The Game Has Changed
The Game Has Changed
D. L. Wu
Live like there’s no tomorrow. Love
like it’s your last.
The cold, driving rain poured
across the hood of the sleek black sports car as it thundered down
the dark road. There were no streetlights illuminating the stretch
of road, although the driver could see the lights of a city in the
far distance. The lack of light on the slick road before him made
it harder to visualize the confines of the narrow two-lane highway.
He could make out a foggy moon filtering in and out of the sky,
even with the looming rain clouds above, but it did nothing to
assist in guiding his way.
His overwhelming sense of anxiety
didn't help matters. He was afraid, like he’d never been before. It
wasn't easy to frighten Evan Baedeker, but he was terrified,
none-the-less. He was used to driving vehicles at such frenetic
speeds within his career, yet it was all safely choreographed and
rarely, did he feel this sort of nerve-wracking unease. Now with
the slick roads, the pounding rain on his windshield, the
unfamiliar surroundings, and the unknown future he faced, this was
all so very real. His situation was very treacherous; his life even
more precarious.
Despite his nervousness, he noticed
that the sports car he was driving seemed to handle the slick roads
rather well. He really loved the car, a shiny, brand new black
Ferrari 458 Spider. He had purchased it a few weeks ago in Los
Angeles and had it shipped to New York City because of the job he’d
taken there. A job he had expected to last for several
months.
Now, that was all shot to hell. In
his desperation, he foolishly thought he could attempt driving it
all the way back to his home in Malibu. Yet deep down, he realized
it was far from a rational idea. Could he make it home? And even if
he did, would he be arrested upon his arrival?
The Game Has Changed
Copyright © October 2012 D. L.
Wu
Published © October 2012 D. L.
Wu
ISBN: 978-0-9883454-0-9
ebook
Cover Art Design By: Susana
Pacheco
Edited By: Nancy Medina
All rights reserved.
The author retains sole copyright
to her contributions to this book.
No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission of the
publisher.
For information and inquiries,
please address: D. L. Wu via
[email protected]
.
This book is a work of fiction and
any similarities to any persons, living or dead, or places, events,
or locales, is purely coincidental. The characters are productions
of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
Smashwords Edition,
License Notes
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To my family.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I wish to personally thank the following people
for their contributions to the creation of this book and for their
continued inspiration.
Thank you to
Nancy
Medina
, for taking on the daunting task of editing the
story for me and for her continuous encouragement and support in
pursuing this publishing dream.
Thank you to
Susana
Pacheco
, for offering to create the amazing cover art
and for her unwavering faith in me.
Thank you to
my
sister
, for helping push me out of my comfort zone and
encouraging me to do this.
Thank you to
my
husband and three children
, for supporting me in my
dedication to writing.
Thank you to actor,
Ben Barnes
, for being my muse and
inspiration.
CHAPTER 1
The cold, driving rain poured across the hood
of the sleek black sports car as it thundered down the dark road.
There were no streetlights illuminating the stretch of road,
although the driver could see the lights of a city in the far
distance. The lack of light on the slick road before him made it
harder to visualize the confines of the narrow two-lane highway. He
could make out a foggy moon filtering in and out of the sky, even
with the looming rain clouds above, but it did nothing to assist in
guiding his way.
His overwhelming sense of anxiety didn't help
matters. He was afraid, like he’d never been before. It wasn't easy
to frighten Evan Baedeker, but he was terrified, none-the-less. He
was used to driving vehicles at such frenetic speeds within his
career, yet it was all safely choreographed and rarely, did he feel
this sort of nerve-wracking unease. Now with the slick roads, the
pounding rain on his windshield, the unfamiliar surroundings, and
the unknown future he faced, this was all so very real. His
situation was very treacherous; his life even more
precarious.
Despite his nervousness, he noticed that the
sports car he was driving seemed to handle the slick roads rather
well. He really loved the car, a shiny, brand new black Ferrari 458
Spider. He had purchased it a few weeks ago in Los Angeles and had
it shipped to New York City because of the job he’d taken there. A
job he had expected to last for several months.
Now, that was all shot to hell. In his
desperation, he foolishly thought he could attempt driving it all
the way back to his home in Malibu. Yet deep down, he realized it
was far from a rational idea. Could he make it home? And even if he
did, would he be arrested upon his arrival?
Occasionally, he noticed the speedometer
hovering above the ninety mile-an-hour mark. Soon, the unpleasant
smell of burnt rubber began to permeate through the air. His mind
began to race with worry about a blown tire in the midst of this
unfamiliar place in the middle of the night in the pouring rain.
Yet, he did nothing to ease his foot off of the gas pedal. His
confusion was paramount; his heart, racing.
Aggressively, he groped the seat beside him,
trying to feel for the pack of cigarettes he had thrown there
earlier. He needed the crutch right now. His nerves were more
frazzled than he ever remembered. He had tried to cut back on his
smoking as his profession required him to be in excellent health,
but it was his only vice and many times he rationalized their use.
Now was definitely one of those times.
“Damn!” he said aloud, unable to feel the pack,
at first.
He next dug through the inside of his jacket
pocket to see if he had absent-mindedly stuck it there, but his
pockets turned up empty. The same hand slowly slid along his other
side underneath his jacket and came to rest on his shoulder gun
holster concealed beneath his arm. The small handgun sat snugly in
place, searing with the warmth of his body heat. Though he was
actually afraid of having a gun, he was well aware that he had no
permit to carry a concealed weapon. It somehow comforted him at the
same time on this horrible and uncertain night.
When the search for his cigarettes proved
fruitless, he sighed and smoothed back his long brown and sweaty
hair from across his dark-brown eyes. He felt like crying, yet he
knew that it wasn't something he was used to.
Reaching toward the seat next to him once more
as if utilizing one last, desperate attempt to find the cigarettes,
he glanced away from the road for just a millisecond and saw the
pack upon the floor. Another sigh of frustration escaped him. He
wanted the cigarettes badly.
Taking his foot off of the gas pedal ever so
slightly in order to slow down the car’s frenetic speed, he quickly
reached down to retrieve the pack. Upon looking back at the road,
he found that he had temporarily swerved into the oncoming lane.
Luckily, no other car was coming in his direction so he swung the
steering wheel quickly back around while at the same time cramming
a cigarette between his lips.
Unfortunately, his speed and momentary
inattentiveness got the best of him. The car skidded out of control
across the slick highway. In a panic, Evan tried to compensate for
the skid. Despite his knowledge of high-speed driving, he was
unable to pull out of it. The car roared off of the side of the
road and flipped over several times before it finally came to rest
upon its hood.
***
Everything around him was eerily quiet and
dark. Evan slowly opened his eyes as a strange sensation filled his
entire body. The very first thought that came into his head
was,
Am I dead?
Yet if that
was so, why was he feeling such incredible pain?
The pain racked through every conceivable spot
within his body that he could name. He had never felt anything
quite this bad before. Sure, he had been injured numerous times in
the past as it was part of the downside of being a movie stuntman.
He had broken so many bones that he’d lost count and had been in
full traction at least twice. This time, unfortunately, was
different.
When his eyes became accustomed to the intense
darkness, he could finally make out where he was. He was lying on
the inside hood of the car. It had flipped over completely and
because he hadn’t been wearing a seat belt, he was no longer in the
driver's seat. He was now technically above it.
Luckily, he had not been thrown into the
steering wheel or the windshield, for that matter. How that had not
happened was a miracle. The driver's side window had been slightly
opened and now most of it was broken away. He figured it was the
only way he would be able to get out of the car. Slowly, and in
intense pain, he eased himself through the broken window, unable to
avoid cutting his chest on some of the twisted metal.
