บท 2: Volume 1. Chapter 2; Decryption

"Along the streets of Santa Clarita, a robbery had just broken out, Civilians have been warned to stay inside, for property damage may be high," My tv buzzed in my living room, its dim lights illuminating my expressionless face, uncovering the bags that resided under them, my hair was a mess, my hand treated by far from the lump of flesh it was supposed to be. Tissues lined the floors of my room as distilled musty air lingered followed by the scent of hormones and leftovers. I was completely shut off from the outside world.

"The criminals in question claimed to have drawn out the police to make their demands for the tech back, with the promise of further consequences if they refused to comply. They are now engaging in a high-speed chase down"

"The criminals seem to be young adults, along the age of 19, 21, calling themselves, Decryption, one of them making a ridiculous demand." The camera zoomed in on a kid with fiery red hair which moved wildly with the wind as he stuck his head out of the window, his voice boomed with the help of cyber wear making his demands known to the government, a button grasped tightly in his hand.

"If you don't give us what we want, we'll blow up the whole of downtown!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, the button still in his hand.

"Stupid kid," I muttered as I watched from my room, my hand running over my face in a desperate attempt to fight sleep.

"Bring Prof. Zenith Morales to us! These are our demands!" He called out, the wind still blowing in his hair and ears, though his voice was all too clear because of the cybernetics.

"Authorities are looking for ways to capture these criminals and put them under custody."

"Every time it's the same thing," I muttered, finally getting up from my spot, stretching before I laid on my bed. In this world, technology and cybernetics are the new currency, you're able to make billions from just the drifter gear they hand out to the world's best, and its creator, Zenith Morales, has been sought after ever since their creation.

"One of those things does cross a pretty penny, doesn't it?" I muttered, looking at my severed arm, the look and feel of it still jarring even now but serves as a painful reminder of what I need to do, my eyes slowly drifted to sleep.

The cars continued to zoom down the street of Santa Clarita, taking risky twists and turns in hopes of getting the police off their tail.

"Back up has arrived! Police force stand down!" a deep, coarse voice spoke into a megaphone, their words booming through the street. The officers slowed down their vehicles to make way for a black armored car with the markings "C.C.C.A," and a young officer with blue hair and cyan eyes at the wheel, wearing a black officer uniform with a bulletproof vest.

His hair was done in a man bun, a cold gaze set on the criminals ahead, next to him was a man with brown hair, strings of white found in the strands from old age, a well-kept lumber beard on his face as he stuck his head out of the window, a megaphone to his lips.

"Criminals, this is the C.C.C.A! Stand down, there's no way you're escaping!" he shouted.

"Crap! It's the C.C.C.A!" A guy in the back seat of the criminals' car exclaimed, a gun held close to his chest, wearing a brown cyberpunk high-collared jacket, short brown hair done in a burst fade, and wide pink eyes staring at their pursuers.

"Yeah, we heard the first time, Jax! Quit your bitching and get ready to fire!" A girl with fiery red hair and hazel eyes sat at the wheel, wearing a white high-turtlenecked jacket, the linings covered in black along with the wrings of her wrist.

The man with the button unbuckled his seatbelt to peek outside once more.

"Hey! Liam wait!" The girl tried to call out to him, but her plea fell on deaf ears as Liam got out anyway, his arm waving the button once more as he screamed at the top of his lungs.

"Are you stupid! We already made our demands, or do you want the whole of downtown to be blown sky high?" His sentence was pierced by the sound of a gunshot, his hand severing from his wrist as it fell down onto the street along with the button.

Liam looked at the wound, his eyebrows furrowing in distraught, unable to respond before his head was also rolling on the hot California roads.

"FUCK!" The girl cried in shock as Liam's body hung lifeless out of the car, the blood spraying all over her and the front seat.

"Move faster, Riya!" Jax shouted from behind, "Floor it!"

Almost by instinct, Riya floored the pedal, causing the car to burst forward with extreme speed, red lights trailing behind them as they moved at top speeds.

"Nice shot, Connor," The old man praised, his body leaned over to grab and steady the wheel as Connor shot from the window, the bullets breaking the glass of the criminals' car.

"Jax, what are you doing?! Shoot back!" Riya cried, ducking to try and avoid all of the flying bullets that entered their car. Jax did the same, his eyes shut with fear.

"Jax, I swear to god!" Riya's cries got even more desperate until Jax got up from his hiding spot, shooting his gun in reckless abandon, causing Connor to hide once more in the armored car.

"They're getting desperate," He muttered as he took control of the wheel once more, the old man chuckling to himself, picking up a pistol from the car cabinet.

"Just keep up with them," He muttered, a smile playing on his lips as he loaded the bullets.

"How far are they!?" Riya asked, her eyes set on the road as she pressed on, not daring to look back for even a second.

"They're still right behind us!" Liam shouted, A gunshot cut through their conversation, causing the whole car to swerve and soon end up on its side. The sound of metal screeching against the concrete streets filled the air.

"Shit.." Riya muttered, her body hanging upside down in her car, Jax's hands fumbling with her seatbelt to get her out of there. A soft smile played on her lips as he kicked the door open and got both of them out, trying to run away on foot.

"No, you don't!" Connor shouted, pulling out his pistol, but it was shot out of his hand by Jax as they ran into an alleyway.

Both he and the old man got out of the car and ran towards the alleyway after them, their chase cut short as gunfire lit the alleyway ablaze, bullets flying through the sky in hopes of digging into the flesh of their target soon to come to an end when the bullets of Jax's gun ran dry.

"Christ, not now!" He swore, tossing the gun aside with his hands in the air, Riya soon mimicked his actions.

"you two are under arrest for endangering the lives of countless citizens, theft, and attempted murder," Connor announced, getting closer to the two of them. "And you'll be taken in for interrogation to learn more about this 'Decryption' you claim to be a part of."

"We'd rather die than share anything with you," Riya muttered, her voice filled with hate and promise as the wrings on her hand started to lightly glow.

Quickly Connor tried to shoot at her in an attempt to immobilize and stop the cybernetic from triggering but it was too late, the alleyway went up in an explosion.