Dark Matter [Completed]

Twenty-Eight

As I tear through the endless rooms and corridors of Boris' mansion, I try to form a plan. I can't just take off into the wilderness. Boris' estate is miles from the city; I would never make it in time to save Luke. I have to steal a car. I don't know how I'll get it out of the garage, but I don't really have a choice. Right now I need speed over stealth.

Honestly, I'm surprised Boris hasn't narrowed down my location yet, what with the fancy tracking chip he implanted into my body. Or, for that matter, why he hasn't activated the kill switch inside it yet. Maybe he was lying about that. It wouldn't be the first time. I doubt it, though. Perhaps that strange surge of power fried it. I don't know; I can't even begin to process what happened right now. I have to focus on getting out of here.

Even if he doesn't know where I am, Boris must know that I need a mode of transportation because there are armed guards waiting in the garage. I've never pulled something as big as a car through a wall; I've only ever taken small objects, things I could carry. But I suppose there's a first time for everything. Besides, what do I have to lose?

Still invisible, I skirt past the guards and survey my options. Boris had, besides his fetish for death, a unhealthy obsession with custom cars. That's why he has a garage the size of half his mansion filled with billion-dollar rides he never drives. I only need one, though. Black Cadillac Escalade, bulletproof, four-wheel drive, off-road capability... and an escape cache stored under the floor.

It takes me only moments to locate it; stored near the exit in case Boris needs to make a quick escape. Naturally, the doors are locked, but that has never been a problem for me. Getting it started is another matter entirely. I don't have a key, and I don't have the time to find it. I'll have to hot wire it... and pray I don't blow myself in the process. Then I have to get it out of here, but one problem at a time.

I slip into the driver's seat and pull the key panel off. I have to drop my invisibility to focus on hot wiring the car, and I know the guards patrol the garage. I don't have much time. It's been some time since I've had to do this, and it's somewhat of a struggle to pull the memory from my exhausted and strained mind. Somehow, I manage it, though, and the vehicle roars to life.

I don't even hesitate to wonder if I can take the car with me through the wall before slamming the gas as hard as I can. As I hurtle towards the solid steel door I close my eyes and take a deep breath. I focus on the feeling of the steering wheel underneath my palms, the leather seat behind me, the floor under my feet.

Walking through walls has become second nature to me, but I can remember first learning to master it. Having to focus on each individual part of body, having to feel the power slowly spread outwards until it filled my whole being. This is essentially the same concept, but a whole lot bigger. And I have only about ten seconds to figure it out.

I keep pushing outward until I can no longer distinguish between my own body and the car. Then we hit the door. But, instead of crashing into it and going up in a ball of flames, the car passes straight through and continues on its way up the ramp. I can't keep back a small shout of victory, but I immediately focus again. I am far from out of the woods yet. There is one more door before I reach the surface then the ten foot thick wall surrounding the grounds. I'm running on pure adrenaline right now, but I don't know how much longer it will last. I can already feel the vertigo creeping in.

I grit my teeth, though. I made Alex a promise; I can't give up now. I make it through the second door and out into the moonlit gardens that surround Boris' estate. I send gravel flying as I careen around the bend. For a moment I glance back; the mansion rises in background, dominating the landscape. It's windows glowing like dozens of yellow eyes. I will be back; I will return one day to finish this for good.

A few bullets ping uselessly off the side of the car as I scream through the gates. I'm far from safe, but for the first time in my life, I am free. I. Am. Finally. Free. I only wish Alex was with me, but I know, deep in my heart, that he is free too. Boris can't hurt him anymore; no one can ever hurt him again. Still, silent tears stream down my cheeks as I drive away into the night.