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With a scoff, I trudged through the door, wiping my mouth to the best of my ability. This body felt beaten and battered, essentially making me a human chicken fried steak, doused in a gravy mixed of sweat, blood, and hopelessness. An attempt to spit was only met with a searing pain through the jaw, resulting in a murky crimson line escaping my lips and slithering towards the concrete below. The old town college locker room seemed a lot dimmer than when the night began, and honestly I could not tell you if that was due to shoddy electrical or one too many shots to the head. I shook my head vigorously back and forth, trying to clear the cobwebs a bit, but all I cleared was the wooden bench, sending me crashing into the floor, causing me to feel an echo of tragedy throughout my body, sending me into a lapse of consciousness.
My eyes fluttered back open, everything a bit hazier than before. Right by my head lie a stack of money, carelessly thrown at my face. Clearly Rat had shown his ugly mug while I had taken an unplanned slumber, and staying true to his name, failed to help anyone that had brought him even a little bit of capital for the night.
I had to muster up some strength to get to my feet, and gingerly collect the green that had littered itself around my head, almost marking out my outline like some terrible attempt at a crime scene outline. This was the stuff that did not make it into a weekly episode of Law and Order. I counted he cash as I collected it from the ground. One... two... three...
Just like his name, I came up short. Five hundred to be exact. Never do business with a guy named Rat.
I gathered my bag as quickly as I could, popping a Vicodin to take care of the pains of a thorough ass kicking and age... but honestly, you really should have seen the other guy. I threw on a hoodie and sweat pants, lumbering out of the gymnasium, weighted down with an additional fifteen hundred that I did not have at the start of the night. It was a pirates life, but it was a lot fairer than what once drove me. Just the thought sent my mind rocketing back to the night, the screams, the terror...
Lily. Nothing was the same without her.
“Hey stranger,” a soothing voice echoed from the night. My head was usually on a swivel, and to be caught off guard by even the sweetest of voices, it took all of my might not to reach into my bag and grab my Colt .45.
Old habits die hard, just like this lady almost did.
I turned my head to look at what I quickly recognized as a girl far too young to be strung out on anything, but here she stood, out of her mind, and murmuring to me. Her clothes had seen better days, but nothing too bad. A slight tear in the leg of her capris, perhaps stylistically. A spaghetti strap pink crop top pulled it all together, one of the straps hanging a bit gingerly to the side, making it even more evident that she had made the questionable decision not to wear a bra.
“Darling, what are you doing out here?” I paused, forced to spit out blood that had crusted in my mouth. “And at this time of night, like that?”
She let out a sheepish, yet slightly shrill chuckle.
“Well, I saw your fight...”
She mused on, somewhat incoherently, or maybe that was because I had tuned her out. I seemed to be surrounded by nothing but rats tonight. She trailed off finally, and I could tell she was afraid I had not been listening. And she was not wrong by any means.
“Dear, how old are you? Just answer me that.”
“Twenty-two.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “Absolutely no way that you are twenty anything.”
She laughed, the shrillness more evident. How obnoxious.
“I assure you, I am.”
I knew what she wanted, and I did not know how to let her down easy without my wallet becoming a little lighter.
“Look... I don’t know what you think...”
She smiled, revealing a surprisingly amazing smile that infected my soul just a bit. Melting me...
“I just want to have a little fun Clyde, and you seem to be that kind of guy.”
Primal instincts seem to always get the best of you it seems. I motioned towards the lone car in the parking lot, the only thing that had accompanied me through life through thick and thin. It never left me, abandoned me, cheated me... damn... my Firebird is Rick Astley.
I opened the passenger door and let her in, and she almost oozed into the seat. Clearly she was not that far gone from whatever in such a short amount of time. I must have taken one too many shots to the head. I shut the door and walked around, a bit slower once again. Primal instincts and age, I might just be a dead man tonight if I’m not careful.
I opened the drivers door and slid in, slamming the door behind me and turning the key over in the ignition. I snapped my belt into place and glanced to my right, quickly noticing that both straps were not longer on this sirens shoulders. Hell, the crop top served more as a sash now, leaving nothing to my imagination or musing.
“You could have at least let me ask you your name first,” I scoffed.
She giggled. That damn shrillness!
I shook my head and heard her seatbelt snap into place. There had to be some place nearby to stop and take the night off, even though the kind of off was far from what I had planned.
Primal instincts. I’m going to die one of these days.
I thoroughly enjoy reading Clyde Bonham. It feels like a movie, and Bonham is a classic anti-hero type. There's a lot under the surface what with his past with Lily, and the scenes are written extremely well. You do well with descriptive writing (only made better by Bonham's inner thoughts spouting out at random moments).
I'm looking forward to seeing where this quality writing goes from here. Also, His Firebird being Rick Astley may be one of the best lines ever.
Thanks Taker_2004 for the banner!
No matter how fast nor careless I whipped my car round the corner, I could not seem to get any sort of reaction out of tonight’s muse, or more accurately, byproduct. Not a single change to the gleeful and zoned gaze upon her face, nor a movement to be noticed in either of her breasts. A bit mesmerizing and disorienting all at once. I definitely needed to get my eyes back on the road and keep them there.
Another hard right, and now my ears earned a little torture with a giggle. Why I had came to give into my instinct once again, I could not tell you. The decision left a funny taste in my mouth honestly, and that was more than just already existed from the iron and dehydration. Maybe it was preemptive or precognitive as to how the night would proceed, and honestly, it was not exactly the precognition that I wanted in my life, but as with everything disheartening and mediocre, a precognition I had came to expect.
I pulled up to a lone flashing red light with the neon vacancy sign flickering only yards away. I slowed the car, not knowing where a cop could be hiding, and not wanting to tempt fate. My eyes darted around the car, finally falling upon a few pills nestled carelessly in the side of the door. One up, one down, but no real way to tell which was which. The one thing that they did ensure was an escape from mediocrity. Contemplation took over my conscience for a second, before being rocketed back into its confines by a hand creeping up my leg, nails slightly dragging along my thigh.
“Clyde, it doesn’t change. It never changes.”
You could say that again.
“Yeah... sorry.” I gave a half hearted apology.
I let the engine purr out a soft rev, as I drove towards the destination, the questionability of a place called the Super Six coming more and more to mind with each turn of the tire. I turned into the parking lot and came to my hasty decision, grabbing one of the pills indiscriminately and tossing it down my throat, all to no concern of my fairer passenger. I pulled up to the door, and she was not quite as bare as she had been moments before, getting out of the car and leaving a little to the imagination of the staff. She shut the door and leaned back in the window, looking playfully at me.
“You go park this thing and I’ll handle getting a set of keys,” her annoyance droned.
“Darling, I’ve got to ask, what in the hell is your name?” I scoffed. “We’ve been doing this dance in the dark, and I need to shed a little light on this situation.”
“Caitlin,” she mused.
I looked into her eyes as she stepped back. “Get this thing parked Clyde.”
Her flirtatiousness had hit another high. That did not make my next choice easy, but necessary.
“Hey Caitlin?”
She spun on her heel to look back at me, already headed towards her night of seeming bliss.
“Sorry dear.”
I floored the gas pedal, peeling out of the parking lot, leaving her young mind in heartbreak and bewilderment. I just could not do any more of the shrill mediocrity that held itself in my future. Cindy Lauper may have wanted to jut have fun, but Clyde Bonham wanted to catch lightning in a bottle once more. I failed to settle for less, and my tires slipping onto the asphalt of the open highway let my heart sing its song once more. As long as I had popped the upper of course. Only time would tell.
A great poet had once mused that one should find themselves a girl and settle down. For every Caitlin I met, the idea seemed a little more disheartening. I had my girl, we did not settle down, and now I could never settle for anything, up, down, or side to side.
A car shot past me and drug me out of a mental stupor. Did I grab the downer?
The highway stretched on and on, county signs passing me along, along with occasional car or two. Not a cop thank goodness, as my lead foot would invite more trouble at the moment than I cared to deal with. A fear that constantly stayed on my mind, a part of the hazard of a former lifetime. One that was happier. One that weighed heavier as the road seemed to get even longer, my eyes carefully awaiting the Nebraska state line, another pay day to be busted open the hard way.
This Kansas state highway was a pretty hard way to go as well. Suddenly I felt like I was not alone, looking to my side and seeing Lily with me again. I shook my head in disbelief, but her smile illuminated my car and my soul. A crimson smile spread across her lips and warmed me up, the breeze of the road suddenly disappearing, and warmth began to ooze down my face. She leaned in, her lips puckering and my face became warmer... warmer. Her lips reached mine, and filled my body with pain. I opened my eyes in agony. There was no light, no warmth, but blood was covering my face, and the breeze of the road had stopped, along with the car and all sense of momentum. A deer lie in front of the car, and by the blood on the steering wheel, my head had clearly snapped viciously into it. No broken windows, a small crack in the windshield where it looked like an antler had grazed, and with a quick check in the mirror, my theory was confirmed. The sheer shock of the hit had sent my body into a world of pain, making even unbuckling seem like a task with a heavy undertaking. How ancient the lack of airbags seemed these days.
A few minutes later, I emerged from the car, stupefied from rattling my head around, yet thankful it was not worse. The car showed only a decent dent in the front bumper, and scratches near the point of impact. No fluids seemed to be flowing freely, and the deer had been thoroughly victimized, dead on the road. I shook a bit of the pain off and headed back to the car. One thing was no longer a mystery though, clearly I had taken the downer. It’s effects were pretty abruptly shaken off though, and now the next mystery of the night posed its question. Would the beast start back up? A couple of cranks later, and a another answer had been sleuthed out, the engine purring once more. How ancient of a car to survive hitting a deer as well. Some things simply were made right with the first try.
My head was splitting, but I popped the bird into reverse and headed on my way, aiming for the nearest truck stop, hell even a parking lot would do at this point. I pulled my bag out from the back seat and unzipped it with one hand, trekking forward with the other. With a little fumbling, I pulled out a black towel and began to wipe the blood off my face a bit. Within what seemed like only minutes, it seemed my prayers were answered, as I came upon a truck stop. I pulled in over towards the parking and turned the car off. I had to sleep this headache off. I placed the towel to my forehead and slumped my head over on the steering wheel. The cause of my pain also served as a great way to put a little pressure and prevent any more blood from oozing out. It also made a shitty, yet effective pillow.
Thanks for getting me here Astley Martin.
The sun peeled my eyes back open, and I sat up, a crick in my neck and pain still radiating around my body. A quick check in the mirror and no ,ore blood had made its way across my face, but what had the night before gave a nice rosy color to my face, undeniable of what caused it. I reached back into my open back and pulled out a hoodie. It was far too warm outside, but I pulled it over anyways, flipping the hood up and walking into the truck stop with my head down, trying to avoid anyone noticing my condition.
I emerged a little later, my face refreshed and caffeine in my hand, albeit all with a few cursory looks from the staff at my busted lip and forehead. It confused them even more when I cracked a joke about two separate hooves causing each thing. Shit, I left my windows down the whole time. I hopped in my car and nothing seemed out of place, my bag had every item still inside, but something seemed off. A glint of silver caught my eye from the seat, and sitting next to the bag was a tube of lipstick. Caitlin was jut sloppy enough to have let this drop out. Curiosity grabbed the best of me and I cracked it open, then dropped it in my lap out of horror. I did a double take and lifted it up again, bringing it close to my face to ensure my eyes did not deceive me.
Crimson. Crimson stared me back in my eyes. That specific crimson. Lily’s crimson.
But it had all been a dream, a trip, a journey whilst high... or had it? Caitlin did not have that shade of red, and I had not seen that specific shade since Lily left that night. It had to have been a dream... or I had to be going insane. And yet, it continued to stare back at me, crimson.
-Since it has been years, gonna repost a bit of a refresher over the next few days. Get everyone on the same page of where the story was when I left. Enjoy!
PROLOGUE
The ground had been paved with a good beating that even the best of rain slick's couldn't get a decent grip upon. As if the night could not be even moreso set up for vile misfortune, the temperature was falling faster than every child's favorite egg-man, literally allowing you to feel the ice caking up against your feet. My lungs could not be warmer though, despite it being quite the deadly habit, the warmth it gave me could not be replicated by even the best hooker in bed. I tapped the cigarette, allowing particles to fall from it, so I could take another deathly puff. The wind caught part of the lit tobacco and blew it right through the small gash on my black shirt, right into my stomach.
"Shit." I cursed loudly, but no one was around to hear my voice.
With a gentle pat, the flare was gone, but the stinging senstaion remained, even in the cold night's torture. Glancing at my watch, I sighed aloud, inhaling more of my gentle poison. How much longer was she going to take in there? She knew that we had quite the drive, especially if we were gonna hop away safely. However, being one of little common sense, she never did know how to speed things up. Cut and go was not her plan. But then again, its hard to cut and go for a woman.
The back door flew open as she burst through, bag in hand, and feet driving her as fast as a hedehog. I stood there, watching her tight ass shake with every step as she rushed towards the Firebird... surely she was going to bust herself on the icy concrete. As she seemingly flew through the downed window, I continued my cigarette. My cue was not present yet.
At that moment, a tall, bleach-headed man rushed through the door, glancing around with a Magnum in hand. His face was flushed red, clearly after the little bird. He spotted her, and began to raise his arms. Time to shine.
"Hey bub, I think you missed something."
He spun around on his heel, a big mistake given the weather, as his leg folded quicker than a lawn chair, as he collapsed to the ground. He cried out in pain for help, but he was in the wrong place for heavenly aid.
"Maybe in your next life, you should let the dame go."
I removed my Colt .45 from my coat, aiming it carefully at his head. I heard him call out for God, but even God was in no position to help him now. Better luck in your next life kid.
With that, my gunshot rang out in the parking lot, and his warm red substance melted the ice beneath him. I placed the gun back in my jacket and started off towards the black Firebird. You never know how good it feels to kill a man... to play a heavenly being... its like taking candy from a baby, just with much less guilt. I glanced at the woman in my passenger seat, an all too familiar ending, as I fired my baby up, and glanced at my trophy on the right. Another night, another score. The throttle of the car flowed through my veins as I pulled out of the lot, melting the ice beneath my tires. The night's sky seemed endless as we approached the freeway, and the ice was slowly less of a worry. The throttle took control of my desire, leaving dust only in the wake of our wrath.
I'll be damned if life ain't one bit of fun... I get to live it every night.
*******
A certain stench burned my nose, clearing my nostrils of the seemingly ages of dirt and tobacco that had managed to find its way upwards. I removed my Colt from my duster, placing it upon the withering oaken nightstand. Glancing upon the dimly lit road, I saw a black lace bra lying upon the floor next to a tight shirt, leading a path before me to the steamy bathroom. I obliged in its calling, following it piece by piece. Left shoe, right show, then a skinny, short jean miniskirt. The poor lighting of the bathroom was of better quality of what was present in the grungy bedroom, so I had to let my eyes adjust. At which point I saw a tight, lace thong, obviously meant to match the bra, and clearly a side of women that I had not came to understand. What did it truly matter for something like underwear to match? Sure, it looked devilishly sexy in the right light, but other than that it only wasted time, something that I really do not wish to do. Time is never to be wasted, for every second is a step closer to the edge of the cliff. Cliche and overused, but as true now as it was in the desert while people of God struggled to find the Promised Land. They would have gotten there if they had listened to Him, and we might have a better record if she had listened to me a few times in the past. However, that is all it was now, the past.
"I hear you Clyde. You couldn't be a damn bit noisier." She drew the shower curtain back slightly to peek her head out, to gaze upon my ragged body, as if it was a marvel that she only had the treasure of seeing once before. I glanced upon her face, before turning my attention away, removing my duster as she picked up her antagonization.
"You know, I actually had a slight bit of fear tonight old man, I was wondering if you were gonna raise that cannon in time." She retracted into the shower, as I tossed my duster into the bedroom and turned to the sink. I turned on the hot side of the faucet as I heard her squeal from the shower. I ignored her and splashed water in my face, shutting the faucet off as quickly as it had been turned on.
"Fuck, why do we always have these bargain motels! They can't even pipe shit right, and we have more than enough funds to at least go to the Motel 6!
I grabbed the maroon towel that the staff had hung for my courtesy and began to dry my face. However I quickly ran out of towel, as only my mouth was able to be dried. I rubbed it around, collecting the rest of the water, remembering that most of our immigrated help did not know a difference between towel and washrag. "Damnit Clyde, are you even listening to me?" Her shrieks were becoming annoying at best, but I had grown accustomed to it. I heard the shower stop as I tossed the rag at her, and she looked from the cloth to me in disgust.
"You see what I mean? Do you see what I fucking mean?"
"Yes, I see what you fucking mean, and you know exactly why we do things the way we do. Hush up and dry off."
"With this piece of.." I abruptly cut her off, glaring at her with disdain in my eyes. She silenced herself and disappeared back into the curtain. I stepped out of the bathroom, giving her a deserved privacy. I unbuckled my belt and dropped my jeans upon the floor, peeling off my rag-like black shirt afterwards, feeling a slight sting in my side as I did so. Just a scratch or maybe from that damn cig... nothing to worry about. I didn't mind her seeing me in my boxers, I was waiting for the shower anyways, and it really was not an uncommon sight for her... nearly two years on the road, but I guess what really shocked me is the stupid questions and remarks she still had from time to time. But not always so stupid, sometimes she managed to one up even me. "Oh my God Clyde... you..."
I spun in anger, to glance upon her in a tight grey t-shirt and her lace thong. Bam, a pain shot up my side. "What the fu... damn, that actually hurt." She rushed to my side, clutching at the source of the pain, and that's when I saw it. Crimson desire... my own blood slowly seeping out of a hole in my hip. Oddly, pinning it all together was a dull, but shiny, gold casing. This old man, he got shot.
"Clyde, how the hell did this happen? You are better than this!"
"Lily, contrary to your beliefs, I don't need any extra insight into my obvious mistake. You gotta pull that son of a bitch out and wrap me up." Neither of us made this mistake very often, but when we did the next course of action was quite given. We were bailing overnight. No pay, even less of a proof of presence. That's why we used these bargain motels, they tended to trust the average looking warrior, especially with such a sweet woman upon his arm, for surely he would be to wiped out to bail the pay that morning at checkout. Not my problem that Mom and Pops did not teach Junior not to trust the roughed up stranger. A low cut top doesn't make every woman a whore, even in these parts.
Lily wasted little time in reaching into her bag and pulling out a pair of pliers and a wrap. It wasn't the most beautiful thing, but at least we were always prepared. I bit down hard, gritting my teeth as the cold steel gripped tightly onto my body and I felt the pressure release, and warm liquid began to slither down my side.
"Shit, your gushing."
She leaned back into the bag and grabbed some cloth, likely toilet paper or napkins we swiped from some motel. She tore it appart and applied it quite well to my side as a working gauze, as she began to carefully, but quickly wrap my abdomen up in the age old medical tool.
"Careful now, we don't want me busting up on the road now. Do me good dear."
She gave me a sly smile as she gazed up in my eyes seductively. "Now maybe I would be doing you good if you hadn't gone and got a nice little souvenier from the man in black." Ugh, the lady was right, whether I wanted to admit it or not. So much for a little quip of humor. Now I had to figure out the best, and most unpredictable way to get out of here. Speed cars don't take too kindly to the desert... but wait, I thought I had fixed that problem. Only one way to find out for sure, because even if the man was dead... the mark was a sign that there was a party looking for us. And it wouldn't matter how good of a shot that me or Lily were, even Superman would have trouble taking on the entire USMC. A light tap on the sore let me know her tender work was done, and I quickly rolled off the bed, grabbing my pants and pulling them on in a record pace.
"Careful old man, you don't wanna make that any worse."
I glanced up at her as she had already pulled her pants on, and was slipping in her shoes, grabbing the heels and tossing them into the other bag. I pulled my shirt over my head, pulling it down carefully over the dressing, as she was already ready, beginning to check and make sure that we were not leaving any of our items, a sure sign of presence. I slid on my shoes and picked up my duster, as she scurried outside, beginning to load the couple of bags that we had brough inside back into the trunk of the Bird.
I was ready, and headed to the door as I picked my Colt back off the stand, placing it in its long known home. She shut the passenger door and waited inside for me as I turned the cheap lock and shut the door, locking the keys inside the room. The air had gotten warmer now, despite the night wearing on, but that was southern weather for you. One town could be colder than Hades, the other hotter than Hell. I stepped into my Bird, turing the ignition and firing the motor up again, on only a little rest. I patted the dashboard as I looked at the gagues.
"Sorry baby, no rest for the weary."
I slid her into reverse and backed up, looking towards Lily, nodding, as I popped her clutch into place, and sped out of the dusty lot, kicking up a storm behind me, like something you would see in a Bruce Willis action movie. The move started again, and it looked like we were gonna be on a night schedule for the next week or so. I hooked a hard left and took her off road. Time to find out if my baby can carry me one more time.
The dust refused to settle in my rearview mirror, making it hard to see if anyone had begun to tail us. The clock on the radio clicked over to five, and the only thing keeping me awake was five little Viabrin. Lily had curled up in her seat, fast asleep from the breakneck night. She still was not used to the way our lives was, despite already being a veteran at the profession. My eyes wandered from her back to the dust that lie ahead. One had to be wary at such a time, especially since the desert was due to start running out at anytime now. I honeslty have no idea where we are, I just know its safer than being on a main road for now. Hopefully we are going towards Chicago and not further from it. Naturally that was a plan that I had not explained to Lily yet. The moon was dimmer by the moment, however with each breath it seemed to slot me into more of a trance. Lily... she was so young when she started this, only twenty-three, with her best years ahead, but she chose to follow this old man. It was a charm, not her fault, but solely mine. My mind started to slip, not even a cheetah could catch me now.
I settled into the hard, overused booth, its padding much abused, left to mend itself over the years. The scent of singed pancakes and french toast flambe tickled my nose in the most unappealing sense. The whirring of the jukebox began to sound as some oldtimer had jammed his loose coins into the machine to hear a tune of some class. And at that moment, as if perfectly set up by fate herself, a pair of slender, but curvy legs began to approach my table, and the opening riffs of Love Me Two Times by The Doors began to echo in the diner. My eyes followed up the woman, seeing the usual outfit, but quite the unusual being inside of it. Her body filled out the skirt unlike normal, and it was clear she was meant for more than this. Her skin was fair, not a blemish in sight. Love me two times girl, one for tomorrow, and one just for today. My breath was caught within itself, as even in all of my travel, I knew this was the closest to paradise that I would ever be. My eyes finally raised to hers, and her face was filled with cheap disgust, however, her lips began to uncurl as she set her eyes into mine. I could tell, I had seen it before. The eyes, they had nothing to hide, no discontent, and she knew it. Her cheeks began to rise, taking on a pale rose.
"Your not the type that I would see around these parts very often. Rugged yes, but you aren't like the rest of them..."
I smirked at the girl. "You sure are awful inquisative for a waitress."
Her giggle was cute and playful, but there was a sense of maturity along with it. "Well, looks can be decieving sir." She removed her pad and pen, turning away from the small talk. "What can I get for you today?"
I scanned over the cheap menu that lie at the table, yellowed and worn by the tobacco of its patrons. "I'll take a cup of coffee and a fried egg sandwich." I sealed the order with a wink, bringing out her youth once more as she walked away... seductionately. I must have been reading too far into that. I glanced back down at the mistreated menu and decided to add to its poisons. I pulled a cigarette out from my jacket, followed by my lighter, which I quickly flipped open and shut, setting the stick on fire. With a deep puff, I soaked in the addiction that had grasped me for so long and began to think about the night to come.
My mind slid back into the present as the Bird began to jostle and I noticed that there was no dust left in front or behind us. Green had begun to slowly overtake and I had led us back into what I wanted to avoid, the roadways. Perhaps we were far enough off, but only time would tell, as a car in the grass was harder to disguise than an off-raod lunatic in the desert. I noticed Lily rustling next to me, craning her neck up to glance out the window. "Mmm... are we out of the desert Clyde?
"Yea dear, just continue to rest, I'll wake you when we arrive."
I coughed lightly as I looked away, attempting to resist being overtaken by her curves once more. She just had a magnifying ability... the perfect ally in this line of work, and perhaps that's why we were meant to be. I gazed down at the spedometer. Ninety... better look out for the five-o. My eyes traveled to the clock... it was now five fourty, the sun should begin to illuminate things soon, so maybe it wasn't going to be that rough of a night. My side sitll stung from the wound, but I continued to attempt to tune it out, it needed to not be a factor to me. A weakness of that nature would only mess up my psyche.
And sure enough, my eyes raised up slowly to see the sharp turn in the road, and it was not meant for a Bird going ninety.
"Lily, I hope you have your belt on!"
She rushed and snapped it in the knick of time as I smashed my foot into the brakes, spinning the wheel away from the curve, causing a nasty slide, burning the rubber into the asphault below. Lily screamed in fear, as my baby began to act as she could flip. Two wheels, now one... but back to two and then four. Somehow she managed to stay put. However the fear was frozen on Lily's face, as her hands begun to shake. I reached down and grasped at it, and she squeezed me tightly. The engine was dead, I had triggered the killswitch. I had to regain my wits about me and get us on the move again. I turned the key wiht my free hand and slowly righted the Bird. Nothing sounded irregular so it was time to move.
Lily continued to squeeze my hand. I knew she would not let me go, car accidents were a big psychiatric issue with her so I tried to limit such stunts as much as possible. She had lightened up over the past few years, but even that made my life flash before my eyes. A gliimer caught the corner of my eye and it began to grow, fast. I glanced into my rearview and I knew what was coming. The question was how, when so much had been done to evade. I forced my hand out of Lily's, and thats when she noticed it too.
"Get down!" I ordered her to the floor and she followed as I took my free hand and reached under the seat. I felt the shotgun as I noticed the glove compartment fly open, and Lily felt around for my Beretta. With each of our hands on a gun, I fishtailed again, but this time with class. The headlights locked on to each other and my foot went to the metal. My teeth gritted into each other, and the smell of gunpowder flew in and out of my windows, followed by the blast of a tire. The windshield glared white, and I closed my eyes into the night.
A loud crash shook the car, but no damage was done to me or her. In fact, it wasn't even our car that had crashed. I spun the wheel around agressively, and the car followed my motions, screeching to a powerful halt. My eyes darted from side to side, and then I caught my headlights glistening off of the freshly tormented barrier. They had went straight through guardrail, to a likely death. I had no plans to find out if they survived or not, it was their problem to deal with. I cranked the car once more and laid my foot to the floor, speeding around the curve and getting as far away from the site as I could.
Lily brushed her hair out of her face, as some of it stuck to her cheeks from her sweat. Her body glistened in the dark, making her seem like a heavenly body, something I really had no belief for anymore. A loud, stressed sigh escaped her lips as she looked me over. The wind blew in my face briskly, nearly forcing my eyes shut. "So they really can track us with one mistake. We've never been buzzed before Clyde." I could feel my temper boiling from the mix of adrenaline and fear, as I slammed on the brakes, nearly causing her head to snap into the dashboard if it was not for her seat belt. I spun my head towards her menacingly, seething with disdain.
"You think I don't fucking know what just happened? I could feel the heat on us! I knew as soon as I bled that first drop that we were marked for death! Do you really think I don't know that we are buzzed? Do you think I don't know whats at stake Lily?" My face was flushed, as I looked on at the quivering body of my lady in the seat next to me. I could feel her fear radiating off of her, and it seemingly gave me power as I continued to tear into her. "Damnit, I fucking know, and I'm not about to fucking lose!"
I placed my foot back on the pedal as the Firebird conitnued on its journey. The only things that filled my ears were the wind of the road before me and the silent sobs of Lily. I glanced over at her, on hand on her neck from obvious whiplash, and another to her face, her body horrendously trembling with every breath. The fear of something great was in her... maybe even the fear of her Maker. Of the Great One himself... not even I could command that power. Or had I? Had I made her fear for her life single handedly in that moment? Had I truly crossed the line?
"Let me out Clyde." There was power in Lily's voice now.
"Why? Why do you want out?"
"Just let me out of the fucking car Clyde."
I felt the fear and the power now from her. It began to scare even me, so I pulled to the side of the road, and she opened her door as the car slowed to a stand still. I killed the engine as she got out and began to walk on the highway.
Riders on the storm,
Riders on the storm.
Into this house we're born,
Into this world we're thrown.
I laid chase after her, grabbing her wrist and spinning her around. She broke my grasp and laid a slap onto my face, the sweat making it sting longer than it should. My pride was shot to hell, and with that quite possibly my love.
Girl you gotta love your man,
Girl you gotta love your man.
Take him by the hand,
Make him understand
The world on you depends
Our life will never end
Gotta love your man, yeah
"Baby, you have to listen to me. Lily, I didn't mean to hurt you." She had begun to reduce me to begging as I reached for her arm again to stop her, this time succeeding. It was weird the power she had over me, it was something not even I nor Jesus would be able to understand.
She cleared her throat, but her voice was still raspy from the crying. "You don't mean a damn word Clyde. You never do. It's always about the damn job. When is it about me? When is it about us? Its always life on the run, and its always about you. When are you going to realize that I am not you?
It was then that my tune began to change. I had focused so much on the lifestyle and on myself, and had really lost touch on what had brought us together. That night, that job, that alley. But it had lost its relevancy, when it should have always clutched my heart in a vicegrip. I had let myself fall through the cracks. It wasn't about her.
I turned away from her, letting her arm go as I headed back towards the Bird. She didn't follow and I didn't expect her to. I got into the car and started it up. She was so far away now not even the headlights could light her up. I began to lurch fowards, and that when her scream pierced through the night's sky.
Theres a killer on the road,
His brain is squirmin like a toad.
Take a long holiday,
Let your children play.
If ya give this man a ride,
Sweet family will die.
Killer on the road.
I rushed out of the car hastily, running forward and looking around for her. Lily was nowhere in my sights, so I ran towards the wooded area. One moment she was here, and then she was gone. I heard a crunch under my feet, and thats when I saw her cross, cracked from my heavy footsteps. I picked it up as the moonlight shone through the trees to illuminate it. I had began to find something that I had lost, but in turn, I had lost something much more precious than myself.
Riders on the storm,
Riders on the storm.
Into this house were born,
Into this world were thrown.
Like a dog without a bone,
An actor out on loan.
Riders on the storm.
Last edited by JH007 (Fri-9-Mar-2018 18:06:02)