Last part of The Firs Sign! I want to thank everyone for subscribing!! It means a lot!! Thank you! :))

Dr. Simon's body stiffened, his mouth locked open in a voiceless scream. As Mictar kept his hand over his victim's eyes, sparks flew around his fingers, and the two men seemed to hover a few inches off the floor. Simon quaked violently, while Mictar's body gradually regained its light.

Hyukjae spread out his arms, shielding Jessica. All he could do was try to protect his tutor. There seemed no way to stop whatever was happening to Dr. Simon. After a few torturous seconds, Mictar pulled his hand back, revealing Dr. Simon's eye sockets, now blackened by emptiness; something had consumed his eyeballs and left behind nothing but gaping pits. With the sickening odor of charred flesh now permeating the room, Dr. Simon collapsed on the floor. 

Mictar took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. "The combination of fear and death is an aroma surpassing all others." He turned to Dr. Gordon. "Collins and Mills stayed on guard in the hallway upstairs. Call them down. You will need help to dispose of all five bodies. Hyukjae cringed. Five bodies? Gordon pulled a cell phone from his pocket and pressed a button on the side. "Collins. Get down here." Again tightening his fingers around the violin, Hyukjae whispered to Jessica. "It's now or never." Jessica slowly crouched toward her bat. "You get the tall one."

Hyukjae lunged and swung wildly at Mictar's head. The wood smashed against his thin cheek with a loud crack, and the tightly wound strings sliced into his skin. The violin shattered into a dozen varnished shards, leaving only the fingerboard in Hyukjae's hands. Mictar fell against the wall, covering his mouth as dark blood poured between his fingers and dripped onto the floor. Jessica bashed Gordon in the groin. He collapsed to his knees and let out a loud groan, his eyes clenched shut.

Hyukjae latched on to Jessica's arm and pulled. "Run!"

They stored out of the prop room, sidestepped a man with a gray beard as he neared the stair well landing, and dashed through the other doorway into the dim air-duct room. Lowering their heads, they clattered along the narrow catwalk under a maze of interconnected duct work. A muffled voice called behind them. "Don't worry about us. Get them!" When they reached the end of the room, a single bulb attached to the low ceiling shone on a gray double door that rose no higher than Hyukjae's chest. He gave the door a hefty push with both hands. Although it bent outward a few inches, it snapped right back.

He dropped to his bottom and his feet against the latch. The wood cracked but didn't give way.

Behind them, footsteps rattled the catwalk. Hyukjae kicked again. The door splintered and banged open, revealing a four foot drop to a hallway below. He sprang to his feet, ducked into the opening, and dropped to the ground. Jessica followed. Her white evening gown poofed out like a parachute as she bent her knees to absorb the impact.

Hyukjae pointed at a sign over an alcove opening just a few paces away. "A fire escape!"

They dashed into the short corridor that ended abruptly at a tall window. Hyukjae threw the sash open, letting in a blast of cool air. After stepping out onto the wobbly fire escape landing, he helped Jessica through. Just as he pushed the window closed, Mictar's henchmen turned into the alcove, the gray bearded one drawing a pistol.

Hyukjae his finger downward. "Go!"

Jessica kicked off her high-heels and clambered down the steps. A bullet shattered the glass and zinged past Hyukjae's ear. He leaped halfway down the first flight, shaking the entire framework as he landed. "Faster!"

As his footfalls rang through the metal stairs, a shout sounded from above. "You follow. I'll get the car."

Scrambling across a landing, Hyukjae caught up with Jessica as she turned down the next flight. Another gunshot cracked through the whistling wind. Hyukjae hopped up on the railing, slid past Jessica, and dropped feet first to the landing. "Come on!" he shouted as Jessica caught up. "He can't get a good shot through the steps!"

As they closed in on the ground level, they dropped below the top floor of the parking garage across the street. Hyukjae glanced up. Their pursuer was galloping down the steps two levels above.

Seconds later, Hyukjae halted at the final stretch, a long, horizontal ladder that would swing them down to the sidewalk as they added their weight to the stairs. He leaped out, grabbed the railing, and rode the metal bridge to the ground. When the supports smacked against the concrete, Jessica hopped on the rail and slid down, almost beating Hyukjae to the bottom.

They jumped from the stairs. As the rusty span sprang back up, Jessica pointed down the road. "The limo's that way!" They broke into a mad sprint, Hyukjae intentionally staying one step behind, glancing back constantly. Suddenly, the black Mustang careened around a corner three blocks to their rear and thundered toward them.

"They have wheels now!" Hyukjae shouted.

"So do we!" Jessica turned down an alley where the black stretch limo idled. A man in a chauffeur's cap leaned against the front fender, tipping back a bottle of soda.

"Ryeowook!" Jessica waved her hands as she slowed down. "I'll take the car!"

Ryeowook spun around and opened the door for them. "In trouble again?" he asked.

"Big time!" Now puffing heavily, Jessica slid behind the wheel. Hyukjae leaped on the hood and vaulted to the other side. Throwing open the passenger's door, he dove in and jerked upright in his seat.

The Mustang its convertible top now folded down, skidded to a stop in front of them, blocking the alley's exit. Jessica lowered the window and glanced between Ryeowook and the Mustang, her eyes wide as she tried to catch her breath "How do I get to the expressway?"

Ryeowook pointed at the street in front of them "That's Congress. Turn right, cross the bridge, and you're there"

As the window hummed back to the top, Jessica smacked the floor stick into gear "Get buckled!"

Hyukjae clicked the buckle and grabbed the hand rest. "Let's do it!"

She slammed down the accelerator The limousine roared away, the tires squealing as she angled toward a narrow gap between the Mustang and a lamppost.

As they closed in, the bearded man stood on the seat, propped a foot on the window frame, and aimed his gun.

Jessica ducked behind the wheel. "Get down!" Hyukjae scrunched but kept his eye on the action. A bullet clanked into their limo as it clipped the Mustang's fender, shoving it to the side. The gunman toppled over and rolled onto the pavement. Jessica barged into traffic amid a hail of honking horns. "Maybe they learned their lesson and won't follow."

As he rocked upright, a tight lump squeezed into Hyukjae's throat "Think we can somehow sneak back and get Mom and Dad?"

Jessica grabbed his shoulder. "Hyuk, they're-" She released him and spun the wheel, wedging the long car into the left lane between two yellow taxis. "Watch my back and tell me if you see them."

Hyukjae wheeled around The black Mustang roared into view, weaving back and forth as it darted past car after car. Setting his fists on top of the windshield, the gray bearded man aimed his pistol. "He's going to shoot!" Hyukjae shouted. "Step on it!"

Jessica jerked the car through traffic, zigzagging from lane to lane. They bumped a Mercedes on one side, then a pickup truck on the other. Tires squealed. Horns blared. A bullet ripped through the rear window and into the dashboard, shattering the radio.

Jessica stomped the accelerator to pass a city bus, flattening Hyukjae against the passenger seat. He pushed back up and peered over the headrest. The Mustang careened around the bus but slowed as a car swerved in front of it. Jessica slowed the limo to a halt and pointed ahead. "The drawbridge!"

Hyukjae glanced between the shattered rear window and the windshield Red and white crossbars lowered about four car lengths in front, while a pickup truck pulled behind them, preventing any escape to the rear. "Any ideas? We're sitting ducks!"

"Not if I can help it!" Jessica jerked her thumb toward the rear Keep watching."

"What do you have up your sleeve this time?" She clenched her fingers around the steering wheel. "Survival!"

He peered back again. The Mustang angled its front grill toward the left, inching back and forth to get enough room to go around the car that blocked it. Hyukjae lowered his head "Looks like he's trying to push over the median!" Jessica scrunched down. "Perfect!"

"Perfect?" He spun around. "But they'll catch us for sure!"

"Only if we go back. We always go foward."

"But going foward puts us in the river."

"Tighten your strap, Kiddo! We're taking off!" She jerked the wheel to the left and floored the pedal, sending the limo lurching across the median and into the oncoming lanes. Hyukjae grabbed his seat belt and pulled it tighter. "You can't jump the gap! There's now way this tank can make it!"

"And neither can that Mustang!" They crashed through the crossbars and zoomed up the steep metal incline. The limo launched over the edge and into the air, flying for a brief second before falling toward the river below.