Total pages in book: 163
Estimated words: 150878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 754(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 150878 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 754(@200wpm)___ 604(@250wpm)___ 503(@300wpm)
“Em!” I yelled, grasping the stake at my waist and then using the strength brought on by my sudden panic to gouge the eye of the man I was fighting. He screamed with pain as he reeled away, taking the sharpened stick with him. “Em!” I leaned around the side of the buggy to see that Emily had stood—and so had the man she’d stabbed, still gripping his neck, a look of murderous rage on his face. The horses had both picked up speed, running alongside each other, the buggies bouncing in their wake. “Emily! Run!”
She only paused for half a heartbeat, looking behind her at the man who’d begun to stagger forward, before she began sprinting after the runaway buggy.
I heard the man on my buggy pulling himself up and felt the weight shift as he moved closer. But my heart was in my throat, and I couldn’t turn from Emily, who was quickly gaining on the buggy, even as both horses increased their speed. I could attempt to jump off, but I’d almost certainly break something, and I’d also be leaving Charlie, who was tied up inside.
In that moment, I decided that if Emily wasn’t able to catch up to the other buggy, I’d jump—come what may—so as not to leave her behind. If it was a choice between her and Charlie, I chose her, without a singular doubt.
But she could do this. She could catch the buggy and take control of the horse. I knew she could. “Run!” I yelled before turning quickly toward the man who was almost on me, his eye bleeding profusely, teeth bared. I raised my fist and surprised him with a right hook to his jaw. He went flying backward, and I looked behind me to see that Emily had made it to the buggy, reached for it with a yell of effort, her grasp falling short as she let out another sound of frustration and increased her speed.
Spooked by the slams and bumps and yells coming from behind it, the horse raced faster. We’d passed the scattered businesses on the edge of whatever small town we’d entered and were now speeding through what looked like the center of town, buildings more plentiful and closer together. And though we were one street over from the main drag, cars were appearing, some parked, and a few abandoned here and there, pulled to the side of the road, or standing in the center of it, causing the horses to veer around them.
I looked over my shoulder to see that the one-eyed man had regained his balance and was gearing up to lunge at me, his partial blindness no deterrent for his rage. I looked around the buggy, ready to jump, reminding myself to roll when I hit the ground in order to minimize injury, but saw Emily push herself forward, a look of intense concentration on her face as she reached forward and grasped something on the back of the buggy. “Yes, holy shit! Emily! Climb up!”
Fingers dug into my shoulders, and I was pulled backward before hands wrapped around my throat, my air halting. I kicked backward, vision blurring as I brought my hands to the man strangling me, prying them off just enough to gasp in a breath before he tightened them again. Emily had found purchase with her feet and was now moving around the side of the buggy. For a moment, I floated, sure I was going to pass out, and in that dreamy moment, I was so fucking proud of her. I almost laughed. She was climbing next to the wheel, pressing her weight on the buggy, mindful not to drag it over. That’s it, Em. You’ve got this.
She looked over her shoulder at me just before she hopped up to the driver’s seat. “Tuck,” she yelled, as the horse pulling her buggy broke into a gallop, now neck and neck with the one I was on, down the center of the street that I blearily hoped to God wasn’t blocked by a stranded car that left no space to move around. “The light!”
Dark spots appeared before my eyes, my head pounding as I pulled the man’s hands, kicking backward but with dwindling strength. The light. The light. Then my eyes caught on something reflective on the side of the buggy. A red reflector light was attached. The sight of Emily in the driver’s seat of the buggy, now careening wildly, and the horses running at a full-out gallop, gave me the burst of strength I needed to let go of the man’s hands, grab for the light, and pull it toward me.
Thankfully it came off with a twist and then with the dark spots melting together before my eyes, I slammed it backward into the side of the man’s head.