forward like a rocket. Over the edge of the arroyo, and down into empty space.
* * *
We landed hard. The Rover bounced on rubber tires and squeaky shocks. My chest slammed into the steering wheel as air exploded from my lungs. Uncontrollably, the Rover slid sideways through the loose dirt. A vertical dirt wall appeared through the missing driver’s side window, approaching rapidly. I fought for breath even as I struggled with the unresponsive steering wheel.
The wall rapidly filled the entire window. “Hang on!”
The Rover side-swiped the dirt embankment and Faye was thrown against me. There’s something to be said for wearing seat belts. Rocks and dirt spilled over the hood and over my lap. I wrenched the wheel with all my strength, and we finally shot away from the wall and out into the open arroyo, over a smattering of loose rocks.
I looked in the rearview mirror. Behind, the Jeep bounded over the rocks, big tires clawing like an angry animal. I stepped on the pedal, and we tore down the middle of the arroyo, fish-tailing slightly.
Thick trees with Spanish moss hung over the embankments. A red cloud of crimson-winged finches erupted from one of the branches, startled by our sudden appearance. Together, as if controlled by one mind, the finches darted this way and that, and disappeared out of sight. Ararat rose directly before us, indifferent to our plight.
As I swerved around the bigger boulders, I kept an eye on the rearview mirror. The soldiers drove recklessly, sometimes on two wheels, heedless of their own safety, like two drunken teens out for a weekend joy ride.
The shooter stood in the passenger seat, gripping the roll bar, hips shifting left and right like a Hula dancer. He rattled off a few wild shots. Some shots were wilder than others as dirt exploded to my left and sparks chipped off distant boulders to my right.
“We need to lose these assholes,” I said, and reached under my seat, removing a black 9mm Smith & Wesson. “Grab the wheel, Faye.”
I kept my foot on the accelerator while Faye fought to keep us on a straight path, and leaned out the window. Dirt embankments blurred passed, just a dozen feet away. I held the 9mm in my right hand, and sighted my target carefully—
And pulled the trigger.
* * *
The report from my 9mm was deafening. Faye jumped, jerking the wheel. The truck swerved violently. I grabbed the door, and just managed to stay inside the vehicle.
But the shot had missed. The soldier ducked, dropping below the windshield. He gesticulated wildly to his partner. I positioned myself again, and pulled the trigger. And promptly put a nice hole in the radiator. But I wasn’t aiming for the radiator.
The Jeep slewed to the right.
I fired again. And again. Small dirt clouds exploded near the left front tire. Next to me, I heard Faye grunt as she struggled with the steering wheel.
“How many shots do you have left?” she asked.
“Two,” I said.
Soldier boy leveled the weapon again and loosened a rapid series of shots. I ducked inside the truck. The back window disappeared. One shot went through the rear window and out the windshield, instantly spreading a series of web-like cracks.
When the soldier paused, I fired again. And blew out their left headlight.
“ Last one.”
I squinted carefully down the sites. Sucked in air. And fired.
The tire exploded into black strips of steel-belted bacon. The Jeep swerved violently. The shooter was thrown from the vehicle, tumbling in the dirt. The driver fought the wheel bravely, but the Jeep hit the embankment hard, and spun like a top, coming to rest in the center of the arroyo, steaming.
* * *
Ten minutes later I drove up and out of the arroyo and cut across an empty stretch of land and over hard-packed earth that would leave little in the way of tire tracks. Then I pointed the vehicle through a strand of fir trees, and, to avoid leaving an obvious trail of trampled brush, I used the least-dense route.
Soon, a wide stream
* * *
We landed hard. The Rover bounced on rubber tires and squeaky shocks. My chest slammed into the steering wheel as air exploded from my lungs. Uncontrollably, the Rover slid sideways through the loose dirt. A vertical dirt wall appeared through the missing driver’s side window, approaching rapidly. I fought for breath even as I struggled with the unresponsive steering wheel.
The wall rapidly filled the entire window. “Hang on!”
The Rover side-swiped the dirt embankment and Faye was thrown against me. There’s something to be said for wearing seat belts. Rocks and dirt spilled over the hood and over my lap. I wrenched the wheel with all my strength, and we finally shot away from the wall and out into the open arroyo, over a smattering of loose rocks.
I looked in the rearview mirror. Behind, the Jeep bounded over the rocks, big tires clawing like an angry animal. I stepped on the pedal, and we tore down the middle of the arroyo, fish-tailing slightly.
Thick trees with Spanish moss hung over the embankments. A red cloud of crimson-winged finches erupted from one of the branches, startled by our sudden appearance. Together, as if controlled by one mind, the finches darted this way and that, and disappeared out of sight. Ararat rose directly before us, indifferent to our plight.
As I swerved around the bigger boulders, I kept an eye on the rearview mirror. The soldiers drove recklessly, sometimes on two wheels, heedless of their own safety, like two drunken teens out for a weekend joy ride.
The shooter stood in the passenger seat, gripping the roll bar, hips shifting left and right like a Hula dancer. He rattled off a few wild shots. Some shots were wilder than others as dirt exploded to my left and sparks chipped off distant boulders to my right.
“We need to lose these assholes,” I said, and reached under my seat, removing a black 9mm Smith & Wesson. “Grab the wheel, Faye.”
I kept my foot on the accelerator while Faye fought to keep us on a straight path, and leaned out the window. Dirt embankments blurred passed, just a dozen feet away. I held the 9mm in my right hand, and sighted my target carefully—
And pulled the trigger.
* * *
The report from my 9mm was deafening. Faye jumped, jerking the wheel. The truck swerved violently. I grabbed the door, and just managed to stay inside the vehicle.
But the shot had missed. The soldier ducked, dropping below the windshield. He gesticulated wildly to his partner. I positioned myself again, and pulled the trigger. And promptly put a nice hole in the radiator. But I wasn’t aiming for the radiator.
The Jeep slewed to the right.
I fired again. And again. Small dirt clouds exploded near the left front tire. Next to me, I heard Faye grunt as she struggled with the steering wheel.
“How many shots do you have left?” she asked.
“Two,” I said.
Soldier boy leveled the weapon again and loosened a rapid series of shots. I ducked inside the truck. The back window disappeared. One shot went through the rear window and out the windshield, instantly spreading a series of web-like cracks.
When the soldier paused, I fired again. And blew out their left headlight.
“ Last one.”
I squinted carefully down the sites. Sucked in air. And fired.
The tire exploded into black strips of steel-belted bacon. The Jeep swerved violently. The shooter was thrown from the vehicle, tumbling in the dirt. The driver fought the wheel bravely, but the Jeep hit the embankment hard, and spun like a top, coming to rest in the center of the arroyo, steaming.
* * *
Ten minutes later I drove up and out of the arroyo and cut across an empty stretch of land and over hard-packed earth that would leave little in the way of tire tracks. Then I pointed the vehicle through a strand of fir trees, and, to avoid leaving an obvious trail of trampled brush, I used the least-dense route.
Soon, a wide stream
Similar Books
