Nirvana Effect

48



Edward ran. He had to escape that thunder of feet.

He reached the doorway of the temple and cracked the nose of one of the guards with the butt of his palm. He moved too fast for either opponent to react.

The guard jerked back. Edward wrenched the guard’s staff from his hand. It was a hunting staff, a heavy, bludgeoning weapon. It was weighted carefully, fast and strong.

Edward lashed out twice with the stick. Both guards dropped. Edward had simply chosen a path for his weapon that neither Onge had a chance to block.

He turned around. Forty armed Onge were charging the temple. They saw him drop the guards.

Edward tossed the stick down and started running again. He could outpace them.

At the jungle’s edge, near the trading route, Edward spotted a trail. It would serve his purposes, helping him to transform the mob into a more manageable line.

The path snaked him through the jungle. The pounding feet of the Onge drew closer. As the path curved more and more intricately, he began to doubt his choice. He heard some tribesmen up ahead taking the more direct route through the brush.

One leaped out from the foliage ahead of him, spear in hand. Without breaking stride, Edward sidestepped the Onge’s weapon and buried his elbow into the native’s face. The Onge just dropped, and Edward swiped his spear with a spin move.

Edward saw two more Onge through the foliage on his right, closing in on him through the woods. He kept running. One stopped to throw a spear. Edward ducked it and rolled, relentless forcing his body ahead. The second tried to tackle him. He spun around him, whacking him on the back of the head with the spear handle without giving up his pace. Edward sensed he was losing those Onge that were on the path. He didn’t see any more in the woods.

After several minutes of all-out sprinting, Edward reached a clearing. Fifteen cars were parked in a semicircle, all facing a newly cut path which could fit a car one way. Probably leads to the road. Several muddy divets in the clearing marked where cars had once taken up the semicircle. It seemed a few vehicles had peeled out in a hurry.

One thin Onge stood stunned and unarmed amidst the cars, gaping at the white man.

Edward stopped and let his eyes rest on each vehicle for a moment. He chose the Jeep far to the right. It was bright orange, but he wasn’t picking it for its looks. The key was already in the ignition, as he suspected. He cranked it up. He glanced over at the Onge. He had backed even further from Edward.

The rest of the tribe, however, was starting to reach the clearing. Edward threw the Jeep into gear and kicked it out to the path. He heard the Onge rev up cars behind him.

The four-wheel drive let Edward really tear up the muddy path and hang the curves without sliding. The Jeep bounced over huge holes in the road and kept right on rolling. Finally, Edward reached a flat part of the jungle, and it seemed that about a kilometer down the path he could see the road, or at least a clearing. He stood and looked over his muddy windshield. Definitely the road.

A red car pulled onto the path from the road. It was directly in his way, moving slowly toward him.

Edward stood up again. He saw the car was low to the ground, some sort of sports car, and it definitely didn’t seem to be made for the rough jungle terrain.

Edward glanced behind him. He could hear a few of the vehicles pursuing him, but none were in sight. He was definitely outpacing them. Of course, a road race in his Jeep would be a different story. The rain had stopped, and he knew it would only be the matter of an hour or so before the road dried up. His Jeep would be a disadvantage, then. They’d catch him in a race to Lisbaad.

He focused on this vehicle ahead. First things first. Unless the path unexpectedly widened, there was no way around the red car. He’d either have to try to go over it or seize it. Edward started being able to see its occupants.

The driver was definitely Onge. A white man with slick black hair sat in the passenger seat.

The car was a Corvette.