Intervention | NaNoWriMo 2018

Chapter 24

Disclaimer: The following chapter is the non-edited draft of what was written during NaNoWriMo 2018. My apologies in advance for plot holes and other inconsistencies.

Note that this is the last chapter written mostly during NaNoWriMo.

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To the north of the Nomad camp, a motorcycle with two people on it raced north towards the mountains as quickly as the uneven ground around it would allow. Lincoln, his hands on the handlebars, hunched forward slightly, kept his eyes on the terrain ahead, his only focus on putting distance between themselves, the Nomads and Potter. Marie sat behind him, her arms tightly wrapped around Lincoln. On occasion, she would glance over her shoulder.

The news Gibson had shared about Potter had been unfortunate and although Lincoln was immensely grateful that Gibson had worked out a plan of escape, he wasn't happy about how it had unfolded and how Gibson had ended up being the one to shoulder most of the danger.

"I can't let you do that," Lincoln had said as he paced around the living room of Gibson's tent. "You don't know what he'll do."

"I agree," Marie chimed in as she slowly shook her head. "It's not safe."

Gibson shrugged and nodded. "Don't worry.. I know the risks I'm taking and I have two volunteers that have agreed to do it."

Lincoln's head snapped towards Gibson, eyebrows raised. "Two volunteers? You mean, you're bringing even more people into this?"

Gibson took a step forward and put his hands on Lincon's shoulders. He smiled and nodded. "Lincoln, we've lived through this for decades. We've had this tug of war with Potter and his kind for years. It'll continue for many more years once we say good-bye. Anyone in this camp would be eager to step forward to volunteer at the opportunity to poke Potter in the eye."

They looked at each other in silence for a few moments. "I still don't like it," Lincoln said with a sigh.

"It's the only way. We have to create a distraction, get Potter looking in the wrong place and then send you two off in the opposite direction at just the right moment when his spies aren't looking."

"How do we know they're not looking?"

Gibson laughed. "Surely you didn't think Potter is the only one with spies? We'll know. Now," he said and gestured towards a yellowing map on the coffee table, "Let's take a look at your route and the best way to get out of here."

Gibson's plan had been simple but Lincoln also realized that it involved some element of luck. Most importantly, they had to be able to put enough distance between themselves and those in pursuit that they could either hide or have time to reach safely reach their destination before it was too late. Lincoln had serious doubts either would happen but kept his doubts to himself.

The terrain had just started to change from flat prairie-like terrain to rolling hills and a mountain range in the distance up ahead when they encountered an old paved highway that was in surprisingly good condition. Lincoln decided that they could both use a break and pulled over next to the dust-covered pavement.

Marie jumped off, stretched and then walked around in circles for a few minutes as she gulped water from one of the water bottles Gibson had supplied them with. Lincoln leaned against the motorcycle and took a swig of water, then poured some over his sweaty head.

"How far do we have to go?" Marie asked as she approached.

"About six more hours. This road should help make it more bearable. I'm hurting pretty bad from the bumpy ride."