Chapter 82
One thin beam of light lit the winding path in front of him, if one could even call it a path. The only thing that distinguished the narrow trail in front of Adam from the rest of the surrounding countryside was the slightly smaller size of the obstacles that stood in his path. Dodging larger rocks that had come to find their way in his immediate course was even more difficult now that the sun had gone down. The moon wasn’t full out here in the real world, as it had been in the mountain dome. Instead, it was a sliver that didn’t lend itself to much illumination. While the stars would’ve commanded his attention if he’d had the luxury of pulling his eyes away from the ground long enough to admire them, the bright pinpricks of white were more of a distraction than a source of light, the urge to take his eyes off of the road, to gaze up at them and admire their beauty overpowering,
He was shocked that he had made it this far. Night had fallen, and he rode on, the tracker in his pocket continuing to emit its invisible beacon to the Mothers, letting them know his exact location. Yet, he’d ridden on for hours, unharassed. It was a miracle. Either that or the people of Oklasaw had done more to protect him than he could’ve ever imagined anyone would be willing to do.
A drone had flown overhead just before the sun set. He’d assumed then that that would be the end of him, that at any moment, a flock of heliobirds would descend upon him, or dust clouds from the south would warn him of his imminent doom as the Mothers sent everything they had after him. Still, he’d rode on, increasing his speed to borderline dangerous and forcing the bike to consume every last drop of fuel before he’d finally stopped to hastily refill the tank under cover of trees. Now, hours later, the Mothers still hadn’t caught up to him, and he had no idea why. With the tracking device and the drone, they had to know where he was. So why weren’t they there, too?
Perhaps the trembling of the ground and the occasional booming from the south was more of an answer than he could confirm at the moment. There wasn’t any way to know for sure, but the sparks that lit up the distant sky from time to time could be signs of war. Or it could be an approaching thunderstorm. He had a feeling he knew the answer, though, that the Mothers were battling their way to him, that even now, as he flew over the ground as quickly as he dared, some Oklasaw residents were giving up their lives for him, a complete stranger who had come here uninvited, bringing all hell behind him. Why hadn't they just stepped aside and left him to his demise? It didn’t make any sense, but the more he saw the bright lights in the distance, at least a hundred miles or so away from where he sped through the darkness, the more convinced he became that the Mothers were coming, and it was just a matter of time.
When they reached him, he wanted to be free of the tracker. He wanted to leave them wondering why he had split from the rest of the party and convinced that Mist and the others were up ahead, somewhere on the river, not back where they’d first noticed the beacon, not anywhere near the mountain home he’d left hours ago. He’d never tell them the truth, no matter what they did to him, but he could pretend to break and lie, using their torture to spit out that the others had decided to take the river to Aricornia.
Thinking of the others brought his mind to Rain. How was she? Had she gotten some rest after Mist’s procedure? He was concerned about Mist, too, and about Walt, who would be so upset if Mist had bled too much and passed away. Walt was a good friend, and it was clear how much the other fellow loved his girl. It would be a shame to see him so upset. Mist was smart and practical--most of the time. The thought of never seeing her again also made Adam tear up and hope she’d make a full recovery, but he knew he could get over the loss of both of them. Being a Dick for so long had allowed him the ability to disconnect his emotions from people he liked who suddenly never came back. It happened too frequently, unfortunately, and most of the time, he never knew where the other guys had gone. Some of them may have been moved to Construction or another department, but he knew, the majority of the time when a Dick disappeared, it was because he’d come face to face with the Bridge.
He didn’t want to think about that, either. In the darkness, with only his thoughts and the road in front of him, It was easy to see their faces, to let the larger rocks to his left and right form into recognizable features. Seeing as though it wouldn’t do him any good to wonder about their fates, he tried to focus on the one person he knew he could never lose, not if he didn’t want to lose himself. Rain.
She was the only thing that mattered at the moment. Not having any idea whether or not he’d ever see her again was enough to keep him cutting through the darkness, even though he had a feeling he needed to stop to refuel soon. The urge to pull over to the side of the trail and call her was overwhelming. He had a feeling that hearing her voice would reenergize him even more than adding the liquid from the cans in the cart would do to the motorcycle. But he had promised he wouldn’t make the phone call until he had to stop again, and he wouldn’t do that until he was completely out of gas. According to the gauge in front of him, he still had about a sixteenth of a tank, which could carry him on for another half hour or so, at least.
The howl of a wild animal from the woods to his left hit his ear, louder than the purr of the engine. Birds scattered overhead, and in the distance, the booms rang out, slightly louder than before. The little arrow on the navigation screen told him he was getting closer to his destination by the second, that he would likely make it ahead of schedule. Then, they wouldn’t be able to find him as easily, once the Mothers broke through the thin line that currently held them at bay. If he could get rid of the tracker, get off the beaten path, and head northeast, he had a chance at getting to Louis City in time to meet Rain and the others. He had a chance of seeing her face again, of living. Another flash of light lit up the southern sky. Closer. Brighter. He was running out of time.
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