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Ford raced through the intersection and darted off the road to the left, where there was a long stretch of scrub and rocks. Mercury was on his heels, with Stella and Karen behind her.
Amber shrieked in rage. “Get them!”
The engine of one of the SUV’s roared to life.
“We need to run north!” Ford told the women as they dodged around boulders, brambles and skeletal junipers. “That way it’ll be harder for us to miss the creek.”
The lights of the SUV flared behind them as the vehicle left the road and bumped crazily over the uneven terrain. Its headlights flashed up and down while it crashed over brush and sped after them.
“Should we split up?” Mercury called. She’d raced ahead of Ford and the others and had to circle back while the SUV gained on them—though they’d been zigzagging from clumps of trees and bushes to avoid its headlights.
“No!” Stella shouted.
“Mercury! Go ahead of us and find a way to get off a shot into that thing’s engine,” Ford said.
“Will do!” Mercury turned her back to her friends and raced ahead—shocked by how effortless it was to pull away from them. Her arms pumped rhythmically as she dodged scrub and hurtled over rocks.
Mercury had run what she guessed to be the length of a couple football fields when she slid to a halt at a two-lane road, on the other side of which she could hear Willow Creek bubbling over rocks. She spun around. At least one hundred yards behind her she saw the lights of the SUV. They illuminated Ford and Karen. Stella had pulled away from them, but Ford had his arm through Karen’s and was almost carrying the older woman.
Mercury didn’t hesitate. She took the .38 from the holster and flipped off the safety. Then she jogged forward as her father’s voice echoed from her memory. “Acorn, you’re a damn good shot, but even a good shot can’t be very accurate with a .38 when you’re trying to aim at something a hundred yards or so away—for that you need a hunting rifle, preferably with a scope.”
“Well, Dad, the Winchester isn’t here, so let’s hope my new abilities stretch my accuracy.” Mercury took a wide-legged stance. She lifted the pistol in a two-handed grip, focused every sense she had on aiming for the middle of the headlights that, with each passing heartbeat, gained on her friends. Mercury drew in a deep breath, let it out, and then gently, like she was stroking a skittish kitten, she squeezed the trigger.
In the silent night, the shot was deafening—so much so that the ringing in her ears covered the sound of the engine clinking and sputtering, though she saw the SUV fishtail and come to a halt. Mercury holstered the gun, shoved it back into her pocket, and then sprinted toward her friends. She reached Stella first.
“The road’s just ahead. The creek’s on the other side of it!”
“Where are you going?” Stella cried as she raced past her.
“To get Karen! Go, Stella!”
Mercury’s remarkable speed ate the distance to Ford and Karen.
“What are you doing?” Ford and Karen staggered to a halt as she reached them. Karen had a hand pressed into her side as she gasped for breath. Ford shouted at her as he gulped air. “Get out of here!”
“No, you get out of here! The road and creek are just ahead. Stella’s almost there. Take this,” Mercury slipped Ford’s backpack from her shoulder and handed it to Ford. “Now, run! I’ll get Karen!” She didn’t wait for Ford to answer, but instead went to Karen.
“Just—leave—me!” she wheezed.
“Not a chance. You’re not gonna like this, but we don’t have a choice. Trust me?”
Karen nodded.
In one motion Mercury scooped Karen off her feet and hefted her over her shoulder like a sack of grain for her dad’s horses. She turned, and she and Ford sprinted away side by side. Behind them there was the crack of a gun and the sound of a bullet whizzed past them.
“Shit! Faster!” Mercury said as she pulled ahead of Ford.
There was the sound of another gunshot—and a second bullet splintered a juniper to Mercury’s left. Then she was on the road, with Ford right behind her. Stella was standing just a few yards on the other side of the street.
“It’s here! The creek!”
Mercury put Karen on her feet. “I don’t think I can make it down the bank carrying you, sorry.”
“It’s—okay. I can—” Karen staggered and would’ve fallen had Mercury not stepped forward to catch her arm.
In that instant another shot cracked from behind them, closer this time. Mercury felt something punch her high in her back, below her right shoulder. She lurched forward. Stella’s scream was echoed by Karen as she caught Mercury.
Then Ford was there. He lifted Mercury into his arms. “Get to the creek!” They ran across the road and joined Stella.
