Amid the roar of the engine, the Beetle lurched out, its rear end swaying. Jason wrenched the steering wheel while keeping his eyes on the strange figure.
He wanted to make sure the man posed no threat.
But something hair-raising soon happened. Jason swore the man had been standing perfectly still, yet as his gaze passed across the blind spot created by the A-pillar, the man silently vanished into the night. It was as uncanny as a frame being cut out of a video.
Jason immediately drew his sidearm.
It was an extremely wise choice. Almost simultaneously, the roof caved in with a tremendous crash, spraying hot sparks-as though the talons of a bird of prey had swept across it, five horrifying claw marks appeared in the sheet metal.
Bang, bang, bang!
Jason fired back. Amid the deafening gunshots, bullets punched through the roof and disappeared aimlessly into the darkness.
He was certain he had missed. The sound of flapping wings gradually receded, and for a moment, it made Jason question himself. What the hell did I just run into? A man, or a bird of prey roaming the night?
Jason floored the accelerator, but just as the battered Beetle was about to leave the parking lot, a dark shape swept out of the shrubs again.
This time, the mysterious man had a clear target. He ducked low and bared his steel claws, using the car's forward momentum to drive his finger blades savagely into a tire.
After pulling that off, the man even remembered to hold a stylish pose on one knee. Behind him, the Beetle lost control with its tire shredded,
skidding headfirst into a flower bed.
Boom!
The hood sprang up against the windshield, and thick smoke billowed from the Beetle's engine compartment.
The mysterious man rose