Love, Lies & Lizard Babies by PoorQueequeg
Chapter Eight
Helen stood beside the low wall breathing hard, blinking against the rain and raising her hand to brush her tangled hair out of her face. Turning away and stepping onto the uneven asphalt, she reached her arms behind her and arched her spine, grimacing as her vertebrae cracked. Spreading her hands across her lower back she took a few steps forward when she heard a gruff voice calling her name in the distance.
She raised her head to see Jason emerge from the overgrowth, gun in hand and a harried look on his face. He ran towards her.
"Did you get him?" he gasped between breaths as he stopped in front of her. She closed her eyes and shook her head.
"I hit him," she said, panting. "In the shoulder. He went over the edge but...he's gone." Jason stepped up to the wall and peered over, his jaw set in a grim expression as he surveyed the drop.
"You think he survived the fall?" he asked walking back to her.
"I suppose he could have gone into the water," Helen replied dropping her chin against her chest. Jason looked her up and down, sucking his lower lip between his teeth.
"Come on," he said, placing his hands on her shoulders and ushering across the road and into the trees. Helen complied, raising her head to look at him and noting the blood smeared across the side of his head. There were dusty brown trails down his sleeve and shards of broken glass across his shoulder where he had been knocked against the table.
"Are you alright?" she asked as he pushed her ahead of him between the brambles, his hand clutching her elbow.
"Yeah, that son of bitch," he uttered, his voice a low rumble from the behind as they passed the the shadowy bushes and came out beside the marsh.
They made their way back to the car, stopping for a moment beside the open container door. Helen went inside, moving to the back to check the inhabitants against the wall. Looking around she pulled a bottle of water from the stack behind the door and gingerly opened the front of one of the cages. The creatures inside began to squawk in terror, clambering over each other as they pressed against the back trying to get away from her. She wrinkled her nose she as she reached a finger out to tug a grime encrusted yoghurt pot closer and poured some water in. Jason stood behind her, brushing his hands over his shoulders with a grimace.
"I need to call my people," she said as she crouched down to repeat the process in the next cage. "We have to get these poor things out of here."
"Okay," Jason replied turning around and flicking over a piece of glass to examine the contents of a metal tray on the table. "And then what?"
Helen stood up stiffly and sighed. "I don't know. I...I wasn't expecting this," she answered sadly as she stared through the bars at the scrawny reptiles inside, their bones protruding sharply through their skin as they climbed over each other.
Jason nodded and ran his tongue across his teeth. He looked tired, Helen thought as she turned towards him and he raised his chin to meet her gaze with bleary eyes. They stayed like that for a moment until Jason's eyelids fluttered and he looked over her shoulder at the cages behind her.
"What are they?" he asked softly and Helen stepped back a way to let him by.
"I don't know precisely, there are several species here," she explained as he peered through the metal bars. "I imagine they're all quite rare." He nodded and turned to her. A drop of water fell from her soaked hair and dripped down the back of her neck. She shivered.
After a moment he sighed. "I think...I think we should get out of here," he said mournfully and Helen nodded, looking back at the lizards once more before following him out.
Helen secured the bolts on the front of the shipping container while Jason unlocked the car and started the motor. She tapped at the screen on her phone as he reversed along the dirt track and turned the car around, the backlight illuminating her face. Jason glanced across and her eyes seemed impossibly wide and ethereally blue in the pallid glow of the display.
"Henry, where are you?" she began and he could hear the vague titter of a voice down the line. Jason turned away as she spoke, her tone at once commanding yet tender and he wondered who exactly this Henry was.
"So," he asked after she had ended the call. "You gonna take those things? Back to your...facility?"
"Hmm," Helen nodded as she slipped her phone away inside her coat but didn't elaborate. Jason rubbed his lips together and steered them out of the gate and onto the road. The car shunted and bumped along the uneven surface and Helen jerked hard against her safety belt. "Honestly, this road is rough as old boots," she complained, touching her fingers to her temple and closing her eyes for a minute, lulled by the rhythmic sweep of the wipers across the wind shield. Jason peered into the mirror and chuffed in agreement. "I need to get back to my hotel," Helen said after a while.
Jason opened his mouth to reply but was interrupted by a loud grunt from the engine. They both turned and stared out of the glass at the rattling hood.
"Um, if we make it that far," he said apologetically. Helen huffed and turned to look out of the window at the vague tint of blue on the horizon. Jason's mouth turned down at the corners in response to her sudden coolness.
The rain continued to sleet down, gusting in sheets across the windscreen till the wipers couldn't keep up. Jason leaned forward in his seat in an attempt to see better but the long crack across the glass obscured his vision. They slowed to a snail's pace and the engine rattled unhappily, the entire car vibrating. The car bumped heavily again as he took them over a railway crossing and Helen narrowed her eyes. He ignored her and pulled on the stick as they began a slow ascent of the slope on the other side of the tracks. The engine began to shake more vigorously as they climbed, a loud rattle emanating from underneath them. Jason shifted his feet on the pedals and there was a loud clunking noise from the hood. He pulled the stick and it squealed, the gears grunting loudly as they shifted. The Mustang lurched forward and the stick slipped back with a thwap.
"Damn it!" he cursed as he tugged on the stick again, shoving it forward roughly. He gripped onto the wheel and jabbed the gas and the engine immediately sputtered, the gears crunching and the stick slipped back again. "Holy mother... " he growled through clenched teeth and Helen's brows shot up. She turned her face into her hand, her index finger rubbing under her nose and across her upper lip, biting her tongue. Holding the stick in position, Jason pressed on the gas again and the front of the car reared up slightly.
"Oh for goodness sake," Helen piped up. "Don't be so rough with it!" Jason turned and gave her a look of pure hatred but she merely raised her chin and glared back undaunted. Snapping his head round he pressed the gas again and they began to move forward. The Mustang heaved and rattled and shook. The exhaust belched loudly and Helen closed her eyes at the loud gunshot sound as it backfired. The motor revved like maniacal laughter mocking them as Jason bared his teeth and pushed the pedal to the floor. There was a sudden loud bang followed by a hiss as the engine gave out and they began to roll backwards.
"Oh! God! Damn! It!" Jason snarled, yanking the handbrake aggressively and banging the palm of his hand against the wheel. He wrenched the door open angrily, the hinges squealing in complaint and stepped out. Helen flinched as the force of the door slamming behind him made the car shake and looked out of the cracked wind shield at the funnel of steam that hissed out from under the hood. Rubbing her lips together she climbed out and walked around to stand beside him as he yanked the dented metal up. They stood under the dim light of the early morning, the rain hitting the ground hard and running down towards the drains with a gurgle.
"Just great," he muttered, flicking at the rubber seal around the inside with his middle finger while he held the hood aloft. Helen peered through the mist and shrugged imperceptibly.
"Can you fix it?" she asked. Jason huffed and let the hood fall with a noisy clunk.
"No. I can't" he told her pointedly, looking at her with a sour expression on his face. "We're going to have to walk." Helen narrowed her eyes at him and chuffed indignantly at his tone.
"Wonderful," she complained and crossed her arms over her chest, turning away from the car.
"Well maybe if you hadn't driven into the wall..." he began bitterly. Helen's mouth dropped open and she turned back to him.
"Oh, so this my fault I suppose?" she retorted angrily. He squinted, turned his head away and started up the street.
"They don't tend to react well to being smashed into concrete posts," he groused. She heaved a breath in and stared after him agog.
"Perhaps if you'd done a better job on the brakes!" she snapped accusingly, following him up the hill.
"Oh please," he barked back stepping up his pace. "You shouldn't be allowed behind the wheel!"
Helen jogged after him.
"How dare you?" she demanded, jerking him by the shoulder. He turned abruptly and towered over her menacingly. They squabbled in loud voices, the slap of the rain on the asphalt obscuring a quiet clicking sound from inside the car.
"How dare I? You crashed. My. Car!" Jason ground out as though he were speaking to a child, staring down into her angry blue eyes. Helen clenched her jaw and twisted her head from side to side and the Mustang began to slide quietly away down the hill.
"Oh, please! That rust bucket was an accident waiting to happen," she sneered, storming away. Jason stared at the back of her head for a second before trotting after her.
"You know, when you said you were going to wreck a car, I didn't actually think you were being serious," he prattled as he caught up with her. "Boy, did I underestimate you!" Helen stopped abruptly and pursed her lips, regarding him through slitted eyes.
"Hardly," she mocked. "It's nothing that can't be fixed..." she gestured with her hand and turned her head towards the car. She fell silent and her eyes went wide. "Ah, Jay," she began in a worried tone.
He stopped and turned, his arms crossed over his chest and lips pursed in irritation. "What?" he snapped but then his eyes focused and he saw his beloved Mustang rolling merrily away down the hill. "Oh, shit!"
Helen stood frozen for a second as he sprinted past, her mouth hanging open and her eyes wide. After a moment she started after him, the soles of her shoes slipping on the wet stone as Jason tore ahead and she followed as fast as her legs would take her. He jerked suddenly, his arms coming out to balance himself as his foot wedged in a crack in the road, obscured by the rain. He staggered forward and tumbled to the ground heavily. "Fuck!" Helen heard him utter and she slowed down as she caught up to him, tugging him up by the sleeves as the Mustang bumped and bounced over the railway tracks and came to a creaking stop.
She heaved a breath out, still gripping onto his shirt as he stood beside her breathing hard. Jason sucked on his lower lip and ran his hand over his face and through his beard. Helen released him and swallowed, looking up at the side of his face. "You alright?" she asked gently. Jason nodded and took a step forward, batting his thighs with the backs of his hands when a loud bell started to sound. Helen jerked her head towards the train tracks, frozen as the signal lights began to flicker and the gates began to whurr as they were lowered across the road.
"Oh, god," Jason breathed in abject terror. "No, please!" He set off again, bouncing on one leg for a few seconds and wincing as his knee twinged from hitting the ground. The familiar chugging sound of a train began to drift along the tracks and a loud horn sounded. Helen jogged forward watching as Jason ran helplessly towards the gates. He braced himself against the metal pole across the top and Helen sprinted forward as he levered himself up and swung his leg over. She stretched her arm and grabbed at his sleeve, digging her nails in as hard as she could and jerking him back. He wobbled and tumbled backwards, pushing Helen to the ground as he fell atop her.
"Ah!" she yelped as she landed hard on her ass, the back of his shoulder smacking her in the jaw. Jason immediately began to push up, his palms flat against the sodden gritty tarmac beneath them and she flung her arms around him, pulling him back against her. "Are you insane? You're going to get yourself killed!" she screamed, her eyes wide with a deranged expression across her face.
"But my car!" he cried in despair. The train thundered along the tracks, the ground vibrating as it came closer.
"We need to move," Helen said, shoving him forward and pushing against his back to lift herself off the ground. "Come on!" She grabbed his arm and tugged him up, dragging him away from the gate as the train approached.
Everything seemed to go very quiet for a second and then there was a loud crunch as the train barrelled into the side of the Mustang. The sound of rippling metal made Helen wince and she turned her head to the side as the car crumpled like an accordion, the train shunting it along the tracks with a grinding squeal. Jason stood stone still, staring as the Mustang slid along the tracks, the wheel catching on a railway switch and spinning off to one side. The train ploughed forward, the bumper of the car glancing on the cab with a sickening crash as the headlights burst out of their fixtures.
Helen stood behind him, her arms wrapped around his body. "We need to go," she urged with a squeeze of her arms. Jason just stood, his arms hanging limply by his sides as the train rattled past. "Come on!" When he didn't respond she released him and stepped around his front. She pushed against his chest and he staggered back a step. "The police will be on their way, Jason. We have to go now!" He blinked and looked down at her, a blank stare across his face. Helen clasped his hand tightly in her own and started to walk briskly up the hill, Jason trailing dazedly behind.