“I think we have a problem,” CJ said as she looked him up and down and then gestured at the smaller vehicle. “There’s no way you’re fitting in that.”
“What about the speeder?” Domik said, pointing at the four-wheeled vehicle.
CJ’s eyebrows shot up and her mouth dropped open. “You have those on Taurus? We call them quads.”
“Quads?” He stepped closer to the four-wheeled vehicle, strolling around it. It looked old, but in good condition. There was space for both of them, with a crate on the back for storage that had him nodding in satisfaction. At least this way CJ would be nicely secured in front of the crate.
“As in quad bikes; a kind of motorbike, but with four wheels.”
Domik turned to her and held out his hand. “Come on.”
She hesitated, looking at his outstretched hand for a long moment. “Do you know how to ride one of those?”
Domik shrugged. “No, but I’ve ridden speeders and they seem similar.”
CJ pursed her lips before speaking hesitantly. “I don’t know, Dom. It seems pretty dangerous.”
“More dangerous than crash landing in an escape pod?”
CJ’s lips twitched. “OK. You have me there.”
“Let me see if I can get it started.” Domik turned to the quad and waved a hand over what seemed to be the control panel.
A burst of laughter sounded, and then CJ shouldered past him to reach between the handlebars. “This is the key. It needs to be turned. And the bike should be in neutral when you start it, or it’s going to stall.”
Domik nodded to her. “Why don’t you drive it?”
“Me?” She looked at him in shock.
“Why not?” Domik didn’t see what the problem was. She obviously knew something about them, and it wasn’t as if they had far to travel.
“Um…” She looked at the bike. “All right, let me see if I can get it started.”
Domik watched as she turned the key and kicked the machine into life.
“Oh! I didn’t think it would start!” she yelled over the noise of the engine.
Most Earth vehicles, from what he had read, were electric. But there were still some older vehicles that relied on petrol to run. Those would be the ones least likely to have been impacted by the EMP, and one reason Domik had chosen this one.
Domik shook his head slightly. “It’s too old to be electric.” He lifted a leg to slide on over the back of the seat behind CJ, the frame of the bike dropping with his added weight.
CJ slid forward as far as she could go, her legs on either side of the bike’s fuel tank, but Domik reached an arm forward to wrap around her middle and pull her back slightly into the vee between his legs.
“Let’s go,” he said, pointing in the opposite direction to where they had landed in the pod.
CJ nodded and, with a lurch that had Domik reaching one arm back to steady himself, they were on their way.
The noise of the engine was soon overcome by the wind whipping past as CJ tuned the bike onto the highway and opened the throttle. With a whoop, she smiled and turned her head to smile at Domik quickly, before facing back up the road.
Any of his hair that had remained pulled back whipped loose quickly, flying around his head as they sped along the dark road. The headlight from the bike was the only light, apart from that of the stars.
