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It was a big ATV starting up, its engine clattering in the night.
In another instant, May made the connection. This quad must belong to Maurice. Word had gotten around the campsite, far faster than they'd been able to.
Maurice had realized they were here, and now he was making his getaway.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
As the grinding roar of the ATV's engine filled the air, May and Owen rushed across the campsite in the direction of the sound. There were startled cries from the people sitting around the blazing fire as May raced past, her footsteps tramping hard in the damp soil.
On the far side of the campsite, she saw a caravan that she guessed must be Maurice's. It was painted in camouflage, a jumble of greens, browns, and grays.
And beyond it, she could now pick up the reek of diesel from a powerful ATV engine.
May rushed past the caravan, in time to see the ATV—also painted in camo—spin a tight circle so that it was heading on a track into the woods.
In the dim light, she couldn't see the rider's face clearly, but he had bushy red hair and was wearing a gray jacket and trendily ripped jeans.
May sprinted as fast as she could toward that bike. She had a chance, just one chance to get close, because its tires were stuck and spinning in the mud.
"Maurice Fardy! Stop! Police! We need to speak to you!"
She made a desperate grab for the back of it, clinging to the back of it with one hand and to the driver's jacket with the other. But it wasn't enough to stop him.
With a manic laugh, Maurice revved the engine and sent the ATV careening along the muddy track.
May was hurtled along with it, the speed of the bike slewing her sideways, one foot still dragging behind in the dirt.
She was in a precarious, dangerous position now. This man was making a run for it. Trapped in place, with a death grip on his jacket and on the back of the ATV, she knew she could hurtherself badly if she fell off, especially since he was going faster with every moment that passed.
The only option was to cling on for her life as the muddy, rocky ground raced by, and hope that she was somehow able to survive this wild ride and manage to slow things down.
"Stop!" May yelled again. The ATV veered and skidded as Maurice drove it down the track. She was starting to realize that this man was seriously out of his mind. He was as high as a kite. He didn't even seem to fully realize that May was trapped in a perilous position on the back of the vehicle.
The roar of the engine drowned everything out except Maurice's screams of glee. He tore along the track, bouncing over rocks and tree roots.
The ATV was lurching from side to side, and bouncing up and down, and as she tried to cling on with a death grip, May knew she was coming dangerously close to being thrown off the back.
But then the ATV veered from the track and into the undergrowth, crashing through the thick shrubs, knocking them aside, slewing crazily as Maurice tried to get away.
"Come along for the ride!" he shouted. "Come along for the ride. We're all going to enjoy it!"
"Stop it!" she shouted, hanging on now by one hand, the other clutching his jacket. She needed to wrench his arm off the handlebar, she realized. If she could overcome the drag of her own weight pulling her backward, perhaps she'd be able to do that. It was her only hope. She had to get his hand off the throttle, because otherwise, he was so high, so out of his mind, that they might both end up seriously hurt.
The ATV bounced over a large rock and became briefly airborne. May’s foot slipped and her stomach tensed as she thought this was it, she was going to fall. Then she found purchase again, and so did the ATV. With a slither of wheels, May realized that he'd found another track, this one leadingeven deeper into the woods. But this track was straight and long. If she didn't act now—right now—he was going to be able to accelerate to a dangerous speed on this stretch.
May dragged herself forward with all the strength she had, and as the ATV's wheels dug in, she wrenched the man's arm hard to the right, digging her fingers in, doing her utmost to pry his grip away from the throttle.
The first thing that happened was that the handlebars jerked around, and the bike veered sharply right. Now May saw, to her horror, they were on a collision course with a large, solid tree. Its trunk loomed ahead, looking spooky and silver in the glare of the headlights.
Would the ATV be smashed to pieces? Would they both be thrown into the tree?
Knowing there were only moments before this wild ride ended in disaster, May decided she just had to try harder. She hauled Maurice's arm back with every ounce of strength she had, ripping at it with all her force as the tree loomed ahead.
She had no idea whether this would be enough, but it was all she had time for now, the only possible action she could still try. They might still end up crashing into the tree. Their speed was terrifying.
Wrestling as hard as she could, throwing her full weight against it, she did it. With a breathless cry, May wrenched at the man's arm so hard that she pulled it off the handlebar.
With a jerk and a buck, the ATV stalled, its speed bleeding out so that it touched the tree trunk with the smallest possible bump.
