Chapter Six
"We've got company."
This wasn't as easy as I thought it would be, Sawyer thought to himself. His heart was pounding in his throat. He balled his hands into tight fists, the metal edges of the cuffs biting into the soft flesh of his palms. The mysterious man drew nearer with every second that Sawyer stood in dismay. As the man came around the back corner of his truck, Sawyer turned to face Kate.
"Well, it was worth a shot, Fre—" Sawyer's words were stopped abruptly by the guard as he shoved past Sawyer on his way to meet the man at the bus door.
As the guard passed, he muttered to Sawyer, "It's okay." Then he stuck his thumb over his shoulder pointing at the driver.
When Sawyer looked to the back of the bus, he was amazed to see Kate holding the gun to the driver's temple. At that moment, Sawyer had an epiphany: he didn't know what the hell he was doing while Kate was a professional in these kinds of situations. Sure, he had close calls before, but they were nothing compared to this. He was completely clueless. Kate, on the other hand, must have experienced similar plights before when she was on the run. Because of this, Sawyer was forced to resign any hope he retained that he still might have some control of their escape.
The driver opened the door and stepped down the to the second step of the staircase, still in full view of the others on the bus. Sawyer guessed that Kate had instructed him to do this since the driver looked tempted to run for it. The man from the truck was now a few feet from the bus entrance, when he slowed the tempo of his walk and waved his hand acknowledging the guard.
"Hey, is everything okay?" the man yelled in a thick Midwestern accent. "It's not everyday you see a Californian prison bus pulled over in the middle of nowhere."
The guard was slow to reply, nervousness temporarily taking control of his ability to speak. "Everything's fine, sir," he finally answered.
"Where'd you get that cut?"
The guard unconsciously raised his hand to the gash on his forehead. "We did have…an altercation, but everything is under control."
"Are you sure everything is alright?" the man asked again, apparently not entirely convinced by the guard's answers.
"Yes, everything is okay," the guard replied stiffly.
The man swept the length of the bus with a look. Thank god for tinted windows, Sawyer thought. Turning back to the guard, the man once again asked, "You're sure?"
Why couldn't the nosy son of a bitch leave already? Sawyer wondered to himself."We were about ready to go when you pulled over."
Evidently, the guard's last remark finally persuaded the man that no trouble lurked inside the bus. So, with a short nod to the guard, the man quickly left just as he had came. Sawyer let out a deep sigh and his pulse rate fell considerably. He walked up behind the driver and slammed the door shut, ushering the guard back up the steps and down the aisle to where the driver and Kate stood.
"Turn around," Sawyer commanded as he started to put the handcuffs he still held on the guard.
"That sure was a great performance you gave," Sawyer said sarcastically. "Too bad it wasn't enough to keep you out of these," he finished as the final leg cuff clicked. Kate shot Sawyer a reproachful look. "What, Freckles, are you afraid of offended these people? We're the ones on control now, remember?"
Kate just shook her head as she placed the last handcuff around the driver's hand. She then began searching through his pockets searching for something unbeknownst to Sawyer. She lighted upon what she was hunting. She pulled the bus keys out of the driver's left pocket and tossed them to Sawyer.
"We need to be going," Kate said.
"So we're stealing the bus now too, sweetheart?"
"Well, would you rather walk?"
Sawyer sighed, letting Kate win yet another argument.
Sawyer led the hostages to the front while Kate followed behind with the gun. As Sawyer reached the driver's seat, his worst fears were confirmed; it was a standard. He learned to drive on an automatic after many disastrous bouts with the gears, ending with a torn up transmission. Determined not to let Kate find out, he quickly tried to remember those first few lessons.
Sawyer started the vehicle, shifting into first gear. Slowly he let off the clutch, and pushed down the gas. The bus started to move slowly just before the motor stalled.
"Damn it," Sawyer cursed under his breath. Kate gave him a startled look. Sawyer gave it another try resulting in stalling the motor again. The third and fourth attempts didn't yield anything better.
"You don't know how to drive a stick, do you?" Kate asked in wonder.
Sawyer only scowled as he tried once more to start the bus.
"You, growing up in the South, do not know how to drive a standard?" Kate asked again, this time with more amusement in her voice.
"Just because I grew up in the South doesn't mean I was a country boy. Don't ya think I would have known how to track that boar that kept terrorizing me if I was?" Sawyer said defensively.
"I can't believe it," Kate said this time laughing aloud.
"Well, if you think this is so funny Freckles, why don't you drive?" Sawyer asked, thoroughly annoyed with Kate's mirth at his situation.
"I think I'll have to take you up on that offer if we ever want to get out of here," Kate answered. And without another word, her and Sawyer exchanged seats and the bus smoothly rolled away into the darkness.