Daniel looked dazed as he took his hand down. “I’m okay,” he whispered. “Orchid?”
There was no answer, and panicked, he took his hat off. “Orchid!”
But they both looked up at a familiar wing clatter, and relief filled Trisk as she saw that the pixy had flown to safety. “She’s okay,” Trisk whispered, her attention going to the van. The swearing had stopped. A fan belt screamed and metal groaned as the van, painted with a psychedelic wizard fighting a dragon, backed off the curb and jostled onto the road.
Their truck, though, wouldn’t start, and there were Weres in the street.
Howls rang from nearby, the calls sounding odd in the city streets. In a sudden insight, Trisk realized the van didn’t hold roving Weres looking for them, but fleeing people. And they have an Ohio plate, she thought, seeing the Cincinnati radio bumper sticker beside it.
“Stay here,” Daniel said as he levered himself over the side of the truck, his sneakers almost silent as he jogged to the van, whistling and waving for the driver’s attention.
“Daniel?” she shouted, her high voice echoing off the buildings, and he turned, gesturing for her to stay.
“They might be hurt!” he called back, slowing as he halted at the open window.
Trisk looked into the truck’s cab. May was gathering their things, and the Weres were getting closer. “Why won’t it start?” she asked through the open window, and May looked at her apologetically.
“I think I flooded it,” she said, handing Benson a grocery bag and taking a tear-streaked Johnny in return.
Trisk watched, not knowing what to do as the small family got out. Kal lay unconscious at her feet. We’re getting out? she thought, at a loss.
The sound of the van’s side door opening rolled through the night, and Trisk’s lips parted when a teenager got out, his orange pants and red dreadlocks unforgettable. “You have got to be kidding me. It’s the bass player,” she whispered as he and Daniel jogged back to the truck.
“Let’s go, Trisk,” Daniel said as they got closer. “I got us a ride. They can get us out of the city.”
But she couldn’t move as the kid lowered the tailgate and dragged Kal to it. “No way!” he said as he saw her. “The lady scientist? Oh, man. You should have heard the fuzz swearing about you. He’s going to toast your candy ass when he finds out you split.”
That shook her out of her funk, and sitting down, she scooted to the tailgate. “Yeah? I’m not the one who broke out of jail, stole my van out of impound, and lied to my mom about where I was going.”
The kid’s mouth dropped open, and then he grinned at her. “Right,” he said as he grabbed Kal’s feet. Daniel took his shoulders, and together they half ran to the van, Daniel clearly struggling with the added weight.
“Come on, Trisk!” Daniel called as they tossed Kal in.
“Let’s haul ass!” a high-pitched voice shouted from behind the wheel. “I’m not spending Halloween in jail!” the unseen woman added, revving the engine to make the van shimmy.
Borrowed blanket tight about her shoulders, Trisk started after them, hesitating as she realized Benson and May were still standing by their truck as if waiting for the bus.
“There’s lots of room,” Trisk called, and Benson waved her on.
“Go,” he said, voice raised in urgency. “They’ll stop chasing you if they get us.”
They’re going to get caught so we don’t? Trisk slid to a halt in the middle of the intersection, heart pounding. She could hear the Weres. They were only a street off. “There’s room,” she insisted.
“We’ll be fine, ma’am,” May said, apparently eager to be caught. “It’s up to us to save as many people as we can here. We’re grateful you told us what to do. Go do what you can in DC. Go!”
“Trisk!” Daniel shouted. Kal was a dark shadow in the van. Daniel waited, one hand outstretched, the other holding his hat to his head. Orchid must be back with him. “They’ll be fine!” he exclaimed, and her eyes widened as she saw the flitting shadows at the end of the street.
She ran.
“Hurry up!” the kid demanded, and Daniel lurched through the wide-open door, turning to extend a hand to her. The van was already moving, and breathless, Trisk dove for it, feeling Daniel’s grip take her shoulder and haul her the rest of the way in.
“Got her!” the kid exclaimed, and Trisk rolled across the van, coming to rest against a cold wall. The door slammed shut as the van accelerated with the scent of burning rubber. Trisk gasped when they lurched onto another curb, and then back onto the street with a spine-tingling thump before picking up speed.
Eyes wide, she looked up from the shag rug floor of the open van. There were no seats except the two up front, just an empty space filled with black-enameled boxes. Kal was slumped against them, and as they careened through the streets, Daniel began to laugh.