Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 127201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 127201 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 636(@200wpm)___ 509(@250wpm)___ 424(@300wpm)
“Who taught you to drive?”
Miguel squared his shoulders. “I taught myself.”
Of course. This day was only getting better.
Nero’s brain was overheating as he thought of their limited and difficult options when a sliver of color caught his eye in the rear view mirror. Despite Miguel’s driving putting a strain on his entire body, he glanced to the back seat and laughed when he recognized the four identical bags stored there. “Right. Go right. Up that dirt road,” he said, pointing to a single-file route leading into the trees, away from the long road that would eventually descend and lead toward a major national highway.
Miguel bared his teeth and pointed to the sign they were approaching all too fast. “Left will take us off the mountains. Isn’t that what we want?”
Nero didn’t have time to calm down by counting to ten, so he slammed his hand on the dashboard and stared at Miguel. “I know this place, okay? Follow directions or we’ll die!”
Miguel gave him the side eye as they approached the fork in the road, and just as Nero was preparing to throw himself at the wheel and force Miguel’s hand, the bastard turned right so sharply Nero’s head went flying into the window, and he hit the glass.
The shadow of the trees offered much-needed respite for eyes previously forced to stare toward the sun, and as they sped up the hill under a canopy that would keep them from being spotted by a drone or helicopter, Nero drank a few gulps from a water bottle stored in the cupholder.
He had a plan, and if everything went well, they might just make it out of this shitty situation alive.
Miguel took a deep breath. “We’ll go as far as we can, check the trunk for anything we can salvage, and trek through the wilderness for a while. I know a thing or two about camping, I could keep us fed.”
Nero stretched, and looked uphill, to where daylight was peeking into the woods. He wouldn’t argue now, determined to conserve energy. “You wanted to die anyway, right? If I fuck up it’ll be on me, so just follow my lead,” he said, annoyed that he hadn’t gotten into the driver’s seat before Miguel as the bastard continued taking turns in a rapid, nausea-inducing way.
“I agreed to get you to safety first, so I do actually give a fuck.”
The car climbed the slope without trouble, but they only had so much time to reach the spot Nero was thinking of. He hoped no tourists had decided to stop there to take pictures, because for his plan to work they needed to leave as little trace as possible.
“Oh, believe me, no one cares about my survival as much as I do,” he said, stretching in the seat as he spotted the end of the path ahead.
Miguel accelerated again, sending sand everywhere, but when the car climbed all the way up and faced the flat viewpoint ending in a cliff, he braked so rapidly that Nero, who’d just unbuckled his belt, fell on the dashboard.
“What the fuck? This is a dead end.” Miguel stared ahead for a few seconds, dumbstruck, but then got out of the car. “Grab whatever could be useful. Especially a shirt, if you find one.”
“Stop panicking. We’re exactly where we need to be,” Nero said and grabbed two of the backpacks, tossing them out of the car. He looked around, pleased to find no traces of people beyond some trash and a trail marking on one of the trees. He then retrieved Father’s old hoodie from the trunk and put it on before searching the glove compartment. There were two bullet magazines, and some unnecessary crap, but no cash.
Miguel was busy pillaging the trunk and filling an empty backpack. “There’s hardly any food!” he complained, but it was time to end this charade and remind him who was in charge.
“We don’t need food. What we do need is to hide this fucking car and disappear, because the news of Father’s death is already spreading, and whoever ends up at the helm will want my head,” Nero said and got into the vehicle to roll it closer to a slope descending from the flattened area around the viewpoint, into a dense forest. He put the stick in neutral, pulled up the hand brake lever, and switched off the engine before sliding out and staring at the terrain in front of the Hummer.
The ground formed a natural track downwards that should guide the vehicle out of sight, and its weight ought to raze any plants in its way.
Nero whistled at Miguel and released the handbrake as soon as he was out. “Chop, chop! Push.”
Miguel looked as if he wanted to protest, but he kept his mouth shut and joined Nero's efforts.
With the car already being on a slope, it didn’t need much to prompt its rapid descent. Nero exhaled as it disappeared from sight and was glad to hear a loud bang only moments later. It seemed Father’s favorite ride has finished its earthly existence on a high note. But the fact that it wouldn’t be found so easily didn’t mean he and Miguel had all the time in the world