Snapping In

“FAULKNER!”

“SHIT!”

“GO RIGHT NOW! NOW!”

Faulkner gunned the engine and took off, pulling the wheel to the right and kicking the wipers into overdrive. Rain washed over them. The road lit up behind them as the machine blasted the spot where they had just been. Allison saw the map glow for a bit in the light. She reached in, pulling her flashlight off her belt, and turned it on so she could see inside. Faulkner shifted into second gear. The Mercedes surged forward with renewed speed.

“Which way, wirewench!”

“Left at the end!”

“Here we go!”

Faulkner put it back down into first gear and hooked left. Allison held onto the seat. For a second she thought it was going to lean over onto two wheels. Faulkner slammed on the brakes. Ahead of them were a number of cars packed in together, left over from when the city was abandoned. They were blocking the small two lane road. Allison looked left out the window and saw movement.

“Go, go! Take a right and get us moving!”

“Hang on!”

Faulkner pulled ahead as far as he could go and saw a one-way street down an alleyway. He took it. The thumping of high-explosive shells behind them caused him to push into second gear again. The road merged into another two lane road. Cars were choking the roadway, but Faulkner expertly pulled around them as Allison pulled out the map from her rucksack. Another machine stepped out ahead as they reached an intersection.

“How many of these fuckers are there?!” Faulkner shouted as he pulled to the left at a weird four-way junction.

He hugged the guardrail as the road exploded behind them with a larger blast, indicating a heavy caliber weapon in use. Not good. We might not make it at this rate. Allison thought to herself. The road led into a parking lot, making Faulkner pull onto the walkway and gun the engine. The truck zoomed down it and made it back onto the roadway proper.

“Where to next?”

“Take a…dammit…uhh…”

“Allison!”

“Left! Left at the next big intersection!”

Faulkner did as he was instructed and pulled hard left after downshifting while he took the corner. Allison looked in the mirror and saw the flash of lightning illuminate the machine as it turned to target them. Her heart jumped into her mouth.

“Take the next left!”

“Okay!” Faulkner said, unsure of the sudden change.

His answer was another wide shot down the road they had been going. He was sweating. Allison looked at her map. Her finger traced their previous path, and then went out in front where she could see more roads ahead of them.

“Take the next right, and then a straight shot through.”

“Whatever you say!”

Allison looked up and saw the first machine barreling down on them. She grabbed the seat and door again.

“Shit, gun it!”

“As the lady says!”

Faulkner, for his role, was more calm than she was. But he was the one in control of the vehicle. She was not. She watched him. He pulled right and, like clockwork, there was another blast behind them. Allison saw a tunnel ahead.

“Christ alive!” Faulkner shouted.

“Yeah, you think they’re trying to kill us?”

“Us? No. Not us. You. This is on you, wirewench.”

“Fuck’s sake, man.”

Faulkner pulled the wheel to the right and followed the road as it curved after they exited the tunnel. The overpass for the highway up ahead exploded.

“Oh shit.” Allison said.

Faulkner said nothing and kicked it back up into second gear. He put the pedal down. The highway collapsed onto the road as they passed under it.

“KEEP IT ON THE ROAD!” Allison screamed.

“Where to next?!”

“Left! Left! Go fucking left!”

Faulkner put the Mercedes onto the main road and turned left without downshifting. He put it up to third gear and picked up speed. Trees flew by on their left side.

“You think we’d get anywhere with the headlights off?” Allison suggested.

“Not in this weather!”

“I hope you’re driving can make up for it, then.”

“Whatever, wirewench! Where to next?”

Allison checked the map. Her finger moved along the roads again and she looked out ahead of them.

“This will take us out of town if we stay on it.” She said.

“Sounds good to me.”

Another machine stepped out.

“Are you fucking kidding me?!” Faulkner yelled.

“Take the next right onto the main road!”

“Hold onto something!”

Faulkner pulled right and sideswiped a car wreck. The Mercedes bounced off, but he put the wheels back towards the road and put the pedal down again. The engine revved and put the tires to the asphalt.

“What now, girly?!”

“Next right!”

“Whatever you say!”

The truck sped through the wreckage of a bus that had been burned up for some time and took the designated turn. No sooner had he done that, a shell arced from overhead and landed ahead of them on the street they turned off of.

“They’re doing long-range targeting!”

“So what do you wanna do!?”

Allison checked the map again.

“Take the next left!”

“You got it!”

“Follow it down and then take a right and left again!”

“What’s the plan?!”

“We’ll lose ‘em in the trees!”

“Sure hope you know where you’re going!”

“Shut up and drive, Faulkner! I’d like to not get pancaked by a one-oh-five today!”

“Amen to that!”

Faulkner downshifted to second gear and took the turns with liberal use of the handbrake. A right, immediately following a left. Another shell arced in and impacted to their right. Shrapnel broke the back window as Faulkner put the tires back down onto the road.

“At the end, take a right!”

“Copy!”

Faulkner wasted no time in getting back to third gear and making the truck work to gain ground. More rounds arced from the side as he sped past houses. The asphalt terminated to a dirt road. Allison was glad they were in a military vehicle for this. Faulkner downshifted, turned right, and kicked dirt up as he put the pedal back down.

“Where is this road going, Allison?”

She checked the map again. The road inclined as they went up a hill. She noticed that there were a few hills around the area, and the map indicated another problem.

“Shit. There’s another castle up here. Take the left at the end of the road.”

Faulkner put the truck on the path. They bounced down the trail at an even pace while the rounds coming in were getting less and less accurate.

“You think they got another base up here?” Faulkner asked.

A Fuchs APC rolled past them as they went through an intersection. It stopped and backed up, then it turned towards them as they sped off.

“I’d say ‘Yeah’!” Allison answered.

The bend in the road provided cover with the trees, but the Fuchs was almost as fast as they were.

“Well if they’re patrolling for us, then we need to keep our distance from that castle!” Faulkner said, stating the obvious.

“Ya think?! Keep on this road and follow it right! Go!”

Faulkner needed no other motivation. He got it through. The Fuchs’ headlights appeared behind them. The Rheinmetall MG3, a modernized version of the infamous MG42 machine gun, opened up on them from the top of the armored vehicle. Bullets shredded the bark and leaves off the trees as the Mercedes sped down the dirt trail. They came up on the turn. Faulkner put it into second and hit the handbrake, turning the wheel into the turn and then righting the truck. Dirt and mud kicked up behind them as they pulled away.

“Keep on this road and pass through the next intersection. We should get back to something resembling a street soon.” Allison instructed.

She kept her eye in the mirror. As the road bent, the lights of the Fuchs came into view. The MG3 sang again. Faulkner followed the trail down the left and then the right.

“Follow right and then left at the end!” Allison shouted as a round skipped off the ceiling.

Faulkner’s hands worked the steering wheel as the rough road jostled them around. But he never faltered as he pushed the truck to the limit. The muddy dirt became gravel. He downshifted and pulled left, getting back onto a real backroad.

“Where next?”

“Keep going and step on it! This road runs straight back to the castle! We’ll lose them in the village!”

Faulkner didn’t appreciate the situation, but he put the Mercedes back into third gear and then into fourth. The engine roared as they picked up speed. The trees gave way to residential neighborhoods again.

“What are we doing, Allison?”

“Taking the main road. We’ll follow it out of here and be good to go.”

“Boy, I sure hope so. I’ve had enough of this shit.”

Allison checked the map.

“How much gas we got?”

“We’re a little over three quarters of a tank.”

“Should be enough to get us outta here.”

Allison leaned back and held onto the door.

“Right at the end of the road.”

“Here goes!”

The truck screamed around the corner and took off. The roadway was still choked with cars, but Faulkner made it look easy the way he moved between them.

“What did you do in the 11th Cav, again?”

“Oh what, me? I was a Bradley driver.”

“You drove a Bradley like that?”

“Sometimes.”

“Would hate to be in your troop compartment.”

“That’s the thing. Didn’t really matter how you drove if you kept the grunts alive.”

“Sheesh, man.”

Allison looked out the window at the dark sky raining down on them. She then looked down at the map and followed the road as far as it would go.

“This will take us through the forest and into Ummerstadt. After that, head north and then west along these main roads and into Heldburg.”

“Any place in particular you’re looking to go?”

“Yeah, there’s a high spot just around a place called Sternberg. Get me there and I can make my call to command and get us a pick up and an RV point.”

“Fuckin’ A, that’s what I like to hear.”

Allison sighed and then remembered her leg. She looked down and noticed that, with the tourniquet, the bleeding wasn’t so bad. She quickly pulled out a field dressing from her pack and packed the wound. She’d feel it for a while, but she could deal with the pain for now. Afterall, they still had a ways to go.