Bitch: Puncture (book 2)

I heard it first. That all too familiar sound of a couple of weed whackers tied together. I glanced out of the racing bronco whining. Arlene noticed my whining.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

I kept nosing around the partially open windows till I finally I saw it. A little black spec, getting bigger well above the dust cloud behind us.

Crap!

It had to be Stinger.

I dove under the blanket and tried to cover myself. Arlene helped cover me but was still asking me. “What is it?” I nosed towards the sky. She peered out the windows but didn’t see the drone.

Natalie heard it next, “You hear that? That buzzing sound?” She glanced out the window and the drone was getting louder. “You bastards and your creepy freakin’ machines.” She reached over to the glove box and took out a pistol. She cocked it and sighted down the barrel.

As she did she stopped watching the road and Arlene squealed with fear and grabbed the wheel or tried to... Her seatbelt locked and held her body back when she jerked forward so it was just her fingertips on the wheel trying to turn it fast enough to make the coming corner.

Pop, pop, pop. Arlene screamed in fear. Natalie fired three times and one of the weed whackers was gone for good... it spun out of earshot. She threw the gun back into the glove box and grabbed the wheel with a laugh. “The deputy ain’t the only one with a dead eye.

Arlene let go of the wheel and shut the glove box. “I... I don’t like guns.” She stammered. “They kill people.”

I popped up and peeked around. I didn’t hear any other drones but I wanted to be sure.

Natalie looked at Arlene, “’fraid you got that backwards. Guns are just tools, like a knife or a spear or even a bathtub.”

“A bathtub?!? Is a weapon?” Arlene was laughing.

“Well bathtubs kill hundreds of times more people every year than guns do... and we let children get in them. We put ’em in every house. And bathtubs have never stopped a criminal, or a robbery, scared away a bear or fed a family.” Natalie smiled.

“I still don’t like them. They make me itch. And they always feel cold to the touch and far too heavy.” Arlene finished.

Just then I caught sight of an ATV racing down a hillock we had just past. It bounced as it dropped the last few feet to the road. I recognized the “Mazikin” soldiers from Natalie’s description, flat black body covered in curved armor from head to toe. But the black color wasn’t really a color, rather the absence of color, and light. It looked menacing somehow with the oddly placed spherical protrusions from the limbs and back, like it was some sort of metal praying mantis that seemed to absorb all the light around it. It was death, I howled. I knew it in my core that these things were death bringers, and they had come for me. Arlene looked back and Natalie looked in the mirror. I ducked down again.

“Ah so the flying lawnmower brought his widdle friends.” Natalie reached for the glove compartment. Arlene stopped her hand.

“Think about what you are doing. What if you shoot that soldier, they could charge you with attempted murder or assault at the very least. Can’t we just settle this without resorting to gun violence?” Arlene pleaded.

Natalie didn’t sound convinced, but she said “Okay.”

The ATV rider came up along side. The ATV was completely quiet except for a high pitched whining sound, but the tires crackling and crunching were what gave it away. I peeked from under the blanket.

I saw him come up next to her window. He waved his arms silently. I saw Natalie pretending that she couldn’t hear him, but I didn’t think he was speaking. Then I heard another ATV catch up to us.

“What? What do you want? I’m sorry I can’t hear you? If you need something you’re going to have to speak up.” Natalie continued.

Screeekch. That was the sound of plastic rubbing against the metal bumper on the bronco.

“Hey you! This car this is a classic and it’s bought an’ paid for... I’ll kindly ask you not to damage it.” Natalie was fuming.

Schreeekch! An ATV rubbed again but this was a different one on the other side.

“What are they doing?” Arlene was confused.

“Hey you jerks! Cut it out!”

Now the ATV struck the bronco in earnest. Natalie put the accelerator to the floor, I felt a rush of adrenaline tingle along my skin, as the car beneath me seemed to lose touch with the road.

“What are you doing? There’s a steep mountain ravine over there? Are you nuts? Are you trying to run me off the road?” She was screaming now.

The guy continued to stay next to her window. But Natalie was furious now. “Run me off the road, I’ll show you...” and she rammed back and the ATV spun to the right up hill where it dumped the black armored Mazikin into a cloud of dirt. I heard another ATV or two crunching up behind us but I couldn’t see them because of the cloud of dust we were kicking up. Natalie had not let her foot off the accelerator.

That seemed to set off the one pacing the driver side door. He gave up on waving his arms and punched the door hard. Natalie was so surprised that she swerved a little back to the right side of the road.

An oncoming car honked and kept honking as it passed between the ATV and the bronco trailing its own cloud of dust. For a moment the world was just reddish brown dust and then it swirled out as quickly as it had come. I popped my head up. Natalie had her shirt pulled up over her nose and Arlene was coughing trying to rub the grit out of her eyes. Natalie kept us on the road. I saw the Mazikin head swivel to me.

I couldn’t tell you why I thought it would be a good idea to get a better look out at a cloud of dust. The Mazikin pulled closer and reached for the steering wheel. Arlene grabbed the other side of it and Natalie pushed his hand away. He swung at her but she dodged and he hit the door jam with his armored forearm. She turned into him trying to drive him towards the cliff edge. He reached over his shoulder and pulled out what looked like a samurai sword. It’s long straight blade gleamed brightly. He twirled it and jabbed it through the door.

Natalie screamed. Arlene screamed and the next two seconds seemed to move in slow motion. Natalie jerked the wheel to the left, the bronco hit the ATV hard. The Mazikin let go of the sword in his right hand and grabbed the rear window sill and used that leverage to hop onto the sword handle and reach into the cab with his left arm. He was now standing on his sword stuck in the door.

Pop, Pop, Pop, click click click click. Arlene emptied the revolver into him, but it barely seemed to register.

I saw my chance and bit the fingers that were protruding from under the armor on the back of his hand. In my mind’s eye I bit though his fingers and spit them out. I did hear something crack and the pain got his attention for a split second. His ATV mashed into the guardrail on the outside corner, pressed in by the bronco, then it was gone under the left rear tire of the bronco. We bounced into the air for a long moment. Inside it sounded like we’d hit a brick wall, but that bronco 4x4 just kept on rolling. We were thrown to the right what felt like 4 feet.

Another ATV struck the right rear of the bronco, the Mazikin had his sword drawn and was looking to slash a tire. He hadn’t been expecting the bronco to hop to the right. And neither had I as I almost flew out the side window and off the cliff. But I noticed another seam in the body armor on his arm so I went for it dragging him back into the bronco.

Just luck or his ruined fingers but I managed to drag him half in the back seat above me. I was on my back and could see myself reflected in the opaque visor. I ran my legs into his midsection and pinned him to the roof. Arlene had not stopped screaming and she turned and pistol whipped his visor. His visor popped open and revealed his face.

To this day, I will never forget the look of surprise on his pasty misshapen face. He grimaced in pain at the light, squinting his eyes closed. He had what looked like fine curly back hair on his forehead and the highest beard line I had ever seen. His teeth didn’t seem to fit in his mouth right, one of them jutting out almost sideways. His scarred face was lumpy and flaccid.

I tore into his face with my toe nails. He screamed in pain as I hit one of his eyes, I remember the feeling as the eyelid gave way and tore. The blood instantly wealing up and squirting onto me. I wanted to retch, as I imagined my toenail going into my own eye. I couldn’t stop seeing every layer of flesh ripping and the feeling of it. Involuntarily he pushed himself back out the window and disappeared.

Natalie slammed the rear of the bronco into one of the remaining Mazikin’s ATV he swerved to miss most of the blow. Another Mazikin shot out the back window from behind us. I hopped into the back seat. I saw a metal bat which I promptly tossed out at one of our pursuers... hard to aim with your teeth. For the moment the remaining two were behind us having lost a little ground. But they were slowly gaining on us. So I said an apology and hefted the bowling ball bag that I found. I timed it well and the Mazikin on the ATV it hit appeared to have hit his brakes as he disappeared into a cloud of dust. There was nothing left in the back, but a rifle bag, with no hands this was useless to me, I drug it over the seat.

Clunk, clunk, clunk and then another rear side window shattered. He was shooting at us. Natalie swerved wildly to keep him from coming along side. I nosed the rifle bag over the seat into the front.

“Oh good, I forgot all about the shotgun.” Smiled Natalie tiredly. “You’re going to have to load it.”

“I told you I’m not good with guns.” Just then Arlene’s mirror exploded. “Why do the bad guys always have guns?” Arlene screamed in terror. She unzipped the bag and some shells fell out onto the floor.

“Just turn it upside down... no the other way. Now see the little door above the trigger guard. Yeah that, slide the shells in with the metal end towards you.” Natalie guided.

I watched helplessly as the Mazikin lined up again on us. I barked. Natalie glanced back and swerved. And he again lost his shot, still hitting us over the wheel well but not taking out the tire. Finally, he tilted his head for a moment and decided to ram us. As he got close to the back he jumped on top of the bronco and crawled on the roof to the front.

Schink.

The katana sliced through the roof and into Natalie’s shoulder. She cried out in pain and scrunched down in the seat. She swerved but he stayed on top, apparently gripping the blade.

Another oncoming car horn blaring like a train passing. Arlene was trying to staunch her shoulder. “No Arlene load the shotgun. I want you to blow him off the roof.

The sword disappeared and slid back in aiming differently. And again. Natalie and Arlene leaning out and away from where it was stabbing. Arlene was trying to load the shotgun, but she kept dropping the shells.

“Dammit Arlene shoot him!” Natalie screamed.

Then the Mazikin reached down and started to bend the roof back with the shriek of metal bending and tearing.

Just then Arlene turned the gun around and fired. The slug finding its target. And Arlene promptly dropped the shotgun. “Holy hell my shoulder!” Just as quickly her surprise faded because she picked it back up and fired again as quickly as she could pump it. Boom Boom! The sword didn’t go until the third shot. And then I heard him roll back along the roof and I watched his shape land in the dirt. I crawled into the back to see if there were more. I saw him stop rolling in the dirt, and stand up before we rounded the next corner and he was out of sight.

How can they take so many shots?

What does it take to stop them? To kill them?