FicWad

"What?" Natalie started to look around and in her mirrors.

"Eyes forward." He commanded quietly. "Don't look. Three cars back, a black SUV has been following us since a few minutes after we pulled out of the parking lot."

"What if it's just a coincidence?"

"It isn't." He sounded completely sure. "Do you have a map?"

She nodded and freed a hand long enough the point towards the back seat. "In the back pocket on the passenger seat." Vex leaned forward a little and pulled it out, handed it up to Chaos. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Just keep driving." Chaos said as he unfolded the map over Blight's lap and his own. "I'll figure something out."

Blight looked over the map quickly, trying to find a place where they could get lost. There were a few major highways nearby, but there wasn't a guarantee that someone wouldn't be able to follow them in the traffic.

"This road." Chaos said finally, pointing towards it. "Take the next right."

"Where are we going?" Natalie asked even as she signaled and moved into the right lane.

"Somewhere without witnesses." He didn't look up from the map. "Just follow my instructions."

She wanted to protest but kept her mouth shut and focused on the road. When he told her to turn, she did so. When he told her to slow down or speed up, she obeyed. She didn't stop to think that she was taking directions from a fifteen-year-old that had never left home a day in his life.

"What are we doing out here?" She asked when the number of buildings thinned out.

"Turn right up here." He instructed instead of answering.

She looked ahead at the next turn, slowing a little. "There's nothing there. It's a back road. Country. Hills. As in, away from civilization and away from the authorities."

Chaos made a small noise that sounded suspiciously like a laugh. But all of his brothers knew he would never do such a thing. He wouldn’t allow himself to.

"Authorities. . . Don't be naïve." He said calmly, glancing at the rear view mirror at the small, distant dust cloud that was there pursuer. "The authorities would never help us."

Natalie started to protest, opened and closed her mouth a few times, but nothing came out. She fell silent and made the turn.

"So, what are we doing?" Blight asked, looking behind them.

"It's simple, isn't it?" Chaos inquired calmly as he folded up the map. "We're taking them out."

Blight paused for a moment, but knew better than to protest. He sighed silently and let his eyes fall closed, nodding once. "How are we doing it?"

"We have a not-so-secret weapon." He reached for the sunroof controls and slowly slid it open. "Vex, unbuckle your seatbelt and stand ready."

Vex was a little confused, but he could guess what Chaos wanted him to do. He did as he was told.

"Blight, switch places with me."

Nodding, Blight undid his seatbelt just as Chaos did. When Chaos stood up, Blight slid underneath him and they switched seats with little difficulty. Chaos went first and gripped the edge of the sunroof, turning towards the back of the car as he stood up on the seat. They were moving at nearly seventy miles an hour and the wind ripped at his hair. He squinted towards the car that had been following them and reconfirmed the fact that the pursuer had been speeding up, coming closer now that there were no more witnesses. From what he could see, the SUV was filled to capacity. But if the passengers had any weapons - which was most likely the case - they were hidden.

Slipping back inside, Chaos resumed his seat. "Vex, your turn. Come up here."

A little unsurely, Vex stood up as much as he could and slipped a foot over the front seats. Solace leaned over against Havoc, trying to get out of Vex's way. Blight shifted a little closer to Natalie, struggling not to bump her and make them swerve off the road. Straightening up with his top half outside the car, Vex tried not to step on his brothers.

"What am I aiming for?" Vex called down. "Tires? Frame? People?"

Chaos thought for only a short moment. "Front tires. But hold on for a second. Natalie, speed up."

She stepped just a little harder on the gas. "How fast? This isn't an off-road vehicle, you know."

He nodded. "I know. But neither is theirs." She shook her head, growing more nervous by the second. When they hit eighty miles an hour, he held up a hand. "That's enough. You know what to do, Vex. Take your time. Make sure you hit the right frequency."

Vex nodded. "I have to move higher. I don't want to burst ours too."

"Be careful," Blight called after him.

"I will."

Lifting himself up, Vex sat up on the top of the car for a moment, then managed to pull his legs out. Carefully, he moved towards the back of the car. When he figured he was somewhere around where Havoc and Solace were sitting, he stood up. Planting his feet wide apart, Vex leaned back a little against the wind trying to push him off of the car.

Any normal person probably would have fallen, but he had an advantage. The inner ear was a key factor in keeping bodily equilibrium. With his enhanced sense, he had perfect balance. He had also worked to make himself more aware of his body and how different forces affected it.

Even so, staying upright on a car traveling at highway speed was difficult. And the car behind them was close enough that he could see the expressions on the faces of the passengers. One of them was moving, retrieving some kind of weapon.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Vex went over the facts again in his head. All objects have their own vibration. . . If I can hit the vibration at the same frequency, it resonates and gets stronger, until it breaks. Forcing himself to breathe calmly, he cupped his hands around his mouth to direct the sound. Starting at a pitch that was nearly inaudible to others, he worked his way towards what he thought was the right frequency. It took him a moment to figure out what he should do, what was the right sound to make.

The man on the right side of the car had retrieved his weapon and was rolling down the window. Vex's heart beat faster, harder, in his chest. He had to figure it out quickly. They were close enough that he could almost have jumped onto the hood of their car if he had wanted. Then, finally, he had it.

With an explosive bang, the front tires of the SUV burst. The front of the car dipped, hit the ground, and it flipped. Vex's eyes went wide as the vehicle flew up into the air. The words bad idea went through his mind, but by the time he could think that, the vehicle had hit the ground and scraped loudly forward for an instant before bursting into flames.

Debris flew towards him and he turned, diving down to avoid getting killed. He was just barely able to get a grip on the edge of the sunroof with a hand. Barely three seconds after he'd gotten a hold on it, something struck the back of the car and Natalie swerved unintentionally.

Vex felt himself sliding, rolling, and before he knew it, his legs were hanging off the side of the car. His free arm swung out, pin wheeling as he fought to keep his grip with the other. Squeezing his eyes shut for a brief moment, he swung his weight back towards the car, just barely missed grabbing onto the lip of the sunroof. He felt his grip slipping, time slowing down. He couldn't hold on.

He started to fall.