Road towards the Iraq Border, 29 Days Remaining
The wind rushes through Jotaro's hair as grits his teeth. He's pushing the convertible as fast as it can go, and yet he can't be sure he's making enough headway…
Good grief. There's no telling if we're pulling ahead…but there's no doubt. Either the user is at the facility up ahead, or they're sitting alone in the desert somewhere…
"Tch…" Another rush of pain flows through him as he thinks. Looking through the rearview mirror, he can see Anne nervously watching the road behind them as they speed forward.
If I'm correct, though…there's two of them. And if they arrived together, I doubt both would be alone in the sand around here. Hopefully Joseph's able to deal with the other one… I don't feel like having to explain that death to anyone.
"Jotaro…I don't see anything still…did we get away?"
"If it's chasing us, I doubt it would put itself in the position so we could see it."
Under the pavement? Parallel to the road?
"…Are we almost there? I kinda have the feeling we may not be too safe in here."
"Hm?" Jotaro cocks an eyebrow, trying to watch the road ahead while looking back at Anne.
"Look, you can see the parking deck ahead, and well…" Anne points ahead, and immediately Jotaro's eyes flash with veiled worry. The road ahead of them makes a long bank around a massive pile of dirt and sand, apparently some construction not present on the map. While it's only a few seconds extra to drive around…
Shit. Even if we were ahead…
While not normally a harsh turn, Jotaro's heartbeat skyrockets as he approaches the curve in the road. At the speed he's going, he'll either after slow down or perform a miracle. Another pang of sharp pain echoes through his arm from his earlier wound as he extends his leg for the brake.
"Jotaro! Way too fast! Slow the fu-"
Changing his mind in a split second, Star Platinum bursts out of his shoulder to control the wheel while he pulls the emergency brake. The convertible rattles as it slides, the suspension shuddering as the car starts to drift through the turn while maintaining its earlier speed.
"-UUUUCKKK!" Anne very audibly collides with the door on the other side, more than likely flung like a ragdoll across the backseat.
There!
Up ahead, a small covered parking lot sits a half mile from the heavily guarded border station. In the distance, Jotaro can make out around ten cars parked underneath…
As they straighten from the turn, Jotaro leaves the wheel to Star Platinum and spins around in his seat. Just as he thought, Anne sits dazed next to the passenger side back door. He picks her up by the strap of her overalls with his uninjured arm, then shakes her.
"Anne. Stay sharp. We're almost there." She hazily looks at him as he speaks, giving a shaky thumbs-up. Not letting her go, Jotaro scans the road around them as they hurtle towards the parking lot.
Tch. I can't see a damn thing…Hopefully Anne has one more trick. I don't think we're getting there this easy.
Gently lowering Anne to the back seat, Jotaro hops to the front again and takes the wheel from his Stand. With a few slaps to her own face, Anne tries to wake herself up and keep an eye out. Though, unbeknownst to her, Star Platinum hovers beside her to watch for the enemy as well.
"Oi. Anne?"
"Yeah?"
"Out of filings?"
"Yep…I, uh, guess that I needed to get more…"
"You did great."
"Well…great may not cut it, huh?" Listening to her, Jotaro silently bites the inside of his lip. He knows there's not much he can do to block that Stand's attacks. "Hey, Jotaro, if that thing attacks again, just let me know which direction again as well, alright?"
"…Okay." He tries not to dwell on the possibilities flying through his head. They should get there in ten seconds… with no problems…
…There.
Silently, he points out the car door to their left. Star Platinum barely has enough time to spot it as the aqueous claw crests the sands, but thankfully Jotaro had expected an interception…
Regardless, the Stand zooms through the sand under it, looking to hit the convertible dead on from the side and either intercept them, or force them to have to stop and challenge it. The water has already formed itself, looking for the kill.
"That way?" Anne shouts from the backseat, obviously anxious.
"Yeah, it's going to slash at us in about two seconds…" On the road ahead, there's no room to turn or evade. No solid surface to try and put between them and the enemy Stand. The best he can do is try and duck a bit and hope the metal car door is enough of a shield.
Two…On-
"Alright, I hate to steal a good technique…" Jotaro looks at Anne through Star Platinum as she speaks. Her face is contorted with panicked adrenaline, yet she has risen to standing on the back seat. Her left hand has her favorite knife, while the other appears to be gripping her long hair. "Better hope I time this right!"
With a quick slash, she slices through her hair in one go. The handful of black strands fall limply in her grasp, though with equal swiftness as her blade she makes a wide horizontal sweep with her arm. The long hair scatters sideways, already crackling with energy. Looking to his left, he sees the claw lunge with perfect timing, intercepting them with extreme precision. The blade tipped water starts a diagonal slash, aiming directly at Jotaro's skull first.
"Hamon Hair Attack!" With a calmed exhale, Anne's eyes sharpen as she pours Hamon into her own hair, barely forming a horizontal shield due to the extreme speed blowing a majority of the hair away. In spite of that, the bit of Hamon infused barrier blocks the incoming slash, sparks of energy flinging off of the hair as the claw struggles to dig through the shield.
"ORA!" With another Hamon infused blow, Star Platinum launches a gush of air from the crackling tips of its fist, the windy torrent blowing off half of the water claw's mass. However, the other half skids down Anne's shield and carves into the unprotected car door, slicing through the metal diagonally until it collides with the rear driver tire. Slashed rubber flings itself off the still spinning rim, the car itself settling onto the metal. Red hot sparks and grinding sounds fill the air as Jotaro clutches the wheel, trying desperately to maintain control.
"Jotaro! I blocked it again!"
"Yare ya-" Just as Jotaro grumbles a bit, the car starts to fishtail a bit as it begins to drag a wheel. With a glance from Star Platinum, he can see the enemy Stand has already reformed behind them on the road. Quickly snatching the sparking rear wheel with its hands, Star Platinum lifts up and bears the weight of the car as Jotaro's injured arm screams in pain.
Just get under there…
Grinding his teeth together, Jotaro tightens his grip on the wheel as Star Platinum's arm trembles. His eyes focus through the pain, spotting a boom gate blocking the entrance to the covered lot. He narrows his eyes further, trying to look past into the shaded parking area.
"Uh, Jotaro? Are you gonna slow down?"
In a flash, the convertible plows through the closed gate arm, sending it spinning and rattling to the ground. Anne grabs onto the back of Jotaro's seat, clutching it for dear life as they roar through the parking lot. Star Platinum scans the cars around them, then grabs Anne as Jotaro pops his door open. He breathes in deeply, then pulls back his leg from the gas pedal. With a swift, Hamon-infused kick, he strikes the pedal diagonally, bending it up against the floorboard and lodging it to fully depress the gas.
"Jotaro! My stuff's in there!" Anne screams as he tumbles out of the car alongside Jotaro, both of them rolling on the pavement below as the convertible rushes forward through the other side of the parking lot and another gate arm. It doesn't get very far before the missing tire causes it to spin and flip over a few times, before finally settling into the sandy dirt outside the covered area.
"Ggh…" Pushing his arms into the concrete and a pained breath through his teeth, Jotaro lifts himself up on one knee and looks around him. Sure enough, the enemy Stand rushes past them towards the direction of the now on-fire convertible. He looks over at Anne, who is still in shock at the sight of the burning car, and shakes her lightly. "Don't move. It hasn't seen us yet."
She breathes in to speak, but catches herself and instead takes a few calming breaths as she nods back in understanding.
Two of them, with some way for one of them to feel vibrations…
Jotaro slowly and carefully rises to his feet, eyes looking at each of the ten cars in the complex. Most of them are beaten up, war torn tragedies. However, two seem to stand out. One, a black limousine with fully tinted windows, another a slick yellow sports car.
I don't think I see anyone in the sports car…
He glances over at Anne, still flat on the pavement, and whispers to her.
"Anne, can you see anything under that limousine?"
"Uh…the doors open on the other side. Looks like…" She shuffles a bit as she whispers, trying to change her angle a bit, "A stick? A cane? Someone's leaning out of it, I guess?"
…I better go while I still have blood in my arm…
Like lightning, Star Platinum reaches out to a nearby car and wrenches off the rim. Immediately, the enemy Stand swivels around and starts to rush at the noise, claw formed and ready to kill. However, with calm focus, Star Platinum curls the rim against its forearm before sending it bouncing to the ground in front of it, imparting a heavy backspin. The metal rim collides with the ground, spinning backwards and bouncing again a Jotaro sized legspan behind both of them, rebounding further and further back away from the limousine.
Just stay down, Anne…
Motioning Anne to stay where she is, Jotaro listens for the rim to bounce a few more times before rising to his feet and readying himself to run. The watery claw hand zips towards the bouncing rim, though it stops short as soon as Jotaro takes his first step forward. Running as fast he can through the haze of pain, he finds himself almost up to the limo door. Reaching forward with Star Platinum, his Stand grabs the edge of the back door and bends the metal in its grasp. With only half a second of effort, the door rips off its hinge and flies a few feet to the side, the metal clanging against the pavement.
However, inside of the door, all Jotaro can see is a blood…and a horrific sight. A woman, utterly drenched in her own blood, grasps at her own face as her skin seems to get sandblasted off around her mouth and jaw. Her scream pierces Jotaro's ears and, before he can react, Jotaro finds the woman shoved out of the limousine at his body, her flailing arms grasping at his coat in desperation. Her unintelligible cries drown out his senses, but he can make out a black haired man with hooped earrings and a yellow headband. The man in the limo looks at him with whited, blind eyes as he shuts his door and reaches his cane to the front seat.
What the-?
The mutilated woman continues to scream and pull at Jotaro, spinning him around the opposite direction while spitting blood at his face. Just as he's about to pry her off, he notices three things. First, the limousine behind him roars to life, apparently a driver in the front seat hitting the ignition. Second, the passenger side front door slams shut, someone undoubtedly stepping out.
Third, the enemy Stand rushing up in front of him, on the other side of the woman with the skinned face.
"Jotaro!" Anne stands up and starts to run over, far too late. The claw reaches up and slashes, cutting through the woman clutching onto him. The gashes lightly scrape his chest, but get deeper as it curves to his right leg. White hot pain flashes in his eyes as he feels his right thigh get cut almost to the bone. The limousine speeds off behind him, leaving only some lingering footsteps as his vision grows darker.
The now limp woman falls off of him in pieces, and he crumples to the pavement below, blood oozing from his leg.
Looks like…he's focused on running and regrouping…I take it Joseph won…
Pressing a hand, to his open leg wound, Jotaro's vision goes completely dark as he falls face first to the ground.
END of CHAPTER 29