Rumbling Thunder

by B. F. Harrolle

  “Jerk!” Rainy called out.

  The younger biker turned away, and Rainy thought he might be laughing. But Handlebars glared at her with a deadpan expression. Slowly he walked over to her. Staring down at her, he said, “What did you call me?”

  “Jerk. What, are you hard of hearing?”

  “Whoa, you got balls, little girl.”

  “No, I don’t. if I did I might be a bastard like you!”

  Turning towards the others, he yelled, “Hey, Maddog, you need to teach this little bitch to keep her mouth shut.”

  “Beat her ass, and she’ll learn to keep her opinions to herself. But she’s right, you know, you are a jerk,” Maddog shouted.

  “Asshole,” Handlebars moaned.

  “Why do you have to be mean to that little dog?” Rainy asked with a sad expression.

  Handlebars squatted down next to her. “Grisly don’t take it personally.”

  “Grizzly, like a bear?”

  “No. Like, grisly; something gross.”

  She noticed his eyes and even as mean as he acted, his eyes were soft and caring. Or maybe she just missed her dad. And this guy was a real creep. After all, the way he treated that dog, he couldn’t be too nice. “Is he your dog?”

  “No, I just got dog duty this week ’cause Cassy isn’t here.”

  “Who’s Cassy?”

  “She takes care of the animals at our clubhouse.”

  “What happened to Grisly?”

  Stroking his mustache, he said, “Oh, you mean how did he get burned?”

  “Yes, what happened to him?”

  “A few years back, a rival bike club tossed him into the fire. We’d gotten into a brawl with them. And they threw the dog in the fire to get even because we won the fight.” He sighed as if he was remembering the awful scene. “I pulled him out of the fire, but he got out of my hands. Cassy had to chase Gris down. She wrapped him in a blanket and treated his burns and from that day forward, Gris has been part of the club.”

  “He wasn’t before?”

  “No, he belonged to the bartender. He was going to shoot the dog. But Cassy talked him out of it. Needless to say, the bikers weren’t happy because Grisly smelled to high heaven. But Cassy took good care of him, nevertheless.”

  Maddog walked up when he realized the two of them were talking. “Why are you talking to her?” he demanded to know.

  “She wanted to know why I’m mean to Gris?”

  Maddog turned towards Rainy. “Did you tell her it was none of her business?”

  “Pretty much. Fact is I told her to just shut up.” Maddog nodded his head, and Handlebars continued. “What’s Tinmans plans for her? Do you get to have her?”

  “Don’t know yet.”

  “Maybe he will let you know in the morning.”

  “He said something about an initiation.”

  “Oh.” Handlebars moaned. “I thought he was going to sell her?”

  “Maybe, I’m not sure, but I think she’s too old.”

  “Old hell, she’s just a kid.”

  “You know they like them to be babies.”

  “I guess you’re right.”

  Both the bikers walked off, and Rainy laid back and closed her eyes. She could hear all of them talking, but that didn’t keep her from drifting off to sleep.

  Something touched her and it startled her awake. Grisly had curled up beside her. She really got a good look at him now. Not that she had a lot of light, but over half of his body had been burned. She wanted to cry just thinking about anyone hurting him that way. She reached over to pet the dog, but as soon as she touched him he jumped up and took off running.

  The sun was starting to lighten the sky. The ground was wet with dew. She sat up and looked around. Handlebars was the only one up. She wondered if the man ever slept. “Hey,” she called out. Handlebars looked up. “I have to pee,” she explained.

  He walked over and taking a knife out of his jean pocket, cut her loose. He walked her to the restrooms and stood outside the door and waited for her. Again, Rainy took her time. But Handlebars never complained. He just waited.

  Finally Rainy opened the door. “You could let me go.”

  “No, I don’t want to die today. I’m not big enough to take on twenty bikers.”

  “Would you if you knew you could get away with it? You know they’re going to hurt me.”

  Handlebars walked her back to Maddog’s bike and tied her to it once again.

  ***

  He knew she was crying and it broke his heart. But he couldn’t help her, no matter how much he might want to. She didn’t say any more to him, and he was thankful for that. She couldn’t be more than twenty years old. But it was hard to tell with her jet black hair that he knew she dyed and her heavy makeup. She could be older, but he wasn’t sure. The last girl they had taken was about fifteen, and they traded her for drugs. He tried to stop the sell by telling Tinman he wanted the girl for himself. But the deal was done, and Tinman wouldn’t change his mind. That was one of the worst days of his life. He still worried about the young girl. She was a pretty little blonde, but not old enough to realize what was about to happen to her. But this young woman knew what was about to happen to her wasn’t good. And he was sure she couldn’t even imagine how awful it could be. He already knew Decker was going to try and help this young woman. And it wouldn’t be the first one he tried to save. And this worried him to no end.

  Chapter 7

  Initiation

  The air was getting hotter as the bikers all started to wake up. After they all packed up their tents and bedrolls, Tinman called them to gather around him. “Before we leave, we have an initiation to perform. Bring the girl here,” he ordered. Maddog went and cut Rainy free and marched her over to Tinman. Tinman looked her over. Taking her face in his hands, he turned her face side to side, looking to see how bad the damage was to her cheek. “What’s your name?” he asked her. But Rainy only stared at him. “I asked you a question.” Rainy still wouldn’t say anything. He backhanded her causing her head to jerk back, “Your name?” he yelled.

  Rainy’s hand went to her face. She looked him right in his eyes, “Wouldn’t you like to know.” The way she saw it, he didn’t need to know her name. That way he couldn’t come looking for her when she got away from them. Tinman hauled off and hit her harder, this time busting her lip. “Your name?” Still Rainy said nothing. “Okay, if that’s the way you want to play.” He turned her to face the bikers. “She’s free to whoever can catch her.” He then shoved her forward and yelled, “Run, bitch!”

  And she did, not sure what was going to happen, she had a good idea. She didn’t have to be Albert Einstein to figure it out. She also knew she could not outrun them. But she had to try. She ran as fast as her legs would move with twenty bikers on her heels. Her arms and legs were pumping, and her heart was racing so fast it felt as if it might explode. Sweat was pouring down her face from the damp humidity. Even if she knew it was fruitless, she ran for the tree line hoping to find a place to hide. She kelp on moving as fast as she could.

  Decker looked at Handlebars and shook his head in disbelief. “Your turn!” he said.

  “You’re crazy. I’m not taking on twenty bikers,” Handlebars snapped.

  “Thanks a lot, asshole.” Decker tossed back.

  “Anytime, my friend.”

  Decker mounted his Fatboy. Cranking the engine, he sat there for a moment. He was reasoning that the longer she had to deal with this gang of bikers, the more she would learn to stay clear of them in the future. “You better get a move on, don’t you think?” Handlebars asked.

  “I should let them have her. That’s what she gets for being so damn stupid.”

  “How do you know Maddog didn’t take her?”

  “Tinker told me she got on his bike willingly. Not a kidnapping, Hans.”

  Waving him off, Handlebars said, “It’s up to you, John. I trust your decision.”

  “Yeah, thanks,” he said sarcastically, gunning
his motorcycle and heading for the pack of bikers.

  Maddog was the first one to reach Rainy. He jumped and tackled her. Both of them went sliding across the wet grass. Rainy started to fight back with all she had, hitting, kicking and biting. Maddog slapped her three times to calm her down. But Rainy wouldn’t stop, and Maddog had his hands full just trying to hang on to her. “Help me. Get her hands and feet,” he called out to his fellow bikers. Still struggling to hold on to her, Bear and T-bird grabbed on to her legs while Nomad and Spokes grabbed her arms, pinning them to the ground. Rainy was still struggling to pull away from her captors. But she was losing the battle. Maddog sat on top, straddling her. Reaching down, he ripped her t-shirt off. Grabbing her bra, he pulled at it until the hooks gave way. Rainy screamed and tried to turn away. But she couldn’t push out from under him. Next, he pulled at her shorts. “No…” she cried out. “ Please don’t.” Maddog managed to get her shorts and panties off with help from the other bikers. Rainy closed her eyes, but that didn’t keep the tears from falling. “Please..” she pleaded.

  Decker stopped close to the gang of bikers who were gawking at the rape that was about to take place, waiting for their turn with the girl. He walked over to the crowd, and they parted when they saw him. Most of them had felt his fist before and wanted nothing to do with that again. Reaching down, he lifted Maddog off of Rainy and tossed him to the side as if he weighed nothing.

  Rainy stumbled to her feet, trembling from fear, and she felt dizzy. She crossed her arm to cover her bare breasts. Decker reached down and gathered her clothes and handed them to her. “Get dressed!” he demanded. Rainy was thankful he’d stopped Maddog. But she didn’t care too much for the way he talked to her.

  Her t-shirt was torn in half, and her bra was unwearable. But thank goodness her panties and shorts were still intact. She tied the shirt together under her breast and it would have to do.

  While Rainy dressed, Decker stood next to her as if he were daring the other bikers to even look at her.

  Maddog came to his feet. Pointing a finger at Decker, he said, “You’re wrong for this, Decker. By the law of our club, she’s mine to do with as I wish. Not only did I pick her up, but I was the first one to catch her. You wait till I talk to Tinman.”

  Decker said nothing and as soon as Rainy was dressed, he took hold of her arm and walked her to his motorcycle. “Get on.” The seat was narrow and she knew he didn’t have anyone riding with him.

  “No, I’ll walk,” she rebutted.

  “No, you’ll ride.” His voice was harsh.

  “No!”

  Whoa, he could not believe this. Here he had saved her ass, and she’s telling him no. “Get on the damn bike!” he ordered.

  “No! I said I will walk!” She said, lifting her chin defiantly.

  That did it. He mounted his motorcycle, kicked it to life and with one swift move, he pulled her across his lap. Rainy started to twist and tried to pull free. It only took one hard slap to her backside, and she became still. He rode them back to camp. And knowing she would try and run, he tied her to a light pole that was near the restrooms with some rope that Handlebars had in his saddlebags. By now, Rainy was shaking even more and crying. And as bad as he wanted to confront her, he wouldn’t. He couldn’t.

  The other bikers all stood around telling Tinman what Decker had done. Tinman shook his head and laughed. “So what do you think I should do about it, beat him up?”

  “He should have to give the girl back to Maddog. After all, she is rightfully his,” said T-Bird.

  Tinman thought it over for a moment then said, “Well, I tell you what. We’ll wait till we’re back at the clubhouse and settle who gets the girl there. In the meantime, we need to get a move on. We have a meeting at two o’clock today.”

  The box truck driven by Keys was the first to pull out onto the highway. The bikers started to file out onto the highway two by two. A motorcycle pulled up next to Rainy. She had never seen this guy before. Decker walked up to Rainy and untied her hands from the pole, pulling her up on her feet. “This is Boozer. You’re going to be riding with him. Do as he tells you. You won’t get hurt that way.” The motorcycle that Boozer sat on was a Road King. She knew this because one just like it sat in her grandparent’s garage. At first, she thought it might have belonged to her grandfather and was surprised to find out it was her grandmother’s motorcycle. Oh, she was sure her grandmother no longer rode it. And it was hard for her to imagine her grandmother as a biker chick in her youth. But both of her maternal grandparents were full of surprises. She’d learned so much about them after living with them while she attended college on the west coast. And she knew at the very first opportunity, she’d have to get away from this gang. After all, her classes started back up in four weeks. She thought about Pedro and how he duped her. But she didn’t care about his cheating ass right now. No, right now she just wanted her own life back.

  Settling behind Boozer on the motorcycle felt better than sitting behind Maddog. Boozer was a large man. And because he was, that meant he would block the wind off of her. Cracking his motorcycle to life, he then fell in line behind the other bikers as they headed towards the highway. Decker pulled up beside Boozer and handed him a helmet. “Make her wear the bucket,” he shouted, then rode off. Rainy wondered why Decker would give a damn if she had a helmet on or not. He might be a good looking man, but she had a deep seeded feeling he was as much of a dick as Maddog. What was he going to do, wait till later and then have his way with her? She didn’t know, and only time would tell. But she had already figured out that he had clout with the bikers. Some kind of boss, she figured. After all, Boozer was two times his size and yet he took orders from this guy.

  Before they got to the highway, Boozer stopped his motorcycle, got off, and put the helmet on her himself. Opening the saddlebag, he pulled out a leather jacket. “Put this on,” he demanded. Rainy pulled the jacket on. It hurt her burned arms as she drug it across her skin. And it was way too big on her. She knew she was going to be hot wearing it, but it was better than getting burned even more than she already was.

  They rode all morning and stopped for gas twice before they got to their meeting. It was afternoon before they pulled into another field. And when they stopped, the afternoon heat took her breath away. But this time it wasn’t a campground. Farther down the highway sat a semi truck. It felt like they were in the boonies. There was no one on the road, coming or going. The bikers all stopped their motorcycles and shut them off. Decker and Tinman were talking. Then they walked over to another box truck and were talking to Tools. He earned the nickname because he was their mechanic, she figured.

  Tinman stepped away and said, “I need Keys, Pistol, T-bird, and Nomad to come with us. Follow Tools truck to help unload,” he ordered.

  Rainy watched as they crossed the large field. The five of them talked to the two men who had exited the eighteen wheeler. She knew this bike gang was an outlaw gang. But she also knew that they were letting her see things. That meant they would kill her if she ran. Oh god, why did I get on the back of that motorcycle? She thought.

  She wasn’t sure if they were buying or selling. Then Tools opened the back of his truck. There were wooden crates stacked from the floor of the box truck to the ceiling and from front to back. Okay, they were selling. Rainy had a funny feeling she might not come out of this alive. After all, why should they let her live?

  Rainy knew from the road signs that they were in Mississippi. And their chapter was in Atlanta, Georgia. It was on their vest. So if that was the case, they had a long ride ahead of them to get back home. And as tired as she was, she hoped they would camp out somewhere close. She was not used to riding on a motorcycle, and she’d been on this one most of the day. Her entire body was aching. And living in New York, she wasn’t used to the god awful heat. Yes, it got hot in the city, really hot, but not sticky. It had to be 100 degrees here. And she never wanted to live this far south. This kind of heat wasn’t something she would ever get
used too.

  Finally, the two men handed Tinman a bag. Rainy knew it was full of money. But Tinman didn’t count the money. He only opened the bag to make sure that’s what was in there. At least, that’s what Rainy thought was in the bag.

  The two men climbed back into their truck and after about ten minutes, they pulled back into the highway and left. The bikers all got back on their motorcycles and pulled back onto the road going the opposite way from the truck. They were now heading east.

  The sky turned dark and it looked as if it was going to rain. That’s just what she needed, to be wet on top of hurting. But all she could do was moan, because even if she cried about her pain, what good would it do?

  Two hours later, they pulled into another campground. This one had picnic tables and a shower in the restrooms. Rainy knew that they had to pay to be there. But someone in the lead must have paid for all of them to get in because they rode past the toll booth and kept on going. The campground was a nice one. There was an area for tents and another one for campers to park and hook up.

  Boozer pulled up next to Decker. “Here, she’s all yours. I’m not babysitting.” After Rainy lifted herself off the motorcycle, she felt as if her legs were numb. “Give me my jacket back.” Rainy slid the jacket off and handed it to Boozer. “Thanks for letting me borrow it,” she said softly. Boozer only glared at her like she came from another world. Then he rode off.

  Now she stood in front of Decker. Not sure what to say, she looked down. “Do yourself a favor and don’t talk to the bikers. Just be quiet. You’ll be safer that way,” he stated as if it was a fact. Then he went about setting up his one-man tent.

  “I have to pee,” she said as if she were asking permission.

  “I’ll get someone to take you.” He then walked away and headed towards Handlebars. After a few minutes, he returned and continued to set his tent up. A little blonde woman walked up. “This is Tinker. She’ll go with you.”