illuminated in spotlights from the helicopter, which hovered noisily overhead. Flashes of illumination came from the house as the van backed up.
From somewhere, men shouted. In the rear of the vehicle, her mother struggled to call her name, the word barely rising above the din. “Lori . . .”
“Just hold on, Mom. I’ll get us out of this.”
But bursts of gunfire sounded and bullets thudded into the front of the van, narrowly missing Dixie Lou. For a moment, Lori lost control of the vehicle. It smashed against a landscape rock and stopped momentarily. Then she corrected the steering, bumped the accelerator and resumed backing up.
Seeing uniformed men rush onto the driveway behind her, she opened the electric window by her, put her head out and fired at them, pulling the trigger until the clip was empty. She saw two of the assailants fall.
“Good shooting!” Dixie Lou said as Lori continued to steer in reverse, wildly.
Lori’s body shook uncontrollably. Tears streamed down her face. She threw the empty gun on the console, next to Dixie Lou. What was going on here? She could not imagine.
I killed those men! It was the first time she’d ever fired a gun at anyone.
At high speed, Lori whipped the van onto a private lane that ran behind the houses. She wished she’d been able to get her mother into a safety harness, hoped she wasn’t getting banged around too badly back there. The helicopter and more men could be seen in one direction, so Lori went the opposite way, rocketing past backyards and houses with the vehicle’s headlights off. The lane curved down to a main street and she turned a hard right onto it, with tires screeching as she accelerated. She took several turns and side streets at Dixie Lou’s instruction, and soon the whining, throbbing noise of the helicopter and the gunfire could no longer be heard. Occasional street lights illuminated the way, so she could see well enough without the headlights.
A siren sounded, and a police car raced by in the opposite direction, blue lights flashing.
“That was a BOI attack,” Dixie Lou said, holding a cloth on the back of her neck. “Trained killers.” She let loose a torrent of expletives.
Lori didn’t know what she was talking about, but didn’t care. She only thought about her mother. Now she felt a steeliness in her soul over the men she had shot, and knew she would do it again if she had to.
Suddenly a car roared down a side street and pulled directly in front of the van, without bothering to pause at the stop sign. Lori slammed on her brakes to avoid a collision.
“How do I turn on the headlights?” she asked.
“We can’t use them. We must be extremely careful.”
The black woman kept craning her neck to look up at the sky. Lori did that too as she drove, and listened for helicopter noises. She didn’t hear any.
Calling for her mother, she received no response. The breathing remained slow. In a passing street light she glanced back and saw Camilla huddled on the floor, with the stocking tourniquets visible on her legs.
Her heart jumped when she again heard helicopter rotors throbbing.
The sound grew louder.
Following Dixie Lou’s order, Lori pulled the dark van into a driveway, beneath a large tree.
The aircraft seemed to be directly overhead, and Lori saw the terrifying wash of a searchlight over the streets and houses.
She prayed.
The noise grew very loud, then diminished and disappeared.
Chapter 6
The gospels of the she-apostles were stolen from all humankind, not just from women.
—Amy Angkor-Billings, to her biographer, December 11, 2033
In the shadows of the van, Lori didn’t think it possible that soldiers had attacked a women’s meeting. No legitimate authority would murder unarmed women. Dixie Lou had said they were BOI, but what did that stand for and who were they? Lori couldn’t believe this was happening.
The van rolled along the freeway now, with Dixie Lou having used the hand-held transmitter to turn
From somewhere, men shouted. In the rear of the vehicle, her mother struggled to call her name, the word barely rising above the din. “Lori . . .”
“Just hold on, Mom. I’ll get us out of this.”
But bursts of gunfire sounded and bullets thudded into the front of the van, narrowly missing Dixie Lou. For a moment, Lori lost control of the vehicle. It smashed against a landscape rock and stopped momentarily. Then she corrected the steering, bumped the accelerator and resumed backing up.
Seeing uniformed men rush onto the driveway behind her, she opened the electric window by her, put her head out and fired at them, pulling the trigger until the clip was empty. She saw two of the assailants fall.
“Good shooting!” Dixie Lou said as Lori continued to steer in reverse, wildly.
Lori’s body shook uncontrollably. Tears streamed down her face. She threw the empty gun on the console, next to Dixie Lou. What was going on here? She could not imagine.
I killed those men! It was the first time she’d ever fired a gun at anyone.
At high speed, Lori whipped the van onto a private lane that ran behind the houses. She wished she’d been able to get her mother into a safety harness, hoped she wasn’t getting banged around too badly back there. The helicopter and more men could be seen in one direction, so Lori went the opposite way, rocketing past backyards and houses with the vehicle’s headlights off. The lane curved down to a main street and she turned a hard right onto it, with tires screeching as she accelerated. She took several turns and side streets at Dixie Lou’s instruction, and soon the whining, throbbing noise of the helicopter and the gunfire could no longer be heard. Occasional street lights illuminated the way, so she could see well enough without the headlights.
A siren sounded, and a police car raced by in the opposite direction, blue lights flashing.
“That was a BOI attack,” Dixie Lou said, holding a cloth on the back of her neck. “Trained killers.” She let loose a torrent of expletives.
Lori didn’t know what she was talking about, but didn’t care. She only thought about her mother. Now she felt a steeliness in her soul over the men she had shot, and knew she would do it again if she had to.
Suddenly a car roared down a side street and pulled directly in front of the van, without bothering to pause at the stop sign. Lori slammed on her brakes to avoid a collision.
“How do I turn on the headlights?” she asked.
“We can’t use them. We must be extremely careful.”
The black woman kept craning her neck to look up at the sky. Lori did that too as she drove, and listened for helicopter noises. She didn’t hear any.
Calling for her mother, she received no response. The breathing remained slow. In a passing street light she glanced back and saw Camilla huddled on the floor, with the stocking tourniquets visible on her legs.
Her heart jumped when she again heard helicopter rotors throbbing.
The sound grew louder.
Following Dixie Lou’s order, Lori pulled the dark van into a driveway, beneath a large tree.
The aircraft seemed to be directly overhead, and Lori saw the terrifying wash of a searchlight over the streets and houses.
She prayed.
The noise grew very loud, then diminished and disappeared.
Chapter 6
The gospels of the she-apostles were stolen from all humankind, not just from women.
—Amy Angkor-Billings, to her biographer, December 11, 2033
In the shadows of the van, Lori didn’t think it possible that soldiers had attacked a women’s meeting. No legitimate authority would murder unarmed women. Dixie Lou had said they were BOI, but what did that stand for and who were they? Lori couldn’t believe this was happening.
The van rolled along the freeway now, with Dixie Lou having used the hand-held transmitter to turn
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