Page 94 of Stand: Part One
And then the shooting started.
Darren fired three shots at the SUV that was gaining on us, only for its two front tires to blow out, causing the driver to lose control of the vehicle and crash into the median.
“Holy shit!” I gasped as I watched the SUV crash and flip onto its side.
“Focus on the road in front of you, Jaden!” Darren roared as he pulled his arm back into the car.
With my stomach flipping in on itself, I darted my eyes back to the road, noticing we only passed the first exit. Four more to go.
Just when I thought we were in the clear, several engines roaring in the distance behind us caught my ears. Glancing up into the rearview mirror, I could see two black sporty-looking vehicles closing in on us.
“There’s more!”
“There’s always fucking more,” Darren grumbled.
Realizing I was about to get trapped between two cars, I veered off into the shoulder to pass them before whipping us back into the main lanes.
“Jesus Christ, Jaden, watch the mirrors!”
“Hey, hey! I am no longer responsible for anything that happens to this car!”
Glancing back to the rearview mirror, I watched as the headlights of the closest car advanced. Darren aimed his gun out the window again, firing off one shot before I had to quickly veer around a damn bus, causing us to jerk in our seats.
He sighed in annoyance. “If you’re going to swerve like that, can you at least try to keep it straight?” he growled before firing two more shots.
“Hey! I’m doing the best I can!”
“Well, do better!” he snapped as he continued to fire.
And then the sharp sound of gunfire pummeled into the back of the car, forcing Darren to pull his arm back inside. The noise generated from the bullets that rained down on the poor Ferrari was deafening, shaking me down to my very bones.
“Jaden, move!” Darren shouted.
“I’m trying!”
Too often, I had to slam on my brakes to avoid a collision with another car, which gave our tails all the opportunity they needed to catch up. Veering around another car, I slammed my foot down on the gas pedal, switching lanes just as one of the tails nearly rammed us off the road.
But my quick maneuver forced me to cut off the car behind us, causing them to overcorrect and lose control, striking the car next to it. The screeching sounds of tires sliding over pavement and crunching metal followed us, a massive pileup of cars slamming into each other and taking up two lanes.
“Oh fuck,” I whispered to myself, my gut twisting with regret.
“Nice work,” Darren applauded as he quickly glanced down at his phone, the wreckage seeming to slow our tails down significantly.
I cringed at his praise. “God, I hope no one died in that.”
“What did I tell you about where your focus needs to be?”
I huffed out a frustrated breath as I swerved between more cars, but slammed on my brakes again as we came around a corner with all lanes occupied.
“Shit,” I muttered to myself as I swerved between a very narrow opening between the cars, horns honking as I passed through. But the pause allowed enough time for both of the remaining tails to catch up, each one now flanking either side of the Ferrari. Their windows then rolled down to reveal some heavy-duty machinery.
Fuck!
“Move!”
“I can’t!”
I cringed internally as an infinite series of sonic booms ate away at the car, completely shattering the windows. Darren groaned, mumbling curses under his breath as sparks flew by his window.
