No Place for Females

Chapter Nineteen

People were pressing against the car and rocking it back and forth. I looked around me, trying to see a way out while knowing there was none. It was possible that I would die here.

Someone opened the door of the truck, and a group of men pulled out Khalesia and her brother. I began screaming. Some of the men dragged Musa away before I could do anything. I managed to grab Khalesia's leg, but the men had a firmer grasp on her. As I tugged her one way and they tugged her the other, I began to feel afraid that we would hurt her. I let go, and they carried her away.

A man leaned in through the open door. I knew that if he managed to pull me out of the truck, I'd be dead within minutes. The crowd wanted my blood. I grabbed my rifle and jabbed him with it, but he made a lunge for me. I struck him in the face with the butt. When he howled and retreated, there were four men ready to take his place. I looked into the swarm of angry faces and thought, Fuck it. If y'all are going to bring it, so will I.

With one hand I held my rifle, keeping it trained on the advancing men, and with the other hand I put the truck in reverse. I stepped on the gas pedal and floored it. At this point, I wasn't too worried about running people over. They were already mad, and the damage had been done. I could hear shrieks. It felt as though I was driving over bumps. It was possible that these were bodies, but I couldn't afford to think about it right at that moment. I wanted to live.

A man jumped into the truck through the open door and tried to take my rifle. I pulled out my pistol and shot him in the leg. He screamed and doubled over, clutching his leg. This gave me just enough time to grab back my rifle and shove my pistol into my boot, where he wouldn't be able to reach it. I grabbed the steering wheel and pushed down on the gas pedal. I couldn't see where I was going. I heard a bang and felt a large bump. I hoped I had just hit a cart or something.

The injured man was hanging out of the truck and other people were trying to crawl over him. Still others were trying to climb into the back of the truck. I was glad that the truck's cab had no rear window, otherwise they would be able to break it in order to reach me. People had pulled off my side mirror, so there was no way to navigate. I straightened the wheel and pressed my foot down on the gas pedal. The crowd scattered. Rocks hit the windshield. It cracked in places. I kept moving forward.

I wasn't sure how to get rid of the injured man. I wanted to push him out of the truck, but I had one hand on the steering wheel and the other on my rifle. He made another lunge for me. I dodged him, but in doing so I lost control of the vehicle for a few moments. When I slammed on the brakes, I could hear bodies rolling around in the back of the truck.

I slammed the rifle butt into his face as hard as I could. Barely registering his screams, I used all of my strength to shove him out. He was hanging halfway out of the truck and clinging to the door, which had been almost completely torn off its hinges, so when I floored the accelerator, he fell out.

I drove hard and fast through the streets, with the doors flapping in the wind. I could hear muffled screams, but I didn't know from where they were coming. My body was humming, and I felt scared and pumped at the same time. I couldn't believe it. I was still here and still fucking alive.

My sense of elation was soon tempered by thoughts of Khalesia and her brother. I needed to find them and make sure they were all right. I had no idea how I would do that or where to start looking, but I felt I owed it to her.

I kept driving and searching for a way out of the city. The road widened and narrowed again. Was I going in circles? As I drove around a bend, the truck made a sputtering sound and the engine died.

Shit. I turned over the engine again, but nothing happened. The damn thing was dead. Dammit. The only way I would get out of this city now was to do it on foot. I looked around. It was a quieter part of the city, but there were people walking around. I stuck out like a sore thumb. Someone was bound to notice me.