The Chase

Astra picked up Haruto from the bar. "We're leaving."

"What happened to you two?" asked Haruto as they made their way to the exit.

"Not much," said Stacy, putting her fingers through her toilet-watered hair. "Why do you ask?"

Haruto looked at the red welt on the side of Stacy's face and the blood red splatter marks on Astra's silver leggings but decided not to say anything.

They climbed into a taxi. "Kimura building please," said Haruto. The driver on the other side of the plexi-glass divider nodded and guided the taxi off the side of the building into the night.

"Astra," said Stacy quietly.

"Yes, my love," said Astra taking Stacy's hand in hers.

"Why am I so strong?" Stacy thought back to the fight. She'd been able to crack tiles and shatter the toilet bowl.

Astra frowned. "You're a strong person. That's just how you are."

"But I seem stronger than I think I should be."

"You've always been this strong."

"It just doesn't seem right," said Stacy. "I can't explain it but it's like the way things are. They aren't quite how they should be."

"Ahh..." said Astra quietly. She put her hand behind Stacy and gently stroked the back of her neck. "I'll take you to see the Dai-Osho. I suppose it was only a matter of time before you started asking these questions."

"Astra," said Haruto in an alarmed tone. "I think we are being followed."

Stacy and Astra looked out the back of the taxi. There was a dark grey vehicle behind them, large and heavily built like a flying tank.

"It's been following us ever since we left Milliway's," said Haruto.

As they were watching, two hatches opened under the grey vehicle and two dark metal cannons slid out, aimed at the taxi.

"Driver!" shouted Astra. "Evasive action now!"

The driver looked in his rear view mirror, his eyes widening when he saw the metal monster looming behind them. He pushed forward on the controls and the taxi dived. The pursuing vehicle followed them, cannons blazing. One of the shots when through the roof, punching a hole in the plexi-glass partition and then straight through the driver's back. The driver slumped forward and the taxi went into an uncontrollable dive.

"Astra! do something," screamed Haruto.

Astra lifted both her feet and kicked away what was left of the plexi-glass partition. The ground was rushing up at them at an alarming rate and Astra reached over the dead driver and yanked back on the control stick, pulling the taxi out of its dive.

The pursuing craft was still shooting at them, bullets peppering holes in the body of the taxi and it was just luck that nobody was hit. Astra reached forward pushing the dead driver's body aside and clambered into the driving seat. She swung the craft to the side, banking tightly round one of the high-rise buildings. Stacy was thrown to the side, her already tender face slamming into the window.

The dark grey vehicle was still following them and Astra took the taxi lower, speeding over the busy streets below and then banked again into a narrow side street. Buildings rushed past on both sides. The street was constricting ahead and looked too narrow to safely fly down at the speed they were travelling.

"Astra..." said Stacy trying to keep a steady voice. There wasn't space. They were going to crash! "Astra!"

Astra tipped the taxi on its side and Stacy fell towards the other side of the car, landing on Haruto. The grey gunship was too big to follow and they tried pulling up but it was too late and smashed into a wall. It tumbled and fell, crashing into the ground, debris flying everywhere.

Astra let out a whoop as they flew out the other side onto a main street and she righted the taxi again, slowing to cruising speed.

"Wow!" she said looking over her shoulder, "That was fun!"

Stacy and Haruto untangled themselves and settled back into their seats but were too shocked to say anything.

1. Temple visit

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