Chapter 24 - A Fork
I shook my head and turned back but Apoc was already heading to the back.
Quietly the RV pulled back onto the road, everything felt muted. The kids continued to talk even after repeated shushings.
I walked back to see Apoc lying on the lower bunk. His eyes flicked to me. He raised his head and then shook his head at me, like he was disappointed at my lack of faith in him. With a sigh he set his head back down and closed his eyes.
Well at least we’d make the next town without having to walk there.
I hopped up onto the bunk next to Apoc. I heard the whine of the engine double down, as the RV clunked into a lower gear at high RPMs. Then it sounded like we’d run over a chain or some large piece of metal. The whole RV bounced into the air. And there were several large thunks of metal hitting metal. There was a scream from the front and then everything seemed to move in slow motion as the RV pulled left and both Apoc and I were tossed into the wall of the bunk. Then there was a weightless feeling, tinks, crashes and screams from the family and the groan of the steel frame of the RV. The front of the RV nosed down.
A great thump through the guard rail, and then the tearing of the front axle as the nose touched down on the mountain ravine. Small trees and bushes whumped against, and then were sheared off by the front of the RV as it picked up speed. Apoc and I landing in a painful jumble at the front of the bunk. A glancing tree trunk knocked the tail sideways and for a freakish moment the RV was sliding sideways, then the edge caught and the RV began it’s death roll. We were thrown against the wall. Up was down and the air was full of objects that shouldn’t be flying.
A large tree trunk cleaved through the silver bullet, separating the front half from the back half. An explosion of debris from the wounded body of the RV as the afternoon sun streamed in crazily making fluttering shadows as the world went into a spin. I ran head first into the opposite bunk.