Page 50 of His Hostage

“Go fuck yourself,” Rowan says, smiling. Before anyone can even react, he rolls to the side of the car and fires his pistol at the man, hitting him in the shoulder.

“Don’t you dare move,” Jeffco says, leaning out the window, firing. He hits three men, and they fall to the ground, dead.

Bullets come crashing into the vehicle. Some of them pierce through the metal and nearly hit me. I’m paralyzed with fear, but Rowan grabs and pulls me out.

“Hide!” he shouts. “Run as far as you fucking can.”

But I don’t hide.

Strangely, I crawl to Andy’s body. I grab his pistol, and I stay with them.

“What are you doing?” Rowan asks.

I fire once, and the bullet pierces wildly through the air. I fire a second time, and it hits the dirt. Third time, I take a deep breath and steadily aim. I hit one man on a bike.

Their engines rumble. The Hunters rush toward us. Rowan screams, “We have to get the fuck out of here. In the car, now.”

We jump into the vehicle, but before Jeffco can get inside, one of the men hits him in the back with the butt of his rifle.

He falls to the floor, and the man takes aim. I fire my pistol, and the man falls to the soil, dead.

Jeffco, stunned, turns to me and says, “Nice shot.”

We peel out of there in a plume of dust and smoke, but we’re not in the clear. The leader of the Hunters is hardly dead. No, he’s alive and he’s out for blood.

“We’re fucked,” Jeffco says, shooting out the window. A bullet hits the side of my seat. Luckily, it gets stopped by a piece of metal.

“No, we ain’t,” Rowan says.

He reaches into his bag and pulls out two grenade-looking weapons. He tosses one through the window, and then another. A white explosion penetrates the darkness.

“Flash bang,” he says. It’s impossible to see behind us. The whole desert has lit up in white.

“Son of a bitch. You didn’t tell me you brought those.” Jeffco says. “Turn left at this boulder.”

In the distance, I see a flashing light. “Keep going. We just might be able to make it.”

The rumbling behind us hasn’t stopped, however. The bikers are still on our trail.

They’ve stopped shooting. Both parties are conserving their ammo. Now, it’s become a chase to the end. Whoever runs out of gas first loses this one.

I stare at the Hunters. It’s an eerie sight to see. Flames flying through the darkness is how I’d best describe it.

“Just a few miles now,” Jeffco says.

“Where the hell are we going?” Rowan asks, slamming his foot down against the pedal.

“Grim Runner territory,” he says. “It’s the only place we can get help.”

“They’ll run us down. They’ll kill us all,” Rowan says, looking worried.

“Hunters won’t follow us there. Trust me on that,” he says. “It’s part of the deal they made ten years ago. Remember the pact?”

“I remember,” he says. “But I don’t think they’re too keen on following any rules right now.”

“The whole place is booby-trapped, and I’m the only outsider who knows where to drive. They’re stupid, but they’re not that stupid,” he says. “The Grim Runners are always ready. No doubt, they’re already aiming their rifles now.”

A few miles later, we pull into a mountainous region. There’s one lone light flashing near one of the rocks.

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