She could feel the wind buffeting the side of the SW as she piloted it over the rough sand. The clouds in the distance were getting darker, and she wondered briefly if she would be swept away if it suddenly rained hard. She'd heard that sometimes desert thunderstorms were like that. One minute it would be barren and dry, the next the desert would be transformed into a rushing river. Whatever. It was best not to think of that now. Concentrate on one thing at a time. Get the fuck out of here.
She drove on, trying to keep the vehicle in a more or less straight line. She had no idea if she was going north or south, east or west. Just knowing she had to find a road, a path. Anything resembling civilization. She wondered how far off the beaten path the incline they had picked for her murder was. It had to be at least a mile off the nearest road. Maybe even more. Less chance of finding her body after they were finished. Which meant she had a few more minutes of driving, if she was lucky. She'd already been driving for… what? Ten minutes? Fifteen?
Her side throbbed and she felt nauseous again. She fought the urge to throw up and almost brought the SUV to a halt. She took a deep breath, swallowed, and released her foot off the brake. Move, she thought. Just drive. Just get the hell out of here.
She thought she could feel her blood coagulating beneath her hand. But then every time this thought entered her mind she would feel a fresh warm squirt, and her hand would feel drenched again. She tried to focus back on the task of driving, looking out the windshield at the tumbleweed blowing across the desert, watching twigs and brush blowing as the wind picked up even more, hearing the wind howl and moan as it raced across the desert floor. She didn't even bother steering now, just kept the vehicle on a steady course. The tires bounced over rocks, rolled over cactus. She felt a shock jar her system and shake her guts, and a fresh wave of pain erupted in her side. She screamed and took her foot off the accelerator. Something had slapped the underside of the vehicle; it sounded like something had broken off, and now the vehicle was making a chug-chug-chug sound. The SUV was vibrating, and she had her foot off the gas. She dosed her eyes, fighting to battle the pain down, feeling her lifeblood slip away. Haw much blood can a person bleed out and still live? she thought. A pint? She'd lost at least that much, maybe more. The seat was drenched with blood; it was pooling down on the floor of the vehicle, near the pedals. Her back was sticky with it. No telling how much she had lost outside during her fight with Animal. She pressed her hand against the wound, reawakening the pain again, and gritted her teeth. She opened her eyes, her vision blurry, and gripped the steering wheel tighter. She put her foot back on the accelerator and focused her mind back on driving.
She managed to stay focused on driving for what seemed like five minutes. But then again, it could have been five seconds. Five hours. She wasn't counting the time. The clouds were still dark, the wind was still blowing, and now it was starting to spit rain. She knew some time had passed because the scenery had changed somewhat. She glanced in the rearview mirror, and now she could hardly see the incline. It had receded to a small thing in the background. How far had she driven? A mile? Two miles?
Then suddenly the tires rolled over smooth pavement. She stopped, looked back and forth. It was a narrow road, roughly paved, but it was a road nonetheless. And where there were roads there were people.
She took her hand off her side quickly and put the vehicle in park, then reached for the cell phone again. It slipped from her grasp from the blood that had dampened her hand. She had to hold it with two hands as she dialed 911, her tongue sticking out in concentration. A lank of bloodied hair hung over her forehead and she put the receiver to her ear, hoping and praying that the call would go through. Pleasepleasepleasepleaseplease`
Nothing.
She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry. She fought the urge to do both. Instead, she replaced the phone back in the cup holder, put the vehicle back in drive, looked both ways, decided to turn right, and started heading down the road.
She wondered if Animal and Tim were dead now. How hard had she really hit Tim? Maybe he was only knocked out. Maybe he just had a really bad concussion. Didn't people who have concussions bleed out of their ears? Maybe he'll come out of it, and when he sees Animal's body lying there he'll realize what's happened. Maybe hell get Animal's keys and come after me. Maybe he's driving after me right now, maybe he's coming after me right this minute and-
She banished the thought completely and gritted her teeth. Her left hand went back to trying to staunch the flow of blood from the wound in her side.
And she drove.
She peeked in the rearview mirror occasionally, seeing nothing. The road ahead of her was barren, now growing dirty from the blowing wind. The clouds loomed darker, solid black where they met the horizon. A crack of thunder reverberated in the air and the sky lit up with lightning. To her right she could see that it was raining far off in the distance. Judging by the way the wind was blowing, the storm was heading her way.
She drove. And concentrated on keeping her mind off the pain of her wounds by driving. She thought about Brad, her parents. She thought about winning, about beating the bastards who had set this all up. And the more she thought about them, the angrier she got. And the angrier she got, the more determined she became to fight the drowsiness that was now threatening to envelop her. She shook her head, forcing herself to stay awake. Keep driving. Just keep driving, keep the vehicle on the road and keep dr-
And then she was on another road, this one a much larger highway. Pwo lanes, freshly paved.
She stopped the SUV, looked up and down the road, fighting drowsiness, trying to reach a decision of which way to turn.
She turned left.
When she pulled onto the road she saw a flash of light in the distance. As she pulled into the lane she squinted, fighting to stay awake. The lights loomed larger, and when she recognized them for what they were she felt such a rush of excitement that she almost collapsed over the steering wheel in joy. She fought the urge and continued on, the plan springing to mind as easily as the decision to fight for her life back in the desert. The headlights were far enough away that she could simply steer the vehicle into the opposing lane, blocking its path. Whoever was driving the vehicle would stop. Whoever it was would help her.
She turned the steering wheel sharply to the left, feeling the tires skid across the pavement. She thought the SW was going to tip over and she automatically grabbed the steering wheel with her right hand, a fresh wave of pain exploding through her abdomen. Her foot was pumping the brakes and she felt herself spinning, as if she were on an amusement park whirligig.
When the SUV stopped she was facing the headlights, which were now looming larger, she had made a complete three-sixty in the opposing lane. The headlights were blinding and now she could see the vehicle clearly. It was a tractor-trailer truck, one of those long-haul eighteen-wheelers. She could hear the hiss of its air brakes as it began slowing to a stop.
With a gasp of relief, Lisa fumbled for the driver's-side door and got it open. She spilled out onto the pavement, screaming in agony as her side exploded again. She tasted dirt in her mouth. The hiss of escaping air from the huge truck's braking system was loud in her ears, and she tried to ignore the sensation of her guts sliding out of the hole Animal had made in her side with the knife. She tried to move her arms, to position herself to move forward, but she was feeling herself fall down into a dark hole. She fought the feeling, shook her head to clear the blackness that was rapidly engulfing her from the inside out, and the last thing she was consciously aware of was a rapid plummet toward darkness, strong hands grasping her, and the sound of a male voice.