A pair of rough hands slammed into Lucas’s swaying back, driving him to the ground amidst the skeletonized vehicles and scattered debris. He rolled over and stared up into the sun, blinking as it beat down upon him. Despite his scattered mind, Lucas caught sight of his assailant squatting beside him, licking his lips.
“I’ll give you a full minute head start.”
Lucas covered his eyes as he turned toward the voice. “What?”
The stranger rose, stepping to his left to position the sun behind his head. With his face obscured, his singular command boomed out, echoing off the ruined vehicles. “Run.”
“What?” Lucas asked as he tried to steady himself as he rose to his elbows.
The man swung his rifle behind his back as he withdrew a handgun from his hip and pulled the hammer back. He aimed it at Lucas’s head. With a grin, the stranger squeezed the trigger. While the crack rebounded off the metal husks, the bullet whizzed past Lucas’s head. The stranger crouched down and tapped the gun against Lucas’s chest. “The next shot won’t miss you, Lucas. Now run and make the chase marvelous. You have forty-five seconds.”
Lucas’s limbs scrambled in time with his racing heartbeat. And after several failed efforts, he climbed to his feet. Once upright, he spun away from the stranger and took a handful of unsteady steps, while the gun wielding lunatic started counting. “forty-two, forty-one, forty…”
Lucas’ face went slack as he realized that the man was deadly serious. He spun around with a great effort just not to fall as he plunged into the junkyard. Moments after entering, he realized it was a giant maze. In another few moments, Lucas ran himself into a dead end. He instinctively looked back and thankfully didn’t see his pursuer. Facing the wall, his course became clear. Lucas flung himself onto the rough surface and clambered up to its ledge. After a brief search of his surroundings, he smiled at the nearby parking lot with a solitary car just beyond the junkyard.
He dropped back into the maze and continued searching for the outer edge, climbing over dead ends, and doing everything to keep himself oriented towards his salvation. When he stumbled upon the last barrier, a bullet grazed his cheek, releasing a stream of crimson. Without thinking, he reached for the makeshift wall and wrapped his fingers around the first object they found. With a primal roar, he ripped it free and flung it toward his pursuer.
Thankfully, the metallic disc’s flight was true, and it slammed into the pursuer’s chest. With precious moments claimed, Lucas climbed up the wall and jumped off, landing on another pile of unwanted things. He clambered to his feet and raced down the veritable mountainside of junk. Halfway down the slope, Lucas’s foot came down upon a partially submerged ball and his foot vanished from under him, causing him to fall into a tumble, like a snowball rolling downhill.
Once he came to a stop in the parking lot, Lucas ignored the blood flowing from various scrapes as he rushed towards the car. When he reached it, he yanked the handle, but the door refused to budge, mocking him in its motionlessness. His gaze flicked up toward his assailant’s hunting ground and he spotted something protruding from the wall. He rushed around the vehicle, placing the engine and tires between him and his pursuer. As he sat there, fear swelled, given the knowledge of the hunter’s rifle.
As he tried to gather his wits, Lucas thought he heard a strange sound coming from deep within the junkyard, a moment before he felt the car jolt from a sudden impact. Without getting off the ground, Lucas glanced at his impromptu barrier and discovered a blown-out tire. His fear grew as another slight sound warned of another incoming bullet. But the muted explosion announced the popping tire as the bullet tore through the rubber. Despite the rising terror, Lucas kept his fear in check and remained hidden, denying the hunter the opportunity for an easy target.
Lucas understood the car wouldn’t be helpful after the madman shot out two of its tires, but he didn’t budge. As three more shots rang out and struck the car’s engine. Lucas waited for more, but after a dozen deep breaths, the silence deafened him. A quick look over the hood revealed his hunter rushing down the hill with his rifle hanging across his back. When Lucas dropped back to the pavement, his eyes scanned his surroundings, searching for something he could use as a weapon. Unfortunately, aside from the tires’ remnants, he found nothing.
Lucas risked another look over the hood and saw the man pointing his handgun towards him. He dropped just as a gunshot rang out and sparks sailed overhead. He tore his shoes off and tossed one to his left. After hearing another gunshot, Lucas quickly jumped up and hurled his remaining shoe at the hunter. Once again, Lucas’s aim was true, and the shoe’s heel slammed into the assailant’s nose, giving Lucas another window of opportunity.
With a feral roar, Lucas seized his chance for survival. He climbed onto the holy hood and leaped forward. When he collided with the stranger, he grabbed the man’s gun hand as he struck his temple. Lucas’s fingers whitened around the stranger’s, keeping the handgun from becoming an issue while his free hand buffeted the pursuer’s head. At first, the hunter struggled against Lucas’s grip, but with each blow, his struggle lessened.
Eventually, the man’s free hand fell to his knife. With a sudden inhalation, Lucas reared his fist back before slamming it against the man’s forehead with all his strength. In the sudden silence, the hunter crumbled as Lucas dropped to his knees. A few seconds later, Lucas bound the stranger with the various straps from his unconscious body while stripping him of all his weapons. Finally safe, a smile bloomed on Lucas’s face.