“Stay low and stay close, we’re gonna run for it. Sam, we already know they like Will for some reason.”
“I know,” Sam replied.
Then they were outside the door, crouching low and running as best they were able towards the makeshift wall surrounding the compound. Just as before, there were fires lit outside the compound’s walls, and shadows danced eerily, making even the paved ground seem alive. In all directions people shouted and yelled as creatures plummeted out of the sky to attack them. In the fire-lit darkness, Jack watched as a woman fended off an attacker with what appeared to be a leaf rake, as a small boy behind her shouted and waved a hammer over his head.
In the big picture of things he wasn’t certain that what they were doing was right. He couldn’t help but wonder if they would be better off staying and fighting alongside members of their own race. It made sense to do so. But at the same time, he felt in his gut that this was the right choice. These people had made decisions out of fear and prejudice that they would not change now. It was not safe for Tammy here, and she had proven herself time and again. She was not the enemy.
Crossing the halfway point between the hangars and the surrounding wall, Jack waved off Sam and Will, taking Tammy’s hand in his own as they continued on. She was as afraid as he was, he could feel her shaking through her hand even as they ran. Guiding her along through the semi-darkness, he angled them towards the cart that blocked the road beyond.
* * * * *
Sam could already see the old white pickup truck ahead. Holding tightly to Will she led them towards it as fast as she was able, while keeping low to the ground. It was a risky plan, expecting her to drive them out of the compound, but Jack had been right, his strength was needed at the cart. She only wished she had more experience than driving a toy car when she was Will’s age. It couldn’t be that hard. Could it? Even Jack had a learner’s permit, and everyone knew his grades were barely good enough to keep him in track.
Rounding the truck she pulled Will towards the driver’s door as a loud buzzing sounded overhead. Instinctively she dove towards the ground, dragging her little brother with her. For a moment the buzzing continued as she looked all about for its source, but without finding it, and eventually the sound faded amongst the yells and screams from all around them.
Cautiously she rose, helping Will back to his feet, before testing the handle on the truck’s door. It was an older style she wasn’t familiar with, but pressing in the button with her thumb, she pulled the door open with the handle as it creaked loudly. Looking all about as Will jumped in and climbed across the seat, she hopped in beside him and yanked the heavy door closed. Unexpectedly, the whole truck shook when the door slammed closed and Sam used that second to run through the directions Jack had given her earlier. She wasn’t an idiot, but she had never driven a car.
First thing first, pump the gas. Reaching out with the toe of her boot she pressed the pedal to the floor three times. Check. Put on the breaks and turn the key. Shifting her foot she felt something odd, and peering down found a dilemma. There were three pedals, not two. Which one was the brake? Looking up again to the steering column she found there was no shift lever. Where the emergency brake was in both Mom and Dad’s cars was a big lever with a rubber boot that stuck up through the floor of the truck. It had a manual transmission. Seriously? What was she gonna do now?
She had seen people shift the things on television, and in movies, but never paid any attention. She didn’t even think that these types of cars were made anymore. If they were, they certainly weren’t popular. But none of that mattered. Jack, Will, and Tammy were relying on her to get the truck moving and that is exactly what she planned to do.
Mashing both of the left-most pedals to the ground, she turned the ignition key and listened as the starter whined somewhere underneath her. Then, with a cough of smoke and a shake the engine roared to life, sputtering and chugging. With a huge grin, Sam released the pedals. Not behaving as expected, the truck surged forward several inches before dying. Sam released the steering wheel and mashed the pedals before she turned the key again. Ole Bessy roared back to life, more quickly this time, and again Sam released the pedals and held the steering wheel so tightly both hands showed white knuckles. As before, Bessy leaped, sputtered, and died. She didn’t know what she was doing. Jack’s plan was doomed to fail.
* * * * *
Will’s head hurt. His tummy was growling. And he now had a scraped knee to add to the list. If that were not enough, Sam was jerking them around like a pair of rag dolls, and they were going nowhere fast.
“What are you doing, Sam?” Will demanded, perhaps a bit too harshly.
“I don’t know how to drive this,” she replied, with tears in her eyes and defeat in her voice.
“I do!” Will yelled.
“How on earth would you know how?” Sam asked in disbelief.
“Grandpa used to let me sit on his lap and shift and steer while he worked the pedals.”
Without even awaiting an answer, Will slid towards his sister across the old burgundy vinyl seat. Crawling atop her lap, he situated himself as he reached up to the dash and pulled the knob that turned on the headlights.
“Push the far left pedal and start it up,” Will ordered, and watched as Sam complied.
Reaching over to the shifter, Will pulled it towards him and felt it give. Then, pushing it towards the front of the truck he again pulled it towards his leg and felt it seat into place.
“OK, now release the left pedal and at the same time give it a little gas.”
Will felt Sam’s legs shift beneath him, and he clutched the steering wheel, hearing the engine roar as he prepared for the worse. Again the truck leapt forward as the tires chirped on the concrete below but rolled to a stop just ten feet ahead, the engine falling silent once more.
“We have to do it again, Sam. This time release the left pedal more slowly and give it a little less gas.”
Outside, people were moving towards them in the headlights, and the insect things were beginning to take notice as well. Sam started the truck again and this time she operated the pedals more smoothly as the truck began to roll ahead. Turning the wheel, Will turned them towards their intended exit and away from the approaching people who now fended off the invaders. Gaining speed, Will strained his eyes ahead, guiding them across the smooth concrete that had once been a runway. Here and there people moved out of their path and for that he was thankful. Then he heard the first shout.
“Stop them,” a voice screamed from somewhere behind.
Will recognized the voice, it was Dr. Darvski. He had already gotten free. Looking out ahead of the truck and out the driver’s window, Will saw several people turn to look behind them as the man shouted orders. Within seconds there would be a mob looking to stop the truck. Time was running out.
“Sam. More gas.”
The truck sped forward, its gears whining, unable to go any faster.
“I have to shift, push down the left pedal again.”
The engine roared, unconstrained as the clutch was pressed. Will pushed the shifter free of first gear and slid it back towards the seat before shoving it towards the passenger door.
“OK, let off the left pedal and a bit less gas too.”
The truck jerked forward and felt as if it would stall, slowing as both Will and Sam were rocked back and forth. Will had somehow passed second gear and went straight to fourth. He yanked the lever back towards him, and the sputtering engine came back to life.
“Left pedal again, Sam.”
He moved the lever forward again and pushed it towards the passenger side.
“OK, let off and give her some gas.”
Bessy hesitated, but began to increase in speed again. Will let loose the shifter and put both hands on the wheel. All he could do now was hold on and pray Jack and Tammy had gotten the danged cart out of the way. If not, this was going to get an awful lot more like a video game than an attempt at escape.
As
ole Bessy sped across the concrete, Will brought them around in an effort to locate just where the opening should have been. Peering out though the dim lights it seemed the attack was winding down, but people were now running towards them. Ahead, he could see Jack and Tammy just approaching the cart. They needed more time. Will yanked hard on the steering wheel.
Turning them around, he raced the truck away from the outer wall of the camp as people of various age and size began to dive out of the way ahead of him and give chase behind.
“What are you doing?” Sam cried.
“Jack and Tammy don’t have it open yet.”
Sam didn’t respond back, she simply let him drive, which would have been really odd in other circumstances. Will couldn’t help but smile, even if things weren’t looking good. Leading the chasers to one side of the compound, Will cranked the wheel again and brought them around. Again he crossed the expanse of the compound, gaining yet more distance from those who gave pursuit. The chase was over. It was time to get out of here.
* * * * *
Tammy and Jack pushed with all their might. They were not able to find anything beneath the wheels of the cart, and found nothing that looked like brakes either, but the thing refused to move. All she could figure, is that the thing was just too heavy for them to push. Leaning to put her shoulder into the cart, Tammy prepared to strain herself yet again.
“One. Two Three. Push,” Jack said.
Together they pushed as hard as they could, but the long trailer laden with pallets and barrels, laced with barbed wire and razor wire, simply wouldn’t move.
“Again. One. Two. Three…”
Again Tammy strained her legs and back pressing against the cart and felt it roll, perhaps an inch, before it then rolled back into place despite their efforts. She knew that trying this over and over would get them nowhere, and yet looking around she couldn’t see any alternative.
“One. Two. Three…”
Tammy shoved again, and again the trailer rolled an inch, and pressing harder still to prevent it from rolling back it moved another inch, and then another, but she was spent. She had given it her all and she was already exhausted. She couldn’t push any harder and if she let go she knew it would just roll right back. Then the cart moved again.
Looking to Jack, as the cart rolled slowly but steadily forward, she found that he too was looking back at her with wide eyes filled with disbelief. But then, she realized that he wasn’t looking at her, he was looking past her.
Rolling her back against the cart to continue pushing, she looked opposite of Jack and found something she had not anticipated. There, directly beside her was a man with three long fingers on each hand pushing and shoving along with them, an odd smile on his face. She recognized him as the man Jack had freed. Together all three of them pushed, and the cart continued to roll as light trained across the concrete to fall directly upon them. It was Bessy.
Pushing with all her might, Tammy watched as their newfound accomplice noted the light as well and turning his gaze he must have become frightened, for he pulled his shoulder from the cart and ran, without a word, out through the hole they had created in the wall. Tammy watched him go into the fire-lit darkness beyond, but could not relent in her efforts to move the cart as it still rolled forward, though slowing steadily.
That was it. It stopped moving as the lights grew nearer and nearer. She and Jack shoved again but to no avail. Eyeing the gap, she doubted the truck would fit. If it did it would be tight.
Turning to Jack she found his eyes wide, and without time to turn and see why, he grabbed her by the shoulders and leapt, dragging her with him.
* * * * *
Sam couldn’t see a thing between the bouncing of the truck and Will’s head directly in front of her face. From time to time she caught a glimpse, but it was like seeing a room filled with people at a party where the only light was a strobe light. An image presented itself and was gone, to be replaced by another altered image seconds later. Her life was in the hands of a seven year old who couldn’t make it through a single level of his favorite racing game without visiting a sidewalk at least once. All there was to do was hold on.
Without seeing what was ahead, she felt Will brace himself in her lap and in turn braced herself as well, causing her foot to slam the accelerator to the floor.
“Arggggggggggh!” Will yelled in increasing volume.
Wham! Sam was jerked forward, smashing into Will who was crushed between her and the steering wheel for an instant as his yell was silenced. In that instant the horn sounded as the truck bounced several times, rocking them every which way but upright. Will laughed as if he had just performed a trick or told a joke. Sam took her foot off the gas and pressed both the left pedals as the truck came to a screeching stop.
“Awesome,” Will shouted, sliding off Sam’s lap and pulling the shifter lever aside. “You can let go of the pedal now, it won’t go anywhere.”
Sam was dumbfounded. Looking around, she realized they had made it through the wall, and now sat between it and the fires that burned around the resistance’s camp. The boy was crazy. Just like his big brother. Both of them completely nuts, and yet it had worked.
She screamed in surprise as her door was wrenched open suddenly, and Jack smiled down at her with an odd expression on his face.
“Company’s coming, mind scooting over?”
Just then the opposite door opened and Tammy plopped down in the passenger side of the long bench seat. Sam noted as Will climbed into Tammy’s lap, giving her a brief hug as she scooted towards the middle portion of the seat. Within a second Jack was in the truck and guiding them down the road away from the resistance’s camp. They were free. All four of them. Everything would be OK. It had to be.
* * * * *
Jack drove until he saw the first intersection heading west. If there were more people, they wouldn’t gather near the big cities. He realized that now. No. Instead they would have sought out areas that weren’t as badly affected by the initial attack and lingering radiation. If they were all suffering symptoms of radiation poisoning, there was no telling if they would survive or for how long. Perhaps some of them would and others wouldn’t. If that was the case, he needed to get them to some place safe where there were people who could care for Will if he and Sam didn’t make it, but wouldn’t want to make a science experiment out of Tammy either. There were just as many questions now as there were before, especially for Tammy, but there wasn’t time to ask them.
On through the night he drove them east, hearing all about Will’s driving of the truck from both Sam and Will. He was amazed at just how differently the two stories were told. One was an exciting ride to save the day, and the other a terrifying feat that they barely survived. He couldn’t help but wonder if this whole invasion was much the same. Perhaps there was a side to the story they didn’t know yet.
It was near three hours later that Jack decided to stop and let them all stretch their legs. It had been a long time since any of them had just sat still for hours on end, and all of them found it uncomfortable. Jack was also finding it increasingly difficult to focus his eyes on the road with the growing headache behind his eyes. Digging though his pack he located the aspirin and after a second’s discussion, gave tablets to everyone. They all were in pain.
Cracking open a few new jars of food, Jack looked at their dwindling stock of supplies. They had enough for a few days, even with Tammy along. Together they ate an entire jar of pickled eggs, which had Will laughing before they even got back in the truck, and half a jar of green beans. It wasn’t much but would hold all of them over.
Climbing back into the truck, he realized that the aspirin must be taking effect as all of them smiled and moved more animatedly. Perhaps it was their newly found freedom or full bellies that changed their moods. Whatever the case was, he was glad for it.
Taking his spot behind the steering wheel, Jack reached up and adjusted the rearview mirror as his companions got themselves adjusted. There,
in the black distance behind them, a pair of headlights broke over the horizon. Looking down to the gas gauge, he knew they wouldn’t make it far on a quarter tank. It seemed the resistance wouldn’t let them go so easy.
-End
Book Three
Children of the After:
EVOLUTION
Chapter One
The engine sputtered as Jack yanked the steering wheel to the right. With a chug, Ole Bessy hesitantly complied, turning, and leaning to the side as all the inhabitants of the cab slid across the vinyl seat. With all four tires screeching, Jack steered them around what was once a family sedan and between a pair of dilapidated and burned pickups. Behind them, no telling how far, the headlights remained in the rearview mirror. Jack knew with a certainty that they were being followed. Pursued again, as they seemed to be more often than not, it was up to him to keep all of them safe.
Nervously looking away from the road, now littered with abandoned and ruined vehicles, Jack stole a look at the gas gauge again. It had been only seconds since he last looked, but still he couldn’t help himself. With under a quarter of a tank it seemed their options were running out. Fortunately, at least for now, the gas wasn’t. He could only see one thing to do. Keep running. Keep going. Drive as far as the old pickup would take them, and continue on foot. All they had to do was stay ahead of whoever was chasing them and find a place to hide. Run and hide. Jack couldn’t help but wonder if this was to be the rest of their lives. There had to be more left to it than this. There had to be. If not, then what was the point? Jack gritted his teeth and steered between two entirely too close together vehicles for his comfort and winced as the passenger mirror was torn away followed by a screech and sparks in the rearview. There had to be more. He just had to keep them all safe until they found it. He had to keep his promise to Dad.
Children of the After: The Complete Series Page 24