Wasteland Rules: A New Dawn (The World After Book 3) (4 page)

   “Please! I need some
help!” She yelled, faking disorientation.

   The men in the car spotted
her and began whistling and howling. One banged on the roof for the car to turn
down towards her. As the car turned and came down the street, she staggered into
a small alley. Really it was nothing more than a gap between buildings, barely
big enough for more than one person. The car pulled to a stop and the men
practically fell over themselves to get out. Rora turned to face them and let
them see her naked chest. All of them were practically drooling with lust and
were completely unaware of anything but her.

   They were very surprised
when the commander and the colonel appeared from behind the trash piles and
aimed their AK-47s at the gangbangers. Caught completely off guard they
complied with the shouted demands to drop their weapons and lie down. Rora
quickly grabbed one of the gangbanger’s loaded pistols, just in case one of
them decided to fight back. She pulled her body suit back up only after the
gangbanger’s were secured.

   They armed themselves with
the captured weapons and moved the still catatonic Anna to their new vehicle. It
was in sad shape on the inside. The ceiling liner was long gone, the seats were
duct taped to patch the holes, half the dashboard didn’t work, and there was a
hole in the floorboard where the bottom had rusted out. And, their new ride
smelled; but beggars couldn’t be choosers. It had an almost full tank of gas
and the engine was in prime condition for an old car. The engine roared when
she tapped the gas and settled into a smooth purr.

   She had the men strip the
gangbangers of their hats, sunglasses, and bandannas. Anything that would help
disguise them from the other gang members searching for the astronauts. It
wouldn’t pass close inspection, but it might buy them a few precious extra
minutes to escape. And of course they took their shoes. It was obvious the gang
members didn’t bathe much from the smell, but they didn’t have a choice. First
thing she was going to do when they got back to NASA was shower.

   Rora blew the fuming gang
members a kiss as she drove away. Men were so easy to manipulate she thought,
since they often thought with only one thing. She would have killed them, but
again the commander and the colonel stopped her. Their continuous ignorance of
the rules were going to get them all killed.

June 26, 2029

I-405 North of Sepulveda
Pass, Santa Monica Mountains, California

   They made their way slowly
through the neighborhoods of the San Fernando Valley until they reached the
Santa Monica Mountains. Several times they passed close to other vehicles out
hunting them, but their new vehicle was as of yet unknown and they were not
stopped. Rora just turned down another road every time they saw or heard
another vehicle. It was time consuming but they made it to the Sepulveda Pass
unmolested. There the road choices narrowed to two. They had to either take
Interstate 405 or North Sepulveda Boulevard to cross over the mountains. The
problem with the Boulevard was that it passed through a tunnel that was most
likely blocked by rubble or had collapsed.

   The 405 was the best
choice and it was almost a straight shot down to the airport, but she knew they
would be entering another gang’s territory. This vehicle would be spotted
quickly and stopped because it belonged to a rival gang. It would only get
worse when they discovered it was being used by the fugitives. There would also
probably be a checkpoint or two along the way. But, they had little choice.
They had to cross the mountains. The commander suggested they at least wait
until dark, so that it would make it harder to tell the car belonged to another
gang.

   She pulled the gang car behind
a strip mall to wait until dark. They were starving because they hadn’t eaten
since the shuttle crash landed. There were open containers of cheap alcohol in
the car but that wasn’t going to sustain them. The colonel and Commander
Khodorov had some to “calm their nerves”, but Rora didn’t partake. She had
never had a drink and didn’t want to start clouding her mind now. They forced
Anna to drink some and at least she stopped shaking.

   After a few hours of nerve
wracking waiting, it got dark enough that they decided to risk the passage.
Luckily no one had spotted them during their pause. The continued chatter on
the CB radio left no doubt that everyone was still looking for them. If
anything, they were getting more agitated by the fact that the fugitives hadn’t
been located. A few gang members had started to wonder what the Imperator might
do if they were not found.

   Rora left the head lights
off and drove slowly in the fading twilight to the on ramp. They waited for a
minute and listened for other cars and looked for headlights but saw none. So
with a deep breath, Rora stomped on the gas and roared onto the 405. The road
was wide open and in good repair. The fact that it was clear of debris
indicated that it saw a good amount of use. The streetlights weren’t on; she
assumed that they reserved what little electricity they could generate for more
important projects.

   They were two miles in
when Rora spotted the roadblock. There was a car and a pickup blocking the way.
Both were unarmed and unarmored, but she could see the outlines of armed men
surrounding them. The car they were in wasn’t armored but its clearance would
make it difficult for the men to shoot into the interior. The thick truck tires
would probably absorb some damage before shredding, but it wouldn’t be that
much. The twilight would make it difficult to see the vehicle and she figured
the gang members would wait to make sure it wasn’t fellow gang members before
shooting. So she slowed as she approached, and grabbed the CB microphone.

   “Say what I tell you, and
both of you be ready to shoot as we pass by.” She told the commander as she
shoved the microphone in this face.

   The commander repeated
what she told him. “Don’t shoot, don’t shoot!” He said in Spanish. “We are your
replacements.”

    “It’s working.” Rora said
as they got closer. “Say it again.”

    The commander repeated
himself even though other questions were coming back through the radio. The
gunmen at the roadblock were confused long enough for Rora to get close enough
to pick out a gap between the vehicles that they could pass through. She
flicked on the headlights blinding the gang members manning the roadblock. Then
she floored the accelerator. The car whizzed past the surprised gang members.
Caught off guard they just stared as the monster car drove past them. The
commander and Colonel Brandt fired as they passed by, aiming for the vehicle’s
tires and not the men.

    The tactic worked and
they high fived after blowing out the tires of the vehicles at the roadblock. Rora
kept the accelerator down and raced down the highway. If they could get out of
the pass before gang members could block the other end of the pass, they had a
chance to escape into the urban jungle of L.A. Getting into the airport itself
was still iffy because she assumed there would be heavier security there.

   The chatter started almost
immediately on the CB radio. Rora had noticed that it was set to a different
channel from the mini-van. It made sense that each gang had their own channel
to avoid confusion and make it easy to communicate within the gang. That could
prove to be an advantage if they could move from gang territory to gang
territory. They would face some confusion communicating between the two gangs.

    She gripped the steering
wheel and kept the car at full speed as they barreled down the darkened
highway. Able to stay in the center of the lanes, the car reached a speed of
over one hundred miles per hour. She could hear the two men in the back
breathing heavily as they traveled at a breakneck speed that was probably
faster than they had ever gone in a car in their lives. Personally she was
enjoying the thrill of driving the speeding car.

   They had just passed out
of the pass when the first headlights approached. Rora counted five sets of
headlights approaching them. The light from the approaching vehicles made it
impossible to determine what they were, but the raised level of the headlights
indicated pickups or SUVs for two of them. Very likely they were technicals
with heavy weapons; heavy weapons that would shred this car.

   “Put on your seat belts.”
Rora ordered the men in back.

   “What seat belts?” The colonel
cried. “This hunk of junk doesn’t have any!”

   “Grab hold of something
then!” Rora snapped.

   She wrenched the wheel to
the left and they suddenly veered towards the side of the road. The car crossed
the shoulder and passed through a gap in the metal barriers. It soared into the
air as the ground dropped off just beyond the roadside. The car dropped down
the embankment and crashed to the ground. The massive wheels and enhanced
suspension caused the car the bounce wildly before stabilizing on the wide
boulevard that ran parallel to the highway. The hard landing threw the two in
the back around and left them in a tangled jumble on the back seat.

   Rora gained control and
pointed the car south on what she knew was N Sepulveda Boulevard. She had
memorized the map while they were waiting for it to get dark. They could follow
this road along the same path as the highway and then detour southwest to get
to the airport. The airport wasn’t too far away, but they still had a gauntlet
to run to get there.

   Two pairs of headlights
appeared behind them and she knew that two of the vehicles had followed them
down the embankment. A minute later she could see the other headlights running
parallel to them on the highway. They would join the chase at the next exit. That
didn’t stop them from shooting down at the fugitives from their higher
position. Trees had once lined the highway and would have prevented that, but
they had long ago wasted away from the plant virus that had devastated the
world.

   The gunfire was sporadic
and poorly aimed and didn’t hit anything, but a lucky shot could happen. It did
slow Rora slightly and forced her to move to the far side of the road in an
attempt to avoid it. That allowed the pursuers behind them to catch up and they
opened fire as soon as they were in range; the blaze of the multiple guns
firing lit up the dark behind them.  She swerved erratically to try to make it
harder for them to hit the car. But bullets still rattled off the trunk and
shattered the rear windshield.  

   “Hang on!” Rora warned her
passengers as she took a hard left.

   The car slid sideways on
smoking tires as she took the corner and headed down a side street. The heavy
fusillade of gunfire halted as the pursuing vehicles were caught by surprise
and shot past the side road. They skidded to a halt and backed up before
continuing the pursuit. That bought Rora a little time and she took the first
right taking them down a small side road lined by what had once been expensive
McMansions, and turning off the car’s light. The streetlights weren’t on here
either and if the view as they had exited the pass was any indication, there
were very few lights on in the entire city.

   She had hoped the pursuers
would pass on by and they did. They zipped by without a second glance and she
breathed a sigh of relief. But that was short-lived as she saw headlights
return moments later. It was only one pair and she assumed they split up to
cover more ground searching for the fugitives. Looking around she realized this
road was a dead end that ended in massive gates before a palatial home. The
headlights turned down the side road behind them and she looked desperately for
another way out.

   A gap between the houses
indicated an open field beyond them so she turned the headlights back on and
gunned the engine. The car lurched forward and tore onto what had once been a
lush green lawn. Now it was just a dusty patch of packed dirt. The big wheels
of the car threw a spray of dirt behind them as they raced up onto the lawn and
to the side of the house. The vehicle behind them opened fire as soon as they
saw the lights and heard the engine rev.

   Bullets struck all around
the car as Rora drove across the yard. They made Swiss cheese of what had once
been a nice and very large garage door, now just a rusted hunk of junk. Siding
exploded into splinters as the poorly aimed rounds struck the house. Rora
crashed the car through a dilapidated wooden fence and the remains of a hedge
and came out into a wide open field. She pressed down on the accelerator and
they roared ahead.

   The other vehicle followed
them through the gap, bouncing wildly as it suddenly crashed down onto the open
ground. Rora gave a gasp as she narrowly avoided striking a large stone that
had appeared in front of her. She pulled onto a barely visible road that
traveled the length of the field as she avoided several more. Looking right,
she could see the boulevard they had just been on and she realized they were in
the L.A. National Cemetery. The clear space would give the pursuer a good field
of fire to hit them, but she could make use of her memorized knowledge of the
area to get rid of them.

   The road they were on
ended in a small parking lot with buildings straight ahead. A small access road
was to the right and connected to the main road for that section. Rora headed right
at the buildings and turned at the last second, the car slid onto the access
road in a cloud of dust obscuring the buildings ahead. The chasing vehicles
headlights turned the cloud of dust into an impenetrable veil and Rora was
rewarded by the sound of the vehicle crashing into the building at full speed.

   She turned down the main
road and headed for the main entrance and only exit. More headlights
approaching squashed that plan and she circled back into the cemetery. Gunfire
rang out as the new vehicles spotted them. Rora counted three pairs of
headlights chasing them, but figured more were coming. The entrance was
probably blocked and they figured they had the fugitives trapped. The way they
had come was probably blocked also.

   “Start shooting back!” She
commanded the two men.

   “Drive slower so we aren’t
getting thrown around.” A bruised commander replied.

   “I’ll do my best.” She
replied through gritted teeth.

   The two men grabbed their
AK-47s and started shooting back through the blown out rear window at their
pursuers. They weren’t doing any real damage but it was giving the chasing gang
members something to worry about. The pursuing vehicles dropped back and gave
Rora some room to maneuver. She swerved down one of the access roads. Now they
were basically going in circles, it was only a matter of time before someone
shot them.

   “Aim below the
headlights.” She instructed and slowed down.

   The reduced speed allowed
the commander and the colonel to get better aim and they responded with an
inspired burst of fire. Aiming below the headlights they blew out the tires of
two of the pursuing vehicles. Those two screeched to a halt in a spray of
sparks from the rims, but the others were still on them. More vehicles had
joined the chase and the volume of fire was increasing.

   When the two men dropped
down to reload, Rora swung the car onto one of the fields. The stone markers
here were lower to the ground than the usual headstones and the elevated car
could clear them. As she had suspected that wasn’t true for all of their
pursuers. There were several loud crashes as the stone markers ripped out the
undercarriage of a vehicle or the vehicle struck one head on. The number of pursuers
dropped to three; probably SUVs or pickups with higher clearances.

   They entered a new section
of the cemetery and the headstones were full size and mixed with large
monuments. This must have been the richer portion of the cemetery because the
plots were larger and there was room between the stones to maneuver. Rora
whipped by them swerving in and out of the stone obstacles. The pursuers slowed
but followed and she couldn’t lose them. The gunfire was sporadic but it was
getting more accurate. Bullets struck the trunk and frame with a metallic ping
more and more frequently.