2 - Pulled from the Present

Sunday, June 6, 6066, 2:30 PM Local

Magna had just decoded the mess of writing that his pet, Jayda had managed to translate. Both had come up with a number of different translations, but ultimately, one thing was the same.

"What happened on September 22, 2020?" they both said.

After a moment of thought, they both decided to continue piecing the notebooks together.

"From the moment I first drank from you," the tall, muscular, dark-haired vampire said, "I've known there was something different about you."

"Like what?" she asked, her somewhat-narrow green eyes darting between the pieces and Magna, "I've got genes in me that haven't existed for hundreds of years," she pushed some of her black-brown hair back and cleaned her glasses, "From what I can figure out, they're called 'Blood Tool' and 'Jin jon Jon-wa'."

"Better than what I could have guessed," he said, glancing around the room at the desks, screens, machines, and what looked like the worst excuse for a kitchen.

"Do you want to stay here tonight?" Jayda said.

"That couch upstairs is falling apart," he looked to his translation again before setting down to the eons-old desk with the guide he made out.

"I guess that computer is the whole brains of the building?"

"At least this area," the vampire said, flipping a switch and turning on all of the components.

As if it didn't want to be woken from it's ancient slumber, the boxes and screen loudly came to life for the first time in roughly four thousand years before Magna and Jayda began going through the files and controls to one particular gadget.

Tuesday, September, 22, 2020 9:37 AM EDT, Alpines' City

Sasha was in his 1991 Isuzu Impulse with the cassette blasting through the specked-out cassette deck, on his way back to the garage with Ming when she had a less-than-brilliant idea.

"Jiù xiàng diànyǐng zhōng yīyàng, yǐ měi xiǎoshí 88 yīnglǐ de sùdù xíngshǐ. Wǒ xiǎng kàn kàn zhè zhǐ yàzhōu xiǎo gǒu néng yìngfù xiē shénme."

"Go at 88 miles per hour like in the movie. I wanna see what this Asian puppy can handle."

Seeing as the highway was mostly empty, he decided to go for it.

"Gīn chìh, sáau dáng."

"Hold on."

As Sasha hit the magic number from Back to the Future, some strange things began happening outside of the car, much to Ming's surprise.

"Chto za chert?"

"What in hell?"

Sasha, now holding the Isuzu steady at just over ninety, decided to stop.

"Dáng yāt háh, chèuih fēi néih séung tūng gwo bō lēi būi."

"Hold on unless you wanna go through the glass."

Ming held on for her life as Sasha slammed on the brakes, focused only on the pavement in front of the car until it, seemingly instantly, changed into nothing recognizable.

"We're still coming off of US-95," he said as Ming looked around before getting out of the car and vomiting, inciting silent laughter from Sasha as he leaned back against the headrest and killed the engine.

"Èrshíliù suì, yīncǐ wǒ cónglái méiyǒu tǔguò," Ming said in Mandarin as she wiped some vomit from her face.

"Twenty-six and I've never puked before because of that," Ming said in Mandarin as she wiped some vomit from her face.

"Ji síu ngóh sih daih yāt go sip jūk dīk yàhn."

"At least I was the first to something."

"Bì zuǐ kāichē."

"Shut up and drive."

"Fine."

"If you not Skweeyu son, I hit you."

Sasha started up the car and, almost by instinct, drove back to the garage where they saw what looked like a black Lada Vesta parked at the garage door.

"Jin dau waahk tòuh páau?"

"Fight or Flight?"

"Táopǎo!"

"Run away!"

"Dāk dóu tā líuh," Sasha said, popping the clutch.

"Got it," Sasha said, popping the clutch.

Quickly, he sped off, but not before the black Isuzu was spotted by a girl who stuck her head out of the door before pursuing them with a larger, dark-haired man in the Lada.

"Gàosù wǒ nǐ zài zhèlǐ fàng qiāng!"

"Tell me you keep a gun in here!"

"Máh kā lòh fū yáuh dím waaih líuh!"

"The Makarov is kind of broken!"

Ming slapped herself as Sasha explained a few things while maneuvering the former roads.

"Bāt yuhng dāam sām mìhng gá chit yáuh Lada Vesta jéh go dūng sāi, tā mùhn jing joih yíh 1,596cc, 83 máh lihk dīk chūk douh gūng jok, kèih jeui gōu sìh chūk yeuk wàih múih síu sìh109 yīng léih! Sēung béi jī hah, yàuh yū ngóh chéui sīu líuh faat duhng gēi dīk hung jai, ngóh mùhn jing joih sí yuhng 1588cc dīk faat duhng gēi, 132 máh lihk dīk jeui daaih chūk douh wòh múih síu sìh 132 yīng léih dīk jeui gōu chūk douh! Chí ngoih, yaht bún dīk hauh lèuhn kēui duhng wàahn sih sōu lyùhn dīk chìhn lèuhn kēui duhng? Gān bún muht yáuh béi choi!"

"Don't worry, Ming. Assuming the stock Lada Vesta and this thing, they're working with 1,596 cc, 83 horsepower, and their speed tops out at around 109 miles per hour! This, in comparison, we're working with a 1,588 cc block, 132 horsepower, and a max speed of 132 miles per hour because I de-governed the engine! Besides, Japan rear-wheel-drive vs Soviet front-wheel-drive? No contest at all!"

Ming pulled a bottle of Baijiu out of a box in the rear seat with 明的酒 written on it and proceeded to drink the whole thing.

Ming pulled a bottle of Baijiu out of a box in the rear seat with Ming's Alcohol written on it and proceeded to drink the whole thing.

"Zuòwéi nǚshén de háizi yǒu qí tèquán. Fǒuzé, wǒmen xiànzài jiù sǐ dìngle. Hǎo ba, nǐ háishì."

"Being a goddess's kid has its perks. Otherwise, we'd be dead right now. Well, you anyway."

Sasha looked to Ming briefly as they began to lose the black Lada.

"Ngóh jī douh."

"I know."

Meanwhile, Jayda and Magna had found the results they were looking for, sort of.

"Do you hear that?" Jayda said, walking over to the door.

"Which noise?" Magna said, turning his attention to Jayda.

"Sounds like a 1.6 block, high-revving car."

"I've got a few here that we're looking for," he said as the engine stopped just outside of the door and idled.

"Isuzu 4X1E series, 12-valve DOHC- what model do you have? Geo Storm GSi or Isuzu Impulse XS?"

"Isuzu."

Jayda opened the door and looked at the car as it quickly sped away.

"It was a black 1991 Isuzu Impulse XS!" Jayda said, getting her keys, "Let's go!"

Magna quickly followed her out and to the Lada.

"If that's who I think it is," the vampire said as Jayda put the car in drive and floored the gas, "We need to stop them."

"From what I remembered about the specs of this, unless that's a power-starved Isuzu, we'll get to almost striking distance before topping out and losing him."

"Try anyway."

Jayda drove at high speeds in an attempt to pursue the person, her speed not going below triple digits.

"Thanks again for the car," she said, slowing to a stop a few minutes later when the Isuzu was out of sight.

"You're welcome."

"I just don't know what to do."

"That car can only go so far before it needs gasoline, right?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you think that car was designed for? Speed or distance?"

"Good point," Jayda said, flooring the car again, "I just don't know how to track him."

"Didn't you say you remembered owning that?"

"Something similar, yeah. I said I felt like I had a direct connection to the guy that owned it."

"So, do you know anything about the car to help identify it?"

"The plates are green on white and say USA and ISUZU. They're plates from the same city the car was made in, I believe."

Magna smiled, "You have everything you need to catch the dude."

As the realization hit Jayda like a rock, she too smiled and changed routes.

"What are you doing?"

"If he's from the past in his Isuzu, then all I have to do is go where he will go, not where he is at."

"I'm glad I thought again before killing you five years ago."

"Me too."

Confidently, Jayda began driving to a gas station that was in between cities as Magna put his arm around her, his hand finding her breast.

"I can do that, right?" Magna said.

"You only live once," she said, returning the gesture somewhat before blushing and pulling her hand over to the gearshift and taking control of the gearbox.

"What's wrong?" he said, his hand moving from her breast.

"I can't return the favor, Mag."

Magna started massaging her breast again.

"After today," Jayda said, "We're tying the knot."

Meanwhile, Sasha was speeding down the "roads" in his Isuzu. Ming, now drunk, had begun blasting New Thang through the car's stereo.

"Mìhng, jéh gáu sí deui yāt gihn sih wòh yāt gihn sih dōu muht yáuh hóu chyu: miht fó."

"Ming, this shit is good for one thing and one thing only: Putting out fires."

"Nǐ bù dǒng shǐ!"

"You don't know shit!"

"Ngóh dīk móuh chān chùhng jih mihn seuhng sih jī sīk dīk néuih sàhn. Ngóh séung sih dīk."

"My mother is literally the goddess of Knowledge. I think I do."

"Tā mā de."

"Fuck that."

Sasha rolled his eyes before glancing at the instrument cluster.

"I'm doing okay on petrol, but I've gotta scout out a gas station."

At that, he started following the signs to any form of civilization, in hopes of refueling.

"Chto, chert voz'mi, sluchilos' s mirom?

"What the fuck happened to the world?"