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The bike slammed into the lyaer with its front wheel. The rest of the bike kept going. It left the road and flipped several times before it came to a stop. Another twisted wreck.
Bain let out a shout of triumph.
I dropped my barrier and got ready to grab the last bike. Before I could, the rider slowed with a squeal of brakes and the stink of burning rubber. The bike whipped around and flew off back where it came from. They didn't even slow to check on their fallen friend.
That was cold.
Bain slowed the bike and drew to an eventual stop by the side of the road. Knox pulled up a few metres ahead.
"Well, that was fun," I said sarcastically. "Are we going after that last one?"
Bain pulled off his helmet and shook his head. "No." His face was covered in a layer of sweat. "They'll be long gone by now. We need to assume they weren't alone."
Knox climbed off his bike and approached, helmet dangling from his fingers. "We also can't assume they weren't herding us toward something. Or someone."
"Someone knew we were going this way," I said.
"We didn't make it a secret we were going," Bain said. To Knox, he said, "I hope you're wrong. Word would have to travel in front of us if you're not."
"Dex didn't send a pigeon to the Watcher?" I asked. I still didn't know how they got messages around, so I was going with pigeons for now.
"No. He wanted to surprise Slade," Bain replied.
"Catch him unawares." I nodded. "That makes sense." A warning would give him time to cover his tracks, if he had tracks to cover.
"Any idea who they were?" I asked. Apart from people who might be very pissed at the loss of two perfectly good bikes. That's what they got for shooting at me. Us.
"Not without inspecting the bodies," Bain replied. He pushed back his sleeve and glanced at his watch. Analogue, of course. "We can spare a few minutes, but it might not tell us anything."
"It would if he's not dead," I said. Looking back at the second wreck, I couldn't see how anyone could survive that. The rider lay on the road, unmoving as far as I could tell.
Bain nodded curtly. "We should find out that at least. It's not humane to let anyone lie on the road dying."
"Right." Even though they tried to kill us, going back to check would make us the bigger people here. It could almost make us a target if anyone came along.
"Be on your guard," Bain said.
Knox nodded, jammed his helmet back on, and returned to his bike.
The return ride to the wreck only took a couple of minutes, but I held my breath for most of it. The land around us was as flat as a pingpong table, but if I'd learnt anything since coming here, it was to expect anything.
A dirt dragon or a giant grassworm might inhabit the ground around us. I didn't know if either of those existed, but I didn't know they didn't either.
Assume nothing, I told myself.
We stopped again and Bain and Knox both climbed off onto the road. Wesley, who stared down the road, his broken heart written all over his face, stayed put, as did I. I followed the guys’ example and left my helmet on as well.
Bain approached the rider and crouched beside him. He put his fingers on the rider's wrist and frowned while he waited.
"He has a pulse," he said finally. "He's alive." His tone suggested the guy wouldn't be alive for much longer, either of natural causes or act of Bain.
Bain grabbed the rider's shoulder and shook him gently. "Hey, wake up."
I never said Bain would make a caring nurse.
"Hey," Bain said again.
The rider groaned. He muttered something that sounded like, "Fuck off."
