The Caddy continued to cruise along the country road, heading into a tunnel of trees.
“And what about at the community center?” Katie asked.
“Same thing,” he said. “Chaos.”
“So,” Katie said, thinking, “how come you didn’t stay there? Wouldn’t it be safe in the building?” Her face became hopeful. “Was my mom safe inside?”
“Like I said, I don’t really know about your mom,” Kyle said. “I suppose I could have holed up in the building with the others, but for how long? They could be hiding in there for days. The smart thing is to find a way out. I was down by the harbor, and lots of people are heading out to sea until things calm down.”
Katie looked at Bruce. “You think we should try to find my mom before we go to the mall? Maybe she’s already heard from Archie.” Her eyes widened. “Maybe Archie’s with her! Maybe they got in touch with each other and that’s where we should go.”
Before Bruce could consider a change of plan, Kyle spoke up.
“No!” he said. “We’re not going back there.”
Bruce looked in the mirror. “You’re not the captain of this ship, pal. Let me know where you want me to let you off and I’ll pull over.”
Kyle went silent. He turned his neck one way and then the other, avoiding eye contact with Katie. He looked out the windows, watching the trees flash by. He chewed his lip, as though mulling over what step to take next.
Katie said, “Listen, Mr. Stapleton, we’re all just trying to get through this the best we can.”
Bruce shot her a brief, admiring glance.
“I bet you’ve got people back on the mainland who are worried about you, right?” she said. “That’s why you want to get off the island? Have you called them? Have you let them know you’re okay? If you have, you could stop worrying about getting off the island and find a safe place to hide out until they find a way to stop the cars from killing everybody.” She pointed a thumb toward the woods. “I mean, right in there, that’s safe. There’s no way the cars can get at you if you’re hanging out in the woods. They’re not tanks. They can’t knock the trees down. When we get to the mall, maybe we can hang out there. It should be safe. All I’m saying is—”
“Shut up,” Kyle said.
Katie scowled. “Excuse me?”
“Just shut up.”
Bruce took his foot off the gas. “End of the road, friend,” he said as the car slowed. He moved his foot over to the brake.
“No,” Kyle said. “You’re not kicking me out.”
“That’s exactly what we’re doing,” Bruce said.
As the car came to a full stop and Bruce put the car into park, Kyle reached into his jacket and pulled out the gun he’d stolen at the yacht club.
“Shit!” Katie screamed. “Bruce!”
Bruce first took a look into the rearview mirror, then slowly turned in the seat so he could look Kyle in the eye.
Kyle pointed the gun his way, but it was close quarters, even in a car as big as a 1959 Cadillac, so he held the gun close to himself, fearing Bruce might try to make a grab for it.
“Mister,” Bruce said calmly, “we’re all a little on edge right now, so I understand you might feel the need to take desperate measures, but waving that around at us, that’s not helping the situation.”
Kyle tilted his head toward Katie. “What’s she to you? Granddaughter? Niece?”
“A good friend,” Bruce said.
“Well, I’m going to shoot your good friend right through the seat if you don’t take me to the ferry.” Katie had shifted position, her back pressed up against the door. Kyle warned, “Don’t even think of opening that door. If you make a run for it, it’s him I’ll shoot.”
“Take the car,” Bruce said. “We’ll get out. You take the car. That way, no one gets hurt.” Katie gave him a look of mute protest, which Bruce acknowledged with a nod. “I know, we want to find your brother, and your mom. But that’ll be hard to do if we’re dead.”
But Kyle was not interested in the offer. “No. You drive. You’re an islander, right?”
Bruce said, slowly, “For about thirty years.”
“Then you know all the back roads. If we need to take them, to steer clear of those little four-wheeled bastards, you’re the guy I need.”
“Okay,” Bruce said, calmly. “I’ll drive you there. But you put the gun away. I know you’ve got it. I’m not gonna try anything funny. But guns can go off by accident. I hit some pothole, I don’t want to end up with a bullet in my back.”
Kyle pondered that for a moment before slipping the gun back into his jacket.
“And one other thing,” Bruce said. “Let Katie here go.”
Katie’s eyes widened. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“No, you listen to me,” Bruce said to her harshly. “Let me give our friend here a lift to the ferry and I’ll come back for you. Go into the woods there. You’ll be safe.”
“No,” Katie said, looking him in the eye.
Bruce held her gaze for five seconds before looking away. There was something in her tone that told him there was no sense arguing the point any further.
“Okay, then,” Bruce said. He straightened himself up behind the wheel, put the car into drive, and gave the beast some gas. “Roads a bit narrow to pull off a three-point turn in this sucker. I got to go up here and look for a place to turn around.”
He drove a quarter of a mile until he reached a gravel driveway that led, presumably, to a house deep in the woods. He nosed the car into it, cranked the wheel hard in the opposite direction, and backed out onto the road, facing the other way. Katie sat sideways on the seat the entire time, staring at Brandon Kyle.
“What’s wrong with your stomach?” she asked.
“What?”
“It’s all lumpy.”
Kyle looked down. Two of the bottom buttons of his shirt had come undone, exposing foam padding. “Oh,” he said. “I’ve been looking to lose a few pounds. This is probably as good a time as any.”
He undid two more buttons, exposing a milky white chest decorated with a few gray hairs, reached around to his back, and pulled on something, creating a Velcro-tearing sound. He yanked out the padding and tossed it down onto the floor. His now exposed stomach was wet with perspiration.
Kyle did up the button, tucked in his shirt, got himself resettled, and looked at Katie. “Like the show?”
“So who are you, really?” she asked.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Well, you’re wearing a disguise, sort of. So you must be pretending to be someone you aren’t.”
“I told you my name. Ben Stapleton.”
“Show me some ID,” she said.
“You’re hardly in a position to be asking.”
“If you’ve got ID that proves it, it shouldn’t be a big deal to show me,” Katie said, persisting.
He dug into his pocket and found the ID badge he’d been provided by the Arrival corporation. “There,” he said, waving it in front of her.
“That’s bullshit,” Katie said. “Think you could get a passport with that? What else ya got?”
Kyle glared at her.
“There are plenty of places on the island you could ride this out,” she said. “But you’re having a shit fit about getting away. And you’ve got a gun and a disguise.” Katie stared at him for several more seconds, thinking.
Finally, she said, “Did you, like, rob a Garrett Island bank while everyone was freaking out about the cars? Is your fake tummy stuffed with cash?”
Kyle said nothing.
“Orrrrr,” she said, still thinking, “you’re, like, some bad guy with a phony identity, you’ve been hiding out on the island for ages, but now with all kinds of police and stuff coming here to stop the cars, they’ll find you? Is it something like that?”