Chapter 17 - The Road Through the Pines
I ran through the dense forest, branches lashing against my face and arms as I protected Emma with my body.
The cold air burned my lungs like broken glass.
Behind us, sporadic gunfire and the distant drone of a low-flying helicopter echoed over the canopy.
Emma cried quietly, her tiny hands clutching my jacket so hard her knuckles were white.
"I've got you, Emma," I chanted under my breath with every pounding step.
"Daddy’s got you."
"Nothing is going to happen to you."
After what felt like an eternity, the dark silhouette of the dry creek bed appeared through the trees.
Beneath an old camouflage tarp sat the rusted chassis of Julian’s old four-wheel-drive pickup.
I ripped the tarp away, threw Emma into the passenger seat, and secured her seatbelt.
The spare key was magnetized inside the rear wheel well, exactly where Julian had told me months ago.
I scrambled into the driver's seat, jammed the key into the ignition, and twisted it.
The engine sputtered, coughed, and finally roared to life with a throaty exhaust rumble.
Just as the headlights flickered on, Julian stumbled out of the brush, clutching his left arm.
He fell against the passenger door.
I reached across, unlocked the door, and dragged him inside.
"Step on it!" Julian gasped, coughing up a spatter of crimson against the dashboard.
"Thermal drones are already in the sector."
I shifted into four-wheel drive and slammed the accelerator.
The truck surged forward, tires churning up mud and dead leaves as we burst through the undergrowth onto the dirt road.
Branches scraped screeching lines across the vehicle’s paint.
Above us, a bright spotlight cut through the pine trees, painting the forest in stark, blinding white.
"They've located us," I shouted over the engine roar.
"Take the sharp left into the abandoned quarry tunnel!" Julian yelled, fighting to stay conscious.
"The stone ceiling is eighty feet thick!"
"It'll blind their thermal imaging!"
I yanked the steering wheel hard to the left.
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The truck skidded across gravel, fishtailing dangerously before the front bumper smashed through an old wooden barrier.
We plunged into the pitch-black darkness of the underground quarry tunnel.
