“I heard about that crash,” said Susan. “Pretty nasty affair. I’m glad you got out okay.”
Susan pushed the truck into gear and they picked up speed down the road. Before long, tall green tries surrounded them as they drove on either side.
“Yeah… wait, you heard about it?” said Julia. This didn’t make any sense. “What’s with the town? Where’d everyone go?”
“Freaked out and left,” said Susan. “Well, the police did most of the freaking out. Something was wrong with their radios and couldn’t communicate with anyone. They evacuated the town.”
“Oh. Everyone get out?”
“Nah, not everyone. Some people like myself stayed behind. Too stubborn to just up and go on a whim. But I figured it was no good to stick around after a while.”
There was something about Susan that left Julia in awe. Susan, aside from being older, seemed to have her shit together than most people. Even more so than that man who picked her up from the road after the crash back… how long ago had that been?
“When did the police evacuate everyone?”
“Yesterday.”
“And the EMP?”
“EMP?” Susan tossed her a look.
“An Electromagnetic Pulse. It can knock out anything electric within a specified radius. A big enough EMP can knock out an entire city’s power.”
“Huh. I had a feeling… anyway, that happened about two days ago.”
Julia felt the air leave her body.
“I was out for two days?”
Susan said nothing for a while and they drove in silence. After some time, Susan reached back and opened the small window behind them.
“I’ve got some jerky and coke back there. It looks like you need it.”
Julia nodded gratefully and moved up to grab the desired food from the back of the pickup while Susan kept driving. Julia didn’t hesitate and dug into the beef jerky. After two whole days without food and only pretzels and crackers from the airplane, it tasted like heaven. After cracking open a can of Coca-Cola, Julia felt her body’s aches and pains give to the sugar, caffeine and protein. After some time, she felt a little more like herself.
“So,” Julia said with a mouthful of jerky. “The police really evacuated town? That doesn’t make much sense, does it?”
Susan shook her head.
“Where’d they all go then?”
“Pretty sure they went to Philly.”
Julia shifted in her seat to face Susan a bit better. “Philly? They’re taking them to a city after an EMP?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if they have no idea about an EMP. Folks panic when things make no sense and shut down like that. I’m sure it makes more sense for them to head to a big place where they could get some answers. Still, I’m with you about this whole situation. It all stinks of something sinister, if you ask me. …Maybe slow down with the eating there. Let your body adjust. You did just walk out of an airplane crash with a nasty head wound two days ago.”
Julia lowered down the strip of jerky she was aiming for her mouth and nodded. The last thing she needed was to puke up again from overeating when her stomach was so weak.
“Thanks,” Julia said. “For helping me out.”
“No problem, kid. Hope you’re feeling better at least.”
“I feel better,” Julia said. “I’m still kind of in shock though. I can’t believe I survived that crash.”
“Call it a blessing,” Susan said. The truck followed the curve of the road. The sweet smell of pine became stronger and made Julia’s head feel better. “Not many people have that option.”
Another moment of silence passed.
“Do you think the EMP could’ve hit the whole country?” said Julia.
“No way to know,” Susan said with a shrug. “I don’t think it just hit our little Podunk town though…”
Susan trailed off, eyes narrowing over the view ahead. Julia turned and saw it. Off on the side of the road was a car sitting there with its engine hood propped open. The front door was wide open.
Julia gasped when her eyes landed on the ground and she spotted the body of a man lying face down on the road.
“Oh my god,” said Julia. Her eyes stayed on the man’s body. He wasn’t moving. He didn’t even look like he was breathing. She’d been out of it after the plane crash, but it was hard to forget how a dead body looked. She wasn’t out of it now. Julia’s stomach tightened.
Susan slowed down when they got close and stopped the truck.
“Do you think he’s dead?” said Julia. She felt sick.
Susan didn’t answer her.
Susan reached over the glove compartment and popped it open before pulling out two revolvers. She offered one to Julia.
“You know how to use one of these?”
Julia nodded dumbly. She recognized the kind of revolver from the kind her father had shown her. They were both .357 Magnums. A serious gun. Not the sort of gun you just casually carry two around of in the glovebox of your truck.
Julia gave Susan a wary glance, uncertain about her story about being a carpenter now. But this wasn’t the time for second guessing.
“You sure?” Susan asked.
“Yeah,” said Julia and gathered her nerve. “Yeah…my—my dad taught me to shoot.”
“Good. Come on, we’re going to see what’s going on with this guy.”
“Are you planning on shooting him?” It felt like a dumb question, but it was out her mouth before Julia knew it.
“If this is a trap, then maybe.”
“A trap?” Julia’s hands started shaking.
“No way of knowing sitting here,” Susan said. “Let’s go.”
When they got out of the truck, Julia tried to keep her eyes anywhere but on the body.
“Keep an eye out,” Susan said, holding the gun with expert grace.
Julia nodded. She kept an eye on Susan and on their surroundings. The thought of this being a trap made her heart pound.
She kept her finger outside the trigger guard, like she’d been taught to do, and she kept the gun raised. It was heavy, but the weight felt good in her hand.
“No pulse,” Susan said, standing up and away from the body. “But he’s still a bit warm. He hadn’t been dead long.”
Julia swallowed dryly.
“What killed him?”
“Not sure. Help me roll him over.”
Together they worked to grab onto one side of the body to roll it over. Julia didn’t lower her gun and neither did Susan. It was hard with all the dead weight and Julia cringed at the thought.
Still, what surprised her most was how little it bothered her. Sure, she felt queasy, but something about all this didn’t seem to throw her off edge like she expected.
“Looks like we know what killed him now,” said Susan just as Julia gasped. The body flopped heavily onto the pavement, revealing three large stab wounds on the man’s chest.
“I thought there’d be more blood,” Julia said.
“Not all wounds bleed like you’d think,” said Susan, crouching down to look at the wounds closer.
The wariness returned. Julia tried not to feel a tug of suspicion towards Susan. Julia almost asked how she knew until a noise echoed toward them from the woods.
Both women looked up in the direction of the sound. It sounded like wood snapping. In the dead quiet, it was almost as loud as a gunshot.
Susan pointed her gun into the woods from her low position.
Julia followed suit, making sure to keep her eyes moving instead of honing on a fixed point.
“Whoever did this is still out there,” Susan said, voice low.
“Susan,” whispered Julia. “We should get out of here.”
“Yeah, let’s,” said Susan, her voice barely audible. “Move slowly and backwards. Keep quiet.”
The two women moved slowly and quietly. Julia kept her eyes moving around the forest in front of them, crouched and low until they were close to the pickup.
Juli
a was reaching for her side of the truck when someone came hurtling out of the woods with a loud roar.
Julia screamed, stumbling backwards when she saw a huge man rushing towards her. His body was dressed in bright orange prison clothes, sleeves ripped off and revealing long curls of crude prison tattoos and unrecognizable symbols.
“Julia,” Susan cried out from inside the truck. Julia’s eyes landed on the man’s hands, he held a long piece of rusted metal that looked sharpened down to a crude yet deadly point. It was covered in blood. A prison shank?
“JULIA!” Susan’s voice ripped her away from the murderous man. “Get in the truck, now!”
Julia moved before she could think and jumped into the truck, mind reeling. The second she was in, Susan hit the accelerator and they peeled off down the road. Susan swerved to avoid the body, the motion made Julia’s door shut with a loud slam.
“There’s a prison near here?” Julia asked, shaking with adrenaline.
“It’s a long way from here,” Susan said. “But the EMP must’ve knocked the systems off. Who knows how far the inmates have gotten now. You alright?”
Julia nodded shakily. Her hand around the gun was tight and firm she didn’t want to let go. The image of the dead man flashed in her mind’s eyes. Julia felt a surge of rage.
“I could’ve shot him,” she said, still shaking. “I could’ve shot him.”
“You didn’t, you’re okay.”
“But he killed that man…”
Susan glanced over at her. If she was surprised at the rage on Julia’s face, she didn’t show it.
“We shouldn’t have stopped,” said Susan through a slow sigh. “It was a stupid idea to have even gotten out of the truck.”
“What if the man had been alive, though?” Julia asked. “Would you have left him anyway?”
“Times like these you can’t afford to think like this,” Susan said. “We need to keep to our own and be vigilant.”
Julia said nothing at that. They drove for a few minutes. Julia’s finger traced the trigger of the gun. Lost in her thoughts. It was all quiet.
Suddenly, a shot pierced the air. The truck tilted off to the left and Susan struggled to control the now swerving truck. Julia gasped and held on to the seat as best she could.
Finally, Susan stopped the truck off the side of the road, parking in a strange angle.
“What happened?”
“Someone shot the tire out,” Susan said. “You heard that, right? That sound?”
Julia nodded. Her grip on her gun tightened until her knuckles turned white.
“See anyone?” said Susan.
Julia looked outside and shook her head.
“We’re going to have to get out to change the tire,” said Susan.
Julia felt a flare of rage again. “That’s just what they want, isn’t it… whoever shot the tire. Right?”
“Definitely,” said Susan. “Sounded like a .22. Hunting rifle maybe. Had to be a pretty good shot to get that off while we were moving. Come on, I need your help with the tire.”
“And become sitting ducks for whoever the hell just shot at us?” Julia said, her voice rising.
“We’re already sitting ducks here, Julia,” said Susan. “I don’t want to risk it either, but we have no choice. Now would you please help me with…”
Before Susan could finish her door was yanked open and a long handgun barrel was pressed hard to Susan’s throat. Julia froze.
The man appeared like a ghost.
He had long scraggly hair that reached past his shoulders and a long unruly beard. He was also dressed in ragged orange prison clothes. He stared at them with a vicious expression, mouth pulled into a hideous grin.
“Afternoon ladies,” the man said with a hoarse voice. Like he’d been smoking for years.
Susan froze, her eyes sliding down to the middle of the seat bench where her gun sat between her and Julia.
“Now, don’t move a damn muscle, or else I’ll have to do something real nasty.” snarled the man. He spoke viciously, as if he was trying to hurt them merely with his words. There was fury in his eyes burning behind the hollowness of his gaze.
This is the fury of the convict, Julia realized. There was no light in his eyes, no emotion aside from anger and depravity and patience wrung out for too long. This man could not be reasoned with and Julia found herself not wanting to.
“Out of the truck,” growled the man in Susan’s ear. “Slowly. And you,” he pointed at Julia. “No sudden movements or I’ll kill your friend here.”
It occurred to her then that Julia still had the gun in her hand. She didn’t move though, she didn’t dare. Too much could go wrong in a situation this dire. Julia would not be able to live with herself if she acted too recklessly and killed Susan instead of this man.
A vision of her missing her target and getting Susan in the neck, blood spraying everywhere and Susan gurgling her last words on her throat shook Julia to her core. She would wait.
The man backed up, keeping his gun pressed into Susan’s neck. He pressed hard enough that Susan made a choking sound as he pulled her out.
“You’re awfully pretty, lady,” the man said as Susan stepped out of the truck. “I think I’ll have some fun with you.”
Julia felt a surge of horror at the man’s words. She watched him grin at Susan, a nasty horrible grin. His mouth was full of half-rotten teeth, blackened, with a thin greenish-yellow film covering them all. He forced Susan to spin around, grabbing her roughly by the braid while pressing the gun against her neck again.
Julia watched as Susan gave her a frightened look. Help me. Susan mouthed silently as she was dragged away from the truck. Please.
The further they got into the woods the more Julia felt her heart pound in her ears. Julia began gasping panicking breaths as she reached up to grab her hair. She could hardly think. She had to do something! But what?
It was a battle to just move, to keep from freezing up and balling up on the bench. Twice now she had been unable to move fast enough. Twice she had nearly gotten herself killed and now Susan was being taken by a criminal. What could she do? What should she do?
It felt like an age later when tears trickled down Julia’s eyes and she felt a rush of something that kept her from spiraling. Rage.
Rage at the convict who killed an innocent man. Rage at the man now yanking Susan off to commit unspeakable things to her. If she must act, then Julia could act with her rage.
“Idiot,” Julia said and took in a steadying breath. She looked down at her gun. “He should’ve killed me when he had the chance.”
Julia moved swiftly into action. She quickly grabbed the other gun and slid out the truck as quietly as she could. She dropped to a crouch and flipped the safety on Susan’s gun before tucking it into the waistband of her leggings. The elastic held firm, pressing the cool metal against her lower back. She tucked her shirt over the gun and held hers up steady.
Julia glanced around for any signs of other convicts before making her way into the woods.
She took advantage of her adrenaline heightened senses. Time seemed to slow down, her focus becoming razor sharp and focused on the sounds around her and on keeping her movements steady and quiet.
Inside the woods was like a completely different world. The sunlight filtered through evergreen branches, leaving a golden glow and casting a peaceful atmosphere all around her. Any other day would have been pleasant and soothing. Julia’s mind was elsewhere, and it was finding the convict and stopping him from hurting Susan.
As she moved and followed the sounds from up ahead, Julia’s mind focused on a single plan. She would use his distraction over Susan to sneak up behind him. Julia’s finger moved toward the trigger of her gun, ready to squeeze when the time came.
She just needed to keep her calm and stay quiet if her plan was to work. If she makes just one mistake, she could end up getting Susan killed… or worse. Get killed herself.
Julia kept low to the ground until she
spotted them.
There. Julia closed in on the convict circling around a clearing. Susan lay on the ground nearby, unconscious and sporting a nasty bruise over her temple. She’d been pistol-whipped.
There it was again. The rage.
Julia let it fill her with stillness.
The convict didn’t notice Julia. Cackling to himself as he prowled over Susan’s prostrate form. Julia inched a bit closer, glad he was making plenty of noise to cover her approach. Finally, she saw him move to remove his belt and lick his disgusting lips. Any reservations she had about doing this now flew out as easily as the breath that pressed past her teeth.
Julia took aim and squeezed the trigger.
The gun recoiled, swinging up. The gunshot cracked through the air and rang painfully in her ears.
The convict’s hands dropped the gun and rose to press against his chest. He didn’t have time to scream before he crumpled to the ground.
Good riddance, you vile piece of shit, Julia thought.
Her head began to pound again, and Julia realized her hearing had suffered from the sound of the gunshot.
Julia stood shakily and started moving toward Susan when she slowed to a stop. What was that? A sound? She couldn’t tell with her ears ringing so strongly. Then she saw a flash of orange.
Julia whipped around just in time to see another convict, lunging right for her. Julia couldn’t react in time.
Something hard slammed into her side, searing a hot line of pain through her that made her double over. Julia grunted in agony before she felt the man go for her gun. His big hands scrambled to rip it from her grasp. Julia held hard, but her legs were giving out beneath her.
He was so strong, easily overpowering her. Julia tried slashing at his face with her nails but a powerful force into her stomach left Julia crying out. The wind knocked clean from her lungs.
Black teased the edges of her vision, but Julia shook it off. The man had pushed her down to her knees, managing to rip the gun from her hand. She reached behind her, grabbing Susan’s gun from under her waistband. Julia yanked it out, thumb flicking the safety as she fell, and she pointed the gun toward the man.
She didn’t aim, just pointed where she could just as her back landed roughly on the ground. The man’s eyes widened when he realized what was happening.
Crash Page 3
