by Bruno Miller
The closer Ben studied their watchers, he could see that nearly the whole truck was modified with steel plate armor. A piece even covered the windshield and left only a long narrow slit in the middle so they could see to drive. The front bumper had been beefed up as well with two long pieces of steel that came out to a blunt point a few feet in front of the truck.
Even the wheel wells were covered with steel plating that hung over the tires and came to within an inch or two of the ground. The surface of the steel plating all looked to have jagged pieces of rebar welded in place at strategic locations. The truck was straight out of a Mad Max movie.
A gunfight with these guys wouldn’t go well for Ben and the kids. From what he could tell, neither of the men standing by the truck was holding a weapon, but that didn’t really mean anything. He was sure they had something with them in the truck. But he was also sure a gunfight wasn’t their intention.
He wished now that he had saved a few pieces of that dynamite.
“That truck was built for running people off the road.” Ben stood up from his hunched over position on the hood behind the M24.
Joel and Allie looked at each other and then back at Ben.
“What are we going to do?” Allie asked.
“We’re going to have to outrun them,” Ben said.
“Do you think we can?” Joel glanced at the strange truck.
“I think we have a good chance. All that steel plating is going to weigh them down.”
“You don’t think we should stand our ground and fight?” Joel asked.
Ben shook his head. “We won’t be able to make a dent in that thing. It would be a waste of time and ammo. Outrunning them is our best bet. Come on, let’s get in the truck. I’ll drive.” He grabbed the M24 and slid it back in into its case before he tossed it in behind the driver’s seat.
Joel and Allie ran around to the other side and loaded into the truck. Joel kept the AR-15 with him in the front seat while Allie got organized in the back with Gunner.
Ben started the Blazer and watched the needle on the fuel gauge rise to full. A good thing to see. As soon as he put the truck in gear and started inching forward, the white truck began to move.
“They’re coming,” Joel yelled.
“Hang on, guys!” Ben stomped on the gas pedal and the Blazer lurched forward, spitting sand and gravel from the rear wheels.
He took the same exit ramp they had used to come in from the interstate. It was the quickest way back to the open highway, where they would have the best chance of outrunning the modified machine. Unfortunately, using the ramp forced them to travel toward the other truck for a couple hundred yards.
As soon as it was possible, Ben cut sharply to the left, across the grass, and took a shortcut to the interstate. The tow truck had closed the gap significantly, however, and was gaining ground on them.
“They really moving fast.” Allie’s voice was filled with concern as she watched out the back window, which Ben had left open, thinking it would help cool down the truck.
He pushed the Blazer harder and the speedometer climbed to 70 and beyond. Looking in the rearview mirror, he could see the tow truck somehow still gaining on them. They probably modified the engine, too. It was the only way they could hit these speeds with all that steel.
“They’re gaining on us,” Allie shouted.
“What I wouldn’t give for a stick of that dynamite now.” Ben shook his head.
“Dad?” Joel said timidly as he produced an old towel from under his seat. As Joel carefully unrolled the towel in his lap, Ben caught a glimpse of yellow.
“Is that what I think it is, Joel Davis?” Ben looked back at the road and swerved to miss an abandoned car. The tires squealed as he forced the Blazer through the maneuver and wrestled with the steering wheel to straighten the truck out. Once he regained control, he glared at Joel.
“We gathered up the sticks you hid along the road at the bridge.” He shrugged. “I thought you’d want them.”
“You mean to tell me you’ve been sitting on 10 sticks of dynamite for the last day or so and didn’t think to tell me about that?” Ben stared at his son.
“I know it sounds crazy, but I forgot. Please don’t be mad.”
Ben didn’t know whether to yell at the boy or hug him. It was a stupid thing to do, but Joel might have just saved their hides. “You shouldn’t have done that.” Then Ben smiled. “But I’m glad you did.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Joel grinned. “Cool.”
Ben cut his eyes at his son. “We’re still going to talk about it later. Right now, let’s put that dynamite to good use. Allie, grab my small pack and look in there for the role of fuse.”
“Okay,” she answered as she started digging around.
Ben kept his eyes on the road. At over 80 miles per hour, one small miscalculation could end them. Thankfully, the road was clear for a good distance ahead. The only thing coming up was an overpass a few miles ahead, but the lanes were open underneath it.
“I found it!” Allie held the roll up between the seats.
“Good,” Ben said “Now, cut off a piece about a foot long and give it to me when you get it cut. Joel, there’s duct tape in the glove compartment. Start taping those sticks together in twos.”
“Got it. Here, Allie.” Joel handed Allie his pocket knife, then started taping sticks of dynamite together.
Allie went to work unraveling the stiff coil of fuse and cutting off a piece with Joel’s knife.
“Here.” She handed the foot-long length of fuse to Ben.
He took it. “There’s a windproof lighter in the console. Get it out and light the end for me. We need to figure out the timing.”
Joel nodded and flipped open the console. He found the lighter quickly, and as soon as he touched the jetted blue flame to the fuse, it erupted in a tiny shower of sparks. Instantly, the truck filled with a strong smell that reminded Ben of burnt gunpowder.
Ben switched the fuse to his other hand and held it a few inches out the window while he counted. When it had almost reached his thumb and forefinger, he let it go. That would do.
“Okay, cut five more just like that one,” Ben said.
Allie grunted as she pulled the fuse against the knife blade. “This stuff is hard to cut.”
“Here, let me help you.” Joel worked with her until they had them all cut. Then he finished taping the sticks together in pairs. “Done.”
“Gunner, easy boy. Down.” Allie tried to calm down Gunner, who was now sitting up and leaning on her in an effort to keep the weight off his leg. All the activity and noise had gotten him worked up and he was trying to see what was going on.
Ben checked on their pursuers. Still gaining but not by as much. “Allie, take the fuses and attach them to the blasting caps sticking out of the end of the sticks. One fuse per pair.”
Allie secured a section of fuse to each set of the bright yellow sticks like Ben asked. Then she laid them on the towel that Joel had put across the center console. “There you go.”
“All right. Now, when I get the timing right, Joel and I will toss them out our windows. Allie, you man the lighter. I want to drop them all within a few seconds of each other. Okay?”
Both kids nodded in agreement.
Ben looked at Joel. “When you toss it out, throw it up in the air so it lands well behind us, just in case they go off on impact.”
“Okay, got it.”
Ben grabbed a bundle of dynamite and held it ready as he tried to estimate the distance he needed the tow truck behind him for this to work. There wasn’t much time with the armored truck closing in fast. Any longer and it would be too close to use the dynamite.
Joel picked up a bundle and got ready.
Allie had the lighter in her hand and pressed the button a couple times, testing the flame. “I’m ready. Just say when.”
They passed a road sign and Ben counted the seconds until the pursuers passed the same sign.
If he coul
d time it right and create a string of explosions, one of them was bound to hit the tow truck or at least drive it off the road. Ben wanted to wait until they were under the overpass and use the shade to conceal the moment they threw the dynamite out of the truck.
His plan wouldn’t work if the guys chasing them saw what they were up to and drove around the explosives. “Get ready to start lighting fuses when we hit the overpass.”
Allie leaned up in between the seats and gripped the lighter firmly. “I’m ready.”
Ben and Joel each sat poised with a bundle of dynamite in their hands as they waited for the right moment. Ben let off the gas pedal a little and the Blazer slowed as they drove into the shade of the underpass.
“Now!” Ben yelled.
Allie hit the button on the lighter and touched the flame to each fuse as they held them out for her.
Ben and Joel threw them out the windows and grabbed the next two bundles from the towel. She lit them right away and the truck filled with a flickering light as the shadows of the overpass blotted out the sun.
Joel grabbed the last two duct-taped sticks and held them up for Allie to light. As soon as the fuse started hissing, he stuck it out the window and heaved it up and over the truck like he had done with the others.
Before Joel could get his arm back in the window, Ben stomped on the gas pedal. His heart raced as they jolted out from under the overpass and back into the bright midday sun.
Ben glanced at the rearview mirror continually. The little yellow bundles of dynamite danced around on the asphalt before they came to a stop.
Ben counted down in his head as the tow truck sped toward the bridge. With any luck they wouldn’t even see the explosives through the narrow slit of a window they had left themselves.
Joel and Allie watched through the back window when the first two bundles exploded.
BOOM… BOOM!
Both explosions were too early and missed the tow truck entirely. But they did cause the heavy ironclad vehicle to swerve erratically as the driver tried to avoid the shower of dirt and road fragments.
He must have seen the sparkling fuses in the shade of the overpass, but it was too late. With the extra weight welded on, the tow truck was unbalanced and struggled to maneuver at those speeds. The sudden turns caused it to lose control and slide as it leaned heavily from side to side.
When the next three bundles exploded in short progression, the blasts forced the truck off the road entirely. The dynamite might have missed it, but the concrete support column of the overpass didn’t.
The tow truck plowed head-on into the massive round column at what must have been nearly 70 miles per hour. It hit so hard that the back end of the truck lifted up and kept moving forward while the cab folded like an accordion.
Two of the steel plates broke free from the body of the truck and were thrown past the concrete column. The whole truck shuddered from the impact before the back end settled on the ground once again.
“Did you see that,” Joel exclaimed.
Ben nodded as he let the Blazer coast to a stop in the middle of the interstate. He got out and left the door open as he took a couple steps toward the tow truck to survey the wreckage. Joel and Allie stayed put in the Blazer. Ben didn’t look for long. He got back in the truck and closed the door.
He thought about going back and putting them out of their misery if the crash hadn’t done them in, but he’d changed his mind when he saw the severity of the wreckage.
Besides, if they had survived, they deserved the misery they were in. He was growing numb and had no compassion left for people that chose to live like this. Preying on others to survive was the lowest of the low in his opinion, and they deserved what they got.
Even so, he hated the callousness building up in him. He took a breath and tried to remind himself there were good people out there still.
There had to be. Or else surviving in this new world was going to be far worse than any of them could imagine.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
“So guess this is our life now, huh? Every day something crazy?” Joel shook his head.
“Yeah, but at least we’re still safe and making progress. What other choice do we have?” Allie raised her voice.
“I’m just saying it’s crazy. That’s all. It’s hard to believe what’s happening sometimes.” Joel shrugged.
Ben looked at the kids for a second. “It’s probably going to get worse. I hate to say that but it’s true. People are beyond desperate now and willing to do anything to survive, as you can see.”
He turned to face out the windshield as he put the truck in gear and starting driving. “That’s just the way it is, unfortunately, which is why we need to continue to stay alert and give no one the benefit of the doubt until they’ve proven otherwise.”
Ben got up to speed quickly on the interstate, and before long, the overpass disappeared from the rearview mirror and their conversation.
“Do you want me to drive?” Allie asked.
“You know, I forgot all about that. I do, actually,” Ben said. “I wanted to spend some time going over the map. I’ll look for a place to pull off up ahead.”
“I think Gunner has to go again. He’s a little restless,” Allie said.
Ben glanced in the rearview. “Maybe I can find somewhere to stop with a little shade.”
They continued on for several miles until the next exit, where there was another overpass. Ben slowed the Blazer down but stayed on the interstate. He pulled under the overpass well inside the shaded area before parking off to the side of the road. He shut the truck off and they all got out. Gunner found a place to do his business before attempting to follow his nose after some distant smell.
“Come on, boy. This was just a quick one for you,” Joel called.
Gunner hesitated and sniffed the air one more time before trotting back to the Blazer and jumping in on his own this time. Allie climbed behind the wheel and started to adjust the seat.
Ben looked at Joel. “How about taking the back again? If you pulled an all-nighter, you still need some rest. I need you 100 percent. I’ll help Allie navigate. I’m going to have the map out anyway.” Ben stepped aside while Joel hopped in the back with Gunner.
“Move over, dog,” Joel said.
As soon as Ben got situated, Allie started the Blazer and pulled out onto the highway.
Allie kept both hands firmly on the wheel. “This is a lot different than my Jeep.”
“Just be careful,” Joel teased.
“Oh, don’t worry. It’s not like I’m going to sit on 10 sticks of dynamite for a couple hundred miles or anything like that,” Allie shot back with a grin.
“Yeah, about that. How about letting me know important details like that from now on?” Ben laughed. What else could he do? There was no point in giving Joel too much grief over the dynamite now. There was a lot going on and he could forgive the forgetfulness. After all, it had saved them in the end.
“Sorry. But it all worked out, didn’t it?” Joel sat back smugly in his seat as Allie sped up and got comfortable behind the wheel.
“It could have also gone very wrong,” Ben warned. He was just glad they had escaped unharmed from their run-in with the tow truck.
He opened the atlas in his lap and began to study the route. “You’re going to stay on this for a couple more hours, so just follow 70 for a while. I’ll let you know when we get close to the turn.”
“Sounds good. I got it.” Allie brushed her hair out of her face, then quickly put her hand back on the wheel.
Ben thought she looked a little nervous, but she was doing fine and he was confident she could handle the Blazer. Eventually, the rhythm of the highway and the hum of the tires replaced their conversation as the miles rolled by.
Ben glanced back at Joel and saw he was close to falling asleep again. Ben was about to reach for his water bottle when he felt the truck shudder.
The Blazer hesitated and the smooth rumble of the engine was interrupted
with short periods of sputtering that coincided with a loss of power.
“What’s happening?” Allie looked at the gauges and then at Ben.
“I’m not sure. Give it gas again.” Allie had been coasting since it happened, and he wondered if it was fuel-related.
She gave the Blazer gas, and within a few seconds, the truck shuddered again, repeating what it had done before.
Joel, fully awake now, sat up in the back. “What’s going on?”
“It sounds like it’s not getting fuel. Maybe the carburetor. Maybe the fuel pump. Look for a good place to stop, Allie.” This was the last thing they needed but something that had been on Ben’s mind since they left Durango, although he figured they’d most likely have problems with the truck overheating.
Pushing the Blazer while trying to escape the tow truck probably hadn’t helped. Not that he’d had a choice in the matter. It was either that or God knows what at the hands of a couple highway bandits.
Ben sighed. They might have evaded the tow truck, but it had cost them. He just hoped it wasn’t serious.
Allie headed for a shady spot under a half-wilted tree on the side of the road. She coasted under the tree and put the truck in park. Gunner sat up, panting and wagging his tail, blissfully unaware of the reason for the stop.
Ben hopped out. “Leave it running and stay in the driver’s seat. I’m gonna want you to give it gas when I tell you. Can you pop the hood?”
Allie looked around as Joel leaned up and showed her where the hood release was before following his dad out and onto the road.
Ben unlatched the hood and propped it up. “Okay, go ahead. Just a little.”
Joel stuck his head around the side of the open hood and motioned for Allie to give it gas.
Ben held his head close to the fuel pump and listened. It whined as she revved the engine. “Okay.”
Joel relayed the message to Allie and she took her foot off the throttle.
Ben took the support out from under the hood and let it slam shut. He stood there for a minute as a bead of sweat rolled down his nose. He fought the urge to slam his fist down on the hood. They just couldn’t catch a break. He had to keep it together for the kids’ sake, though, and he let out a deep breath as he got his head together. “We have to find a place to hide the truck.”
