“Yes, ma’am!” He gave me a salute. He tried to smile after, but his lips trembled. “Just … be safe.”
I stepped outside the fence, wheeling my bike. I put the kickstand down so I could help him push the gate on its tracks until it was completely closed.
He turned the key, and the heavy clanking of the lock mechanism felt like the sealing of my fate. I was no longer on the inside of Haven looking out; I was on the outside of my safe-haven looking out towards a very scary near-future.
I climbed up on the big-butt-seat bike and pedaled rapidly to catch up to my friends. They’d already made it fifty yards away, none of them as maudlin as me with their goodbyes. As far as they were concerned we were on a quick mission that would be somewhat easily accomplished.
I wished I could be as confident as they were.
***
“I assume we’re taking the highway,” said Rob.
“Yeah. Unless you guys have a better idea,” I responded.
The rhythmic clicks of our bike pedals and gears made it easy for my mind to wander. I’d been trying to picture a way to get all that junk on Peter’s list back to Haven and had been coming up empty.
“Nah. Highway’s good. I don’t know the backroads anyway, and my GPS is on the blink.” Rob tapped a plastic headlight on the front of his bike, grinning.
“Remember GPS?” asked Winky. She sighed in forgotten pleasure. “Life used to be so easy. I never appreciated stuff like that when I had it.”
I expected Bodo to chime in, but he remained silent. He hadn’t said a word since we’d spoken in the garden spot, except to answer questions asked directly of him by Rob and Winky. It was worse than awkward; it was painful. It was like his spark had died out, and I’d never fully appreciated how nice that spark was until it wasn’t there anymore. Now he seemed like just a sullen guy with an accent and a good body - a stranger.
“So what’s the plan?” asked Paci. “I know you can’t know everything we’re going to have to deal with, but I’d like to have rough idea of what we’re doing.”
“Well, Peter gave me a wish list of things he’d like us to bring back, along with all the people who want to come, but I’m not sure if any of it is possible.”
“What’s on it?” Rob asked.
I laughed, kind of bitterly. “Looms, horses, goats, ovens…”
“Sounds reasonable,” said Paci
I looked at him to see if he was kidding, but his expression was totally serious.
“Yeah, we’re going to need that stuff if we’re going to have a life in Haven,” agreed Winky.
“Uhhhh, yeah. Whatever.” Apparently my friends were living in an alternate dimension where we still had UPS delivery service and vehicles of our own to move things.
“I am very strong, but I don’t know dat I can carry an oven on my beck,” said Bodo, still facing forward.
“Obviously, none of us can do that,” said Paci. “We’re not suggesting that at all.”
“We need to get some trucks or something,” said Rob. “Convoy everything. People included.”
“Is that even possible?” I asked, warming to the idea of a much faster trip than we were capable of making on bikes.
“Why not?” asked Winky. “Don’t you drive?”
“Of course I drive. But where are we going to get these trucks?”
“We have trucks,” said Rob mysteriously. “You leave that up to me and Paci.”
“But I need you guys to help fight if necessary,” I said.
“No one’s going to get any trucks until all the fighting is done,” said Paci. “Don’t worry. We’ve got your back.”
Bodo pedaled faster, pulling ahead of us.
“What’s his problem?” asked Rob quietly. He dropped back to ride next to me. “You piss him off about something?”
“You could say that.” I wasn’t about to give any more details. It was humiliating enough having Bodo know them, and I hated being in the middle of boy-girl drama.
“He’ll get over it,” said Winky. “I don’t think you can keep Bodo down for long.”
I didn’t want to argue with her, but he’d done a pretty good job of staying depressed so far. I wasn’t so sure he’d bounce back as fast as she was suggesting. The kiss with Paci along with the loss of his hawk, Nina, had maybe been too much for him to deal with. I was afraid it would be a while before he was his normal self. Maybe he’d never be the old carefree, silly Bodo with me again. The very idea made me super sad. This world could get very dark and depressing. Goofiness was a much needed release, both for the one goofing off and the ones being entertained by it. And Bodo was a very entertaining guy when he wanted to be.
I let the subject drop, and we all went silent. I was worried any canners that might be waking up in the nearby towns might be headed to the highway, and I didn’t want them hearing us before we heard them.
As we drew past another entrance ramp, I noticed something off about the cars along the highway. The way they were arranged was different or something. It made me uneasy.
“What the hell happened here?” asked Rob, gesturing to a vehicle parked in front of us.
We pulled up closer to it and stopped, all of us frowning as we tried to figure out what the hell had happened to it.
“It looks like it’s been in one of those smash-em-up derbies,” I said.
“It’s been slammed on all four sides,” said Paci, getting off his bike and walking around it. He looked up and down the highway. “There’s nothing out here that looks like it did this.”
“What do you mean?” asked Winky, looking around in confusion.
“I mean, something smashed this car into a crumpled up box, but that something, whatever it is, isn’t here. It would be all smashed too, right? Like another car in the derby?” He turned to face north. “And look.” He pointed towards our future path. “There’s a clear strip right down the center of the highway.”
Sure enough, he was right. The highway had a single cleared lane right down the center, and all kinds of smashed-up cars were angled off to the sides of it, as if they’d been pushed there by a giant beast mowing through.
“It’s still leaking oil,” said Paci, on his knees, staring under the car. “This happened recently.”
“Something came down the middle of this highway like a friggin’ snowplow and moved everything out of the way,” said Rob, his voice going soft.
I wasn’t sure what my friends thought, but I was suddenly very uneasy about this turn of events. I’d never seen anything like this before, and this was my third time on post-apocalyptic I-95.
“What does dis mean?” asked Bodo.
“Only thing that could have done that would be a big truck or maybe a tank,” said Paci.
My blood ran cold, and my words came out sounding strangled. “A tank?”
“Nah, it’s not a damn tank,” scoffed Rob. “A tank would run right over the top of a car, not push it to the side. You’re looking at a big old truck. One-ton or bigger. Maybe an all-terrain modified baby or even a semi.”
“Whatever it is, it’s going to be a monster,” said Paci.
“And not bike-friendly,” added Winky.
We all looked at each other in silence. I finally couldn’t take it anymore; I had to say something. “So what does this mean? Should we get off the highway?”
“No,” said Paci, shaking his head. “It will take us too long to reach Kahayatle, and I don’t want this monster getting too close to our land before we do.”
“I agree. I vote no, we stay on the highway,” said Rob.
“Me also,” agreed Bodo, getting back up on his bike seat.
“I vote we pedal our buns off until we get to Kahayatle,” suggested Winky. “Maybe we can beat this thing, whatever is, before it gets to our house. Or before the owners of it wake up to plow some more cars down.”
I didn’t need to hear anything else. “Let’s ride,” I said, putting renewed energy into my pedaling. Within minutes I was swea
ting and huffing, but I kept going, fearing that our Miccosukee and Creek friends were in danger from some unknown monster-truck owner.
Chapter Four
WE WERE ALMOST TO THE turnoff for Kahayatle when the unmistakeable sound of a diesel engine reached our ears.
I stopped pedaling abruptly, squeezing my brakes so hard, my tires slid on the pavement. Not expecting me to stop, Winky crashed into the back of me, sending both of us to the blacktop in a pile of bike parts and limbs.
“Dammit, Winky!” I yelled, sitting up and trying to untangle my legs from my bike. I had a skinned elbow now and at least a bruise on my knee.
I stood and moved my leg around a little, checking to see if it would affect my fighting abilities. I was relieved to find it was okay.
“Dammit, Winky? What about dammit, Bryn? You’re the one who stopped without any warning.” Winky had gotten up and was brushing herself off. “I have a tear in my boot now, thanks to you.”
“Thanks to you riding too close,” I mumbled.
“Shush. Do you guys hear that?” asked Rob.
“Dat’s a truck,” said Bodo, straddling his bike and walking it over to us.
“That’s a big truck,” said Paci. “Really big.”
“Can you tell what kind?” I asked Rob.
“Big.” He looked at me, all serious now. “Does it matter what kind? It’s friggin’ big. That’s all I need to know.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, it matters. Is it a big pickup or a semi? With a trailer or without?”
“What are you thinking?” asked Winky, leaving her bike to stand by me.
Now I was excited and not as afraid. “I’m thinking if it’s a semi with a trailer, we can use it to haul stuff! We wouldn’t need much gas to get to Haven.” The images were building in my mind - me at the wheel of a giant truck with everything we’d need to support our community riding behind me in a big fat trailer.
This engine sound we were hearing felt like good news. I could totally envision us off-loading a loom from a tractor trailer and Peter jumping up and down while squealing like a girl. I so wanted to make my little buddy happy. He was working so hard to make all of us comfortable, he deserved it.
“Do you know how to drive one of those?” asked Winky. She sounded impressed.
“No, but how hard can it be? I can drive a stick.”
Bodo laughed. “Dat’s funny.”
I frowned at him. Now he was finally kind of talking, but it was only to mock me. “What’s so funny?”
“Dat you think drivingk a big truck will be easy. Do you know dey have ten gears or more? Maybe twenty.”
“What? That’s nuts. Why not just five like a car?” I asked.
Bodo just rolled his eyes.
It made me want to slap him.
“It’s bigger than a car. More weight. It needs more gears for that,” said Paci, frowning at Bodo. He apparently didn’t approve of Bodo’s attitude any more than I did. I was glad to see I wasn’t the only one thinking my boyfriend was acting out of line.
“Whatever. Five gears or fifty, I’m sure it works the same way,” said Winky. “We could figure it out. We’re women.” She winked at me.
“Yeah. Girl power.” I got back on my seat, pushing Bodo’s idiocy to the back of my mind. “Let’s go see what’s going on.”
“Shouldn’t we be a little stealth about it?” asked Winky.
“Yeah. Let’s ride over on the shoulder until we catch a glimpse of it and then decide what to do.”
Everyone started pedaling again, and we made it another hundred yards before the hulking figure of a semi with a big trailer at the back of it came into view. It was sitting in the middle of the highway, a trail of pushed cars to either side of its former path, its engine purring away.
We got off our bikes and laid them down.
“Now what?” asked Rob, staring at the truck.
“Now we sneak up on the driver and see what he’s all about.” I grabbed my weapon and moved down into the ditch on the side of the road. It wasn’t very deep, and if the guy driving bothered to look in our direction he’d probably be able to see us without any problem. It was for that reason that we all carried a gun in the backs of our pants.
When we were about fifty yards back, we shifted our course so that we’d be behind a bunch of high, scruffy bushes when we got even with the truck.
“Can you see anything yet?” asked Winky, coming up behind me.
I had stopped and was looking through the bushes, wishing I had eagle eyes. “I need some binoculars or something. I can’t see crap from here.” There was no movement coming from the cab and no people were visible.
“Your wish is my command,” said Rob, handing me a pair of mini field glasses.
“What the hell?” I took them from him, waiting for an explanation.
Rob shrugged. “Peter. He put them in my bag. He said I’m the tallest, so the most likely to get the best use out of them.”
I shook my head. “That boy scares me sometimes with his efficiency.”
“For serious,” said Winky. “But I’m glad for it. Especially on this trip.”
I turned to the truck again, raising the glasses to my eyes.
At first I saw nothing. But then a movement near the front of the truck caught my attention.
“I see someone,” I whispered, excitedly.
“Who? Is it anyone we know?” asked Winky.
“No. No one I know at least. And he’s wearing regular clothes, so I don’t think he’s from a tribe.”
I watched as the guy, about my age from the look of him but much bigger, climbed up into the cab of the truck.
“What’s he doing?” asked Rob.
“He just got into the truck.”
The engine revved a few times and the truck jerked forward.
“He’s driving it again!” I pulled the binoculars away from my face. “Should we stop him?”
“Hell yeah, we should stop him!” said Rob, already moving to leave the cover of the bushes.
“Wait!” Bodo said. “We needt a plan. Don’t go out dare and get shot.”
“Okay, fine, what’s the plan?” Rob was practically jumping up and down, raring to go after the guy.
“Two of us on the right side, three on the left,” I said, trying to remember what George’s journal said about attacking a moving enemy from behind. “Expect gunfire. Stay behind the truck or as close to it as you can. I don’t think his side mirrors will catch you if you stay low or directly behind the back of the trailer.”
“Let’s hope not,” said Paci. “Who’s on the right and who’s on the left?”
“I’m on the left with Bodo and Rob. You and Winky on the right.”
“What’s the goal?” asked Winky. “You want to take him out?”
“No. No one takes anyone out. He could be a really good guy. Assume he’s bad until we know otherwise, but don’t shoot unless he shoots first, okay?”
I looked around and made sure I had everyone’s assent. There was no time for any more discussion. The truck was moving forward again and though it was slowed by its car bashing, it wasn’t stopping. My friends nodded, and we all put our hands up for a team high-five. The sound of our hands smacking together was drowned out by the revving of the diesel engine nearby.
“Let’s go,” I said, a little louder than I’d meant to. But I didn’t worry because there was no way the driver could hear us. His engine was whining out really high, and the banging noises coming from the jerking cab section were probably too distracting. Whoever this guy was, he definitely wasn’t a trained truck driver.
We ran as fast as we could down the side of the road until we were nearly parallel with the truck. Then we angled in sharply to get behind the trailer.
Bodo and Rob came with me and hung out at the back left corner of the trailer. Winky and Paci went to the right tail light. We jogged slowly, easily keeping pace with the jerking truck, but I knew it was only a matter of time before it picked up speed an
d left us behind.
I was staring at the back of the trailer doors, trying to see a way to jump up and hold onto it in case we weren’t able to get to the cab in time, when a terrifying scream came from inside.
***
“Holy crap, did you hear that?” asked Rob in a high-pitched and breathless voice.
The truck was picking up speed, which made running up to the cab area no longer an option. Cars were being knocked away, and some of them scraped the side of the truck as it went by. We risked getting smooshed if we tried to run alongside.
“We need to get up on there!” I yelled, looking left and right at my friends running next to me.
All of us surged forward, grabbing onto different parts of the truck’s back end. I was able to get a grip first on a metal step affixed to the back of the bumper and then on a vertical bar that ran down the length of the doors. Once I pulled myself up on the step, I could hold onto the big latch that held the doors shut.
When I had a good hold on it and my feet were firmly planted, I dropped my free hand down, reaching out for Winky. We grabbed each other’s wrists, and I hauled her towards me.
For one terrifying moment, Winky was hanging free with only me holding her aloft. I grunted with the effort, worried I’d drop her to the pavement and at the very least give her a serious road rash.
But just when I thought I would lose her, she found the ledge my feet were resting on and steadied herself, grabbing hold of another metal bar running down from the top of the door.
I let go of her wrist when I knew she no longer needed me. Now it was just the two of us on the back, the guys still trying to grab onto something.
Paci got up next, using a tail light and a door hinge, but Bodo and Rob weren’t able to find an available spot.
“What should we do?!” shouted Rob, dropping back a little.
“Try to follow us!” I yelled. I couldn’t worry about them now. We had to get into that cab and stop this truck.
Another scream rent the air. Whoever was in the back of this trailer was either in pain or very afraid - maybe both. It gave me goosebumps as it trailed off into a weird keening.