I hear a crash as I make my way back to the lab. Brook is on the floor and Knox is sprawled on top of her, and she’s not moving. Rushing over to her, I tackle him to the ground beside Brooklyn. Fists fly as we exchange punches. I get the better hand, and I’m sitting on top of him, choking the life out of him.

He manages to say in a hoarse voice, “By the time you kill me, it will be too late for her.” He cuts his eyes toward Brooklyn. I glance over, and she’s not breathing. I let go of him and crawl over to her. She has no pulse.

I start CPR. “Goddamn you, Knox!” I say between compressions.

He’s gasping for air as he rolls toward me.

I want to kill him, but if I stop, Brooklyn will die. I continue pounding on her chest as he reaches his feet. “She’s given me what I need.” He pats a book sticking out of his pocket then snatches vials off the lab table.

“Come on, Brook, breathe so I can stop him!”

“Tell John thanks for sharing his wife with me.” He laughs.

My anger overtakes my good senses, and I jump off the floor after him. I crash into him, causing the metal table to tip over and make a loud echoing sound in the room. I land on top of him; he rolls over, flipping me off, and my head cracks against the tile floor. I want to vomit on impact. My head spins as I watch as if in slow motion as Knox gets off the ground. He picks up the book that was thrown from his pocket and tucks it back inside. He walks over to the door, turning the knob, but turns around toward me.

“That little stunt you just pulled will cost you your family.” He steps outside, leaving the door open behind him.

I stumble to my feet and go back over to Brooklyn. Her eyes blink a few times, and she gasps for breath. Her hands go to the red fingerprints on her neck.

“You’re okay. He’s gone,” I say, taking her in my arms.

“Jake,” she says breathily.

I pick her up and walk outside. All the cars are gone. “Do you think you can stand on your own two feet?”

She nods, and I slowly put her down. “I need to find a phone. Is there one in your lab?” “My purse is on the table inside. My cell phone is in one of the pockets.”

I run back in only to find her purse beneath the table that was toppled over, and her screen is shattered into a hundred little pieces. “Damn it!” I slam my fist on the ground. “We’ve got to find a way out of here.”

“In the shed out back, there is an old motorcycle that I bought John and was going to have it fixed up for him, but I never got around to it with everything that has been going on,” she says as she rubs her throat.

I walk back over to her, placing my hands on her shoulders. “Are you okay?” I say, inspecting her neck.

“I’m fine, but we need to get out of here. The keys to the shed are on that shelf.” She points to one that is in the corner. I grab them and then take her hand.

“Come on. I’ll see if I can get it running.” I undo the padlock and pull open the door to the shed. “God, please tell me it runs.”

“It started right up for the man I bought it from. It’s been sitting in here since it was delivered, so I don’t know what it will do.

I put up the kickstand and walk it outside. “This is a beauty, but old,” I say as I throw my leg over it. Brook steps inside the shed and comes back out with keys, handing them to me.

I place them in the ignition and push the start button. Nothing happens. I try again, and it makes a sputtering noise and then dead silence.

“Jake, there is a store about a mile up the road. We can call for help from there.”

“Just give me a minute,” I say, getting off the bike and squatting down in front of the motor. “You wouldn’t happen to have any wiring tape?”

She bites at a fingernail. “No, but I think I have something in the lab you can use.” She darts off before I can respond, and she’s back almost as quickly. “Here, try this.”

It’s a slim roll of blue tape. I peel up the end and start fastening the loose wires. “That should work,” I say, standing.

Brooklyn climbs on this time and turns the key. It sputters, but this time it cranks up. It’s a small bike built for one, but we’ll have to make it work. “Slide back.”

“Any other time I would argue with you,” she says as she sits as far back as she can.

I throw my leg over. “You’re going to have to hold on tight because I’m going to run this thing as fast as I can.” She slides her arms around my waist, and I take off, sending gravel flying behind us. We make it to the asphalt road, and I twist back hard to gain some speed. Smoke is flowing up around us, but I don’t let it stop me. I don’t even bother slowing down for stoplights, which sends a few cars screeching and horns blowing. I can feel Brook’s nails digging into my skin as she’s holding on for dear life.

As I round the corner, I see the vehicle that Knox was riding in. I drive up next to him, and I can see the man that I killed slumped over in the seat and Knox is driving. He sees me and swerves in my direction, causing me to go off on the shoulder of the road. I gain control in enough time to keep us from flying head-on into a ditch.

“Jake, we don’t have time to stop him!” Brook screams next to my ear.

“If I don’t stop him, he will kill my family.” I speed back up and get behind him. I see him watching me in the rearview mirror.

“Just go around him Jake and beat him to the hospital. There is nothing we can do on this bike to slow him down.”

I know she’s right. I need get to Zoe before he does. I wait until the passing lane is open and I give the bike everything she has. As I’m next to him, he swerves again, but I’m able to keep moving past him by edging over. A truck is headed straight for us. The bike doesn’t have anything left to give me as far as speed goes. I make it past Knox’s bumper and swing the bike over into his lane as the truck nearly misses us. Knox leans to far right on the steering wheel, and it sends him flying over the shoulder of the road and into a bunch of trees.

I laugh when I look back, seeing Brooklyn shoot him a bird.

There is so much smoke coming out of the bike that we are both choking on the fumes. I slow down, hoping that it won’t completely die on us, but no such luck. It spits out some black smoke and stalls. I pull over on the side of the road and Brook jumps off. She has her thumb out trying to hitch a ride. A car blows by her, and her middle finger flies up again.

I hop off the bike and put the kickstand down. “Let’s start walking,” I tell her.

“Hell with that. We’ll never get to the hospital in time.” She unbuttons the top two buttons of her blouse.

“What are you doing?”

“Showing some cleavage.” She points down at her girls.

“I don’t think you’ve looked in the mirror lately, but we both look rather scary right now.” I motion to my beat-up face.

“Speak for yourself. You underestimate the power of these girls,” she says, shoving them higher in her bra.

“Okay, Scary Mary, whatever you say.” I chuckle and start to hit the pavement.

To my utter surprise, I hear a diesel truck pull over behind me. I turn around, and Brooklyn is standing on her tiptoes with her head poked inside the open window, talking to the driver.

“Come on, Jake,” she yells as she’s opening the passenger side door. She climbs inside and scoots over on the bench seat, and I slide in next to her.

“I told you. These girls work every time.” She winks at me.

“You know the driver, don’t you?’

She shrugs and smiles.