“Hold on!” his savior repeated unnecessarily. Then, despite the roar of the motor, Raine could hear a new sound: the ricochet of bullets hitting the body of the vehicle. And still the buggy barreled on, and the barrier still lay dead ahead, ready to rip into the tires, chassis … and passengers of the car. Which is when Dan reached down and pulled a lever. The front of his buggy groaned, and a metal flap in front folded forward. A piece of metal with spikes that extended like spears, all protruding from a piece of steel with razor teeth that shot a hundred sparkling reflections of the sun back at Raine. We’re going straight through the thing? Hold on indeed. The buggy ran into the suspended grid of twisted wire and hooks, and its strange cowcatcher sliced it in two. The cut pieces snapped back with a howling shriek, flying to either side. As they passed the now useless barrier, Raine saw the bandits racing away from the whiplash of the chain. And he watched one who wasn’t so lucky as the rapid snap-back of the metal trap wrapped itself around him like a snake, swatting him down to the ground while planting hooks into his side.
