Proud Machinery

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

One thing Connor was never, ever going to admit to another human being was that he hated how fast Rod drove and that it scared him actually quite a bit when Rod's car hurtled around corners. He was proud that he'd hidden that fear so well that Rod had never picked up on it.

Rod was driving even faster than usual now, his car Soldier shuddering as it flew along the dark, narrow road leading to the Blues' cabin. The trees blinked by to either side. A particularly sharp turn slammed the guys in the back seat together, and they shoved each other away, laughing.

Red taillights appeared in the darkness—a silver car, the first sign of life they'd seen since they'd left Stephanie's, headed in the same direction they were.

"That was Danny's," said Connor after they'd rushed past.

"Oh," said Rod. "Was it?" And he slammed on the breaks. As the car squealed to a halt, Rod angled it so that it blocked both lanes.

Danny's silver car came around the corner. Its horn roared as it jerked to a screaming stop. Danny climbed out and shouted something.

Rod rolled down his window. "Could you repeat that?" he shouted. "Didn't hear you!"

"Move your car, Rod."

"Because you tell me to?"

"Because someone's going to run into it in the dark and kill themselves."

"We wouldn't want that to happen. You better make me move."

Rod got out of the car, and so did Connor and the others. The Blues were stepping out of Danny's car too—Samuel and Bradley Lecker and a guy Connor didn't know very well, possibly a sophomore, possibly named Greg. The Blues moved towards the front of the car, falling into formation like fighter jets.

"Nah," said Rod. "That's not how we're going to do this."

He bent his legs and launched himself over the Blues' heads onto the hood of Danny's car. Then, while they were still confused, he hopped off to the side, grabbed Samuel, and flung the smaller guy over his shoulder like a sack of something. He charged off into the dark woods at full Red speed.

Samuel's cousin Bradley ran after them, cursing. Danny ran beside him, not cursing. Possibly-Greg started to follow them, but Jason and Miguel each grabbed one of his arms and carried him off into the trees on the other side of the road. Harry, on the other side of the car from Connor, let out a hoarse wordless shout and headed after Rod and the other Blues.

No. Connor could not be the last one left standing by the cars.

He jumped and slid over the hood, came down on the other side, and with a burst of desperate energy caught up and passed Harry so that he left the road slightly ahead of the other guy.

They'd left the cars with the headlights on. The yellow light sliced through the forest, though the farther Connor got the more it was blocked by black branches and the more often he stumbled on unseen roots and rocks. Where were the others? He wasn't going to find them. He was going to miss it. Blue-white lightning light flashed somewhere off to the left, and Connor changed course towards it.

He was reminded, suddenly, of the pretty-much identical woods behind Stephanie's house, in fact they were the same woods, weren't they, it was unbroken trees from here to there, which meant this was the same place, sort of, where Priya had pushed him up against a tree.

He still didn't see or hear anyone, not even Harry who had come in to the trees with him. Had he shifted direction again without realizing it? If Connor didn't find them, Rod and Harry would be outnumbered.