The Nightworld - Jack Blaine [53]
It starts with no problem. I wonder if there will ever be a time again when things like whether the bike starts will feel like less than life-or-death issues. I hope so.
The freeway stretches ahead, an endless dark line.
Chapter 29
We’ve been riding awhile. My butt hurts and I wonder how Lara is feeling. Tank has found a way to use Lara’s pack as a pillow, and he’s asleep, I think. I’m thinking about pulling over for another stop, just to stretch our legs, when Lara squeezes my arm hard.
“What?” I shout back at her, unsure if she can hear me over the bike. She leans forward and puts her mouth close to my ear.
“I saw a light behind us!”
I let up on the gas for a second, and the bike slows.
“No! Keep going.”
I can hear the fear in Lara’s voice. I give the bike more gas and look ahead. The freeway stretches flat for at least another couple of miles, but then there’s a drop-off where it descends into a valley. I turn my head so Lara can hear me better.
“Let me know if they get any closer! I’m going to try to lose them!”
I gun the bike, pouring on speed until I’m going so fast I worry about losing control. I just want to get down the hill with enough time to ditch whoever’s behind us—I just hope there’s an off-ramp.
When we reach the crest of the slope, I could laugh out loud. It’s a long, steep descent, with not one, but two off-ramps to choose from. I try to decide: the first one arcs off the freeway gently, eventually ending in an intersection that must lead to the usual gas stations and restaurants. The second is too far ahead to really see, but it looks like it veers off more sharply, and it disappears behind a small hill. The freeway climbs again after that and disappears on the horizon. A perfect setup to ditch a tail.
I decide to take a chance. I head for the second one as fast as I can. Right before it there’s a utility building—one of those metal cubes about the size of a garage that dot the landscape. It’s got a clump of three smallish pine trees nestled up against one side. As I’m passing it, an idea strikes me; I slow way down, turn off the exit ramp, and drive straight for the building. I pull the bike between it and the trees and kill the engine. Lara and I hop off and crouch next to the utility building’s wall, peeking out at the freeway. She shoves my gun at me and sets an extra clip of ammo between us.
“If I get killed, this fits my gun. Make sure you get my gun.”
I stare. “You’re not—”
“Look!” Lara points to the freeway.
We’ve hidden ourselves just in time. The lights of a car pierce the dark at the top of the hill behind us. The car is moving fast at first, but it slows once it clears the rise. I think they’re looking for our taillights. I’m right, because they slow nearly to a stop at the first exit. I can almost hear them wondering which exit we took, that one or the next, or if we took one at all. The car idles for a minute or so—it’s too far away at this point to see the people inside, but the fact that it’s a dark sedan with no markings makes me imagine that they are the kind of people who have two-way radios with them. The kind of people who shoot scientists and teenage kids without a second thought. I hope I’m wrong.
Lara and I wait without a sound. The sedan slowly rolls closer, and I watch with horror as a window rolls down and a high-powered spotlight shines along the side of the road. I glance at the bike: Tank is being quiet, and I don’t see how they could spot the bike or us from the road. Still, I feel like holding my breath. Lara presses closer to me.
All we can do is wait.
It’s so quiet, really, especially when you think about the fact that we are on the side of a major freeway. The only noise is the sound of the black car, its quiet engine humming as it approaches. No birds, no wind, no horns or whizzing semi trucks. I draw back from the side of the building, and Lara and I both flatten ourselves against it. The car must be directly across from us now. I can see the individual needles of one of the tree branches, lit up by the floodlight. And there,