Chapter 8 - The Collision Course
The metal-on-metal screech of the collision echoed through the forest as the heavy SUV slammed into the side of the delivery van again.
“Hang on!” Marcus bellowed, wrestling the steering wheel to keep the van from flipping over into the deep drainage ditch lining the logging road.
Julian lunged forward into the cab, grabbing the emergency brake lever and yanking it upward just as the SUV tried to pit-maneuver them.
The rear tires of the van locked up, causing the vehicle to spin in a controlled 180-degree arc that sent a massive cloud of dust billowing into the air.
The pursuing SUV overshot them, its brakes locking up as it skidded off the wet dirt track and crashed violently into a thick cluster of pine trees.
“Is everyone alright?!” Julian yelled, turning around to check the back seat where Olivia and Lucy were tangled in a heap of blankets.
“We’re okay! Mom’s breathing, but she’s exhausted,” Lucy called out, coughing from the thick dust that had leaked into the cabin.
Marcus threw the van into reverse, backing out of the clearing before the occupants of the wrecked SUV could recover from the impact.
“That bought us maybe ten minutes before their backup catches up,” Marcus said grimly, hitting the gas as they headed back toward the main highway.
Julian checked his watch, calculating the distance to his father’s old hunting lodge while trying to keep his growing anxiety under control.
“We need to make a decoy move,” Julian said suddenly, leaning over the center console to look at the dashboard navigation map.
Marcus raised an eyebrow. “A decoy? With Olivia in this condition?”
“No, you take Olivia and Lucy to the lodge using the old service road through the valley. I’ll take the van toward the state line,” Julian instructed firmly.
“Julian, absolutely not! You can’t go out there alone,” Lucy protested, pushing past the middle row to grab his arm from behind the driver’s seat.
“They’re tracking this specific vehicle because of its transponder, Lucy. As long as I’m driving it, they won’t look anywhere else,” Julian explained calmly.
Olivia opened her eyes, reaching out a pale hand to touch Julian’s face with a tenderness that defied the chaos surrounding them.
“Don’t be a hero, Julian. You’re all we have left,” Olivia whispered, her eyes shining with unshed tears in the dashboard light.
Julian covered her hand with his own, offering a reassuring smile that he didn’t entirely feel. “I’m not trying to be a hero, Olivia. I’m just finishing a war they started.”
They pulled to a halt at a remote fork in the dirt road where the thick canopy of trees offered temporary concealment from aerial surveillance.
Marcus cut the engine, sliding out of the driver’s seat and jogging around to open the side door for Olivia and Lucy.
“Take my encrypted phone, boss. I’ll get them to the lodge safely and meet you at the old grain silo at dawn,” Marcus said, handing over a heavy-duty satellite communicator.
Julian nodded, sliding behind the wheel of the delivery van while Marcus, Olivia, and Lucy slipped into the shadows of the secondary trail.
As the van’s engine roared back to life, Julian put it in gear and sped down the main highway toward the Massachusetts state line alone.
Within three miles, the red dots of twin headlights appeared in his rearview mirror, trailing him at a precise, menacing distance.
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Julian smiled grimly, turning off his headlights completely and steering the van directly toward an old, unmapped logging bridge ahead.
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