The pirate stood tall on the deck of the floating ship, wind howling around him. His eye stayed fixed on the chaos below through his seascope. The red car slammed into the blue one again and again, metal grinding and tires screeching across the wet pavement.
"How insane," he chuckled. "Don't they realize I'm the one hunting them?"
A sharp grin formed beneath his beard.
"Time to get closer."
He spun toward his crew. "Set sail!"
"Aye aye, Captain Silverbeard!" a crewman barked.
Ropes flew loose, sails billowed. The massive pirate ship caught the wind and began to glide faster, pulling ahead of the cars below with unnatural speed.
Inside the blue car, panic was setting in.
"STOP! ARE YOU CRAZY?!" the driver screamed at Cam as their vehicles scraped side by side.
"Yes." Cam's grin widened.
In the back seat, the three band members—Viper, Rock, and Silk—shouted over each other, trying to calm him down, but Cam just kept ramming the other car.
"Enough, Cam." Roy said without looking up from his phone. "You're gonna break the car. Then we're screwed."
Cam eased off the gas. "My bad, Roy."
Roy smiled faintly. "You're good."
Cam glanced at the backseat. "Sorry about that. I'm usually chill… but uh, anger issues."
The trio didn't respond. They sat frozen, stunned, realizing they were stuck in a car with two absolute madmen.
Roy ignored them, eyes locked on his phone, chasing a new high score.
Then Cam's voice cut through the silence. "Uhhh… Roy? We got a problem."
Roy sighed, not looking up. "What now?"
"See for yourself."
Cam slammed the brakes. The car screeched to a halt.
Roy lifted his eyes.
In front of them, the ground was cracked open, a massive anchor embedded deep in the street, its chain stretching up into the storm clouds.
Above, the pirate ship hovered, descending with menace. Pirates clung to the sides, cranking down the anchor winch, their silhouettes sharp in the lightning flashes.
"Well, that's not good," Roy said.