And that’s when Aly really knew it. The house was going up in flames. It was already a lost cause. There was nothing she could do about it.
“Jordan!”
No answer.
She had to get out of there.
And she had to get Jordan out of there too.
He may have been a sleazeball and a drunk, but he was still her uncle. Her blood. She’d already lost her mother. Losing Jordan, as much as she didn’t want to admit it, would be too much.
The flames seemed like they were all around her. Smoke filled the air.
It seemed almost unbelievable, how fast it had all happened.
Visibility was reduced. Her body was hot, and the air felt like it would scorch her.
Her body was still incredibly weak.
But adrenaline coursed through her.
She could do this.
She could save Jordan. Grab him, shake him awake. Or drag him out of the house if she had to.
With determination etched into her face, Aly stepped forward, making her way between the high flames, towards the corner where Jordan lay slumped.
21
“He’s gaining on us!”
“I’m pushing it as hard as I can.”
The Subaru engine was whining like it’d never whined before. Jessica was sure it’d simply shut down at any moment, overloaded however engines got overloaded.
Jessica didn’t really know, though. She knew about bikes, not cars. Bikes were something she could understand, with the simple and easy-to-see connection between the source of power (the legs) and the rear wheel. The drivetrain was something she could touch and feel. A car? That was a whole different story. She understood, in theory at least, that it wasn’t totally different.
Jessica had her head spun completely around, her neck craning, as she watched the motorcycle following them.
Up ahead, the road was ending at an intersection.
The trees were ripping by them. They might have been going a hundred miles an hour. Maybe over. Definitely over ninety. And it wasn’t the sort of road you should drive that fast on.
Rob barely slowed down, taking the turn so fast that Jessica feared that they’d lose control completely and crash headlong into a tree.
But somehow Rob kept it together, jerking the wheel hard to get them back on track. Two wheels bumped over uneven earth on the side of the road, but soon all four wheels were back on the pavement.
The motorcycle was still pursuing them.
It was like a country road. It wasn’t exactly curvy, but it definitely wasn’t a straight shot from one end to the other. There were enough slight curves to keep Rob occupied at the wheel.
“Why’d you go that way?” shouted Jessica, above the sound of the engine.
The windows were down, and the air was blowing her hair around crazily.
“What?”
“Why’d you go this way?”
“Back to the lake house,” she heard him shout.
“You’re leading them back to the lake house?”
Rob flashed her a look. She could see it in his eyes. He was scared. And he didn’t know what he was doing.
Suddenly, the noise from the engine cut off.
The car started to slow down immediately. It wasn’t getting any power. It was just coasting along. Jessica may have not known a lot about cars, but she knew that.
Rob shot her a terrified look as he fumbled with the keys, the pedals, and the shifter.
No matter how hard or frantically he tried, he couldn’t get the engine started again.
“Shit,” was all he could say, over and over again.
Through the rear window, Jessica could see the motorcycle rapidly gaining on them.
There was just the slightest decline to the road. If they’d been headed uphill, they might be stopped already.
They must have been going at least a hundred miles an hour. They had a while before the Subaru completely stopped due to lack of momentum.
Rob was still having to turn the wheel, to keep them on the road. There was absolutely no power, and the power steering must have been dead. But their velocity still allowed him to turn the wheel easily enough.
“He’s gaining on us,” said Jessica. “Give me your gun.”
“Of course he’s gaining on us! We’ve got no power. We’re toast. What are we going to do?”
“We’re going to not lose our shit, that’s what we’re going to do. Now give me your gun.”
“What? You’re going to shoot him out the window? Like we’re in some movie?”
“Yes,” said Jessica. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do. Now for the last time, hand it over.”
With just one hand on the wheel, Rob handed over his gun.
Jessica checked it, felt the weight of it in her hands. It felt good to be armed again.
The Subaru was, little by little, decelerating. It wasn’t much, but it was perceptible.
Jessica didn’t know how long the road went on like this. It wasn’t like they’d have to stop if they came to a stop sign. But surely the slight downhill would end at some point, turning into a slight uphill.
Not that it mattered.
The biker had already closed the distance. He was maybe ten feet behind them.
And he was repositioning his shotgun.
It looked like he was trying to get the gun into position so that he could fire it at them while still riding the motorcycle.
“What’s he doing?” Rob’s voice was anxious. A little high-pitched.
“Trying to shoot us. Maybe blow out a tire.”
“Right now?” Fear in his voice, ducking his head down a little.
“He’s not going to be able to make it. This isn’t the movies. There’s no way he can ride that thing one-handed.”
Jessica was getting into position, trying to get to where she could get as far out the window as she needed to be.
But it was harder than it looked, and it seemed that to get the angle on the shot she’d need, she’d have to be really hanging out of the Subaru. And that didn’t seem possible, unless she wanted to fall.
Again, this wasn’t the movies.
“Aren’t you going to shoot him?”
“I can’t get the angle.”
“Why not?”
“Just shut up and drive.”
This wasn’t the time to have to explain everything to Rob.
Jessica was again spun around in her seat, watching the guy on the bike.
He was close.
Very close.
Still fumbling with the shotgun.
What an amateur.
Suddenly, Jessica had an idea. She didn’t know why she hadn’t thought of it before. Or Rob, for that matter.
“OK, Rob. You’ve got to listen to me.”
“What?” Rob’s voice made it sound like he was losing control. And that’s not what would help them right now. But there was no time to get him calmed down. He just needed to be able to follow her instructions.
“Just do what I say. No arguing. OK, on the count of three, you’re going to hit the brakes. And hit them hard. Really slam on them.”
“The brakes? The car’s off. They’re not going to work.”
“They’ll work, trust me. You’ve got to hit them really hard. Use both feet. Really jam them down. I’ll pull the emergency brake while you’re doing that.”
“But, wait…”
Jessica had once, long ago, been in a car that had suddenly quit in the middle of a commute. Her mother had slammed on the brakes, and the car had stopped. Jessica may not have understood how it worked, but in this situation, total knowledge of the mechanics didn’t really matter.
“But…” Rob was still protesting. He was starting to freak out.
“Now!” Jessica screamed right in his ear. There wasn’t any time to try to be calm with him, to try to coax him through this. He just needed to do it.