Chapter 17: The Hitchhiker
She ran until her lungs burned, following the highway north. The GPS coordinates on the paper were still fifty miles away. She needed a ride, but she couldn't risk a passenger car. Hiding in the brush by a weigh station, she waited until a massive eighteen-wheeler idled at the stop sign. As the air brakes hissed, releasing a cloud of white steam, Chloe sprinted from the bushes and scrambled up the metal ladder on the back of the cab, wedging herself into the narrow gap between the sleeping compartment and the trailer.
The truck lurched forward, merging onto the highway. The wind whipped at her face, and the roar of the engine was deafening, but it was moving fast. For the first time in twenty-four hours, she could close her eyes. She dreamt of the ravine. She dreamt of the blinding strobe lights, the red lasers, and the deafening roar of automatic fire. She woke up screaming, her voice lost in the roaring wind of the highway, tears freezing to her cheeks.
