completely over the tops of the mountains, blinded her so she was forced to drive with one hand blocking the sun. The road led deeper into the foothills. Each time it curved away, the right turn appeared.
Beads of sweat had formed on her forehead, a consequence of the sunlight through the bubble and the intense focus she had to maintain. At times, the road hugged a cliff with no barrier between her and a long drop.
When she'd taken the last right turn, Gabby kept watch for the split. Her current direction led her into a broad valley. The trees, higher elevation than her town, had already turned brown. Swirls of dead leaves often whisked across the road as she passed.
The trees had enough leaves that she didn't have to hold her arm up to block the sunlight. But when she made a hard right around a deep bend, she was pointed straight into the sun.
Squinting and trying to see ahead through her fingers, she blew past two signs and her split. The signs had both looked white, reflected in the blinding sunlight.
She thought about stopping to turn around but the path had narrowed and turned to gravel. The center of the path held clumps of weeds, but the wheel paths had none. She hoped that meant they used this road, though Milton had said the white one had been usable a few months ago.
As she crested a ridge, the road seemingly dropped out beneath her. Her stomach flew up into her throat as the FunCar leaned downward.
What she saw at the bottom of the hill made her palms sweat. An old rusty bridge with the center chewed out lay across a rocky creek. Gabby quickly realized she had too much momentum to stop before the bridge, so she increased her speed.
The FunCar shook as it rattled down the gravel slope. About halfway down she realized she had no way to keep herself from being thrown around the interior, so she wedged one foot against the bubble while the other pounded the accelerator.
The washed-out bridge approached quickly and before she could close her eyes, she hit the curved portion. The rattling stopped as the wheels left the ground and she felt herself being pulled upward.
It seemed she was now level with the branches of the trees, and then, the FunCar hit the ground and it was all she could do to keep from veering into the trees.
She had taken her foot off the accelerator when she flew into the air, but she still had so much momentum that she careened down the pathway.
She hated that they had given her pseudo-physical controls for the FunCar. If she'd been able to use her neural actuator, then she could be slowing the vehicle down. But since her feet were now swimming wildly as she was tilted over, gripping the steering wheel and trying to adhere to the path, she had no way to stop.
Suddenly, the FunCar shot out of the trees into a wide gravel area. She was headed straight for an old barn. Two figures ran out of the entrance and were waving at her.
With so much speed she wasn't sure if she could stop in time, so she spun the wheel and slammed onto the brake.
The FunCar with its low center of gravity, spun like a top, kicking up dust and throwing her around the interior.
When it finally came to a stop, the outside was covered in a thin film of dust. Gabby could see the faded red wood of the barn only a few feet outside the bubble.
Gabby felt shaky and weak. She hadn't eaten since the morning and all the excitement had drained her. She clutched her backpack to her chest and waited for them to release her from the FunCar.
Chapter Eight
When the bubble opened, Gabby was confronted by a boy holding a strange contraption made of cobbled together wood and metal pieces. He had reddish-orange hair, freckles, and stood taller than the FunCar. He had to stoop to point the apparatus into the interior.
Gabby clutched her backpack defensively and dug her hands into the fabric to hide the shaking.
"Please don't point that at me," she said.
Michael appeared next to the red-headed behemoth and lifted the contraption with
Beads of sweat had formed on her forehead, a consequence of the sunlight through the bubble and the intense focus she had to maintain. At times, the road hugged a cliff with no barrier between her and a long drop.
When she'd taken the last right turn, Gabby kept watch for the split. Her current direction led her into a broad valley. The trees, higher elevation than her town, had already turned brown. Swirls of dead leaves often whisked across the road as she passed.
The trees had enough leaves that she didn't have to hold her arm up to block the sunlight. But when she made a hard right around a deep bend, she was pointed straight into the sun.
Squinting and trying to see ahead through her fingers, she blew past two signs and her split. The signs had both looked white, reflected in the blinding sunlight.
She thought about stopping to turn around but the path had narrowed and turned to gravel. The center of the path held clumps of weeds, but the wheel paths had none. She hoped that meant they used this road, though Milton had said the white one had been usable a few months ago.
As she crested a ridge, the road seemingly dropped out beneath her. Her stomach flew up into her throat as the FunCar leaned downward.
What she saw at the bottom of the hill made her palms sweat. An old rusty bridge with the center chewed out lay across a rocky creek. Gabby quickly realized she had too much momentum to stop before the bridge, so she increased her speed.
The FunCar shook as it rattled down the gravel slope. About halfway down she realized she had no way to keep herself from being thrown around the interior, so she wedged one foot against the bubble while the other pounded the accelerator.
The washed-out bridge approached quickly and before she could close her eyes, she hit the curved portion. The rattling stopped as the wheels left the ground and she felt herself being pulled upward.
It seemed she was now level with the branches of the trees, and then, the FunCar hit the ground and it was all she could do to keep from veering into the trees.
She had taken her foot off the accelerator when she flew into the air, but she still had so much momentum that she careened down the pathway.
She hated that they had given her pseudo-physical controls for the FunCar. If she'd been able to use her neural actuator, then she could be slowing the vehicle down. But since her feet were now swimming wildly as she was tilted over, gripping the steering wheel and trying to adhere to the path, she had no way to stop.
Suddenly, the FunCar shot out of the trees into a wide gravel area. She was headed straight for an old barn. Two figures ran out of the entrance and were waving at her.
With so much speed she wasn't sure if she could stop in time, so she spun the wheel and slammed onto the brake.
The FunCar with its low center of gravity, spun like a top, kicking up dust and throwing her around the interior.
When it finally came to a stop, the outside was covered in a thin film of dust. Gabby could see the faded red wood of the barn only a few feet outside the bubble.
Gabby felt shaky and weak. She hadn't eaten since the morning and all the excitement had drained her. She clutched her backpack to her chest and waited for them to release her from the FunCar.
Chapter Eight
When the bubble opened, Gabby was confronted by a boy holding a strange contraption made of cobbled together wood and metal pieces. He had reddish-orange hair, freckles, and stood taller than the FunCar. He had to stoop to point the apparatus into the interior.
Gabby clutched her backpack defensively and dug her hands into the fabric to hide the shaking.
"Please don't point that at me," she said.
Michael appeared next to the red-headed behemoth and lifted the contraption with
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