doors. They each had four wheels with thick, serrated all-terrain tires, with plenty of suspension to hold up the chassis. Each one was a light brown desert camo, and the cabs were thin and aerodynamic, hanging low to the ground. These things were built for speed. There looked to be enough room for four people in each. In the back was a large turret, upon which was mounted a machine gun. Its height meant that it probably had 360 degree rotation, and it would have no problem shooting over the cab. In the back, below the machine gun, was a sizeable space for cargo. The hydrogen fuel tank would be in there, right behind the cab.
“Wicked,” I said.
“Let’s check them out,” Samuel said.
We inspected all three. Each had a cargo bay in the back, filled with spare parts, a couple of spare tires, tools, and even some rations and water. We gathered all we could into the center Recon. I went to the passenger door, finding it locked.
“Needs a key,” I said.
“They’re over here, on the wall,” Samuel said, taking one down. “This one should do it.”
I held out my hands. Instead of tossing it to me, he handed it off to Makara.
“Hey,” I said.
“You don’t know how to drive,” Makara said.
“And you do?”
“It’s been a while…but yeah. The Lost Angels had a Recon, so I know how to pilot it.”
“I want to learn.”
“Maybe later.” Makara put an index finger to her chin. “She needs a name.”
Everyone stopped, and thought a moment.
“We’ll think of something later,” Samuel said. “A good name is important. We have to get it right.”
Makara nodded. “You’re right. Have we got everything?”
“I think so,” Samuel said. “Fire her up. Alex, help me with the garage door.”
Makara opened the driver’s door and hopped in. The Recon started with a roar that faded into a low hum. The hum came from behind the cab, where the hydrogen fuel tank was building pressure.
Samuel and I unlatched the garage door, pulling it up to reveal the outside. Light flooded the garage, blinding me for a moment. The cold mountain air rushed in, stinging my face with cold.
When my eyes adjusted, I was startled to see the sky above, not a dull red, but a blue violet. We were above the low hanging clouds.
Right above, I saw the sun for the first time in my life.
I didn’t have time to enjoy it, though. Samuel hit me on the shoulder. He pointed down the disused road curving down the mountain through rock and red-tinged snow. My eyes narrowed.
Walking up the path were five men, maybe two hundred yards away. They stopped, clearly seeing us.
“Inside the Recon,” Samuel said. “Now.”
We ran into the garage as the first shots fired.
I had no idea how, but Brux had found us.
Chapter 23
We piled in the Recon. Makara turned on us.
“What the hell are they doing here?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “Just drive!”
Makara shifted into drive and floored it. The engine roared and the pressure tank behind us hummed. The tires squealed on the pavement as the Recon roared onto the dirt road covered with snow.
“Careful,” Samuel said. “This road is narrow.”
“They’re straight ahead,” I said. “Makara, I don’t think you should…”
“Get down,” she said.
The raiders opened fire on us. I heard bullets ding off the hood and hit the windshield. Three bullets cracked the glass.
“Here we go,” she said.
I heard men yelling from the sides of the vehicle, but no telltale squishy bumps.
The guns fired a few more times, but we were in the clear. We sped past them.
“Next stop, Bunker One,” Makara said.
“Makara,” I said, “don’t ever try that again.”
She cracked a smile. “It worked, didn’t it?”
“Yeah, but you could’ve been shot.”
She shrugged. “Are you really complaining here?”
I sighed. “I guess you have a point.”
We rounded a bend. Below I could see red clouds spread out like a blanket over the land, and mountaintops poking through them. We would be entering those clouds soon. Already, they were closer.
A few minutes later, we were in the dense, red fog. Makara turned on the headlights, but we could only see a few yards in front of us.
“I don’t see how they found us,” I said.
“Maybe they weren’t trying,” Makara said. “They’re hurting for loot to take back. Now that Bunker 114 is gone, maybe they thought it would be easy pickings.” She shook her head. “Idiots.”
Makara slowed down. The entire right side was sheer cliff, and falling off would mean death.
It was after we had gone down several switchbacks that I noticed two pairs of headlights above us.
“Shit,” I said. “They followed us!”
I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten about those other two vehicles. Of course this wasn’t over yet.
“I’m afraid you will have to drive fast now, Makara,” Samuel said. “I’m going in the back to man the turret.”
“Get back there, then,” Makara said. “Be careful.”
Samuel disappeared into the back. A few seconds later, he had started firing.
A spray of bullets showered the road ahead of us from above. We took a tight turn, forcing everyone to the left. The entire Recon shook with the effort.
I got out my Beretta, not knowing what good it would do me in this vehicle. The other Recons were two switchbacks above us.
“Can’t we go faster?” I asked.
Makara’s look was venomous. “If you want to slip on the ice and snow and fall to our deaths, then yeah…we can go faster.”
“Good point.”
Then, the first Recon rounded the bend right behind us. Samuel fired. I could see the hood of the other vehicle become riddled with bullets. A raider leaned out the passenger’s window and fired toward us.
Makara swerved around a tight bend, and the back tires lost traction. We were heading toward the cliff. At the last moment, Makara floored it, and we were surging ahead onto the next downward slope. I thought my heart was going to beat out of my chest.
The next Recon tried the same thing, only it was going too fast. As it fishtailed, the back tires fell off the slope. The entire vehicle slid backward, its front tires squealing like some dying thing.
As we rounded the next bend, we could see the Recon toppling over the road ahead of us.
Makara slammed on the brakes as Samuel fired a hail of bullets at the other Recon, just one switchback above us. The downed Recon crashed into the road ahead, did a half flip, and continued to roll down the mountainside.
“They’re done,” I said.
A moment later, the vehicle exploded in a violent plume of fire, crashing into a giant rock jutting out from the mountain.
“Let’s hope Brux was in there,” Makara said.
