“I think so. She’s alive for now, at least. Let’s get out of here. I don’t want to run into any more trouble.”
Aby clambered into the passenger seat and belted up while Jake scouted the area one last time. Then he got in the front seat and began to drive before anything else could go wrong.
Except it always did. As they hit the road, Jake heard the sound of engines again. Looking in his rearview mirror, he saw two motorcycles coming up fast behind him. Maybe they were dirtbikes, he wasn’t sure.
“Crap,” Jake said. He put his foot down, trying to get the Land Rover to go faster. But even as he sped up, so did the bikes. And then to his horror, he saw them drawing out weapons.
“Get down!” he cried to Aby. He pressed his forehead to the steering wheel so he could still see out of the window just as the first spray of bullets hit the car. Aby screamed and ducked down low. Jake wondered if Megan was safe on the back seat, but he had to keep control of the car, he couldn’t worry about her. As the back windscreen shattered after taking one too many bullets, Jake’s heart leapt in his chest.
How could they survive this?
Twenty-Four
Aby
Aby had never thought she’d be involved in a car chase, and yet she’d experienced more in the past few days than most action movies combined. Ducked low in her seat, she felt her seat shudder as a bullet ripped through it. She was terrified of being in the wrong position at the wrong time. Whatever gun they were using, it was powerful and could fire rapidly. The Land Rover barely stood a chance.
Breathing hard, she peered around her seat to see if Megan was okay. She was beginning to stir, groaning. She seemed like she was in a bad way, but that she might survive if she played her cards right.
“Stay low!” Aby cried out to her, still ducked by the seat. She glanced at Jake, who was ducking as low as he could. “Can’t you go any faster?”
“I’ve got my pedal to the metal,” Jake roared over the sound of the motorcycle engines. “This is our top speed.”
They were going much faster than Aby had realized. As she glanced at the window, she could see the scenery whizzing past way too fast for her liking. If they crashed, they’d be in real trouble. That was if they didn’t get shot first.
Megan’s eyes were open wide now and she gasped in horror. “What’s going on?”
“Just try and stay low, Megan! Don’t sit up!
Megan dizzily turned. As the car shuddered, she was thrown off the backseat and down to the floor. She cried out in pain, but as bullets tore through the back seats, Aby realized she’d got a lucky escape.
“We can’t outrun these guys,” Jake said. “They’re faster than us. Our only hope is to get them ourselves.”
Aby shifted and tried to aim her rifle. Her heart was in her throat as she knelt on the seat and aimed through the empty back window. She had just made her aim with shaking hands when there was another spray of bullets and she was forced to throw herself back to the ground.
“It’s suicide!” Aby cried out. “They’ve got some serious firepower.”
Jake clutched at the steering wheel, ducking instinctively as another set of bullets assaulted the car. “I don’t know what to do.”
He didn’t often admit that aloud. Aby knew he was always winging it somehow, but now, he seemed completely lost. He was spent of ideas. These guys were relentlessly cruel, too much for Jake to handle. Were they trying to serve some purpose by killing them? No, probably not. They’d destroyed the car almost entirely. If they were worried about stolen property then they wouldn’t have bothered shooting up the car.
They were doing it just for fun.
And now they were switching up their tactics. The gunfire stopped and the two motorcycles sped up, flanking either side of the Land Rover. Seemingly without fear, the pair of them veered closer to the car, leaning precariously to try and open the car doors. Aby panicked, but she realized that while they were at close range and not shooting, they had to take their chance to take them down. Megan had obviously caught on to the same thinking and she wound her window down to try and shoot on the opposite side to Aby’s seat.
But the bikes just fell back, hitting their breaks to escape and then speeding up again to intimidate them.
“Shoot!” Jake said and Aby did as he asked, but she knew she wasn’t a good enough shot to hit a target from a moving car. The motorcyclists were clearly skilled on their bikes and they weaved down the road easily, bullets flying way past them each time.
“They’re too good,” Aby said, leaning back into the car to give herself some cover. “We need to either try and outrun them or face them head on.
“We’re not far away enough from Dent,” Jake said. “If we stop, it might give others a chance to catch up. They must’ve heard the commotion...maybe they’ll want a piece of the action too.”
The thought of a whole horde of cars following them was terrifying. Aby leant back out of the window and tried to shoot again, but at this point, she was just wasting bullets. She was running low on ammo anyway.
Aby turned forward in her seat just in time to see another car flying around the bend in their direction. She grabbed Jake’s arm instinctively.
“Jake, stop!”
But it was too late. She knew that instantly. The cars were going too fast. Even as Jake tried to stop the car, they were making impact. The cars smashed together and Aby felt her body being thrown from the car. For a moment, everything seemed too slow to be possible, and then she hit the ground so fast that her heart practically jolted right out of her chest.
She was lying in a ditch. Her whole body was in pain. The car was destroyed and she couldn’t see Jake or Megan. Her vision was blurred. She tried to sit up but was quickly thrown back to the ground by her own dizziness.
It was so quiet following the crash that Aby thought she’d gone deaf. But then she realized it was because the motorcycles had stopped. The two men on them walked up to the car wreckages. Aby groaned as she tried to move. She could guess what was about to happen now. These men were ruthless. They were going to make sure they took no prisoners.
They walked up to the other car. A middle aged woman was in the driver’s seat, her teenage boy slumped in the seat beside her, blood trickling down his forehead. Aby couldn’t hear what she was saying, but her face was agonized, tears streaming down her cheeks. One of the men got a pistol from his belt and pointed it at her.
The two bangs that followed shocked Aby’s system back to life. She knew if she didn’t move, she’d be next. And what about Jake? Megan? Were they alive?
Aby found that it was impossible to move far without nausea over taking her and pain wreaking havoc in her body. Her only alternative was to lie very still and hope that the men didn’t try and kill her. Maybe they’d think she was already dead if she lay still enough. She tried to focus her eyes in one spot and stare blankly. She was too terrified to close her eyes.
The men stood still for a minute and Aby silently begged for them to return to their bikes. She didn’t want them to spot her. She didn’t want them to come for her…
Their eyes fell on her.
She was quivering as they walked toward her, grins on their big oafish faces. She wished she had the strength to get up and run. She wished she knew where her gun was so that she could defend herself. But she was all alone. She was about to die without a single person beside her.
She closed her eyes and waited for it to happen.
Twenty-Five
Jake
Jake heard the gunshots, but they sounded far away. His head was spinning and making him feel out of control. When he opened his eyes, he saw the other car only inches away and the men pointing their pistols at the dead family at the wheel. Jake almost threw up right there and then, but he knew if he did, he’d be next. If he showed any signs of being alive, they’d kill him too.
He closed his eyes and tried not to look alive. It wasn’t hard when he felt like he might be dead, or maybe dying. There
was so much pain in his body that he couldn’t pinpoint anywhere that didn’t hurt. His legs were trapped under the crushed front of the car. But the most painful thing to him was knowing that he’d seen Aby get thrown from the car. He knew she was probably dead. Even if she was alive, how was he supposed to get to her and save her?
He heard the men’s footsteps retreating and he let his eyes open a little. His back protested as he tried to move. It hurt so much that his vision blurred, but he pushed through it. He glanced in the cracked rear view mirror and saw that Megan was one again unconscious in the backseat. There was blood all over his body, and he guessed it must be his own, but he couldn’t figure out where it was coming from. His mouth twitched and he felt a sharp pain, like glass cutting through his skin. He guessed he must’ve received some pretty bad facial damage in the crash.
But he didn’t care about that. All he wanted was to find Aby. Turning his head slowly, he scanned outside, hoping for some sight of her. If she was alive, he needed to know. If she was dead...well, maybe he could give up. Maybe he could accept that it was all over for him. The engine of the car was beginning to smoke and Jake knew it would catch fire in no time at all. He was going to die in that car if he didn’t move soon.
But he at least had to try. He fumbled for his gun, which had lodged itself down the side of his chair. His body was complaining with each move he made, but he didn’t seem to have broken anything. He knew that if he had he wouldn’t be able to move at all. Maybe there was some bruising to his tailbone...he seemed to have absorbed all the impact of the crash into his back...but he was alive and moving. That meant there was hope.
If he’d survived in the driver’s seat, maybe Aby was alive too.
And that’s when he saw where the men were headed. Aby was lying on the ground, unmoving, but very much alive. Her face was crewased with fear. She thought she was about to die alone. But Jake would never let that happen. Not while he still had breath in his body.
Jake knew it might be too late for him. He wasn’t sure he could dislodge himself from the car, and he was even more doubtful that he could help Megan out too. If she didn’t wake up, she would die with him.
But Aby would live.
One of the men raised his gun, pointing it right at Ab. But Jake was one step ahead.
He aimed his rifle and shot the man clean through the skull.
The force of the shot shocked Jake’s body and his head smacked against the door of the car. All of the pain he’d felt before seemed to be doubled after the effort of taking the enemy down. The other man turned, ready to kill. He raised his weapon, one much more deadly than a measly pistol, and shot at Jake. He jerked his body away, but one bullet grazed his arm, causing him to yelp in agony. He saw blood spurt from his arm and he suddenly realized how close to death he was. The engine was aflame now and his whole body was a wreck. It was time for him to die. It was time…
Jake could no longer see Aby. Thick gray smoke filled the vehicle. In the back seat, he heard spluttering and Megan jerked upward, seemingly less beaten up than Jake and woken by the smoke.
“Help!” she cried out, coughing desperately. Jake closed his eyes. He couldn’t help her. It was over.
Outside, there was a man’s cry and the thud of a body. Jake didn’t have the energy to comprehend what it might be. But then the back door opened and through the smoke, Jake opened his eyes and saw an angel.
“Out, Megan!” Aby cried. She was clutching the door for support dizzily, but she was very much alive. Jake felt relief like no other. She was okay. Megan was going to make it too. At least she wouldn’t be alone in the world without him…
“Jake, don’t close your eyes! Get your damn seatbelt off!” Aby cried out, throwing open the passenger seat door. Jake groaned.
“Leave me…”
Aby leaned across and managed to unclip his seatbelt. It was stuck to his arm where he’d threaded it through when he got it in the car. “I’m not leaving you, but you have to help me. Move your arm.”
When Jake was too weak to move, Aby tried to move the seat belt. The car was filling up with almost unbearable heat and she grunted with the effort.
“Jake...I can’t get you free. You’ll need to cut the belt. Your knife...in your pocket...”
His body hurt as he attempted to grab the knife. He had so little energy left, but knowing how much Aby wanted to get him out spurred him on. His shaking fingers closed on the knife.
“Got it…”
He weakly sliced at the belt as Aby grabbed his feet and pulled them out of the wreckage at the front of the car. She coughed and he tried to speed up, but it was slow progress. The belt was hard to cut. Still, he kept sawing at it, trying not to breathe too deeply and get the smoke in his lungs…
The belt pinged free of his arm. Aby wasted no time in yanking him by his feet over to the other side of the car. His back bumped against the gear stick as she pulled, but he could almost taste his freedom. He was almost out...fresh air was so close...they might make it…
Megan and Aby grabbed a hand each and pulled him to his feet. He was so weak that he almost immediately fell on his knees, feeling the gravel beneath them greeting him with a bite, but they pulled him back up again. Throwing an arm over each of their shoulders, they helped him off the road, back toward the trees. There, they’d be safer. There, they’d have a few moments to recover.
They collapsed on the cold, damp grass together and watched from a distance as the Land Rover burned. Once again, they were surrounded by dead bodies, but they’d made it. Silently, Aby pulled Jake close to her and he’d never been so grateful to have her beside him. He sighed, breathing in fresh air. His whole body was hurting, but they’d made it through again. Their lives had become one big test of survival, but they always seemed to be the ones to make it through. While death claimed everyone else, he kept walking them by, promising them another few minutes, hours, days…
But Jake knew that their luck might end at any time. They’d already lost so many people. They couldn’t afford to get cocky. He glanced at the motorcycles and knew they only had one ticket out of there.
“We need to go. Now.”
Aby stared at him. “Are you insane? You nearly died....you’re badly injured. You can’t go anywhere.”
“If we stay here, we’ll die,” Jake murmured. “Out there...back in Dent...they’ll be able to see the car going up in flames...they’ll have heard the chaos of what happened here...we need to leave before they decide to investigate.”
“But how?” Megan asked. “We can’t go far on foot…”
“We’ll use the bikes.”
“Have you ever ridden a bike before?” Megan asked uncertainly, though they all knew the answer was no. Jake coughed a little. The smoke was still settled deep in his lungs. He knew he’d be coughing for days.
“No...but I’ve never escaped a burning car before today either. Besides, I’m not driving. You two are. You’re in a much better way than I am.”
“You’re crazy,” Aby said, but there was no force to her voice. In fact, she sounded almost adoring. Jake closed his eyes.
“Maybe. But I’m alive...thanks to both of you. And I think if you can figure out how to save me from a burning car, you can do this too. Now lets go...before its too late.”
This time, neither of them attempted to protest. He was still their fearless leader. He’d lost his way for a moment back in the car, but he was a survivor by nature. Even if he hadn’t saved himself, he’d surrounded himself with good people who would never let him down. They were stronger now than they’d ever been, even as they were nursing injuries and mourning the loss of their friends. They were growing stronger by the day.
And soon, they’d be unstoppable.
Twenty-Six
Aby
Jake clung to Aby as she nervously maneuvered the dirt bike through the woods. She’d never ridden something like this before, but she was quickly adapting to it. Megan seemed to be doing well too on the other bike. The
y might have almost died a couple of hundred times over the past few days, but they were survivors. They had managed to turn every scenario in their favour. There was no stopping them now.
Of course, the fear hadn’t left Aby’s heart. She hadn’t forgotten how it felt to have men point guns in her face multiple times. She hadn’t forgotten how it felt to watch Perry die right before her eyes. She hadn’t forgotten how she’d hidden out in a basement only hours before and convinced herself that she was going to die there.
But she also knew her own abilities now. She was handy with a gun. She could react under pressure. She picked up new skills easily. Hell, if they were still in the normal world she’d put all those things on her CV. She had learned so much, even though the price of her new experiences was high. So many had had to die to get her to where she was now. She shouldn’t be revelling in her victories. She should be focussing on their failings.
But she would learn from her mistakes. Going to Dent had turned out to be a huge mistake. All the hope she’d had earlier in the day had left her now. Maybe the three of them were better off alone. Maybe staying on the move was the only way to ensure their survival, even if they could never let their guard down. She didn’t want to believe that, but it seemed like it was becoming more and more likely.
They were going to constantly be living life on the edge. They could never guarantee their safety. They’d have days like today where one thing after another threatened to end their lives. But they would make it through. As long as they stuck together, there was hope.
She thought of Jake first...he’d been so strong at the start, but he was slowly being chipped down, even if he wouldn’t admit it. He was losing his ability to let every experience roll off his back. Megan, on the other hand, was becoming more and more resilient. She was still scared, but who wasn’t? Aby had been wrong about her. She’d showed herself to be useful, resourceful and strong, even when tears were streaming down her cheeks and she seemed ready to give up. She was yet to break.
The End of the World Series | Book 2 | Survive The Onslaught Page 14