Beastars: A Symphony of Life

Chapter 95: Blackout

Louis sped through the empty streets in the police cruiser. His foot was slammed down on the gas and the vehicle was going so fast he had to brake in order to drift and turn safely. It took a lot of mental focus to gas, brake, and turn, but he had been through worse. His heart raced, probably as fast as the cylinders that beat in the engine, but he kept his cool. The rubber tires screeched on the road and he smelled it burning. The windows were open along with the vents, allowing the engine to cool via the air flow. It left him sweating for more than one reason. He sped along, the lights passing overhead like tiny rays of hope. They became less noticeable as he kept going. He banked hard, braking as the back spun out and the deer let go of the brake, spun the wheel straight down the road, and hit the gas again without losing any momentum. He sat uncomfortably with the sword between his back and the seat and his belt squeezed around him, pressing into his boney hips. He checked the clock. Two minutes left.

"I'm coming Azuki," Louis said, banking hard down another road as the built in GPS said and gassed it even harder.

~~~

Azuki's mouth had been taped and she was tied to a chair with a blindfold over her eyes. She heard people moving around her and typing. Biting back the pain in her shoulder, she tried to work the knots and loosen them. The snake bite was like a raging fire that wouldn't die down. Her muscles still ached with the bruises that came from the python's coils when it dragged her through the vents. She pulled at a loop and someone came up, tightening it again and worsening the rope burn in her wrists. She grit her teeth and breathed heavily through them, the spittle flying from her lips. She rubbed the blindfold on her shoulder, giving her right eye the space it needed to see. There was a camera faced towards her and a light that blinded her from seeing the others in the room clearly, but she could see two distinct shapes. Both of equal height and same species, as far as she could tell.

~~~

Louis flew the car outside the forest of buildings and accelerated it down Marshal Street next to the ocean on his left. He saw the power plant coming up and he slammed the gas, drifting the vehicle through the 'NO TRESPASSING' gate and spun the car out to a stop in front of the factory, its smokestack billowing. He jumped out, blood rushing his head and he couldn't see. But he didn't let that stop him and followed the car around until his sight cleared. He ran into the building, kicking down the door and pulling his saber. He didn't want any gun fire near explosives. He didn't know to expect any resistance, but it was an innate possibility. He slinked along the corridor, coming across a staircase and taking it up to the observation deck, where he could look over the plant and see what he was dealing with.

~~~

One Baboon stood behind the light, the other at a computer. He typed and sat there waiting again, just staring at the screen. She squinted through the light and picked up the shape of a camera on a tripod. She looked down and around, seeing a light gray cloth the chair was on. It was at this point the baboon behind the camera stepped forward again and brought the cloth back up over her eye. She panicked in the dark and tried to keep calm. How was she going to get out of this? She had every belief that someone would save her, but she couldn't sit back and wait for that to happen.

~~~

Louis looked over the metal railing down on the plant and held in a gasp. The entire area was filled with C4 explosives and multiple pipe bombs. They covered every turbine and fuse box in the space beneath him. He looked at them and saw they were all wired towards an office in the back, possibly to a detonator and Azuki. Seeing no one there, he jumped over the railing and rappelled down to the ground. He left his cable and hook hanging there and advanced towards the office.