The Monster Apocalypse

CHAPTER NINETEEN

CHAPTER NINETEEN

"Mr. Barker, that's not funny."

"I'm being serious—"

"Now's not the time to be making jokes."

"Brin, look at me. Look at my feet." He slammed them against the pedal. Nothing. The car wasn't responding. "I don't know what's happening."

"Maybe the engine is stalled? Maybe—"

"What's happening?" Ash said, with a yawn.

"This is an odd place to stop," said Anaya, waking up.

"We can't just stay stopped in the middle of the highway!" Brin shouted, loudest of all. "It's dark out here! What if a car doesn't see us?"

Mr. Barker turned the key in the ignition and tried to get the car to start again. He turned it twice, three times. Nothing. The van was dead.

"This is insane," the man said, slamming his fists down against the steering wheel. He shook his head and looked at Brin. "I guess we have to get out and move it. I don't know what to do."

Mr. Barker had been so focused, so determined—and now, with this (arguably) small hiccup, he was already showing signs of weakness and distress. He rested his hand on the door handle.

Brin touched his shoulder. "It's OK," she said. "We'll find a way to get there. Even if we can't get the van to start up again, we will find a way. I bet it's just overheated. Let's move it to the side of the road and give it a few minutes."

The teacher sighed. He obviously didn't want to get out of the car. But he knew he didn't have a choice. "Come on, Anaya, Ash. Help Brin and me push the van to the side of the—"

The van started up again, magically. Mr. Barker hadn't touched a thing, not the steering wheel, the gas pedal, the key in the ignition—the vehicle just roared back to life with no explanation.

"Yes!" Brin shouted. "See! It just needed a minute. It's probably because there's so many of us in the car or something. Maybe it's just—"

The van started moving, heading down the highway at a slow pace, at about 20 MPH.

"Are you going to speed up?" Brin asked Mr. Barker.

"Uhh..." He didn't say anything for a moment. He just stared out the windshield in confusion. "Brin, I'm not touching the pedal."

"What are you talking about?" Brin looked down at Mr. Barker's feet. They indeed were shoved up close to the door, and not near the pedal at all. "Can you touch the brakes? Can you stop the car? Maybe it's just rolling. We are on a hill."

"Let me see." He pressed his foot against the brake. He tapped it a few times. The car was still moving.

"Anything?"

"No. This can't be the hill. Look, the road is leveling out." Mr. Barker pointed out the windshield. They had reached the bottom of the hill and were now just a minute or two away from the California state line. They were so close to fleeing Nevada, to getting far away from the monster-infested Grisly. The van just needed to respond to Mr. Barker's touch.

"This is ridiculous," Brin said. "Well, come on. Let's at least pull the van to the side of the road." She leaned over and tugged the steering wheel in her direction. She waited for the wheels to turn, for the vehicle to pass over into the bike lane.

But the van didn't budge. It just kept going straight.

"The steering wheel isn't working either?" Ash said, the panic in his voice more discernable than before. "Do we need to get out of the car? Are we safe?"

"Hold on," Mr. Barker said, brushing Brin's hands away. "Let me give it a go."

He pulled the steering wheel to the right with all his might. He gritted his teeth and emitted an uncomfortable moan. He spit up a little bit, and Brin watched as drool dripped off his chin and landed on the center of the wheel. Mr. Barker finally let go.

"Damn it," he said. "It's not working! What kind of car did your stupid little friend give us, Brin?"

"Don't blame Crispin," Brin said. "This isn't his fault. Maybe we're low on gas? Did you check to see how much was in the tank?"

"His mom said it was low on gas, but I checked. There's still a quarter of a tank left. That should be enough to get us to Bodie." He looked like he wanted to scream. "If I could just turn this stinking car..."

Mr. Barker gripped the wheel to the left and tried to pull the vehicle into the adjacent lane, just for the hell of it.

The idea worked. The van started turning to the left, into the oncoming lane, toward the slim one-lane road that winded along the side of the lake.

"Yes! I got it!" Mr. Barker shouted. "It's turning!"

"Oh, thank God," Brin said. "Turn it to the right."

Mr. Barker tried. He pulled the other way. Nothing. The van kept veering left.

"What the hell?" He tried to stop the vehicle from turning left, to no avail. "This is so dumb! It's like something's controlling the van! That, or it has a mind of its own!"

"Oh my God," Ash said. "We're in Christine, aren't we! I knew Stephen King would factor into this story sooner or later!"

Brin ignored Ash's comment and pointed outside, at the bright red light.

"I think..." she started. She leaned against the dashboard and shook her head in disbelief. "I think I know what's controlling the van, Mr. Barker."

"What is that?" Dylan asked from the back of the van.

"What the hell is that?" asked Valerie, pointing.

"Oh my God!" Anaya shouted. "Is that what I think it is?"

Mr. Barker put his hands up into the air, like he had a cop pointing a weapon his way. He wasn't touching the wheel anymore, but the van had finally decided to stop turning left. Now the group was on the slim one-lane road, headed toward the dark, empty lake, and the glowing red light up ahead.

Brin had seen that red object fly overhead a few minutes ago but couldn't tell what it was. But she could now, in all its awe-inspiring glory.

"It's pulling us in," Mr. Barker said. "It has us in its grasp!"

"What does?" Justin asked from the back of the van, his voice so high and scared Brin wondered if her brother had transformed into the sister she never thought she had. "What the hell is that red light?"

"Oh, it's nothing," Brin said. "It's just... you know... a spaceship."

The van continued rolling forward, closer and closer to the bright red light, where a large, spinning flyer saucer rested on the dirt ground beside the lake.