Chapter 197

Lyle walked around the back of the house to the UTV as the truck drove away. He climbed in and looked at Amaris. "Decoy." He said with a thumb over his shoulder. "Where did you find him? He looks like your doppleganger." Amaris asked amazed. "Funny thing. When I went to get some of those items that we needed earlier, he was the supply clerk that helped me. I asked him to help me out this evening by taking the truck out for a test drive to see if the repairs I made earlier are going to hold. I told him I needed to drive a short way behind to see if it was okay." Lyle laughed again. "So that poor guy has no idea that he is bait?" Amaris was getting ready to get out of the UTV. "I did tell him that since we were hiding out that we need to be extra vigilent for the possibility of attack, which is more likely since we have been here for a while." Amaris got angry. "Lyle, that poor man could get killed because they think that he is you!" She turned and yelled at him. "We need to warn him." She was looked like she was ready to get out and chase the truck down if need be. "They want us alive. They will not hurt him." Lyle said in ernest, but Amaris' glare made him change his mind. He rolled his eyes and pulled a walkie talkie out of his pocket. "Frank, this is Lyle over." He said into the walkie talkie. There was a moment of static, and then his voice. "Hey yeah, I don't see you in the rearview mirror. Is everything ok?" Frank returned. "Hey be careful. There maybe a chance, if the enemy is in the area that they will think that you are me and try and attack that truck." There was a long pause. "Well damn! I don't see anyone, but I will stay alert. Thanks for the heads up." Lyle put down the walkie talkie. "Now lets get out of here." Amaris was not sure that she was satisfied that Frank would be safe, but she did not seem to have much choice. Lyle had already started moving, and there was no turning back. The UTV started down the road in the opposite direction of the truck. This road looked like it was not used as much and was not as well maintained as the other direction. Amaris began bouncing around in her seat and noticed that she never put her seat belt back on. She reached down the side of the seat to find the strap and fumbled it in her fingers with a lurch to the right that made her have to grab the UTV's role bar. Reaching down again she tried to grab the swinging strap. The UTV bounced to the left this time and the strap swung behind her seat. "Lyle slow down for a second. I don't have my seatbelt on." Amaris said in frustration. Lyle slowed the UTV almost to a stop. That was when they heard the 'Pop pop pop'. Lyle looked up at the tree above Amaris' head. Bark blew out from the side of the tree in a shower of shavings and chunks. Lyle reached over with one arm and forced Amaris to duck down in her seat, while he stomped on the gas pedal and steered to away from the tree and off the road. Lyle doubled back. The gun fire forcing them back toward where they had just come from. Amaris was holding onto the seat and the support post as they bounced around speeding through the woods. Lyle drove back into the drive where they had just left to find the green transport truck parked in front of the house that they had stayed in earlier. There was no sign of Frank, but there were a great deal of soldiers standing around it. None of them were their own soldiers. These men wore the colors of The King. Lyle tried to veer to drive around the side of the house and go around, but more armed soldiers came out and blocked the way. Lyle tried to spin the UTV around and go back the way they had come. More gunfire strafed the ground in front of them. Lyle had no where to go. Turning around once more Lyle decided to drive through the line of men. None of them moved. One took aim at the engine and fired several rounds into in, while the man next to him shot out the tires. The UTV violently rolled to the side and tipped. Lyle leaned and grabbed Amaris to pull her over toward him to shift the weight. It worked the UTV came to a sudden stop and slammed back down on all four tires. Lyle was already unfastening his seat belt when Amaris looked up to see a gun in her face. "Get out of the vehicle! Now!" The soldier who had shot at their engine ordered. Amaris raised her arms above her head. She saw out of the corner of her eye that Lyle had started to sprout fur on his arms and face. "I would not do that if I were you. You remember what happened to you last time you tried that don't you?" came a familiar sing song voice. Amaris looked back over by the truck where the voice was coming from. There was a large knot of soldiers grouped together. They parted and made a path down the middle of them. A tall man with a swagger walked between them. It was The King. He had found her again. Amaris jumped out of the UTV quickly. She wanted to get as far away from Lyle as she could. She could not let them hurt him like that again. The good thing was that this time, they had not marked each other yet. They had no reason to torture him this time. However, that did leave and opening for The King. "Ah look my bride is as anxious as I am." The King intruded on her thoughts. Amaris thought that she was going to vomit. The thought of her with him made her sick. She looked straight at The King now. He was looking back and forth between her and Lyle. "Well, I can see that I am going to have to work harder to break you two up." Just then howls cut the quiet of the night air, and all turned into chaos.