Harumi screamed when she saw the motorcycle jump the lanes and come straight for her. Barely familiar with Mana's car, she frantically slammed down on the pedals with both feet. The engine roared and she was pitched forward at the same time. The seat belt caught her on the collar and prevented her from slamming her forehead into the steering wheel.
She saw a flash of spikes and green before the bike crashed into the grill. The impact threw her back into the seat and stars exploded across her vision. She gasped for air as she blindly fumbled with the pedals, trying to bring the vehicle to a halt before she hit anyone else.
Her cries echoed inside the car. She clutched the steering wheel as she blinked away the stars. Everything hurt, most of all was the terror of telling Mana that she had totaled the car.
When the stars finally cleared, the car had come to a smooth halt in front of a computer store. The front window had shattered but there were still shards of safety glass still pouring down. There were computer monitors scattered across the desk except for one that popped from where something had snapped off the top of it.
Her sobs painfully loud, Harumi pawed at the seat belt until she could release it. Then she jumped out of the car. She ran in front of it, to either see if someone was caught or see the extent of the damage from the collision.
The bike, a pale green, rested underneath the center of the car. Most of the grill, radiator, and hunks of the engine had been ripped out of the car but the hood remained somehow intact. One wheel spun lazily as smoke poured out from one of the two engines.
A light exploded from near the harbor. She gasped and looked up as scintillating waves of blue and purple light exploded out. A blast of wind coursed along the street; she could see it plucking up papers and rattling sighs as it raced for her.
With a scream, she crouched down as it blasted past. It smelled of ozone and blood. She almost threw up but opening her mouth brought more of the foul taste into her mouth. She gagged before planting both hands over her mouth and nose.
Through the tears streaming from her eyes, she peered underneath the car. She was terrified to find a body, she could already picture a bloody corpse. To her relief, there was no one.
Standing up, she staggered to the broken window. “A-Are you all right? Are you all right?”
No one answered.
She reached the window opening and peered inside. There was a man inside, prone in a pool of blood. His body smoked and the ozone scent of blood was strong inside the room.
Harumi turned around sharply and fought the bile rising in her throat. Her fantasy night with Steve had been completely destroyed. Images of prison movies flashed in her mind as she dug for her cellphone. “What should I do?”
She dialed 119 and brought the phone to her ear. She tried not to think about the man behind her. He had jumped the lanes. It was his fault, not hers, but she was terrified that the world would finally remember her as the J-Pop idol again to humiliate her instead of a simple woman trying to live her life.
Harumi whimpered as she waited for it to ring. “It wasn't my fault. It couldn't have been my fault.”
Finally, the phone for emergency services began to ring. She clutched the phone tightly. “Answer…” she gasped, “Hurry up and answer!”
It rang again and again.
She was about to hang up and dial again when a breeze tickled the back of her neck. It tugged on her long brown hair. She froze and looked up toward the valley where a wind was still blowing into her face.
A scraping noise, like porcelain rubbing against each other, rose up behind her. More of it came and she heard it move from one side to the other.
There was something behind her.
Harumi almost lost control her bladder. She clutched the phone until her knuckles cracked. In her ears, the phone continued to ring out but no one answered.
Another scraping noise sounded behind her. There were more of them, like something waving back and forth.
Unwittingly, she turned to look back. She didn't want to move but she couldn't run away. Something drew her to turn around.
Just as she started to, there was a flash of something hard and green. It grabbed her hand with the cellphone and twisted her hard around. She felt sharp claws dig into her wrist and she almost went limp from the horror, but then the claws pierced her wrist and pulled her up.
Harumi stared up at the creature. It was easily three times her height, with a green carapace. It had an angular face with a knife-like ridge for a nose and chain. At first, she thought it was large ears but then she saw two orange eyes at the end of them.
Her heart almost exploded inside her chest as she stared at the muscular ridges of the creature. It pulled her up and she was helpless to resist. It lifted her until her back and shoulders strained in agony.
It tilted its head like some creature and then opened its mouth. Sharp teeth, each one like knives, glittered with its drool before it roared.
She screamed as the creature's head shot forward, its teeth poised to rip out her throat.