Free Killer Ute by Rosanne Hawke

the first few metres, then its wheels touch the gravel and it thunders after us. How fast can that thing go? Faster than us? Guess we’re about to find out.
    No one else is on the road: no cops, no cars, no tractors or harvesters. It’s just us and the ute. Dev’s not taking a chance on the straight track: we could end up as roadkill. He turns right at the next gravel road. The ute doesn’t follow us. ‘We’ve lost him,’ I shout. Dev shakes his head, but he cuts the engine. We both listen. There’s the groan of an engine in the distance but it could be a farm truck for all we know. Maybe it’s not. Dev restarts the bike and twists the throttle.
    We ride to the next crossroad and turn left. At another road we turn left again. We must have lost it by now. I’m still checking behind me when the bike skids to the side again. What now? I look ahead. And there it is. The ute. It hasn’t even worked up a sweat while we’ve been dodging down country roads.
    Dev shouts to me, ‘We’ll head to town. Ring Felicity.’ He turns the bike; I reach for the phone in his pocket and thump the number seven. Nothing happens. There’s no coverage out here. I thought Felicity would have thought of everything. Guess she didn’t know we’d be in the back blocks.
    I slip the phone back into Dev’s pocket. I shout near his ear what happened. He opens the throttle. So this is it then. A race to town. He skids onto another road. There’s so much dust behind us I can’t see the ute. Another two turns and we’re onto bitumen.
    When I look again, the ute’s not far behind, steadily closing the gap. Now it’s like it knows it has us, it’s not rearing or snorting, just pacing it out, sure it will get us soon. Dev makes the bike fly, but I wonder if it will be fast enough. I can tell we haven’t seen the ute’s full speed yet. The bike is roaring; trees whip past in a blur. How far to town? Ten kays? I glance behind us: the ute is still there. When I look again it seems closer. I squeeze the bike with my legs, urging it on. If I could make it go faster I would. Before today I thought Dev’s Harley could beat anything, but that ute’s been souped up. A few cars pass in the opposite lane. Bet they think we’re hooligans. If only they knew. The cars soon disappear and the ute edges relentlessly closer.
    I’ve got my arms around Dev and I feel his middle clench. Something’s wrong. Ahead is a crossing. Can we get across the two-lane highway before any traffic comes? Dev gives the bike all it’s got, but it’s not enough. Traffic shoots in front of us. A semi-trailer barrels along in the distance in the left lane. We screech to a stop and the ute looks like a killer whale bearing down on us. I wonder if the guy will get out while we’re stopped. This would be a good time for him to nab me, if that’s what he wants, or does he just want to frighten us to death?
    But the ute doesn’t stop. It bumps into our back wheel. And doesn’t let up. The ute is pushing us out into the traffic. Just little by little, so the passing cars in the far lane won’t notice, but right into the path of the semi. We’re over the white line. I can imagine the headline: Biker collides with semi-trailer. Dev turns to see. His feet are on the road and the brake’s on, but he won’t be able to hold the bike against that killer ute. I grab the mobile from Dev’s pocket and press seven. It has to work here so close to town. It does. I have no time to pull off my helmet. I wouldn’t be able to hear Felicity even if I did. I hope she answers.
    I shout anyway. ‘It’s Joel. The ute’s forcing us into oncoming traffic, and he’ll get us if we run.’ Then I remember to say where we are. ‘We’re at the crossing outside town.’
    The phone rings off. She must’ve heard.
    The semi-trailer is