The Dead Zone (Book One)

Chapter 8

Bryson cursed darkly as he dragged Paige from the upturned car, none too gently. He hoped nothing was broken as he forced her to her feet, urging her to run. She seemed in and out of consciousness but they didn’t have time for that as he wrapped his arm around her slender waist, urging her onward. There were people charging after them.

That accident had been anything but. Those spikes he’d hit had been placed there intentionally, and judging by the size of the car graveyard they’d landed in, they were not the first ones to hit it. Whoever had put those there had taken more than one victim, and he was 100% sure their intentions were not good.

He made eye contact with Zach who ran behind him, seemingly alright aside from the thin trickle of blood that seeped through a wound on his arm. He and Paige had taken the brunt of the crash, sparing his brother in the back seat.

He heard shouts behind them as the people with flashlights chased them into the woods. He knew Zach knew to follow his lead. Paige had regained some sense and sprinted with him, her footsteps much quieter than they had been when he’d first met her.

Her blood dripped to the forest floor as they ran but she didn’t complain. When the shouts of pursuit had faded a bit, he pulled her down into a crevice, ducking behind the brush to offer some protection from the glare of the flashlights. All was silent except their labored breath as they huddled together, Paige shaking in his arms, from fear or shock, he didn’t know.

“You alright Zach?” He whispered, searching the darkness next to him but coming up empty. He spun around, panic setting in when his brother was nowhere to be found. Where was he?! He’d been right behind him just a few minutes ago!

Oh, no. They’d must of gotten him! Was that why the flashlights had stopped pursuing them? Because they’d been distracted by their prey they’d caught?

He turned to Paige, looking into her eyes, a reflection of his emotions. She knew. She knew they had his brother.

“We have to go back.” She whispered.

He cursed, biting his fist to keep back his panic. “There were so many of them! At least twelve, probably more. We can’t fight them and win.”

Paige grabbed him by the shoulder, avoiding his knife wound, shaking him to get his attention.

“We have to follow them, see where they’re taking him. What weapons they have, and how many people. Then, we make a plan. They made a huge mistake taking one of our own, and an even bigger mistake letting us go, because now, we're coming for them. We'll get him back Bryson.”

Bryson thanked the heavens that she was a voice of reason for him in this time. Since they’d started this journey, his main goal had been protecting his brother to get them to Colorado safely. But he’d been so preoccupied with helping Paige that he’d completely left Zach to fend for himself. He was a horrible brother.

“So we need to go back to the wreckage. We’ll use the darkness to our advantage.”

“You’re right. Lets go. We might still be able to catch up to them.”

They jogged through the woods, much more quietly than before, keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of people. Now, instead of trying to escape, they were stalking. They were the hunters. They would get his brother back and make these people pay for what they did.

“Why do you think they set the trap?” Paige whispered as they peered at the wreckage from the cover of the trees. He lost count of how many cars lay crumpled in the ditch, their metal bodies intertwining together, glinting in the moonlight.

Neither of them had spotted any people on the other side of the highway, but that didn’t mean they weren’t out there watching.

“I don’t know. I think they wanted to catch us alive. They could have shot at us while we were running if they wanted us dead.”
“Maybe they don’t have guns?”
“Maybe, but why did they give up chasing us if they wanted to kill us? They just took Zach and left.”

None of this was making any sense, and more than anything, he just wanted his brother back. He had no idea what these people had planned for him. Were they hurting him right now? The thought caused his vision to go red with rage, while at the same time, his heart dropped down to his stomach, threatening to make him hurl.

“Do you think they’re watching?”

“Yeah. They know we’re out here.”

A look of regret crossed her features as she leaned back against a tree, dropping her head into her hands, long tendrils of dark hair disappearing into the darkness of the night.

“What is it?” He asked, the strange urge to comfort her almost as overwhelming as the feeling of needing his brother back by his side.

“Our bags are in the car.”

She was right. He could see the car now, laying on its top, a crumpled mass of metal. How they’d survived with only minor injuries, he didn’t know. Seatbelts, he supposed. All three of their bags were still in there, unless those people had gotten to them already. They had no supplies. No more ammo.

“You think they checked the car?”

She peered at their vehicle, squinting in the darkness. “No. Look right there. I can see the edge of Zach’s bag in the back seat.”

Upon closer inspection, she was right. It was hard to see, but he could have sworn he saw a camo-colored strap hanging out of the shattered back window.

“So, here’s the next question. How do we get them? They’ll see us if we go out in the open.”

Paige was presenting him with more questions than he had answers to. He took a deep breath, letting his mind drift off to a different place, a different time. A different world. A war.

And that's what this was now, a war- to him at least. He needed to start thinking like it. “We need a distraction.”

Paige agreed. “What are these people waiting on?”

“They’re waiting for people to run over their spikes and crash.”

“Right, so they’re waiting on cars.”

“Yeah…” He could tell she didn’t know where he was going with this. Oh, she’d find out soon enough.

“I have an idea.”