Chapter 5 - Whispers in the Dark
The highway stretched out into the black woods, illuminated only by the twin tunnels of yellow light cutting through the driving rain. Thomas kept the accelerator pinned, the speedometer needle creeping past sixty-five—the governor shaking the chassis as the bus approached its maximum mechanical limit.
In the overhead convex mirror, he checked on Lily. She hadn't cried. She sat completely still, her tiny hands folded in her lap, watching the rhythmic sweep of the wipers clearing the windshield.
""Are we going to Daddy now?"" she asked, her voice clear and tiny above the engine's roar.
""Yes, Lily. We're on the way,"" Thomas said, adjusting his mirrors. Two miles behind them, two sharp pinpricks of light were gaining speed on the empty interstate. The SUV had recovered and was closing the distance.
Thomas picked up his transit radio mic, thumbing the transmitter. ""Dispatch, this is Unit 402 on Route 9 North. I have a 10-33 emergency. I am being pursued by an unmarked black SUV. Requesting state police intercept at Mile Marker 14.""
Static hissed back through the speaker. Then a voice cut in—not the friendly middle-aged woman who usually worked the night board, but a low, measured male voice.
""Unit 402, you are unauthorized on Route 9. Pull over to the shoulder and await transit supervisor arrival. Do not contact local authorities. I repeat, do not engage police.""
Thomas froze. His hand stayed clamped on the mic. The radio channels were internal, encrypted county frequencies. Nobody could tap into that dispatch line from the outside without inside access or departmental hardware.
He clicked the radio off. He was completely on his own.
May you like
He glanced back at the phone he had taken from the sink. The screen lit up again. A text message popped up in stark white letters: Turn off at the old weigh station, Thomas. Or Sarah won't live to see dawn.
Thomas’s knuckles turned white on the wheel. They knew his name.
