Storm Season (10 page)

T
HE
road got bad about ten miles outside of Brightam’s Ford. It wasn’t unexpected―motor traffic between towns was sparse, as most people and goods traveled via train, not car or truck―but Jasper slowed anyway, unwilling to risk damage to their vehicle so early in the journey.

Tobias stretched his hand across the cab and rested it lightly on Jasper’s shoulder.
Why are we stopping?
The words were indistinct, as though he wasn’t quite awake―also unsurprising, as Tobias was still exhausted from the injuries that Doctor Parks had treated four days earlier. He hadn’t had the energy to argue when Jasper had insisted Kyree had to stay with Darius and Carla.

“We’re not.” Jasper risked a glance, smiling at the sleepy way Tobias blinked his eyes. “The road is getting bad. I don’t want to risk blowing a tire.”

Oh.
Frowning, Tobias leaned forward to peer at the road. It was early still, and though it had been clear in town, patchy fog still lay over the road ahead of them, making it difficult to see all the cracks and potholes that were jarring the truck even at their slow pace.
Will it get better?

“It might.” Jasper shrugged. “This far away from the towns, the roads don’t get much use, or care. I doubt this stretch sees more than twenty vehicles a year.”

Tobias continued to frown, staring intently into the fog as Jasper carefully maneuvered around large cracks and potholes.
Will we get there on time?

“Get where on time?” Jasper jerked the truck to the right, narrowly missing a large tree limb that blocked half the road. “It’s at least two weeks to Shaleton this time of year, longer if some of the roads are washed out. We should make Durrysville before the storms start tonight, though.”

Tobias bit his bottom lip.
Two weeks? That’s—
he broke off, pointing with his right hand as his fingers clenched tightly around Jasper’s shoulder.
Look out!

Out of the corner of his eye, Jasper saw a tree slowly toppling toward the road, picking up speed as it fell. He stomped on the gas, jerking the wheel rapidly from right to left to avoid the pothole in front of him, relying on luck as much as speed to get them past the tree before it blocked the road in front of them or, worse, fell on them.

Branches scraped the truck bed cover, but the tree fell behind them, hitting the road with a loud thud. The ground shook. Both Jasper and Tobias looked back with wide eyes as Jasper brought the truck to a stop.

“Wait here.” Jasper climbed out of the cab and circled the truck, looking carefully for any damage. The back was scraped and would need to be repainted during the dry season, but the cover lock was intact and the bumper was still sound. He was staring at the tree, wondering why it had chosen that moment to fall, when Tobias limped up next to him. “You shouldn’t be on your feet.”

Tobias shrugged, but eased himself onto the bumper of the truck before holding his hand out to Jasper.
It’s big.

“Too big.” Jasper agreed, releasing Tobias’s hand and walking to the edge of the road near the base of the fallen log. As he ran his hand over too-smooth wood on one side of the break, a chill ran down his spine. “Get back in the truck.” He turned to see Tobias still sitting on the bumper. “Now.”

Jasper moved faster than Tobias could hope to in his current condition, and had the truck started before Tobias climbed inside. He hit the gas as soon as the passenger side door closed, and the truck shot forward with a sudden burst of speed. Only quick reflexes saved Jasper from hitting the worst of the rough asphalt as they careened forward, leaving the fallen tree behind in a spray of gravel and dust.

It was only after they’d rounded the next two bends in the road that Jasper let off the gas pedal and allowed the vehicle to slow to a more reasonable speed, though he still kept it going faster than they’d been moving before the tree fell. The tight knot in his stomach that grew every time he thought about the fallen tree wouldn’t let him slow any further.

As they rounded another bend, Tobias slid over on the bench seat so his shoulder was pressed against Jasper’s.
What did you see?

“The tree didn’t fall across the road on its own. It was cut to fall that way. Someone cut the tree enough it would fall across the road when the storms knocked it down.” Jasper resisted the urge to hit the gas pedal again. They were safe, so long as they kept moving.

Cut?
Tobias turned around in the seat, climbing to his knees as he peered out the back window.
Do you think…?
He didn’t have to finish the sentence for Jasper to know what he was asking.

“I don’t know.” He carefully maneuvered the vehicle around another obstacle in the road and then motioned for Tobias to sit back down. “It’s… likely, though. Most people don’t travel this far from town, especially in the wet season. We passed the last of the outlying farms a few miles back and we won’t reach the next town for hours.”

So they found us—me—again.
Tobias lightly touched the fading bruise around his wrist.

“Probably.” Jasper seized Tobias’s fidgeting hand and gently squeezed his fingers. “They can’t do anything while we’re moving.”

And when we stop?

“We’ll figure something out.”

It was a hollow reassurance.

T
HEY
drove straight on until early afternoon, but hunger and the need to stretch his legs eventually forced Jasper to start looking for a good spot to pull over. The trees were thinner along this stretch of road, and about twenty minutes after he started looking, Jasper found a clearing wide enough he felt comfortable stopping in it. He turned the truck around so it was facing the road, ready for a quick getaway, before climbing out and stretching his aching back.

Tobias slid across the seat and sat with his feet hanging out of the truck, one arm braced on the steering wheel and the other resting on Jasper’s shoulder.
Why did we stop?
He made no move to get out.

“We need to eat.” Jasper turned, careful to keep Tobias’s hand on his shoulder. “This is a good spot to stop.”

Brown eyes darted around the clearing, peered down the road.
But—

“We’re only halfway to Durrysville, Tobias.” Jasper kept his voice calm, trying to project a certainty that he did not feel. “If I don’t eat and move a little now, we’ll have to stop later when we might not be able to pull off the road so easily.”

But―

Someone had put Tobias on repeat. Jasper squeezed the denim-clad knee and smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. “This
is
a safe place to stop. The truck is parked so we can leave quickly. The space is open enough that if anyone comes, we’ll be able to see them before they get to us.”

Tobias still looked doubtful, but the longer they waited to eat, the longer it would be before they were on the road again, and Jasper wasn’t any more anxious than Tobias to stay in one spot for long. He’d seen no further evidence that anyone else was on the road with them, but that meant little since he’d concentrated solely on putting as much distance between them and the downed tree as possible. “Do you want to get out while we eat, or would you like me to bring you some food?”

I’ll, um, I’ll get out.
He slid to the ground, wincing as his feet took his weight.
Can we hurry, though?

There was something in Tobias’s tone that made stopping seem like a very bad idea, and Jasper found himself staying close to the truck and peering down the road as he relieved himself and stretched his legs, working kinks out of under-used muscles. Tobias stayed even closer, leaning on the vehicle as he grabbed food from the cooler in the truck bed and limping back toward the cab with his uneaten sandwich clenched tightly in one hand.

It fell from his hand as he froze, halfway into the truck.
We have to go!

The words―and the panic behind them―slammed into Jasper’s head, and he dropped his own food, just barely catching it before it hit the ground. “What?”

Please.

Jasper would never be sure if it was Tobias’s pleading tone or the way he seemed ready to slide back out of the car that convinced him Tobias was earnest, but he nodded and quickly secured the cover over the truck bed. He could hear the distant roar of a motor by the time he reached the door.

Tobias slid across the seat and yanked Jasper into the cab.
Please hurry.

The keys were in his pocket, caught on a fold. “I’m trying,” he protested as he tugged. Both the rising sound of the motor and Tobias’s anxiety were making it difficult to focus. The keys popped free and slipped from his fingers, tumbling to the mat with a musical clink. Jasper groped blindly for them, holding his sandwich up as his fingers fumbled over slips of paper and bottle caps before hitting the body heat-warmed metal of the keys.

They scratched against the ignition as Jasper tried once, twice, three times to slide the key into the narrow slot. It slipped in finally, and Jasper turned it with trembling fingers, fighting irrational fears of stalled engines and dead batteries. He held his breath as the key clicked, then the engine caught and roared to life with a rumble that ruled out a stealthy escape.

“Take this.” Jasper thrust the sandwich at Tobias and then jerked the truck into gear and slammed his foot on the gas pedal. The vehicle shot forward, tires squealing as he turned sharply onto the road.

They’re here!
Tobias twisted in the seat, the sandwich forgotten beside him as he wrung his hands and peered out the back window.
Faster!
He clutched at Jasper’s shoulder with a surprisingly strong grip that wrenched the wheel and almost sent them careening into a tree.

“Stop!” Jasper twisted his shoulder free as he jerked the wheel, narrowly avoiding a collision. “Sit so I can drive.”

Tobias turned, pressing his body against Jasper’s in a way that sent Jasper’s thoughts places they shouldn’t go, particularly in the middle of a car chase.
They’re gaining on us.

“I know.” The cargo van behind them was the same distinctive emerald green as the coats of the men who had attacked them and featured writing and designs in the same dark purple as their tattoos. It was closer every time Jasper glanced in the rearview mirror, but the fog had returned and the dangerous road made it impossible to go faster.

The writing on the van remained elusive despite the increasing proximity of the other vehicle. The fancy script and mirror view made it impossible to read in the brief seconds Jasper could spare to look in the mirror. He peered harder, attempting to discern words in the jumble of backward script, then jerked his eyes back to the road as the truck hit a bump that set its passengers bouncing.

Jasper spared only a second to glance and determine if Tobias was okay. “What does the van say?”

Tobias twisted in the seat again, climbing to his knees to peer out the back window.
Um, something Industries. ClearSky Industries. There’s something else written below it, but it’s too small.
He stretched out, leaning over the seat to press his face against the back window.
Something about storms and… Sleet!

The truck jumped forward as the van slammed into the back, jerked to the right, and only narrowly missed a fallen log as Jasper wrenched the wheel back, fighting for control. Tobias tumbled against the console, grabbing at Jasper’s arm in an attempt to halt his fall and projecting a storm of curses that left Jasper’s head spinning. It was hard to see, hard to focus, and―bam! The truck was hit again, jumping forward with a sickening lurch that left them half off the pavement.

Don’t stop!
Tobias scrambled back into the seat, bracing himself next to Jasper and watching the mirrors with wide eyes.

“I wasn’t planning on it.” If he could just… there. The truck rounded a curve and Jasper floored it, kicking the truck’s powerful engine into high gear and sending it surging forward along the relatively straight stretch of road. The van picked up speed as well, but didn’t surge as quickly as the truck with its more powerful engine. Slowly, the distance between them increased, and then leveled out, closer than Jasper would have liked, but far enough away that they were safe from further ramming.

For the moment, anyway. Jasper had no illusions about the tenacity of the people behind them or his ability to maintain his speed all the way to Durrysville. The road would worsen again or the men would become foolishly desperate and Jasper would find himself forced from the road… or worse.

He slowed slightly to take a curve and his stomach churned as he saw the van did not take the same precaution. It tilted slightly as it rounded the corner, but when all four wheels were on the ground again, it was significantly closer. “Sleet!” He risked a quick glance at Tobias. “Get the map. We need to lose them.”

The map crinkled as Tobias draped it over his lap onto the seat.
Where are we?

“About….” Jasper glanced at the odometer and quickly did the math in his head. “About fifty miles east of Brightam’s Ford, heading toward Durrysville.”

A long finger traced the line on the map as Jasper navigated around potholes and fallen limbs.
There’s a turn off in a mile or two, I think. I don’t remember passing it. If we take that, I, think that will take us to another road that goes to Durrysville.
He glanced up, and their eyes met in the rearview mirror.
If I’m reading this right, anyway.

They would have to trust that he was. “Is it on the right or the left?”

Tobias traced the route again.
Right. Just after a big curve. I think.

Jasper ignored the uncertainty in Tobias’s mental voice, focusing instead on the road ahead and the van behind them. Ahead, the road vanished around a curve, and if Tobias was right…. They might be able to get away, if luck was on their side.

The curve drew closer, and Jasper watched the rearview mirror with apprehension. He’d have to time this just right, to avoid accelerating until they were out of sight, and to get fully off the road before the van rounded the curve. If it wasn’t timed perfectly…