1 Miserable Death
***
London, UK.
2034.
"Are they still pursuing us?" asked Arryn Nash.
Arryn Nash's fiancé, Mia Austin, was sitting with a worried look as she glanced to her left side, clearly seeing through the rearview mirror that three black SUVs were still chasing them.
"Yeah, they're still chasing us," Mia replied.
"Damn it," Arryn complained.
He sped up his car at high speed, hoping to escape the pursuing criminals.
The Nash Company's CEO seat had become hot these days, with two men competing for the prestigious position at the UK's largest company.
Arryn Nash is actually the one who deserves to take the CEO position, but his younger brother, Stephen Nash, doesn't think so.
He thinks Arryn isn't as smart as he is, so Stephen believes he's much better than Arryn.
It all peaked at this moment when Stephen couldn't control the frustration in his heart when the shareholders agreed to appoint Arryn Nash as the next CEO of Nash Company.
The chase is still on, on the highway leading out of London.
Arryn had to evade their pursuit as quickly as possible because there were only two possibilities which could happen to him: his car ran out of fuel, or he was killed in a crash.
"Call the police, send everyone to help me," Arryn pleaded, still focused on the road ahead.
Mia, with a heart full of fear, agreed softly. She grabbed her phone and started calling the police emergency number, saying Arryn Nash was being threatened by criminals on the highway.
The police heard Mia's statement and moved quickly to follow the GPS signal activated by Mia.
Arryn could breathe a sigh of relief. At least someone would help him deal with Stephen's men.
"Why are they so eager to kill you?" asked Mia, curious and annoyed.
"I knew Stephen from a child. My father always fulfilled all his wishes until he grew into a spoiled, selfish man," Arryn revealed.
"He always wanted anything that would show his superiority over me. The Nash Company CEO title was his biggest wish since he was a child," Arryn replied.
"Wouldn't it be better to leave the CEO title to him so you don't get killed?" asked Mia.
Arryn shook his head, continuing to accelerate his sedan to the top speed limit.
He overtook the car ahead of him several times. The other road users could see the thrilling chase without knowing who they were.
"Nash Company will be ruined if Stephen becomes CEO. My father would not be at peace if he saw his company collapsing because of Stephen's selfishness and incompetence in leading the business," Arryn explained.
"But your life is more important than wealth or authority," Mia emphasized.
"Don't worry. The police are driving here to help me; they'll protect me," Arryn replied.
Just as Arryn was still driving on the highway, another SUV suddenly sped up from the opposite direction and approached Arryn's car.
"Shit! They've lost their minds!" growled Arryn.
The man swerved his car to the side to prevent a collision with the black SUV travelling against traffic, but the fast speed of Arryn's car meant that one strong turn to the side would cause his vehicle to spin.
The back of Arryn's car was hit by the SUV's bumper, causing the car Arryn and Mia were riding in to spin in the air and roll on the highway until it hit several other drivers passing by.
"AAAKH!"
The damage was severe, with fatal injuries to the two passengers of the sedan car. Arryn could still breathe, though his entire body was limp.
All his bones felt like they broke, the wounds on several parts of his body causing blood to flow unstoppably.
Arryn's slightly narrowed eyes turned to the side, watching Mia die with her body crushed by the car frame until Arryn couldn't see his lovely face anymore.
The car was upside down, with gasoline spilling all over it, with no exception. The SUVs that had been chasing Arryn stopped a little distance away from Arryn's car.
A young man got out, dressed in a black suit and fur coat. His right hand appeared to be clutching a burnt cigar.
He walked past the group of SUVs until he was standing next to Arryn's car.
The young man's left hand opened the driver's door and took out Arryn, who looked helplessly limp, dragging him on the highway.
"You forced me to get my hands dirty, Arryn," says Stephen Nash, Arryn Nash's younger brother.
"Your ambition is... disgusting!" annoyed Arryn.
Stephen laughed loudly, stopping his steps while dropping Arryn, whom he had been dragging.
Blood was clearly printed on the highway, precisely the blood from Stephen carrying Arryn's body.
"Your ambition, too, Arryn. We've had the same ambitions all this time, but you refused to give them up to me," Stephen replied.
Stephen crouched beside Arryn, whose body was unable to move because of the fractured bones.
"You made me do this, Arryn," Stephen explained.
Arryn smiled sarcastically, then spat right before Stephen's face in disdain.
The blood spit seemed to stick to Stephen's face, making Arryn's brother laugh out loud and beat Arryn's body and head like a madman.
"You're disgusting! I should have killed you years ago!" Stephen snapped.
Stephen's kicks and punches kept landing on Arryn's face, putting the man on the verge of an inevitable death. A woman in a black suit approached Stephen, trying to stop him.
"Stop, Stephen," the woman pleaded.
Stephen grunted, turned his head to the side quickly and surprisingly choked the woman who was his girlfriend, "Do you want to die?!"
"No, but you'll be in prison if you stay here," the woman told him, pointing to the west, where the police were approaching with the sound and light of their sirens.
Stephen's eyeballs flowed following the direction of his lover's hand, clearly seeing the policemen speeding towards the scene of the crash.
The young man released his hold on his lover's neck, moving away from the scene where Arryn was still sprawled out on the road beside his rolled-over car.
The SUV drove away as fast as possible, leaving the crash scene. Three policemen chased after the SUV, and the rest stopped near the overturned sedan.
To the police officers' surprise, the crash victim was Arryn Nash, the son of Richard Nash and the future CEO of Nash Company.
However, before Arryn was taken to the hospital, his life was already gone due to fatal wounds in his body. He died on the way to the hospital.
Stephen was delighted to hear the news, as no one else could stop him from taking over as CEO of Nash Company.
Arryn's tragic death brought grief to the goddesses of the other world. Goddess Lauriel descended from the sky and arrived at Arryn's final funeral chamber.
She came not in her beautifully dressed and winged goddess form but as an ordinary woman without wings and wearing a black suit, acting as a close acquaintance of Arryn.
"I am sorry for your loss," Lauriel announced.
His mother nodded, the woman's eyes looking puffy as if she had cried over the loss. However, Stephen showed a flat expression, as if he wasn't grieving.
"May I?" asked Lauriel, moving her hand gracefully to point at Arryn's coffin.
Mrs. Arryn nodded, allowing Lauriel to give her last regards to Arryn. Stephen admired Lauriel's beauty. For a moment, neither of Stephen's eyes could escape the woman's figure.
Arriving beside Arryn's coffin, Lauriel's right hand seemed to be sprinkling light dust on Arryn's face. The light shimmered and disappeared into the man's face.
"We will meet again somewhere, Mr. Arryn."
