Chained

"That's if you can keep up," Alicia yelled over the music, revving the engine.

"Do you really wanna challenge me little lady?" Hunter shouted as he sped off, splattering mud up from his wheels which flew in through the window and coated us.

"I'll kill him," Alicia growled, flicking mud off of her face and slamming the truck into gear.

"Is there something I'm missing on the whole car front? I mean they make traveling easier and all but-" I waved a hand at Alicia who was practically bouncing out of her seat with excitement. The truck span wildly as she turned it back towards the road and the rear end slid sideways in the mud before levelling as we shot forwards in pursuit of Hunter.

"I'll teach you to drive some time." Coal glanced at me. "It's great fun, but Alicia and Hunter do have a kind of obsession with big engines that's beyond most people's enjoyment of them."

We were flung sideways as Alicia sped out onto the road and the tyres squealed in protest as they skidded on the tarmac before gaining traction. I fell into Coal and pulled myself upright hastily, hanging onto the door so that it didn't happen again.

"How about you?" I asked, having to speak loudly to be heard over the music.

"Yeah, I guess so, I prefer motorbikes though," he said.

"How do they work?"

"I'll take you for a ride some time." He raised his eyebrows at me invitingly.

The engine growled as we hit top speed. Alicia and Laurie were whooping and laughing in the front and I couldn't help but feel exhilarated by the drive too.

The wide, straight road provided the perfect race track and the truck roared its challenge as we pulled level with Hunter. We nosed ahead and then Hunter did and then us again. Finally, I was looking at Hunter through the window next to me and we were still speeding up.

Eventually Hunter gave up, he smacked his hands down on the steering wheel and let us take the lead. Alicia laughed triumphantly and returned to a more controlled style of driving.

The songs on the disc had played around several times and I was able to sing along to some of the choruses. I wasn't really sure singing rap music was my life's calling but I liked it.

"What happened to the coyotes?" I asked as I grew bored of the view once again.

"I guess they went off looking for something easier to catch," Coal shrugged.

The truck lurched as Kaloo rearranged herself in the back.

"Does she go everywhere with you?" I asked, looking back at the beautiful animal.

"When I was younger I spent a lot of time wandering through the forests. I wanted to know all of their secrets. That was when I started to learn the value of the things I could find. I got to know the different plants and their uses and how to scavenge from abandoned housing and so on. It meant that I could earn my keep and I liked exploring too.

I found Kaloo when she was very small. She was caught in a hunter's snare. I knew better than to interfere with the poachers but she looked at me with such trust in her eyes that I had to cut her free." He shrugged.

"Like when you saved me," I said, remembering what he had told me about not consciously deciding to save me.

"Right." He smiled at me. "I haven't regretted acting on those instincts yet."

"And she stayed with you then?"

"Yes. She's practically been my shadow ever since, though I'd guess she's saved my life more often than I've saved her's now." He looked fondly at the huge dog who had her nose to the

air, sniffing the wind as it whipped her ears back and forth.

We pulled off of the highway and moved onto smaller and smaller roads. The path wasn't so straight anymore and Alicia set up the GPS to lead her through the twists and turns that our course required. We passed through towns where the people had tried to hold back the encroaching forest. They were barely recognisable and I only noticed them when I saw a windmill poking out between the greenery.

"It's no good fighting the forest," Coal said as we passed a building with a huge tree sprouting from inside one of its windows.

"How long did it take to do this kind of damage?" I asked, fascinated.

"The plants are able to take hold within a matter of weeks. After that they just keep growing and growing until there's no choice but to give up. It takes a massive amount of time and energy to hold them back like they do in your city."

"They have special branches of Wardens whose job it is to go out daily and burn everything that grows. They lace the ground with salt from the sea too," Laurie added from the front seat.