The Lamborghini suddenly sped out the room into the hallway. It didn't even speak anymore; it just growled and roared while trying to squeeze through the tight hallway.
It crashed around the hallway into other rooms and out again. I felt it was actually safer inside the car rather than outside.
Still, that doesn't mean it was entirely safe. My body also trashed around inside, and with all the wires and pointed metals that guy just left hanging around; it hurt a lot.
My body was slashed and even pierced in places. Bruises were piling up, and I was bleeding heavily. Well, at least the leather was nice. And luckily, I was wearing my contacts today, not my glasses.
This would go on for a while, but although the hallway twisted and turned, it all led towards the exit. This was a research facility, after all; there were no dead ends.
Unless there was another exit somewhere. Well, I hoped not, or else I'd be completely lost.
Luckily, I was right. The car charged forward, not knowing what turning back even is, eventually it stumbled upon the exit.
I think it went berserk when I took the cube out, so I made a mental note to myself: Never ever touch a science cube.
Anyway, freedom from this car prison was in sight. Gritting my teeth, I forced my aching body forward and pulled myself out of the cabin, dragging my torso across the frame until I could finally scramble onto the hood.
There, I stayed low, gripping the metal so I wouldn't slip off. The car was still out of control as it sped through the wide doorway and into the broken hall.
At the same time, my feet left the hood as I leapt into the air and landed with a roll a few steps away from the car.
The car swung around in a hard skid, tires screeching, and came to a halt facing me in this sort of intense showdown.
Just then, it clicked. It wasn't just thrashing around after all. The instant it "saw" me, the engine roared and it lunged forward again, aiming straight at me.
Now listen, I was only a few steps away from it, and I'm not superhuman, so of course it crashed into me, hitting my legs as I tried to dive away last second.
It didn't reach full speed at such a short distance, but it still managed to fling me away. Luckily it flung me straight at the stairs. Well, into the wall next to it, but close enough.
Not so luckily, my legs stopped working... well not stopped working. I could still move them but damn it hurts. From the abuse inside the car and now getting hit by it, I was honestly more surprised they'd held up this long.
...
Am I going to die now?
The car turned around, well I guess steered around until it again faced me. And was it just imagination, or is it looking down at me?
Just as the car sped up, someone grabbed my arm and pulled me to the staircase.
The car crashed on the sides of the walls between the stairway; too wide to fit through the narrow opening.
Looking up, I saw my saviour in a racing suit, Kuromaku.
"Sorry for calling you a useless bastard."
Kuromaku raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you already take that back?"
***
It hurts; my leg hurts.
Now that the adrenaline is gone it's really starting to hurt more than ever.
Right now, we're back in Kuromaku's car. I was at the passenger seat, lying down after bandaging up my whole body.
Finally, it was over. My first mission was... well, a success. Yep, the base was abandoned, but we got a lot of papers, and also that weird glowing cube.
Remembering the numerous profiles of the kids I saw at the abandoned base, put me in a foul mood.
This won't do, let's think of something else. The cube is still with me, in the side pocket of my pants, which right now was covered in blood and hanging at the side of the passenger seat in front of me.
My vest was also there, so right now my body is only covered with an unbuttoned dress shirt and my boxers.
Wait, that doesn't matter right now.
The cube was gone. Nowhere in sight.
It had barely fit in my pocket to begin with, so maybe it slipped out?
I let out a tired sigh fully expecting the worst and reached into the pocket. Instead of the cube, my fingers sank right into something cold and viscous. A purple, shimmering gel coated my hand, strands of it stretching as I pulled back in shock. Droplets slid off my fingers and fell onto the floor.
What the hell…?
The gel pulsed faintly, as if responding to the touch.
Calming myself, I pushed my hand back in, trying to ignore the cool sticky feeling of the gel clinging to my skin.
Finally, my fingers brushed against something solid, small, hard, and definitely not the cube's smooth shape.
Carefully, I pinched it between my fingertips and pulled it free, making sure not to let more of the gel drip out.
A small, black chip rested in my palm. Thin blue stripes ran along its surface, glowing softly like veins of light.
Is this… the cube?
Or at least what was left of it?
Before I could piece the thought together, a voice rose from the passenger seat.
"You good over there?" it asked, edged with confusion, and maybe concern.
At the same time another voice echoed.
"S-sir, here's your e-extra clothes."
Looking up, I saw the cashier handing me a clean pair of clothes, her movements stiff and careful. One of her hands was bandaged up, a finger missing.
Her hands were small. Actually, her whole body was small, the princess said she was thirty, but I'm starting to have doubts.
Looks like I glared at her without realizing, as she flinched back a little.
Ignoring the awkwardness, my hand grabbed the clothes and I began carefully putting them on.
"You okay?" Kuromaku asked, a hint of concern on his voice.
"I'm alive." I paused for a bit, staring at his eyes through the rear view mirror.
"You know the worst part is not getting hit by that car, it's getting dragged up those who knows how long stairs right after getting hit."
"You're lucky I even dragged you." Without waiting for my reply, he turned the key in the ignition and started the car.
We drove off, back to the city. This place is pretty far away from the palace, so the drive is going to take a while.
To kill some time, I looked out the window, trying to memorize some of the buildings we pass by.
While doing this, my gaze landed on a green Ducati superbike. Well, the bike wasn't the one that caught my attention, it was the driver.
The driver was already on the move, dressed in all black, including the helmet. In this kind of heat, that alone was strange enough, but the blood on his clothes made it even worse.
The dark stains blended well with his black outfit. Enough to fool the other drivers on the road who weren't paying attention. But my eyes were abnormally keen, spotting the bloodstains easily.
"Hey, Kuromaku, follow that bike."
"Can you stop saying 'Hey, Kuromaku' when asking me something." He looked at where I'm pointing for a second, before looking back at the road ahead.
"It's a bike, and?"
"No, he's that dude, the one dodging bullets."
Kuromaku looked at me through the rearview mirror. He's eyes asking if I'm sure.
"Yes, I'm sure."
The bike sped up, passing us, and made a smooth turn to the right. Meanwhile kuromaku ignored it and kept going straight.
"Great, now we lost it."
"Lost it?" After saying those words, he suddenly shifted gears and sped up way beyond the speed limit.
Then the digital radio began showing different scenes from all around the city, it was the CCTVs. One of the boxes showed the same green bike we were chasing.
Reaching an intersection, Kuromaku drifted to the right, completely ignoring the red light.
He didn't stop there and kept accelerating forward, zigzagging through the cars while glancing at the CCTVs.
The target veered left, straight into an unbelievable traffic jam. Kuromaku followed, drifting in the same direction. The target weaved quickly between the cars, barely dodging them while his broken taillight flickered as he got farther away.
When the bike suddenly vanished into the heavy traffic, Kuromaku drifted to the right crashing into a... nice fine dining restaurant?
***
"I'll take the ribeye with beans on top," a well-dressed man in a suit said.
"Same for me," the woman in a red dress across from him replied with a gentle smile.
The waiter nodded and walked away with their order.
Once the waiter was gone, the man continued their conversation.
"Hey... I really wasn't cheating on you. The girl you saw was just my sister. That's right, we were out looking for an anniversary gift for you. I promise, okay?"
The woman gave him a doubtful look, staring straight into his eyes.
"Fine." The man paused for a bit looking outside the window. "But, say if a car came crashing here right now, would you believe me?"
"Yeah. Like that's ever gonna happen anyway."
Well... it happened.
Glass burst inward like a firework, shards raining down as the suited diners screamed and scattered. The couple leapt back just in time, the man pulling the woman away from the window the moment she finished her sentence.
Tables flew across the floor, chairs toppled, and what used to be very expensive golden covered beans splattered across our windshield in a glittery, oddly luxurious mess. I leaned out of the car, snapping a flying steak out of the air with one hand. The hood became a battlefield of buttered shrimp, delicate desserts, and every overpriced delicacy the restaurant could muster.
The car tore through the other side, smashing into a towering glass wall with a resonating crunch before bursting out onto another open road.
Inside, Kuromaku casually took a bite of the airborne steak I had offered, completely unfazed by the chaos we left behind.
Meanwhile on the now broken restaurant. A couple tightly embraced each other on the floor.
"Fine, I believe you." The girl muttered with a sigh.
The man screamed and pulled her into an even tighter hug, laughing heartily as if they hadn't just been nearly flattened by a car. Then, without a hint of hesitation, he got to his feet and began dancing in the middle of the wrecked interior.
***
"You want some?" I offered the steak to the cashier.
The cashier didn't answer. Her eyes spinning around, dizzy from the whole chase.
I shook my head in disappointment. Is she perhaps allergic to meat? So weak.
"Still alive." Kuromaku muttered, weaving the car through the gaps in traffic with impossible precision and the engine roaring at full throttle.
He swept into a drift at the next corner, the car slid sideways, then straightened. As the smoke peeled away, the car surged forward once again, now the bike was much closer in view.
We continued the chase.