Sun Death

Mike was driving very fast, and when he leaned forward to look up at the helicopter, the spot light blinded him.  He sat back, tried to focus on the road, but couldn’t see anything.  Before he could hit the brakes, the truck hit a small mound of dirt to their left and it catapulted them into the air.  As they flew through the air, the SUV tilted sideways, and landed on the passenger’s side.  It was a violent crash, but Mike hadn’t lost consciousness; the airbags ensured that.

Mike looked over to Brian, who wasn’t as fortunate; he was unconscious.  A moan quickly brought Mike’s attention to Jessica.  As he turned, she also had blood on her face, probably from hitting the side window.

“Honey, are you alright?” Mike asked.

“My leg--oh, my leg!” she moaned.

Mike quickly checked Brian’s pulse and it was strong.  He jumped into the back seat and looked at Jessica’s leg.  It wasn’t a pretty sight--it was a compound fracture, with at least one leg bone penetrating the skin; there was a lot of blood. 

Sirens could be heard far off in the distance and the spot light from above was searching for them.  They had gone off the dirt road, maybe twenty feet, and the trees were too thick for the helicopter to see them.  The light was on the road, right where they headed off.  The people in the helicopter were signaling the location of the truck, and the police would be on top of them within minutes.  The sirens were getting louder.

“You’re going to have to go without me!” Jessica said.

“I can’t!” Mike responded.

“If you don’t, we’re all going to get caught!”

“I can’t just leave you here!”

“I can’t move--there’s no way we could make it together--go!” She leaned her head back and moaned again.

“No!” a tear ran down Mike’s face.  He knew he had to, but he couldn’t muster up the courage to admit it.

“God damn it, go!  Get to The President--then come and find me!”

“I love you,” Mike caressed her face and kissed her on the forehead.

“I love you too.  Just make it all worth it, Mike!  Don’t let them win!  Do it for Billy!” then Jessica screamed in pain and laid her head back again.

“I’ll do it for all of us,” Mike responded caressing her cheek.

Mike grabbed a bag out of the back and his gun out of the glove box.  He climbed out the driver’s door, which was quite difficult with the truck on its side and gravity working against him.  He pushed the door open, then it quickly slammed.  Mike looked through the window, not being able to see Jessica with the darkness and the window tint.  He pointed his index finger toward where she was, and tapped on the window, “I’ll find you, I promise!”

Mike jumped off the truck and headed deeper into the forest.  He couldn’t walk, he had to run; the sirens were very close.  The lights from the police vehicles could be seen through the trees in the distance.  Soon, they would be hot on Mike’s trail.

As Mike ran away from the crash site, he couldn’t help but struggle with his decision to leave them, but he knew that if he was captured there might never be a chance of him meeting with The President.  There were now at least two helicopters in the area and more sirens could be heard off in the distance getting louder.  They were coming from all directions.

The woods were thick enough to give him cover, but not too thick to hinder his movement.  Mike knew that it would be nearly impossible for any helicopters to see him through the dense trees and would use it to his advantage.  Nevertheless, he had to find a safe haven before daybreak.