Neon Grave

Chapter 23 The Big Ass Metal Man 1/2

Streetside pedestrians turned their noses at the four-armed alien as if it was an unwelcome circus act. The weather was perfect for a midday stroll. Sure. Nothing to worry about, not even a disk with pincers cutting through the sprawl. Jessica homed in on the insectoid spaceship as its lightning strum of an engine rebounded off the megablocks. It maneuvered far too well at low altitude.

"Is that thing fucking chasing us?" Valerie broke into a sweat.

"It's chasing me," said Cairo.

"Why would it do that?" exclaimed Jessica, but Cairo spun the wheel, and her cheek smacked synthetic leather. The bastard was practically cutting through corners as he handled the wheel. Neon streaks zoomed outside the window, the engine of the Lasiogni sports car accelerating into a ruckus. It was the worst rollercoaster ride imaginable, but without bobbing and weaving through so many damn buildings, that alien ship would've caught up to them already.

"Beelz is the prime target," asserted Cairo. It doesn't matter what's chasing us; that thing cannot be allowed to reach her."

"How do you know?" Jessica frantically checked out the window.

Police sirens eventually joined the high-rise pursuit. Cairo blazed a trail that drew every copper's attention, within a mile radius. Armored cars and yellow highlights fell on the wayside. Squad vehicles entered the skylane and formed a fast chain. Weirdly enough, when the red and blue strobe lights took over the rearview mirror, the insectoid spaceship was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, Cairo and the crew were at the mercy of the law.

"Think we lost him?" said Valerie.

Jessica covered Valerie's mouth. "Why would you jinx it!" A laser beam suddenly zipped through the skyline stabbed the upcoming skyscraper, cutting a swathe through its levels. To the people streetside, it was mortifying to watch an entire chunk of skyscraper reign debris. "WHY WOULD YOU JINX IT!"

Cairo nosedived, hitting everyone in their seats with G-force. For the next few seconds, streetside vehicles, civilians, and holograms blurred across the dashboard. Jessica opened one eye and thought she saw Death beside them in the backseat. Police vehicles simultaneously hit the ground as fiery wreckages, incinerated by the beam. The haunting ship then reentered the rearview mirror. There was no time to pull up when it fired again. A sudden, violent shockwave rocked them. They were on their way down when the rear bumper churned out smoke.

"Hang on!" yelled Cairo.

It was Curtain Fire all over again. Taking Valerie by the hand, Jessica shoved the door open and then jumped out of the fake leather. They fell at low altitude. Immediately, however, the McFly kicked into gear and started hovering as Cairo's black sporty tumbled into a heap with him inside. It could have been worse, could have been better, but the expensive sports car ultimately hit the sidewalk intact. A few cracks on the concrete, and a fallen traffic light, did little for a block that already looked like crap. At that moment, it changed from a garbage street corner to the scariest place to be.

Quietly, too quiet for anything with an engine, the alien hunter craft loomed above the Lasiogni wreckage and waited. Just waited... Nothing happened for a while. Cairo went missing, but the ship was there to stay.

Little did people know, the face of the city was about to change. It started when the ship's bottom hatch opened, and the alien dropped underneath the hull. A superhero landing, for sure. With a metallic buzz, his ship's quick thrust swept the ground beneath his stubby legs. The randoms in the area were pensive when they should have been scared. A few of them were crazy and probably stupid.

Several vigilantes carelessly swaggered up to the four-armed giant while its back was turned. Red jerkin, oni face masks, monster teeth tattoos; they were gang members. Not upstarts either; the strangers marauding through Siren City streets were members of The Apex. They'd guard their turf, jealously, even in the face of a giant, four-armed dude with a spaceship.