Pancake Night 10: Road Trip

by Seven


Disclaimer:  Earth: Final Conflict and its characters are copyrighted by Tribune Entertainment Company.  All rights reserved.



Notes from Author:     I got a little blocked on this. "Road"-blocked... hee hee... This is the first part of a country-wide chase that will take them some odd places and get revenge on my parents for taking me across the country in a van packed with luggage.



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Zo'or was beginning to lose his shell-shocked expression as the jeep raced out of Baltimore. "This vehicle is improperly balanced," he snapped as the jeep bounced over a poorly-paved area. Sandoval was leaning forward over the wheel, gritting his teeth. He looked a bit like a man trying to urge the car forward by his force of will. "Please make the necessary modifications."

"Zo'or, it's a car, not a shuttle," Liam said from the back. "Sandoval, turn up the air conditioning."

"It won't go up any further," Sandoval said tensely. "And even so, it's like a fridge up here."

"Well, it doesn't reach," Liam complained. "It's like a grill back here. I'm sweating like a badly-cooked hot dog."

"Perhaps it is the straitjacket," Da'an suggested. He twisted in his seat and began to go through the side compartments, throwing aside ancient hard candies, aspirin, and several copper pipes.

"Yes, perhaps," Sandoval mumbled, focusing completely on the road.

"I demand that we return to Washington and take a shuttle," Zo'or called out.

"That would be a very good idea if we wanted to be ambushed by Taelonists," Liam announced as Da'an began to saw at the straps with a small pocketknife. "And it would also be a good idea to buckle yourself in."

"An accident would not harm me," Zo'or replied.

"Famous last words," Liam replied. "Ow!" he yelped as Da'an accidently poked him with the knife tip.

****

"Does anyone mind if I sing?" Liam asked as the car raced through the smoggy New Jersey city. Zo'or was staring out at the city with the expression of a person being forced to watch major surgery, while Da'an was ruffling through a fast food bag.

"I don't mind," Sandoval announced. "I do mind that there's a cheeseburger under my foot."

"How long has it been there?"

"Since it slid off your lap and under the brake pedal while Da'an was feeding you."

"Ah..." Liam wriggled a little, eyeing the area under Sandoval's seat. "I'd scrape it off your shoe... and your sock... but I'm sorta tied up right now."

"Liam, would you like more.... more..." Da'an groped for the words.

"Fries?"

"No, I would not," Da'an replied. "But I wondered if you might."

Liam opened his mouth, closed it, opened it again, then decided against saying anything further. "Yes, please." Da'an held a fry in front of his mouth, and Liam chomped on it like a piranha. "I canwit-" he began.

"Swallow," Da'an commanded.

Liam obediently swallowed and stated, "I can't wait til I can feed myself again. Wow, you never think of what a blessing hands are until you lock yourself in a straitjacket."

"Words to live by," Sandoval replied. "Liam, perhaps we should pull over at a hardware store and buy a hacksaw."

"Do you have money?" Liam asked.

"No. Do Zo'or and Da'an?"

Da'an opened his mouth, but Zo'or beat him to it. "Taelons do not use currency." He looked back at Liam with a look bordering on outright smugness. Sandoval uttered a low groaning noise, leaned forward so far that his chin almost touched the steering wheel, his eyes almost touching the windshield.

Liam looked at him askew, rocking back and forth in his straitjacket. "Then how do you buy things?"

Zo'or's smirk vanished, and Sandoval interrupted. "Liam, do you have money?"

"Yes... but-"

"But what?" Zo'or asked incredulously.

"I'm tied up and it's in my pants pocket."

"Da'an," Zo'or said in a commanding tone.

Da'an grimaced and stuck his hand in Liam's pocket. There was a faint jingle, and Da'an pulled out a set of house keys in surprise. "The back one," Liam sighed. "Unbuckle me, please."

For a moment, Liam wriggled and squirmed until he was kneeling on the seat, his face pressed against the back window. "Plearz hurry," he mumbled as Da'an rooted through his back pocket, finally pulling a brown wallet out and handing it up to Sandoval. "I'm gettig a bad headag..."

The car pulled into a parking lot near a huge, dreary-looking building. As Sandoval pulled the jeep into a spot, Liam's eyes went wide. "Sandoval," he muttered, twisting his face away from the window with a grimace of effort. "There is a very familiar bus following us."

Sandoval uttered a curse and sent the car leaping forward, onto the grass. Zo'or grasped the door in panic as the car lurched through the scrawny trees planted by the road, finally bumping over the curb and slowly onto the highway. A large bus pulled after them in hot pursuit, dozens of screaming Taelonists waving from inside.

TO BE CONTINUED