They were almost to the Soaring X's base, maybe a few miles away. Kyle returned to sipping from the bottle while Zac watched out the window, his head lightly tapping on the glass with each slight bump on the street.

They had ridden in silence for the last five minutes, but Omar still had his wide smile plastered on his face.

"So what happened to the dog and the unlucky fucker you mugged?" asked Omar with a sarcastic concern and chuckle.

"Well..." started Kyle, tilting his head and drawing out the L, "dog's body is in one place, brain is in another." Omar let out a snort. "The guy's alive," continued Kyle more seriously, "Lucky I brought a taser. Fucker was a cyborg. Not just one limb either, all four were cybernetics."

Omar pursed his lips and puffed some air out of his nose. "Interesting. Guess you ran into a lone Forsaken member. Either of you see his face?"

"Nah," said Kyle. "I got out of there ASAP. Motherfucker was screaming like a madman. Wouldn't blame him since I killed his dog. Made the poor bastard watch the entire thing while he spazzed on the ground. Then I kicked him in the head!" He broke out laughing again.

But Omar went silent. He peered in the rear-view mirror, his eyes slightly more intense than before.

Zac took the hint. "I didn't see his face. But before we left, he stuck these weird needles into the dog. Then he started glowing red." Zac's hands shook on his thighs. His eyes dropped to them, watching them shiver uncontrollably. "Then he stared at me with the reddest, most evil eyes I've ever seen on a cyborg."

Just think of that image sent a swirling rush of icy water through Zac's stomach.

When Zac glanced up, Omar's face was ghostly white. His lips were slightly parted, and the bottom one quivered rapidly.

"H-H-He turned...red?" Omar stuttered in a low whisper.

Kyle stopped laughing and looked at Omar oddly.

Omar's hand shot to the wallet on the dashboard and ripped out the ID. The moment his darkened eyes glanced at the ID, he dropped everything.

Then,

He threw up on himself, sending chunks of orange down his white button-up shirt and ironed dress pants. Tears ran down his face in rivers as Zac and Kyle stared at him wide eyed.

Kyle was the first to speak. "Bro...you good?"

"No, I'm not fucking good!" he screamed, knuckles blanching on the steering wheel. "None of us are fucking good! We're all fucking dead, you stupid piece of SHIT!" His eyes were wild, sparkling with tears pooling on his lids, a coating of grimy sick on his chin.

Kyle raised his hands. "Woah, chill out, man. The fuck you talking about?"

Zac watched from the back seat with a stone-like expression. He was frozen.

"You killed HIS dog...HIS dog, you fucking idiot!" His eyes bored into Kyle, who watched him with a combination of confusion and fear on his face. "And you killed it right in front of him?!" 

Omar glanced back and forth between Kyle and the rear-view mirror. "Did you use your names? Did you say the gang's name?!"

Zac couldn't answer. His throat wouldn't let him.

"W-we said each other's name," answered Kyle, now sunken in his seat. "A-and yours..." he added.

Omar returned his eyes to the road. The engine revved louder as they sped faster down the street, buildings now blurrier than before. "Oh god. Oh god. No no no. Please god no..." he mumbled. More tears streamed down his face and fell onto his lap.

Omar's eyes suddenly darted to the side mirror, and his mouth dropped open. Zac, who sat on the back passenger side, leaned over and peered out the window.

His pupils narrowed to pinpricks, and everything went silent. The car's revving lulled, Omar's sobs soothed, Kyle's heavy breathing softened.

Zac was in a vacuum. But the only sound that ripped through was the scream of a motorcycle speeding from behind, its shining headlight making Omar's face appear even whiter than it already was.

The light blinded Zac, sending a sharp jolt to his brain. He shut his eyes tight. Everything was still silent aside from the motorcycle, now only feet away from the window.

Zac opened his eyes. And all he saw were two red orbs shifting and swirling like a focusing laser. Then, sound returned, overwhelming to his ears.

"FUCK!" screamed Omar. He slammed on the gas, sending Kyle and Zac flying back in their seats. The car screeched, shooting down a long strip of empty street, soaring through each red and yellow light.

The motorcycle followed effortlessly, swerving in between the few cars cruising along the darkened street.

Omar swung the steering wheel with both hands in every direction, fleeing in and out of crowds of taxis and buses, horns blaring behind.

"What the fuck is going on!?" screamed Kyle, gripping the rail at the car's roof as each yank of the steering wheel threw his body against the door and glove box.

"It's him...It's him...IT'S HIM..." Omar repeated, louder and louder each time. His hands were white, gripping the steering wheel so tight his veins and tendons popped out of his skin.

The motorcycle sped alongside them again. Omar whirled the wheel to the left, pushing it away, sparks flying in the air from metal on metal. The motorcycle ducked behind, and they sped up.

"What are you talking about?!" hollered Kyle, eyes wide, his body flinching with every car they dodged.

"You've awoken him you fucking bastard!" barked Omar, keeping his wide eyes on the road.

"WHO?!" Kyle's face was screwed up with anger, flushed a beat red.

Dodging the last car on the street, Omar looked directly at Kyle with a crazed look in his bloodshot eyes.

The motorcycle sped alongside the car. Zac glanced out the window, ducking low in his seat.

Two red eyes seared through the driver's side window.

But Omar didn't notice, he was too focused on Kyle.

A hand lifted from the motorcycle.

"The man who stopped the dog blood trade!" Oman shrieked, spittles of saliva and sick spewing from his mouth. "K-"

They didn't find out who it was, because a bang rang out, and Omar's head exploded onto the dashboard. Fragments of skull bounced off the windows. Glops of brain and blood sprayed across Kyle and Zac's faces. Omar's body went limp and let go of the steering wheel.

He no longer had a head - only a gaping neck hole that gushed blood out like a fountain.

The sickening metallic smell flooded Zac's nose, and the taste lingered on his tongue.

The motorcycle pulled away, evading an oncoming van. But their own car continued speeding down the street - now without a driver, whose lifeless hands fell limp at his side.

Neither Kyle nor Zac reacted, they couldn't. The wheel cut, and the car swerved off the street, tires squealing.

The bummer slashed the curb, throwing sparks in the air. They both unconsciously unclicked their seatbelt.

The car hit a fire hydrant, knocking it from the ground, and crashed into a utility pole. An evil, metal mangling screech carried down the road.

An explosion of fire and metal lit the night sky. But despite the roaring flames, brighter than the moon,

Darkness ensued.