96 Miles Novels & Stories

I state. “The bar isn’t in the pack territory.” “Territories?” I mutter, it wasn’t something I had ever really thought about, not since I was a kid. There were still many places that were considered neutral, like where the bar is. “How big is it?” “Six miles from the front of the house to approximately twenty miles south.” “Woah.” He chuckles at the sound I made, making me frown. Sitting in the empty chair, I stare up at him. Trying to choose my words carefully. “I’m….”

Trembling gasps for air. Troubled eyes. Clammy Skins. Then the husky voice blurted 'Owen’. A long groan sailed out of Lyn’s mouth as she whammed her head against the propped pillows, the Midwife ranting orders to several Nurses at a time; words that barely made sense to her ears. Her heaving breaths filled the room as the events of her surroundings whizz past her eyes in distortions; Nurses on white dresses and gloves loitering the space, footsteps thumping against the floorboard, and hot air upsetting despite the open windows.

“Say, Chris… when do you think we’ll reach the top of this one?” I ask barely able to breathe. He pauses and turns, “this peak usually take around ninety minutes to reach, to hit them all its nine miles, and then the nine miles back.” I stop and put my foot on a rock and pretend to adjust my shoelace while I discreetly suck in oxygen. But, I can hide my heaving chest, even in this tent of a coat. Next I remove my glove and look at my watch.

Zachary had picked up the road atlas earlier. She studied the route he'd marked in red pen, and from Everton to New Andar, it was broken into two major segments with three stops total. First, from Everton to Cozam, then Highway 317 from Cozam straight to New Andar. It was nearly 3,000 miles altogether. She did some quick math, and it would take seven days if they really pushed it. Setting down the road atlas, Marisol turned to watch the spring scenery flying past the window. Her heart suddenly felt hollow.

The table went still. "Ninety seconds after you went out my back door two weeks ago the bond put you on your knees in the leaves. Forty feet." He kept his voice level. "The circle closed. Whatever that changed, it didn't change the distance, because there hasn't been a day since where we've been more than a mile apart to test it." He looked at her. "If you drive east and it's still forty feet, you go down on the highway somewhere in Idaho and you don't get up." "Then you come with me."

My thoughts wandered and I caught Malachi looking at me again. “It’s Friday.” “That makes no sense. From Epworth to Seward is approximately three thousand five hundred and thirty-two miles. Depending on Kiran’s speed…” My voice faltered as they all looked at me. “Kiran drove an average of a hundred and twenty miles,” Malachi said and I did the calculation in my head. “You’d have to stop for gas, so a quick estimation would be twenty-nine to thirty-three hours,” I said.

“Yes, but limit it to Stones and Bray family.” “We have 3 entrees, 2 are stationed within a 1-mile radius. I’m generating backup heat protocol. The system was shut. Experiencing reload.”

“He’s in the open right now.” *17:56.* A blue system message flashed. > SATELLITE CALCULATION COMPLETE. > CURRENT DISTANCE TO TARGET: 40 KILOMETERS. > ESTIMATED ARRIVAL AT CURRENT MOTORCYCLE SPEED: 29 MINUTES. > RESULT: MISSION FAILURE. “We’re too far,” Ara told Ronan, voice cracking as she leaned into him. “At this speed we won’t make it before the timer runs out. The bike can’t get us through the checkpoints fast enough.”

If we do, sleeping indoors will be a refreshing change. San Francisco is listed as only 19 miles, but that’s because one of the claw marks has obliterated what must have been the first 1. So that means we’re 119 miles from our destination. That’s still a pretty long walk ahead of us to be sure, but one I know we’ve got plenty of time left to make before the twenty-first.

Carlos and Robert walks out of the cockpit and leaves James and I alone. After a minute or two of silence, James turns to me and speaks. “So can we really make it to the airfield?” He inquires. “I think you know the answer to that.” I reply without looking at his face. “We have more than enough time.” He says and I nod as I thin my lips. “We are traveling 40mph, and at this speed, we would take 90 minutes to go 60 miles.” He says and I glances at him. He seems more relaxed.