The police car was gaining on them.
Its lights flashed red and blue across the rear window, but Astrid was watching the road ahead through her round glasses.
She had survived a witch’s spell, a flying army of pins, and an encounter with a man who apparently considered party supplies a branch of law enforcement.
Explaining any of that to an actual officer sounded exhausting.
The car hit a bump.
Something crunched beneath a tire.
Astrid looked down at the joystick resting in her lap.
One of its buttons glowed.
Across the seat, the black-haired witch lifted a finger to her lips and smiled as if she already knew the ending.
“Is there a problem, officer?” Astrid asked the dashboard.
“Like it’s hard to breathe?”
“Have a nice trip,” said the witch.
The button clicked.
Outside, the officer rose gently from the road inside a transparent bubble, his cap pressed against its curve.
“Uh, hello?”
Astrid stared.
This had begun, she was almost certain, with a game.
Unfortunately, time had been popping out of order all day.