CHAPTER 79: CHAPTER-79. (THEY WON’T QUIT!).

The car tore through the expressway like a bullet fired from a gun as the engine howled in the night. Josh’s knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel, sweat dripping down his temple.

Behind us, the headlights did not back off. They stayed, coming at us steadily, just like wolves hunting their prey.

"Left! Left now!" Dave barked, suddenly making me and Caroline almost jump from our seats.

Josh spun the wheel without hesitation as the car jerked violently. My head slammed against the window as a gasp escaped from my mouth while Caroline screamed beside me.

Tires screeched violently such that for a second, I thought we had lost control, but unfortunately, that was nothing compared to what came next.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a massive truck cutting across the road, its hulking shadow swallowing the lane in front of us.

"Josh!" I shouted as my heart almost came out of my mouth.

I wanted to beg God to save our lives, but before that could happen, the car swerved so close I could see the bolts on the truck’s side mirror.

The horn blared, making us all deaf for a moment as we almost crashed.

My breath caught as the world tilted sideways. Caroline’s nails clawed into my arm until I felt the sting of blood, but in that moment, it was nothing compared to the anxiety at the thought of dying.

But then by some miracle, we slipped past it. The truck’s angry horn faded into the darkness behind us. For a moment, no one spoke.

Only the engine roared, and my own heartbeat thundered in my ears, but there was no time to breathe.

Josh cursed under his breath as he glanced behind us, "They won’t quit!"

"Then we make them," Dave replied, his voice low yet firm. His eyes flicked across the mirrors, calculating every move. "There’s an industrial zone up ahead. It will give us plenty of opportunity to trail them off."

As those words came out of his mouth, Josh’s head snapped in his direction with a ’you-are-crazy-look’, but then he just shook his head.

"You’re insane," he muttered, annoyance dripping off his tone.

Dave’s reply came the next second, devoid of any emotion, "Do it." Just two words. A simple command.

Josh did not argue further, but his sharp huff made it clear just how much he disliked the idea, yet he yanked the wheel. The car drove sharply off the main road.

My stomach lurched as we shot down a side lane, driving into darkness.

The glow of neon city lights faded behind us, replaced by the looming shadows of warehouses and abandoned factories. Broken streetlamps flickered weakly, casting the road in eerie half-light.

The cars were still following. Their headlights carved white lines through the darkness.

"Josh, faster!" Dave ordered.

"I am at the limit!" Josh snapped back, his voice cracking under pressure.

The car roared louder, engine straining. We swerved past piles of rusted machinery and half-toppled fences. Sparks flew as one side mirror clipped a hanging metal pole.

Caroline’s sobs were now turned into cries, "We are going to die, we are going to die..." She kept repeating those words like a mantra until Dave snapped at her.

"Quiet!" Dave barked, the force of his voice silencing her. "You feed them your fear, and they win. I know it’s not easy, but hold it together until we reach there."

I clenched my hands so tightly my nails dug into my skin. My body shook with every jolt and turn. Then, suddenly, Dave’s phone buzzed again. He picked it up with one hand, his tone clipped. "Report."

A heavy, masculine voice came over the speaker, urgent and rushed. "This is Morris’s unit. We are inbound. ETA two minutes."

Hope sparked in my chest. Though my mind stayed an overthinker, my heart grabbed onto that fragile light.

"Hold your position," Dave said firmly. "We will draw them toward you."

"Copy. Two minutes."

Then the call was cut off, leaving an unsettling silence behind. I turned to Dave as I opened my mouth, forcing words to come out, "We just have to last, right? Two minutes?"

His eyes stayed on the mirror, his expression remained cold and aloof, "Two minutes is a lifetime when death is chasing you."

As if to prove his point, one of the cars behind us suddenly swerved, pulling alongside us. Its engine roared, and the black shadow of its body pressed close to ours, too close.

"They are trying to box us in!" Josh shouted.

"Then don’t let them!" Dave barked in frustration, dripping off his tone. "Brake hard, then swerve right!"

Josh slammed the brakes. The force pushed me forward against the seatbelt, knocking the air from my chest.

Caroline screamed as the pursuing car shot past us, missing our front bumper by inches. Josh wrenched the wheel, the tires screeching as he darted right, slipping between two rusting containers.

The car jolted, sparks flying as metal scraped the side.

We had bought a few seconds. Nothing more.

The second car tore after us, headlights blazing. And then, just ahead, through the gaps in the warehouses, I saw it.

Nicole’s car.

Her headlights cut through the dark like a beacon. Grace’s pale face flickered in the passenger seat, wide-eyed with terror.

"They are here!" I gasped as relief washed over me. The feeling felt so overwhelming that I almost cried.

But as expected, the relief did not last long as my gaze darted in another direction.

One of the enemy cars lunged from the side, slamming into us with brutal force.

The world spun as metal screeched, and I was thrown sideways, pain exploding through my body as Caroline’s cry pierced my ears.

The windshield cracked, shards spraying like ice. The seatbelt cut into my chest, holding me down as the car spun out of control.

"Ahhh!" I screamed, but my voice was drowned in the chaos.

The world tilted, flipped, and then...impact. A bone-shaking crash that stole the air from my lungs. My vision blurred, and everything was going black around the edges.

Somewhere in the haze, I heard Caroline sobbing. Josh was cursing weakly, and then my eyes caught the last image before darkness took me.

Dave.

He hung suspended by the seatbelt, his body twisted, his head slumped forward. Blood trickled down his temple, dripping steadily, painting the seat red.

The sight chilled me to the bone.

The last drop I saw fall... was the last thing I remembered before my world slipped into nothingness.