Chapter 6 - The Wreckage
The impact threw my entire body violently against the side window.
The airbags deployed with a deafening pop, filling the cabin with thick, white smoke.
The SUV spun entirely out of control, crashing heavily into a concrete streetlight.
A high-pitched ringing sound echoed loudly inside my ears as I fought to stay conscious.
"Ariel," I coughed, desperately waving the thick smoke away from my face.
A tiny whimper came from the backseat, letting me know she was still alive.
I fumbled with my seatbelt, my hands slick with blood from a deep cut on my forehead.
I finally managed to unbuckle myself and crawled awkwardly into the ruined backseat.
Ariel was remarkably unharmed, completely protected by the heavy plastic shell of her car seat.
I quickly unstrapped her and kicked the shattered window until the glass fell away.
I climbed out of the wrecked vehicle, pulling my daughter safely onto the wet grass.
I looked down the street, expecting the black truck that hit us to be destroyed.
Instead, the massive armored vehicle was parked perfectly idle just fifty yards away.
The driver's side door opened slowly, and heavy combat boots stepped onto the pavement.
A tall man wearing a dark tactical uniform and a black ski mask walked purposefully toward us.
He wasn't a police officer, and he certainly wasn't an innocent bystander.
I stood up, holding Ariel tightly, completely prepared to fight this man to the death.
He raised a strange, metallic device in his hand, pointing it directly at my face.
Before I could run, a bright flash of light erupted from the device.
A powerful electric shock ripped through my entire nervous system.
My muscles instantly completely locked up.
I collapsed onto the cold grass, entirely paralyzed but still perfectly awake.
The masked man leaned over me, gently taking Ariel from my frozen, helpless arms.
"Don't worry, Maya," the man whispered in a chillingly familiar voice.
May you like
He slowly pulled off his dark ski mask.
It was the same doctor who had performed my IVF treatments three years ago.
