else.
Jacob frowns
slightly. “It seems we all need to have the gun talk. How did you
all survive this long without one?”
We say
nothing.
“I’m not going
to shoot you,” Jacob says, surprised. “I’m going to give you
cover.”
“Oh, right,”
Kean says. “I totally thought you were using it to force us to go
out there.”
Jacob’s
expression flattens, almost to the point where I think he might be
offended that we thought so low of him.
Kean unclips
his seatbelt and starts sorting out in his brain just how he’s
going to get himself out of the car and into the danger. It’s
different for him. He still thinks of Henry before he does
something. Kean has to keep himself alive.
I don’t have
that.
“Don’t miss,” I
say to Jacob. But I’ve seen him in action, up close and far away.
It’s scary unreal. He shoots, he doesn’t miss.
Jacob’s eyes
glint. “I’ll try not to.”
I have to make
myself get out of the car as soon as possible or I’ll lose my
nerve, so I tap Trouble on the shoulder to get things started. I
point to him and do a steering wheel movement with my hands.
Trouble nods back at me and pats the steering wheel. Jacob, rather
amazingly, winds down the window and hoists himself gracefully out.
I follow the sound of his movement on the roof as Trouble leans
over and winds the window up again, leaving just a tiny gap at the
top, which is less than I’d like if I were Jacob.
I puff out a
breath to steel myself. “How do we do this?”
Kean is looking
out the windscreen and biting his lip. “Maybe start at the front
and work our way back here? I can push the cars if you steer from
the driver’s side.”
I nod. It
sounds reasonable.
“Try and pop
the car doors open so you’ve got a bit of protection, but don’t get
in. Just steer with your left and push with your right. And make
sure you release the handbrake and put them in neutral or we won’t
go anywhere.”
“Got it.”
“Ready?” Kean’s
green eyes are surprisingly steady.
I nod. “Let’s
get this over with.”
We pop open the
side doors and slide down to the ground. I press my door shut and
crouch-run to the front of the car where I meet Kean. I glance
back, just to check Jacob’s paying attention. He’s got two guns
now, arms stretched out but still. His eyes are scanning the
scene.
“Go,” Jacob
says without looking at us.
We take off at
a run, our feet pattering along the road as we sweep between the
cars. I have to suck in and go sideways to squeeze between two
vehicles so close they feel like they’re trying to crush me.
We reach the
first car in the queue: it’s a scratched silver thing with a dent
in the side door. Poath road is only single lanes but opens up into
double lanes just before the boom gates. All lanes are jammed up,
but we just need to move everything blocking the left one into the
side street and we’ll be able to get through.
Kean taps the
boot of the silver car, just loud enough for me to hear. I look
over and he nods. But when I reach the driver’s side door and pull
on the handle, it won’t budge.
I straighten.
“It’s locked,” I whisper, still gripping the handle.
Seconds later
the air sizzles, rippling as if it’s being torn apart, and the
driver’s side window implodes.
Right in front
of me.
The noise
nearly shatters my eardrums. Glass shards spew everywhere.
My whole body
kind of jolts in reaction and my heart just about forgets to pump.
Slowly, I look back at Jacob, realising he just shot the window
out, narrowly missing my face.
He doesn’t seem
to notice my horror.
“Flo,” Kean
calls, and I jump back into action, unlocking the door from inside,
flinging it open and swiping through the broken glass so I can
release the handbrake.
“Yep,” I call
back and we both start pushing. My face pulls into a grimace as I
put my shoulder into it. Pushing cars isn’t exactly a miracle, but
at the same time it’s not easy to get the thing moving from
Jacob frowns
slightly. “It seems we all need to have the gun talk. How did you
all survive this long without one?”
We say
nothing.
“I’m not going
to shoot you,” Jacob says, surprised. “I’m going to give you
cover.”
“Oh, right,”
Kean says. “I totally thought you were using it to force us to go
out there.”
Jacob’s
expression flattens, almost to the point where I think he might be
offended that we thought so low of him.
Kean unclips
his seatbelt and starts sorting out in his brain just how he’s
going to get himself out of the car and into the danger. It’s
different for him. He still thinks of Henry before he does
something. Kean has to keep himself alive.
I don’t have
that.
“Don’t miss,” I
say to Jacob. But I’ve seen him in action, up close and far away.
It’s scary unreal. He shoots, he doesn’t miss.
Jacob’s eyes
glint. “I’ll try not to.”
I have to make
myself get out of the car as soon as possible or I’ll lose my
nerve, so I tap Trouble on the shoulder to get things started. I
point to him and do a steering wheel movement with my hands.
Trouble nods back at me and pats the steering wheel. Jacob, rather
amazingly, winds down the window and hoists himself gracefully out.
I follow the sound of his movement on the roof as Trouble leans
over and winds the window up again, leaving just a tiny gap at the
top, which is less than I’d like if I were Jacob.
I puff out a
breath to steel myself. “How do we do this?”
Kean is looking
out the windscreen and biting his lip. “Maybe start at the front
and work our way back here? I can push the cars if you steer from
the driver’s side.”
I nod. It
sounds reasonable.
“Try and pop
the car doors open so you’ve got a bit of protection, but don’t get
in. Just steer with your left and push with your right. And make
sure you release the handbrake and put them in neutral or we won’t
go anywhere.”
“Got it.”
“Ready?” Kean’s
green eyes are surprisingly steady.
I nod. “Let’s
get this over with.”
We pop open the
side doors and slide down to the ground. I press my door shut and
crouch-run to the front of the car where I meet Kean. I glance
back, just to check Jacob’s paying attention. He’s got two guns
now, arms stretched out but still. His eyes are scanning the
scene.
“Go,” Jacob
says without looking at us.
We take off at
a run, our feet pattering along the road as we sweep between the
cars. I have to suck in and go sideways to squeeze between two
vehicles so close they feel like they’re trying to crush me.
We reach the
first car in the queue: it’s a scratched silver thing with a dent
in the side door. Poath road is only single lanes but opens up into
double lanes just before the boom gates. All lanes are jammed up,
but we just need to move everything blocking the left one into the
side street and we’ll be able to get through.
Kean taps the
boot of the silver car, just loud enough for me to hear. I look
over and he nods. But when I reach the driver’s side door and pull
on the handle, it won’t budge.
I straighten.
“It’s locked,” I whisper, still gripping the handle.
Seconds later
the air sizzles, rippling as if it’s being torn apart, and the
driver’s side window implodes.
Right in front
of me.
The noise
nearly shatters my eardrums. Glass shards spew everywhere.
My whole body
kind of jolts in reaction and my heart just about forgets to pump.
Slowly, I look back at Jacob, realising he just shot the window
out, narrowly missing my face.
He doesn’t seem
to notice my horror.
“Flo,” Kean
calls, and I jump back into action, unlocking the door from inside,
flinging it open and swiping through the broken glass so I can
release the handbrake.
“Yep,” I call
back and we both start pushing. My face pulls into a grimace as I
put my shoulder into it. Pushing cars isn’t exactly a miracle, but
at the same time it’s not easy to get the thing moving from
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