Page 58 of Hollow Code
Zadie climbed into the passenger side of the second SxS and regretted every decision her body had made in the last hour. She pulled her rifle across her lap and gripped the roll bar with her free hand.
Gideon swung into the driver's seat, tossed his bag between his feet, and cranked the engine.
"So much for stealth," she said.
"I’m learning you’re not particularly quiet." He threw it into gear.
Scout's vehicle lurched forward, tearing down the logging road with Wynn gripping the roll bar, her hair whipping sideways.
Gideon hit the gas, pressing Zadie into the seat as the SxS sped onto the bumpy trail.
The logging road was barely a road. Two tire-width ruts carved into hard-packed dirt with grass growing between them and branches scraping both sides of the vehicle. The canopy overhead was dense enough to block most of the sky, which was the only reason Zadie's heartbeat wasn't redlining.
"Chopper's coming right at us," Scout said over comms.
"How far?" Neve asked.
"Can't see it through the canopy. But the sound's getting louder."
"Let’s find a spot to get off the road," Neve said. "Keep us going in the wrong direction for a bit."
Scout's vehicle disappeared around a bend. Gideon took the turn hard enough that the SxS tipped onto two wheels for a stomach-dropping second before slamming back down. Zadie's ribs reminded her they existed.
Scout went deeper into the timber, away from the valley, climbing the grade toward the ridge. The trees thickened. Branches slapped the windshield and scraped across the roof cage.
"Chopper's too damn close," Wynn said. "It's flying low, but I can’t see it."
"They're grid-searching," Coulter said.
She gripped the roll bar and grunted as Gideon wrestled the wheel over a root that nearly sent them sideways.
"Find us a spot we can hide with three fucking SxS’s," Neve said. "Or in ten minutes, we’re going to have to split up."
The road climbed. The grade steepened, and the SxS's engines whined with the effort. Zadie watched the canopy above them. The mountainside featured thick, layered, old-growth cedar and fir that loggers hadn’t harvested for decades. As long as they stayed under it, the chopper couldn't see them. But it was risky to continue moving.
Scout's brake lights flared.
"In about a quarter of a mile there’s a road," Scout said. "And a clearing. If they believe we’re in here, then they’ll believe we have to come out the other side. Our best bet is to hold and see where they go."
"Copy," Coulter said. All three vehicles slowed and stopped, staying hidden in the thick trees.
"Kill engines," Neve said. "We listen and we wait."
Gideon turned the key. Now, the only noise was the thud of rotor blades.
Zadie held her breath.
The helicopter passed overhead. The downdraft moved the upper canopy enough that broken light flickered across the forest floor. The rotor noise grew faint. Then cycled back, louder again, but from a different angle. East now.
"Standard north-south sweep with east-west offsets," Coulter said. "Every pass covers new ground."
"How long until they give up?" Gideon asked.
"Depends on fuel, and how much time Isaac is willing to spend. Could be twenty minutes. Could be an hour."
"Patience is my strong suit," Neve said.
Coulter coughed.
