loud clink.
“What was that?” Derek asked from under the car. He couldn’t see much thanks to the sunglasses camera.
Another clank, and then another exploded into the rear fender.
I dropped to the ground and crawled under the car with Derek, army style.
“What are you doing?”
“Someone’s shooting at us!” I looked around frantically from the space beneath the car. Saw no feet, no legs. Didn’t know where the shots were coming from. He or she could have been hiding in a tree, up on a hill, or behind the Magic Mystery Machine, which we also passed on our trek out here.
We were in a wide-open field, armed only with a pair of sunglasses and Big Bird.
Chapter 14
After two more dings, Derek said, “Dang, woman! Why are people always trying to kill you?”
“I don’t know. I’m a very likeable person.”
I crawled toward the back tire and peeked out into the landscape.
Lots of open space.
“What’s the plan?” Derek asked.
“I didn’t have a contingency plan for being shot at.”
“You should always have a plan for that. You’re like a psycho magnet. I’d be packing twenty-four seven if I had your track record.”
“I’ll put it on my to-do list, right after don’t get killed .”
The hubcap took a hit as Derek reached for his phone. “Shit, I left my phone in your car.”
“Mine’s in my bag.”
Derek fished my phone out from the bag slung across my back.
“No signal.”
The stack of tires Liberty had perched on was to my left. An antique washing machine sat a few yards from that.
But where was the shooter?
“Derek, do you see anything on your side? Anything to take cover in?”
If it had been a pro—a sharpshooter—we most likely would have been dead already.
“I got a giant Big Boy head, a Coca-Cola sign, and a refrigerator door. There’s a tractor about fifty feet from that.”
I scooted over to see what he was looking at. The shots all seemed to come toward the front of the car. The far side would be our best chance. The refrigerator door was an old Westinghouse, not so different from what was in Birdie’s kitchen. Those things were built like tanks.
Another bullet hit the dirt near my hand.
“Count of three, run for that fridge door. We’ll use it like a shield. Ready?”
Derek nodded. Then he said, “Wait, is it one, two, three then go? Or one, two, then go?”
“One, two, then go.”
I grabbed the back tire with both hands for a second, hoping for a sign, a vision, anything that would penetrate my mind with the truth. I shut my eyes. Please, Daddy, talk to me!
Not my father, nor his killer, but I did get something.
The white tiger flashed in my mind and unleashed a deafening roar. I saw teeth dripping with saliva, muscles bulging from her throat like a road map, and in that split second, I knew two things.
One (and most urgent), we had to get the hell out of there. Fast.
The other (and most astonishing) was that my mother was somehow sending me her spirit guide.
Chapter 15
“One. Two. Three!”
We scrambled out from under the vehicle and ran in a crouch all the way to the refrigerator door. Derek lifted it by the handle and I ducked behind it just in time.
A shot connected with the metal.
Running with a hundred-pound refrigerator door as a shield is not as easy as it sounds. I would have really loved a pair of Wonder Woman bracelets right then.
“Geez, this thing weighs more than that damn bird!” Derek said.
Liberty! Where the heck was she?
Derek was usually faster than I was, but he was running backward, holding the bulk of the door. I faced front, looking for anything to take cover in. There was the tractor, a snowmobile to the left of that, and one lone oak tree beyond.
I made an executive decision. “Derek, the tractor isn’t too far, just hang on to that door.”
A shot splintered part of the tree and I veered us away from it. The tractor was a gigantic John Deere yellow andgreen number, which meant it was big enough to hide
“What was that?” Derek asked from under the car. He couldn’t see much thanks to the sunglasses camera.
Another clank, and then another exploded into the rear fender.
I dropped to the ground and crawled under the car with Derek, army style.
“What are you doing?”
“Someone’s shooting at us!” I looked around frantically from the space beneath the car. Saw no feet, no legs. Didn’t know where the shots were coming from. He or she could have been hiding in a tree, up on a hill, or behind the Magic Mystery Machine, which we also passed on our trek out here.
We were in a wide-open field, armed only with a pair of sunglasses and Big Bird.
Chapter 14
After two more dings, Derek said, “Dang, woman! Why are people always trying to kill you?”
“I don’t know. I’m a very likeable person.”
I crawled toward the back tire and peeked out into the landscape.
Lots of open space.
“What’s the plan?” Derek asked.
“I didn’t have a contingency plan for being shot at.”
“You should always have a plan for that. You’re like a psycho magnet. I’d be packing twenty-four seven if I had your track record.”
“I’ll put it on my to-do list, right after don’t get killed .”
The hubcap took a hit as Derek reached for his phone. “Shit, I left my phone in your car.”
“Mine’s in my bag.”
Derek fished my phone out from the bag slung across my back.
“No signal.”
The stack of tires Liberty had perched on was to my left. An antique washing machine sat a few yards from that.
But where was the shooter?
“Derek, do you see anything on your side? Anything to take cover in?”
If it had been a pro—a sharpshooter—we most likely would have been dead already.
“I got a giant Big Boy head, a Coca-Cola sign, and a refrigerator door. There’s a tractor about fifty feet from that.”
I scooted over to see what he was looking at. The shots all seemed to come toward the front of the car. The far side would be our best chance. The refrigerator door was an old Westinghouse, not so different from what was in Birdie’s kitchen. Those things were built like tanks.
Another bullet hit the dirt near my hand.
“Count of three, run for that fridge door. We’ll use it like a shield. Ready?”
Derek nodded. Then he said, “Wait, is it one, two, three then go? Or one, two, then go?”
“One, two, then go.”
I grabbed the back tire with both hands for a second, hoping for a sign, a vision, anything that would penetrate my mind with the truth. I shut my eyes. Please, Daddy, talk to me!
Not my father, nor his killer, but I did get something.
The white tiger flashed in my mind and unleashed a deafening roar. I saw teeth dripping with saliva, muscles bulging from her throat like a road map, and in that split second, I knew two things.
One (and most urgent), we had to get the hell out of there. Fast.
The other (and most astonishing) was that my mother was somehow sending me her spirit guide.
Chapter 15
“One. Two. Three!”
We scrambled out from under the vehicle and ran in a crouch all the way to the refrigerator door. Derek lifted it by the handle and I ducked behind it just in time.
A shot connected with the metal.
Running with a hundred-pound refrigerator door as a shield is not as easy as it sounds. I would have really loved a pair of Wonder Woman bracelets right then.
“Geez, this thing weighs more than that damn bird!” Derek said.
Liberty! Where the heck was she?
Derek was usually faster than I was, but he was running backward, holding the bulk of the door. I faced front, looking for anything to take cover in. There was the tractor, a snowmobile to the left of that, and one lone oak tree beyond.
I made an executive decision. “Derek, the tractor isn’t too far, just hang on to that door.”
A shot splintered part of the tree and I veered us away from it. The tractor was a gigantic John Deere yellow andgreen number, which meant it was big enough to hide
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