Max's Faith & Fury [COMPLETE]

Chapter 5

Faster. Max's heart pumped viciously in her chest.

Faster. Her right foot was like a block of lead on the gas pedal, solid and unmoving.

Faster! She was in a race with time now as it blurred around her. She barely had time to pull the seatbelt on before stealing this gloriously powerful car. If she weren't in so much pain, she'd probably purr with the engine revving that was hungry for more. She demanded speed, and it delivered.

Adrenaline electrified her veins, sharpening her senses, despite the accelerating blood loss. She could feel each beat bringing her closer to death as blood spilled from her thigh. It needed to slow down. She needed to...

A set of headlights in the rearview mirror got her attention, making her insides turn sickly. She wouldn't slow down, she couldn't, not now. She was being followed.

Max willed her brain to stay alert, forget about the blood loss and focus on escaping the car behind her. Make that, cars. A second pair of headlights joined the chase, and she could feel her adrenaline take over.

She was either cocky or stupid to let herself smile at the rush burning through her veins. With eyes front, she calculated an escape route. Staying clear of suburban areas and possible pedestrians, she drifted onto a side street. A flash in the mirror told her she hadn't lost them yet. She didn't expect to, not right away.

Watching the needle climb higher and higher as the engine roared like a beast coming to life sent chills up her fingers and arms. She skidded on a gravel road, leading whoever was chasing her into the dark alley of a commercial lot. Shipping containers, warehouse buildings and machinery flashed by. The shining of the headlights never left the rearview mirror, and Max started to wonder what kind of cars they were driving to be able to keep up with her.

They were creeping closer and closer.

Determined to lose them, she shot out of the alley and drifted left, flinging rocks into their windshield. They backed off, but only a bit. Long enough for her to punch the gas and lunge forward, peeling out on the loose gravel. Dust and rocks picked up as she carved through the gravel, covering her as she escaped. For a second, she was alone in the dark.

Headlights shot out of the dust, one after another, racing in the other direction.

While creating the cloud of dust, Max shut off the lights and disappeared into the dark. Now she watched the mirror, making sure those taillights were getting further and further away in the other direction. When she felt like there was enough distance between them, she turned the lights back on.

The road was dark and empty and inviting her into the night. She needed to stop. She needed... a hospital. She needed a hospital, but the closest one was across town, somewhere. Max didn't know exactly where she was anymore, but she was alone and dying.

She drove a few more miles into the night before going down a two-lane road that led her to an empty parking lot. The sign said something about a trail, telling her where she was. A hill of trees and rocks covered the parking lot and blocked out the nearby city lights. Now that she was completely alone, Max parked and turned the dome lights on to see if the car had anything she could use to mend herself with.