"That's horrible."
"Perhaps we should focus on the manufactory," she said.
AJ shook his head and walked to the entry hatch, swinging his legs through so he landed on the flatbed trailer. He pushed off a momentary feeling of nausea as his brain adjusted to the new orientation. "No. These Korgul Minor are not my enemy. They deserve more respect than they've gotten."
"What are you doing?" Beverly asked.
AJ ignored her as he located a shovel and hopped from the flatbed. Walking through the ditch and up the other side into the trees, he located an open spot of ground and started digging. For forty minutes he dug, enjoying the simplicity of hard work and a good sweat. With quiet reverence, he collected the alien bones that had fallen out of the hatch and the female from within the ship, placing them on a tarp. The sun had dipped past the mountain ridge to the west when he shoveled the final scoop of dirt onto the grave and wiped his brow. He stood there in silence for a few minutes until he heard someone clear their throat behind him.
"Darnell told me you were still out here working." The voice belonged to Jayne, but the woman leaning against the tree hardly resembled the surgeon. Wearing a faded print dress hemmed just below her knees and cinched with a belt around her waist, the striking woman looked to be in her late twenties. Her jet-black hair had been cut short and she smiled at AJ as she quietly allowed his inspection.
"Is that really you, Doc?" AJ asked in awe. "I mean, holy cow, but you look fantastic."
She raised an eyebrow and leaned over, picking up his long-discarded t-shirt. "Put that on," she said, throwing it at him. "You're more of a distraction than you might imagine."
AJ pulled the t-shirt on. "I suppose, but where'd you get that dress? You look like a million bucks." Jayne's laugh was interrupted by the sound of powerful vehicle motors echoing up the road. Jayne's face turned from joy to horror almost instantly. Through the trees, he saw the old man, Arturo, running awkwardly toward them.
Twenty-Two
Escape Which Mountain
"Banditos!" Arturo shouted, waving madly as he ran toward the flatbed. "We must hide your truck!"
AJ held up his hands to stop Arturo's approach. "What do you mean banditos? How do you know?"
Arturo pointed to a rocky overlook above the small village. "We have a lookout. Hector's men are probably just hungry, but they will not be nice to you. You must turn and flee."
"Won't they just stop us on the road?" AJ asked. "Are you sure it's Hector?"
"Yes, even at my age I recognize the sound of his vehicle," he said.
AJ smiled. "How many men?"
"There will be seven or eight," Arturo said.
"Go back to your home," AJ ran to the front of the flatbed and opened a heavy plastic tote. "I will deal with this."
Arturo shook his head vigorously. "No, they are dangerous men."
"Doc, grab as many totes as you can and stuff 'em in the ship," AJ said, pulling a heavy length of chain from the container he'd opened.
"What's the plan, AJ?" she asked.
AJ raced to the back of the truck. "Not enough time. We need to move."
"Señor, you must hide," Arturo begged as AJ hooked one end of the chain around a metal support on the cradle holding the ship. He chose a support that faced the bottom of the spaceship.
"I'm going to pull the ship off the back of this flatbed," AJ said, spooling chain out as he ran through the ditch. He tossed the end around the base of a thick tree.
"Why, Señor? We have no equipment to ever put it back."
AJ ignored the man’s pleas. "BB, I need to talk to Darnell."
"I'm here," Darnell answered immediately. "I think I see what you're doing. 2-F showed me how you’ve got the chain. Are you sure you won't break this thing apart? Also, I sent Jayne back with the rocket pack. That'll give you more options."
"BB, tell me these ships can take a beating," AJ said.
"I am working on the forces," Beverly said. "I am not sure."
He grabbed a tote and slid it beneath the hatch of the spaceship. "Good enough for me."
"This is crazy," Jayne said, panting as she threw the rocket pack at AJ and grabbed a final tote.
"Doc, you need to join Darnell inside that ship," he said. "Arturo, you need to go home. If anyone asks, tell them you don't know us."
Arturo frowned. "That is without honor."
"Go," AJ said and climbed into the cab of the semi. They wouldn't be able to grab their coolers and clothing, but there was nothing to do about that. He fired up the big rig and looked in his rearview mirrors. "Doc, get up in there and have Jack close that hatch. The ride's gonna get a bit bumpy."
"You are certifiable!" she yelled.
AJ bounced impatiently in his chair and was glad when he saw Darnell's thick forearm reach through the hatch and haul Jayne into the ship. A moment later the hatch closed. It was all the signal he needed. Ratcheting up the big diesel motor, he jammed the transmission into gear. The truck lurched forward as he released the clutch.
The truck rolled smoothly as the chain tightened. Then the chain reached its end and AJ was slammed into the steering wheel, just as he’d been shifting to the next gear.
"Shit, AJ," Darnell exclaimed. "You know we're back in here, right?"
"Sorry, buddy," AJ yelled over the screaming motor. The truck's big wheels dug in, but it was stuck, unable to pull the load free or even make forward progress. "We're not making it."
Arturo appeared next to his door, shouting, but AJ couldn't make out his words. It didn't matter, because he simply didn't have the power nor the traction and his plan was failing. Arturo shook his head, ran to the back of the semi and waved frantically. Unwilling to allow the man to further endanger himself, AJ let off the motor, allowing slack in the chain. Surprisingly, Arturo took it as a sign to intervene and unhooked the chain, dropping it onto the road.
"Arturo, what are you doing?" AJ shouted, swinging his door open and sliding to the road.
"Get in, get in." Arturo waved at him, running doggedly alongside the flatbed to the cab’s passenger door.
"Seriously, we need to drop that off," AJ said.
"You must use the mountain," Arturo said, pointing out the front window as he pulled the door shut. "Go, there is room at the end to turn around."
AJ glanced in his rearview. Dust plumes floated above the trees and he heard the roar of vehicles. Whoever was approaching was going to be on them soon. As he had no other plan, he pushed the truck back into gear and rumbled past the small collection of homes.
"I will connect you when you are pointing downhill. You will have enough power then," Arturo said. It was a better plan. Arturo pointed at an impossibly small turnout.
AJ didn’t like it, but he had no choice, so he rammed the truck onto the narrow path.
"Keep going, it is flat for a while. The brush will not stop you."
"I'm starting to think you've got a little crazy rolling around in there, too," AJ said, grinning like a madman. He plowed into the underbrush, allowing his load to straighten behind him, then ground the gears as he searched for reverse. "Shit, they're here. Get out and hide."
"You need me to connect your chain," Arturo said.
"No, my friend, you've already done enough. I've got this. Now, get out."
Arturo slipped out of the cab and disappeared. AJ winced as he rammed the back of the truck into the mountain.
"Still back here, AJ," Darnell growled into the comms made possible by the Beltigersk riders.
"You need to get strapped in," AJ said. "This is gonna suck."
"Lookee there," Darnell said, sarcastically. "A spaceship with seatbelts. We should go back in time and sell this idea to all those science fiction TV shows."
AJ slammed the truck into gear and turned back toward town. Just coming up the hill were three older SUVs, modified so their exhausts were extremely loud. "You want to play chicken with crazy?" he shouted at no one in particular as he ground into third gear, using the slope of
the mountain to help him gain steam.
"AJ, you're not going to be able to stop for the chain," Darnell warned. "You're going too fast."
One of the SUV's skidded to a halt sideways in the road and a man jumped out, swinging his pistol at the truck. "No time to talk, Big D," AJ said, shifting into fourth and pouring on power. A bullet pierced the cab, spiderwebbing the glass in front of AJ. "BB, did that get me? I feel something in my shoulder."
"It is just glass," Beverly answered. "You are going to strike that vehicle."
"Yeah, looks that way, doesn't it?" AJ said, just as his bumper crunched into the front quarter panel of the sideways SUV. Fully loaded, AJ's rig was well over forty tons and the three-ton SUV had no hope of stopping him. The collision was loud and the semi jumped crazily as it ran over the top of the smaller vehicle. Not bothering to watch how the flatbed fared, AJ concentrated on the clear road ahead.
"They're on our tail," Darnell said.
"How can you tell?"
"2-F figured out how to make the front panel of the ship translucent," Darnell said. "We're getting a pretty terrifying view."
"Can't be that bad," AJ said. "You're looking at it sideways."
"How the hell does that help?" Darnell asked.
"Oh, you want me to help?" AJ aimed for the far side of a sharp corner and then cranked the wheel tighter than was necessary. The truck slid forward, its wheels unable to grip the dirt road hard enough to overcome the inertia. A tipping point, however, was reached when the tires found a small amount of purchase, changing the direction of the truck, but not its load.
"That isn't even funny!" Darnell complained as the unsecured spaceship and its metal cradle tipped precariously to the side and slid into the ditch, throwing rocks and shrubbery into the air.
"Yee haw!" AJ chortled as his truck lurched forward, finally free of a lot of its weight. "Doc, you guys okay back there?"
"I've lost contact with the ship's crew," Beverly answered after a moment.
"Shit," AJ shifted again so he could get a good look at the road behind him. With no load on the flatbed it was easy to see the two SUVs still chasing him.
"You need to stop," Beverly said. "They might be hurt."
"Sorry, BB. If we don't run these banditos off, we’re all gonna be hurting for sure," he replied, gritting his teeth.
The narrow road allowed AJ to keep the two SUVs stuck behind the truck. Occasional gunshots warned of how unimpressed the bad guys were with his overall plan. Racing down the dirt road with no load took only a fraction of the time it had taken to climb up and AJ soon found himself on the improved roadway surface.
"Do you have another plan?" Beverly asked.
"It's not a great one," he said, swerving to keep the trucks behind him. Even though he'd lost much of his mass, neither SUV could go around him for fear of being swiped into the ditch. "We're at a bit of a stalemate."
"Do you intend to just keep running?"
"For now.”
The three vehicles continued their frantic dance for twenty minutes with AJ swerving and dodging to maintain the lead. He finally caught sight of what he'd been looking for. "Hold on," he said unnecessarily as he slowed and cranked the steering wheel, veering into the scrubby mountain forest on his left.
"I do not understand," Beverly said. "Why depart the road now?"
"Earlier, those guys weren't coming," AJ said, pointing at a second group of much newer SUVs out on the horizon.
He jammed on the brakes as limbs smacked into the truck and brought it to a grinding halt. He grabbed the rocket pack, slipped one strap over his shoulder, and jumped from the truck, running downhill as fast as he could go. Gun shots rang out behind him and he threw himself to the ground, slipping his other arm into the pack's harness.
"You've neglected to consider one factor, AJ. The Korgul will communicate with the approaching group. They will know precisely where we came from," Beverly said.
"Oh, yeah, they look like long lost buddies," AJ said, using the rocket pack to allow him to slide down the hill, mere inches above the ground.
"Is that sarcasm?" she said. "How do you know these men are not Korgul?"
"Would the Korgul prey on poor villages for food?" AJ asked. "Pretty sure these guys are run-of-the-mill thugs. Even better, they won't take a shine right away to those Korgul."
"That is brilliant," Beverly said. "You will have the men who would attack Arturo and his family defend us from the Korgul."
The shouts behind AJ grew faint and he decided it was safe enough to lift into the air to just above the tree line. From his vantage point, he saw the arrival of those who were probably sent by the Korgul to find him and his crew. He felt a twinge of guilt as Hector's men turned on the new arrivals and a raging gunfight erupted. Almost immediately, the smoke cleared and quiet fell over the land as the bandits’ overwhelming firepower caused the Korgul to flee.
"Any word from Darnell or Jayne?" AJ asked, changing direction to head back. The sun had fallen behind the horizon and darkness filled the mountain valley.
"Yes," Beverly said. "Seamus has communicated that the ship survived the incident and he has gained control of the flight systems. The communication was one way, however, or I would have had them come to us. I need to work on a better means for long-distance transmissions. I have needed it several times on this journey."
"It doesn't seem like a difficult problem to solve."
"I would need an antenna," she said. "It would be a simple device for the manufactory to create."
AJ withdrew the cell phone from his pocket. "Or maybe we could use this."
Uncharacteristically, Beverly blushed. "I am not accustomed to so much excitement. One moment, please," she said.
"Take your time." He followed the faint blue contrail Beverly was projecting, marking the return route.
"Dr. Jayne would like to speak with you."
"Go ahead."
"AJ? Are you safe?" Jayne asked, her voice betraying strong emotions.
"Yup, I'm just flying back your way. We’re going to need a better strap system for this rocket pack. It's not that comfortable over the long haul."
"Are the bandits returning? What did you do with the truck?"
"I'd be surprised if we see those bandits anytime soon," AJ said. "They got into a gun fight with the Korgul. I'd bet the Korgul will get a bigger group put together and come back to run 'em down. No way they get all that figured out in the next few hours. Even if they do, there wouldn't be any reason for this to blow back on Arturo and Alma. Hector's bandits won’t go down without a fight."
"I don't like putting Alma and her family in any kind of danger," Jayne said.
"At worst, the Korgul will occupy Alma and learn what she knows," Beverly interjected. "They will have no interest in long term occupation. And that presumes they can extract the village's location from Hector and his men. The more pressing danger is that they will connect the ownership of the truck to AJ and send Korgul to AJ's home."
"Shit, I forgot about that," AJ said as the lights of the small village came into view. "Where are you guys? Still at the ship next to the road?"
"Negative," Darnell answered. "I moved the ship up behind the village, where you turned the truck around. Arturo just told us that Alma has dinner ready."
"Impressive. Was it hard to fly?" AJ asked.
"It's a little tricky, mostly because there's no resistance. Within a hundred meters of ground level, the anti-gravity system does something to keep us afloat," Darnell said. "2-F ran me through a quick tutorial, so I didn't get all the details. Bottom line is, it's fast and quiet."
"Fast enough to get us home before sunrise?"
"Oh, yeah," Darnell answered. "I'm working on a route that avoids major metropolitan areas and military installations. I'd hate to get the military on us. Shouldn't be too hard."
AJ passed over the village and lowered himself into the trees a few yards from where the Korgul ship now sat. He was drawn to a fire that burned only a few f
eet away from the ship. Jayne and Darnell sat on the ground with their backs against a stack of plastic totes.
"What's going on?" he asked as he exited the trees.
"AJ!" Jayne jumped to her feet and ran over, wrapping him in a hug. "I was so worried. You shouldn't have run off like that." She pushed back and slugged him in the chest. "Don't you ever do that to me again. I thought you were dead."
AJ smiled. She’d been mad enough to punch him, but then relented and pulled him into another hug. "Why are you guys sitting out here?"
"The smell inside that ship is as overwhelming as it is toxic," Jayne said. "According to Jack, the filtration system is no longer operational."
"Are you guys talking again?" AJ asked.
"No," Jayne said. "Currently, I am allowing him to submit information through a messaging system. If he is successful at keeping things civil, we might progress from there."
"Someone's approaching," Darnell warned, reaching behind his back to rest a hand on his pistol.
"Ah, you are back, Señor AJ," Arturo said, with a basket in one hand and a pitcher of what looked like lemonade in the other. "I had not believed it reasonable to hope for such a thing."
AJ stepped forward and relieved the older man of the basket. "Can I help?"
"I must apologize," Arturo said. "Alma does not want you in her home. The bandits scared her today. I do not wish to appear inhospitable. The dinner she has prepared is simple. It is what we have."
"I'm sure it's delicious," Jayne said.
Arturo nodded. "When will you leave?"
AJ got the hint. Arturo was clearly a good man, but he was in way over his head. AJ and his friends could only bring disaster to his family. "Big D, any reason we can't roll out after dinner?"
"Nope," Darnell answered.
"We'll leave the basket by the fire," Jayne said. "Thank Alma for me. I won't forget her kindness."
Arturo looked visibly relieved. "Yes, of course. It brought her joy," he said. "I am sorry it is this way."
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