Second World

"What the…," Jack was unsure what to think. It was a long time ago since he saw a functioning car.

The car was heading straight at them. Everyone forgot about killing each other and ran out of the car's way, including Jack.

But Jack then noticed the one behind the wheel. It was Stefan!

Naomi was riding shotgun. Her head was out of the glassless window. She was calling at Jack, "Hop in…!!"

Jack saw that the car's back doors' windows also had no glass. He ran toward it and dove in headfirst.

Stefan originally wanted to slow down when Jack approached, but the fellow went in at full speed. Jack was already inside the vehicle before he knew it. He was amazed at both the guy's speed and precision.

"Where the hell do you get this car…?" Jack asked after he was in.

No one answered his question because suddenly two treants appeared in front of them.

"F*ck…!!" Stefan cursed.

He made a sharp turn to avoid the treants, they were too close. Even though he didn't crash into them, the woody arms from one of the treants whipped down and struck the car's hood. It tore the hood off with one swing, turning the car into a convertible.

"Damn it to hell…!" Stefan shouted as he saw the other treant had run to their side when they were dodging the first one. This treant was also swinging its arms at them.

"Keep going!" Jack shouted. With the hood gone, he could stand up from the back seat.

Using One-word Slash, his wrench struck the treant's flailing arms. Despite no boost from active or passive skills, the collision between Jack's sword art and the treant still showed that it was the treant who lost the engagement.

The treants were much slower than the car. Now that they had driven past them, they should be safe. However, Jack heard Naomi shout in an alarmed tone, "What is that guy doing…?!"

Jack turned in the direction of Naomi's gaze and saw one of the old elf's comrades, who was an ethereal race. The ethereal was doing a stance while chasing them. His two hands were clasped together and glowing.

"That… That is Ki Blast…!" Jack exclaimed.

It was indeed the signature skill of a battle monk. The energy blast headed to them. Jack hurriedly duck back into the seats and held tight while Stefan hit on the gas.

The sudden speed boost allowed the car to avoid a direct impact with the energy blast. The blast hit its left tail light. The impact caused the car to jerk a little but was otherwise unharmed. Stefan continued driving the car out of the park and away following the street.

"Motherf*cker…!!" The ethereal, who had just unleashed the Ki Blast, cursed. "We wasted our skill-free tool for nothing!"

"Never mind, we took out quite a lot of competitors," the old elf uttered.

The ethereal woman who used the slingshot came to them. "One team is almost eradicated. Another is split and most of its members are wounded. We just have to deal with the last remaining team. Then we can go our own way."

"I think we still need to work together to deal with that one guy," the old elf said. "You all saw how he fought all of us just now. If we didn't use our tool, I don't think we can win."

"Even for you, old Freddie?" The battle monk said. "I thought our reigning champion once boasted he won't lose as long as it is a one-on-one fight."

"Hmph! Against you lot, that is. I've never said I'm the best martial artist," Freddie returned.

"So… Should we focus on that guy first before we search for the last team?" The ethereal woman asked.

Freddie nodded. He turned to the battle monk and uttered, "Finn, go take the truck! I want to save it for the last team but I think taking that kid out is now a priority."

"On it," Finn said.

*

"How did those people use skill and spell? I thought our abilities are sealed here?" Stefan asked.

"Eyes on the road!" Naomi warned. Lots of obstacles were on the road like broken vehicles and stuff, so Stefan had to constantly avoid them.

"Those people must have used some kind of a tool," Jack said. Remembering the small black ball the old martial artist was holding before Stefan came charging with this car.

"Aglea did say there are some tools we can find here," Naomi said.

"Yeah. Like this car. Where the hell do you find it?" Jack asked.

"Accidentally," Stefan answered. "I was running and then saw this car is in good condition. I entered it to hide. Then I saw it has a key in its ignition, so I tried turning it."

"I was with him when we ran," Naomi said. "We then realized that you are not with us. You are pretty close to us during the fight, so I think it is weird if you didn't run together with us."

"Yeah. I figured maybe when we ran, you stayed behind to cover us," Stefan said.

"I am the one who figured that!" Naomi exclaimed.

"Okay, okay. So, when I found that this car is usable, we use it to rush to your help," Stefan said.

"Now, this is what good friends are about," Jack clasped the two. "Where are the others?"

"I don't know. Everyone just ran in different directions," Stefan said.

Jack was worried about Kramer. But back then when everyone started running, he saw Kramer was with Winson, so at least the boy wasn't alone.

"Maybe if we drive around while honking, we can get their attention," Stefan added.

"We can also get the attention of our enemies," Naomi said.

"I think the only working car cruising on a street in an apocalypse world is for sure already drawing attention, don't you think?" Stefan returned.

"Uh… I will have to disagree with you about that thing you said about the only working car," Jack said.

"Why do you say that?" Stefan asked. He then saw from the rearview mirror. His eyes went wide.

The sound of a couple of crashes was heard from behind. Naomi looked back and her eyes also turned wide.

Behind them, a gigantic truck was chasing them at top speed. With its titanic frame, it just smashed through all the obstacles that were on the street. The truck was now letting out a menacing honk as it drew near.