7:43 PM on the main street, southwest of Brooklyn, Dave was driving his car at high speed after Alex and the rest had stormed into it, fleeing from one of Berry Company's employees, "Hudson," the predator.
He was chasing them under the glow of white and red car lights, and even though he was on foot, his speed nearly matched that of the car on the same main road..
Most people who saw Hudson from inside their cars thought he was either crazy or some kind of professional runner with iron lungs. Still, most humans would be terrified of a man like him—a beast outrunning the wind. Hudson passed a limited number of cars, getting closer to his main target: that old car. It was no more than sixty large, uneven strides away, and the destination was closing in.
Dave was driving with heavy breaths and extreme anxiety, wondering why this man was still chasing them in such a crazy way. Doubt and hesitation filled his mind, prompting him to shout out loud, "Why is this guy after you? For the love of Lady Liberty, what made him chase you like this?"
Dave glanced at everyone, starting from the seat next to him and moving to the three seats in the back. Salim was sitting in the middle, with Amy on his left and Alex on the other side. With a tone of feigned suspicion, he asked, "Did you guys rob the poor guy? Jeremiah, I'm asking you!"
Jeremiah, who was in the closest seat to him, responded in a choked, loud voice, "Do we look like criminals to you? I mean, maybe I might look like one in some cases, but honestly, I swear I didn't do anything about it."
Jeremiah recalled an incident from the past involving his older brother and Dave. He spoke to Dave apologetically, with a fake smile on his face, "I'm really sorry for what Daniel did, but the thing is, that robot just wants to kill us! That's the only reason! Let's just focus on the ro—"
His words were cut off as Dave nearly crashed into another car on the road. Swerving off the main lane, he ended up in the opposite lane, coming dangerously close to colliding with a truck loaded with canned sardines! But he managed to regain control of the car and got back on the right track.
Alex took a quick glance out the rear window and shoved Salim forcefully to make room for himself, causing Salim's head to bump into Amy's.
Amy showed no reaction other than slight annoyance, unlike Salim, who felt deeply embarrassed and blushed.
Through the rear window, Alex noticed no trace of Hudson. Instead, he only saw the disgusting white traffic lights that burned into his pupils. The boy concluded that Hudson might have left or grown bored of chasing them. Alex muttered hesitantly, "Guys, I think there's no one chasing us anymore..."
His words were cut off by a loud sound that caused the car roof to warp inward and outward. The sound came from above the car, and everyone knew where it originated... It was on the car's roof!
Dave decided to shout intentionally, though he sounded nervous:
"Don't tell me that lunatic is on my car's roof! Is he really up there? It just came out of maintenance recently, you..."
Suddenly, a hand broke through the car roof, settling between Jeremiah and Dave, leaving them both shocked and horrified. The cold sweat on Jeremiah's face reflected his tension, and his heavy features made the situation even stranger. Everyone in the seats knew this hand belonged to Hudson.
Hudson began moving his hand as if searching for someone inside the car. Everyone was in shock, their faces showing sheer astonishment. At that moment, Amy sped up slightly and pulled out a dagger from its sheath, secured behind her black carbon suit. She seemed ready to cut off Hudson's hand, considering it acceptable since Hudson was merely a "disavowed man" with a human form modified in Berry Independent Company's facility.
Before she could execute her plan, Hudson suddenly withdrew his hand from the roof. Then he repeated the action multiple times, causing chaos inside the car. As for Amy, she planted her dagger near Jeremiah's headrest without hitting him, but she left him terrified and rattled by this small yet intimidating lady.
Hudson continued thrusting his hand in and out of the car's roof, forcing everyone inside to duck to protect their heads and backs from his steel-like fists. Eventually, Hudson managed to punch multiple holes into the car's roof. These holes allowed the wind to burst into the car with ferocity, accompanied by Hudson's sharp gaze—a predatory employee who remained watching them from above.
Dave shouted angrily while gripping the steering wheel, paying no mind to the man standing on top of the car. He said:
"Are you insane?! I got this car from a friend on an installment plan, you idiot! Stop making those ventilation holes! You're ruining my car and its look! I haven't even finished paying off its installments yet!"
Hudson paid no attention to his words, clinging tightly to the car's roof.
A fleeting idea crossed Dave's mind to stop Hudson. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and then felt the breeze seeping into his brain through his nose and ears. He focused his mind on the road: a bump... another bump... That's how he pictured the road. Three cars ahead of him, another behind. To his left, three more cars and a motorcycle to his right.
He fell silent for a few moments, imagining several scenarios, living them in his mind as if they were real. He programmed his brain and his grip around them, then took a deep breath and held it in his lungs until he felt the rush of blood to his head.
He shouted with a strong voice that came from the depths of his chest and slammed into his throat before its echo resonated around them:
"Hold on tight, everyone!"
At the beginning of the shout, no one understood what Dave intended to do with his thoughts, nor could they comprehend his sudden decision. Yet, they trusted him.
Unexpectedly and without warning, Dave slammed on the brake pedal with brute force, defying all expectations. The car's tires violently scraped against the ground, skidding between three cars on the left side. The friction caused thick smoke to rise, forming a white haze of carbon dioxide vapor behind the car, obscuring the vision of passing and oncoming vehicles.
David continued driving in the same manner, with screeching tires and dense smoke covering the street like a curtain of white clouds. Eventually, the car came to a dangerous stop on the busy road, after skidding past three cars on the left and three more in front in a single slide.
The car settled in the middle of the road, between the oncoming and departing vehicles.
At that moment, Hudson lunged forward with great force due to the sudden stop. He violently hit the ground, colliding with the hardened asphalt, and rolled over on the old road.
Everyone's eyes turned to him, as if he had died from the sheer force of the collision. Some other cars stopped, and people began to ask, "Is this a car accident? Did someone get run over?"
A grim silence filled David's car before Jeremiah shouted with enthusiastic glee, "He's finally dead!" He gave David a quick, celebratory shoulder nudge, but his joy was short-lived.
Amy interrupted the scene with visible tension, saying, "We're not done yet," as she lay on the back seat, her head stretched forward, looking at Hudson's stiff body lying on the black pavement.
Hudson slowly rose from the ground, exhausted and staggering on all fours again. Parts of his body had been disfigured by the fatal fall, and his black suit was torn from all sides.
The deformations and injuries Hudson had sustained began to reveal the mechanical parts of his body, exposing the circuits that powered this non-human entity. The synthetic human skin covering his frame was severely torn, but there was no blood—naturally, as he was entirely a robot.
Instead of blood, a transparent fluid leaked from his electronic circuits and mechanical body, covered with artificial human skin. This transparent fluid played a critical role, serving as a coolant to regulate his mechanical body's temperature and simulate the warmth of a natural human body.
Finally, he stood up, glaring furiously with blood-red eyes that fixated on them. His eyes were smeared and clouded with chaotic thoughts.
On the street, cars moved restlessly, and all paths were blocked. Hudson was the sole reason behind this severe traffic jam. Everyone—whether sitting in their cars, parking them, or standing on the cracked sidewalk—was wondering: "What is this being? And how did he get back up? Is it a human or something else?" Both scenarios were terrifying.
Everyone stared at Hudson, and Hudson, in turn, stared back at them.
Inside David's black car, its color blending with the darkness of the night and the old road, the atmosphere grew tense.
Jeremiah, sitting in the front seat, couldn't believe his eyes. Dave and Alex felt worse than they had expected, while Salim had already passed the point of surrender.
Amy leaned her body forward until she was close to David. She whispered near his ear, her soft yet firm voice laced with anxiety, "You need to hit him before he comes for us again."
Her words had a different rhythm in David's ears. Hit him? How could he?
David responded, bewilderment and hesitation playing across his face. His mind spun, his features clouded by doubt as he muttered, "I… I can't do this. It would be… brutal."
It wasn't fear for Hudson—a semi-destroyed robot, barely resembling a living human being that moved and breathed, somehow. For David, Hudson wasn't something to kill, even if he was just a robot. In David's mind, Hudson might even be more human than he appeared.
Hudson moved towards them at lightning speed, his body colliding against the steady wind as he ran, charged with an instinctive, electronic rage.
Dave's car remained still in its place, while he hesitated for a moment, his trembling hand feeling for the key before finally deciding to turn it. The engine roared violently as it started, and the car shook in response as if resonating with him.
David's voice rose with determination as he solidified his decision: "Damn it, I'll regret this later!"
He sped off with the car, heading straight towards Hudson, who was also racing forward at a maddening speed.
David's speed reached 130 kilometers per hour, while Hudson showed no intention of slowing down, rushing toward the car as if on a suicidal path.
The distance between them rapidly closed, and the pressure mounted on Dave's nerves, but he refused to let it stop him.
Everyone believed that a collision was now inevitable. Only a meter separated them, then the gap shrank to a few tiny centimeters—a man facing a car.