Three Hours Before the Deadly Test Drive.While Vanya and Luna were busy welding steel plates around the cabin of "The Toxic Goose" with a deafening noise, Raka was assigned to do a final sweep of the garage area."Find anything useful, Captain Limp," Vanya commanded from the truck's roof, her welding goggles reflecting the sparks. "AA batteries, spare copper wire, a flashlight, or even duct tape. Everything. We're not coming back to this place."Raka snorted softly, his healthy left hand sweeping across the dusty shelves in the garage manager's office, located on the mezzanine floor.His right shoulder was still tightly wrapped in a sling, and any sudden movement made his mechanical heart beat uncomfortably.Click-whirrr.79,800The office was a mess. Invoice papers were scattered on the dirty linoleum floor, its synthetic leather swivel chair was torn to shreds, and a desk calendar was frozen on the month the apocalypse began, two years ago. The smell of dust and mold filled the nar

VROOOOAAARRR!The diesel engine of 'The Toxic Goose' roared under the trembling press of Raka's left foot.The entire body of the truck, now clad in scrap steel plates, vibrated violently, as if its bolts were ready to come loose one by one and send them all flying apart into metal fragments.Raka gripped the steering wheel with a force that could have broken plastic. His eyes were fixed straight ahead, on the desolate, dark highway littered with wrecked vehicles.Only the truck's spotlights provided a hole of light in the thick darkness that swallowed everything."Vanya! This truck wasn't designed to go a hundred kilometers per hour on a road full of potholes!" Raka shouted into the intercom, his voice hoarse with dust and fear."Stop complaining, Captain!"Vanya's voice crackled in Raka's earpiece, accompanied by the clanking of medical equipment clashing in the back."The engine pressure is still within tolerance limits. At least according to my untested calculations. Keep your foo

GRRRRRRRRRR! "Vanya! The engine's going to blow!" Raka screamed, his left foot stomping the gas pedal to the floor of the cabin. "He's holding us like a ship's anchor!" The diesel engine of The Toxic Goose let out a heart-wrenching roar, as if the pistons inside were being forced to destroy themselves. The speedometer needle on the dashboard vibrated violently, dropping slowly but surely. 70... 65... and finally settling rigidly at 60 kilometers per hour. In the rearview mirror, the sight was horrifying. The chain connecting the Rider's motorcycle to the truck's rear bumper wasn't static. It was pulsating. A layer of reddish flesh wrapped around the steel wire strands, emitting hot steam every time the Rider forcefully pulled his bike's brakes to add more load to Raka's truck. "Raka! I can't fix the tire patching system if the speed keeps dropping!"&n

STAP! STAP! STAP!The first impact of Raka's feet on the highway asphalt felt like trying to land on a spinning grinding disc.The momentum of 105 kilometers per hour nearly snapped his ankles, but the A.E.G.I.S reactor in his chest pulsed with a painful, high frequency, sending an instant command to all his motor nerves.‘Damn it! Hot! Hot!’ Raka screamed in his head.The world around him turned into blurry streaks. The truck "The Toxic Goose" roared right beside him on his left, while 'The Rider' glided on his right.Raka was squeezed between two giant machines, running on the deadly black asphalt.[System: Activating Kinetic Synchronization. Mode: Accelerated Road-Runner. BPM: 280 (Mechanically Compensated). Warning: Shoe sole temperature is rising drastically. You're burning rubber, Raka. Literally.]"Vanya! I'm running in hell!" Raka shouted towards the intercom, his eyes squinting against the wind that felt like razor blades."Good! Don't slow down!"Vanya's voice came from the

"I'm going to die..." Raka whispered, his heart pounding at 350. "I'm really going to die today." The world seemed to stop spinning in Raka's eyes. Ahead, the highway asphalt was severed, leaving a twenty-meter-wide gaping chasm with total darkness below. The remnants of concrete and rebar jutting out from the broken bridge looked like giant teeth ready to chew up anything that fell into them. "Vanya! It's not just broken, it's a chasm!" Raka screamed, his voice hoarse and swallowed by the wind. "We're not going to make it across!" "Shut up and listen to me, Guinea Pig!" Vanya's voice exploded in Raka's earpiece, sounding more excited than afraid. "I've installed two Corporate kinetic thrusters under the chassis! Get into the truck bed now! If you stay on the asphalt, you'll fall!" "Get in how?! I'm running at a hundred and forty kilometers per hour!"