“Yeah, sure, no problem. I’ve got eyes in the back of my head,” Rose replied.
Tawny stopped the DPV in the middle of the road and turned the engine off. Mercy jumped out and ran back to Flynn who was out of his car.
“We’re running on fumes here, we need to refuel. Looks like Annalise is in the same boat,” Flynn said, watching Annalise opening the Dodge Charger’s trunk.
“OK, let’s get to it then. There’s fuel spouts on our jerrycans if you need one,” Mercy said.
“We’re OK, we took cans with nozzles back at the fuel dump so we’re good,” Flynn replied.
Mercy nodded, “Good, get moving then. We can’t stay put for long, we’re sitting ducks out here.” She peered through the Firebird’s window, “How’s Barnes doing in there?”
Flynn grunted, “Don’t be angry. He’s pretty beat up… he’s had some of the painkillers from the first aid kit Brody gave us. He’s flying, but not too high. He even noticed the Harley-Davidson sign back there and had a few choice words when you passed it without stopping, kept rambling on about Route 66.”
“Well, if he could see the sign that’s good. I wish we had some ice to give him for the swelling,” Mercy replied. She looked up, Jade and Dimitri were helping Annalise to refuel the Dodge. “OK, let’s do it.” She returned to the DPV and helped Tawny with the refuelling. Five minutes later they were on the move again. Mercy checked the time; 11:37 am.
God, so much has happened. It feels as if we’ve been in country for ages. We’ll need a place to rest and lie low before nightfall. A lot can happen in a day. I wonder where the hell we’ll be this evening—
They passed the towns of Williams and Ash Fork. The road disappeared into the distance with wide open desert on either side. Their vehicles ate up the miles, the wind tugged at Mercy’s hair. She reached down for the burnt flag, tore a long strip from it, and used it to tie her hair back. The sun hung overhead in an azure sky. Tawny found a pair of aviator sunglasses in a storage pocket. Mercy made do with her makeshift headscarf.
Mercy consulted her map, “The I-40 turns south ahead, takes us through the Havasu National Wildlife Refuge then goes up through a town called Needles, then straight west all the way to Barstow. We turn southwest at Barstow on I-15 and it’ll take us to Los Angeles.”
“As easy as that,” Tawny grunted. “There’s a lot of shit that can happen between here and there girl.”
“I know, I was just saying. Trying to put a positive spin on things. You know, boosting morale,” Mercy replied. “Hey, let me know when you want a rest. Me or Rose can take over and give you a break.”
“No, I’m good. I’ve got this for a while yet. Driving’s my thing,” Tawny replied.
Mercy took a mouthful of water from her canteen and handed it to Tawny. She scrutinised the map again, “OK, so next up is a place called Kingman, then forty klicks after that, a place called Yucca.”
“Like the plant?” Tawny asked.
“Like the plant,” Mercy replied.
There was a lull in the conversation. Mercy stared out over the desert’s vastness.
“Don’t you think it’s strange?” Tawny said eventually.
“What?” Mercy responded.
“Apart from all the dead tropes in the crater, we haven’t seen a single trope out here,” Tawny said.
“Yeah, the thought had occurred to me. But then again, look at it. The desert, it’s endless, vast, huge. What do you expect? Most of the tropes are in the towns and cities, there’s nothing out here, nothing for them to eat. So, I’m guessing that’s why we ain’t seen none.”
Tawny looked unconvinced, “I don’t know, there are small towns along the way. They should cough up some tropes—”
“Unless these warlords have scavenged the smaller towns of resources, clearing the tropes in the process,” Mercy said.
“That’s another thing… resources. Maybe the warlords have used up all the resources out here which explains why they’re fighting against each other and moving in on the cities,” Tawny added.
“Maybe that’s why Naval Base Ventura didn’t join with Constantine. Remember Barnes said they had their own issues to deal with—?” Mercy said.
“Maybe, maybe not—” Tawny replied.
Too many maybes—
“OK, guys, so I hate to butt in… but we’ve got company,” Rose said, from the raised seat behind.
Mercy took a deep breath, “Where Rose? Where?” She turned to look up at Rose.
Rose was facing the opposite direction, her binoculars pressed to her face, “Behind us, they’re a long way off but they’re catching up. Motorbikes, a lot of them, at least thirty. There’s some other vehicles too, behind them, but I can’t make them out too good—”
Mercy swore.
It had to happen, you know it did. Well, you can kiss goodbye to Barstow. These idiots aren’t going to let us get there, at least not without a fight. Goddammit, there’s too many of them for us to take on. Shit—
Mercy hit the roll cage with her outstretched hand. “Goddammit, just as we were getting into our stride—”
“What the hell is that?” Tawny’s words cut through Mercy’s thoughts.
Mercy looked up at the road ahead. Her eyes narrowed.
My god. The sky… it’s alive—
Chapter 14
Haboob
“It’s a dust storm,” Tawny shouted. “Jesus Christ, look at that mother—”
“A storm cloud, it must be over fifty or sixty miles across. It goes on forever,” Mercy said, her voice hoarse.
Tawny looked up, “It must be a few kilometres high, it’s like a whole weather system’s bearing down on us, a front—”
“Goddammit, we’ve got god knows how many angry Judge biker dudes behind us and this Jurassic weather system in front of us,” Mercy said.
“Yeah, I’m just waiting for a T-Rex and some Pterodactyls to bust out of that cloud next. That would complete the picture,” Tawny said.
Tawny turned to Mercy, “What do you want to do?”
Mercy blinked, “Go faster. Stick to the road. Try and outrun the bastards behind, we’ll cut through the storm. I mean, how bad can it be? It might be just what we want, it’ll give us cover. If we lose the road in that storm we’re fucked. No, we stay on the interstate and take our chances with the weather.”
Tawny grunted and reached down to the storage bin beside her, “Well, we’re going to need these for our eyes.” She handed Mercy and Rose a pair of goggles each, then donned her own. “Tear me a strip off that flag, I’ll use it as a face covering to stop the dust.”
Mercy donned her goggles then tore a wide strip from the flag and handed it to Tawny. Then she shouted at Rose, “Find the gun cover for the .50 cal. I’ll cover the M60. That dust will get everywhere.” She reached under the seat and found the machine gun cover.
The dust storm approached rapidly. Tawny raced towards it, flooring the accelerator. Flynn and Annalise kept close to the DPV, their V8 engines roaring behind.
Mercy examined the map, memorizing names and features.
Always keep your eye on the exit—
They passed Yucca. The dust storm seemed to consume the landscape ahead.
It’s reached Powell, we’ll get to Franconia, we’ll probably enter it just after Franconia—
“They’re on our tail,” Rose yelled. She pulled the cover off the .50 cal and swung the big gun around to face the rear. She opened up on the road behind Flynn and Annalise, her orange tracer rounds reaching out to the oncoming biker horde.
The temperature dropped, a strong wind followed. Tawny gritted her teeth and gripped the steering wheel with both hands. She lent forwards and let out a string of expletives which were swept away on the wind. Mercy held onto the roll cage and stared into the giant wall of sand.
Look at that, it’s a monster—
The sign for Franconia flashed by on the right. Mercy started counting. Tawny swore. Rose let out a series of whoops as her r
ounds found their mark, scything down the front ranks of the pursuing Harley-Davidsons. She kept firing until the M2 Browning ran out of ammunition.
The wind strengthened, buffeting the DPV. Mercy’s eyes widened.
This isn’t going to work. These winds are too strong, it’s like a hurricane—
“Tawny, take the next exit. Get off the interstate. There’s the off ramp for Route 95 south, it goes to Lake Havasu. We need to outrun this storm—”
“Got it—” Tawny shouted back.
Mercy looked over her shoulder, straining to see Flynn and Annalise behind.
Keep up Flynn. Keep up Annalise. Stay with us—
“Oh my god—” Tawny yelled and yanked the steering wheel to the right.”
Mercy turned back to face the road. They were on the exit ramp.
Good—
Tawny pointed down the I-40 at the yawning mouth of the storm.
Mercy’s eyes widened.
What the hell—?
Six hulking mechs appeared out of the dust storm in a line. They were running east, along both sides of I-40.
They’re coming at us—
Mercy frowned, then realisation hit her.
No, wait. We’ve pulled off the interstate, they’re staying on the interstate. They’re—
“Those things are on a collision course with the bikers behind us,” Tawny yelled.
Mercy watched as the mechs ran towards, then beneath, the overpass, under the DPV.
“Do you think it’s some kind of turf war?” Rose shouted down. “Those mechs are closing in on the Judge’s people.”
Seconds later the mechs opened fire on the massed motorbikes. The bikers responded in kind, sending rounds from their armed Harley-Davidsons into the mechs. Tawny swept across the interstate overpass onto State Route 95 south. Flynn’s Firebird and Annalise’s Dodge Charger followed close behind.
Mercy’s eyes swung right. A host of low slung vehicles shot out of the approaching wall of dust, their lights blazing. Mercy squinted at the nearest vehicle. It bore a large red flag, flapping in the wind.
What’s that? An ace of spades? No, a skull. No… a skull on an ace of spades—
The dust storm hit the road. The world changed into a maelstrom of wind and dust. Tawny struggled with the steering wheel as the wind slammed into the DPV. The vehicle swerved across the road, its wheels ripping along the verge. Mercy’s seatbelt cut into her chest and shoulder, taking her breath away.
The sound of gunfire pierced the howling wind. Several loud explosions reached out from the interstate a short distance away. Screeching tyres and men’s cries penetrated the air. Orange luminous dust pressed down on the DPV, blinding Mercy and Tawny.
“Keep us on the road, to the right, to the right,” Mercy screamed at Tawny.
Tawny grappled with the steering wheel and brought the DPV back onto the tarmac.
Where are the others? Goddammit, it’s like the blind leading the blind here—
Rose raised her arms in the air and let out a long, wild scream. Her manic laughter reached Mercy in snatches.
Jesus, Rose has finally lost it—
Tawny slowed the DPV and, with its headlights on full beam, she managed to keep to the middle of the road.
“Lights behind us,” Rose yelled down from above.
Flynn—
Without warning a Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Ultra and a Jeep Wrangler shot across the road in front of the DPV. They pulled ahead, spun around, and raced towards the DPV. A masked man leant out of the rear Jeep window swinging a grappling hook on a spiked chain.
What the fuck—?
The Jeep zoomed past Mercy, the grappling hook scraped up across the front of the DPV. The hook caught on the roll cage, wrenching the chain tight. The Harley-Davidson’s pillion passenger threw an open container of liquid at Tawny’s face.
The DPV lurched hard right, skidding 180 degrees across the road. Tawny fought to keep control of the vehicle. She flailed in her seat like a rag doll. Her head hit the roll cage on the left, stunning her. Rose was flung from the gunner’s seat onto the road. The DPV came to a halt facing north, its engine stalled. The dust and wind raged. More gunfire pierced the storm, this time closer. A V8 engine revved and coughed nearby.
Mercy blinked behind her goggles.
I’m blind, I can’t see a thing, what the hell’s going on?
Two helmeted figures astride the Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Ultra appeared out of the dust storm. The bike’s headlights stabbed at the DPV, dazzling Mercy. The driver stopped the motorbike and deployed its chrome skull kickstand. Mercy reached for her AR-15 in the foot well. Her hand met dead air. She looked down.
Shit, my rifle, it’s gone—
Chapter 15
Confrontation
Mercy turned to Tawny. The rubber on Tawny’s goggles was bubbling and melting. The cloth covering Tawny’s face disintegrated.
What did they throw at her? Acid? Jesus Christ, it’s acid—
Mercy reached across and wrenched off Tawny’s goggles and face covering. Tawny’s skin was bright red underneath. Mercy’s fingers tingled on contact with the acid. She grabbed her water bottle, opened it, and doused Tawny’s face with water.
The helmeted pillion passenger on the Harley-Davidson dismounted his motorbike and walked towards the DPV. He reached under his long coat and pulled out two sawn off shotguns from their thigh holsters. Tawny stirred, her eyes blinking. She saw the biker approach the DPV and she froze. Mercy swung around, the water bottle still in her hand.
What? No—
The rider pressed one of the shotguns into Mercy’s forehead and thrust the other into her neck. Mercy gasped and choked. The dust storm raged around the vehicle in all its fury.
Jesus—
Shotgun man shouted through the wind and sand, “No one outruns the Judge. The Law is swift for those who flee justice. You have wrought destruction on our people and property without justification or provocation. Your life is forfeit. I sentence you to death—”
A blur erupted out of the maelstrom, targeting the shotgun-wielding man. A vicious blow crushed his skull and spine. The mech picked up his body and threw it at the second man on the Harley-Davidson. The body knocked the second man off the bike. Tawny reached down for the DPV’s keys and started the engine. The mech swung around to face Mercy once again, a narrow laser reaching out to scan her face. It hesitated as the DPV’s engine roared. Tawny slammed her foot on the accelerator. Mercy registered a blur of movement beside the Harley-Davidson. Her eyes widened.
Rose? My god—
The mech reached out to grab the DPV as it shot forwards along the road. Its steel hands swiped at empty air and the DPV disappeared into the raging dust cloud. Tawny drove north along the road then, using the dashboard compass, swung east off road. After a few minutes she turned south, driving blind through the storm.
Mercy tore her goggles off and handed them to Tawny, “Here, put these on. You need them more than me.”
Tawny slowed the DPV to don the goggles then hit the accelerator again, swearing at the storm. Mercy closed her eyes and pulled up the tattered remains of her makeshift face covering.
Déjà vu? That thing was scanning me, it could’ve had me. It could’ve had us, the vehicle. It’s as if it was protecting us. Could President Mitchell’s ghost still be in the machine? No, don’t be stupid, it wasted that Judge biker and his buddy. It had an ace of spades and skull painted on its side, it’s one of the Vegas warlord’s weapons. You’re paranoid, you think everything is about you. No, it’s just a turf war between Vegas and the Judge, nothing more—
“Acid?” yelled Tawny. “Fucking acid? That’s the first time anyone’s used acid on me. Bastards. Thanks for acting quick back there, the goggles saved my eyes, and the cloth took most of the damage. I think the water’s washed off most of it. My skin still feels hot though. You got any water left?”
Mercy looked down at her empty water bottle in the footwell, “No, I’m a
ll out. Hang on, wait… Rose has some in the back.”
Mercy reached for Rose’s water bottle under the gunner’s seat, she opened it and handed it to Tawny.
With her free hand Tawny drenched her face and neck, rinsing away the remaining traces of acid. She shivered, “Fucking bastards, can you believe that shit?” The anger in her voice changed to fear. “You think they got Rose?”
Rose? Hang on, maybe that thing wasn’t looking for me after all. Maybe it was after Rose—
“I don’t know Tawny, Rose got thrown out, it all happened so fast. I lost sight of her. Wait, we’ve got to go back. Stop, we’ve got to find her,” Mercy yelled.
The DPV’s wheels bit into tarmac.
“We’re back on the road. I’ll turn around,” Tawny launched the DPV back into the dust storm. She wrestled with the steering wheel and gunned the engine.
How much longer will this thing keep going—?
Sand stung Mercy’s face and she raised her hands to protect her eyes.
What about Flynn and Annalise? Christ, where are they? Were they caught?
Light pierced the storm’s anger. Mercy reached down to her thigh holster for her pistol. A Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Ultra emerged from the dust storm and stopped a short distance away, its headlights lancing through the storm’s violence.
Tawny laughed, “I don’t believe it. It’s Rose. She’s alive. Mercy, it’s Rose. She’s still with us.”
Relief washed over Mercy, she sank back into her chair.
Rose, you beauty. My beautiful, indestructible Rose. You’ve done it again—
Rose dismounted the motorbike and walked towards the DPV. She knelt down beside Mercy and held onto the vehicle’s roll cage. “They’ve got the Dodge. Flynn went after them, I saw him turn back and go after them.”
The Dodge? Annalise, Jade and Dimitri. Christ no—
Mercy’s face fell. She cursed and slammed the roll cage with her outstretched hand.
“What? How? Did you see what happened?” Mercy yelled over the storm.
“I saw Annalise take a hit. They threw a flash bang into her car, then dragged them out. Flynn must’ve seen what happened, he went after them. It looked like they were headed back towards the interstate,” Rose finished.
The Survival Chronicles | Book 8 | Final Mercy Page 8
