CHAPTER 208
Gary was without words, without thoughts, and sitting without motion. Somehow he managed to get himself back in the passenger seat of the rover and shut the door, but that was it. He sat and stared through the fractured windshield, watching the trees go by. Ahead of them he saw the perimeter fence to the airfield appear. Neither he nor Daniel said a word about it. They had not exchanged so much as a grunt since they got back in the rover. Daniel's eyes were fixed like stone through the windshield. It seemed as though he wasn't even blinking.
As the airfield grew closer a gate became visible in the fence. Gary found himself thinking, what more could go wrong between here and there. The irony of the situation was that vengeance was already plotted against them. Action was already being taken to bring them down.
Tomahawk was sprinting out of the foliage, harnessing an energy and speed that only revenge could conjure. She lunged, and her body hurled into the open hatchback. Like a cannonball she struck the back of the front seats, thrusting her jaws through the gap between them. Her claws tore into the cushioning, and she ripped the seats apart as she snapped at Gary and Daniel.
Both men ducked against the dash. Daniel was wedged in such a way that he could not draw either of his pistols. The vehicle was still powering forward, and in fact it was actually accelerating. Daniel's foot was stuck on the gas.
As Tomahawk's teeth came at Daniel he was able to jerk the steering wheel just enough to rock her away from him. As Tomahawk went for Gary instead the rover side swiped a tree and kept him from getting bit.
Daniel started whipping the wheel wildly back and forth, making Tomahawk slam against one side of the rover and the other. Her claws lost their grip, and she slid out of the hatchback. Before tumbling out completely she was able to grip onto the edges of the door frame. Her fore talons ripped at the weather stripping as she clawed her way back in. With a lunge her long grasping fingers dug at what was left of the seat backs, and her jaws snapped through between the chairs.
There was a crash outside of the vehicle, and Gary saw the gate for the airfield strike the windshield. Assuming that they were now speeding through clear open space Daniel took the wheel and spun it as sharp and as far as he could. Gary felt a totally disorienting sensation as the rover whipped sideways and rolled. There was no telling how many times the vehicle tumbled, but it did not stop on its own. After watching the world spin over and over Gary felt the rover strike something hard, and he was thrown against the dash. He lost consciousness.