“So how long have you been driving stick?”
“Since I was fourteen,” Kimi replies, pushing in the clutch as she turns sharply at a slow speed to avoid a toppled billboard. The car jerks harshly when she lets it out a little too quickly, her face heating in embarrassment when she receives a look from her passenger. “Oops, popped the clutch.”
Tracy gives her a sly look before peering outside her window, keeping an eye out for any activity. She slouches in her seat a bit, which doesn’t go unnoticed by the driver, but Kimi holds her tongue against the question burning her mouth. She didn’t like this uncomfortable silence, though…or is it just her that feels uncomfortable? She glances over at her passenger again, whom is engrossed in watching the outside world as she is forced to turn north onto 115 street.
“It’s like some bad dream,” she hears her whisper once again, her fists clenching.
“I wonder how long it’ll take for the army to get here.”
“The army?”
“Well, yeah.” Kimi turns the steering wheel sharply to the right, maneuvering between an upturned truck and a large crack. “Sheezus,” she whispers, studying the broken fissure that juts into the air a good three feet. She remains quiet for a bit, halting the vehicle just on the edge of a large crater close to eight feet in diameter. Kimi cannot make out anything in the middle other than two vehicles lying next to each other, king and queen standing dejectedly on top of half a caved building. “I just don’t understand what the Hell…”
“It’s got to be a terrorist attack,” the older woman affirms, hefting herself out of her seat to gain a better view, twisting her body to watch it pass as Kimi begins to drive again. She drops back down after a moment, wincing. “I mean, what else could it be?”
Kimi doesn’t answer right away, keeping her own weathered eye out and holding their speed below 10 kilometers. Deciding to keep as close to Jasper Avenue as possible, Kimi takes a right turn onto 102nd ave, and then south onto 114 street.
“Meteors?”
“Hm…maybe—I don’t know. I just want to find my sister.”
“And then what?”
“Dunno…head up to my parents’ acreage?”
“Where’s their acreage?”
“Up near Villeneuve.” Kimi guides the car into an alleyway that connects to 113th street, where she makes a left onto the first clear road they find. She begins to pick up her speed a bit, studying through her rearview mirror the debris that still litters Jasper Ave.
“It’s gotta be terrorists,” Tracy whispers again, her voice harsh and sure.
“Then where are the terror—shi!” Kimi shouts, instinctively slamming on her brakes and clutch. The car skids with momentum, fishtailing until they come to a stop, narrowly missing two people. Fully distracted, Kimi shouts at her older counterpart to stay where she is as she unbuckles her seatbelt before opening the door and releasing the brake and clutch. The car slams into a stall, pulling a surprised shout from Tracy and jarring Kimi in her attempt to climb out of the vehicle. Landing briefly on her hands and knees, the young adult stumbles into an upright position, slipping and nearly falling again as she turns to regard the people she nearly ran over.
“Hey, are you alright?” Kimi shouts, her hands gripping the open car door with a death grip to keep her on her feet.
Instead of answering her, the far individual leaps across the distance of four meters without any running start and makes it look easy. Multiple curses rack through her head at the feat, frozen with fear and surprise as the opponent quickly fires three arrows and has his bow knocked with three more in the blink of an eye. He lets these go as well before dropping his weapon and pulling free a long blade as his attacker easily knocks all six arrows out of the sky with his own, decisively more intricate, sword.
