Henry gave the green light and stared at the car’s engine and began driving back to Lizzie’s while keeping the car at a steady pace, not wanting Alejandro to tumble out of the car.

“What’s the chance that he falls out?” Rita asked.

“Not that high.” I replied before continuing, “Could be worse; you could be on top of the car chasing after someone while having to avoid not only cars but people shooting at you as well.”

“I take it you’ve done that?”

“A few weeks ago. Not going to lie about it, but it was fun. Stupid but fun.” I admitted.

As we left the area, I could spot in the mirror two cars following us. I got on the holo with Henry and told him about the cars behind us and that if things get crazy, he should take a different route back to Lizzie’s. I watched the cars waiting to see if they would take a turn in the road or if they were about to engage in a fight.

Annoyingly, it was the latter, as one of the windows rolled down and out came the torso of a Crimson Blade, who started taking potshots at us. I rolled my window down and started blind firing back at the car before moving out of the way so that Alejandro could open fire on the car.

He started firing at the front window; this caused the driver of the car to start swerving the car around trying to avoid the bullets coming out of Alejandro’s gun.

Wanting to get in on the action, I slowed the car down and told Rita to take the wheel while I climbed over to return fire on the two cars. Poking my head out of the passenger window, I started firing at one of the car’s tires.

The left front tire popped, which stopped the car, leaving us one left to deal with. They started firing again; they mostly focused all of their attention on the car Henry was driving, not the one I was in.

As they constantly fired upon the car, the worst occurred. We could hear the scream of someone yelling out in pain, followed by seeing Alejandro getting shot in the right arm.

“Fuck! Max! One of the girls got hit!” Henry said on the holo the nerves was clear in his voice.

“What! Where? Where was she hit?”

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

“In the neck! Fuck, bro, I think she’s flatlining! You got to get rid of that car for us!”

In the heat of the moment, I started climbing out of the window.

“Max!? Max, what the fuck are you doing!?” Rita yelled.

“Don’t worry about me, just focus on the driving!”

Climbing onto the roof of the car, I waited for the precise moment to jump onto the Crimson Blades. As I jumped on top of the car, I wasted no time and climbed to the front of the car and started shooting at the driver and the passengers.

With the driver and passengers dead, the car started to lose control. The car was weaving left to right and was going full speed. I needed to think of something fast, as I wasn’t going to die here.

I gazed across at Rita, and in a fleeting exchange of glances, we silently formed a plan. I swiftly made my way back to the top of the Crimson Blades car, jumped across to mine, and gracefully landed on the side of my vehicle. With all my strength, I pulled myself back inside.

Rita looked at me with both concern and anger in her face. “That’s fun to you!?”

“It can be,” I said while getting my breath back.

Looking back, I could see the car crashing into the wall before setting on fire. With the Crimson Blades off our backs, I asked Henry how they were getting on.

“Alejandro’s fine He claims it's nothing but a flesh wound. As for the girl, I’m not sure. Alejandro’s trying all that he can to stop the bleeding, but I don't think she’s going to make it.” Henry explained.

“Shit. How close are we to Lizzie’s?” I asked.

“Not far. Fuck I don't think she’s going to make it. She fading fast.” Henry replied.

We managed to make it back to Lizzie’s. I quickly got out of the car and rushed over to Henry and helped him with the injured girl while Rita and Suzi ran inside the bar. We brought her inside and asked for medical assistance.

“Quick! We’ve got an injured one! We need help.” I yelled.

Jill heard all of the commotions and rushed over and asked me what happened.

I started to recap all of the events that happened. “We found the girls, and whilst we were on the way back, we got attacked by some Crimson Blades, and one of them was lucky enough to get a lucky shot that hit Alejandro, which he says he’s fine with, but the bullet also hit that girl. I don't think she’s going to make it.”

Jill thanked me for getting the girls back before she rushed over to the injured girl. Amidst all the commotion and panic, I went to check on Alejandro, who was already helping himself to a drink.

“I take it your wound isn’t anything to worry about,” I asked in a joking manner.

“Ha-Ha. Yeah, it’s just a scratch. What about her? Is she going to make it?”

“Honestly. Not sure. Of course, I want her to make it, but I'm not sure.”

There was a break in silence before someone yelled out, “Shit! She’s flatlining!”

We ran over and saw someone jacked into her systems and was constantly updating her heart rate,

“40...39...28... We need to do something people!”

All we could do was watch on as they tried everything they could, but it was for nothing.

The girl died a few seconds later. Everyone was shocked; nobody knew what to say or what to do.

Behind me, I could hear the door getting slammed open then the voice of two familiar people.