Amy ran the rest of the way to the dumpster. She ran her fingers over the lock; it zapped her and she flew backward. She skidded roughly over the broken asphalt. Her teeth sang. Her limbs refused to move. This was twice in one night. Locked inside her own body, she worried about permanent memory damage. Javier continued banging inside his new cage. And now there was an alarm, and it was speaking in calm authoritative tones over funhouse music: "LIE DOWN ON THE GROUND AND PUT YOUR HANDS OVER YOUR HEAD. POLICE HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED. LIE DOWN–"
"Amy!"
She tried speaking. "I… I can't…"
"AMY!"
She forced herself to stand. Her legs were slow. She stumbled. "I'm coming…"
"Get me out of here!" The dumpster shook with the force of his kicking and punching. She saw dents. "The whole lid's electrified!" she heard him say, his voice muffled with garbage. "You gotta get me out from outside!"
"I…" She looked at her hands. "I'll try. Wait right here."
"Hurry!"
Amy staggered away from the dumpster. You could just leave him, you know, a voice inside said. He's not your business. He kidnapped you at gunpoint. Amy shook her head heavily. It would be wrong to leave him, if only because she had said that she wouldn't. She staggered forward toward the car, crossing the parking lot on traitorous feet. She opened the door with shaking hands. Thankfully, Javier had left the keys inside. Amy buckled herself in after two tries. She turned the ignition, and promptly rammed the sacks of old clothes. Wincing, she carefully switched to reverse, twisted in her seat to look behind her, and pulled away. Then she stopped with a jerk, and tried wrestling the car to her will. It was absurdly stubborn. She blinked and tried keeping her gaze straight. When it wan dered, so did the car. It felt heavy and stupid under her guidance, like a clumsy prosthetic. Javier had set the seat way back, and she had no idea how to fix it. She had to keep stretching her legs just to brake in shaky fits and starts. She made a wide turn and put the dumpster in her sights.
"Hold on!" Crossing her fingers, Amy floored the gas and aimed straight for the dumpster. The impact threw her forward so hard her teeth clicked. A giant pillow exploded in her face, slapped there as though by an especially nasty girl at a sleepover. The alarm changed. She heard sirens, now. She wanted to sleep.
Someone wrenched the passenger side door open. The car sagged under sudden and massive weight. Javier. "Good thinking," he said. "You shorted the system."
"I crashed the car."
"Yeah, well, get moving, unless you want to wind up back in jail."
Amy looked up. She squinted out the shattered window. Police cars were filling the parking lot. "Oh, no…"
"Oh, yeah," Javier said. "Floor it." He held his stomach and grimaced. "I mean it. Move! Now!"
"Stop yelling at me!"
"Start driving!"
"Shut up!" Amy tried in vain to peek over the giant balloon in her face. "I can't see!"
"Pull back and go right," he said. "I'll talk you through it." He bent double in his seat.
"Are you OK? Did I crush you?"
"No. Just drive." He hissed air through his teeth. "Aw, damn. Not good. Not good."
"What's not good?"
"Just drive!"
Amy jerked the car into reverse, promptly rear-ending a police car, then peeled off across the parking lot. "Where am I going?"
"You're entering traff– You're there."
She heard horns.
"Keep going straight. Nudge yourself left."
"Nudge myself?"
"I don't know! Think left! Just do it!"
"I hate this. I hate cars. I don't understand why people actually like this."
"Those people drive a lot faster than you do."
Amy's foot fell. She leaned out the window. An oncoming car nearly took her head off, and she ducked back inside. The car filled with red and blue police lights; the sirens sounded much closer, now. "What do I do?"
Javier turned back to look at the police cars. "Uh… Go left."
"There is no left! There are cars coming!"
"Puta madre," Javier muttered, rolling his eyes and yanking the wheel from her grasp.
They roared across two lanes of traffic. The sound of Amy's shrieks filled her ears. Other cars swerved to avoid them. Take your foot off the pedal, something inside reminded her, but it was too late – she felt the ground give way beneath the car, heard a groaning creak as the vehicle tipped forward, then over, and began to fall.
Trees rushed to catch them.