No Escape (luke hemmings au)

~part twelve~

        I kept my bow ready for the rest of the ride. Ashton had taken over pedaling for Luke. He struggled to keep the bike steady but he insisted he wanted to be useful. Luke held my sword tightly in his grasp. I barely blinked. We all knew that being attacked again was a likely possibility if we didn’t get out of the forest soon. The shadows of the trees were growing longer as we rode. The sun was beginning to set.

                “If you turn down there it should take us back to the main road,” Luke pointed to a pathway to our right. Elisa didn’t hesitate to steer us towards freedom. Ashton had a hard time turning one-handed but he managed. I could hear Elisa heaving in front of me. She was exhausted.

                “I can pedal when we get to the road if you want,” I offered. Elisa didn’t say anything, but she nodded.

                The trees became scarcer as we proceeded along the pathway. I could see the road ahead of us, so close but so far away. I felt like an Olympic sprinter, mere steps from the finish line. I expected Sick to intercept us, I expected someone to fall from the sky, I expected something to go wrong, but this time the universe decided to cut us some slack. We emerged from the woods and rode out onto an abandoned paved road. There was a traffic light hanging on a pathetic-looking pole down the street that was perpetually stuck on red.  I recognized it. This road led to the mall. It was the road that Calum had used the day they found me. It felt like that had happened so long ago.

                I jumped off the back of the bike and placed my backpack on the ground. Elisa dismounted and laid herself on the pavement. “I have never been so tired before in my life,” she moaned.

                Ashton sauntered over and nudged her with his toe. “I bet I can break that record. Get up,” he joked. “We have to keep going before the sun sets.”

                Luke walked up next to me and stood closer than he needed to. I wasn’t arguing though. “I’m pretty sure the mall’s that way,” Luke pointed to the left. He looked at me, silently asking permission to go back to the place Jess had been killed. “It’s our best bet.”

                I took a deep breath. I wasn’t sure I was ready to go back there again. But Luke was right, it was our best option. I decided to tough it out for the sake of my friends. “I’ll pedal, yeah?” I asked Elisa. She moved her head in what I assumed was a nod but her face was pressed against the crumbling blacktop so I couldn’t be sure. I slung my bag back around my shoulders and lifted the bike to an upright position. Ashton followed my lead and we both mounted the bikes.

                Luke crouched next to Elisa and was busy trying to convince her to stand. I looked at Ashton who had his eyebrow raised. He had an idea.

                “What?” I said, quietly enough so that Luke and Elisa didn’t hear.

                Ashton rolled closer to me and smirked. “I’ll race you to the intersection,” he dared.

                “You’re on, lefty,” I winked. Before he could come up with a snappy comeback, I had already pushed off towards the lights. Ashton called after me and I laughed as I pedaled harder than I ever had.

                “Come on newbie, seriously?” I heard Luke call out. I barely even noticed. I could hear Ashton laughing not too far behind me, but there was no way he could catch me now. I chanced a glance backwards and saw Elisa had gotten to her feet and she and Luke were trudging after us. I reached the light, squeezed the handle breaks and turned the bike around to face Ashton, panting. He made it to the intersection seconds after I did.