He considered my request, his face giving nothing away.
“All right.” He motioned to the man closest to the back. “Open the doors.”
The man complied. The empty road was rural and unlit, but the moon was bright enough to see the pavement... which was flying by. We were going far too fast for me to jump.
“Make the driver stop.”
“No.”
I stared at him with disbelief. Did he not see the exceptionally scary-looking gun in my hands?
“That gun has a powerful kick,” he added. “You’re going to hurt yourself if you try anything.”
Even if I shot him, I wouldn’t last another five seconds. The other men in the van couldn’t care less about me. In fact, I suspected if Frey went down, they’d be thrilled to get rid of me.
But I couldn’t threaten them with the gun if they didn’t believe I’d use it.
I aimed at the ceiling, pulled the trigger, and unleashed chaos.
The plan had been to fire a single shot, but the gun was an automatic, and I fired off five rounds before I released the trigger. As promised, the recoil was violent and it made me swing wildly, uncontrolled.
The first shot lodged in the ceiling. The next few ricocheted off the metal walls surrounding us, drawing panic and a cry of pain from one of the men. The last few went straight out the back through the open doors.
The burst of gunfire caused the driver to slam on the brakes, sending us to the floor on top of each other in a jumbled mess. The gun was still in my hands.
Go,a voice in my head that sounded like Jason’s commanded.
“Don’t stop!” Frey yelled into the radio on his vest.
I scrambled over the men toward the open door, and when a hand closed around my ankle, I kicked hard against it. Someone let out a grunt of pain, but I didn’t let it slow me down. I leapt to freedom, striking the pavement and rolling just as a pair of headlights down the road came into view.
I knew I should get up and run, but instead I glanced back over my shoulder. Frey was on his feet, his face a furious shade of red as he crawled over people to reach the door?—
Tires spun and the van lurched forward, sending him and everyone else sprawling once more. The force of the sudden move made the doors swing shut with a loud slam, trapping them inside.
On your feet, now,Jason ordered.Move!
When I’d tumbled from the van, I’d dropped the gun, but I snatched it up as I climbed to my feet and took off.
Behind me, I heard a mechanical whine and recognized the sound instantly. The van was turning around.
Even if I wasn’t barefoot, I’d never be able to outrun it, and the road was flanked by cornfields on one side and a small creek on the other. I had no protection, nowhere to hide.
Once the decision was made, there was no other thought allowed. I didn’t consider that my plan could fail, or that I might kill someone. I spun around, planted my feet, and raised the gun, aiming as best I could despite the tremble that shook every inch of my body. There was no specific target, just the large, moving mass of vehicle that hadn’t yet finished its turn.
I hoped there were enough rounds left inside this gun to hit something worthwhile.
I squeezed the trigger, and the gun kicked violently, the force reverberating up my arms. With my hands cuffed together, I could barely keep it in my grip. I sent a line of bullets across the side of the van with a shower of sparks, creating bullet pockmarks in the metal as I worked my way toward the driver.
It took all of a second to unload.
The van unexpectedly veered from the road. It tore through the guardrail with a scrape of whining metal and an explosion of plastic and glass debris, tipping and tumbling to its side. It continued its violent roll until it came to rest crumpled on its roof in the creek, rocking and hissing in the aftermath.
The pavement felt like gritty ice as I fled toward the car that had stopped its approach.
“Help!” I yelled.
The woman seated behind the wheel wasn’t much older than I was, and I could only imagine what I looked like. A bloody, handcuffed, gun-toting girl in pajamas and a bulletproof vest who’d just forced a van off the road. The driver’s door flew open, and the woman fled.
