Black Holes - The Mors Mortis Trilogy Book 3

Chapter Twenty One

Jared was frozen as those police cars appeared, sirens blaring and tires screeching.

Every atom in him screamed to run, to disappear into one of the alleyways. And he knew he could. Easily. He'd been the last out of the building, so he still stood on the sidewalk, hidden in the shadows of the station.

Leah and Danny hadn't been as lucky, though.

They were right in the middle of the road, leaning on each other and staring at the oncoming vehicles. Not moving a muscle.

Jared watched, horrified, as the cars' headlight swung onto them, as tires screeched and burning rubber filled the air and the cars zoomed forward.

But still, they didn't move.

"Go!" Jared screamed at them. "Run!"

Leah turned to him, her expression empty, and Danny shifted with her, his head slumping down, his body falling heavier onto her.

That was when Jared understood.

They weren't leaning on each other. Danny was leaning on her, and Leah no longer had the superhuman strength to move them both. Or the will, apparently.

"Shit," Jared swore under his breath, and then he raced for them.

He reached them in seconds, the police cars only a hundred metres away. He wrenched Danny from Leah's grasp and swung him over his shoulder.

"Go!" he yelled at Leah, and then he spun towards the cars, zeroing the automatic's sight on the closest's wheels. The driver swerved, trying to break his line, but that only brought the second car into his view instead.

He shot, and heard the tyre explode just as the driver floored the accelerator, trying to reach him.

The underside of the hood hit the bitumen, sending up sparks and screams, and the car screeched towards him, gathering up the first car in it's wake.

He saw the drivers' shocked face, saw them realise what was about to happen, and then Jared jumped out of the way, Danny thumping painfully on his shoulder.

He didn't look back as the cars shot past and smashed into the corner of the station, erupting in flames. He just turned and ran.

Leah was up ahead, disappearing into the mouth of the alleyway. Safe. Hopefully, for good if she kept running and didn't turn back when things went south.

Because they were about to. Jared could feel it.

The vibrations of the cars he hadn't taken out hummed on his heels, displacing the air just metres behind him. And though he was moving faster than anyone in this world had a right to, it wasn't enough. Even he couldn't outrun engines.

Jared pushed his legs harder, panting under the combined strain of his and Danny's weight, but he could still hear the growl of the engines catching up, the threat of warm metal and rage.

Now that he'd attacked two officers, there'd be no sympathy either. They'd flatten him and Danny and bring their bodies back to the station to punish once they woke.

He grabbed the automatic and spun it backwards, shooting blindly, but none of the cars slowed.

He felt the kiss of metal on his heels, the suction of air as he started to slip under the hood.

And then it all stopped.

Jared gasped as a wall of pressure hit him. His ears popped, his body went weightless, his vision dark, and then he slammed back to earth, skidding to a stop.

Jared blinked, trying to think around the rushing in his head. Leah still stood at the mouth of the alleyway, and he was still in the street, Danny slung over his shoulder and loose bitumen under his feet. But behind him...