4:00PM

Nitro

"Where are those things coming from?" Dora yelled, clutching her hands as she stared at Prosper.

"Don't look at me like that, Dora. I don’t know," Prosper replied. He tapped my shoulder. "Can this car go any faster?"

"I'm already going as fast as I can," I answered, eyes fixed on the road and the ice spears bursting out of the ground ahead.

"Father, please don’t let us die," Jubi prayed.

"What are you doing, idiot?" Williams asked.

"Praying, obviously," Jubi snapped, glaring at him while keeping his hands clasped together.

"God cannot hear you anymore, man. Don’t forget — the Rapture has already taken place. Now we’re on our own," Williams replied.

For a moment, the two men stared at each other as if they were about to fight.

My second sister, Prestige, cried out, "Please, brother… keep us safe."

Her voice ignited a fierce determination in me to protect them all.

"Brother, drive faster! The ice spears are getting closer!" Praise and John shouted.

I could see panic spreading across everyone’s faces.

"Guys!" I raised my voice so they could all hear me clearly. "Calm down. If you keep panicking like this, it’ll be impossible for me to drive us out safely."

They took deep breaths after hearing me.

"Sorry, brother. We shouldn’t have panicked like that," Jubi said.

"Yeah, we’re sorry," Williams added, "but what happens if one of those things hits us? I can guarantee most of us won’t make it."

"We are going to survive this," I replied firmly.

"Praise!" I called.

"Yeah, bro?" he answered instantly.

"Look around. Tell me what you see besides the ice spears coming out of the ground." I swerved the steering wheel sharply, dodging a deadly spike.

"Uh… it’s only affecting the road. The surrounding buildings seem fine," he replied.

"Alright. That means whatever this is — or whoever is doing it — is only targeting people trying to escape by road," I said.

I turned the wheel again, narrowly avoiding another spear that would have pierced the engine.

"Okay, but that still doesn’t solve our problem. What do we do?" Prosper asked.

I could see the fear in all their eyes. This was supposed to be a simple drive to the hidden bunker in the desert, not an immediate life-or-death chase.

"There’s a right turn up ahead. I’m going to drift into it," I announced as we rapidly approached the bend.

"And then what?" Dora asked, wrapping her arms around her sister. "That doesn’t sound like a solid plan."

"This Hilux has nitro. The moment we make the turn, I’ll release it. It should give us enough distance from the spears. Then we abandon the car and run into the nearest building," I explained.

They nodded in agreement.

"Okay… hold on tight, everyone!"

I spun the steering wheel hard to the right while pulling the handbrake. The tires screamed in protest. I slammed the nitro button, and the Hilux surged forward with more power than it was built to handle.

We broke free from the pursuing ice spears. In the distance, I spotted the newly built military base.

"Listen up, everyone! We’re heading into the military base the moment I stop the car."

"Alright, brother. We’re with you," Jubi said, gripping his seatbelt tightly.

I stepped hard on the brakes. The tires howled as the car suddenly spun out of control.

"Boof!"

"Brother, we just lost two back tires!" Praise shouted.

"We’re gonna die!" Williams screamed, clutching Debbie.

"I’m going to vomit soon," Dora cried, covering her mouth.

"Brother, do something!" Jubi yelled, holding my shoulder.

I shoved the door open and planted my left leg on the ground. Cracks spiderwebbed across the road as I forced the skidding vehicle to a violent stop.

"Ha… ha… ha…"

One by one, we took deep, shaky breaths.

I jumped out first. The ice spears were already closing in again.

"Everyone! Run! Now!" I ordered.

We sprinted desperately toward the military base and barely made it inside.

**Boom!**

The ice spears slammed into the Hilux. The car erupted in a massive explosion. The shockwave slammed into our backs, throwing us to the ground just before the intense heat and the smell of burning fuel washed over us.