Today is the last day. Finally. We'll be at the Canadian border by noon. I've grown tired of this road trip. I've had a mean crick in my neck since the first night I slept in the Jeep. As for Ash, he's his usual, cheery self. I can honestly say that we're friends now. Yesterday he said, "It's amazing how fond I am of you already, Mac. You're not nearly as annoying as you were the first day." I have to agree that it's funny how fast I came to like him too. He's the only friend I've ever had.
"Ugh...Ash, are we there yet?" I nag.
"Really?" He laughs. "No. We have another hour and a half, so don't get too excited."
I sigh and look out my window. I can tell we're getting closer to Canada. The landscape is totally different. I notice an SUV behind us in my side mirror. I think nothing of it, even though the driver is glaring at me. Then I feel it.
"Ash, we need to get out of here now." I warn him, my voice firm and even.
"What's wrong?"
"He's a mutant," I say, nodding to the rear view mirror. "And he doesn't look very happy to see us."
"What's he thinking?" he asks. I look at him in the mirror and concentrate on him. I gasp.
"He's here for me." I've confirmed our worst fears.
"Dammit!" Ash yells. He leans down a bit, eyes still on the road and the mirror, and pushes a button under the steering wheel. The whole Jeep transforms. There are so many buttons and switches and gadgets in front of us, I can't even imagine what they all do. It looks like the inside of an airplane amost. I can tell the outside has changed too.
Ash says, "Auto pilot." He lets go of the wheel and starts fussing over the buckles and straps on my seat. He buckles me into some kind of harness. He buckles himself into the harness on his seat and turns off the auto pilot. "You might want to hold on to something," he informs me. I grab the handle on the ceiling over my head. I wonder what he's going to do because we're on a highway full of cars. Just our luck.
"How did they find us?" I ask.
"I don't know!" Ash yells. "But I have to get you out of here!" He flips a switch and slams down on the gas pedal. We practically lift off. The cars beside us are a blur. I whip my head around and see the unidentified mutant zooming towards us.
"Ash!" He looks in the mirror and pushes another button. I don't notice any changes.
"What did you do?" I ask.
"We're invisible. He shouldn't be able to find us now," he answers. What the heck? Did they jack this Jeep from Wonder Woman? I turn around again.
"Ash, he doesn't look fooled." Just as I turn back to the front, something big slams into us. Hard. I scream and Ash pushes on the gas even more. He's getting ready to slam into us again and I panic. I don't even think. I just put my hand out and send the SUV flying.
"Yes! Mac, that was great!" Ash exclaims. I just look at him. If my face wasn't paralized with fear, I would've at least smiled at him. He let up on the gas slightly, but we're still going way too fast. Ash pushes a button and recites a phone number I think. There's a screen where the speedometer used to be. It lights up and a man's image fills the moniter. He has light brown hair and pail skin, skin like mine. He has brown eyes, also like mine, wrinkles starting to make themselves known around them. He has thin lips and a thin, brown beard.
"Obrian?"
"Yes Ashton?" he answers.
"I need you to send Carmen with the jet now."
"Ashton, it's too noticable. Anyone out there looking for you and Makenna will know it's from us and they will find you."
"They've already found us!" Ashton says.
"What? Are you alright? Do you still have Makenna?" Dr. Obrian asks.
"Yes. We're fine, but it won't take long for him to catch up to us."
"I'm sending Carmen and Jason now. Where are you?"
"Have them waiting at the Canadian boarder. We're not far now," Ash replies.
"They'll be ready for you. Good luck, Ashton."
"Thanks, O'brian." The screen goes black. I'm still paralyzed. Ash looks over at me. "Are you okay?" he asks. It takes me a moment to find my voice.
"Fine. Just...terrified."
"We'll be at the boarder in eight minutes," he assures me. I just nod. Seconds pass before we're slamed off road. We roll down a hill a few times. I can hear Ash yelling in pain. We land on our side. My head hurts. I think I slamed my head on the dash board. I touch my forhead and my hand comes back red and wet. I can't feel my legs. I look down and they're trapped under the warped dash. I use my telepathy to lift it off my legs. I hope and pray they aren't broken.
"Makenna? Are you okay?" Ash asks. He has several cuts on his face and a deep gash in his bicep. All it takes is one look at me.
"Oh God...I'm gonna get you out of here." He manages to climb out of the Jeep and begins to hoist my broken body out. He carefully lifts me out of the wreckage and looks back at the highway. He says something under his breath.
"Mac, I'm gonna need you to climb on my back, okay?" My legs protest in excruciating pain, but I make it onto his back with a little help. Before I know it, I'm not on Ash's back anymore. My arms are wrapped around the neck of a wild feline of some sort. We're running. The wind stings my eyes, so I close them.
After a few minutes, I feel Ash's body begin to transform under me. I open my eyes. I see a big black jet, but I've never seen one quite like it. I'm not on Ash's back anymore, but in his arms clutched to his chest. I can see the mutant running at an impossible speed. He's holding a glowing rod that I'm positive is lethal. We're not going to make it. He's just too fast. I think I'm crying. Then I get an idea. I just stop thinking. I open my eyes wide and focus only on the mutant. I concentrate on his speed, his mutations, his movement, his legs....He does a summersault and flattens out on the ground. He gets back up and regains his balance, but he's slower than us. An opening appears on the jet. I see a young man and woman. Then everything goes black.
