She stared at him in absolute terror and confusion.
He was lying completely motionless on the floor, surrounded by blood. Not even one of his fingers was moving.
Her frightened eyes slowly dropped to the long pink dress she was wearing.
It was completely soaked in blood, as though an animal had just been slaughtered over her.
“Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un…”
Those were the only words her trembling lips could manage to utter.
Still overwhelmed by fear, she released the knife she was holding and watched it fall from her hand.
Her heart was pounding violently as she rushed toward the door.
She grabbed the handle and twisted it.
To her enormous relief, the door was unlocked.
She did not waste another second.
She burst out of the room and began running.
From the third floor, she raced down the staircase as fast as her legs could carry her.
Everything around her was completely silent.
The night had become very deep, and the entire building was quiet except for the bright electric lights illuminating the corridors.
She continued running until she finally reached the ground floor.
Miraculously, she did not encounter a single person on the way down.
No one saw her.
Without hesitation, she rushed through the main entrance of the guest house and headed straight for the gate.
Once outside the guest house compound, she found herself beside the road.
She immediately began looking from side to side, desperately searching for the safest direction to take.
She turned right and continued running.
She ran continuously for a considerable distance without slowing down, apparently too terrified to even feel tired.
She had not encountered anyone when suddenly she noticed the beam of a flashlight in the distance.
Her heart almost stopped.
She immediately slowed down and turned, intending to change direction.
Then, as though the voice had descended from the sky, someone shouted:
“You! Stop right where you are!”
The voice was harsh and powerful, echoing through the silence of the night.
Her heartbeat became even faster.
The fear already consuming her intensified until she felt as though she might lose control of herself right there.
She remained frozen where she stood while the figures continued approaching.
By the time they came closer, she could barely move because of the overwhelming fear and shock gripping her entire body.
If this was not some terrible dream, then there was no doubt about it.
The people approaching her were security officers.
She stood completely still.
When they finally reached her, all of them began shining their flashlights over her body from head to toe.
One of the officers spoke in a stern voice.
“Where are you coming from at this hour of the night?”
She only stared at him.
She looked almost as though she had suddenly lost the ability to hear or speak.
Her entire body was trembling violently like someone suffering from extreme cold.
She remained silent.
Almost two full minutes passed without her saying a single word.
Realising that she apparently had no intention—or perhaps no ability—to answer him, the officer asked another question.
“What is that all over your clothes?”
He narrowed his eyes.
“It looks like blood. Whose blood is it?”
She slowly looked down at herself.
Then she raised her eyes and stared at the officer again.
Still, she said nothing.
Sweat was pouring from her body as though someone were continuously splashing water over her.
The officer questioning her eventually turned toward one of the three other men standing nearby, all of them watching the strange situation unfold.
He said firmly, “Sergeant…”