{"id":2668,"date":"2024-05-04T13:45:05","date_gmt":"2024-05-04T20:45:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/?p=2668"},"modified":"2024-05-04T13:45:05","modified_gmt":"2024-05-04T20:45:05","slug":"across-the-line","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.evardsson.com\/blog\/2024\/05\/04\/across-the-line\/","title":{"rendered":"Across the Line"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

prompt: Write a story about a character driving and getting lost.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

available at Reedsy<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arn pushed the truck as fast as he felt was safe, and then some. The terrain was uneven, bouncing the truck like a paper boat in a storm. He swerved around unfamiliar trees with their pinkish trunks, the low brush scraping the sides of the truck with a sound like nails on a chalkboard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He could\u2019ve been back already if the road hadn\u2019t been bombed to hell. The interlocking, grey canopy above hid the sky and any hope of navigation. He looked in the rear-view mirror and saw the gyro bed and attached seat in the back. A wounded pilot on the bed, the medic doing everything she could to keep her alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From his vantage point, the bed bounced and swung wildly, while from their perspective, the bed maintained little more than a gentle sway while the truck around them jerked around in response to the terrain. He couldn\u2019t spare more than a glance, though, as speeding through the forest required his attention. He avoided notice of the body bag strapped on the floor beneath the bed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLuz, any luck on the radio?\u201d he asked the medic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNegative. I\u2019ve gotta find this bleeder,\u201d she said, \u201cwe\u2019re running low on synth blood.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cExternal?\u201d Arn asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cInternal. If you think we can sit still for a few minutes, I need to open her up and find it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou got it.\u201d He slowed to a stop, realizing for the first time that his hands were cramped around the wheel, his heart pounding and his breath ragged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Luz did field surgery on the pilot, Arn tried to raise anyone on the radio, but was met with only static and silence. He switched the radio to transmit a locator-only signal on the emergency channel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey, Arn, I need a hand.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He slid out of the driver\u2019s seat and stepped into the back of the ambulance. He grabbed gloves from the dispenser on the wall and pulled them on. \u201cWhere do you need me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHold these clamps. Don\u2019t let go, but don\u2019t squeeze too hard.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know how to hold an artery,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLook at your hands, they\u2019re like claws right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He flexed his fingers a few times. \u201cShit, you\u2019re right. I\u2019ll be careful.\u201d He took control of the clamps, surprised that it hurt to hold his hands in the right position. The clamps were situated one on each side of a nick on the right common iliac artery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luz dug through the bin beside her and pulled out a tool. \u201cHold very still.\u201d She used the tool to apply a screen around the artery where it was nicked, then filled the screen with a paste that sealed it closed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She took back control of the clamps and released them with slow, deliberate movements, letting the artery settle back into its normal position. Luz let out a sigh. \u201cCan you start up the suction so we can\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She was interrupted by the sound of trees crashing down. Arn didn\u2019t respond to Luz but dove back into the driver\u2019s seat as fast as he could, strapping himself in even as he began to build up speed again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSorry, Luz. Drain and staples for now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYeah, just get us away from the crawlers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crawlers, alien behemoths of segmented, armored vehicles standing three meters high on twelve pairs of legs, could move almost as fast as Arn could drive the truck through the forest. Unlike the ambulance, though, the trees were no obstacle as the crawlers pushed them over like grass in front of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe should\u2019ve been back over the line to friendlies by now,\u201d Luz said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know. I think I\u2019m going the right way, but with no sky, there\u2019s no way to tell.\u201d Arn grunted as he bounced the truck through a particularly rough patch. \u201cWhy are they wasting crawlers to chase an ambulance anyway?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHey, Arn, I don\u2019t know if you heard, but there\u2019s no Geneva Convention on this planet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI figured that out right away when they started shooting at us.\u201d He sped up more, his body slammed against the restraints over and over, looking for anything to point him in a direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTell me again why we rushed across lines to rescue a downed pilot and gunner, rather than waiting for infantry?\u201d she asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe were closest, barely ten klicks, and MI wasn\u2019t going to get there for at least an hour. They would\u2019ve been crawler meat by then.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt would be safer if the ambulances were armored,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The crawlers never slowed, but he\u2019d left them behind some when he saw a bright spot in the forest ahead. \u201cThere\u2019s a clearing ahead. I\u2019ll slow down and get my bearings.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI hope we\u2019re close,\u201d Luz said. \u201cAt least she\u2019s stable for now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As he neared the clearing, he saw a crater surrounded by trees downed fanning out away from it. \u201cBomb crater. I\u2019ll have to get out to see anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t take too long.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo shit.\u201d Arn jumped out of the truck, one of the razor-sharp bushes cutting his calf as he did. He ignored it and stepped into the edge of the bombed out clearing and looked to the sky. Based on the time of day and the position of the planet\u2019s sun, he\u2019d been running a line parallel to the front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arn climbed back into the truck and turned it right ninety degrees as he started driving again. \u201cIf I can maintain this direction we should hit the front soon.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The sound of the crawlers grew closer, coming from their right. \u201cHold on, Luz, they\u2019re taking the short-cut. I\u2019ve gotta go faster.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No sooner had he said it than he pushed down the accelerator and shot through the trees at dangerous speeds. The gyro bed made thunking noises as it hit its upper and lower stops. It wasn\u2019t the smoothest of rides for their patient, but it would have to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe should be getting close enough,\u201d he yelled over the din of the banging truck, \u201ctry the radio again.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He whipped the truck around a tree and started to slide. Before he could regain control, the rear of the truck hit a tree, bouncing them back into a mostly controlled direction. Arn knew he was driving too fast for the conditions, but it was that or be pulled apart by the crawlers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The forest opened up into a road crossing in front of him with a steep grade. \u201cHang on!\u201d he yelled as he gripped the wheel tight and kept the accelerator floored. The truck jumped the road. For a brief second, he was weightless, he saw two crawlers approaching on the road, then they slammed into the ditch on the other side.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The truck made a lot of noises it wasn\u2019t supposed to, but he kept it floored as it limped into the trees before stopping with a grinding groan. In the silence, he could hear radio traffic, and the sound of tracks outside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Arn took stock of the situation. Two tanks rumbled past him, firing rounds toward the area where he\u2019d seen the crawlers. The ambulance was totaled. He\u2019d hit so hard that the steering wheel was bent toward the dash on one side. A puddle of blood surrounded his left foot from where the bush had slashed him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow\u2019s the patient?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cStill stable. Evac is on the way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow about you?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m fine. Banged my head a couple times, but nothing serious. You?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI might need some stitches. One of those bushes got me. Nothing serious, though.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luz stuck her head into the cab and looked Arn, and the floorboards, then back at Arn. She keyed the radio again, \u201cMake that one for retrieval and two<\/em> for evac.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m fine,\u201d Arn said. He tried to wave her away but realized there was a sharp pain in his arm when he did. He looked down to see the extra bend in his right arm where he\u2019d broken it. \u201cOh, maybe not.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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