Rafferty leaned over Cody. The little blonde was sitting upright, but she was quivering violently. The right side of her body was bright red, liked she'd fallen asleep under a busted umbrella.

Rafferty snapped her fingers in front of her friend's face. Cody looked up a little bit, but still wore a largely vacant expression.

"Trevor looks so cute on that rock," whispered Cody.

Rafferty had felt a rush of hot air push past her as the sky brightened. When the light faded, the field was littered with her friends. The two trucks carrying the Pale Crew had vanished.

She squeezed Cody's hand, and Cody returned a dumb smile. In front of them, Hayden was struggling to her feet. Farther ahead, Harriet lay motionless on the ground, and Rafferty saw Miles hurrying toward her. The force of the blast had knocked Jason off his horse, and the animal was freaking out. Holden and Sheridan were trying to corral it, but weren't having much luck.

Rafferty felt a hand on her shoulder, and looked up to see Colin, Cody's Jack. His face was smeared with dust, and one eye was swollen shut. She was pretty sure she told him she thought Cody would be all right, but her ears were filled with a loud buzzing sound, and it was hard to hear herself talk.

Something fluttered in the corner of her vision. She turned, and Vincent was pointing in the opposite direction. He was yelling something, but it was impossible to say what it was.

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She looked to where Vincent was pointing, and saw the red truck disappearing into the distance.

Rafferty's eyes narrowed, and she took off.

She might not have Sheridan's technique, Cody's raw power, or Blaspheme's aim, but Rafferty was fast.

And relentless.

She was picking up so much speed that a single bad step or tricky piece of ground could mess her up good and proper.

If that didn't happen, though, these guys were toast.

Pumping her legs as hard as she could, she reeled in her target. The truck grew in her field of vision like someone had slid it down a long table.

If she could time the jump correctly, Rafferty thought she could hit the front of the roof hard enough to flip the whole truck end over end. The rest would be easy.

Rafferty leapt, and liked it immediately.

Got it. You jokers are done. Now.

As she flew into the air, Rafferty saw Alex lean out from the truck. He had a pistol in his hand.

Your ride is too bumpy, the long, tall sides of your stupid truck are cutting down your angle, and I'm rising too fast. No way you make this shot. No way.

Rafferty crested, and pulled in her legs to speed her descent, the Blue crackling off of her boots. She would kick out at the last moment, driving down on the front edge of the roof.

There wasn't any pain when the bullet passed through her shoulder. It knocked the wind out of her, as if she'd been punched. As she fell toward the ground, Rafferty was more surprised than anything.

She landed hard. She stared up at the sky, trying to catch her breath, the sound of the truck's engine drifting into the distance. It all felt so oddly familiar.

Great. More snails.