Blackout Read Online Free PDF Page A

there, he told himself. Wherever 'there' might be. Then there was a new sound. It was vicious and sharp, the noise of metal digging into metal. Josh opened his eyes with a start, instantly recognising what he had just heard. A bullet. The truck had been hit by a bullet. He looked across at the woman. She was gripping the wheel, swerving the truck as the shot winged its side. Her grip was tight and her^ expression grim. The truck was swaying violently. Another bullet. Amid the deafening noise Josh couldn't be certain where it had come from. Maybe one of the high rocks? A sniper. Maybe another vehicle, already in hot pursuit. He looked across at the woman. 'Evade,' he snapped. 'You have to evade.' His throat had strained to produce the words, the muscles in his neck screaming with pain as he flexed them.
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    'Keep still,' she screamed. 'Otherwise you'll die.'
    Sod it, thought Josh. I'll die anyway, the way you're driving.
    He turned round. He could feel some blood starting to seep down his neck as the scab that had formed across the open wound cracked. A bike was on their trail. A Honda, he judged. Big and powerful, with chrome handlebars that glistened in the sun. He could see nothing of its rider. The man was wrapped in black leather, with shades pulled down over his eyes and a helmet covering the top half of his face. His left hand was gripping the handlebars, and in his right there was a pistol. Josh couldn't tell the make from where he sprawled in the truck. But it was a heavy piece of kit, he could tell that much. The biker was straining to hold the gun steady.
    Josh looked straight back. For a moment, he had the sensation that he was looking straight down the barrel of the gun.
    Another shot. The biker jerked back slightly as the recoil from the pistol forced him to lose his balance. The bullet winged the side of the truck, opening up a gash in the metal along the driver's side. The vehicle swayed again under the impact, then gripped the road once more.
    'You got a gun?' hissed Josh.
    The woman shook her head.
    'Then I'm driving,' snapped Josh.
    She shook her head again, more fiercely this time.
    'I said I'm driving.'
    The woman turned to face hjm, her eyes bright with anger. 'No,' she said, her tone harsh. A bead of sweat was rolling down from her forehead onto her face. 'You don't even have the strength to stand up. Don't even think about driving.'
    'When I need the strength, I'll find it,' answered Josh.
    The truck swerved. Another bullet had hit it, this time smashing into its back. Its frame vibrated under the force
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    of the impact. Josh moved swiftly across the front seat, pushing the woman with his open palm and taking hold of the wheel. He left some traces of blood smeared across the front of her Tshirt.
    'Okay,' she said angrily. 'You drive if you have to.'
    They'd have to switch places while they were driving: a tricky move at the best of times, but even harder when you were under fire. 'Just take your foot off the accelerator,' said Josh.
    The woman shifted sideways, her foot easing off the pedal. She kept one hand on the wheel. Josh now grabbed it with his left hand. The truck was starting to wobble and swerve. He pushed himself up and over the woman's lap, blood dripping down onto her jeans. The truck started to drift seriously off to the left. Josh gripped the wheel harder as he slipped into the driver's seat. His foot jammed down onto the accelerator, taking the speed back up again.
    'I need your help,' he muttered.
    She looked across at him.
    'I'm losing too. much damned blood,' he snapped. 'I have to stop it.'
    With his left hand still on the wheel, Josh ripped a strip of cloth from his shirt, handing it across to the woman Leaning down, she gripped it between her hands. Her fingers dug into Josh's thigh. She was searching for the femoral artery he knew. Dig into that hard enough, and it would staunch the bleeding. Next, she took the cloth, and wrapped it tight around his thigh.