Why do the Model T's brake lights still flash on abandoned Elm Street? Which speakeasy patron runs the same route every midnight since 1923? What pursues through the gaslit alleys that telegraph wires won't carry word of? And why do the trolley tracks lead to stations that were never built?
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Genius - the pursuit of madness.
― Criss Jami, Killosophy
The headlights carved through the fog like desperate prayers, illuminating nothing but more darkness ahead. Marcus gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles turned white, the speedometer needle dancing past numbers that should have terrified him. Behind them, the second set of lights grew closer with each turn, and Sarah’s panicked breathing filled the spaces between the engine’s growl.
“They’re not trying to catch us,” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the chaos. “They’re herding us.” The realization hit Marcus like ice water as he recognized the pattern---every escape route blocked, every turn guided, as if the city itself had become a maze with only one exit. The GPS screen flickered and died, replaced by symbols that hurt to look at directly.
The pursuit had begun three hours ago when they’d witnessed something in the warehouse district, something that defied explanation. Now the streets seemed to stretch endlessly, familiar landmarks becoming alien geometries that twisted space itself. In his rearview mirror, Marcus caught glimpses of the driver behind them---or what should have been a driver. The figure’s movements were too fluid, too purposeful, like a marionette guided by invisible strings.
Sarah’s scream pierced the night as their car suddenly lurched upward, tires losing contact with asphalt. The pursuing vehicle had somehow launched them into the air, but instead of falling, they hung suspended above the city like a specimen in a jar. Below them, the streets rearranged themselves into patterns that spelled out words in a language older than human civilization, and Marcus understood with terrible clarity that they had never been the ones being chased---they had been the bait all along.
