With his left hand on the steering wheel, Lucas tried to dislodge the grappling hook. It wouldn't budge. Rivulets of blood ran down his other arm, seeping into his shirt sleeve. As much as he grew used to cleaning up after his student's dissections, his own blood was a different matter. He gripped the steering wheel tight with both hands, willing himself to think about anything but the wetness growing on his side.
They reached a suspension bridge, and it stretched over a wide river that was dark from agricultural wastes. It was on the fringes of a city; buildings peeked through the row of trees on the other side.
The Land Rover they were tied to carried four men: two stupid-looking giants in the back, and two in front who could pass as human if it weren't for their sunken features and pale corpse-like skin.
"How'd they find us?" Lucas managed to steady his voice.
Adrian put away his eye glasses and rolled up his sleeves, revealing his Cyber serial number tattoo. "It doesn't matter," he said as he crawled to the backseat. "Keep driving."
From the rear-view mirror, he saw Adrian kick the remaining glass off the back window. Lucas eased off the gas pedal just enough for the cars to nearly meet bumper-to-bumper. Adrian acrobatically angled his way out the tiny back window, up the roof, and then landed on the Land Rover without breaking a sweat. His loose shirt billowed in the strong winds.
A pale man in the front passenger seat leaned out the window. "Who the fuck is this guy?" he spat, jerking his thumb at the intruder above.
In one smooth motion, Adrian yanked the pale man out of the car, rolled backwards, and used the momentum to hurl him off the bridge. The man's scream could be heard as he sunk into the murky depths below.
"It's Cybersix!" the driver shrieked, sounding ready to piss himself. The giants in the back looked uneasy.
Lucas found himself looking back and grinning from ear to ear. Seeing Cybersix in action never grew old.
Adrian's eyes grew wide, "Lucas!"
Lucas whipped back to the front and saw a wall of chrome blocking his entire view: a truck barrelled straight at them, honking madly. He veered back into the correct lane, and the Land Rover just barely followed suit as the truck smashed its side mirror. The penned pigs in the truck passed them by just inches away, their high-pitched squeals setting Lucas on edge. He cursed.
Adrian had managed to stay on by bracing himself against the grappling hook launcher. But before long, the Land Rover's side door swung open. A giant lumbered up the roof wearing steel-toe boots and the roof sunk under its weight. The creature stretched to its full length, reaching nearly twice Adrian's height and shadowing him completely.
Adrian cocked his head and smiled. "Missed me?"
The giant roared, lunging forward with a straight punch to the head. Adrian easily bobbed and weaved beneath its arm, landing three rapid jabs to the solar plexus before dancing out of range. The giant's face contorted in anger.
They were now past the suspension bridge. Lucas didn't know what to do other than to continue driving south along the national highway. Knowing Cybersix, she'd want to keep their fight far away from civilians as much as possible. So down the highway he drove, leaving civilization behind yet again. On the left side was the ocean, and on the right were rocky cliffs. Trucks and cars passed by them, not even bothering to slow down, likely wanting to avoid any trouble themselves.
The giant kicked Adrian in the gut. Adrian coughed and fell back, but managed to hold on to the giant's leg.
The giant's eyes widened, realizing its mistake.
Just as Adrian was about to move, he cried out and collapsed—ragged breaths shaking his frame.
It dawned on Lucas: Adrian was going through sustenance withdrawal.
The giant stared dumbly at Adrian for a moment, then made a choking sound. It turned out to be a laugh—gasping and halting like a saw carving through bone. Its steel-toe boot made contact with Adrian's chin; his head snapped back and he fell unconscious, rolling to his side. The giant stomped and struck Adrian over and over again. And Adrian convulsed. Lucas watched on in horror, each contact drawing bile up his throat.
Finally, Adrian coughed and gasped for air.
And the creature kicked him off the roof.
Adrian clung on to the grappling hook launcher while dangling off the ground, just inches away from being crushed by the wall of rock to their right.
Lucas made his turns as wide as possible to give Adrian some space. He gritted his teeth. Every cell in his body screamed for him to help Adrian. He wanted to stop the car, but he couldn't unless the other driver would do so as well. He couldn't risk getting crushed by the Land Rover, so there was no choice but to drive on.
Adrian tried to pull himself up with both hands, but the giant stomped on his left hand. He shrieked in pain. He still held on with his right, but barely. The giant stomped on him again, and this time, his convulsions returned.
And he let go.
Lucas stopped breathing.
The giant grinned and pulled Adrian back up the shirt collar. The creature pulled its arm back for a hook, and Lucas looked away. But he could still hear the punches land. And land. And land. Adrian cried out in pain.
But at least he was conscious.
In the midst of the chaos, Lucas had the presence of mind to try to see where the fuck they were headed. A signpost lay ahead. An exit to the right would take them through a tunnel and up to a viewpoint. That tunnel was his chance. Lucas took the exit and they found themselves on a rough gravel road.
The tunnel was less than a hundred meters way, and it was framed by blue tarp, low metal scaffolding, an array of construction vehicles, and a stupid Under Construction sign that should've been on the signpost to begin with. Lucas cursed and prayed that the tunnel wasn't blocked. He stepped on the gas pedal and sped straight ahead.
"Get down!" Lucas yelled.
The giant turned to face Lucas; Adrian wrestled free of its grasp and ducked down.
Five seconds of darkness later, they reached the other side. Adrian passed safely under the overpass—the giant's head did not.
For a moment, the giant's headless body stood rigid, neck spurting green fluid that sizzled as it burned the roof. Then the body disintegrated in the wind.
A roar came from inside the Land Rover. The second giant was about to open the door.
"Don't leave me here!" the driver screeched at his companion. The second giant ignored him, opened the door, and scrambled up the roof.
The gravel road began to incline upwards, and the Fiat struggled with the climb. Lucas had no idea how Adrian and the giant both managed to stay on the roof. The giant looked almost identical to the brother that came before it, except this one was uglier and sported a scar on its face.
As if expecting another blow, Adrian tensed up—but the giant ignored him and went for the grappling hook launcher instead. It began to reel the grappling hook in.
In the metal jaws of the grappling hook, the dashboard in front of Lucas began to fold up. Lucas cursed, and tried to yank out the grappling hook but it was all in vain, it continued to pull the dashboard and the rest of the Fiat with it. The casing on the speedometer shattered. The gravel road plateaued, but their tires spun forward uselessly as the Land Rover gained on them inch by inch.
"Adrian, a little help please!" Lucas shouted.
Adrian threw himself at the giant, locking his arms around its neck in a choke hold. It growled and head butted him.
Lucas shook his head, wondering what these mooks were thinking. Why a grappling hook? This entire situation could've been over in seconds if they had guns instead.
Adrian continued to attack and grapple with the giant, but it continued to focus on reeling in the Fiat in. As the fighting went on, Lucas kept his eye out for what lay ahead.
The viewpoint revealed itself: a scenic view of the ocean from high above, with the sun shining brightly on the rocky shoreline. And the road itself ended in a small parking lot at the cliff's edge.
"Turn around! It's a dead end!" Lucas yelled at the driver behind.
The driver looked puzzled and shouted back, "Is that a trick?"
Lucas groaned. Fucking idiots. "Adrian! Stop the car!"
Adrian climbed into the Land Rover's front passenger window. The giant's hand reached in, trying to grab him back but he kicked it away. The giant shrugged and resumed reeling in the Fiat.
And the Fiat's dashboard broke in half.
His survival instincts kicked in. Lucas opened the door and threw himself out into the road. He rolled away in what felt like ages, gravel digging into his arms. When he came to a stop, he watched the literal car wreck in front unfold.
The grappling hook shot through the Fiat and sent the back hatch flying through the air, and the luggage spilled out. The Land Rover managed to evade it all by sheer luck; the back hatch missed the giant's face by just a hair.
He squinted at the Land Rover, trying to make out the figures struggling in the front seat. The Land Rover drove onward, pushing the empty shell of the Fiat, seconds away from rolling both vehicles down into the rocks below.
"Adrian!" Lucas screamed, blood pounding in his ears.
The Fiat was pushed off the cliff and it smashed against the rocks. The Land Rover came to a sudden stop, and the momentum launched the giant into the air. The giant's scream ended when it shared the Fiat's fate.
There was silence.
The driver of the Land Rover leapt out of the car, half-sobbing and half-scrambling towards the road. As he passed by Lucas, he thought of going after him but decided against it.
Laying on the ground, he groaned. Lucas could feel the sting of the cuts up his arm, and the gravel buried under his skin. Every muscle in his body screamed in pain from the nasty fall. It took probably him an entire minute to stand up. He held his right arm close as he limped towards the Land Rover.
Adrian had already done some rummaging in the car. There was a cooler full of sustenance vials, and one of the vials was already half-empty.
"You okay?" Lucas asked, leaning against the car.
Adrian had definitely taken a beating. His normally attractive face sported a busted lip, a swollen eye, splotchy bruised skin all over.
"I'm alive for now," Adrian said.
"Are you drinking enough of that stuff?" He motioned at the cooler. "You scared me back there."
"Probably not."
Lucas picked up the half-empty vial. "Drink the rest… just to be safe." He saw the vial reflected in Adrian's eyes, and he watched emotions flicker through them—hunger, disgust, and resignation.
"Okay." Adrian took the vial and twisted it open. "But could you do me a favour?"
"Anything."
"Don't watch."
Lucas looked away. The scientist in him wanted to ask all sorts of questions about sustenance, but he kept his mouth shut. He faced the ocean instead and watched the birds circle around a boulder where the giant had likely disintegrated. The view was peaceful other than the hunk of crumpled car on the rocks below, partially submerged in water.
"My grandfather gave me that car," Lucas sighed.
"I'm sorry, Lucas," Adrian placed a hand on his shoulder. He paused for a moment. "At least we can upgrade."
Author's Note 2017/11/08
This was 2000 of the most difficult words I had ever written. Firstly, I don't drive so figuring out a car chase scene in a not-so-fictional place I've never been to was an imaginative stretch, and writing action scenes is still pretty new to me. I had been working on the chapter on-and-off, editing and rewriting for a period of three months. I also kept getting interrupted by work crunch periods, travel, and my own personal weirdness so I'm really glad it's done. If anyone knows of a book that's a how to guide for writing while mood disordered, definitely let me know because anhedonia is terrible for creative output. I'm working on writing a little bit each day as a habit, so hopefully the wait isn't as long for the next chapter!
I'm looking for beta readers. Anyone interested? Familiarity with the canon not required. Looking for feedback on grammar (boy, I love comma splices) and just general ways I could improve a scene. Any sort of feedback on past chapters are welcomed as well. Feel free to comment on the review section or send me a private message over Tumblr fridakitsch
I am also dorky enough to make a fanfic-themed playlist on Spotify. HAHAHA. /2yHGVwM It has the moody and brooding songs for long night drives, and it's meant to be listened to in order just like an old school mixtape. Remember those? If I were more hardcore about it I would've only picked songs from the 90s because that's sort of when the Cybersix universe was set, but eh. Also, if anyone has noticed, I'm starting to name my chapters with song titles because y'know, I'm already writing fanfic so why the hell not.
Can't wait to hear from you folks :)