Post Apocalyptic Ponies: Revolutions Per Mile, Book 1 by E.E. Isherwood Read Free Book Online

feelings, I had no such remorse over the loss of my own
car. I'd never thought to name it.
    The U-turn was done gingerly, always to preserve tire rubber. Yes
our empire of grass contained something like a million derelict cars,
but finding a good high performance tire was still next to
impossible.
    Then she kicked him in the guts. With crisp gear shifts she had us
up over a hundred, which was the typical playground couriers
frequented.
    “Let's do this.”
    I watched as the speedometer continued to fall down the right side
of the arc, ever toward the bottom. On a good day I could take my
car—my old car—into the 130s or 140s. Not because it
couldn't go faster, but because an old car like that was more prone
to a mechanical failure. Also, it sucked down buckets of gasoline.
Just like Jo was doing.
    Fortunately the Hwy 183 trunk line was mostly a straight shot from
Hays—in the middle of the state—to the southern border of
the place I call home. It doesn't have a name anyone can agree upon,
though they try. Horse Lands. The Ogallala Plains. Western Kansas
Peoples. But most of us just call the whole thing Hays, because
they're the town that brought it all together.
    The police cruisers were hard to catch. In fact, I assumed it
would be impossible except they had to slow down at the town of
Kinsley.
    A funny town. You pick up a lot of gossip and rumor on the road,
but I heard the town leaders in Kinsley got tired of fast cars
blowing down Main Street and running over their people, so they
parked derelict cars in a serpentine path through the city blocks. It
was probably murder for any big rig to traverse, but it was a lucky
break for us because we saw the twin cruisers up ahead in the winding
maze.
    “I'd bet anything they're going to the south gate. Nothing
else makes sense.”
    I didn't want to sound self-important, but—
    “What if they got word that you and I were at the Evans
place, and then reported it at the Greensburg Sheriff's Office?”
    She turned with what I guessed was admiration. “That's a
really good idea. But if that was the case they could just radio in
for them to hold us. It would have been easy. We were standing right
there like a couple of stupid ponies.” With a smile she said,
“I didn't mean anything by that.”
    I had no worries. As far as I was concerned, I wasn't a pony
anymore.
    “No, they're heading somewhere else. Somewhere that would
make sense if all this is a war.”
    It took her a few left and right turns to work it out. The Kinsey
Snake had several cars going in both directions, mostly local slow
rollers. A few couriers, like us. Jo hummed a series of uh-huh's and
nuh-uh's to herself, like she was thinking and driving at the same
time. She seemed to have it worked out by the time we hit the open
southbound highway once more.
    She left plenty of room for the police cars, but it didn't take
them long to get a horizon in front of us, even while kicking the
Mustang in the pants.
    “Jake here is going to need to fuel up soon.”
    Just like I said. Buckets.
    When we came to the turn off for Greensburg, I knew I was wrong.
The police sped right by.
    “Sorry, girl. Nice try.” She said it kind of snooty,
but I chalked it up to stress. Her hands were solid hooks from
gripping and managing the steering wheel. Any misstep at those speeds
and it's good night K-Bear.
    I'd reminded myself of my dad. It surprised me he wasn't around to
criticize me. I guessed because I wasn't the one behind the wheel.
    The final twenty miles went by in a blink. When we arrived at the
small town I thought for just a second that we'd taken a wrong turn
and found Greensburg again. Like the former, this town had cars
parked in every square inch of real estate. Unlike Kinsley they'd
left their main street open, which allowed us to punch through behind
the cop cars.
    I'd run freight to Coldwater, but it was so far south it wasn't
one of my regular stops. I'd never been beyond it.
    “The gates are a couple miles