Hope and Undead Elvis - By Ian Thomas Healy Page 0,23

eye on the road and one on the speedometer. Forty… sixty miles per hour.

The Way hugged the inside lane as they rounded the last curve on the ascending straightaway toward the near end of the bridge. Rocks along the roadside blurred into a pastiche of red and pink. Seventy… eighty…

Something black and feathery dove at the speeding car, but Hope didn't slow for it at all. The bird splattered against the grill in a cloud of feathers and gore. Dust billowed out behind The Way, swirling eddies of crimson and gold. Gravel kicked up by the tires pattered against the car's underbody like rain. Ninety… ninety-five…

Hope screamed against the wood clutched in her mouth. They weren't going to make it. They were going too fast to stop. Every instinct told her to slam both feet on the brake and pray they'd skid to a stop in time. One hundred…

The Way's front wheels hit the lip of the bridge just as the speedometer needle slipped past the 105 mark, and the car flew into open space over the canyon.

Chapter Ten

Hope and the Night

The Way sailed through open air, much slower than seemed possible to Hope. She watched in shock as the shadows shifted inside the cab, not because of their motion, but because the sun was, at last, moving through the sky. As the car reached the zenith of its flight, the sun dropped low behind them and Hope had to shut her eyes against the reflection in the rear view mirror. And still the car flew on, its nose beginning to dip as the heavy engine pulled it down.

Hope didn't want to open her eyes, didn't want to see the landing, but didn't dare land blind. She forced them open and saw The Way was still drifting toward the far bridge section at a gentle pace. A fat white moon popped up from behind the horizon as the last lingering bit of sunlight vanished into the night. Surprised that she even had time, Hope reached down and turned on the headlights.

The lights snapped on and it was like a trigger for the world to move back at full speed once more. The Way hit the bridge with a terrific crash, jerking the wheel out of Hope's hand. Something hit her hard in the face and she couldn't see. Her flailing feet found the brake pedal and she stomped it down as hard as she could. The car slewed sideways and the nose dipped as if they'd dropped into a ditch. Sand and dust flew in through Undead Elvis's window in a choking cloud.

Then it was quiet but for the sound of hot oil dripping into The Way's pan and the blood thundering in Hope's ears.

She tried to open her eyes but couldn't see anything except a shadowy blur. She coughed. "Elvis?"

"I'm here." His voice was soothing. "I got sand in my jumpsuit."

The simple phrase made Hope snort, then break into full-fledged laughter. "Oh God," she said and gasped for breath. "That's funny. Why is that so funny?"

"Because you're alive to laugh at it."

Hope giggled. "I am. I can't see, but I did it. I jumped a car. Over a bridge."

Brightness flooded the cabin as Undead Elvis flipped on the dome light. Hope tried to focus on him, but her eyes were flooded with pain tears and her head throbbed like a bass drum. "Man, oh man," said Undead Elvis. "Looks like maybe your forehead bounced off the steering wheel. You've got a welt like a crescent moon up there."

Hope touched her forehead with her fingertips. It was swelling fast, pulling the skin taut around her eyes and bridge of her nose. The shoulder belt had snapped right by the latch, which explained how she'd bounced forward.

The rear view mirror sported a fresh crack down its center, and one corner of the silvered glass had broken away. The fresh damage didn't make Hope's face look any better. "God," she whispered. "I wonder if I got a concussion. I fell off a stage once in Mesquite. Some asshole spilled his drink and didn't see it. I slipped and went right off the edge. Hit my head on the floor. I was sick for days after that. Couldn't dance, couldn't do anything except sleep and throw up." She gave a wry, painful smile to Undead Elvis. "In hindsight, it was kind of like being pregnant is."

Undead Elvis chuckled.

Hope undid her remaining seat belt. "Come on, let's see how bad we messed up the