Chapter 70

The motorbike had to be at least thirty years older than Adam and Seth. Rigid joints along the casing and the seat told Adam that it had been put back together more than once. Since the vehicle only had two wheels, unlike the apparatus the boat had become when it had transitioned to land to bring them into the cave only a few days before, the bike was fundamentally unstable. Even when Seth was bringing it out of the garage into a large clearing that was meant to resemble an open field, though it was still inside of the mountain, it leaned to one side. Adam had good balance and coordination, but he didn’t know how well he’d be able to handle this challenge.
“All right, this is it,” Seth said, kicking out a piece of metal that allowed the bike to balance on the ground so that he could let go of it. “Are you sure you’re up to this?”
“I guess we’ll find out,” Adam said, running his hand through his hair. “I have to be.”
Seth shook his head, clearly disagreeing. “So, this is how you accelerate.” He squeezed a mechanism on the right handle. “And this is the brake.” This time he indicated a similar mechanism on the left handle. “The speedometer will tell you how fast you’re going. Pay careful attention to the fuel level. Peter is gathering up enough corn ethanol for you to be able to make it to the river and then to our rendezvous point, plus a little, but there won’t be a lot extra. If you should wipe out and spill it, you’ll be screwed.”
“How am I going to carry it?” Adam wanted to know.
“There’s an attachment that hooks on the back. Peter will bring it around. It might slow you down a little, but it’s the only way.”
Adam nodded in understanding. “So… I’m guessing the hardest part is keeping it upright.”
“Yes, that’s certainly part of the challenge. But you’ve also got to keep from wiping out from hitting a big rock, a rut in the ground, or a tree. It’s not easy.”
That was becoming abundantly clear. Adam looked it over for a few more seconds and then saw Peter coming from the direction of the garage where the boat was parked, the same place where Seth had gotten the bike. He vaguely remembered how awestruck he’d been stepping into this place and seeing what appeared to be a night sky inside of a cave. Now, the sky was blue above them, a faux sun shining, clouds wafting across the projection screen above them. It didn’t look so real now, in the brighter light, but it was still miraculous. For a moment, Adam wished they could just stay there. But he and his friends had a mission to complete, to get to Quebec and ask the government to help free the others still trapped in Michaelanburg. As tempting as it was to forget all that, he owed it to the other Dicks to do his best. And at the moment, he needed to get that stupid tracker as far away from Rain as possible, so there would be no lounging around under the fake sun.
Taking what looked to be some sort of thick glastic hat off of the back of the bike, Seth said, “I suggest you put this helmet on. You wanna protect your head. Unless of course the Mothers are coming, and then, you might wanna just get it over with.” He smirked, but Adam got that he wasn’t really joking.
Adam took the helmet and studied it. It looked a bit like the gear the Military Mothers wore when they were moving in to sedate a Dick who was out of sorts or break up one of the few fights that sometimes broke out. He tapped it and realized the blue shell wasn’t glastic at all. It didn’t seem nearly as unbreakable as the material he was used to. “What’s this made out of?”
“Plastic,” Seth said, his eyebrows knit together. “It’s pretty thick, though. Your head should be fine unless you slam it into a boulder or something. The rest of you, well, it depends on how fast you’re going.”
Shaking his head and trying not to think about how stupid this was, he put the helmet on, clipping the strap under his chin as Peter arrived with a small cart loaded with canisters. They were strapped in, a clear covering holding them in place.
“It’s easy enough to fuel,” Seth went on, unscrewing a lid on the left side of the bike. Just pour it in here. Try not to let it get too low. By the way, do you have water? Some of the territory you’ll be crossing is dry and arid.”
Adam nodded. “Your mom filled my backpack up with food and water.” It was nice having a mom, as opposed to a Mother. Esther had made sure he had as much as she could fit into the pack without weighing him down too much. He also had some hydration pills, just in case. Plenty of ammunition for the gun in his holster was also in the pack, but he hoped he didn’t need it. One gun against the Motherhood likely wouldn’t be effective.
“Before we hook the cart up, I think you should try it out. I guess I’ll show you first.”
“Do you want the helmet?” Adam offered.
“No,” Seth said, slinging one leg over the seat and kicking the metal piece up so that he was balancing the bike. “I’m not going to be going that fast.”
Seth showed him how to start the bike, and the machine sputtered a second before the engine began to purr beneath him. Seth reminded him, “You’re going to want to go pretty slow until you get the hang of it, but don’t go too slow, or you’ll tip over.”
“Right,” Adam said, raising his voice over the roar of the engine.
“Ease into it, and remember it’s more about your state of mind than anything else. If you’re scared, you’re more likely to crash. You know how to steer, right?”
Adam nodded. He assumed so. He’d never had to steer anything before. They’d find out.
Slowly, Seth eased up the gas, and the engine revved as he lifted his feet and rested them on two metal pieces protruding from the bike. Adam paid careful attention to how Seth kept the bike balanced, moving slightly from one side to the other as necessary. When he applied the brake a few moments later, he set his feet down on the ground as the bike stopped, keeping the engine running but no longer moving. “Ready to try it, or do you want to see it again?”
Seeing it again wouldn’t do him any good. Adam needed to get on with it. “I’ll try it.” He imagined himself ruining the bike before he even got out of Judea. Seth switched the engine off and put the stand down. Adam walked the few steps over to where he’d parked. He noticed a few people standing around the perimeters of the open space, watching Seth and his house guest intently. Adam couldn’t let that make him lose focus. He needed to give every ounce of attention he could muster to what he was about to do.
He sucked in air and mounted the bike the same way that Seth had. It wasn’t as uncomfortable as he thought it might be. It was lighter than he’d imagined. The grips felt right in his hands. Sitting there for a moment, getting a feel for the vehicle, he was reminded of a book he’d read once. The Mothers encouraged Dicks to read in their free time to keep them more docile, only allowing access to books with messages that didn’t go against the Mothers’ rules or philosophies on how life should be. All of the books were only available on ancient tablets that didn’t work half of the time and had no access to anything else, but it was better to be lost in a make believe world than face their present existence. One of the books had been about a girl who loved to ride horses. The first time she’d climbed onto the back of one of the majestic beasts, she’d felt as if her body melded to the creatures, as if they were one. Adam sort of hoped this bike would be a little like that horse, and it did feel more familiar than he’d expected it to, but he still fully accepted the fact that he was about to get up close and personal with the rocky mountain floor of the cave.