Chapter 24: — "Project Escape.ƎXƎ: Part 1 — Hot Wheels and Hover Hell"

The wall exploded behind us, bricks and dust flying everywhere, and I could feel the adrenaline screaming in my veins. Kaito slammed the car into gear, tires screeching as he tore through the debris like it was nothing. The stolen vehicle bounced over chunks of broken concrete, and I gripped the seat so hard my knuckles turned white.

“KAITO! SLOW THE FUCK DOWN!” I screamed, my voice barely audible over the roar of the engine.

Rin leaned out the passenger window, letting out a cheer that sounded like she was enjoying a roller coaster. “YES! THIS IS WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT! LET’S GO, KAITO!”

I groaned, burying my face in my hands. “We’re gonna die! I just know it!”

Kaito’s eyes were cold and focused, hands tight on the wheel. He didn’t even glance at me. “Quiet. You’ll get us killed if you scream any louder.”

Screaming louder? Impossible. My heart was pounding like a jackhammer. The smell of smoke and concrete dust filled the car, mixing with Rin’s laughter and Kaito’s muttered curses. He leaned into a sharp turn, tires squealing, narrowly missing a stack of abandoned crates that toppled into the alley behind us.

“Watch out!” Rin yelled, firing her blaster out the window at a guard who was crazy enough to give chase in a hoverbike. Sparks erupted as the shot hit, and the bike wobbled before crashing into the side of a building.

“Holy shit,” I muttered, eyes wide. “Did she just—”

“Don’t look, just shoot!” Kaito barked, swerving to avoid a drone that had just lifted off from the territory compound. Its red scanning lights cut through the smoke, locking on.

I felt my stomach drop. “Drones? Why are there drones?!”

“Because Syntrix Umbra doesn’t do anything halfway,” Kaito muttered, a dark edge in his voice. “Keep your eyes open.”

Rin laughed, leaning out again, shooting at another drone while yelling, “Come on, you flying piece of crap! Take this!”

I clutched the edge of my seat, heart hammering, and muttered under my breath, “I can’t believe we’re doing this. I can’t believe I’m alive right now.”

Kaito’s hand shifted slightly on the wheel as he muttered, “Idiots… all of you. I should be driving alone…” but I caught the ghost of a grin on his bloodied, bruised face.

The first wave of guard vehicles roared around the corner, engines screaming, lights flashing. Kaito didn’t flinch. He swerved, weaving between obstacles, making the guards slam into walls, crates, and even each other.

“Holy, he’s insane!” I yelled, gripping the dashboard.

“Insane keeps us alive,” Rin shouted back, grinning like it was a game.

I swallowed hard, breathing ragged. I didn’t know whether to scream or cheer. All I knew was that we were alive, for now, and Kaito… Kaito was unhinged, driving like a man possessed, and somehow, terrifyingly, I trusted him.

The alleyways twisted like a maze, but Kaito knew every turn instinctively. Tires screeched on concrete as he swerved sharply, narrowly missing a stack of abandoned crates that toppled into the path behind us.

“Drones!” I yelled, ducking instinctively as a red light flashed over the car roof. My stomach dropped as another drone descended, weapons charging. I fumbled with the blaster in my hands, heart hammering.

Rin leaned halfway out the window, firing back with perfect aim. “Got it! Take that, you little flying bastards!” Sparks erupted as a drone went down in a shower of metal fragments. She laughed, wild and unrestrained, clearly loving the chaos.

I hesitated. My finger hovered over the trigger. I didn’t want to hit humans again… but I knew I had to do something. With a deep breath, I aimed at the nearest drone and fired. It jolted violently, then fell, smoke curling from its circuits. I swallowed hard, heart still racing. “I… I can do this,” I muttered, even though the pit in my stomach refused to calm.

A guard car slammed around the corner, engines roaring. Its driver tried to ram us, and I felt my chest seize. “Kaito, they’re gonna—”

“Not if I can help it,” he muttered, a smirk twitching on his bruised, bloody face. In one fluid motion, he swerved, tapping the guard car with the rear bumper. The vehicle skidded violently, tires screeching, before smashing into a wall. Metal groaned, glass shattered.

Rin whooped from the passenger seat. “HOLY SHIT! Did you see that? Smooth as butter!”

I just stared, my mouth open, both horrified and secretly relieved. My hands trembled as I whispered, “How… how does he do that?”

The drones were closing in again, but Kaito twisted the wheel like he was dancing with death itself. Red beams cut past us, drones swooped, and another guard car tried to flank. Kaito’s focus was terrifyingly calm. He leaned into the turns, firing back sporadically with his blaster, dodging both metal and fire.

I ducked every time a laser beam screamed past my window, firing at drones with shaky hands. Each shot that hit made my chest ache, but the thought of Kaito taking all that alone pushed me forward.

Rin cheered beside me, wild and fearless, firing at everything that moved. “YEAH! EAT LEAD, YOU ASSHOLES!”

My stomach twisted at the sound of engines and screaming metal. I hate this… but I can’t stop… I whispered. Each drone that fell from my blaster, each obstacle Kaito used to our advantage, reminded me that we might survive this hell.

The alley opened up into a wide street, but we weren’t safe. Drones swooped down like metallic vultures, red lights slicing the air. This time, it wasn’t just lasers, they were firing EMP shots.

Kaito’s eyes widened. “EMP rounds! If they hit the car, we’re done!” He swerved sharply, narrowly dodging the first blast as it exploded against a lamppost. Sparks showered the asphalt.

Rin leaned out the window, firing wildly. “Eat it, you flying tin cans!” She smirked, taking down one drone after another, clearly loving the chaos.

I swallowed hard as another EMP round hurtled toward us. Without thinking, I thrust my hands toward the car. A shimmering barrier erupted around the stolen vehicle, humming faintly as the blast slammed into it. The forcefield absorbed the impact, leaving the car unscathed.

The sudden realization made my stomach drop, I was doing it again.

Rin’s eyes went wide, confusion and suspicion mixing in her gaze. “How the hell are you doing that?!” she yelled, firing another round at a drone.

I froze. I didn’t know. Not exactly. It just… happened. “I-I don’t know,” I stammered, gripping the invisible energy. “Maybe… it’s… something I can do?”

Kaito gritted his teeth, leaning out just enough to glance at me. “As soon as we get home, you’re getting bombarded with questions, Yuzuki!”

Panic hit me instantly. No, no, no… please no… 

Another EMP shot slammed into the forcefield, and a sharp ache shot through my arms and chest. I moaned, clutching my shoulders. Weakness was creeping in fast.

Rin’s sharp voice cut through the chaos. “Yuzuki! Stop! Now!”

I wanted to push through, to keep the barrier up, to protect the car and especially Kaito and Rin, but the pain was unbearable. I bit my lip, shaking my head. “I… I can’t hold it…”

Rin’s hand grabbed mine briefly. “Stop it! You’ll pass out if you don’t. We can’t afford that right now.”

Reluctantly, I let go. The shimmering barrier vanished instantly, and the sharp pain drained from my body. Relief washed over me, my breathing still heavy, heart hammering.

Kaito glanced at me through the rearview mirror, jaw tight, eyes still scanning the sky for more drones. He didn’t ask questions now, but I knew he was storing a million in his mind for later.

Rin smirked, still shooting at the remaining drones. “There. No fainting, no EMP fried car, no getting yourself killed. Now focus.”

I nodded, gripping my blaster, still trembling but ready to keep moving. The city around us was chaos, but for a brief moment, I felt like maybe I could survive this… as long as I kept my limits in check.

Up ahead, the street was a nightmare. Armored vehicles lined the road like an iron wall, and spike strips glinted under the neon lights. Guards leaned out of windows, weapons trained on us, ready for anything.

Rin’s eyes widened as she leaned out the window, blaster at the ready. “Shit… they’re actually organized.”

I swallowed hard, gripping the edge of my seat. “Kaito… please don’t—”

Kaito didn’t slow down. His jaw was tight, his eyes locked on the blockade like he was challenging it personally. He muttered under his breath, almost to himself, “If they want crazy… I’ll give ‘em crazy.”

“Are you insane?!” I shouted, panicking.

Rin’s grin widened, clearly thrilled. “Oh, this is gonna be good. Go, Kaito! Smash ‘em!”

My stomach flipped. “NO! You’re gonna get us killed!”

The company car surged forward, boosters roaring as the tires screamed against the asphalt. Kaito’s hands danced over the wheel with precision only he could manage. The spike strips shattered under the reinforced tires.

With a sudden jerk, Kaito aimed the front of the car at a small ramp-like attachment near the bumper. The car lifted slightly, smashing into the nearest armored vehicle like a battering ram. The impact sent the first vehicle slamming into another, ricocheting into the street. Guards screamed, blasters firing wildly, but Kaito didn’t flinch.

Rin leaned out, blasting any guard trying to climb back into the wreckage. Sparks, smoke, and the sound of crunching metal filled the air.

I kept my eyes shut for half a second, then peeked. The blockade was falling apart, the armored vehicles twisted and overturned. My jaw dropped. “I… I can’t believe you ACTUALLY did that.”

Kaito didn't answer, instead he swerved sharply to the right, tires screeching, narrowly avoiding debris. The boosters kicked in again, giving the car an extra surge of speed. Ahead, the exit from the territory came into view.

Rin let out a victorious laugh. “Hell yeah! That’s how you do it!”

I leaned back in my seat, heart hammering. “I swear… I am never questioning about this ever again.”

Kaito glanced at me briefly, eyes cold but focused. “Stay alive. That’s the only advice you need right now.”

The chaos behind us was fading fast, but the danger wasn’t gone yet. We still had a long way to go before we could truly breathe.

We thought we’d finally shaken most of the pursuers. The streets were mostly clear, debris and overturned vehicles littering the way behind us. I exhaled shakily, leaning back for a second, letting the adrenaline settle.

Then a shadow fell over us.

A giant aerial drone, bigger than any we’d seen before, a Syntrix prototype, swooped down from the sky and planted itself directly in front of the exit. Its metal frame gleamed under the neon lights, rotors slicing the air like knives.

Kaito slammed the brakes, the tires screeching. “Shit,” he muttered, eyes narrowing. He stopped far enough away not to drive straight into it, but close enough to assess the situation. The thing was massive… and armed.

Spotlights blazed, blinding us. The drone hovered, slowly turning its main cannon toward the car. High-energy charges began humming along the barrel, glowing ominously.

I swallowed hard. “…we’re dead,” I whispered, barely audible over the hum.

Rin leaned slightly out of the window, smirking like she was ready to take it on. “Bring it, toaster.”

Kaito’s hands gripped the steering wheel tighter, muttering a curse under his breath. “Nope. Not today… not gonna die here.” His eyes darted, searching for a way around, some trick, anything to outsmart this mechanical nightmare.

The energy cannon glowed brighter, humming louder, almost shaking the air around us.

Time seemed to stretch, every second dragging as the drone’s targeting system locked on. Kaito’s knuckles whitened on the wheel. Rin readied her blaster. I clutched the seatbelt, my heart in my throat, staring at the giant metal monster blocking our escape.

Then… the hum intensified. The cannon charged fully.

And that’s where it stopped.