As the GPS told her she needed to turn around and get back on the road, Wendy drove across the parking lot, weaving around the few parked cars. “Turn left, Sheridan Street,” the GPS called out as Wendy reached the entrance of the parking lot.
“I was,” Wendy snapped at the GPS, speeding up and pulling out onto the four-lane road.
“People in those trees,” Jo Ann called out.
As she turned onto Sheridan, Wendy glanced over and saw a dozen figures at a park. All were standing around several cars. One of the group, pointed at the blacked-out Tahoe and before Wendy turned her eyes back to the road, she saw the group running for vehicles.
“Fuck!” Wendy snapped as she pounded the steering wheel and pressed the accelerator.
“I see lights coming on,” Sally announced from the backseat.
“Girls, if something happens to me, get Ryan and Noah and run,” Wendy said as she picked up speed and weaved around a car. Speeding over an overpass, Wendy glanced in the mirror and saw the two cars pulling out.
“Go faster,” Sally cried out, seeing the cars following.
“Baby, one person shooting out of a car only works in the movies,” Wendy said, seeing an intersection ahead. “Pick your own battlefield,” she mumbled, stomping on the brakes. Sally reached down to stop Noah and Ryan from sliding into the pillows on the floorboard.
When the Tahoe came to a stop, Wendy grabbed the AR off the dash and jumped out. Pulling the stock to her shoulder, Wendy aimed behind her as the cars topped the overpass. Flipping the selector to auto, Wendy took a breath and let half out, centering the red crosshairs between the lights of the first car.
Brushing her finger against the trigger, the M4 roared as Wendy squeezed off a six-round burst. She saw the car jerk to the right as she squeezed another burst off and saw several sparks as the bullets impacted the front of the car.
This time, the car jerked to the side of the road and hit the curb as Wendy turned to the other car and saw it was slowing. Wendy brushed the trigger two more times to send out short bursts and felt the bolt lock back. Ejecting and replacing the magazine, Wendy sent two more bursts into the second car and then moved back to the first and shot short bursts until she felt her bolt lock back again.
Jumping in the Tahoe, Wendy slammed the shifter into drive while tossing the M4 on the dash. Her door slammed shut as the Tahoe took off down the road. Glancing in the mirror, Wendy saw the lights of both cars not moving, but saw several gun flashes.
Jerking the steering wheel back and forth and making for a harder target to hit, Wendy weaved around an abandoned truck. When she glanced back to the mirror, Wendy couldn’t see the car lights anymore.
Like a switch had been thrown in her mind, all of a sudden, Wendy heard Ryan screaming at the top of his lungs. Glancing to the backseat, Wendy saw Sally lying flat, holding Ryan and trying to calm him. Next to Sally, Noah was curled up in a ball, clutching Sally’s leg and crying. He just wasn’t crying as loud as Ryan.
“I’m sorry Ryan,” Wendy said, turning back and saw Jo Ann climbing out of the floorboard. “Is everyone okay?”
“My ears hurt,” Jo Ann shouted, opening and closing her mouth.
“Sally, do we have enough water to make Ryan a bottle?” Wendy asked and then noticed she was doing eighty. She slowed down as Sally sat up, digging in her backpack.
“Jo Ann, see if you have a bottle of water,” Sally said, not finding one.
“I got two,” Jo Ann said, holding one up. Sally passed a bottle and the can of formula up. As Jo Ann made up a bottle, Wendy slowed back to forty. Wendy never called out the few people she saw coming out of houses, looking in the direction they had come.
“I miss my suppressor,” Wendy mumbled and then opened and closed her mouth, trying to pop her ears and reduce the ringing.
Holding Ryan to her chest, Sally put an arm around Noah and rocked back and forth, trying to calm both. “Are the bad guys still coming?” Sally asked and Noah’s cry turned into a whimper as he looked up at Sally.
“No, I stopped them,” Wendy reported with her voice quivering.
“You never said you had a machine gun,” Sally snapped.
“Baby, a gun is a gun. The reason I used full-auto was to scare the bad guys. I could’ve hit the cars more if I had shot single-shot,” Wendy explained, weaving around cars. Seeing a congested spot ahead on her side of the road, Wendy jerked the wheel into the opposing lanes.
“Don’t make me spill the milk!” Jo Ann panted, looking at the powder in the scoop like it was gold.
“Sorry, but our side was clogged and I saw two people in a yard,” Wendy said.
Carefully, Jo Ann dumped the scoop into the bottle. “I just didn’t want to spill it,” Jo Ann said, refilling the scoop. “You think you shot any of the bad guys?”
“Oh, I know I hit two,” Wendy admitted.
Closing the can of formula, Jo Ann poured in the water. “What if they weren’t bad?” Jo Ann asked timidly.
“Then why chase us?” Wendy asked back. “Baby, we are doing the best we can, but you don’t chase people for any reason. They had cars, so they didn’t need ours. I don’t
