25. Jack
TWENTY-FIVE
JACK
Jack sat straight up in his cot as the memories of his dream drifted into oblivion. He tried to recall what woke him. There was little time for him to remember as he saw his father’s cot empty beside him. Light already replaced the darkness outside the tent.
Jack slipped on his boots. He grabbed his weapon and long jacket before he exited the tent. The sun was just rising, but already the tent’s inhabitants were awake and busy with work.
Jack spotted Aareth, Sloan, his father, and the foreman he had seen Lieutenant Baker talking to when they rode into New Hope. The group was standing around the two mage bicycles.
“Really impressive machines, actually,” the foreman was explaining to the group.
“All that is needed to run them is the same magical energy we use to power the locomotive.” The foreman pointed a stubby finger to a twist-off cap on the rear of the mage-powered bicycle.
“After the machine has cooled down, you unscrew this cap and fill it with the mage fuel. The mechanism heats the fuel and uses it as a sustainable source of power to propel the bicycle forward. I don’t understand it all, but I’ve filled both tanks for now.
How long they’ll last, I can’t be sure. Oh, and you may need these if you’re traveling through the desert in an open vehicle.
” Christopher passed out brown and black goggles to the group.
“Thank you, Christopher.” Sloan adjusted her sword in preparation of mounting the machine.
“There he is. We’re eating breakfast on the road. Ready to roll?” Aareth tossed Jack a pair of goggles along with a green apple.
“Yeah, how fast do you think we can make it to Burrow Den?”
“If we ride hard and these machines can keep up, no more than two days.”
The group exchanged good-byes with Christopher, who headed back toward the tent city with a wave.
“Okay, who’s riding with me?” Aareth asked.
Jack was already mounting one of the machines. His apple nearly devoured, he smiled as his father handed him a biscuit. Marcus was positioning himself behind his son.
“I don’t think so, Aareth.” Sloan scowled, her toned arms crossed in front of her military-style shirt. “You’re in the back. I’m operating.”
There was an awkward pause as Aareth’s and Sloan’s eyes locked. An immovable object met an uncompromising force.
“Ummm… Yeah, about that. No.” Aareth grinned, clearly enjoying the captain’s dilemma.
“If you think that just because you’re?—”
“Why are you always so hostile? This has nothing to do with anything I think,” Aareth stopped her. “Let me take the first shift. I’ll show you what I’ve learned. You can watch me drive it and then it’s all yours.”
“Oh… Well, I guess that makes sense.”
Jack let a small smile play across his lips before Sloan turned in his direction and he immediately faked a cough with a gloved hand to hide his mouth. Jack noticed his father lock eyes with Sloan and raise his eyebrows, giving her an “I told you so” kind of look.
Sloan positioned herself behind Aareth but refused to wrap her arms around his chest or waist. Instead, she gripped the frame of the bike on either side of her seat.
Jack ignited the engine and the machine roared to life. Red steam shot from both sides of the bike.
“Don’t worry, Dad. I’ve got this all under control.” Jack could practically feel how nervous his father was behind him.
“Well, if I have to go, I guess riding a steel rocket with my son at the wheel is as good as any.”
Jack laughed out loud and pressed his right foot down on the pedal. The machine shot forward and soon they were flying across the desert toward Burrow Den.
Throughout the day, Jack and Aareth took turns in the lead.
At lunch, Sloan took over, while Marcus politely refused the operating duties.
Jack was more than content with his father’s apprehension to operate the machine.
Jack loved the way the mage-powered bicycle moved.
The way the wind rushed all around him and the power he felt at being able to make the machine go in any direction he deemed fit was intoxicating.
The four members of the Queen’s emissary were able to make amazing time.
The machines allowed them to make a beeline for Burrow Den instead of having to stick to roads.
This also ensured they wouldn’t pass anyone on the way, thus avoiding any kind of confrontation or ambushes waiting for them.
The machines also more than doubled the pace they would have been able to keep if they had ridden horses.
The sun was beginning to set on the vast desert, when Jack noticed two things. The first was that he could see a line of mountains approaching on the horizon, marking the end of the wasteland. The second was the wind was picking up in intensity. Sand was beginning to swirl in every direction.
Jack trusted the operation of the bike to one hand as he placed the goggles Christopher provided over his eyes.
Sloan was riding opposite Jack. She swerved close enough to shout. What she was saying, Jack couldn’t pick up. The rushing sound of the wind and the amount of sand that was now in the air made it near impossible to communicate. The sand created a kind of rainy fog as they continued forward.
“What? What are you saying?” Jack shouted and looked at Sloan for as long as he dared. “I can’t hear you!”
Sloan swerved closer, and this time, Aareth shouted something pointing behind him. The only word Jack caught was enough for him to understand. “Sandstorm!”