Exiled Omnibus by James Hunt Read Free Book Online

screamed. Brooke floored the accelerator. The sandstorm was less than one hundred yards away now. The gunshots from the truck became more frequent. Brooke swerved left and right, trying to make them a harder target to hit.
     
    Finally, the walls of sand flung them into darkness, and the truck in Brooke's rearview mirror disappeared. She immediately veered south and slowed her speed to a safer level to navigate the storm. She could hear the particles of sand rip across the cruiser, tearing into the paint. Even though Brooke couldn't see more than five feet in any direction, she found herself checking the rearview mirror, looking for any signs of the glimmering metal of the red truck.

 
    ***
    When Brooke opened her car door, a cascade of sand fell to the ground. She looked to the west and watched the sandstorm consume the land on its way to the coast. She scanned the rest of the horizon, looking for any signs of their pursuers, but there was nothing but a fresh blanket of sand that concealed all their tracks.
     
    A few bullet holes peppered the side of the cruiser, but it was all just aesthetic damage. She ran her hand over one bullet hole in particular. It was six inches from the rear driver-side door that her daughter was behind. Brooke rammed her fist over the hole, and a burst of sand sprayed off the side of the cruiser. John walked around the car sheepishly.
     
    “Mom?” John asked.
     
    Brooke uncurled her fingers. She let her body relax and did her best to regain her composure.
     
    “Are you okay?” John asked.
     
    “I’m fine, honey,” Brooke answered.
     
    Brooke could see Emily peeking over the back seat. Only her daughter's eyes and the top of her head were visible. Brooke had to keep it together. Now wasn’t the time to unravel.
     
    “Let’s figure out where we are,” Brooke said.
     
    John spread the map out on the cruiser's dash. Emily leaned forward between the two front seats. Brooke ran her fingers along the outskirts of the Mojave.
     
    “We would’ve been around here when the sandstorm hit. Then, based off our speed, we should be”—Brooke ran her index finger south on the map until it landed on the outskirts of Phoenix— “here.”
     
    Brooke cranked the engine to life then checked the fuel gauge. It hovered just above empty. Her race with the red truck had cost her a lot of fuel.
     
    She got out, grabbed one of the spare gas cans, and dumped the fuel into the tank. Then she threw the empty can into the trunk space, where it rattled when she slammed the cargo door shut.
    When Brooke turned the engine back on, the fuel gauge hovered at a quarter of a tank. She wasn’t sure if it was going to be enough to get her to a gas station somewhere outside of Phoenix, but she turned the wheel until the compass on the dash pointed east.

Chapter 6
    Eric pounded on the front door to the Fontanne home. Sand drifted from the door to the porch, adding to the growing pile already there. His motorcycle sat parked in the front yard of gravel, dirt, and sand. He pressed his own sand-covered face against one of the front windows. He couldn't tell if anyone was home.
     
    “Brooke?” Eric asked.
     
    He banged on the window. The glass shook and rattled. There wasn’t a car in the driveway, so Eric went around back, looking for any sign that they were still there.
     
    After circling the house twice and checking the back door, Eric determined they weren’t home. Maybe they got out? Maybe Brooke got my message despite the bad cell connection? If they weren’t here, then there wasn’t anything else Eric could do. He put his helmet back on and headed back to base. As he made his way through the streets of San Diego, his stomach turned.
     
    Everything was trashed. What little semblance of civility had remained in the city was now completely gone. He kept his pistol on him, just in case anyone was foolish enough to try and mug him, but most of the people he passed were on foot. He only ran into one