Star People Legacy by Smith, T.L. (feel good books to read .txt) 📕

He nodded, looking around for a pile of dirt or sand he could use, being careful in case we hadn’t already scared off any resident snakes. Somehow I had the feeling they were long gone. They were as much a part of the Earth as all the other natural critters. That monster wasn’t. They’d get as far away from this cursed place as possible.

Lutz covered his mess, then mimicked my ground beating to hide his scuffs. He looked to me for approval and I gave it to him, letting him take the lead down the mountain as I swept up behind us. Getting down the cliff was a lot faster, both of us motivated by fear. We took no breaks until we reached the bikes.

Lutz was gasping, trying to get a drink, spilling more water than went down his throat. “You said that was a water spirit. In case you didn’t notice, there’s no fucking water here. What the fuck is that thing doing here? And how do you know what the fuck it is?”

I couldn’t blame him for being freaked out. “I don’t know. I mean I do, but I don’t have time to run down all the Native American Spirits for you, so welcome to my world. Now let’s get the fuck out of here. Okay?”

CHAPTER

12

I threw my leg over my bike and helmeted up, triggering the motor, making sure it was still in street-mode. It ran quieter, which right now I desperately wanted as we made our escape. I rolled forward, but waited as Lutz mounted up.

We made down to the next ridge when there was a sudden puff of dust just ahead of us. “Shit!” I swung my bike off course, several more dust clouds appeared where I’d just been. I gunned it over the top of the ridge, Lutz nearly slamming into me as he cleared it too.

I slowed only long enough to shout at him. “Stick close if you can, otherwise, that is your target, west side.” I pointed to a distinctive ridge above where we’d parked the truck. I got a single nod and took off again.

This wasn’t the route we’d taken coming in, but we had no choice. We had to get out of here before it got dark or we’d have to ditch the bikes and walk out. A part of me thought we would have to anyway, if we wanted to really lose these guys.

I held off on that decision, continuing along the opposite side of the ridge, using it as cover, but trying to keep my body down against the body of the bike.

Until they crested the ridge, they couldn’t shoot at us again, unless they came after us with the helicopter. The further we got out of the mountains, the less likely they’d risk following us. Getting into open airspace opened them up to being picked up by range surveillance. The range guys hated errant flyboys and wouldn’t hesitate to call in air support.

We had to reach those foothills. Fast.

Sticking to the ridge gave us cover, but it also opened us up to another risk. A curve around a large boulder brought us to the area I dreaded most. I’d avoided it on our way in because the goat path here ran right along a cliff edge.

I stopped, looking up to see if we had anyone tailing us yet. “Hate to do this, but we have no choice. Be careful and stick to the path. If we have to ditch, go for the wall and be ready to shoot it out.”

“Yes, ma’am!” He patted the strap of the rifle slung over his shoulder.

I gave a glance down the cliff face, nearly three hundred feet straight down, maybe deeper with the graveyard of rock slides and gaping ravine at the bottom. Looking forward I pinpointed three strategic points where we had cover, pointing them out to Lutz. With a nod I took off, Lutz giving me room to navigate the narrow path.

We made it to the first outcrop of rock, pausing to check the ridge and taking off to the next point. A boulder the size of a house left only enough room for us to squeeze our bikes through. From there to the third point the path was a bit wider. I revved it and took off.

Almost to the end of the cliff trail I felt something graze my leg and my control panel exploded. I tried to swerve for the wall, but my tire blew and I skidded out. As I rolled off into rocks, my bike hit a crevice and somersaulted straight off the cliff. I hit the wall as bullets hit Lutz. I saw the back of his helmet shatter and his body stiffened, the swerve of the bike carried him over the edge before I could scream.

Stunned, I laid there for a second, then remembered we were being hunted. I pushed up and got my bearings. I couldn’t stay here. They’d come this way to make sure we were dead. Against the wall I was covered by an outcropping cut out by rain and wind.

I stuck to it, backtracking to the second checkpoint, the huge boulder. It nearly blocked the path, but there was a gap on this side. A spot just big enough for me to squeeze into it. I had to remove my backpack to fit through.

There was more room inside. Water had washed out some of the rock behind the crevice, creating a cave, letting me disappear completely. I dropped my backpack and slid down the wall. I felt the little rock in my pocket, taking it out and squeezing it tight in one hand, my gun in the other. Just then I heard the familiar sound of rattling.

“Really?” Squinting my eyes in the dark shadows of the makeshift cave, I saw a huge rattler coiled up, staring back at me. Any other time I’d consider shooting it, but that wouldn’t work, so I stared back at