STEEL (The Aurum Trilogy Book 1)

Chapter 34

THIRTHY FOUR

Lauren

I drove the Hummer to roads I was unfamiliar with. Division 1’s landscape was pretty much complicated. Its architecture depicted the luxurious New World very baroquely with its buildings carved into sharp angles and complex shapes. Its grandeur never failed to mesmerize my abhorring eyes. The sky was now in bright blue and fat clouds replaced the wispy ones I saw this morning. I was heading north, according to my GPS to God knows where. I hadn’t stopped driving ever since I got out of the Cathedral. I wanted to get away from it as far as I can. I wanted to stay away from it, tuck it behind me in a box, seal it with packaging tape, bind it in chains and throw the others along with it to the bottomless ocean. I wanted to leave it all behind. I wanted to leave behind one particular thing, one particular person: Jonathan.

Goodbye.

This was my original plan. I would return to Division 38, where I rightfully belong. I’d collect my father from Coeline and we’ll live together as soon as the war is over. I’d take Coeline as well, if she wanted to come. We’d be on the run. I’d still attain my fugitive status but we would make it. I’ve been escaping my whole life, why can’t I continue doing so?

All of a sudden, bullets whirred in the air and the front glass of my Hummer shattered to pieces. I stepped on the brake, grabbed some guns and opened the door of the Hummer, rolling outside landing on one knee while my other leg was bent to acquire the perfect angle to shoot those that tried killing me. Above me, familiar aircrafts whooshed past, ready to bomb and destroy the city. The people were running out of their houses and buildings, panicking and screaming. I looked at my attackers and realized that they all had one common crest, the seal of The Alliance.

My day couldn’t get any better. I shot one man after another, taking them down with multiple fires. I reloaded my gun and fished another one out of my belt and used both my hands to kill as much as I could. I hid for cover on the side of the hummer and shot straight again, hitting a soldier of The Alliance on the forehead. They came here too fast. I was unprepared.

I hopped back in the Hummer and backed up, sending dirt and gravel skidding. I turned the car around, heading back for the Cockaigne and the Cathedral, heading back to my weakness, heading back to my past. Soldiers kept on firing their guns at the Hummer, creating bullet holes and cracks on their glass. I went ahead, speeding up, the engine roaring as rebels, mounted on their motorcycles kept on shooting at me from left to right. They were dressed in black vests and helmets which matched their equally obsidian ride. Of course, The General loved black. It was the former color of The Hawk before it joined The Alliance. A strategy crossed my mind. I slowed down so they could keep up on me and waited for the perfect momentum. They shot at the Hummer’s sides with their machine guns, creating a bizarre crisscross pattern on its yellow coat. I rapidly pushed a command that allowed all my windows to roll open and pressed it. I focused once more on my attackers and patiently waited for the perfect timing. When everything was put to place, I stepped on the brakes and stayed behind them a bit before hitting the gas again and stretching my arms out wide, each of my hand holding a gun.I looked at my targets from west to east and didn’t hesitate on pulling both triggers. The bullets went straight to their heads, penetrating their helmets and forming a tunnel of blood and tissue in their skulls. I stepped on the brakes again, slowing down and shooting at the two others who are still on my tail using the same strategy. I pressed the same command, closing the windows and avoiding the two upcoming soldiers who were riding their motorbikes as well. One of them whipped out a gun and shot through the glass. I opened my own window, held out a hand and pointed it to the direction of my attacker and it hit perfectly in the forehead, sending him flying together with his splattered blood and deteriorated tissue. His motorcycle swirled down to the ground before coming to a complete halt, its wheels still spinning and its engine still making noises from afar.