Carnival World Boxed Set (Episodes 1-3)
Page 14
He broke enough glass that he could fit through the frame. A piece cut his arm as he pushed through. He crouched by the bay door and grabbed the handle to lift it. It still wouldn’t budge.
He looked at it, and saw it wasn’t locked. There was nothing that he could see that was blocking it, but still it wouldn’t budge. Something was holding it down. Something he couldn’t see. But he sure could feel it.
“Let go!” he shouted. “Let go of it!”
Darien dug deep inside, mustered every ounce of strength and will and pulled on the door. Finally it lifted.
He took a deep breath. A wave of foul smelling air washed over him and out the door. Turning, he checked on them one by one. Carbon Monoxide poison was deadly. It could kill instantly. But luckily they were all breathing. Summer and Ryan were even starting to move around.
“What the hell? Why would you run the rover inside? So stupid.” Darien looked inside the car to turn it off, but he saw the keys weren’t even in the ignition and there was nothing depressing the gas pedal.
“We didn’t start it,” Summer gasped as she hugged Sam to her. He was crying.
“What the hell?”
The car lurched forward. Darien backed away from it. It lurched forward again. Then it turned right towards him.
“Shit!”
Darien ran.
The rover leapt after him like a hungry lion, roaring and snorting. Darien fled back out into the lot, running as fast as he could. The Range Rover lunged but missed him by a hair. It smashed into one of the other cars and caved in its side.
Darien looked around the lot. All the other cars were crushed in a similar manner. It was obvious this wasn’t the first time the vehicle had played chicken with someone.
He shook his head in disbelief. “No. This can’t be happening.”
The Range Rover slowly backed away from the wreck, then turned toward him as if glaring at him.
Without another thought, Darien ran. He sprinted as fast as his legs could move. He thought of being out on the football field and ran right into the maze of wrecked cars. He maneuvered his way around them. Behind him was a crash as the Range Rover smashed its way towards him, hitting one car after another to get to him.
Darien made it to the fence on the edge of the lot. Beyond it was the ditch. He had one chance if he was going to survive.
Darien turned and waited, his heart pounding. Sweat dripped down his back and his forehead. He wiped it out of his eyes just as the Range Rover came barreling down towards him.
Darien waited, staring into the angry headlights of the oncoming vehicle. It was just like football. You had to feel the pressure coming. You had to time your move just right.
One Mississippi. Two Mississippi.
Darien dove to the other side.
The Range Rover crashed through the gate and ended in the ditch. Its front end caved in on contact with the granite rocks. The engine sputtered once, then twice and until finally it died.
Darien picked himself up off the ground. He’d landed wrong on his elbow, and it ached something fierce. He loomed over the ditch and watched the rear tires of the car spin around and then slowly squeak to a stop.
It was over.
As he continued to look down in the ditch, the others had come out to join him. Summer stepped up next to him; she was rubbing at her eyes. The carbon monoxide was still probably making her feel drowsy and sick.
“Are you okay?” she asked.
He nodded. He didn’t know what else to do or say. There were no words for what had just happened.
“The car went nuts, didn’t it?” Sam looked up at him, his eyes wide and round and worried.
Darien wanted to placate him, tell him everything was okay. That no, cars don’t go nuts. Cars don’t move on their own. But he’d be wrong.
“Let’s get what we need and get the hell out of here.”
No one said anything else as they all walked back to the garage together. There were knowing looks passed between each other, but no one wanted to say it out loud.
It wasn’t just mutated dogs and crazy cannibals that they had to do battle with in this world. It was their own pasts. And how did a person fight with that?
CARNIVAL WORLD, episode 4 will be released January 15, 2014.
ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
Michael J Lee has worked as a creative executive and screenwriter. He's currently a script judge and consultant.
Website: http://screenwritingfoxhole.blogspot.com/
Tawny Stokes has always been a writer. From an early age, she’d spin tales of serial killers in love, vampires taking over the world, and sometimes about fluffy bunnies turned bunnicidal maniacs. An honour student in high school, with a penchant for math and English, you’d never know it by the foot high blue Mohawk and Doc Martens, which often got her into trouble. No longer a Mohawk wearer, Tawny still enjoys old school punk rock, trance, zombie movies, teen horror films, and fluffy bunnies. She lives in Canada with her fantastical daughter, two cats, and spends most of her time creating new stories for teens.
Tawny also writes adult paranormal/urban fantasy fiction under the name Vivi Anna, and is a screenwriter and TV writer.
Website: http://www.tawnystokes.com
OTHER WORKS BY THE AUTHORS:
Michael J Lee
My Frankenstein
To Russia With Blood
How to Invade The Earth http://howtoinvadetheearth.blogspot.com/
Tawny Stokes
Static
Electric
Demons of the Rich and Famous
Dating After Dark (With Clowns)