Alternative 3, p.21
Alternative 3, page 21
‘Belt up, folks, we’re outta here.’ Curtis gunned the engine and kicked the clutch. In a few short seconds they were off the desert road and back on the highway. No one spoke. When the lights of Rachel had faded from the rear-view mirror, Curtis hit the headlights, and let the roar of the Hummer’s engine take them away from the madness, back to Vegas. To civilisation. And sanity.
11
As the Hummer ate up the road in the dark, Curtis kept the needle pointed at 60. He fought the urge to really see what the big diesel could do. He noticed his hands were sweating on the wheel. He wiped them on his thighs and wound the window down, the cold breeze stinging his ears, but it helped him to focus. Gina and Sam were silent as well, each of them trying to come to grips with what had just happened. Curtis still couldn’t believe it. They had shot at Jim. This wasn’t a game any longer. He was in it up to his neck now. He checked the rear-view mirror again, half-expecting the white beam to appear over the Hummer as he chased the white line along the desert highway. Gina and Sam were also peering back into the darkness. Maybe they were thinking the same thing too.
‘Does this thing go any faster?’ said Sam from the back.
Curtis shook his head. ‘We’re already doing the limit.’ Gina looked over at him. She looked shaken, but seemed to be holding up well, considering. Maybe better than Curtis.
‘You think they got him, don’t you?’ she said finally. Curtis didn’t answer. That was an answer in itself.
‘What do we do now?’ said Sam, leaning forward between the front seats.
Curtis had been asking himself the same question.
‘We disappear,’ he said, ‘but first we need to get rid of the Hummer. They’ve probably got our licence plate off the satellite.’ With one hand firmly on the wheel, Curtis pulled his bag out from behind his seat and dug through it for his cellphone.
‘Who’re you calling?’ asked Gina.
‘Turk,’ said Curtis. ‘I’ve got an idea. And we need to call Ollie to tell him we’re on the way . . . and that we won’t be hanging around.’ Gina nodded that she understood.
‘Who’s Turk?’ asked Sam. ‘And who the hell’s Ollie?’
Curtis waved her off as he dialled. ‘Just a couple of friends in Vegas. We might need some help to get outta this.’ Curtis put the phone to his ear as it dialled Turk’s number.
Pick up, dammit. But it cut to Turk’s voicemail. Shit.
‘Turk, it’s Curtis. We’ve got a problem and I need your help. We’re on our way back to Vegas. I think we’re being followed, and we need to swap vehicles, so I need you to pick up a rental and meet us on the way in. This is important, Turk. They’ve already shot at a friend’s car. I don’t think he made it. Ring me back as soon as you get this. I’m relying on you, buddy.’
He ended the call. Fucking great. Turk was never there when he needed him. But it was the only thing he could think of. And the longer they were in the Hummer, the more chance they had of being caught.
‘Curtis! There’s someone following us!’ shouted Sam. Curtis checked the mirror. He couldn’t see any headlights.
‘Where? I can’t see anything!’
‘They’ve got their lights off. And they’re catching us fast. Speed up, Curtis!’
Curtis peered into the rear-view mirror. Nothing. He checked again. Then he spotted it. A dark shape against the night behind them. And it was growing fast. Curtis punched the accelerator to the floor, the Hummer kicking them back into their seats. ‘Do your belts up,’ he shouted above the roaring diesel and singing tyres.
Curtis watched the needle jumped up to 80. He checked the rear-view mirror, but he could only see black.
‘They still there?’ he asked grimly. He could see Sam staring intently out the back, searching for them. She suddenly leant forward again. ‘Got them! They’re still gaining, Curtis. Faster!’ Curtis leaned on the accelerator again. The needle climbed to 90. The engine was nearly at full throttle. But it was as fast as he dared take the giant vehicle in the dark on a road he didn’t know. This was getting out of hand.
‘Bloody hell!’ screamed Sam, ‘they’re right behind us!’ Curtis felt a wave of panic wash over him. He looked in the rear-view mirror for as long as he dared. But in that split second he could definitely make out the black shape of something following them. Close. He could even hear the scream of an engine over the noise of the Hummer. They must be really pushing that thing, he thought.
Gina shot him a look. ‘Curtis! Do something!’
Curtis kept his eyes on the road. ‘Like what?’
‘Anything!’ screamed Gina. He chanced another look in the mirror. They were close now. Very close. He could make out a black four-wheel drive. Blacked-out windows. The headlights were off. Must be driving using those night-vision goggles Jim talked about. Jim. Curtis realised that these guys probably meant business. If they shot at Jim trying to escape, they probably weren’t going to ask him nicely to stop. Suddenly Curtis felt the Hummer lurch under him.
‘They hit us!’ yelled Sam. ‘They’re trying to run us off the road!’ OK, time to panic.
‘Have you got a light on your camera?’ Curtis shouted to Sam.
‘Yeah, why?’
‘How bright is it?’
‘Pretty bright. Eats the battery though!’ said Sam. Curtis had an idea. ‘Rig it up! Don’t turn it on until I tell you!’ Curtis could hear Sam digging frantically around in her gear.
‘Here they come again!’ she yelled suddenly. Curtis braced himself for the impact. It was harder this time, but the size of the Hummer absorbed some of the violence of the shove. Maybe it wasn’t such a bad choice of vehicle after all, thought Curtis.
‘OK, listen!’ he shouted over his shoulder to Sam. ‘Keep the camera down until I say. Then I want you to turn it on as bright as you can and aim at the driver’s eyes. You got that?’
‘Got it!’ said Sam.
Curtis looked at Gina for a moment. ‘Brace yourself! Grab anything you can hold. Put your feet up on the dash!’ She did as he suggested.
‘Sam!’ he yelled. ‘When I say, you have to blind the driver; I’m going to hit the brakes so brace yourself! Can you do it?’
‘Just do it!’ screamed Sam. ‘I’ll be OK!’ Curtis checked the mirror. They had pulled back and were starting to accelerate for another shove. Curtis waited for them to get close. Real close. And prepared himself for the crash.
Ready. The four-wheel drive pulled closer . . .
‘Now!’ shouted Curtis. He watched in the mirror as Sam yanked the camera out onto the back of her seat, and flicked it on. The light was dazzlingly bright. The grille and hood of the black four-wheel drive lit up like a Christmas tree. He got a brief glimpse of the driver covering his eyes with his arm. He was wearing goggles all right. In that instant Curtis kicked the brake pedal for all he was worth. The Hummer’s wheels locked up tight, sending it into a tyre-shredding skid. A split second later, the four-wheel drive hit the Hummer from behind. Hard.
Curtis thought he’d bitten off his tongue. He could taste blood in his mouth. His head had just missed the steering wheel. He shot a look at Gina. She was pale and grim, but she looked OK. The skid seemed to last forever. Curtis fought to keep the Hummer on the road, but it was starting to skew. Uh oh.
Then something passed his window. It was the four-wheel drive, spinning past them in a wide slow skid. As if in slow motion, Curtis watched it leave the asphalt, and hit the sandy road edge. Then as the driver lost control of it completely, it arced into a wild spin, and began to roll. Curtis lifted his foot off the brake and tried to take the Hummer out of its skid. But it was too late. It was already aiming for the opposite side of the road from the four-wheel drive. Only its low body weight kept it upright.
Eventually it ground to halt in a cloud of sand and dust. The smell of diesel and burnt tyres filled his nostrils.
‘Everyone all right?’ he yelled. He killed the engine. She was still white-knuckling the handles though, her feet still firmly wedged against the dash.
‘You OK?’ said Curtis. Gina didn’t look up. She just nodded. She was OK.
Curtis breathed a little easier. ‘What about you, Sam?’ he said, turning in his seat. A shock of blonde hair appeared from behind him.
‘I’ll live,’ she said shakily, climbing back up onto the seat. ‘Lost the camera, though.’ Curtis looked over to the four-wheel drive on the opposite side of the road. It was on its side. Smoke was pouring from the hood.
‘We better check to see they’re all right,’ he said, unbuckling his belt. ‘Wait here.’ He opened the door and started walking warily over to the upturned vehicle. Didn’t look like there was any movement inside. He heard a door open behind him. It was Sam.
‘Just getting my camera! It’s got all my film in it!’ she said, breaking into a run back down the highway, searching for the camera. Just as Curtis was crossing onto the other side of the road, a door opened on the four-wheel drive. He could hear a radio squawking from inside. Lots of static. He stopped and waited, not sure whether this was a good sign or not. An arm and head appeared. It was the driver. He was climbing out the top.
Curtis quickly looked back to the Hummer, and judged the distance. Just in case. In the dim light, Curtis could just make out the guy reaching back into the four-wheel drive. Maybe he was pulling his friend out. But the thing he pulled out wasn’t a person. It was too long and skinny.
It was a gun. Curtis spun and sprinted back to the Hummer.
‘Sam! Get back in the car! Now!’ he shouted, climbing into the seat and slamming the door. But Sam was too far back down the road to make it in time. He’d have to go back for her. Curtis started the Hummer and slammed it into reverse. The wheels spun crazily in the sand as he floored the accelerator. The guy was clambering across the top of the four-wheel drive now, the gun clearly visible in his grasp.
As soon as the Hummer hit the asphalt it jerked violently and picked up speed. Backwards. Curtis craned his neck round and did his best to keep the Hummer straight. He could see Sam further down the road. She had her camera, and was running back towards him. As he neared her, he hit the brakes. The Hummer stopped hard. Sam threw the camera over the back and climbed in after it.
‘The bastards broke my camera!’ she said. She looked more upset about the camera than being nearly killed by the guys in the four-wheel drive. Curtis worked the gear lever and got the Hummer up and moving again, forwards this time. But in the beam of the headlights he could see the guy was now standing squarely in the middle of the road. He had the gun up on his shoulder and was aiming it at them. He briefly saw a red spot of light dance across the windscreen. He hit the brakes again and killed the lights.
‘Hold on!’ he shouted, as he swung the Hummer off road. It dipped and bucked as it hit the edge of the highway, and then became a wild thing as he took it out into the desert in a wide arc away from the gunman. It was terrifying stuff. Curtis clutched the wheel hard, fighting it as the Hummer heaved and kicked under him. He just hoped Sam and Gina were holding on.
A muffled thud reverberated through the Hummer. Curtis thought he must have hit something. He was having a hard enough job dodging the Joshua trees which kept appearing out of nowhere in the darkness. But the Hummer seemed to be still going OK. Then he heard the noise again.
So had Gina. ‘Curtis, he’s shooting at us!’ The bastard was taking pot shots at them. He must have been using a silencer because Curtis couldn’t hear the shots being fired. Not above the lurching Hummer, anyway.
‘Get down!’ shouted Curtis. He tried to lower his profile as much as he could, but the bucking made it impossible. Suddenly a shot cracked into the windscreen, right in front of Gina’s face. She totally freaked, screaming hysterically and climbing all over the seat in terror.
‘Just go, Curtis!’ screamed Sam from the back.
He urged the Hummer on. It was almost out of control. They were a long way from the highway. Curtis wrestled the bucking wheel around to point the Hummer back towards the road. Gina was still freaking out in the front. Her hysterical screaming wasn’t helping his concentration. Another bullet thudded into the Hummer. Somewhere. No one said anything this time. Curtis was focusing on keeping the Hummer moving, away from the nut with the gun. Eventually the giant wheels of the Hummer bumped up onto the highway again. It felt like home. He floored the pedal and shifted quickly through the gears. Soon they were racing back along the highway.
‘Is anyone following us?’ he yelled back to Sam.
‘Don’t think so!’ she said. Her voice was calmer now. Curtis brought the Hummer back to a respectable speed, but he left the lights off all the same. Not taking any chances this time.
Curtis felt his arms begin to shake like crazy, and he realised he was still squeezing the life out of the steering wheel. He forced himself to relax. Take a deep breath. But his heart was still racing outrageously. The delayed shock was starting to kick in. He was drained, but he didn’t dare slow down. He rubbed his eyes and forced himself to focus on the road ahead. They weren’t out of this yet.
That was when Curtis noticed something up ahead. He could just make it out against the night sky. Something big. Directly in front of them. He lifted his foot a little. It seemed to have just appeared there. It covered the highway easily, hovering over the road. And it didn’t look friendly. Curtis slowed the Hummer to a stop. It had to have come from the base. Time to exit. Backwards again.
But when he looked in his side rear-view mirror he got the shock of his life. A similar sort of huge object had appeared right behind them. Out of nowhere. It was so close Curtis could see his brake lights reflected on its side. Curtis froze.
Suddenly the one in front shot a powerful beam of light at them. It was a penetrating white glare. Curtis reached into the door compartment, pulled out his Randolphs and stood up behind the wheel. They were serious sunglasses. But even with them on, all he could make out was a huge, black silhouette against the night. He held his arm over his eyes and tried to stare it down. That’s how scared he was. Then the light stopped. And nothing.
‘I can’t believe I’m seeing this shit and my camera’s busted. Fuck!’ It was Sam. She was annoyed she wasn’t filming this. Talk about a pro. It must have been like a journo’s Holy Grail to see this stuff.
The Hummer began to vibrate rapidly. Curtis heard the electrics go off at the exact same time as the motor died. But as quickly as it had started, the vibrating stopped. Dead silence. Curtis remembered how Richard Dreyfuss got buzzed like this when he was sitting in his pick-up in Close Encounters. They were supposed to be aliens. But there was definitely nothing alien about this shit. Curtis knew what a bitch it was for aliens to coordinate their busy schedules to fit in a quickie to earth to scare the shit out of some people who just happened to be getting chased by security goons from a military installation. It was working though. He put his arm on Gina’s shoulder to comfort her. And himself. Just as the vehicle in front started slowly lifting up. Vertically. Into the air. It just seemed to sit there, hovering high enough for the Hummer to pass underneath.
This was his cue. He lifted his arm back from Gina’s neck to start the Hummer. But as he did the motor started again before he’d even got his hand to the key. The electrics came on too. Fucking weird. Curtis looked up at the hovering object. It seemed to be letting them go. He slowly inched the Hummer forward. He looked up but there was no reaction from the craft, so he just kept going, edging the Hummer towards it.
Then Curtis’s cellphone rang. It had been kicking around his feet the whole time, underneath the pedals. The ringing was strangely comforting in all this weirdness. He reached down and picked the phone up off the floor as he drove. It was Turk. About fucking time.
‘Turk!’ whispered Curtis as the Hummer passed directly under the object.
From underneath it appeared to be circular. And it was black — a thick, military kind of black. He kept driving, chancing it a little faster now.
‘Where you been, man?’ said Turk impatiently, oblivious to what was going on at the other end of the call. ‘I’ve left you about twelve messages! How d’you expect me to ring you back if you turn your phone off!’ Curtis blinked.
He hadn’t turned his phone off. Or back on. Something had interfered with the signal. They could even be tracking his phone right now too.
‘Turk, shut up and listen to me!’ said Curtis. ‘I need you to go and rent some kind of car, and meet up with us somewhere on the way back to Vegas. You’re gonna have to pretend you’re us for a while, and drive around in the Hummer. All over the place. Then I need you to return it for me. Think you can do that?’ There was a hesitation as Turk paused to let it all sink in.
‘Yeah, man. Sure. Where do I meet you?’ Curtis tried to think of somewhere with lots of people at this time of night.
‘What about one of those all-night truck stops?’ said Turk. ‘Gotta be one along there somewhere.’ Curtis tried to recall whether he’d passed any on the way out.
‘Yeah, I’m sure there is!’ said Turk. ‘It’s on your side too. I’m leaving now. Ring you when I’m there.’
‘Thanks buddy.’
‘Hey Curtis?’
‘Yeah?’
‘Did you say Hummer?’ asked Turk. Curtis couldn’t believe this guy sometimes.
‘It’s a real live Hummer, Turk,’ said Curtis. ‘Even got bullet holes in it.’
There was silence at the other end for a second. Sometimes Turk’s brain needed some catch-up time. ‘I’m leaving now . . .’ The call ended, to leave Curtis trying to figure out a way of getting himself, the girls and the Hummer back to the truck stop without any more excitement. It was way more than he could handle already.
‘What the hell were they?’ asked Gina incredulously. Curtis shook his head as he drove. Hard one to answer. He looked back in the mirror and they were still sitting there. Hovering actually.
‘Must be some sort of stealth craft from the base, I guess,’ he said.
He felt Sam lean forward behind him. ‘Why did they just let us go like that?’
