American Apocalypse IV - Heartland Chapter 9h

I told the kid "Get in the truck." While he did that I walked over to where Thursday was finishing up. As I watched, I told him "We need to move soonest." He replied "Who's we Freya Warrior?" Then he yelled at Zane "Get out of my truck!"  With that he dropped the body, which looked more than a little shriveled,  jerked open the truck door, and tossed his hammer inside. He settled himself  behind the wheel, rested his elbow on the window jam, and told me "I'll make this quick. You got your head up your ass as far as your priorities. You got the killing down but you suck at the rest. You are sworn to Freya. I could work around that but you carry the Sword." He looked at me, sighed, I guess he saw I wasn't getting it "Damn, if you aren't one of the dimmer candles in the beer hall." Then he turned the key, yelled "You got 20 seconds!" put it in gear, and was gone.

I spent two precious seconds processing his remarks and the rapidly disappearing back end of his truck. It didn't help that his exhaust pipe was glowing a deep red, almost like an eye, which I thought was rather cool. Then it clicked. I yelled "Run!" and took off for the end of the street. I heard the kid behind me and hoped he kept up because we were going to cut this one close.  I cut around the corner, saw a house with a yard and headed for the overgrown bushes besides it. The kid turned the corner just in time. A second slower and they would have seen him. I heard  vehicles stopping where the bodies lay and a truck went hauling ass down the street we just cleared in the same direction as Thursday had gone. I thought "Good luck catching that asshole." Anyone who fueled their truck on unheaded and whose exhaust glowed like a dragons eye was not going to be caught by someone driving a Ford.

The kid slid into the bushes. Thank god they weren't holly or something equally obnoxious. "You up to doing some serious running?" I asked him. He whispered "Yes sir."

"You like dogs?"

He looked at me like it was a perfectly normal question to ask when you hiding in a clump of weeds and bushes and replied "Sure. Who doesn't."

"Good." I told him. I  unslung the 30-30, asked him "Ready?" I waited for his nod. Stuck my head up and looked around, and said "Go!"