Stairmount immediately presses the rocket pedal to the highest level. Daphne can feel her whole body float in the air. An overwhelming fear forces her to close her eyes. If she must die here because of being hit by the missile, then she fully surrenders her fate to God.
The car flashes at high speed to the left, making them hit a fence and they are being slammed again due to a very strong shock. Daphne now whimpers in pain. Her body is completely crushed, no need to question it. The previous slam gives her the most destructive impact since she sits on the left side and becomes the nearest person located with the whacked wall.
“It hurts…” Daphne whimpers in pain; but a second later her heart pounds loudly as she hears that voice.
BOOOOOOOMMM!
The missile has hit a large building standing across from their right. It is far from the position they are in now, but the sound of the explosion produced by the missile gives them the sensation as if it happens right next to them. The explosion immediately results in a blaze engulfing the large building.
“Oh my God…” Beads of sweat instantly run down Daphne’s face and body. In severe pain, she forces herself to change her sitting position to be upright.
“I’ve never thought that I’ll watch this in person…” Mrs. Yalle mutters in low voice. The middle-aged woman also does more or less the same thing as Daphne; trying to straighten up her body which has been shattered by the heavy blows. “Much scarier than what I always watch on the news. You are awesome, Mr. Rivers, you manage to dodge it…”
Stairmount is also watching the burning building in front of him with a dumbfounded look. “We’re just lucky, Ma’am…”
He steps on the rocket pedal again, but this time, he runs the car at normal speed.
“Daphne, can you check the map, which area are we passing through right now?” Keeping his eyes focused on the road ahead, Stairmount asks.
Daphne checks her ultra-cyber minipad. “We’ve just passed Amber, Sir.”
“Amber… I see…” Amber is one of the areas which gets the most severe attack from Neptune. Stairmount gazes at the dashboard in front of him that displays the car’s rocket energy statistics. “But it should be safe here as we have been out of Amber right now. The energy in this car is just about to run out. We can recharge it first… and by then go straightaway towards Kharon.”
Stairmount makes a correct guess. After passing through Amber, everything becomes totally safe. At least they may breathe a sigh of relief as they continue this dangerous journey.
Having been in a safe area, the tension inside Stairmount’s mind which once reached its extreme point is immediately replaced by a feeling of extreme fatigue. He suddenly feels very tired it makes his eyes almost close.
“Sir… watch out!” Daphne automatically screams as their car almost hits the car coming from in front of them. On this road, there is no clear guardrail and the road is only separated by a drawing line it makes any car is easy to change lanes as they desire.
Stairmount gets awake in an instant; he slams the steering wheel just in time. They survive the crash, but Daphne and Mrs. Yalle have to be slammed to their sides once again by the impact of the sudden slam of the steering wheel.
“Sorry, I am so careless…” Stairmount stops the car, planning to rest a bit so as to get his mind focused.
“Mr. Rivers, we still have a long way until we arrive at the border area. Let us take turns. I can drive a flying car.” Mrs. Yalle gives the offer.
“That’s right, Sir. Get some rest. My mom is good at driving,” Daphne chimes in.
Stairmount is actually about to refuse as his male instincts get uncomfortable getting help from females. But he has to admit that he feels so drained. Meanwhile, Mrs. Yalle takes quick action. Without waiting for Stairmount’s approval, the middle-aged woman has approached the car door and opens it. She curves an assuring smile while patting Stairmount’s shoulder, who finally stands up and gets into the passenger seat.
Copyright ©️ by boundless_universe
Stairmount is indeed really drained that, as soon as he sits on the passenger seat, he immediately falls asleep.
“Mr. Rivers looks so tired,” Daphne stares at Stairmount with great concern. “I feel sorry for him…”
“But thanks God, the road we are on the safe road now. After all, I’m not an expert when it comes to driving a flying car in war zones,” Mrs. Yalle replies.
“If I could drive, I would take turns with both of you.”
“It’s a dangerous journey. Just let the adults take care of it.”
“I’m an adult, Mom, I am twenty-three right now. And thanks to the incident, I have been much more mature now.”
“Then, does it mean all ethnic Neptunians have become full-grown in an instant?”
“I think so… if they’re still alive.”
“I’ve checked my MessageChat, there’s no news about them even in the slightest. But after that, I’ve lost contact with them because my cyber-ultra minipad has run out of battery.”
“I’m also curious about them, but my ultra-cyber minipad battery is also running out. I want to know the news about my classmates, especially those who are very active in pro-independence organizations. Have they got arrested?… but at that time, I didn’t see Damien or others…”
“Or maybe they were also arrested together with us, you just didn’t notice them. It was dark that night, and they have caught too many captives.”
“How do they know which persons belong to ethnic Neptunians? We have the same posture as the indigenous people. And they are from Jupiter, how do they know so detailed about Pluto…”
“Our great government is in collusion with Jupiter, they want to be the golden child amongst the countries in Nature Continent so much that they can do anything even if it’s the bad ones. Only telling them about the identities of the ethnic groups they hate and discriminate, they will be surely willing to do it.”
“Now I understand, why Damien insists on joining the pro-Neptune movement.” Daphne grits her teeth. “And, if Damien were here and asked me again, I would follow with him without doubt!…”
She is stunned. Then, she turns her gaze to the passenger seat.
“It is Mr. Rivers who banned me from joining the movement. Then, it means that Mr. Rivers knows everything…”
“He’s Chrono personnel, and Pluto cooperates with them, of course, he knows.”
“But now he instead fights against them. What’ll happen with him?…”
“More or less the same with our desperate fate, just groping in the dark.”
Daphne and Mrs. Yalle end their conversation, and let the atmosphere become solemn. Both of them just stare at the road in front of them, which is pitch
black and only lit by dim car headlights.
Copyright ©️ by boundless_universe
