Chapter One

Hunter's POV

I stomped on my accelerator, increasing from 90 km/hr to 110 km/hr on a road that had a 50 km/hr sign. But I couldn't care less, not with the call I had received from my dad's secretary.

Everything was becoming blurry, even more blurry as tears rushed down my eyes unknowingly. I overtook vehicles , speeding up like a mad man, honking so loudly to alert other drivers of my surly approach. I was almost thrown over through my car window as I sped over a speed bump, making me realize that I was too much in a haste that I forgot to put on my seatbelt.

" This is the State Security Service, we request that you pull over right now", the cops behind me said with their speakers, obviously referring to me. They had started tailing me about three minutes ago, blasting their sirens to make me pull over, but that didn't seem to work so they ventured to their speakers.

" The driver in the red Ferrari, pull over right now!" another voice said through the speaker, angrier than the first one that had spoken, but alas, all in all, nothing made me budge, instead I increased my velocity, even surprising myself at how fast I could be, and the whole saga became a scene out of an action movie, with the good guys chasing after the bad guy.

They were itching dangerously close, too close for me to remain calm. Two of their vehicles drove up on both sides of my car, almost overtaking me.

" Pull over right now! We won't be saying it again!" the angry voice shouted from my right as I took a glimpse of him in the whole commotion; his blonde hair and sun-tanned wrinkled face that had sun glasses - we weren't even in summer and he was putting on sunglasses. I looked at the traffic sign ahead, noticing the stop sign there as the vehicles at the horizontal lane kept up their pace, but there was no stopping me, not with the bastards tailing me.

I stomped harder on my accelerator, screeching my tyres and being sure enough that they were letting out smoke; or it was just a figment of my imagination, but nevertheless I sped up, swiftly maneuvering through the inclined moving vehicles, obtaining a few car scratches but not as bad as the cops who were bumped into, involuntarily acting as my shield.

I looked behind with my rear mirror and saw that traffic was starting to build up; just perfect. I went on my way as they rained curses on me, together with other drivers who had been caught up in the mess.

" I'm running late you assholes!" I kind of heard a driver shout at the cops - now that I think about it, his voice was pretty loud. The cops were still trying to figure themselves out, trying to make sure that they had not lost a limb or a foot. Poor drivers, I felt sorry that some of them had to be late to wherever it is they were heading to, but that was not compared to how sorry I felt for myself.

The sirens and the curses and the shouts faded away in the distance; not that I was particularly paying attention, in fact, my heart was speaking too loudly for me to hear anything and I kept asking myself 'what if?'

I pulled into the hospital's driveway and ran out of my car leaving the ignition on, as if I was being chased by a demon, almost knocking over a group of paramedics with a patient that had an iron rod pierced through his left eye.

" Sorry, sorry, sorry", I said, more tears running down my eyes, but they were too focused on getting him to the emergency section to notice my little tantrum.

" Hey, Mister, you have to pack your car properly, and you even left the car on", a guard on duty said, approaching me. I ran off into the building, leaving him surprised for a moment before he began running after me.

" Hey! Stop! You can't go in there", he said as I immediately barged into the hospital building, taking the elevator before he got close and eventually losing him.

I stopped at the twenty-first floor and slowly approached the ER, my heart almost pounding out of my chest.

" Hunter, you're here", Gianna, my dad's secretary said approaching me, her feet, bare of footwear and her hair disheveled; she must've also run like a mad woman.

" Oh my God! Hunter! What is all of this?" she exclaimed, poking the broken glasses that were on my face and forehead, reminding me that my car window and screen had broken when the cops bumped into me at the intersection.

" It's nothing. Where's dad?"

" What do you mean it's nothing, you're bleeding profusely. Let's go get you a nurse", she grabbed me by the arm, trying to head out of the unit.

" I said I'm fine. Where is my father?" I was being disrespectful and unkind, I knew that, but I just wanted to know how my father was doing.

" He's currently in the theater. I was reassured by the doctors that they were doing everything they could to save him", that was pretty reassuring, but certainly not for me.

" Did you see him before they moved him to the theater? Was he bleeding too much? How many of his bones were broken? How badly was he injured?" I asked without giving myself a gap to take a breath, let alone for her to answer.

" Hunter calm down, your father is in safe hands now, and partially important, we have to get you a nurse".

" No, I won't budge from here, not until one of the surgeons comes out".

" I'll then get a nurse", she said and left momentarily.

I paced up and down, waiting for about five minutes which to me seemed like five decades. The door to the E.R opened and a surgeon stepped out, looking around as if to find someone.

" How is he doing? Is he still unconscious?" I violently approached her and asked, throwing the poor lady off balance, almost making her fall to the ground butt first.

The door to the elevator opened and about three cops, together with Gianna and a seemingly intern nurse with a first aid kit approached.

" Hunter!" she ran to us, " I'm sorry doctor, he's the victim's son".

" Oh", the doctor exclaimed, taking a moment to calm her nerves, " well ....um, your father......... your father is um.........".

" Excuse me, Mr Middleton?" one of the cops said as they reached us. It wasn't any of those chasing after me; they must've called for back up and tracked my car, " you are under arrest for the violation of the Road Safety Act, and for endangering lives and properties and even for destruction of public property and private property", I was completely phased out as one of them cuffed me, " you are to remain silent and are permitted to speak to your lawyer once we verify with you at the station".

" Wait! Wait! What is this all about? What's going on here? You're arresting him? What did he do?" Gianna asked, completely confused.

" Madam, what is happening is that this young man right here thought he just fell out of a fast and furious movie, and ended up destroying innocent people's properties and even endangered their lives", the cop that cuffed me said to her.

" Doctor please, how is my father?" that was the only thing on my mind, the only thing I could think of, and the only thing that I wanted to know.

" Take him out", the cop that had spoken first said and the other two tried to force me to move.

" Would you idiots let me know how my father is doing!" I was loud, way too loud, and I had let out my emotions, tears streaming down gently from my eyes, " just let me know how my father is doing, please", I was calm this time and they seemed to be touched; although the two men holding me didn't let me go.

I turned to the doctor and asked her the same question, " how is my father doing?" more tears came.

She heaved.

I bet everything had seemed chaotic to her, the cops, the arrest, everything, but her eyes made it obvious even before her lips could say the words. It was all hidden behind those brown eyes covered in glasses.

" I'm sorry, he couldn't make it. We tried everything that we could but.................................", I was sure she was saying something, but I just couldn't hear her anymore, and just like that, my world came crashing down.