Save Yourself, I'll Hold Them Back

Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Yes, Chapter fucking 9. It has come at last. I'm so sorry about the ENORMOUS lack of updates over the past month. I've been so busy...it's ridiculous.  And because of my extreme story hiatus...I expect a crapload of votes and comments! I need to know that you guys are still reading! The more comments and votes I get, the sooner I'll post the next part. I'm still super busy, but as long as you guys want more, I'll continue to write! So without further adeu, here is Ch. 9

Luv you guys!!

-Kat

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*Party Poison*

                My eyes stayed glued to the vast expanse of desert in front of us as we sped through Zone 6. We were nearing the border between it and Zone 5, which is where the dracs were supposed to be. There was no sign of them though. The air was clear today, and I could see for miles in all directions. With visibility like this, I should be able to see them coming. Dracs weren’t exactly skilled when it came to stealth.

                Kobra sighed loudly and fidgeted in his seat next to me. I shot him a glance and noticed that his mouth was set in a hard line, but I couldn’t read his expression very well. His eyes were hidden behind dark sunglasses.

                “We should see them by now, shouldn’t we?” He blurted after a few moments. I nodded solemnly, my hands tightening around the steering wheel. A strange feeling settled in the pit of my stomach, and it sent my brain spinning.

Something was off. The shine of the sun, maybe? Or the slight moistness that seemed to float on the air as the wind whistled through the open car window? I couldn’t quite place it, but something wasn’t right.

                As if in response to my speculative thoughts, a large blast exploded through the ground beneath us. Reflexively, I slammed on the breaks. The car jerked to a halt, shoving the three of us careening forward, only to be yanked back by our seatbelts. The original blast had subdued itself now to a slight rumbling, and I glanced around at Jet and Kobra with worried eyes. Their faces mimicked my expression, but all of us were too shaken to say a word.

                My gaze traveled out the window, and I searched the surrounding desert for any sign of the cause of what had just happened, but I saw nothing. Everything looked just as it had seconds before. The only sign that anything had happened was the slight rumbling that still shook the ground. Jet spoke first.

“What the hell was that?” He exclaimed, eyes wide. I only shook my head in response, not quite able to verbalize yet.

The rumbling soon died away, leaving us in utter silence. I gingerly moved a trembling hand toward my seatbelt clasp, and pressed the button. A faint click sounded and the belt moved away, sliding quickly into the part of the seat near my left ear. Kobra silently did the same, followed by Jet. The three of us stepped out of the vehicle tentatively, as if merely placing our feet on the ground would set off another strange blast.

When nothing happened, I breathed an internal sigh of relief. The feeling of reassurance was short lived, however, for a slight humming began to dance at the edges of my hearing. The volume steadily increased, and rose drastically in pitch, becoming a squealing that dominated my thoughts. It felt like my ears were melting from the inside out.

I could no longer hear anything but the squealing, and I mimicked Jet and Kobra as they clapped their hands over their ears, not able to bear the noise any more than I could. As the squealing noise reached its peak, the air began to quiver in front of me, small waves moving throughout. The vibrations soon travelled through the ground and up into my body, and I was shaking violently, unable to stop. I fell to my knees in the dirt and saw rocks sent skittering across the ground from the intensity of the trembling.

Silence.

Stillness.

Out of absolutely nowhere, everything was quiet and calm. The squealing stopped, as did the vibrating. My ears rang and my body still shook, now from fear rather than the strange force from before. Jet and Kobra’s faces were both panic stricken, as I’m sure mine was too. I slowly inched my way to the very side of the Trans-Am and sat next to it, leaning on the front tire for support. My breathing was ragged and hitched, and my heartbeat couldn’t quite figure out how to calm itself. 

I stared blankly out at the desert for more than a few minutes, managing to get my breathing and heart rate in check.

“Are you guys all right?” I managed to choke out. No one had spoken yet. Kobra cleared his throat, coughing slightly.

“Uh… I think so, yeah.” He said, voice cracking. Jet spoke next.

“What the actual fuck?” He blurted, voice faltering on the final word. I merely looked at them, shaking my head in disbelief, not sure what else to say.

                Trembling, Kobra stood up and brushed the dirt from his pants. He walked around to the passenger side of the car and got in. I raised an eyebrow in his direction, but followed his lead. So did Jet.

                “Now what?” I asked as I pulled the car door shut behind me.

                “We should go back.” Said Jet. “Dracs or none, that was scary as hell.”

                “I second that.” Kobra interjected. “The dracs clearly aren’t here; we might as well go home.”

                I quickly nodded my head in agreement. I had no desire to stick around to see what came next. I grabbed one of our walkies so that I could radio back to the diner and tell them we were coming home early. I moved the black rectangle to my mouth and pressed the button on the side.

                “Party Poison to the diner; over.” I got no response out of the thing, not even static. I smacked it against my hand a few times, hoping to jostle the batteries, then tried again. The thing still refused to work.

                “Damn batteries…” I muttered. “I guess they’ll just get to be surprised when we come back.”

                I moved my hand to the key in the car’s ignition, ready to start it up, but when my fingers hit the cold metal, I stopped. I pulled my hand back and moved my face closer the key slot, trying to get a better look.

                “What is it?” Asked Kobra. I opened my mouth to try to speak, but no words came out. I couldn’t begin to describe what was wrong. I closed my mouth, then opened it, and tried again.

                “It’s already on.” Was all I could manage to say. Kobra gave me a confused look, so I tried my best to elaborate.

                “The car – I never turned it off. I left it running when we got out. The key’s turned in the slot, but nothing is happening.” I scratched my head in disbelief. We had plenty of gas – I’d checked before we left. And I had just tested the car’s battery a few days ago, it was perfectly fine.

                I slammed my hand against the steering wheel in frustration. “This can’t be happening!” I screamed. What were we supposed to do? Push the thing back to the diner? We were easily 60 miles out. There was no way that was happening. I angrily glanced at my watch, trying to see how long we’d been gone. But it was stopped. It read 11:46, and the second hand wasn’t moving.

                “You guys,” I started slowly. “My watch isn’t working.”

                “Uh…neither is mine.” Jet mumbled. I looked to Kobra, and he shook his head in silent response to my unasked question.

                “Fuck…” I breathed. “This is not good.”