I wasn’t planning on spending months here, were you?”
“No,” I replied.
He smiled at me. “So let’s stick with the plan. And step one is to see if we can get either of those SUVs started …”
chapter
sixteen
Highway
The SUVs were a pair of white Cadillac Escalades; the tires were so new that they were still prickled with rubbery sprue. Cooper cautiously approached the nearest vehicle and tried the driver’s door; it opened easily. He stepped up onto the running board.
“Nobody in here,” he said, craning his neck to see into the back. “I guess let’s see if this will start again.”
Wincing as if he expected the car to explode, Cooper cranked the key in the ignition. The engine chugged to life without a stutter.
“Hoo-rah,” the Warlock said.
Cooper squinted at the hood and dashboard. “I can’t really tell through the antimagic, but I’m guessing somebody enchanted the starter and spark plugs.”
“Is it safe?” I asked.
“Seems to be.” Cooper shrugged and turned the engine off. “Let’s go help Rudy and Pal get the mess cleaned up.”
Rudy directed us to his stock of cleaning supplies inside the store, and we all gloved up and started hauling bodies and parts out to the grave in the field. I got shaky and sick after just a couple of minutes in the relentless sun. The guys sent me inside to sit in the cool of the café area and drink more Gatorade.
“You feeling any better?” Cooper asked, shaking water droplets off his hands as he came into the store; Rudy had set up a makeshift hand-washing station with some buckets of fresh and sudsy water on the concrete bench outside the store. The old man was at the side of the building hosing off Pal’s forelimbs.
“A little,” I replied. “That syrup of ipecac is some harsh stuff.”
“It gets the job done. But yeah, you’ll probably be feeling kinda sick for a while. Do you think you’re up for the drive into town?”
I nodded. “So what’s our plan once we get there?”
“Well, Rudy thinks that some survivors have set up a camp at the local university. He says someone came out here to try to rescue him a few weeks ago, but he was worried that if he disobeyed Miko’s orders, she would kill his daughter.”
“So she’s got him staying here to keep fresh victims from wandering off too far so she can send her guys out to capture them?”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“Okay, so do you think you can trust what he’s saying about people being at the university?” I asked.
Cooper spread his hands. “I think he’s a nice guy stuck in a really bad situation. I don’t think he’s lying to us. Admittedly he’s been a lot more forthcoming since you slaughtered Miko’s welcoming party, which I guess nobody had done before, but I can’t blame him too much. He probably figured at first that we were doomed no matter what, so there was no reason to risk his daughter’s life by giving us a heads-up.”
“Well, we’re all probably better off if we get out of here.” I stood up, my legs still rubbery, and stared out the window at the Escalades. “But I don’t guess Pal can fit into the SUV, so that’s a problem.”
“Perhaps he can sit on top and hang onto the luggage rack?” Cooper suggested.
“Maybe. Let’s see what he wants to do.”
Pal agreed to the idea of trying to ride on the roof, but when he climbed atop the Caddy, it became obvious that the vehicle would tip over the moment we had to take a turn at any speed, even if he flattened himself down.
“I think I can stride alongside the vehicle at a reasonable pace,” he told me. “Just drive slowly so I can comfortably keep up.”
“Pal thinks he can run beside the car,” I told the others. “Just go easy at first, and he’ll let me know if we can speed up.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Cooper got into the driver’s seat, I hopped onto the cushy leather seat beside him with my backpack in my lap, and the Warlock got into the back behind Cooper with the tote bag.
“Well, y’all be careful,” Rudy told us, standing near my open passenger door. He handed the Warlock a couple of six-packs of Gatorade and bottled water for the road. “Miko’s a dangerous character, and again, I’m real sorry I didn’t tell y’all about her from the get-go …”
“Don’t worry about it,” Cooper said. “You stay safe yourself.”