A storm was brewing. Rain crashed against the ground as thunder roared overhead.
BOOM. SCREECH. BOOM. SCREECH.
A red car weaved frantically through the four-way streets, dodging cannon fire from pirate ships floating above. On the deck of one ship, a pirate with a massive feathered hat swung his sword downward, shouting:
"Keep firing! Sink that car!"
Inside the vehicle, chaos reigned. Cam, the driver, gritted his teeth. "I'm trying!" he yelled. "It's hard to dodge cannonballs, Roy!"
"Faster! Faster!" Roy barked, sitting in the passenger seat, eyes glued to a device tracking the King's location.
In the backseat sat three strangers, wide-eyed with fear. Over their heads hovered glowing green diamond icons—they were part of the group. But above Cam's head glowed red—he was the chest.
Cam laughed as he swerved between burning, wrecked cars. Rain splattered his windshield, steam rising off the pavement.
"You think you can kill me?!" he shouted out the window at the pursuing ships. "The King was stupid to make me the chest! I'm stubborn as hell—I won't die!"
Roy chuckled beside him. "Stop antagonizing them, idiot."
The man in the middle of the backseat—long black hair streaked with green dye—leaned toward the others and muttered, "These guys are insane."
The two next to him nodded in stiff agreement.
Suddenly, the cannon fire stopped.
"They're reloading," Roy said calmly.
"How long until they start again?" Cam asked, focused on the road.
"They stop every three minutes and restart after six. We've got about five minutes," Roy answered, checking his timer. "Takes a while to reload those things."
Cam grinned. "Nice work."
The car zipped past burning wreckage, overturned buses, and glass-covered streets. One of the girls in the back pointed out the window.
"More ships—they're flanking us!"
She had long black hair, like the boy, but with pink streaks. On the left sat another girl, her black hair cut short, highlighted with bold yellow streaks.
The green-haired guy tapped Roy on the shoulder and offered a compliment. "Nice thinking, kid."
Roy didn't respond. He curled a strand of hair with one hand and stared at his phone, playing a mobile game.
"Oh, right," Cam said with a smile. "He only talks to me."
The three in the back quieted again. They didn't like this team—they didn't trust them. But the boy in the middle could only think:
I got lucky.
His chest was a tough guy, and the passenger was a genius. Even if they were nuts.
Cam asked, "Roy, what do I do? We've got 1 hour and 50 minutes until we reach the King, but he's moving fast."
Roy replied with a groan. "I can see that. I'm looking at the same map, genius."
Still, Cam kept going. "Should I stay on course or veer off? More ships are tailing us."
"Stay on course," Roy answered without looking up. "If anything weird happens, I'll adjust the plan."
The girl with yellow-streaked hair leaned forward, panic in her voice. "What are you talking about? We should head to a town! It'll be harder for them to attack us there."
Cam considered it, then shook his head. "Nah. Sticking to the plan. Roy's the only one I trust."
Roy nodded slightly, still tapping away on his phone.
And the others? They fell silent again.
Because Cam only trusted Roy.
And Roy only trusted Cam.