Chapter 25: — "Project Escape.ƎXƎ: Part 2 — Highway Pursuit"

The giant drone’s cannon glared down at us, charging a shot that would obliterate the car in an instant. My heart was hammering in my chest.

I didn’t even think, I slammed my hands up instinctively. A forcefield flared around the car, searing into my arms and making me gasp in pain.

“YUZUKI! STOP IT!” Rin screamed, her voice sharp enough to cut through the chaos.

“I… I have to protect you guys!” I shouted, ignoring the burning in my arms.

Kaito muttered something under his breath that I couldn't hear, but his hands moved over the console.

“What the hell are you doing?!” I yelled, squinting at him.

Kaito’s lips curved into a small, chaotic grin. “Watch and learn.”

He pressed a button. With a mechanical whirr, the car’s hood opened and a missile launcher emerged.

“A FUC—ARE YOU SERIOUS? A MISSILE?!” Rin’s voice was a mix of excitement and panic.

“Kaito… don’t!” I begged, fear clawing at me.

“Yuzuki! Stop the forcefield! Now!” Kaito shouted, his voice low and dangerous. “NOW YUZUKI!”

I gritted my teeth, the pain screaming through my arms, but Rin’s glare left me no choice. I dropped the forcefield. Relief flooded me, but my panic didn’t go away.

The drone continued firing. Bullets smashed against the windshield with a loud tink, spiderweb cracks spreading across the glass.

“Time to finish this!” Kaito yelled. He slammed a button, and the missile shot forward in a trail of fire.

The explosion was massive. Fire and smoke consumed the drone, pieces of it scattering everywhere. I could barely breathe, stunned, my ears ringing.

“WOO-HOO! THAT'S WHAT I'M FUCKING TALKING ABOUT!” Rin screamed beside me, fist in the air.

I couldn’t even speak. My arms were still shaking from the forcefield. But then I noticed a whole convoy of cars, full of armed guards, was speeding toward us. And above them, a swarm of mini-drones buzzing like angry hornets.

“KAITO! GUARDS AND DRONES, COMING STRAIGHT FOR US!” I screamed.

"CRAP!" Kaito yelled, as he slammed the gear forward. The car roared onto the highway.

The highway stretched out before us, but it wasn’t empty for long. Guard cars swerved around, mini-drones buzzing like metal hornets above our heads.

Rin leaned halfway out the window, blaster in hand, and started shooting at the drones. I fumbled with mine, trying to aim, but my hands shook. Every shot felt wrong.

“Yuzuki! What the hell are you doing?!” Rin barked, glancing at me sharply.

“I-I’m shooting the drones!” I yelled back, panic dripping from my voice. “I can’t… I just… I don’t want to shoot humans!”

Rin groaned, slamming a hand on the dashboard. “Yuzuki, come on! There are like ten cars full of them right behind us! Are you seriously not going to fight because it’s… people?”

“It’s not robots, Rin! They’re humans! I can’t just kill them!” I shouted, almost yelling over the roar of the engine.

“Ugh! You’ve been like this the entire mission!” Rin snapped. “Everything we’ve been through, and you’re still whining about killing humans? We’re in the middle of a war zone, damn it!”

“I’m not whining!” I yelled back, frustration welling up in me. “I just… I can’t—!”

Before I could finish, Kaito’s voice boomed from the front seat. “Enough!”

I jumped. “Kaito!”

“I said enough, both of you!” he shouted, slamming the wheel as he swerved past a pursuing car. “Rin, stop yelling at her. Yuzuki, stop panicking. Shoot. Focus.”

“I—” I started, but he cut me off.

“Yuzuki, it’s fine for you to feel weird about this!” he yelled over the engine’s roar. “This is your first real mission. You’ve killed robots before, but this… humans? I get it. It’s heavy. Don’t beat yourself up over it!”

I froze for a second, my chest tightening, and then I felt this small spark of gratitude. “…Thanks, Kaito,” I muttered, managing a shaky smile.

Kaito gave me a quick nod, still keeping his eyes on the road. “Stay focused. Don’t get distracted.”

I turned my attention back to the drones above us, feeling a little steadier.

Rin, meanwhile, rolled her eyes, muttering, “Finally, the whining stops…” before leaning out and mowing down another wave of drones.

Kaito glanced at me. “Yuzuki, you handle the drones. Rin? Focus on the cars.”

My eyes widened. “I... really?”

“Yeah!” Kaito barked. “This way you don’t feel guilty, and Rin actually gets to kill humans instead of whining.”

Rin groaned loudly. “Seriously, Kaito? You’re just making me do all the work again.”

“Do it!” he shouted, swerving to avoid another guard car barreling toward us.

I swallowed hard and gripped my blaster tighter. my hands trembled, but I aimed carefully at the nearest drone and fired. Sparks flew as it tumbled out of the sky.

Rin shot another car, taking out one of the tires with a perfectly aimed blast. “Take that, bastards!” she yelled.

I took a deep breath and aimed at the next drone, trying not to think about the people inside the cars behind them. I had to focus. I had to.

“Good! Keep it up!” Kaito shouted, voice tight but controlled. “Yuzuki, you’re doing fine!”

I forced myself to nod, firing again. My hands shook less now, and I felt… powerful, but also guilty. I could handle robots. Humans were different. But if this was the only way to keep Kaito and Rin safe… I had to do it.

Rin glanced at me, still annoyed, but she muttered, “Alright, fine. You’re… not completely useless, I guess.”

I smiled faintly through my panic. Maybe… maybe I was starting to get this.

—

The highway was supposed to be our way out, but the second I saw the flashing lights ahead, my heart sank.

A blockade.
Drones.
Armored vehicles.
Dozens of guards waiting for us like a damn firing squad.

And behind us? More of them, following us.
We were surrounded.

“Oh, great,” Rin muttered, rolling her eyes as she ducked to reload. “Front and back. Just perfect.”

I swallowed, my fingers tightening on my blaster. “Kaito, what do we do?!”

Kaito didn’t answer. His jaw was locked, his eyes darting from the rearview mirror to the road ahead, thinking, calculating.

Then, his eyes lit up. “Heh.”

That smirk of his, the one that meant he was about to do something insane, spread across his face.

Rin noticed immediately. “Kaito. Don’t. You. Dare.”

He ignored her, flooring the pedal. The car roared like a beast unleashed.

“Kaito?! What are you—” I started, but then I saw it too.
A ramp. Farther ahead. Rusted, steep, and just barely holding together.

“No way,” Rin hissed. “You’re not thinking—”

“Oh, I’m definitely thinking,” Kaito said, grinning like a lunatic.

“Kaito, no!” I screamed, bracing against the seat.

The car slammed over the ramp and—

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

We were airborne. Literally.
My stomach shot into my throat as the car flew over the blockade, the drones, the guards—everything.

Rin was flailing in the backseat, yelling, “ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?!”

“I told you to buckle up!” Kaito shouted over the wind, gripping the wheel like his life depended on it.

“BUCKLE UP? IN THIS TIN CAN YOU STOLE?!” Rin screamed.

I was clutching the seat so tightly my knuckles turned white. “KAITO WE’RE GOING TO DIEEEE!”

The car slammed back onto the other side of the highway with a violent crash, bouncing so hard my teeth rattled. Somehow, by some miracle, it didn’t flip.

Rin’s head hit the window with a thunk. “Ow! Ow! OW!”

Kaito didn’t even flinch. “We’re fine. We’re alive. That’s what matters.”

“Barely!” I snapped, heart hammering in my chest.

But we didn’t have time to breathe. More drones swarmed behind us, peppering the car with shots that sparked off the rear.

“Damn persistent bastards!” Rin yelled, leaning out the window again to shoot them down.

I joined in, blasting one drone after another, though I aimed high, avoiding the guards in the distance. Rin noticed and gave me that same “you’re hopeless” look, but didn’t say anything this time.

Kaito swerved hard, taking sharp turns and ducking under overpasses to dodge fire. My entire body was shaking, adrenaline, fear, and the faintest bit of disbelief that we were still alive.

Then Rin’s voice cut through the chaos. “Wait! Kaito, I’ve got an idea!”

Kaito glanced in the rearview. “If it’s another suicide plan, I’m listening.”

“No, listen... the Vireo Tunnel!” Rin shouted, excitement sparking in her eyes. “It’s that maze of tunnels under the city, multiple exits, loops, no GPS tracking! If you drive through it and keep switching paths, the guards and drones will lose us for sure!”

I blinked. “Vireo… tunnel?”

Kaito’s grin widened, wild and sharp. “Rin, you absolute genius.”

Rin smirked. “I know.”

Kaito laughed, loud and genuine, something I hadn’t heard in a while. “You’re seriously the best damn brain I’ve ever met!”

I smiled at their energy… but deep down, something twisted in my chest. Just a little.

Rin laughed and yelled back, “Don’t you forget it!”

I kept firing at drones, pretending not to hear. But I felt it. That faint sting in my chest, jealousy, maybe. Stupid and small, but there.

Kaito didn’t even look at me, still grinning like a maniac. “Hold on tight. We’re going tunnel diving!”

Rin whooped. “Hell yeah!”

And me? I just exhaled shakily, muttering, “You’re all insane…” before gripping my blaster again as the car sped toward the tunnel entrance.