Michael Vey: Rise Of The Elgen Part 10

I unbuckled and climbed to the back. "Ian!" I shouted. "Are we good?"

"They're thirty feet behind us!" he shouted.

"Now, Taylor."

Taylor put her head down and concentrated on rebooting the driver of the car behind us.

"You got him," Ian said.

I braced myself against the wall. "Jack, now!'

Jack slammed on the brakes as hard as he could. There was a big jolt as the Escalade plowed into the van, followed by a second hit, when the rear Escalade plowed into the first. The force of the wreck jarred us, pushing our van partially sideways. All the lights in the back went out. Jack hit the gas again, pulling ahead of the collision.

"The first car is toast!" Ian shouted. "It's crumpled!"

"How bad are we?" Jack shouted over his shoulder.

"Not sure," Ian said, looking down. "But I see sparks." The truck was vibrating and there was a sound of something sc.r.a.ping. "Something's dragging. I think it's the lift."

"What about the second car?" I asked Ian.

"We're good . . . wait." His expression changed. "No way."

"What?" I asked.

"It's still running. They're coming after us."

"Jack, the second car survived the crash!" I shouted.

"I can see him in my mirror!" Jack shouted. He sounded worried.

"He's got a big gun," Ian said. "He's aiming it at us." He looked around. "Everyone on the ground. Now!"

Everyone unbuckled and dropped to the floor.

Jack shouted, "We can't outrun him. Are there any guns back there?"

"McKenna, we need light," I said.

She lit up the back of the van.

Taylor and I crawled to the cabinets and looked through them. "Nothing. Just those RESAT things."

"This just keeps getting better!" Jack shouted. "Hold on, kids!" He swerved to the right, and we all tumbled to the other side of the van. Bullets began ripping through the van.

"Ian, what's going on out there?"

"Nothing good. They've got a cannon-looking thing."

"A what?"

Suddenly we heard the gun again, though nothing came through the walls this time. The truck dropped and began veering.

"They shot out our tires!" Jack shouted. "Someone think of something."

"Taylor!" I shouted. "Can you reboot them?"

"It won't work," Ian said. "They've put their helmets back on." His brow furrowed. "What kind of gun is that?"

Ostin crawled to the back and looked out through a bullet hole in the back door. "It's an ant.i.tank gun," he said. "They'll blow us sky-high."

The truck dropped again as we lost another tire, and Jack swerved wildly trying to keep the vehicle under control. "Someone better think of something fast!" Jack shouted.

A voice came over the radio. "You've got ten seconds to pull the van over, or we will blow you up. Do you understand?"

"Don't say anything," Wade said. "They won't shoot us."

The voice returned. "Ten, nine, eight, seven . . ."

I looked over at Taylor, then took her hand.

Jack shouted back, "What do I do?"

"Four, three, two . . ."

"Pull over-" I started to yell, but before I could finish there was a loud explosion.

"Holy cow!" Ian yelled.

I looked around. We were all there. The walls were still there. The van was still there. "What was that?"

Ian was just staring at the back door in awe, shaking his head. "The Escalade . . ." He stopped in midsentence.

"Did you guys see that?" Jack shouted from the front. "That thing blew up like a bomb!"

"What blew up?" I asked.

"The Escalade. It, like, disintegrated. It's just a big ball of fire."

"What caused that?"

"I have no idea," Jack replied. "But I am not complaining."

"Good driving, man," I said. "Now get us off the freeway. Let's get out of this beast."

Jack pulled off at the next exit and drove to the far side of a Flying J truck stop. A long row of trucks was parked next to the mini-mart, and Jack parked the crippled van between two long semis and shut off the engine.

Jack smiled at me as I walked up to the front. "Just another day in the life of a superhero," he said.

I grinned. "You're having fun, aren't you?"

"As long as we're winning, bro," Jack said. "As long as we're winning."

"We've got to find somewhere safe to finish uploading Grace's info," I said. "Any ideas?"

Jack thought for a moment, then said, "I know where we can go. Do you still have that phone?"

"It doesn't dial out," I said. "Besides, I'm sure the Elgen would be listening in on it if it did."

"There's probably a pay phone at the mini-mart," Ostin said, walking up to us.

"Come on," Jack said, climbing out of the van.

I turned to Taylor, who had just walked up to the front. "Keep everyone inside until we get back."

"Where are you going?"

"Jack's calling someone to pick us up. We'll be right back."

"Hey, Michael!" McKenna shouted. "Would you get me something to drink-like water or Gatorade? I'm really thirsty."

"Got it," I said.

"I need a lot. Like a gallon."

"A gallon?"

"I'm really thirsty."

By the time I got out of the truck, Jack and Wade were already standing next to a pay phone outside of the truck stop. As I approached I heard Jack say, "I don't have time to tell you right now. Just shut up and listen. . . . I'll tell you when you get here. Get your mom's Suburban and come to the Flying J truck stop off I-Eighty-Four West. It's just south of Meridian. You can't miss it. . . . Hurry. Yes, I know it's late. Yes, Wade is with me. . . . Because you weren't invited, that's why. Consider yourself lucky. Now hurry. . . . No, I told you, bring the Suburban. . . . There's a bunch of us. I said I'll tell you when you get here." Jack hung up the phone. "Man, what a baby."

"Who was that?" I asked.

"Mitch.e.l.l," Wade said.

"He's mad we left him," Jack said. "He has no idea what he missed."

"Lucky him," Wade said.

"Does Mitch.e.l.l have a computer?" I asked.

"Mitch.e.l.l has everything," Wade said, shaking his head. "His old man's loaded."

"He'll be here in fifteen," Jack said.

"I'm going inside the truck stop," I said. "McKenna needs something to drink. We might as well get something to eat. Everyone's starving."

"Yeah, the pizza didn't quite make it," Jack said.

Fortunately the guards hadn't taken my money. The three of us went inside the mini-mart, and I grabbed a plastic tote and filled it with six bottles of water and a six-pack of Gatorade. I also got two boxes of powdered jelly doughnuts, licorice, and a handful of Power-Bars while Wade put together a dozen hot dogs. Jack grabbed a bag of beef jerky and pork rinds.

We paid for the food, then brought it back to the van. Jack stayed outside to wait for Mitch.e.l.l while Wade and I carried everything in through the front cab.

"Thank goodness," Ostin said as we came in. I handed him the box of doughnuts. He tore it open, shoved a doughnut in his mouth, coughed from the powdered sugar, then grabbed a second doughnut and pa.s.sed the box along to Ian.

McKenna took two bottles of Gatorade from me and, to all of our surprise, downed both of them, stopping only twice to breathe. After she'd emptied both bottles she sighed with relief. "Sorry. Heating up dehydrates me like crazy."

I sat down on the bench and opened my licorice. I offered some to Taylor.

"Thanks," she said, taking a strand. She pulled her knees up to her chest. "So what's going on?"

"Jack called his friend Mitch.e.l.l. He's coming to pick us up."

"Then what?"

"We'll hide out at his place until we've uploaded the rest of Grace's information. Once we know where my mother is, we'll make our plan."

"What if there's no information about her?"

I frowned. "I don't know. I have to hope there is."

"Hey," shouted a voice from the back of the truck. "How about some water?"

It was the guard Wes. Zeus stood up, carrying one of the bottles with him. "You want some water, Wes?"

The guard looked at Zeus in horror. Zeus poured what was left in his bottle over the guard's head. The guard sputtered a little as it washed over his nose and mouth.

"See, Wes. I haven't lost my sense of humor," Zeus said, electricity sparking between his hands. "And I'm going to prove it to you."

The guard's eyes widened.

"Zeus," I said.

Zeus looked back at me.

"Don't."

"What? You didn't see what he did to me?"

"Yeah, I did." I looked Wes in the face. "It was cruel. But we're not like them. We're better than them."

"Maybe you are," Zeus said. "But I'm not." He lifted his hands, and Wes shut his eyes, preparing to be shocked. But it never happened. Zeus had caught sight of Abigail, who looked horrified. Zeus sighed. "All right," he said. "All right." He looked at the guard. "You're lucky these guys are better than us."

I leaned back on the bench, closing my eyes.

"What's that?" Ostin asked.

"What's what?"