Second World



"Hit the gas! Hit the gas!" Naomi yelled.

"I'm hitting the gas!" Stefan yelled back. "I'm going as fast as I can! I don't think this piece of junk is made for racing."

The truck was gaining at them. Despite its bigger size, the truck's speed was not less than the car they were on. Since it didn't need to avoid obstacles, it could continue going straight. All the obstacles it barreled through didn't even slow it down, while their car had to swerve left and right to avoid hitting stuff. Thus, the distance between the two vehicles continued to shorten.

Due to constantly going at top speed, their car ended up scrapping the obstacles a few times. One time they even crashed into a broken trolley. Luckily, it caused no damage to their car and the car could continue to run.

"Where the hell do you learn how to drive? Gran Tur*smo?!" Naomi complained.

"Hey, that's a good racing simulation! I also learn how to drive from there," Jack uttered.

"Is this the time to discuss that?! And I didn't learn how to drive from a racing game!!" Stefan yelled and bumped into a ruined car by the side of the road.

"Drive properly!!" Naomi yelled.

"How about you take the wheel!" Stefan yelled back. "If you willingly go into a car with someone else on the wheel, you accept that you put your life in that person's hand! If you don't like it, you can either drive yourself or jump the hell out…!!"

"Wow… Never peg you to be so fierce," Jack remarked.

"Just… drive," Naomi uttered.

A loud honk was heard again. It sounded very close now. Jack looked back and saw the truck is drawing nearer. He could even see the person behind the steering wheel. It was the ethereal who shot their car using Ki Blast earlier.

"Make turns! That oversize truck should have less maneuverability," Jack uttered when they were coming onto an intersection.

Stefan first turned the wheel in one direction, but he then spun the steering wheel hard in the opposite direction while pulling the hand brake. The car made a screeching sound as it swerved hard, leaving tire marks on the ground.

"Dude! Did you just drift?!" Jack exclaimed.

"Hehe, I was called Takumi when I street raced during high school," Stefan uttered.

"It's not the time to be showing off!" Naomi scolded. "And what are you doing street racing during high school? That's not something to be proud of…!"

Jack looked back and saw the truck turning. As he expected, the truck had to slow down to make the turn. Otherwise, its heavy frame might cause it to tip over due to making a sharp turn at high speed.

This allowed them to put a little distance again.

"It's working. Make more turns!" Jack told Stefan.

Stefan did another drift at the next intersection. This time, it was not so smooth, he ended up bumping the car's rear onto a lamppost.

"Stop trying to show off…!!" Naomi slapped Stefan's arm.

"Look! Stairs!" Jack pointed. There was a wide flight of stairs that brought them to the plaza below before connecting to another street. "I bet that truck will not dare to go down those stairs!"

"Put on your seat belt…!" Stefan said. He then turned toward that flight of stairs.

"Crap!" Naomi put on her seat belt. Jack was looking for his at the back only to find that the back seat had none.

"F*ck! What kind of car is this? Why is there no seat belt on the back seats?" Jack cursed.

"Hold on tight…!!!" Stefan exclaimed.

He drove the car down those stairs. It bumped and rocked all the way down. Jack had lay flat on the rear seat while holding something under the seat.

With a loud thump, the car finally arrived at the plaza below. The three looked up, expecting to see the truck's driver stop and go look for another way down. Instead, the massive truck came barreling down the stairs as well. Its wide frame was just enough to fit the stair's width.

"Sweet sister, that driver is crazy…!" Stefan said and hit the gas again.

The truck's heaviness caused it to go down the stairs much faster than Stefan's small car. Its front tires slammed onto the plaza's stone pavement just as Stefan's car sped away from there.

"That truck is unrealistically durable," Jack uttered. "It should have broken to pieces doing that crazy stunt!"

"Any more smart ideas, genius?" Stefan said to Jack.

"How about you think of one, prick!" Jack talked back.

"More driving, less talking!" Naomi again slapped Stefan's arm.

They continued driving, making turns as much as possible. However, they found fewer turns in the neighborhood they were now in. This allowed the truck to slowly catch up to them again.

The area they were in was filled with mid-rise buildings. These buildings had narrow alleys in between them. Jack had been looking at these alleys as they drove past.

"At the next intersection, go left!" Jack told Stefan.

"Why?" Stefan asked.

"Just do it! No time to explain," Jack said.

Stefan looked in the rearview mirror. The truck was gaining up on them. He would still have to turn if he wanted to add some distance to that truck.

So, he performed drifting again, trying to maintain the car's speed while turning.

"Go left again," Jack said.

"Are we going to go in a circle?" Stefan asked.

"Just turn!!" Jack yelled when they were close to the turning point.

Stefan turned the wheel.

Jack leaned forward so he came up between Stefan and Naomi. He pointed forward. "Now, pay attention! On the third alley, go into it."

"What? Those alleys are narrow!" Stefan exclaimed.

"Your car can still fit inside," Jack said.

"What if there are obstacles inside the alley?" Naomi asked. "We will be stuck inside then."

"There isn't, I've watched those alleys when we passed them by from the opposite sides," Jack said. "The number three alley is clean."

Stefan looked in the rearview mirror. The truck was just done turning and was now picking up speed again.

"F*ck it!" Stefan cursed. He slowed the car down and turned after coming up to the alley Jack mentioned. Now that they were in front of it, they saw that Jack was right. This alley was clear of any obstacles.

Stefan hit the gas and the car pierced into the alley. The width was just enough for the car to pass through. Because the car went through the alley at high speed, Stefan had trouble keeping the car straight. It scrapped the walls of the alley several times, breaking the car's side-view mirrors.

Jack looked back and saw the truck stopped at the alley's entrance. It was too large to follow into this alley.