I nside the Jeep, lights still out, I try to think of a plan.
So what? I am going to ignite the vehicle with the kids inside and just try to escape Mushroomland?
It doesn’t really sound like a plan, and now that I’ve given the children hope, it really doesn’t sound like a plan.
“Think, Alice.” I bang my hands on the wheel, staring at the machine gun men in the distance. It’ll only be minutes before they come back.
My hatred for the Pillar increases. Or maybe I should blame myself for counting too much on him. Who was I fooling? I wasn’t the least bit surprised when I learned he was a drug lord. I bet he marked children like the Executioner does. That bastard.
I fiddle with my umbrella, realizing it only has a few bullets. I can go back to put one in the Executioner and then another in the Pillar, but what good will that do for the children?
Suddenly, one of the machine gun men sees us and blows red fireworks in the sky, exposing the Jeep for everyone to see.
It’s too late now for a plan. Survival instinct at its core.
I push the pedal and bump into every hedge and mushroom in my way, trying to chug my way out of here.
Jeeps start following me, shooting at us.
Now I’m worried one of the kids will get hurt. I ask them to duck, but for how long?
Farther I drive, my hands gripping the wheel, my brain still foggy.
Alice save us. Had the boy’s mother predicted my arrival, like Constance believed in me?
What do you do when everyone believes in you, and deep down inside, you know you’re insane?
I take a left onto an even muddier road. The Jeep slows down. But I am not stopping. I grip the wheel harder, grit my teeth as I push the pedal against its capacity.
But it’s not the chasing that stops me. It’s the flaring white light someone directs in my face.
I end up seeing nothing, only feeling the weight of the Jeep rolling on its side. My head bumps into something, and all I end up with is the aching sound of the wheels circling the air.
Are the children hurt?
It’s only a minute before I see the Executioner looking down on me. “I should have killed you once I saw you.” He pulls his gun out again.
Next to him, the Pillar’s face comes into focus. His face is inanimate. And for the first time, I can see his real intentions. His eyes are so dead I don’t think he ever cared for me one bit.
He tucks his cigar back in his mouth and says, “Love that look on someone’s face, just before they die.”