Chapter 7
The cool night air hit them like a physical blow as they burst through the front door and hurried down the driveway. The moon was a pale sliver in the sky, casting long, eerie shadows across the quiet suburban street. Maya unlocked the family SUV with a quick click of her key fob.
"Get in, quickly," Maya urged, opening the rear passenger door for Leo.
Leo climbed inside, clutching his blue crayon and a small stuffed bear. Elena buckled him in, whispering soothing reassurances while casting anxious glances down the dark street. Maya slid into the driver’s seat, inserted the key, and turned the ignition. The engine purred to life, the dashboard lights illuminating the interior in a soft green glow.
Maya shifted into reverse, checking her mirrors. That was when the headlights cut through the darkness at the end of the cul-de-sac.
A heavy, dark-colored SUV turned smoothly onto their street, moving at a slow, deliberate pace with its high beams off. It rolled forward, hugging the curb, heading directly toward their driveway.
"Maya," Elena gasped from the passenger seat, her hand flying to her mouth. "Is that him?"
"No," Maya said, her grip tightening on the steering wheel until her knuckles turned bone-white. "That’s not his car. That’s the extraction team."
Panic flared in Maya’s chest, hot and sharp, but she forced herself to breathe. She couldn't freeze. Shifting back into drive, she hit the gas pedal hard. The SUV lurched forward, spraying loose gravel across the driveway as she turned the wheel sharply to bypass the gap between the flowerbed and the neighbor’s hedge.
The oncoming vehicle accelerated instantly, its engine roaring as it cut across the road to block their exit path.
"Hold on!" Maya yelled.
She didn't brake. Instead, she cut the steering wheel hard to the left, mounting the low curb of the front lawn and tearing across the damp grass. The underside of the SUV scraped loudly against a hidden landscaping stone, but the vehicle surged forward, clearing the lawn and rocketing onto the paved street just behind the interceptor vehicle.
In her rearview mirror, Maya saw the dark SUV execute a clumsy three-point turn in the middle of the street, its tires squealing in protest as it gave chase.
"Mom, look behind us!" Leo cried out, pressing his face against the back window.
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"Don't look, buddy. Just look at me," Elena said, her voice shaking as she turned around in her seat to block Leo’s view, though her own eyes were wide with terror.
Maya pushed the accelerator down further, the speedometer climbing past seventy miles per hour as they careened through the winding suburban neighborhood toward the highway on-ramp three miles away.
