine, Kevin. Come here." Kevin also smiled seeing her and gave her a friendly hug like they always did. 

It would be an understatement if they said Suzie was only their friend. She was more like their goddess. The goal did all the work for them in their small rental room. Both could not cook proper food and it was mostly Suzie who brought them food to university and also took care of Mark. She used to clean their room and do other stuff. She was more like a nanny for these two grown-up men. 

She was their guardian angel. Separating from the hug, Kevin felt relieved. Seeing her back to normal was shocking to him. From what he heard from David she would not even talk about leaving going for a hug with a man. But now she was normal. 

"It's good that both of you are back. We were worried when both of you were not in the room by the time we woke up. Let's sit down and continue talking." said David. He recovered from the surprise by seeing Suzie normal again. He looked at Mark and wondered what miracle he performed to her for the sudden change. 

She looked very normal and did not show any sign of fear when she saw Kevin, but went further for a hug. As a doctor, he could not think of any ways to change her like this suddenly. All of them sat down as Mark sat beside David and Suzie next to Kevin. Suzie and Kevin were talking while Mark observed them with a smile. David looked at Mark and wondered, 'What did you do?'

Mark noticed his gaze and touched his face. He asked, "Is there something on my face, David?" 

David shook his head and said while turning towards Suzie, "What did you do Mark? The sudden change. It is like she never had a fear of men in the first place. It is truly shocking to see this." 

Mark smiled seeing him curious and said, "Well, I planned nothing at first. When I woke up, she was also already awake. She asked to go to the washroom, and I sent her alone. I wanted her to do things on her own without relying on me for everything So she went after I persuaded her."

"But then after a while, she didn't return. I got worried and went to the washroom. But as I entered, I saw Suzie locked inside a cubicle, crying. While two thugs were on the outside breaking, the door asking her to come out. They attempted to rape her and if I did not go, they might have." taking a deep breath. He continued to look at her. 

The abrupt change of events surprised David. The only time she had the courage to do something on her own after the event, another rape attempt almost hit her like before. He could only pity her at this point of the story. 

"After pushing them both down, I asked her to come out and she was already scared out of her wits and crying. The two thugs were only keeping up a front. They were actually scaredy cats. After seeing me subdue them in one move, they did not dare to stand up to me again. So seeing this I got an idea then." he had a smile at this moment. 

"I told her to beat them. I told her to release all the emotions she kept bottled up inside her. She was very hesitant and scared at first. But after I gave her a half-broken mop I used to subdue the thugs, she listened to me and went towards them. With another small push, she took action and beat the crap out of the two thugs." 

"She screamed and cursed at the two. Truthfully, I never saw anything like that before from her. She crushed and hit them until one of the thugs went unconscious and the other wasn't much different. After I stopped her, she cried out the emotions, and I told her she did the right thing. And what you see now is the result of all this." 

David was now shocked. The change of events actually worked in their favor. He felt relieved to see the smiling Suzie. 

"So, do you think she is normal now?" he asked Mark. 

Mark could only shake his head and say, "I don't know about that. You should tell me, I am not the doctor here. But looking at her smile, it is a huge improvement from before and this is what matters to me right now." looking at Suzie interacting with Kevin. 

David could only nod while scratching the back of his head. He said, "You can't ask about psychology and mental states. I am not a psychologist to give you a detailed answer. But as you said, from the looks of it, she is better than the former self." 

Suzie noticed both of them staring at her with a smile and asked them, "Why are both of you staring at me like that?" her smile remained unchanged. 

Mark shook his head and the same with David, making her shrug. Kevin suddenly stood up and said, "Let's have an early dinner. I am very hungry." rubbing his stomach and showing a pitiful expression. 

Suzie also stood up along with him and said, "Leave it to me."

But as she made her way towards the bag. Mark stood up and said, "You three continue with the dinner. I have some work to do before that." walking towards the door. 

"Wait what work? Where are you going to go?" asked Kevin. All three of them looked at him for an answer. 

Mark shook his head and said, "Nothing to worry about. Something I need to take care of Yu three continue, don't wait for me." with a reassuring smile. Kevin felt skeptical but could only nod.

Mark turned around and exited the room. But as he closed the door, a crazy smile formed on his face, like he was going for a hunt.