Apocalypsis 04 - Haven

as it’s steady, I’ll get into the cab. The window is open on the driver’s side.”
    “Are you just going to flip in there like in the movies?” asked Paci. “That’s not going to work!”
    I knew his anger was worry in disguise, so I let it go. “No, I’m going to climb down just behind it and then open the door from outside and punch him in the head.”
    Winky and Paci looked at each other.
    “That could work,” said Winky.
    “Maybe,” said Paci, sounding defeated.
    I grinned evilly at them. “Wish me luck.” I winked at my friends and wiggled my way back from the edge.
    ***
    A quick glance out at the highway behind me showed Rob and Bodo jogging at a fast clip. They were losing ground rapidly. Pretty soon I was going to be all alone with this guy if I didn’t hurry the hell up.
    I spun around on my belly so I’d be facing the front of the truck. I was too far back to see the road ahead of it, but too afraid to stand up and increase my viewing range.
    I quickly made my way up to the cab, army-crawling across the filthy surface covered not only in dirt and grime of every kind but bird turds, too. As I got closer, I was finally able to see the highway in front of us better.
    The semi was approaching abandoned cars and bashing right into them, not slowing down in the least. They were piling up on the shoulders of the road, victims of the smash-em-up derby this guy was causing. I didn’t know how much longer the front of this truck would be able to take that kind of abuse.
    Getting up on my knees, I scrambled the last several feet up the trailer until I reached the space between it and the cab. It was wide enough for me to fit down in it, but tons of cables and junk were running all over the place, and different parts were moving, not necessarily in tandem with the motion of the truck. I could easily lose a foot or leg if I wasn’t careful.
    The cab was just ahead of me, and the place where I wanted to go to my left. There was a smoke stack thingy that looked like it might get hot from the engine exhaust, a place to step up from the ground to get inside, and a couple of vertical handles I could grab onto while reaching into the cab.
    I wasn’t sure whether I was going to go in through the window or actually open the door, but I did know that I was going to use the driver’s side. The quicker I could incapacitate this maniac and get him off the accelerator, the faster we could end this crazy run.
    Turning around, I carefully lowered myself over the front edge of the trailer. It took every abdominal muscle I had to keep steady.
    I quickly found that even with my arms extended, I was still too short for my feet to reach the moving platform beneath me.
    Dammit! I turned to look over my shoulder. All I could see were wires and a dark spot below my feet that I knew was moving, shifting with the movements of the trailer.
    I had one shot to drop and land on that thing with both feet. Dad? God? Anyone up there listening? Please help me not die!
    I took one last look at my landing spot and let go of the top of the trailer.
    Both feet landed on the moving connection between the cab and trailer, but it was greasy and one of my feet slipped off.
    I screamed involuntarily as my hands scrabbled around, trying to find something to grab onto.
    My eyes flashed on blue color and I reached out without thinking, grabbing the coiled hose that ran between the cab and the trailer.
    For a moment I was steady again, the bulk of my weight pulling on the coupled cable first one way, then the next. But then the truck swerved to the right as it hit another parked car and threw my entire body with it. I held on to the hose for dear life.
    No sooner had I righted myself, balancing on that moving black chassis, when a hissing sound started coming from the bottom of the hose. I looked down in horror as the thing began coming loose from the truck, near my feet.
    My body was slammed against the back of the cab as the truck went into an immediate, tire burning, brake squealing stop.
    I wasn’t sure if it was the hose problem or the fact that I’d been discovered by the driver, but I had no time to lose. I had to get into that cab before the driver shot me. Surely he owned a gun and wasn’t afraid to use it.
    I held onto the hose and stepped as far as I could towards the driver’s side of the cab. The truck was almost stopped now. I leaned out away from the back of the driver’s compartment a little and grabbed the handle