I am back

Chapter 74 - I am back

Mike turned the last corner toward the dorm, his pace slower now that the adrenaline from the warehouse had begun to fade. The streets were quiet, with only a few cars moving in the distance and the pale light from the streetlamps stretching across the pavement.

His body felt exhausted, but his mind was still stuck on Eve and the single name she had whispered before the police arrived. Claire. He kept replaying it in his head, wondering what connection she could possibly have to everything that had happened.

He had almost reached the next intersection when something ahead caught his attention. A white van was stopped near the side of the road with its side door wide open. At first, Mike barely noticed it, but then he saw a man standing beside the vehicle, pulling someone toward the open door. Mike slowed down and stared, trying to make sense of what he was seeing.

Then he recognized Mia.

His entire body went rigid.

The man was dragging her toward the van while another person walked beside them. Mike's eyes moved to her face, then to the woman holding her other arm, and the blood seemed to drain from his body when he recognized Claire. She was helping force Mia toward the vehicle, and Mia was fighting against them, trying to pull herself backward.

The same man Mike had seen with Claire and Sam earlier that morning was holding her from one side while Claire pushed her toward the open door.

Mike's shock lasted only a second before anger took over.

"Stop! You bastards! Someone stop them!"

His voice echoed down the empty street.

He broke into a full sprint.

His boots hammered against the pavement as he raced toward the van. Mia turned her head at the sound of his voice, and for a moment their eyes met. Her expression changed immediately when she saw him running toward her. She struggled harder, trying to pull herself free, but the man tightened his grip.

Claire looked back.

Their eyes met.

Mike expected surprise. He expected fear or at least some sign that she had not planned for this.

Instead, Claire smiled.

It was a small smile, but Mike saw it clearly even from a distance. There was something deliberate about it, something that made his stomach drop. She did not look like someone who had been caught. She looked like someone who had been waiting.

Claire shoved Mia through the open side door.

The man grabbed Mia and pulled her farther inside, while Claire climbed in after her. Mike was almost close enough to reach the van, but the man grabbed the door and slammed it shut before Mike could get there.

The engine roared.

The van jerked forward and accelerated down the road.

Mike reached the spot where it had been only moments earlier, but there was nothing he could do. He immediately turned and ran after it, refusing to let the vehicle disappear from his sight.

The van moved through the streets at a speed he could never match normally, but Mike kept going. His lungs quickly began to burn, and the muscles in his legs started to ache from the sudden sprint. He chased it past one intersection and then another, watching the red taillights bounce farther ahead with every passing second.

After nearly a kilometer, his breathing had become painfully heavy. His legs felt like they were made of lead, and every step seemed to take more effort than the last. The van was getting farther away, and Mike knew that if he slowed down even slightly, he would lose it completely.

He clenched his teeth and activated Iron Body.

Power rushed through his body almost immediately. The exhaustion did not disappear, but his muscles suddenly felt capable of continuing. His stride became longer, his feet struck the pavement harder, and the weakness that had been spreading through his legs began to retreat. He was still moving at a speed a human could manage, nowhere near fast enough to catch a vehicle on an open road, but Iron Body allowed him to maintain his pace far longer than he should have been able to.

Mike opened the system panel while running and looked at his remaining points. He did not hesitate. He began putting the rest into stamina, spending ten points at a time. Each increase gave him another small reserve of energy, allowing him to keep his pace even as his body screamed for him to stop.

The van remained ahead.

That was all he needed.

As long as he could still see it, he could still follow.

The road continued for several more minutes, with Mike running behind the vehicle and desperately trying to maintain the distance. His body was exhausted, but the system kept feeding him enough stamina to continue. His breathing became more controlled, and his legs stopped feeling as though they were about to give out beneath him.

Then the van suddenly slowed. Mike saw the brake lights flash and immediately pushed himself harder.

The vehicle reached an intersection and made a sharp left turn.

Mike followed without thinking.

He leaned into the turn at full speed, his eyes fixed on the van as it disappeared around the corner. He was already halfway through the turn when a burst of headlights suddenly filled his vision.

Mike's eyes widened.

A bus was coming from the opposite direction.

There was no time to stop.

He tried anyway.

His foot scraped against the pavement as he attempted to change direction, but his momentum was too great. The front of the bus slammed into him before he could get out of its path.

The impact threw Mike through the air.

For a brief moment, he had no idea which way was up. The streetlights spun above him, and the sound of the collision seemed to disappear beneath a ringing silence. Then his body struck the asphalt with tremendous force.

Pain exploded through his head.

He tried to move, but his arms barely responded. His vision blurred as he stared at the streetlights above him. Something warm ran down the side of his face, and when he lifted one trembling hand, he saw blood covering his fingers.

People were already gathering around him.

Someone shouted that an ambulance was needed. Another person was calling emergency services while others stood several meters away, staring at the injured man lying in the road. Mike could hear their voices, but they sounded distant and distorted, as though he were underwater.

His eyes slowly closed.

The last thing he could think about was Mia.

He had lost her.

Again.

Then, through the noise of the crowd and the ringing inside his ears, a familiar electronic sound suddenly appeared in his mind.

[DING!]

Mike's eyes opened slightly.

A message appeared in his vision.

[System reset finished.]

For the first time since the accident, Mike felt something other than pain.

The voice he had been waiting to hear returned inside his head.

[Hey, host. I am back.]

Vol. 2, chapters 90-94, are live. Read them on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/KDaddy935?vanity=user