Voyage (Powerless Nation #2) (20 page)

“You’re on,” said Ted. Everyone knew he had a sweet tooth.

Despite the rain, everyone piled out of the SUV to judge the bet.

Ted opened the back of the SUV and pulled out an empty gas can and a long length of half-inch plastic tubing.

“Where did you get that?” asked Sena.

“Your foster dad had a string of LED lights threaded through it. I found it mounted underneath the cabinets above his workbench. I think he was using it as task lighting. I’m glad I saw it. It’s perfect for this.”

Ted got out a pocketknife and cut the tubing into a five foot length and a two foot length. Then he went over to a pickup truck pulling a trailer with two jet skis on the back. He started climbing up in the trailer and Sena asked, “Wouldn’t the truck have a bigger gas tank?”

Ted nodded. “Absolutely, but cars these days have valves and fittings down inside the tank that can make it really hard to get the tubing down to the gas. Getting gas out of jet skis, on the other hand, is going to be a piece of cake.”

While he talked, he unscrewed the gas cap of one of the jet skis and poked one end of the longer piece of tubing down inside. 

“Here we go,” said Kade.

Ted didn’t put the other end in his mouth, he put it in the gas can. Then he took the shorter length of tubing and put it in the gas tank of the jet ski too, though not as deeply. He pulled a bandana out of his pocket and stuffed it in around both tubes. Kade watched with a puzzled expression.

“Get ready to say goodbye to your next dessert,” said Ted with a cheerful grin. He leaned down and blew into the shorter tube. No gas flowed, so he blew again, a little harder. This time Sena saw the fluid enter the longer tube and heard it cascade into the gas can.

“No fair!” said Kade.

Ted slapped him on the back. “You live, you learn. I used to siphon gas out of my mom’s car too.”

The process took a long time. They were more than half finished when they heard the sound of engines approaching.

Ted’s knuckles whitened on the gas can as they got closer and he told everyone to get in the car.

Claire and Kade did what he said. Ted stayed with the siphon, so Sena did too. She had discovered there was a power in standing up for yourself. After a few tense moments, a motorcycle gang roared into view from around a bend in the road.

Upon seeing them, Sena realized there was a proper time and place to stand up for herself, and this might not be it. She hoped they would pass them and keep going.

They didn’t. 

The group pulled their bikes in around the vehicles on the roadway. It was too late for Sena to go to the car now.

A fully helmeted gang member swung a leg over a bike. The rider was short and well-muscled, and wearing layers of worn leather. Sena noticed a little girl seated on the back of the vacated motorcycle.

Sena stepped closer to Ted and he put a protective arm around her. She looked up at him and he gave her a squeeze.

“Don’t worry,” he said. Then he turned to face the leader of the gang.

He exhaled with relief when the leader removed her helmet. It was a woman.

“So you’re not one percenters?” asked Ted.

The question made no sense to Sena, but the woman shook her head. “Does it look like we’re flying colors? Never were, and never gonna be. We’re just a group of people trying to survive. Some of us are riding home, others are out looking for family. You don’t bother us, we won’t bother you.”

“Sounds good,” said Ted. “Could any of you folks use some gas? There’s quite a bit left here and we already took enough to get us home. If you need a siphon I can let you use my gear.”

The woman squinted at Ted. “That’s real friendly of you. You looking for some kind of handout?”

“Nope. Just helping out a fellow traveler.”

“We can use the gas, for sure, but we’ll get it ourselves.”

They started talking about the best way to get the gas out of the pickup, as the other bikers got off their motorcycles and stretched. Most of them were soaked from head to toe, and Sena thought they must be cold.

The young girl riding on the back of the woman’s bike climbed down and walked over to her mom. She looked about eight years old, with dark, curly hair and a grimy face. She stared at Sena until curiosity got the best of her and she walked over.

“Is that your ride?” the girl asked, pointing at the Highlander.

The serious way she asked the question made Sena want to laugh. “Yep, that’s my ride,” she replied.

“Not bad,” said the child, pursing her lips and nodding wisely.

“What’s your name?” asked Sena.

“I’m Sassy,” said the girl.

“That’s your name?”

“It’s from a book. You wanna make something of it?”

“No, definitely not,” said Sena. “Do you like to read, Sassy?”

“A lot. I don’t have many books though.”

Sena pulled her copy of
A Wrinkle in Time
out of her back pocket and handed it to Sassy. “Here’s a book you can keep. It’s my favorite.”

Sassy tucked the book under her jacket to keep it dry. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” said Sena. She noticed Ted was waving her toward the SUV. “I hope you like it,” she called, and then climbed into the car.

“How far is Lookout Falls from here?” asked Claire when they were back on the road. “Do you think we could make it tonight?”

“It’ll be way after midnight,” Ted answered. “If we don’t run into any problems, I think it’s a good bet.”

Claire's smile was positively radiant, and at the sight of it, a deep scowl crept over Sena’s own face. She crossed her arms tightly across her chest and stared out the window. Despite her mood, the magnificence of the scene wasn’t lost on her. They were driving through the North Cascades, the wildest and most rugged mountains she could imagine. Their imposing solitude made her feel very small.

Sena saw a waterfall tumbling down the rocky slope and pouring into an emerald green lake. If it hadn’t been raining so hard she would have asked Ted to stop the car so she could take a picture of it.

A quiet, persistent internal voice reminded her that Ted and Claire probably wouldn’t want to stop for photos anyway, when they were merely hours away from their daughter. 

The road steadily rose higher, making tight hairpin turns and twisting back on itself. By the time they’d gone an hour past the green lake Sena was nauseous and miserable. She cracked her window open a little and inhaled crisp mountain air. It was sharp with the smell of rain and fir trees and she left the window down, despite the spray that wet her cheek and hair.

Soon she felt a little better, and noticed the rain wasn’t coming down as hard. Ted slowed the windshield wipers and turned on the headlights. 

“I think we’re over the pass,” he said. “We should be able to make good time now.”

Dusk came quickly as the sun began to sink behind the high peaks at their backs. Ted increased his speed, saying he wanted to be off the mountain range before night fell completely.

Claire pointed to a speck high above them. “Is that a bald eagle?”

“I hear there are a lot of them here in the winter,” said Ted, leaning forward over the steering wheel and looking up through the windshield. “I think you’re right, I can see his white head.”

Suddenly Claire inhaled sharply, the sound taking up all the available air in the vehicle. 

Sena looked at the road and gasped too. Just before a sharp curve, an enormous boulder had rolled down the side of the mountain and come to rest in their lane. It was as big as a washing machine, and Ted swerved to miss it, but his attention had been on the sky, and the few short seconds he’d lost made it impossible for him to recover control of the car.

It clipped the side of the boulder, and the front tires lost their grip on the wet road. The car careened sideways and hit the guard rail with a shriek of metal on metal that drowned out their own shrieks. 

For a moment, it seemed the guard rail would hold them, but the force on it was too much, and it gave way with a loud crack.

The SUV hung suspended in the air for a moment, then flipped and bounced down the rocky mountainside. Sena’s world spun and went dark.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

T
HE
DARKNESS
PRESSED
ON
her eyelids like a weight. When Sena finally gathered the courage to open her eyes, the pure black of the night took her breath away.

Her head throbbed with pain and she tried to remember where she was. The air smelled thick and gritty and it was as dark as a coffin… or the closet she’d been locked in so many times.

She trembled uncontrollably and her teeth chattered. A groan nearby almost made her scream, but when she inhaled, her lungs filled with dust and she coughed instead.

“Sena, you’re awake!”

It was Claire. Sena suppressed a sob of relief.

“Don’t cry, honey. It’s going to be okay.”

Sena focused on the sound of Claire's voice and tried to control her panic. Her heart pounded against her ribcage and she heard the sound of shallow panting and realized it was her. 

Deep breaths
, she told herself, trying to understand her new reality. She was sitting in the SUV, and full night had fallen. She groped to her left and felt Kade’s leg. When she touched him he didn’t move or make a sound.

She needed to hear a human voice. “Claire?” she squeaked.

“Stay calm, Sena. Do you still have your flashlight?”

Her flashlight! Sena scrambled in her pockets and pulled out the slim penlight. It didn’t do much to illuminate the darkness in general, but the tiny light was enough to show her the extent of their problems.

A quick look at Kade didn’t reveal any blood or obvious injuries. He stirred when she shone the light in his face and looked to be coming around. Sena let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding.

“Can you shine it on Ted?” asked Claire.

Ted was slumped over, leaning on the deployed airbag. Sena reached out with a shaking hand and checked for a pulse. The beat was strong under her fingers and she exclaimed, “He’s alive! He’s okay!”

In the passenger seat, Claire began to cry.

“No, it’s okay, he’s alive. We’re all alive.” Sena couldn’t believe their luck, but Claire kept crying.

“What’s the matter?” asked Sena. Claire didn’t answer.

“Claire?” asked Sena. She leaned forward over the space between the front seats and shone her light on the woman.

“Oh, no,” whispered Sena. “No, no, no.”

Claire was covered in her own blood. A rip in her shirt revealed a gaping wound in her side from which blood oozed freely.

Sena stared at it in shock. No, not Claire. 

She popped open the storage area between the seats and pulled out a wad of napkins. She pressed them into the wound and Claire gasped.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry,” said Sena. “We have to put pressure on it.” It was like with Charity all over again.

The SUV was quiet as she held the napkins tightly against the wound, and she saw Claire's eyelids flutter.

“Stay awake,” Sena ordered. “Tell me something about Maddie.”

“Dee,” whispered Claire. “She likes to be called Dee.”

“Dee then. Tell me something about her. Why do you call her that?”

“Because her brother couldn’t say Maddie. He called her Dee. I was so afraid she’d be alone, but Ted’s alive. He can take care of her.”

“Who will take care of me?” demanded Sena, with only the faintest quiver in her voice.

“Oh, Sena. You and Dee are going to be such good friends and Ted will take care of you both. Tell her I love her and I’m so sorry for this last year. I love you too, you know.” 

Claire's eyes closed.

“No!” shouted Sena. “I can’t lose you, too!”

She climbed over Claire's still form and reclined her seat, then she checked for vital signs. Her pulse felt strong. She was alive, for now, and she needed help. They all did.

“Kade, get up,” Sena shook him, hard.

“Ow, what?” mumbled Kade.

She shook him again, and this time he opened his eyes.

“Look at me,” she commanded, and he focused on her.

“We’ve been in a wreck. Ted’s alive, and hasn’t woken up yet, and Claire's hurt bad. I’m going for help.”

Sena was grateful to see understanding dawn on Kade’s face. “No, I’ll go,” he said. “You stay and help.” He turned to open his door and gasped in pain at the movement.

“What’s wrong?” asked Sena.

“It’s my foot.”

Sena shone the penlight on his left foot. The shoe was in ribbons and she could see his foot was lacerated and swollen. “You’re not going anywhere on that. Stay here and help Ted and Claire. Keep pressure on the hole in her side. If blood soaks through the napkins put more on and keep pushing on it. I’m going up to the road to look for help. You have to keep Claire alive. Got it?”

Kade nodded.

“I mean it, Kade. Keep her alive. Promise me?”

“I’ll try, Sena. I promise.”

She waited to make sure Kade knew what to do, and then handed him the flashlight.

“No, you’ll need it out there,” he argued. “It’s so dark.”

She set it down on the seat. “You’ll need it more. I’ll be okay.”

Sena tried to open her door, and found it was blocked by a tree. She had to climb over Claire and through the shattered window to get out.

Kade moved into the spot between the seats and pointed the light at her.

“Sena, your head.” He sounded worried.

She put a hand to the right side of her head and touched her hair, sticky and matted with blood. She didn’t have time to worry about that now. “I’ll be back soon,” she said, and started up the mountain.

The moon was full, and the night was peaceful and cold. Even in the middle of the ocean it had never been so still and quiet. 

It was also very dark. 

Sena stood frozen in the shadows like a scared rabbit too afraid to run. She wanted to hurry back to the SUV and wait for someone to find them, but she knew everyone was counting on her. Besides, no one was coming to help them. It was up to her.