“We’ve got you covered,” Randy said. “Just keep running.”
More flashes popped from the overpass, and bullets smacked the pavement behind her, at least one hitting flesh as a soldier screamed in pain and went down. When she reached the sidewalk, Kim glanced up to see two shadows popping off rounds. One held a handgun while the other rested a rifle against the cement guardrail at the edge of the bridge.
“There’s nowhere for you to run,” Clara urged. “Give up now and save yourself some pain.”
Kim didn’t bother replying. She ran beneath the elm tree and caught sight of Mobile Unit XI as the soldiers behind her opened fire. Ducking, she ran into the street and put the parked cars between herself and the soldiers.
When no bullets flew in her direction, Kim assumed they’d turned their focus on Randy and his friend up on the overpass, so she straightened and ran hard for her vehicle. When she was thirty yards away, two figures ran into the street and took cover behind the bus. Kim slowed down at first, thinking to retreat. Then she sprinted hard for the front corner of the bus and stopped to peek around at the door.
Her breathing came in harsh rasps as perspiration tickled her skin beneath her mask. Her rifle felt like it weighed a hundred pounds.
“AMI, mute my voice, please.”
“Done.”
“Where are they, AMI? Where are the soldiers?”
AMI’s voice came through in a quiet whisper. “They’re coming around to your left. Your path is clear to the door.”
With quiet steps, she slunk along the bus with her left shoulder against the side. She was a few feet away from the door when AMI’s voice cut in with a harsh whisper. “They’ve split up, and one is coming around the rear. Be ready.”
She stopped walking and raised the AR-15 to her shoulder, the barrel pointed toward the back of the bus. The scuffle of boots reached her ears, and she pulled the trigger three times as someone spun around the corner. Two of Kim’s shots hit the soldier in the chest, toppling him backward as his rifle clattered to the ground.
“AMI, open the door now.”
The door popped open, and Kim stepped forward with a glance at the person writhing on the ground. She climbed into the decontamination chamber, saying, “Close the door and start the bus.”
Putting her rifle down, she stripped off her mask as the bus rumbled to life. Then she pushed her way forward through the prep room and lab until she stood in the lounge area. The second soldier stood in the street with his rifle barrel swinging toward the windshield.
Kim dropped low to avoid detection, her breath caught in her throat as she waited for bullets to pound the bus. While small arms fire hadn’t penetrated the glass back in Zanesville, she was sure the high-powered rifle rounds could blast through.
When no bullets came, she peeked over the dashboard and saw the soldier kneeling by his fallen friend. With slow movements, Kim slid into the driver’s seat and buckled herself in. The seatbelt clicked shut, causing her to wince and lift her eyes in concern.
She placed her palm on the gear shift and got ready to drive away.
The soldier’s head popped into view over the dash as he raised his weapon to fire. Kim slammed the bus into drive and hit the gas, angling toward the soldier. The move forced the soldier to leap out of the way rather than fire, and she sped by him without taking a shot to the face. After she passed, rounds hit the back of the bus, and more of them hit the side when she made her next left to get on the expressway.
As she climbed the entrance ramp, Kim glanced to her left and spied the two men firing down upon the soldiers. The one with the pistol raised up and gave her a brief salute. He was a big kid, probably an athlete. She returned the gesture, doubting he could read her expression from that distance. Then she straightened the wheel and punched the gas pedal, causing the massive vehicle to shudder with the strain.
“You’ve just made things worse for yourself,” Clara said, no longer sounding like a mother with a sprained ankle. “But if you turn around and come back, we can work something out.”
“Keep going, Kim,” Randy replied for her. “Don’t listen to those jerks. Just keep going—”
The sounds of ricocheting bullets came through the bus speakers and the young man disappeared from the radio. Kim shook her head, hoping he was okay. Then she gripped the wheel, ready to barrel through any obstacles that lay in her path.
Chapter 14
Randy and Jenny, Indianapolis, Indiana
Randy and Dodger ducked away as pieces of concrete exploded around them from the incoming fire. At first, only a half dozen soldiers shot at them, but their numbers increased by the moment.
“She’s away,” Dodger hissed. “Let’s go.”
The scout gathered his rifle to his chest and jogged to the back of the Tesla. He opened the trunk and placed the rifle inside with the rest of his long-range weapons. They’d parked the car in the middle of the expressway, far away from the edge where no one could see them from below.
Randy got in the passenger side and buckled his seat belt on as his door slammed shut automatically.
“They’ll try to surround us,” Dodger said. He swiped his finger along the console screen to activate it before pressing a button that read Maximum Battery Power.
Before Randy could take another breath, Dodger pressed the accelerator pedal to the floor, and they shot off like a rocket. The G-force pushed him into the seat even harder than before, and he grinned with boyish delight, despite being hunted by Colony troops.
They passed the entry ramp as two military jeeps pulled up. Two soldiers stood up and fired, but the Tesla zoomed by them doing a hundred miles per hour.
Randy squirmed in his seat as Dodger pushed the vehicle to one-hundred and twenty, zipping past fungus-covered vehicles and dodging through tight places in the road. They caught up with Kim as she turned the bus south on I-70, though Dodger continued forward to merge onto I-465, slowing to sixty to take the entry ramp.
A military vehicle stopped on the next ramp up, and a half dozen soldiers lined the road, their muzzles spitting fire at the passing car. Dodger reached across his seat and raised his middle finger at the soldiers, causing Randy to scoff loud in disbelief, heart pounding more from the car ride than the flying bullets.
The CB crackled to life. “Attention to whoever is driving the Black Tesla. Stop immediately by order of the Colony.”
Randy picked up the CB and spoke into it with a smirk. “That’s a negative on stopping.” His grin spread even wider as a surge of cockiness controlled his words. “And tell Odom this is Randy Tucker, and I’m coming for him. Tell him he still owes me.”
“Owes you for what?”
“He owes me two vouchers Jergensen gave me and my sister. Tell him he better keep looking over his shoulder, because I’m coming for them.”
Dodger backhanded Randy hard in the chest. “You idiot.”
They’d pulled into a darkened garage somewhere north of the city. Their elusive flight had drained the car down to sixty percent battery life, and Dodger parked to allow the battery to cool down.
The soldiers in their slow military vehicles hadn’t been able to keep up—not even close.
Randy clutched his chest and rubbed it. “Ow! What was that for?”
“That was for helping the lady,” Dodger said. Then he balled up his fist and backhanded him with a thwack to the shoulder. “And that’s for telling that soldier your name, and for threatening Odom.”
“Well, you flipped them off!” Randy raised his elbow to strike the man back, but the warning in Dodger’s angry eyes made him think twice, and his bravado deflated with his fading adrenaline. “It’s just that the guy is a jerk, and he threatened our lives back at the Colony.”
“So, it’s not just about two stupid vouchers?”
“Nope. Trust me, he’s not a nice guy, and he’s already paranoid.” Randy rubbed his shoulder and stared out the pitch-black window. “I couldn’t think of anything smarter to say.”
“You thought you’d toss some fuel onto the fire?”
“Something like that,” Randy replied with a crestfallen expression.
Dodger nodded with approval and settled back in his seat with a sigh. “That’s cool. But you better hope he never catches you. You just threatened him in front of his men. He’ll have no choice but to—”
“I know what he’ll do to me,” he scoffed. “He’ll shoot me out on the tarmac in front of everybody like Jergensen did to the others. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they don’t catch me.”
“Sounds like you and your sister lived through a lot.” Dodger shook his head. “I respect what you did, but I’m not sure John J will.”
Randy winced. “Do we have to tell him?”
“Oh, yeah. We’ll definitely tell him.” Dodger put his seat back and grinned up at the roof of his car. “But I’ve got to admit that was some chase. I had her up to a hundred and twenty. Did you see that?”
“It was incredible,” Randy said with a chuckle of agreement. “Those guys didn’t have a chance.”
“It makes me wonder how long until they catch on.”
“What do you mean?”
“With all the free cars in the city, they’ll eventually trade in their jeeps for something faster.”
“Or they’ll build more roadblocks.” Randy shook his head. “I hope John has a plan for keeping them from doing that.”
“He probably does,” Dodger placed his hands behind his head. “John J has a plan for everything.”
Three hours later, Randy and Dodger returned to the warehouse after their patrol. On the return trip, he realized the base was several miles farther north of downtown than he’d originally realized. The place lay opposite the airport on the Tesla’s GPS map, and studying the screen helped him put distances and direction to memory.
Once parked, they passed through decontamination before stepping into the long hallway where John had interrogated them earlier. Dodger handed in his report to one of John’s helpers and turned to Randy with a somber look.
“Wait in that room,” Dodger pointed to a side office. “I’ll talk to John and tell him what you did before someone sees it on the report.”
Randy went inside the office and sat at a plain table covered with reams of paper and other office supplies. At first, Dodger’s concern seemed unfounded, then he wondered what he would do if he were John. What if someone told him one of his scouts had been fighting more than scouting? What if someone told him one of his scouts had given up a secret position and provoked the enemy over the radio, putting Dodger at risk.
Leaning forward, Randy slid a ream of paper over and rested his head on it as the weight of what he’d done settled on his shoulders.
“Why didn’t I think about this before I opened my big fat mouth,” Randy moaned.
He knew why. It was because Randy refused to stand by and watch someone fall into a trap. If Odom’s troops had caught Kim, they would have confiscated her vehicle and thrown her into a situation where the only way to survive was to do favors for the leaders.
The door handle turned, and Randy rose from his chair.
“I know what you’re going to say, John,” he said as the camp leader entered the room and shut the door behind him. “I know I screwed up. I put Dodger and the Tesla at risk, and I got cocky out there.”
John leaned against the wall, kicked out a foot, and folded his arms across his chest. He gave the boy a pained smile.
Randy continued stammering. “I understand if you need to kick us out. I probably would, too. But I had to warn that woman, and I’d do it again in a heartbeat. I—”
“Did you really tell them you were coming after Odom?”
“I did,” Randy said, lifting his chest as if John’s question was a challenge. “And I will, someday. Maybe not soon, but someday.”
“I don’t doubt it,” John scoffed and gestured around, adding a sharp note to his tone. “But this camp isn’t about you. This camp has a lot of people in it, and we’re spread out across the city. We’re coming into our own, and here you are ruining it to be some kind of hero. I thought a simple scouting mission would be easy.”
“The woman. Kim...”
“So what if they captured her? How would you feel if they captured a dozen of us because of your stupidity? How about a hundred?”
Randy nodded and lowered his eyes, digging his toe into the thin carpet. “Terrible. I’d feel terrible.”
“Then you need to think a little harder next time you act.” John pointed to his temple. “You need to give the lives of my people a little more weight before you make crazy decisions like that.”
Randy nodded again with more enthusiasm, feeling worse with every word the camp leader spoke.
“On the other hand,” John continued. “It was ballsy as hell, and I can’t criticize you for that. I mean, not a lot of people would risk their lives to help someone, so you get kudos for that.”
“Thanks,” Randy said, though he still dug his toe into the carpet in embarrassment.
“And, you’ll stay inside the warehouse for the foreseeable future. I can’t have you out there in the field risking what we’ve got going here.”
“I understand.” Randy hoped he sounded grateful, because he honestly was. “I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to go out with Dodger.” He liked John, Dodger, and the rest of the folks he’d met in the warehouse. But he also understood Tricia’s injury made them dependent on John’s graciousness.
John came off the wall and placed his hands on his hips, regarding Randy with steely green eyes. “Understand, my trust is hard to regain, but I’ll try to check in with you and your sister every now and again. See if you’re staying on point.”
“Sounds good, John.” The tension in Randy’s chest loosened, and he exhaled with a sigh.
He followed John to the warehouse where they said their farewells. Randy searched for his sister in the enormous space, walking along the right wall to the food court. To his pleasant surprise, they still served food early into the morning hours: deli sandwiches with pickle slices, chips, and three flavors of hot soup.
With Jenny nowhere in sight, Randy ordered a sandwich, a pack of barbecue chips, and beef barley soup. Snatching a Coke and a bottled water from a refrigerator, he found a place to sit and eat quietly as he pondered their future with John and his people.
Chapter 15
Moe Tsosie, Chinle, Arizona
Moe and Aponi left a trail of dust behind them as they navigated the treacherous terrain to his property. On horseback, the rugged course might have been easier, but the four-wheelers were the next best thing. By the time they’d pulled into Moe’s yard, his arms shook with exhaustion, his bones rattled to the core.
He killed his four-wheeler’s engine and got off. His legs wobbled from the extended ride, though he steadied himself and stepped to Aponi’s quad.
“We’ll gas up here, have a bite to eat, then look for the authorities.”
Moe glanced down to see Aponi’s head bowed and her hands folded in her lap. She sobbed, gasping with emotion.
He gave her shoulder a gentle pat. “I know you grieve for them, but we must put our grief on hold. We’ve got to get word to the elders.” He pulled a gas can from the back of her four-wheeler and brought it to his vehicle. He unscrewed the cap and filled up his tank. “That can be your job. Go find the elders and bring them to the Chapter House. I’ll find Reemer, Sage, Rex, and the boys and bring them along.” He threw his eyes toward the sobbing woman and grunted with impatience. “Okay, Aponi? Come on, girl. I need you now.”
Moe’s words broke through her sorrow, and she nodded and stood from her four-wheeler. Once he was done filling up his quad, he handed the gas can to her and put his backpack on the ground. He rummaged through his supplies and pulled out two energy bars and a canteen of water.
Ripping the wrapper off one bar, Moe bit the thing in half and chewed. A ravenous hunger overtook him, and he finished the first en
ergy bar with one more bite and took several long swallows of water to clear the dust from his throat.
Aponi dug through her own pack for some snacks, and together they sat on their quads and re-energized. Darkness shrouded the woman’s face, though she sniffed and wiped tears off her cheeks as she ate.
Moe put his empty wrappers back into his backpack, withdrew a flashlight, and tossed the pack on his front porch. “Leave your pack here, if you want.”
Aponi nodded but didn’t say a word.
“I’m going to the FEMA camp now and try to round up everyone I can find,” he said. “Can you find the elders and sheriff and get them to the Chapter House?”
“Yes, I will,” Aponi nodded and stuffed her empty wrappers into her pack with a hint of urgency. “I know where Cynthia Tso and Sheriff Ahiga live. They can help us round up the others.”
“Good.” Moe couldn’t imagine how she felt. She might have been Klah’s wife and John Wolf’s daughter by marriage. If true, it explained her devastation. He leaned forward on his quad. “I am sorry, Aponi. I didn’t know John or Klah very well, but they were right to check on Window Rock. They were right about the military keeping their secrets, too. I have spoken a prayer for them, and I will again before the night is through.”
Moe didn’t wait to see if she accepted his condolences or not. He started up his quad, bolted to the end of his driveway, and shot off along State Route 549 into town. Then he took a left on State Route 7, joining the faded pavement so the quad smoothed out.
He shifted to fourth gear, opening up the engine to flood the neighborhoods with noise, flying past the Holiday Inn and the Chinle Water Tank and Chapter House. When he reached Highway 191, he took a sharp left that nearly spilled him from the four-wheeler.
With a deep breath, Moe forced himself to slow down. It would do no one any good if he killed himself trying to get to the FEMA camp. He buzzed past the Wildcat Den with his hair whipping behind him, and his eyes squinted tight.
He reached the Speedway and parked off to the side. Jogging across the road, Moe angled toward Colonel Humphreys’s office, eyes searching for anything amiss in the camp.
Spore Series | Book 3 | Fight Page 9
