Dead Throttle

Previously published as "Hayabusa: A Tale of Urban Terror" by Darrell King.

DEAD THROTTLE: A Tale of Urban Terror

The forest doesn't just take lives-it keeps them.

Deep within the basalt roots of Japan's Aokigahara, a sleek machine sits in the silence, its frame forged from residual shadows and ancient, jagged grief. It was never meant to leave the trees. But the greed of the street knows no borders.

Exported to the concrete canyons of the U.S., the machine finds its new masters. To the riders of the Ninth Ward, it's a masterpiece of speed and chrome-a ghost on two wheels that defies the laws of the road. But the power under the tank comes with a price tag written in blood. One by one, the owners are finding that the bike doesn't just hit the redline; it hits back.

From the rusted warehouses of Philly to the neon-slicked asphalt of the city's darkest corners, a trail of mineral rot and hollow-eyed corpses is all that remains. The machine is hungry, and it's building a collection.

Before the final gear clicks into place, one question remains: Can the curse be broken, or is the street just the next forest to be harvested?