The sounds of soldiers on horseback were getting louder. Her only advantage was that the forest was thick and many of the men would have to duck to avoid the lower branches. She was certain there would also be scouts on foot searching for her. There was no time to rest. She gripped the branch she was crouched on and swung down. The ground was still quite some distance below her, but there was nothing to be done about it. She rocked her body back and let go of the branch. When her feet hit the ground, her knees were already prepared for the impact. They absorbed the force and sprung her forward in a somersault. She came up quickly to her knees and listened for the direction of her pursuers. They seemed to be fanning out, which meant they hadn’t seen exactly where she landed.
Xi Shi ran in the opposite direction in an attempt to put as much distance as possible between her and the advancing soldiers. She also knew that she couldn’t let them flank her. Where had Wang Xu left that horse anyway? As if in answer to her unspoken question, she saw a white ribbon tied around a low hanging branch. She pulled it free as she ran past it. From Wang Xu’s instructions, she knew there would be another that would lead her closer to her mount.
She almost passed the next ribbon without seeing it. The white silk fluttered in the night breeze and picked up a glint of light from the moon that peaked through the treetops. She pulled the ribbon from the tree and scanned the area. There nestled between two trees was the smallest horse she had ever seen. If it had been any smaller, she would have thought it to be a pony. Its reddish brown coat and short black legs offered almost perfect camouflage underneath the nighttime canopy of the forest. In fact, it was the length of white ribbon tying the horse to the tree that got her attention. She approached the little horse cautiously. He glanced her way and gave her a little snort. She could hear shouting from behind her and to her right. There would be no time for her to become acquainted with her mount. She leapt on him and pulled the white ribbon loose from the tree and used it as a reign.
When she was upright on the little horse, she knew instantly why Wang Xu had chosen it. Despite all appearances, the horse was rugged and steady. His height was also an advantage. She raced through the forest staying just below the lowest branches. Xi Shi guided the horse in the direction of the river and her rendezvous point.
The soldiers had fanned out in a wider arc now. They had managed to flank her, although they were probably unaware of it. She altered her course, navigating the horse up an incline. The horse’s hoof beats changed in tempo and pitch. The ground below them was harder, rockier. She glanced behind and could see the first of the soldiers. Had they spotted her yet? Before she could veer off this rocky incline, another soldier burst from the tree line. There was nowhere to go now but up.
The trees gave way to scrub brush and rocky outcrops. She could see more of the sky now. Her only advantage was that the little horse’s short and strong legs were managing the rocky terrain better than her pursuers. She nudged him upward. The shouts were growing louder and more frequent behind her. A spear swished past her head and hit the rocks in front of her. It ricocheted and fell back toward her down the incline. The little horse didn’t miss a beat. He leapt over the splintered spear and found firm footing once more. Xi Shi stroked his neck and whispered praises.
She could see the peaks of mountains in the distance and her worst fears became real. The little horse crested the incline and skittered to a halt. Xi Shi lurched forward from the momentum and rolled off the horse still clutching his neck. Her feet came to rest on the edge of a stony cliff. Tiny rocks fell over the edge to the river below. She kept hold of the horse’s neck, as he pulled backward. When she was far enough from the edge, she turned the horse around.
Soldiers crested the incline and edged closer toward her from either side. The plateau they now occupied was large enough for twelve of the mounted men to hem her in, forming a semi-circle.
“There is nowhere left to run, Princess.” Xi Shi recognized the man as the captain of the guard. Because of his station, he had never actually spoken to her before. His voice was pleasant, despite the circumstances.
“You will not take me alive.” She took up a defensive stance. The man laughed.
“There is no need for more violence, Princess. Give us the book and come back with me willingly and the Emperor will forgive all. There is no other choice for you now.”
“We do not see the choices that we are incapable of.”
Xi Shi didn’t wait to gauge the man’s reaction, but she thought she detected the slightest spark in his eyes as the realization took hold. She slapped the little horse hard on the flank and sent him charging forward. He broke through the line and managed to knock one of the riders from their mount. She patted the book once more to make certain it was firmly in place before spinning around to face the cliff’s edge. She heard the screams behind her as she pushed her body up and outward.
Again she was the Red-crowned Crane gliding through the night air. The sounds above her faded as she hurtled ever closer to the river below.
Ana and Lee
Ana kept her foot pressed firmly on the gas pedal guiding the van swiftly down the long, narrow road that connected the hospital to the highway. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Lee making furtive glances out the back window.
“Are we being followed already?”
“Not yet, but they’ll be coming.” Lee returned his attention to the front of the van and started fiddling with the radio.
“The police?”
Lee didn’t look at her when he replied. He just kept messing with the controls. “Not likely.”
“Then who—“
“Shhh.” Lee seemed to get the radio set just the way he wanted it, then he turned up the volume.
At first Ana thought he was listening to talk radio, but she soon realized that she was hearing a police dispatch.
“What is that?” She looked to Lee, but he just motioned for her to keep driving. He flipped through several channels, pausing briefly to pick up the details. Someone had robbed a convenience store in a county she had never heard of, somewhere a young boy was missing and in another, a dispatcher was giving an officer directions to a crime in progress.
“Do you hear that?” Lee finally looked up at Ana.
“All I hear is a bunch of stuff about other people.” Ana had allowed the van to drift a little and it brushed the curb. She quickly returned her attention to the road. Lee didn’t even flinch.
“Exactly, nothing about us. There’s nothing about officers being dispatched to Hillcrest even though I just broke you out and you drove a van through a security gate.”
“So what does that mean?” Ana looked at Lee.
“It means that the Horsemen will be handling this problem themselves. No law enforcement.” Lee pointed to a stop sign ahead.
Ana hit the brakes with both feet, bringing the van skittering to a stop at the edge of the access road. An old man in a red truck shook a fist at them as he drove by.
“Who are the Horsemen?”
“Turn right here and try to get on the highway as soon as possible.” Lee climbed out of his seat and into the back of the van. Again he motioned for her to keep driving.
Ana pulled the van out onto the access road and quickly brought the big vehicle up to speed. She pulled the visor down to block out the rays of the setting sun. Glancing in the rearview mirror she watched Lee open a black duffel bag.
“So are you going to answer my question?”
Lee pulled a handgun out of the bag and slid a clip into it. He pulled back on the gun, loading a round into the chamber. Ana had seen it done before on TV, but she also recognized it from somewhere else.
“The Horsemen are the others, Ana. You know them, but not by name yet.”
“They’re the ones the book has warned me about?” Ana looked over her shoulder to Lee. He pointed back toward the road.
“We can discuss the book and the others later. For now, take that ramp and
get up on the highway. We need to put some distance between us and the hospital.”
Ana turned the van sharply causing the tires to squeal. She heard Lee mutter under his breath as he lost his balance and hit the wall. Ignoring him, she stomped on the gas and charged up the on ramp. The engine grew louder and louder until they were on the highway. The wooded countryside rushed past them blurring into nothingness.
“Are you alright?” Ana glanced up in the rearview mirror.
Lee nodded. “I’m fine, but watch your speed. We don’t need to draw the attention of the highway patrol.
Ana eased off the gas and returned her eyes to the road. She knew the hospital was in a fairly remote area, but she was surprised at the lack of cars on the highway. She only noticed one other, a blue station wagon, but it was quite a ways ahead of them. Everything seemed so different than the last time she had been on this road. Of course, at the time she was a pissed off teenager who had been betrayed by her family. She hadn’t been interested in the scenery at all.
“Where are we going?” She could hear Lee going through the bag, unzipping compartments and loading another gun.
“In another three miles or so you should see an old red barn. Just past it I want you to turn right onto a gravel road.”
Ana decided not to press him further. He appeared to be intent on the task at hand, and he didn’t seem to be a man of many words. She concentrated on keeping the van at an even seventy miles per hour and in between the lines. The road stretched out before her drawing her forward. She felt exhilarated, free for the first time in ages.
She didn’t know how many miles they had gone when the black dots appeared in the rearview mirror. There were two of them and they were getting larger.
“Lee?”
“What?”
“I think there might be someone following us.” Ana pointed at the rearview mirror.
Lee slid to the back of the van and peered out the broken rear window. “Damn, they’re coming up fast.” He moved the gun to his right hand and steadied himself against the wall with his other. “Forget what I said about watching your speed.”
Ana stomped on the gas. The van lagged for a second before lurching forward. “I don’t think I can control it at anything over ninety.”
“Just try to go as fast as you can while keeping it steady.” Lee knocked the rest of the glass out of the window with the butt of his gun.
Ana could see the black vehicles looming larger. How fast were they going? They were close enough now that she could tell they were SUV’s with tinted windows.
Ana looked back to Lee in a panic. “What do we do, Lee? They’re going to catch up with us.”
“Just keep driving and let me worry about it.”
Ana swerved to the left, narrowly missing the little blue station wagon she had seen earlier. She heard the trailing wail of their horn as she overtook them. The black SUV’s changed lanes with her. She could see they were even closer now and Lee was taking aim.
“Keep it steady.” Lee’s command echoed through the van.
The wheel felt slippery beneath her hands. She gripped it tighter doing her best to maintain a straight course. “I can see the barn, Lee.”
“Don’t stop!”
“But—“
The gunfire drowned out her words. She heard three shots before the SUV closest to them veered off the roadway and into the grass median. She saw it flip and roll out of the corner of her eye. She screamed.
“One down. The other one is coming up fast.” Lee crawled back to the passenger seat. “They’re going to come up alongside us.”
Ana checked the rearview mirror again. She noticed the little blue car had pulled off the roadway, but there was no sign of the SUV.
“They’re in your blind spot, Ana.” Lee was facing backwards with his left arm on the door as a brace for his right arm. “If they hit us, steer toward the shoulder and hit the brakes.”
Ana couldn’t get any words out; she just nodded, gripping the wheel tightly.
“Look at me, Ana.”
Ana looked into his eyes, those deep dark eyes.
“You can do this, Ana. I’ve been a witness to your skill against many a foe.” He returned his attention to their pursuers.
She could feel her heartbeat returning to a normal rhythm. She let out a deep breath and loosened her grip on the steering wheel just as the SUV made contact with their rear fender.
Everything after seemed to happen in a vacuum. There was nothing else, but them, their pursuers and the road. She saw a cartridge eject from Lee’s gun, but she didn’t hear the shot. She turned the wheel toward the shoulder and put firm, even pressure on the brake. When she felt the two vehicles clear each other, she turned the wheel a quarter of a turn and moved the van back onto the roadway. A black blur zipped past them. A second later she accelerated bringing the vehicle up rapidly behind the SUV. Lee must have anticipated her move because he was now facing forward, leaning out the window and unleashing a torrent of bullets into the SUV’s back window. They were so close to it now that bits of glass rained down onto the hood of the van.
Ana could see the men inside the SUV. One was slumped over the middle seat, blood soaking through the back of his white shirt, and another was aiming a machine gun at them.
“Overtake them!”
Before Ana could maneuver the van from behind the SUV, the man with the machine gun laid down a barrage of gunfire, stippling the grill and left fender. Ana turned the wheel sharply and clipped the SUV’s right quarter panel. She gunned the engine, but the van sputtered. The heavy odor of burning oil permeated the cabin and the pressure gauge dropped rapidly. The temperature light came on just as the first wisps of smoke arose from under the hood. She glanced at Lee for guidance, but he was busy reloading his gun.
They were almost even with the SUV when the back passenger window came down. The man with the machine gun took aim at their tires and unleashed another barrage. The front tire exploded, forcing Ana to make a quick move. She cranked the wheel back hard to the left and rammed the SUV with all of the force the van had left. Lee fell into her and slammed her against the door. She lost her grip on the wheel.
The man with the machine gun lurched forward and nearly fell out the window. The back end of the SUV went out in a wide arc. It pivoted around the hood of the van, continuing its arc until it was almost completely turned around. Lee pushed off of Ana and leapt back to the passenger seat. Before Ana could grab the steering wheel again, Lee had already peppered the front windshield of the SUV with bullets. She could hear the squealing of tires just as the van swerved off the shoulder and into the median. Ana lurched forward as the blown tire dug into the soft soil. She avoided hitting the front glass when the back of the van pitched upward and tipped the vehicle on its side. She slammed hard into the door, but this time Lee flew into the back of the van. She heard him grunt as he hit the wall.
The van slid on its side for a while longer before coming to a stop on the opposite edge of the median. The engine died and Ana could hear the right front tire, now above her head, still spinning in a twisted elliptical orbit, rubber brushing against metal. Her left arm was pinned under her body. It made its presence known when she braced her right hand against the door in an attempt to push herself up. The pain buckled her arm and she fell back down on the door.
“Are you hurt, Ana?” She could hear Lee climbing back toward the front of the van. The strain in his voice told her that he wasn’t feeling much better than she was.
“I might have broken my left arm, but other than that I feel alright.” Ana squirmed onto her back and kicked her right leg up over the side of the seat.
Lee leaned over the seat and stared down, studying her. His expression didn’t betray her condition. As for himself, there was a spot on his forehead that looked like it hand been rubbed raw and a thin line of blood was widening just under his right cheek.
“Can you move that arm?” He repositione
d himself so that his upper body was almost completely over her.
Ana raised her left arm up. She winced, but tried to bend it to see if anything was broken. “I think it’s just severely bruised.” She laughed and winced again. A tear escaped her eye and ran down into her ear.
“Give me your right hand. I’m going to pull you up. We need to get out of here.”
Lee took her right hand in his and pulled her upward. When she was closer to him, he put his left hand in the middle of her back and guided her up and around the seat back. They stood on the left wall of the van. Lee left her leaning against the seat while he gathered up the duffel bag and its ejected contents.
“I think one of the guns flew out the window.” He checked the magazine in the remaining gun. “Looks like we have about four shots left in this one and another two clips in the bag.”
Sixth Seal Page 7