“Love to take this apart and find out how a black-powder rocket can change course to hunt down a target,” J.B. muttered, testing its balance and weight. Very nice.
“Comps,” Jak said as if that settled the matter.
Turning in her seat, Krysty snorted. “The lord baron is barely able to make black powder. No way he can build chips to guide rockets.”
“Then how make go left right?” Jak demanded.
Krysty shrugged in reply, and J.B. gave a start as the tube in his hands trembled slightly at the words. Had the rocket responded to the spoken directions? Dark night, what the hell were these things?
“Here’s six more,” Dean added, shoving aside the loose collection of wood chips in the crate. “Nope, there’s eight!”
“Put this away and leave them be.” J.B. handed back the weapon and watched the boy repack the Firebird and close the crate. There was something unnerving about the rockets that made him want nothing to do with them.
Continuing his search, Dean soon had checked every box without success.
“No tackle,” he reported out the rear door. “Not even a wrench.”
“Okay, we try something else,” Ryan said resolutely.
Leading the way, Mildred and the others returned with more branches from the nearby woods. Ryan began snapping off the smaller branches, then used the panga to sharpen their tips.
“Find a rock and drive these stakes into the mud behind the larger branches under the tires,” he directed, using his bare hands to do the job. Standing, he inspected the work. “Mebbe that’ll hold them in place long enough to give us some traction. Only need a minute or two.”
“Consider it done,” Doc rumbled, and got busy with the other side.
Ryan turned to the doorway. “Krysty! This time rev the engine high as she’ll go before slipping it into gear.”
“Could bust the tranny, lover,” Krysty said.
“No other way. We’ve got to chance it. If Glassman arrives and finds us trapped, it’s going to be bad.”
“Do my best.”
Resuming their positions, the companions braced their heels against additional branches stomped into the mud. It was Jak’s idea to give them more stability. Every little bit helped. Ryan joined them, putting his back to the bumper, his knees slightly bent. Mildred was at the other side of the wag in the same position, but he knew it was for different reasons. The healer had to protect her hands.
“Get ready!” Krysty answered and started the engine, bluish-gray fumes spewing from the tailpipes. Slowly, she gunned the predark engine, building its rpm higher and higher, until the wag was shaking from the barely restrained power of the roaring diesel. On the rusty dashboard, the woman noticed the fuel gauge dropping steadily.
“Now!” Ryan shouted, shoving against the wag with all of his strength, tendons rising into view on his hands and neck.
Spraying out mud, the rear wheels spun freely in the slick material until touching the buried branches. Those shot backward to hit the restraining stakes, which immediately began to lean over. But the trembling branches held in place for a moment, and briefly the tires spun on the anchored green wood, the bus creeping forward a scant inch. Muscles surged as the engine roared. Then the wag lurched ahead another inch and triumphantly rolled out of the depressions to keep going.
“Gaia, we did it!” Krysty shouted, and started to slow down.
“Keep moving!” Ryan shouted, waving both arms. “Don’t stop or you’ll get stuck again!”
A hand waved from the driver’s window in acknowledgment, and Krysty swung the bus in an easy circle, going back for the companions. Wary of the edged spikes sticking out of the wheels, Mildred jumped on board at the side door, and Jak used the rear. It took a few more circles before everybody was on board and the wag moved sluggishly through the sticky field for the distant horizon once more.
Dropping into their seats, the companions sparingly used some of the water from their canteens to wash hands and faces clean. Boots and clothes would wait until the mud dried and could be simply scraped off.
“Too bad we can’t use the road,” Krysty said, turning on the windshield wipers. The spray of muddy droplets from the front wheels was speckling the glass and making it difficult to see clearly.