Sci-Fi Novel: An-Other World Episode 6

I hear rattling of gunfire behind. Still being drowsy and confused, the officers can’t give chase yet, but they’ve apparently recovered enough to use their rifles.

Several bullets crash into a nearby wall.Don’t stop, I tell myself. Keep moving. At last I come to the fire exit and slam into the door. Locked! The sound of heavy footsteps is getting closer. Without looking, I fire a few rounds in the direction of my pursuers.

Hopefully I didn’t kill anybody. I didn’t ask for this, but now have no choice but to fight and protect myself and Kathy.

Frantically, I kick the door hard. It cracks, but doesn’t give. I hit it with my shoulder, putting all my weight into a motion. The door breaks, splitting open and the momentum throws me out onto the concrete. I land on my hands and knees, immediately looking around. No sign of cops.

They haven’t had time to cover all of the exits of the building yet. My legs are aching and my nose is still dripping blood, but there’s no time for rest. I have to run and put as much distance between myself and the cops as possible. If they see me, they won’t simply use pepper spray or a taser.

An armed breaker on the run? They’ll shoot first and ask questions later. I scramble back to my feet and take off running, not looking back. I know of a park nearby with dense overgrown shrubbery which might provide temporary shelter. No one has gardened there for a long time. Nobody even walks there anymore.

I run lightly, setting my sites on the park in hopes of shaking pursuit. Reaching the edge of the park, thick bushes with gnarled thorns scratch my hands and face.
When I’m far enough in, I fall on the ground and lie motionless, catching my breath. Seems I can hardly move. I hypnotized too many people back there at once and my strength is gone. How did I control the entire SWAT team? The extreme situation must have altered something in my brain, unleashing some kind of hidden reserves. Now my blood pressure is dropping.

All breakers suffer some type of symptoms after hypnosis and I’m no exception. I press my aching head against the cold soil. I can’t run anymore. I want to close my eyes and fall unconscious. The sounds of approaching voices startle me awake. I can’t give up now, especially after what’s happened at the bank.

Gasping, I cross the park and come to a street with light traffic. As I enter the intersection, an angry looking young man in a sports car speeds up to act like he’s gonna hit me. He slams on his brakes at the last second, skidding to a stop just inches away.

I get a crazy idea. Suddenly I turn, brandishing my gun. “Stop!” I yell as I pull the trigger, shooting out a headlight. “Get out!” I order, pointing the gun at the driver. I won’t shoot him unless I have to, but he doesn’t know that. Having suddenly recovered from his bout of road-rage, the now scared guy steps slowly out of the vehicle, staring at me. “I’m taking your car, start walking,” I calmly say, continuing to wave the gun.

I watch the hesitant young man take a few steps away. I get in the car knowing I can’t allow myself feelings of guilt. I have to survive and warn Kathy. I’ve driven only a few times in my life, mostly on abandoned roads and that was farm machinery. The car is still running. I place my hands on the wheel. My foot finds the pedal. The sound of not too distant sirens urges me to act.

I romp on the gas, making the vehicle leap forward. It’s too fast and jerky, all over the road. Startled, I slam on the brakes and the impact of the car abruptly stopping smashes me against the steering wheel. The horn goes off, bringing unwanted attention to my growing predicament. Other vehicles are stopping, waiting for me to clear out from the middle of the road.

The sirens are getting louder, too close now. I have to hurry. Pressing the gas pedal more gently this time, I drive down the street. My fingers turn white from gripping the wheel and sweat drips down my neck. Navigating between other cars is one heck of a task at first. I have trouble with staying in my lane. Near misses begin to pile up with several instances of avoiding a collision by only a few inches.

A large truck swerves out of my way and collides with another vehicle in a violent wreck. Police cars drive past them, now on my tail.
Miraculously, I drive through a busy intersection and come to the devastated part of the city. There’s no other traffic around so I increase speed, trying to lose my pursuit. It doesn’t quite work out the way I’d planned. I hit a pothole, sending the car into a crazy spin.

The steering wheel jerks, jarring my wrists, and the world turns upside down. The front window crashes, spraying pieces of glass into my face. Something hard slams into my head as I’m swallowed by absolute blackness.
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