ANASTASHA.
The first thing I notice, is that my hand doesn't feel like mine.
They are on the dashboard, fingers spread, braced, but the signal between my brain and my muscles is delayed.
Liliana on the other hand is breathing too fast, she is not panicked yet. Her shoulders are tight, jaw locked, eyes fixed forward. The road ahead is dark, mostly empty. Were far enough from the concert ground that the sound is gone now, but my ears are still ringing from the alarms and the music and the shouting.
The car swerves slightly.
Liliana corrects it immediately.
"well on the plus side, the opening on the concert was amazing"
I don't answer.
"That," she adds "was a joke. You are supposed to laugh so I don't spiral"
"I am starting to see sound and hear colors; your jokes are the last thing I am paying attention to" I snap.
She snorts "How comforting. Really warms the soul"
The drugs were starting to take effect.
I inhale slowly through my nose and force my focus outwards instead of inward. If I start tracking my own symptoms too closely, I'll lose time.
My chest feels heavy. Like my lungs are filling slower than usual. My heart rate is high but steady. No arrhythmia. No sharp dizziness yet.
A delayed neuro-sedative. Likely combined with something to dull panic responses. Enough to soften resistance. Enough to make us pliable.
They seriously expected us to comply and they miscalculated.
Crap. How much of it did they put in our drinks. Drugs have never had an effect on us. So why now.
"Liliana" I say calmly. "how sharp is your vision right now?
"Apart from the road dancing and the edges being fuzzy, everything is just peachy." She responds.
"And your reaction time?"
She pauses a little too long.
"Ask me again in 10 seconds"
"Just stay in the center of the lane. Don't chase speed. Chase control"
"I know" she snaps, the she immediately softens. "Sorry. I know"
Her right-hand trembles on the wheel. She tightens her grip until her knuckles were pale.
This is bad really bad. We pass a sign I don't recognize. An industrial arear. Warehouses. Long stretches of unlit road. Good for speed but horrible for help.
I reach for my pocket. My fingers miss. And Liliana notices.
"Yeah we are in deep shit. Like call Kelvin immediately type of deep shit" she slurs.
"I know that." I snap. "The next time you have an Idea to go out, keep it to yourself."
"Calling Kelvin" I say Out loud not because Liliana need to hear it- though I dout she can hear anything right now, but because I need to keep my actions structured.
The line rings once.
Twice.
Then
"Anastasha"
Relief hits me harder than it should.
"Hi! Kelvin!" Liliana shouts loudly. "If you are wondering how the night's going- it is going bad. It is going very bad"
"We were dosed at the concert" I add
Silence. Then His voice sharpens. "Are you safe?"
"No." I say. "but we are mobile."
"Who is driving?" He asks.
"Regrettably," Liliana says "Me."
A pause. I hear movement on his end. Probably standing. Probably already pulling up systems. Kelvin's voice fills the car, steady and firm as he speaks directly to Liliana.
"Liliana. I need with me. Talk to me"
Liliana laughs. Short and Strained. "Wow. Okay. Hi"
"I need you to describe the road." He says calmly.
"Uh... Two lanes. Smooth asphalt. No traffic. Long Curve coming up. And he streetlight are…uh…very inconsistent."
"Good Anastasha, start from the beginning I need to know everything"
I swallow. My mouth us dry. I try to speak as clearly a possible.
"We were supposed to go to the front row but we were offered VIP access. The snacks were provided from the mini-bar. There were no signs of visible tampering. The sedative was not immediate. It took a while before it started to kick in we did not realize until it was too late.
"It is not your fault." His voice reassuring as ever. "Drugs are not supposed to have an effect on you in the first place. Did you notice you handled the drinks?"
"No. The chauffeur was present. Two guards. More appeared when we attempted to leave."
Liliana Interrupts "And They were very rude about it"
I pause as my vision dims briefly at the edges.
"They blocked re-entry. The escalation was controlled but intentional. The guard displayed their arms deliberately.
Liliana Turns too wide on a bend. The tires screech but she corrects it.
Kelvins voice tightens" Lily- please… ow your breathing. Count it."
She inhales Snakingly. "One… Two…Three…"
"How Far Are You From the venue now" Kelvin Asks.
I glance at the dash board but I don't recognize the area. "Approximately ten minutes maybe more. I'm not sure.
"Send you location. Now."
My hand fumble again, but I manage it. The screen blurs. I squint. Focus. Send.
"Received" Kelvin says. "Good. Now I need you guys to say on that route. Do not deviate unless necessary."
Liliana chuckles. "wow this is enough adrenaline to last me a few decades."
Then her expression shifts.
Her humor does not disappear- it tightens.
"Oh," she says. "That is not gooood"
I follow her gaze to the rearview mirror.
Headlights.
One set at first. Then Another and they were closing distance fast.
"Kelvin" I say. "We're not alone."
Gunfire erupts.
The first shot shatters the rear wind shield.
Glass implodes inwards.
Liliana screams. "OH-OKAY- "
She swerves hard to the left, barely voiding the shoulder. I grab the dashboard hard enough to bruise.
I Snap. "we are being violently pursued!"
Kelvin doesn't raise his voice. "How many vehicles?"
"At least two." Liliana Says. "Black SUVs. No number plates"
Another shot. The sound is deafening inside the car. The rear tire blows.
The car lurches violently to the left.
"Control it" I say. "Don't slam the brakes."
"Trust me rookie. I am trying" She pants.
The road narrows. A concrete barrier looms on the right. Liliana swerves left barely missing it.
A bullet punches through the side panel. Metal shrieks. Something burns along my arm.
—
Pain.
It was immediate sharp and hot.
I look down.
My left shoulder. There was a grazing wound. The entry was shallow. I am breathing but it is not catastrophic.
I clamp my hand over it without thinking.
"Anastasha, are you hit?" he asks.
Yes. I answer. "my left shoulder but it is still functional"
The drugs make the pain feel strange—Almost distant even.
Liliana takes a hard-right turn without warning. The car fishtails.
"Liliana! Eyes on the road." Kelvin barks.
"I saw an Opening!" Liliana snaps. "I am not blind."
Another gunshot. This one hits the front quartre panel. The engine slutters.
Warnng lights flare and the car loses power.
"No." Liliana whispers. "no no no— don't you dare–"
The engine dies.
"SHIT!!—" Liliana starts to panic.
The momentum carries us forward for another thirty meters before the car slams into a concrete divider.
The impact is brutal. Airbags deploy.
My head snaps forward and back. The sea belt digs into my chest. My injured shoulder screams.
For a second, everything goes white.
Then the sound rushes back all at once.
Shouting. Door slamming. Footsteps.
I am slumped over the dishoarded, dazed but conscious.
Liliana rips my seat bel free and shoves the door open.
She groans. "I officially hate live music." Then she says urgently. "Anna, move. Now"
I blink at her, slow "I… okay… Okay"
The SUVs skid to a stop behind us.
Doors open.
Men pour out. Armed and organized.
"They are coming," kelvin says through the speaker. "You guys need to get out of there."
Liliana grabs me under her arm and hauls me upright. My injured shoulders protests violently, but adrenaline overrides it.
We stumble out of the car.
One of the men lunges at me— I shove Liliana behind me and swing with my good arm.
Another grabs Liliana.
"No!" I shout.
She fights. Kicks. Slaps. But it is no use. The drug has her now. He movements are sluggish
I charge towards them but a gun fire. This time, the bullet hit me full in the left side of my lower abdomen.
The impact knocks the air out of me. I fall to my knees. The warmth spreads fast.
I hear Liliana shout out my name." Anastasha!"
I try to stand but my legs buckle.
I see them dragging Liliana towards the SUV.
I crawl. Hands spilling in blood. My vision narrowing. "Liliana!" I scream. Tears slowly start to streaming down my face.
I reach for her—
She reaches back—
Then the doors slam shut and the SUV peels away.
I collapse onto the pavement and the world tilts sideways.
My body finally gives up.
The last thing I hear I hear I kelvin calling my name though the phone, distant but relentless.
And then—
Nothing.