Metanoia

Goldenleaf: Chapter 2

Renjun went through the possibilities of evading them peacefully in his head. There was no chance in trying to pretend he never saw them in the first place since he had made eye contact with the driver beside him; He couldn't casually leave the town anymore if they were in fact following him; and he certainly would not pull over and try to confront them or try and let them 'pass'. It wasn't even the start of his journey and he was already caught.
He picked up speed just by a sliver so he could slightly pass the man on his left. However the strawberry blond simply followed his pace, not intending on letting Renjun get ahead at all.
'Shit. No time for thinking up a complicated plan now...'
There was a small part of him that thought it would be best to just play along with what they wanted. On the other hand, the rest of his brain was still processing the guns as alarms were blaring in his head. And despite all of that, he still wanted to leave. More than anything.
He made his decision, and although it was definitely not one of his more reasonable, thought out choices. It was the best one for his benefit. If the result kept him alive at least.
Eyes flickering around, Renjun took in his surroundings carefully and studied the parts of the car. Everything inside the vehicle held a foreign familiarity which was both calming and nerve wracking. He sent a silent prayer up to no one in particular and composed himself for what he was about to do. His truck getting scratched slightly by the man forced him to speed everything up.
He swerved to the right and shifted gears. The world suddenly went backwards as he saw the two cars in front of him. Renjun turned to stare behind him. Saw the open road to his left. And he spun the wheel.
His foot slammed on the gas pedal and he accelerated forward. Gunshots were ringing out from both ears and in a panic he started to swerve the car in waves. A bullet had hit the ground in front of him compelling him to put more pressure onto the pedal.
The large black car was tailing behind him. The man eerily calm whilst holding the gun in his hands.
Gulping, Renjun looked back in front of him. He sped through the stop light. The loud horns and screeching of wheels nearly covering the sound of his drift. The truck just adjusting to the turn while continuing straight ahead.
Another gunshot rung out to his left and his hands spun the wheel around. Switching to the next lane in a messy u-turn the blond tried to focus on accelerating forward.
'Don't panic. Don't panic.' His breath quickened, eyes flickering in every direction to try and spot his chasers. 'The outskirts are just on the other side of town. I can make it...'
His foot slammed on the gas pedal once more. Renjun was able to cross the stop light again.
There was the sound of shattering. A cold wind. And the sound of a gunshot. His eyes caught the speeding piece of metal skim inches from his face before exiting through the other window. But he had no time to process where it came from.
The strawberry blond was behind him this time and Renjun kept his pace. He drifted to the left. He switched lanes. The other man was behind him. The teen was back to where he was before. Not in a literal sense however. The blurred colours were getting more darker with the bricks of different buildings.
There was a road in front of him that split into the two lines with cars going in different directions. One was busier than the other. His instincts lead him into the easier way out. But it really wasn't.
Renjun swerved into the opposite lane and headed straight on toward the other cars. The sound of bullets went silent and he figured out quickly that it wasn't a random attack. He was being targeted.
He spun the wheel back and forth. He switched gears. He slammed on the brake. He slammed on the gas pedal. He did everything he could to avoid the other vehicles.
Sparing a moment, his eyes hovered to his right. No car in the lane across seemed black. His hand jerked to the passenger seat and the car followed suit. The truck sloped upward from the island in the middle. He felt gravity tug his heart down to his feet. Then the rest of the vehicle landed on the ground. Renjun accelerated. Shifted the lever. Drifted around the corner.
The parkade he ended up driving into was empty, the bus station near almost abandoned. He could catch the spot of black near the back of the lane he was in. He kept driving on. But he was definitely not able to waste time driving carefully. His hands gripped the steering wheel and he leaned in the direction he spun in. The force of the spin drove his head further into the window. He was back to sitting straight. The exit to the parkade was getting closer.
    A clean pop returned. The sound was becoming familiar. There was no time to look back anymore. Renjun wasn't risking getting a bullet to the face in attempt to see who out of the two was chasing him.
    He turned right. Vibrations of items scratching against the truck shook his body. An opening in between buildings presented itself. Renjun went into reverse and flew backwards towards the end of the alley. He shifted gears and drove smidges onward. The breaks slammed. A slight screech of tires.
    The large building made good cover and the blond leaned forward to listen as the car drove past before drowning out from the traffic possibly ahead. Renjun's hands were shaking with shock and he took a few minutes to catch his breath. 'These men are not from town.' Before this sentence would spark curiosity and suspicion. It would compel him to find out who they were. Now he didn't want to come anywhere near them.
    Crunching gravel came from his tires as he continued on slowly. Renjun turned left to circle back to the exit. He glanced to his right to check if anyone was coming around. He turned his head.
Pop.
His mouth hung open, screaming soundlessly. The car veered to the right and he drifted to the left. A stinging surrounded his left cheek and his right ear rung out loudly. He flung his foot at the gas pedal in a desperate attempt to go faster.
The strawberry blond was right in front of him. Waiting at the stop light with a gun propped up in his hands.
Renjun stretched out both hands. Gripped onto two things and switched them.
Another pop. His heart stopped momentarily as the bullet was directed at his sideview mirror with just a flick of the windshield wiper. The blond took the wheel with one hand and turned it before driving in reverse. His truck was a blur of dark green. He was relying on his map that was still somehow working.
Turning right...
Turning left....
Switching gears and spinning around. Renjun jerked forward. A large mesh fence broke. He was faced with tons of screaming students. He would've slowed down to avoid hitting anyone. Instead he hoped they could run fast enough.
The car swerved back and forth- his body was waving left and right. He was sure he was going to vomit from dizziness. A silver blur caught his eyes. A large scratching made him cringe. There was a dash of green and brown near the passenger's side.
'The forest.'
He drove into the greenery as quickly as he could and the cars didn't seem to follow. In fact, if he remembered properly, they didn't seem to have followed him through the school's field in the first place.
'Great. Perfect. Amazing.'
Renjun was about to take another break. Maybe inspect the warm liquid dripping down his jaw. However a plan was forming in his mind once he saw two similar cars. He groaned and pressed the gas pedal, his foot throbbing at how much he was using the muscle. The dark green pick up drove in between the two other dark green trucks. And the drivers of both gave him odd, worrying looks.
It didn't matter to him, as long as he was getting farther without being caught. Even so, he grew confident that the men wouldn't harm random people. And as he kept moving forward, his theory was being proven right when the two black cars flanked the trio of trucks. There were no sudden movements. Just the regular pace of cars going about their day.
But once Renjun caught sight of the outskirts of Goldenleaf, he knew he would have to say goodbye to the sliver of safety. He took a deep breath in and speed ahead. Streaks of black were following on either side now. The man on his right seemed to be saying something. The bullets from his gun was covering his voice.
The blond turned sharply once. Turned sharply twice. And the grey tones of the road became green and grassy.
He bounced up and down in his seat. The road was starting to get bumpy. Scratch that, the ground was getting bumpy.
A surge of victory went through him. He passed the large sign. The city was gone. He was out of there and free from the oddities of the area. His laugh that left his lips became a gasp and a yell.
"NO NO NO NO NO."
The pressure from the back right faltered greatly. There was the sound of pressurized air seeping through what must've been a small hole. Despite this he still pressed on. However his track was much less straight than before.
Dirt was flying up in the air. A spray of bullets and loud noises surrounded his truck. He managed to avoid it all. A sputter was heard from behind him. His blood went cold.
'Please don't tell me the gas ran out this quickly.'
The greens became darker as he went on, whether it was from the time or from......
'Thank you to any higher power out there!'
Renjun said a Hail Mary before pursuing into the dark undergrowth of the dense forest before him. The lights of his car illuminated the way. But he couldn't let that happen. Those men weren't allowed to follow him. Not any longer. Whilst swerving, he snapped his attention to the keys beside the wheel. And he ripped them out.
Suddenly the car lost life. The sound of the engine died out. All the light disappeared. Everything darkened.
And in seconds the ground seemed to disappear from under him. Renjun felt himself falling in midair. His breath was whisked away. There was sudden impact and a bright light. Then the world went black.