Page 98 of The Dark Obsession

Rafael smashes his foot down on the accelerator, and we speed past the walls of trees. His large, scarred hands shake on the steering wheel. “What happened?” He says, his voice uneven.

I glance behind me at Benjamin’s bruised and ashen face, then to Adriel’s bloody forehead. My stomach growls.

“After the car slammed into us, we moved straight for the trees,” Adriel starts.

“Only it was like that was what he wanted,” Ben finishes shakily.

I reach back and take Ben’s hand. “I’m so sorry.” I cry.

He squeezes my hand and takes a deep breath. “Before we know it, there are gunshots. We ran, and we just kept running.”

Rafael shakes his head. “He let you go?”

“I know he knew where we were. I’m sure he watched us get in the car,” Adriel says.

“I don’t doubt that,” I say, my thoughts swirling.

“This game is not over,” Rafael whispers.

Rafael focuses on the mirror. We accelerate and skid around a bend, propelling us forward. Everyone’s heads slam into the headrests.

Ben and Adriel turn back and look out the window.

A black car is close behind us. Its engine is loud, and its lights are blinding. The black car speeds up, and Rafael’s car shudders as it takes its first hit.

I grab my belt and hold it against my neck, as if that’ll help protect me.

Our bodies jolt, and the seatbelts lock. Shouting and hurried conversations fill the interior of the car. I can’t understand a word of it as my brain fills with possible outcomes. Ahead is a fork in the road.

I hear the bang before the impact shoves my body to the side. Rafael’s car fishtails, and the split in the road approaches too fast to discuss what’s next. Momentum forces the car to take the right.

The black car pushes us farther and faster down a muddy and thin country lane, the potholes bouncing us like ragdolls.

My stomach turns. “Rafael!” I grab onto his arm.

He shrugs me off and yanks my seatbelt, tightening it even more across my chest and shoulder.

The pain from my previous injuries makes me squirm against the restraints. I watch in horror at Rafael, whose face is now a weird shade of green.

“It’s him.” My brother states the obvious, his shout sounds like a whisper over the jolting of the car.

The car behind us revs loudly and smashes into us once again. I hold my head against the headrest; my insides turn and body trembles. I blink wildly as another crash shatters the back window spraying glass all over the interior. I stare ahead in horror, we’re barrelling toward an open farm gate which enters onto a large wet field and a small barn.

Rafael accelerates, and the car screeches as it skids onto the grass area. Another deafening thud, the black car hits the side tail end our ours. We’re moving too fast and I grip my chair as the car veers and the breaks scream. The car flips onto its side—the passenger side, my side. A loud bang sounds, my shoulder slams into the window, it shatters, sending a crack through the empty field. The cars momentum slows but still it flips again, hanging us upside down for a millisecond.

Without stopping, the car falls onto Rafael’s side. He slams into the side of the door. His seatbelt buckles under his weight, and the car shudders and falls onto its wheels, jerking my head to its side. White smoke seeps through the smashed windows. No-one makes a sound.

“Rose,” Rafael’s voice sounds in the silence.

My ears ring loudly and eyes blurry up, I see my brother moving and sigh in relief. My entire body is tense, my hands still tight around my seatbelt. I whip my head to Rafael, sending an intense shooting pain to my shoulder. “Raf,” I whimper.

Someone behind me unclips their seatbelts. “He’s gone,” Adriel shouts, and a door flings open.

“Rose.” Ben squeezes his body between the two front seats. “Are you all right?”

I groan and nod carefully, sending another shock down my neck.

“Try not to move,” Adriel says as he opens the door and leans over me, unclipping my belt.

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