Free Freelancers: Falcon & Phoenix by Anthony Thackston Page B

“No.” The side door of the bus opens and someone climbs out. Two more tumble out of the rear door. “Don’t stop. Try again.” He puts his shoulder back into the car. Little Wang hits the accelerator while the Freelancers push. The car just skids side to side in the mud, widening the trench.
    “Stop. This isn’t working,” Phoenix says.
    “It has to.” Falcon looks in the direction of the bus just in time for a Marauder bullet to hit the car.
    Little Wang rolls out of the driver’s side to take cover. Phoenix drags Falcon around to the car to do the same.
    “We’re gonna die. They’re gonna eat us,” Little Wang complains.
    “No, we’re not,” Falcon says. “There’s three of us and three of them.”
    “They have bullets and we don’t,” Phoenix tells him.
    Falcon takes a moment to try and think of a way out of their situation. Two bullets hit the car, snapping him out of his thought. “Un-cuff me.” He holds his arm up.
    “I told you—”
    “I can’t get away if we’re dead. What do you have to lose?”
    “I’ll think of another way.”
    The Marauders start grunting and yelling unintelligibly.
    “You hear that? They’ve got us outgunned and I can’t punch my way out of bullets. Can you? You want to get through this, you’re gonna have to trust me.”
    Phoenix weighs her options.
    “What is there to think about?” Little Wang flinches as another bullet hits the car. “They’re almost here.”
    She reaches into the car and grabs her gun out of the floor board. Before joining the others, she peeks up through the passenger window to see the Marauders. They’re close enough to make out their features. One of them has missing ears. One has a missing eye. All three are horribly scarred. Walking nightmares from a bus full of even more. The one in the middle has no lips and teeth that are filed to jagged edges.
    Phoenix backs out of the car, gun in hand.
    Falcon looks at the weapon. “Are you going to throw that at them?”
    “If I have to.”
    “What you have to do is trust me.” Falcon jerks the cuffs. “Where am I gonna go? I’m in the same boat as him.” He nods toward Little Wang.
    Phoenix looks at both of them, distrustfully.
    A bullet goes right through the passenger side window. It hits the edge of the driver’s seat just inches from her shoulder.
    “Do it!” Falcon jerks her toward him.

12
    R apid fire bullets hit the passenger side of the car and the unintelligible guttural sounds of the Marauders getting closer quickly makes up Phoenix’s mind. She pulls a small key from her jacket and jerks Falcon’s arm toward her to unlock the cuff.
    “Don’t make me regret this,” she tells him as she clasps the loose cuff to her wrist like a bracelet.
    “If anything, you’ll thank me.” Falcon reaches into the car and pops the trunk open. The sudden movement of the hood rising makes the Marauders focus their fire on it.
    “I need a distraction,” Falcon tells Phoenix.
    She glares at him before crawling to the front of the car. Reaching up and banging her hand on the car hood pays off as the Marauders divert their gunfire in that direction. Falcon peeks up through the car window to see the assailants moving toward the front. He crawls to the back of the car and looks inside the trunk. No traditional weapons. Not even a spare tire or tool box. At this point he’d be happy with a screw driver. The four-sided tire iron will just have to do. He grabs it and ducks back down.
    “We need a gun,” Little Wang gripes at Falcon’s defensive choice.
    “ I need a gun,” Falcon corrects him. “But this is all we’ve got. Phoenix.” He tosses the tire iron to the ground next to her.
    “I’m not running out there.”
    “Not yet, you aren’t.” He crawls to the fallen car door and lifts it. “It’s not too heavy.”
    Phoenix’s first reaction is confusion. It only takes her another second before she looks back at the tire iron and starts piecing together Falcon’s