Anthem's Fall

Chapter Fifty Six

"Oh yeah?" Madison said. "Name them."

"First, you must promise you won't panic when I do what you've asked of me," Vengelis said.

Madison let out a melodious laugh. The humor of the situation was evidently coming back to her. She looked past him, perhaps looking for a hidden camera crew. Vengelis gave her a grim look. He knew there would be no way she could be capable of holding back her forthcoming panic.

"Deal," Madison said.

"Good. Second promise. After I have proven myself to you, you will lead me immediately, without a moment's delay, to the Marriot Marquis. Do you know where that is?"

Madison narrowed her brow at the specificity of the request. "Yes, I know where it is. If you can stop a car without any stupid tricks or games or whatever, I will bring you straight to the Marriot Marquis. You have my word."

"Believe me, there will be no tricks," Vengelis said. He looked at her with a stern severity. "Are you absolutely certain you know where the Marriot Marquis is?"

"Obviously. It's right in Times Square," Madison said and nodded toward the street. "I'm waiting here."

Vengelis brought his attention to the intersection. The deal would be off and he would leave her if she did not follow through with her promise. He was running out of time and needed to get to the convention soon. If Hoff and Darien had started their assault, New York City would likely be in chaos within minutes.

"Very well. How about that vehicle coming down the street? Will that suffice?" Vengelis asked her. An enormous eighteen-wheeler was hauling toward the intersection, flagged onward by a green light. The broad wheels and bulky steel frame hogged nearly two lanes. The driver must have been in a rush, as the truck was travelling well over the speed limit.

"Yeah." Madison rolled her eyes. "That will work."

"Okay. Remember your promises."

Madison nodded doubtfully.

Without another word, Vengelis turned and stepped off the sidewalk into the roaring traffic. A red Don't Walk sign blinked from across the intersection. The cars waiting behind the red lights adjacent to him beeped and windows rolled down. People shouted at him to get out of the road, most thinking this young man was going commit suicide right in front of their eyes.

The oncoming truck powered with enormous momentum toward the intersection. The thick steel grate and grinning fender rattled and bore down upon the Lord of Anthem. Behind the windshield, the driver was busy adjusting the radio, his eyes off the road. The look on Madison's face suddenly filled with horror as she realized Vengelis was actually going to go through with the challenge. The young man before her was psychotic; she had inadvertently sent some mental patient to his death. She took a step off the sidewalk and reached out to him in panic.

"Holy shit! I was kidding, come back!" Madison screamed out to him.

Vengelis looked back to her as if to convey a reminder of the promise she had made. He then turned and broke into a dead sprint up the avenue toward the incoming truck. Jaws dropped in disbelief as the young man launched himself directly at the massive semi. The driver lifted his head only to catch a fleeting glimpse of someone in his path; he did not even get to slam his boot into the brake pedal. Vengelis pumped his legs forward and lowered his head, driving his shoulder and upper body straight into the hulking bare steel grill of the truck.

An ear-splitting and hideous crunching sound resounded across the block as the front of the semi crumpled from the overwhelming impact. In an instant the truck was barely recognizable as a vehicle at all, and became a pile of indiscernible steel carnage. The concussion of the impact caused all of the bystanders, Madison included, to launch backward onto the pavement. The thick panes of glass restaurant fronts and car windows shattered from the shockwave of the impact, sending shards to the pavement. The truck's gigantic rubber wheels along with various pieces of the vehicle launched in every direction.

In the very center of the stopped intersection, in the heap of scrap parts, Vengelis pushed aside pieces of the surrounding white-hot wreckage. He stepped out from the twisted steel nest, which had been the fender of the truck, completely unscathed, casually brushing off debris as he crossed the street and approached Madison. Behind him, the truck driver—miraculously still alive—stumbled out of the driver's side door and crawled across the pavement to get away from Vengelis. The bystanders were divided between those who had seen the event unfold, and those who had been surprised by the sudden calamity. Those who witnessed his eerie rush into the truck fell back in revulsion as he approached the sidewalk.

Madison had crashed painfully onto her back on the concrete. In a stunned state she numbly ran her fingers over her body to check for any injury. Her eyes were wide with disbelief and her body was shaking with shock. The fall to the ground must have been painful. Sirens sounded from nearby as Vengelis stood over Madison. She was turning and writhing on the glass-strewn pavement. Madison looked at him and sputtered for words, the terror rampant in her eyes.

"Now," Vengelis said to her. "Take me to the Marriot Marquis."