Chapter 91
Nothing was going to plan--not at the moment anyway. Not since he’d tossed the tracker into the river and taken off for Louis City. With a barrage of gunfire to his back, Adam had driven north, going as fast as he could in any direction that wasn’t deadly.
He knew he needed to go northeast, but he hadn’t had a chance to fiddle with the navigation as he’d fled the area, just doing whatever it took to get away from the Mothers that suddenly seemed to be bearing down on him, despite the fact that he’d already dumped the only device that should’ve been sending a signal out to them. It seemed as if they were on his tail for quite some time, though, as if they hadn’t been thrown off by the signal moving down the river. He’d ridden north through a forested area, dodging trees and stumps, occasionally nearly wiping out as he hit big rocks, until finally, with the sun almost straight overhead, he could no longer hear the roar of the land rider engines or the ping ping of gunfire. With a canopy of trees above him, the drones would have difficulty navigating here, too, and there were plenty of branches to hide beneath if one did flyover. He’d finally felt as if he could pause for a moment to refuel and figure out where the hell he was going.
Adam had turned the bike off and wiped his brow, still needing to hurry but also needing to breathe. He’d thought about calling Seth or Esther but hadn’t taken the time. Instead, surrounded by trees far taller than the ones they’d been running through together near Michaelanburg, he’d rushed through refueling and figured out which way to go. He was way off target now, and being in the forest meant he’d have to drive more slowly until he got out from between the trees and back to a road. He’d left with the hope that he’d be able to make up some of the time he’d wasted heading the wrong direction.
Since then, he’d stopped to refuel another time but hadn’t slept. His mind was growing foggy, and he couldn’t even remember the last time he’d gotten a full night’s sleep. The energy pills helped, and he’d taken another one when he’d stopped to refuel, but he hadn’t called because it had been the middle of the night, and he didn’t want to wake Rain or anyone else. Now, it was morning again, and he knew it was the day Rain and Seth would be leaving Judea. He was making up some time and might be able to meet them as planned, but if he stopped at all to sleep, he might miss the rendezvous.
Out of the forest now, he was on a road lined with trees on either side. He hadn’t seen a dirt road this clear in a long time and imagined others must use it frequently enough to keep it wide and from becoming overgrown. Thoughts of seeing Rain again soon had his mind wandering so that he didn’t realize he was at an intersection until it was too late to slow or look both ways.
He didn’t see the other vehicle until it was almost too late to think about stopping. The chances that a truck would come out of nowhere and just happen to be crossing at the exact same time as him seemed nearly impossible, and for a moment, he thought maybe he was hallucinating, but Adam immediately squeezed the brake as tightly as he could. The motorcycle spun out, the end coming around as the trailer whipped up rocks and spewed them into the air, spilling its contents of full and empty fuel containers all over the road.
Adam felt himself tipping to the side as well. He had a helmet on, but there wasn’t much to protect his body from the gravel, should he make contact with the road. He did his best to fight the inertia as the spin took over, but he couldn’t completely keep himself off of the ground. Rocks bit into his knee as it scraped against the road. He fought to hold onto the bike, thinking it would keep him from tumbling out of control, but he couldn’t keep his hands on the grips anymore, and the bike went flying out of his grasp as his backside hit the road hard.
He flipped a couple of times, his hands dragging through the gravel, jagged edges biting into his shoulder. As much as it hurt, he knew he was okay once he came to a stop in the middle of the road. The bike, on the other hand, lay on its side about ten feet ahead of him, the wheels slowing, the cart twisted but still hanging on. Adam swore under his breath, glad he was alive, but he had a feeling the bike was not as lucky.
The truck came to a halt just in front of the bike and out of the middle of the crossroads. The door flew open and a woman got out. Immediately, he could tell she wasn’t a Mother, but he still reached for his weapon. Finding his holster empty, he glanced around and saw his gun tossed about twenty feet away. He considered scrambling for it, but she didn’t look dangerous. Rather, she looked concerned.
“Are you okay?” the woman shouted as she hurried over to him. Black, wavy hair billowed out all around her as she ran. Her clothes indicated she was from Oklasaw or the surrounding area. Denim pants and a T-shirt with boots. Her cocoa colored skin glistened in the bright sunlight, and he noticed she had a pretty face with dark, chocolate eyes. She couldn’t have been more than twenty years old, he guessed.
Realizing she’d asked a question, Adam said, “I think so.” He glanced down at his body and saw his knee was bleeding. It was only after he saw the rip in his pants and the blood flowing out that it began to hurt. His palms were skinned as well, and he figured he’d have even more bruising on his bottom, but he hadn’t broken any bones.
“I’m so sorry,” she said, glancing at his bike but then coming over to him. She crouched down and looked at his knee. “I have a first aid kit in the truck. Is anything else hurt?”
“No, just my knee, I think.” He started to stand but the world began to spin slightly and he stopped himself.
“Stay here. I’ll be right back,” she said hopping up and running back to her truck.
“In the middle of the road?” he asked her, but she didn’t answer. Adam glanced around. He hadn’t seen another vehicle--at all--since he’d left Judea, except for farm equipment in the fields, though he’d heard the Mothers. Still, it seemed dangerous to keep sitting there.
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