Days Past: The Beginning of Days

2: Hunted

The lights of the express tunnel dimmed around Kaden, causing the bright flashes of red and blue from the Peacekeeper units that chased him to flare brightly and uncontested as they reflected along its surface.

The path ahead had many twists and turns as it weaved through city buildings, but at last Kaden came to final one: a sharp curve that he expertly zipped around before it ended and the young Lombax was thrown straight in a world of flashing, neon lights.

District seven was also known as the entertainment district. Theaters, restaurants, casinos, sports venues, and more filled almost every inch of it. It had even been nicknamed Lombegas and, while the name sounded stupid in Kaden's opinion, it had become one synonymous with the wildest party district on the planet.

The residents of the seventh district had long held a united belief that night time was party time, but, unfortunately for them, the pesky sun would come every morning to put an end to the night's festivities. To combat this mood-ruining light (and increase revenue) the district council had ordered that a massive roof be built to keep the sun out and the feeling of night going all day long. And so it was.

Kaden looked up at the enormous, awe inspiring ceiling that projected a vast, artificial sky. Tiny dots of light were all celestially accurate representations of the stars and planets beyond it. It would have been almost impossible for even Kaden to tell that it was an illusion, had it not been for the occasional, brightly shifting advertisement that played across it.

Running through the center of the entire district was a massive canyon, with brightly lit buildings forming its walls and dozens of walkways lining its sides. This huge open space in the middle of everything was meant to be a main skyroad and had been made big enough to allow for the frequent parades and cruise ships that passed through. Stretching across the wide expanse were dozens of crosswalks that could work like drawbridges when necessary.

With all the various colored lights and the dark atmosphere, Kaden was sure to find a good place to hide in here. However, the moment the young Lombax entered the extravagantly lit city district, a loud, long siren rang out across the area advising citizens to clear the crosswalks and take refuge within any local buildings.

Again, pride filled Kaden's chest as he saw the length Valmecha's Guardian was willing to go to catch him. The young Lombax zipped above the heads of the fleeing patrons below. The crosswalks, as far as his visor enhanced eyes could see, were rapidly emptying and being drawn back into the buildings and out of the way.

Mere moments later, a tidal wave of wailing police sirens and vehicles gushed out of the express tunnel behind him. Enough time had passed now that almost all of Valmecha's elite Guard forces had been deployed.

Stationed at the rear of the Guard column were the heavy assault vehicles. These were the tanks and APCs that made up the city's SWAT regiments and they were here just in case Kaden tried to make a defensive last stand somewhere.

Ahead of them were over a hundred ordinary patrol cruisers. These were the cars Kaden had picked up like metal filings to a magnet as he flew along the skyway, still unwilling to give up on the glory of capturing him, even as more specialized units joined the hunt.

And finally, at the very front of the pack were the sleek, black vehicles of the Peace Keeper's elite Pursuit Division and the only unit here that gave Kaden concern. These assault cars were not only much faster than he was on his hoverboard, but they were also armed with long range Mag-net cannons.

To make matters worse, now that the civilians had cleared out, the officers piloting the swift vehicles would have no concerns about opening fire on him. As he looked around, he could see that there weren't even any other vehicles or obstacles in the air that he could use to slow them down with... At least, not yet.