Artificial Heart

38

The driver weaved through the traffic expertly. Cars zoomed by. Horns honked. Prisha sucked in a breath when a truck slammed on the breaks directly in front of them. The driver yanked the wheel. Tires skidded. They swerved around intact.

Prisha looked behind her. In the distance she saw flashing lights.

'So, you're that woman, huh?' he spoke, glancing at her in the rearview mirror. It was like staring back into Embry's eyes. He was bald like Embry too. Black. Though he had a moustache.

'Yeah, I'm that woman. Where are we going?'

'Anywhere from here.'

The traffic was slowing. It was stopped further ahead.

'Uh ...'

'Hold on.' He took a sharp left. Prisha clutched onto the seat.

They straightened. They slowed. Prisha's heart fell. More traffic. Now they came to a complete stop.

'What do we do now?' She looked behind and her heart sank further. Three black sedans were split up amid the traffic behind them. One was only two cars away. 'We have to move!'

The man's knuckles had turned pink around the wheel. His dark eyes looked into hers. 'I don't know what to tell you.'

'They're just going to get out of their cars. They're going to chase me down!'

'I'm sorry.'

Prisha's stomach lurched. A man in black had left his car and was jogging towards her. She threw open the door. She hit the pavement.

It was hot now. Sweat beaded beneath her fringe. She skirted through the parked cars. One she even slid over the bonnet. People were watching her through their windshields as she flew by. Some were poking their heads out. Men in black, not just one now—she could see them. At least six of them, weaving their way between the cars.

'Leave me alone!' she shrieked.

She made it to the footpath, just managing to avoid colliding with a cyclist. Ahead was a bunch of old-fashioned office buildings—or maybe a combination of small shops. It was hard to tell what. Everything was so different. There were a lot of windows. Not many trees. Vaguely she saw that it was a beautiful street. For a weird thrilling moment, she suddenly remembered she was far across the world on another continent.

Her shoes pounded the pavement.

'Get out of the way!' Prisha screamed.

People leapt back. A few spilled onto the road. She skirted around a pram, the mother screaming in alarm. Traffic whooshed passed. She leapt over a puddle of water and tripped a little, colliding with a man holding his shopping.

'Sorry!' Prisha called.

She looked back. There were only four men in black now. And they were falling behind! How fast was she running? Where were the other two? She turned her head with a shout. The man was a blur as he leapt out of a side alley. He almost grabbed her. She felt his fingers slide over her arm. But he missed. He stumbled and crashed to the ground as Prisha breezed past.

Then she heard the siren. She saw the siren. Blue and red. It was up ahead.

Shit.

And then she saw something that confused her. A big figure hurtling in her direction. Not a man in black. Not a police officer. He wore a weird shining cloak that wouldn't look out of place in a costume store. It had a hood that was pulled over his head. People leapt out of his way. He was running fast. So fast. Faster than even she was.