by Sara Crest
“I’ll do you one better Johnny.”
Chuck led us to the back of the bar to a dark storage room where boxes were piled so high they were almost to the ceiling. He began pushing boxes out of the way, letting them collapse and tumble onto the floor. After clearing the boxes an object covered by a tarp was all that remained. “Never thought I’d see this thing again” Chuck said as he grabbed the tarp and ripped it off the object.
I saw Johnny’s jaw drop as Chuck revealed an old and classic motorcycle, it wasn’t in the best condition but it still looked well taken care of.
“This was my first motorcycle, it ain’t much but it’ll get you where you need to go. Plus it’ll prove to the club heads that I really did send you.” Chuck reached underneath his shirt and grabbed his necklace, a chain with a key at the end of it. He ripped it off of his neck and tossed it to Johnny.
“Chuck I don’t know how I can repay you for all of this” Johnny said as he walked to the bike and ran his hands along it.
“You can repay me by making the right choice when the time comes” Chuck replied as he looked at me and gave me a slight smile. Johnny began leading the bike towards the door to take it outside.
As I began following Johnny Chuck grabbed my shoulder and held me back, Johnny was too preoccupied with the bike to notice.
“I know this isn’t what you want” Chuck said sympathetically “but you gotta understand where that man’s head is. I don’t think you’ll ever be able to convince him to leave the Rolling Raiders, your last hope is him realizing that he wants you more than he wants to be a part of this. The man’s married to the gang, and unfortunately for you you’re just his mistress.”
“I know… I hate to admit it but I know. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do Chuck. With him I feel strong enough to do anything”
“That’s the natural born leader in him” Chuck replied as he began to lead me out of the storage area and back into the bar “when you’re in love with a person like that it can be a wild ride I tell you what.”
“I guess I’ve never been good at these decisions, what would you do if you were in my situation?”
“I'd spend as much time as I could with him, maybe see what his life is like. If it's really not a life you think you could live then I guess you should do the hard thing and let him go. Better than to let him go early than to live a life you don't want to live while constantly hoping things will become what you want them to be.”
“It's certainly a lot to think about.”
“Well you don't have a whole lot of time, he's probably gonna want to leave now and you both should be in Alaska in about a day or two.”
“What's the hold up back there?” Johnny called out, realizing that Chuck and I were still in the bar.
“Coming Johnny” I called back as I began heading towards the door of the bar. Chuck took a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to me. “Give it to Johnny, it's the location for where our guys are hiding out.”
“You're not coming out to say bye?” I asked as I took the paper from his hand.
“Don't think I could handle watching that bike ride away from me, besides I've helped all I can” he said with a smile.
“Thank you Chuck, for everything really. I can tell that what you did means a lot to him.”
“You better get going, he's waiting for you out there.”
I nodded, turning to walk out the door out if the bar. I turned back to see Chuck standing near the doorway, his advice still ringing in my head.
I went to Johnny and got on the back of the bike. “Is Chuck not coming out?”
“He said he'd just slow us down” I said lying, I didn't want Johnny to feel bad about the bike.
“So long old man, thanks for everything” Johnny called out to the bar. He hit the throttle and burned rubber, speeding out of the parking lot and onto the street.
I turned back and looked at the bar. Chuck stayed true to his word, staying inside as his lifelong possession took us away.
Act III
1
I shivered on the motorcycle seat, Johnny's body was the only thing keeping me warm.
We were just minutes away from the Canadian border, we'd have to ride through in order to make it to Alaska. The cold air of fall was biting my face, I shielded myself behind Johnny and dug my face into his back.
“How are we going to get across the border when the government is looking for you?” I called out. The wind was drowning out my voice but I yelled just loud enough for Johnny to hear.
“We’re going to a lesser known border crossing, getting into Canada will be easy but getting into Alaska will be hard.”
I looked at one of the signs, “Canada border crossing 10 miles” it was printed in bold letters with both the American and Canadian flag underneath the words.
We pulled up to the border guard station and there were no other cars to be seen, this station seemed to be barely used.
Johnny began to slow down, looking around and scouting the area as we approached the border. “Ok so what's the plan” I whispered into his ear. We didn't have passports so I didn't know how he expected us to get through.
Suddenly Johnny hit the throttle, hitting top speed and barreling us towards the lowered gate. The border guard ran out in front of us, waving his arms and trying to get us to stop.
“Johnny you're gonna hit him!” I yelled out.
“We'll see about that.”
Just seconds away from impact the border guard jumped out of the way to safety. Allowing Johnny and I to crash through the gate and into the country.
“You alright?” Johnny called back.
The gate had ripped through part of my sweater but thankfully I wasn’t hurt.
“I'll be fine” I called back. I was more upset about the cold air getting into my sweater than almost getting hurt.
Johnny didn't slow down and we ended up on the highway going top speed.
“I don't think any police are following us” I cried out.
“We're still too close to the border, we need to ride fast to get to traffic so we blend in with everyone else.”
We put more miles behind us, the border becoming less of a factor as we sped on.
I began realizing more and more as the time went on that these could very well be the final hours I had with Johnny. There I was with my arms wrapped around him, farther away from home than I had ever been before and I couldn’t even enjoy it. In a way I was jealous. Johnny was racing to fulfill his dream and I felt that I would just be a footnote in the story of his life. Our dreams just didn’t seem compatible and Chuck was right in everything that he said, Johnny was going to be even more entrenched in gang affairs as a full fledged leader than he ever would have been as the head of his chapter. I had just a little bit of time to figure out if I loved him enough to stay with him, I needed more time to think about it but time wasn’t what I had. If Johnny and I did part ways then did I really have the courage to go out on my own?
I thought back to when I told Johnny about how I ended up in Florida, how he praised me for being able to survive on my own in a situation where most people would have broken down. His praise gave me strength in some way but did I have enough strength in me to conquer my anxiety and fears?
I felt Johnny’s breathing begin to return to normal, I could only assume he was calming down from the adrenaline rush from making sure we wouldn’t get caught. I guess after all that we had been through he would have felt embarrassed if our journey had ended with us being caught by Canadian border police.
He pulled over on the side of the road, turning his bike off to save gas. He ran his fingers through his hair and took deep breaths, I could tell he was nervous.
“You alright?” I asked rubbing his back.
“We’re so close. I don’t want to mess this up, I can’t afford to, I shouldn’t have put us both in danger like that back there.”
“We’ll be fine if we keep moving” I said, it hurt to say it sinc
e convincing him to get moving would mean less time with him. “How long until we get there?”
“Well the day’s already late, we should have some time since I doubt the other leaders would have appointed someone in place of Chuck just yet since all of their real options are probably still in the bottom 48 states. If we ride for just a few more hours tonight, then a full day tomorrow then we should get there the morning after.” He turned around and grinned at me “hope you’re not getting too tired back there.”
I smiled but it was a smile to make him feel like everything was fine, I would get my chance to talk to him later tonight when we stopped to sleep. For now I just wanted him to focus on the road, hopefully he would be tired in a few hours and our journey would be put on hold for the night.
My wish came true just an hour after we had begun driving again. Johnny couldn't control his yawning and when I peeked over his shoulder I could see his eyes getting heavy, I didn't even have to convince him to find a place to stay for the night.
Where we were definitely wasn't ideal in any sense of the word. We cruised around the highway and some nearby roads but couldn't find any place we could stay for the night.
We drove into a small town that was only about a mile away from a highway exit. Actually calling it a town would be an exaggeration, it was really just a few houses and a building that looked like it was made for small gatherings. Even though we were just a mile away from the highway we were completely surrounded by trees, the darkness of the forest at that time of night was overwhelming. No matter how long you stared into the treeline your eyes just couldn't adjust to the dark.
When we got closer to the only building there it seemed to be a bar, only way you could tell was by a small wooden sign hanging up on the doorway with the name “Two Rings bar” etched into it. The bar looked like it was still open and while it definitely wasn't inviting with its dim lit lights and gray exterior we decided to try our luck and ask someone inside if they knew a place we could stay.
When we got off the bike and walked towards the entrance Johnny put his arm around me and his hand on my hip, for the first time I felt conflicted in the way that he touched me. While I wanted to spend as much time as I could with him and be close to him I realized that it could just make it even harder for me to let him go. Part of me wanted to brush his hand of to make it easier to say goodbye layer but my desire to be with him was just too great.
We walked into the bar, it was mostly empty with just a few older men who looked like they were regulars.
A man and a woman were behind the bar, cleaning beer glasses in complete silence. It was almost uncomfortable.
Johnny and I walked to the end of the bar and sat down away from the other patrons, taking a rest from all the riding we had done. The woman walked up from behind the bar and greeted us “what can I get you two tonight” she said with a smile. There was something about the expressions of her face that made her seem genuine, that she wasn't smiling at us as a courtesy but that she was legitimately happy to see us.
“Actually we just came in to ask if you knew if there was a place nearby we could stay. We looked for about an hour and couldn't find anything” I replied.
The bartender frowned “sorry hun the nearest motel is at least two hours from here and that's being generous.”
“What are we gonna do now?” I asked Johnny.
“If I have to I can tough it out until we get there, I'm tired but if you can keep me awake we should be fine.”
“Now hold on” the bartender interrupted “I don't want you two going out there exhausted and hurting yourselves. Especially when I know I could have stopped it. I'd offer you a spot to sleep at me and my husband's place but we really don't have the room. If you're comfortable with it you could sleep here, we got some blankets in the back and an old pull out couch in our office room you could sleep in.”
It didn't sound great but it was the only option we really had at this point. It seemed like Johnny was about to open his mouth and accept the offer but the bartender continued.
“We just have one rule, we kinda gotta lock you in there for the night to make sure you don't steal anything. Just as a precaution”
I thought it was understandable even if it did make me uncomfortable. For all she knew we could steal everything from the bar and run out with it. Johnny on the other hand seemed taken aback, I couldn't tell if he was insulted at the thought of someone thinking he would steal or if he sensed danger in being locked in a room for that long with no way to get out. I saw him eye a TV they had in the top corner, it was turned off but he stared at it intently. His eyes shifted quickly from the TV to the remote that was next to the cash register.
“We just need to talk about this for a second” Johnny said as he got off of the barstool and motioned with his hand for me to follow him.
“Take your time” the bartender replied.
Johnny walked me outside, the cool air helped wake me up a little bit but did nothing to fight against the exhaustion I was feeling.
“Look I don't like this either but what choice do we have.”
“They know we crossed the border illegally” Johnny said pacing back and forth.
“Wait, how do you know that?”
“We busted through the border illegally and nearly hit a border guard, I doubt that happens very often. Chances are there were security cameras that picked us up, and if that's true then I'm sure they showed the film on TV. They have a TV in the bar but it wasn't on when we walked in despite the number of people in there who are sitting close to it. The TV news probably said to be on the lookout for us, they want to lock us in that room so they can contain us while they call the police. They probably think we're dangerous.”
I thought about it, looking back at the bar and staring at the dim light coming out of the window.
“You gotta believe me Ash, we can't risk it” Johnny said coming close to me. I pulled him close and rest my head on his chest. Even with everything going on touching him helped calm me down, but it also made the reality of us that much harder.
“I don’t know Johnny, I don’t know if I can believe it” I said to him.
“Give me some time to prove it to you. We're gonna have to figure something out, if we can get them to admit that they think we're not from Canada then it's almost all but assured.”
I didn't even know if he was right, if anything it seemed like his suspicions might cost us a place to sleep for the night. I didn't think there was anything I could have said to convince him that he might be wrong, at this point I pretty much had to roll with it.
He let go of me and walked towards the door, I took a deep breath and followed right behind him and hoped that he wasn’t about to blow it for us.
We walked in to the sight of the bartender hanging up the bar's phone quickly, returning to behind the bar counter. The entire bar watched us come in before going back to doing what they were doing.
The bartender still gave us a genuine smile so I wasn't sure if Johnny's suspicions were correct. The male bartender on the other hand seemed pretty nervous.
Johnny stared into the eyes of each and every person in the room willing to look at us. Surveying the bar and mentally testing each individual.
He locked eyes with the male bartender who chuckled nervously after a few seconds. “Everything alright there pal?” he asked.
“You tell me, is there a problem?” Johnny sternly replied crossing his arms.
I watched the female bartender inching her arm underneath the bar counter and I began to get worried. Back at my old bar Mr. Cullen would keep a weapon strapped underneath the counter, who knows what she had there. I had to think fast. “Hey do you think I could get a beer?”
Johnny looked at me puzzled, he didn't realize what I was about to do.
The bartender slowly moved her hand away from underneath the counter and got a glass before going to the tap and filling it with beer. I had gotten her to step away from whatever weapon she was hiding.
She set the beer down in front of me “that'll be 5 dollars Canadian.”
I got her.
“Why'd you specify Canadian?” I asked her.
I saw Johnny's eyes light up, realizing he was right.
“Oh well I just wanted to make sure you were paying with Canadian.”
“Why? Did you think we were American or something?”
She chuckled “well I guess I just had a hunch that you were.”
“Strange how hunches go” I replied.
I stared at her, deep in her eyes for what felt like minutes.
Suddenly she dashed for the edge of the counter, trying to reach whatever she had underneath.
Before I could even react Johnny grabbed me by the back of my jacket and pulled me through the door with him.
Just as the door slammed behind us two shots rang out and put two massive holes in the front door.
Johnny and I hopped on his motorcycle, he turned the bike to head back where we came from but down the road the distinct red and blue flash could be seen.
Just then the bartender came out, bursting through the door reloading a gun nearly the size of her.
“The treeline!” I cried out to Johnny pointing to the complete darkness of the forest.
“This thing ain't built for going off road!”
“We don't have a choice!”
“Fuck me” Johnny muttered under his breath. He hit the throttle and sped the bike around, speeding directly towards the trees. The cops were now close enough for us to hear their sirens blaring.
Even with the light from the motorcycle the treeline looked like a wall of darkness. We sped past the dirt road and onto the grass of the forest. Weaving in and out of trees as the sounds of sirens began to become muffled in the distance before disappearing.
For whole minutes Johnny weaved through the forest on the bike with no real intended direction. “Johnny we need to slow down!” I cried out but the howl of the wind whizzing past us stole my voice and stopped Johnny from hearing me.
We were narrowly avoiding trees on either side, and despite my cries I could feel us picking up speed. For god knows how many minutes I pulled on the back of Johnny’s jacket but still he didn’t slow down. Our luck ran out.