Within an hour, we’re surrounded by sparse grasslands, peppered with thorny looking shrubs.
A few more hours later, and the grass fades away to pale dry dirt. The road is littered with rusty cars and motorcycles. All are covered in thick layers of dust and sand. Skeletons lie all over the dirt and asphalt. There are too many to count.
“Do you ever get used to it?” I ask Joseph as he swerves to avoid half of a Greyhound coach.
“I guess.” He shrugs. “Occasionally, you see something new that makes you scratch your head. But most of the time.” He says and points at the bones. “This is normal now.”
I shiver when I see a telegraph pole sticking out of a campervan. The windshield is broken, and half of a skeleton lies hanging out of the gaping hole.
“I don’t want to get used to this.” I grumble.
“Uh, oh.” I hear Joseph say when I avert my eyes.
“What now?” I ask and take some deep breaths.
“Cover the girl’s eyes.” Joseph says flatly.
I look through the windshield, then quickly head to the back of the school bus.
“Hey, Abigail.” I say quickly, and take her hand. “Let’s lie down on the floor, huh?” I suggest and give Theresa and Jason a warning look.
“That sounds like a great idea. I’m tired.” Theresa says and nudges Jason, as Jacob and Andrew start to react to what’s in the road.
“Come on.” I ask and lie down on the floor of the bus. “Do you know any good games?” I ask, and tug on Abigail’s hand.
Abigail sighs dramatically and lies down next to me.
“You don’t have to shield me, you know. I’ve seen all kinds of things.” Abigail says as she stares up at the ceiling.
“Trust me. You don’t want to see this.” I say as I try to erase the image from my mind.
“Oh, god.” Zoe mutters from her seat.
“They look pretty fresh.” David says.
“Get us off this road.” Max growls.
“I can’t. We’re stuck on this road until Glendale.” Joseph replies. His voice sounds strained.
I guess he’s seeing something new.
“What is it?” Abigail asks, sounding more afraid now.
I hold her hand, as Jason and Theresa join us on the floor. I close my eyes and focus on my breathing. I turn and look at Abigail as she stares at me, waiting for an answer.
“I’ll protect you. You know that, right?” I tell her.
She nods her head grimly. I look up over at Theresa and Jason. “I’ll protect you all.” I declare, and feel my resolve harden.
After around twenty minutes, Max gets up and strolls over and takes a seat near me. He nods his head, barely perceptible, but I take the sign, and exhale slowly.
I get up and take the seat opposite Max.
“I want you on lookout.” Max tells me, and thumbs towards the front of the bus.
I smile sadly at Abigail, then head to the front and stand next to Joseph. The grizzly scene is far behind us now, but the road is still a graveyard.
The sky is beginning to darken, and I can start to see some stars.
Joseph drives in silence for the next couple of hours, before pulling over into a gas station.
“Pit stop.” Joseph declares to the others, before opening the doors and climbing out.
I follow him out and wait by the doors, while he wanders over to the washrooms.
I’m grateful for some fresh air, though I wish it was a little fresher. The air I breathe in is warm, and very dusty. A westerly breeze is blowing the dust and sand from the cars and trucks that lie abandoned here, and driving it right into my face. I shield my mouth and nose with my hands and turn my back to the wind. The wind must be getting stronger, because it’s really starting to howl now.
No, wait. Not, howl, growl.
What?
I focus my hearing, filtering out the wind and grains of sand scraping over the vehicles, and....Oh, no.
“Come on. We’ve got to go.” I shout into the wind.
Joseph exits the washrooms a few seconds later.
“Come on.” I yell at him.
“What’s the hurry?” He asks when he gets closer.
“We’ve got to go, now.” I urge him and shove him towards the bus.
“Geez.”
“Hurry.” I plead as we climb on board the bus.
He frowns at me as he switches the engine on, then pulls away and heads back on to the highway.
“Drive faster.” I urge him.
“Okay, okay. Don’t get your panties in a bunch.”
As soon as the bus begins to accelerate, I head to the back of the bus. I lean and look out of the rear window.
“Okay, what’s up?” Max asks.
“I heard some distinctive engines.” I say as I stare out at the retreating gas station.
“What the hell’s going on?” Jacob asks as he marches to the back of the bus.
“We may have some trouble.” Max replies. “How fast can this bus go?”
“Sixty miles per hour.” David replies as he joins us at the rear of the bus.
“What? You’re kidding, right?” Jason asks.
“It still has the speed limiter engaged.” David replies with a shrug.
“We never had the need to go any faster.” Jacob says, as we all stare blankly at each other.
“Glendale, coming up.” Joseph yells out.
Max and Jacob head to the front and look out the windshield.
“We need to head north.” Jacob states.
“Take the off-ramp.” Max tells Joseph.
“Sure thing.” Joseph replies and turns the wheel.
We follow the curve of the road, and when we come across an intersection, we continue across and head west.
Once we’re on the smaller roads, and have some tall trees between us and the main road, I begin to relax a little. After a few minutes, Jacob points out of the window at a smaller road.
“That’s our road.” Jacob declares and pats Joseph on the shoulder.
“Hang on.” Joseph says and slows down. The bus slows to a crawl, and he begins to turn the wheel sharply.
Once we pass over a cattle grate, Joseph steps on the gas again. I head to the back of the bus and look out the rear window.
“Everything okay?” Abigail asks from the seat next to me.
I smile at her and stare back out the window. I close my eyes and focus on my hearing.
“What’s up?” Abigail asks.
“Sshh. I’m listening.” I say as I keep my eyes closed and listen.
“I’m bored.” Abigail complains with a sigh.
I can still hear the sound of engines in the distance. Hard to make out how far away they are through the glass. I open my eyes and look at Abigail sideways.
“We’re okay for now.” I tell her.
As the last of the light fades from the sky, Joseph turns on the headlights.
“No.” I yell, and charge to the front of the bus. “No lights.” I tell Joseph.
Max and Jacob look at each other, and Joseph stops the bus, then turns the headlights off.
“What are you doing?” I ask.
“I’m not driving at night without lights. Do you want us to end up in a river?” Joseph says.
“I’ll drive.” I declare.
“Do you even know how?” Max asks.
“How hard can it be?” I ask.
“Fine.” Joseph says and gets up out of the driving seat.
I sit down and take the wheel.
“Okay, so what do I do?” I ask, and look up at Joseph. I’ve already focused my eyesight, and everything is bathed in shades of green.
“Wow. Your eyes are so freaky.” Joseph says and waves his hand in front of my face. I notice the light from my eyes illuminate his hand as he passes it near my right eye.
“Focus, please.” I tell him.
“Oh, yeah.” He says and reaches down and places my hand on something. “This is the gear shift. It’s a
n automatic, so don’t worry. As long as it’s set to Drive, you’ll be fine.” Joseph tells me.
He shows me how to change gear, and what the pedals do, but I’m only interested in one pedal right now. I step on the gas as soon as I set the gear, and the bus lurches forward into the darkness.
The entire landscape is lit up in different shades of green as I concentrate, and I relax into the comfy seat and keep my right foot on the gas. I haven’t used....well, my night vision, I guess you would call it....for quite some time. What was once a lifeless dead landscape, only littered with bodies and shrubs, is now filled with small discs of light. The owners of the eyes reflecting the light back at me, scamper out of the way as I drive along this small empty road.
Some Raccoons blink back at me from the side of the road, as they sit on top of the hood of a car on the left, while two deer that were chewing on a bush suddenly spring away on my right as I drive by.
“Are you sure you can see okay?” Jacob and Joseph ask after a few minutes.
I turn my head and look up at them, bathing their faces in the light of my eyes, and raise an eyebrow.
“Come on, let’s get some sleep.” Max says and pats Jacob on the shoulder. Jacob grunts and walks back to his seat near Roxanne.
“If you get tired, just pull over. Okay?” Joseph says before walking to his seat.
As people begin to settle, and it becomes quiet, I stretch out with my hearing. Five miles out, all I get are the scratching and snuffling of the critters. Ten miles out, nothing unusual. I relax and let out a sigh of relief as I drive us through the Nevada dessert. When the road inclines down after an hour, I look up at the vast night sky and smile.
Thousands of stars glimmer like bright green diamonds in the inky darkness. It has a calming effect on me as I drive.
The thin mountain range on the horizon is slowly getting closer. As the next few miles of road is as straight as an arrow, I concentrate my vision on the horizon and zoom in. I scan the dessert on either side of the black strip of road, searching for any signs of life. Nothing but some scorpions and a flock of bighorn sheep.
After a few more hours, I take the turn off for Crystal Springs, and find myself on the Extraterrestrial Highway. But I’m so damn tired by this point that I pull into a truck stop and switch the engine off.
I take off my bullet-riddled silver jacket and roll it up, then I crawl on to the floor and lie down, using my jacket as a pillow.
Loud, harsh voices wake me. I blink and rub my eyes and stare up as Max barks orders, and everything is chaos.
“Drive.” Jacob yells at Joseph, and I look up and see Joseph climb over me and get into the driving seat.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, bleary-eyed.
“Protect the girls.” Max yells at me and points to the back of the bus behind me.
I stand up unsteadily as the bus lurches forward, and look through the windows. But I don’t see anything. Then I hear them. Four vehicles. I stagger to the back of the bus and look through the rear window.
“Oh, crap.” I mutter when I see them. Two Humvees and two pickup trucks are on the road behind us.
Fourteen
I zoom in on the lead Humvee with my vision and spot the driver. His scarred face is a rictus grin. They’re only a mile away, and at our speed, they’ll be here in seconds.
I race to the front of the bus and kick at the doors, sending them flying through the air.
“What the hell are you doing?” Max shouts at me.
“What you asked me to do.” I reply, before leaping from the bus.
I hit the dirt with my shoulder, roll, plant my feet, and then I’m up and charging back to the road as the first Humvee enters my field of vision.
The second Humvee and pick-up trucks begin blaring their car horns as I approach the road at a run.
I put my shoulder down and ram the second Humvee, hitting it by the front wheel arch. The metal crunches under my shoulder and the vehicle is sent tumbling off the road.
I stop in the road and turn to meet the first of the red pick-up trucks. A man is standing in the back of the truck wearing goggles. Some black fabric covers his mouth and nose, but it’s the machine gun in his hands that catches my eye. He manages to squeeze off a few rounds before I charge the vehicle. I yell as I let rip with an over shoulder punch with my right arm. My fist tears through the front grill, fan, then engine block.
The rear of the truck shoots up into the air, throwing the gunman on to the road, directly into the path of the second pick-up, as it swerves and passes me.
I shove the vehicle off my arm, and kick it away, before turning around, as the sound of gunfire erupts from the lead Humvee.
The glass windows of the bus explode, and the side of the yellow bus is peppered by bullet holes in seconds.
“No!” I yell as I surge towards the Humvee. The scenery blurs as I pass the pick-up truck and catch up to the Humvee.
A man leans out of the window and aims his machine gun at the bus. I grab his arm and rip him free of the car and throw him over my shoulder.
Richter points a sawn-off shotgun at my face, and before I can make a grab for it, he pulls the trigger. My eyes are dazzled by the huge muzzle flash, and the boom is so loud it’s excruciating. I feel a slight warmth brushing my face as the pellets slam into my eyes, nose and cheeks. I cling to the door for support as I wait for my eyesight and hearing to recover.
“What the hell are you?” Richter grunts as he swerves the Humvee wildly from left to right.
“People keep asking me that. I don’t know!” I scream and grab the wheel and yank it towards me.
The vehicle flips, and I feel the weight of it, ever so slightly, as it lands on me, pressing me into the asphalt. Richter is screaming obscenities as I push up with my hands and shove the Humvee high into the air, before being run over by the last pick-up truck.
Its wheels thump over my chest before it chases after the bus. I climb to my feet and take a deep breath, then race after them. Two gun men, one in the back and one in the passenger seat, are shooting at the tires of the bus. I race in-between them and the bus, then backhand the pick-up as hard as I can.
The vehicle topples sideways across the road, crushing the gunman leaning out of the passenger window, and throwing the man in the back high up into the air. I slide to a stop and watch as the truck topples over for a few more seconds before slamming to a stop against a cactus.
I head over to Richter’s Humvee, as it lies in the dessert resting on its roof. I crouch down by the driver’s side. Richter’s scarred face is now purple, and blood is seeping from various cuts, but he’s still breathing.
“Do you smell that?” I say, and take a deep breath through my nose. “That’s what stupid smells like. Enjoy.” I say and head back to the bus, as he gurgles and drools.
The bus has come to a stop, and Max and Jacob step out with their guns at the ready.
“Anyone hurt?” I ask as I approach them.
Max gives me a warning look, while Jacob frowns at me.
“Not everyone is as lucky as you.” Jacob sneers and heads towards the trashed pick-up truck.
I climb on to the bus, and gasp. Joseph lies slumped over the steering wheel, with two bullet holes in the side of his head. My heart sinks, and then I hear some groans coming from the back of the bus.
Glass covers everything, and crunches underfoot as I head down the aisle. Jeremy is holding a blood soaked rag to Andrew’s left shoulder, while Theresa picks some glass shards from Abigail’s knee.
I crouch down by Theresa and look up at Abigail as she shuts her eyes and grips Jason’s hand. We all flinch when we hear a gunshot from outside. Samantha and Rebecca make their way to the front of the bus, and I stand up and follow them off the bus.
I get off in time to see Jacob walk over to one of the wounded gunmen, as he tries to crawl away. I turn and look away when Jacob takes aim with his rifle.
“Stand still.” Rebecca tells me, then begins to wipe my face wi
th a small towel, as the gunshot rings out.
I watch Samantha as she checks the damage to the bus. She runs her hands over the bullet holes, then looks at me.
“Thank you.” Samantha says, before getting back on the bus.
“There you go, all clean.” Rebecca says, and throws the now black rag on to the road.
“We’d better go.” I tell Max as he walks back from the Humvee.
He nods his head and looks over at Jacob. “Time to go.” Max calls out to Jacob. As I turn back to the bus, Zoe emerges from the bus with Joseph cradled in her arms.
“We have to bury him, Jacob.” Zoe says as Jacob strolls over, reloading his rifle.
“I’m not burying him in a dessert.” Jacob says, and looks around. “We’ll cremate him. But not here.” He adds and ushers Zoe back on to the bus.
Zoe lays Joseph on a row of seats, then takes the driver’s seat.
“Is everyone on?” Zoe calls out.
I do a quick head count, and nod to Zoe. She starts the engine, and the bus rumbles to life. As the bus lurches forward, the right side of the bus rumbles up and down, and from outside I can hear a dull thump, thump, thump.
“Damn. Tires are shot to shit.” Zoe complains over her shoulder to Jacob and Max.
“We keep moving.” Jacob declares, and pats Zoe on her shoulder. “Keep driving.” Jacob says and then goes back to sit with Roxanne.
I sit just behind Zoe, and Max sits down next to me.
“You okay?” Max asks quietly as I stare out the window.
“I’m fine.” I say and cross my arms.
“Is it what Jacob did?” Max asks, keeping his gravelly voice low.
“I don’t want any more people to die.” I say.
“Look. Those people back there...”
“I know. They probably deserved it.” I reply testily.
“Some of those men were already dead, Angela.” Max says and stands up. Then leans down to my right ear. “Your hands aren’t clean anymore.” He adds and turns to walk away. “So stop judging us.” Then he walks back to where Jeremy is tending to Andrew’s wound, leaving me to chew my lip.
Cosmic Girl: Lost & Found: Superhero series for young adults - Book Three. Page 9