Guilty by Association

by Brad Cooper

  Migraines were nothing new to Kara. She was nearly immobilized when stricken with a severe one. The pain was accompanied by hypersensitivity to light, dizziness, and nausea. Ryan knew the feeling. He had a history of them as well but the occurrences were not as frequent.

  Ryan worried about Kara’s bouts with migraines. There were many things that triggered his concern over her but the migraines were a repeat offender. Most were gone within two or three hours but the occasional one would last as long as seven.

  Ryan walked into the living room where Adam and Lisa were sitting on the couch. “How’s she feeling?” Adam asked.

  “It’s still going, just like when I get a bad one. We’ll have to go later in the week. If you two want to go ahead, it’s fine. I’m staying here with her in case she needs anything.”

  “Aw,” Lisa said. “How sweet.”

  “Thank you,” Ryan said with a smile.

  “He’s trying to score points,” Adam said to Lisa.

  “You just never stop,” said Ryan. “So, what are you two doing?”

  “I think we’ll go for a drive, maybe head out to Ruby Mountain. It’s a nice night out. Not too cool. We might just get a blanket and lay outside for a while.”

  “Sounds nice.”

  Adam got up from the couch and then pulled Lisa up with one arm. He pulled her close to him and said, “We’ll see you guys later.”

  “Be careful,” Ryan said as Adam and Lisa walked out the door.

  Ruby Mountain Road was not a recommended route for the novice driver. The asphalt surface was badly in need of repair. It had last been paved during the late 1970s and dodging the potholes at night was like running blindfolded through a maze. The problem was not financial. The primary problem was the layout of the road. Barely able to accommodate a single large pickup truck, maneuvering several large trucks for the purpose of resurfacing the road would prove nearly impossible. Should two cars meet in opposite directions at some points of the winding road, one or both would soon have a problem.

  Luckily for Adam, his aging 4-Runner was still more than able to navigate the rough road comfortably. Only three houses were occupied along the road, meaning the chances of meeting another vehicle close to midnight were slim. It was rarely used during the day. All three houses were inhabited by elderly couples who had most of their needs taken care of by their children or friends of the family, and those errands were primarily tended to during the daytime. Three hours earlier they’d only seen one car on the commute, a twenty-year-old pickup truck that turned into a driveway after a half-mile.

  The three hours alone were as therapeutic as they were enjoyable. After the virtual insanity since the Kessler shooting, Adam and Lisa’s time together without of the presence of others was limited, totaling less than two hours. The evening was not merely filled with the expression of the desires of teenage hormones. That wasn’t the focal point of their relationship. Lisa’s fascination with outer space and her admiration of the stars was only enhanced by having Adam beside her. The night was spent lying on a blanket, talking and staring at the sky. The highlight of their spot at the end of Ruby Mountain Road was the view. Their position overlooked all of Spring Creek and, on clear nights, provided a glimpse at the illuminated skyline of Monroeville more than twenty miles away.

  The nighttime finally brought a cooler temperature and it was too cool for Lisa’s comfort. Two hours into the evening, Adam had forfeited the light jacket he’d brought with him but after another hour even that was no longer enough. The night had reached its end and the thought of a good night’s sleep was becoming increasingly more appealing. With a final look over the town that they would descend back into within minutes, Adam offered a final kiss to Lisa before they exchanged I love yous.

  The stress of the preceding two weeks was negatively impacting Lisa’s sleep cycle and eliminating any sense of normality. It was only 11 PM and the drowsiness was already getting the best of her. She yawned almost continuously, often separated by as little as a minute. After walking a few steps with her arm around Adam’s back, she was swept her off her feet and carried to the truck. Her thoughts focused on how romantic such a small act could be and the man who was so intent on making her feel special.

  The heat inside the truck was sufficiently more than the environment outside, which was perfectly fine with Lisa. Staying any longer in the cold did not appeal to her. Adam carefully laid her in the passenger seat and closed the door. The night went just as it was supposed to go. Private, quiet, and romantic, without interruption or danger, despite Adam’s reservations from the time they left the house.

  It could not have gone any better, Adam thought, and it made her happy. Mission accomplished. For a few hours her mind was taken away from the stressors that were present just a handful of miles away.

  Adam started down the rough surface of Ruby Mountain Road, winding around each turn with precision. He tried to dodge the potholes to provide Lisa with maximum comfort but the darkness provided an extra degree of difficulty, no matter how well his headlights were functioning. His front tire dropped into a deep crater and the impact jolted the entire truck, startling a drowsy Lisa in the process.

  “What was that?” she asked.

  “Just another pothole,” he said. “Lay back down. We’ll be home in a few.”

  Adam continued winding down the mountain road, slowing down for the particularly rough sections. He rounded a hairpin turn when a pair of headlights eased onto the road behind him. He found it odd to see another vehicle leaving the road considering the hour but disregarded the paranoid concern.

  The car behind them was actually not a car, but a truck; an aging pickup truck, the front end squared off as if fashioned from a cardboard box and the headlights of the older kind, not the newer Halogen variety. It did not strike an immediate chord with Adam as there were numerous such trucks in the area. The muffler was failing. Loud rumbling was audible in Adam’s truck even with the windows closed. The younger generation was known for paying large sums of money to achieve the same sound effect through legal aftermarket means.

  At first the truck was several car lengths behind them but it slowly moved closer. Headlights reflected off of the 4-Runner’s white paint and back into the truck’s cab but the angle only revealed a single feature of the driver: a blue and black checkered flannel shirt. His face remained shadowed. The truck again retreated as they rounded a turn, its cornering ability next to nil, but as the road briefly straightened the pickup was once again on their bumper.

  “What’s this idiot doing?” Adam said to himself. Adam drove into a slight curve in the road only to have the pickup once again on his rear bumper.

  Without warning the truck rammed the back of Adam’s 4-Runner. Lisa sat up and looked behind her. Adam stared in the rearview mirror, partly in shock and partly considering about his next move. The realization he came to was not positive, it was ominous. It was not just anyone behind them. Whoever it was could not just be a random citizen. The person behind him, whoever it was, was a pursuer, and they were hostile.

  Adam accelerated on the small straight stretch and the truck closed the gap quickly. Adam slowed dramatically and his move was echoed. If he wanted to pass, Adam thought, he would have done it there. Neither Lisa nor Adam spoke. Instead they quietly concentrated on the truck’s every move.

  A sharp curve was ahead in the road. Adam guided the 4-Runner to the right side of the narrow road. Unbeknownst to Adam, the truck behind him was driven by Carl Lilly. It moved behind him and rammed the right rear corner of Adam’s vehicle. The 4-Runner cut to the left as a result of the impact, giving Lilly a prime opportunity for the result he desired.

  “Adam,” she said, looking over to him in fear, their eyes locking for a fleeting second.

  Lilly reacted quickly and gently pressed the accelerator further to the floor. His pickup collided with the left rear corner of the targeted automobile, sending it in a counter-clockwise spin. The 4-Runner lost traction. Adam desperately s
teered in the direction of the spin to regain control but the effort was in vain. The SUV slid off the edge of the road and began a sideways descent down a hillside.

  Lisa screamed as the truck began moving out of control. The laws of physics only would only allow so much movement in that direction without momentum and gravity taking control. The truck began to tumble, flipping time after time, before resting on a flat piece of earth only feet away from another drop-off.

  The sequence took less than a minute to transpire.

  As the truck rolled, Adam could do nothing but hold on, first to the steering wheel, then to anything his hands could find. His visual perception of the accident was a blur. No sights or sounds resided in his short-term memory, only pain in his back and neck in addition to his initial confusion.

  Adam felt for the hand of the woman in his life in the passenger seat but drew nothing but air. He raised his head and looked to his right only and saw an empty seat. “Lisa?” he said in a whisper, looking around. “Lisa!” he said, this time louder, struggling to be freed from the confines of the seatbelt. The truck rested with the driver’s side was pinned to the ground, meaning Adam would have to climb upward to exit the vehicle through the passenger door.

  The passenger’s window that had been closed before was now missing. The glass was shattered, only fragments remained. At the bottom of the frame was a sight that invoked more fear in Adam Walton than he’d ever known. Glass fragments hung just above the rubber. Blood covered the glass and several long strands of lightly curled blonde hair were intermingled inside.

  He freed himself from the wreckage and climbed out through the passenger door. Forcing the crumpled door to open was no small task. The twisted metal creaked when he applied more pressure, finally breaking through the resistance and creating adequate room for him to evacuate the remains of his truck. His back and neck were throbbing from the force of the impact but was not aware of any other serious injuries. His knee ached from its collision with the steering column during the vehicle’s descent down the hillside, but none of the sources of pain were his concern. His concern was finding the girl who had been beside him only moments before.

  “Lisa! Lisa!” Adam cried out, frantically staggering up the side of the hill. His equilibrium was badly impaired and his vision was blurred. The roadway was bare. No other passers-by, no street lights to provide guidance. Desperate, he ran back to the truck. He leapt onto the side and reached in through the broken window to open the glove compartment. He’d always kept, but never used, a small flashlight in that very place. Underneath the papers and CDs was the flashlight. He started to drop back to the ground when he saw Lisa’s purse in the backseat, its contents strewn throughout the cab. Resting in the rear floorboard was a single item that drew his interest. It was Lisa’s cell phone.

  He nearly fell rushing back up the hill. His balance was failing but the urgency of locating Lisa was paramount. He turned on the flashlight, illuminating much of the almost completely barren hillside which he saw previously in a rotating blur. He scanned the area slowly, focusing on the ground in small sections and hoping to see, through the haze that covered his vision, something that he did not want to see.

  He shined the flashlight to his right and felt his heart sink into his stomach. Lisa’s body lay motionless on the ground. She was face down, beside one of the only trees within a hundred feet. Her hair was covered in dirt, her face covered in blood from a gash on her forehead.

  Adam did not speak but did not panic. He acted entirely on instinct. His short-sleeve button-down shirt was speckled with blood and splintered glass. He discarded it and removed his plain white undershirt, pressing it onto the gash. The flow of blood slowed but did not stop. He reached onto the ground beside him and grabbed Lisa’s cell phone. The LCD display screen was busted but the phone was still operable. The 911 dispatcher was on the line within seconds.

  “Get an ambulance to Ruby Mountain Road. Our car flipped and my girlfriend got thrown out of the car. She’s bleeding pretty badly, she’s got a cut on her head, and she’s unconscious,” he yelled into the phone.

  The dispatcher relayed instructions to him, asking him to assess Lisa’s injuries to the best of his ability. Her breathing was shallow but steady. In the distance, sirens started to wail.

  “Come on… come on,” Adam muttered. “Stay with me. Please stay with me.”

  The area around him became flooded with red lights. The ambulance stopped on the road above him. Charlie Barker, the EMT who also responded to the call at the Wyatt household, jogged down the side of the hill. He sidestepped quickly in order to keep his balance.

  “I can’t believe they ain’t replaced that guardrail yet,” he said while catching his breath. “You okay, son? Talk to me if you can.”

  “A little dizzy but I’ll make it. Just work on her.” Adam struggled to his feet as Charlie attended to Lisa.

  Barker’s partner carried a backboard down to the scene. A neck brace was attached to the side. “You got her covered?” he asked.

  “She’s barely breathing and she’s lost quite a bit of blood. Arm’s probably broke too. We need to get her outta here and to the hospital as fast as we can drive,” his partner responded.

  The other EMT walked over to Adam and checked the wound on his head. “Where you hurt?” he asked.

  “My back’s a little sore but I’m fine. Just worry about her!”

  “She’s in good hands.” He saw the cut on the side of Adam’s head. “You look like you bumped your head there.”

  “Yeah? You’re going to bump yours unless you concentrate on her!” Adam yelled.

  “We’ll take good care of her, now.” Then to his more experienced partner: “You ready to get her up?”

  Charlie nodded and they slowly rolled Lisa onto the backboard. Her neck was stabilized by the brace, the bleeding nearly stopped thanks to the immediate care, but she remained unconscious. “One… two… three,” Barker counted. On three they lifted the board and slowly backed their way up the hill and toward the waiting ambulance.

  Adam walked beside them, standing beside Lisa as they ascended to the road. They eased her onto a stretcher which was lifted into the back of the ambulance. The younger man drove while Charlie stayed in the back. Adam sat with his head in his hands, his elbows firmly planted on his knees. His world was spinning.

  Charlie put his arm around Adam’s shoulders and said, “You done good down there.”

  “Good?” Adam said. “My truck just went over that hill and she might die because of it.” He fought back the tears but was gradually losing the battle.

  “No, I mean I saw what you were doing when we got there. You did the right thing getting something on her head. It was pretty bad but it bought some time before we got here.”

  Adam’s voice broke when he asked, “Is she going to be alright?”

  Charlie patted him on the back. “I don’t know, son. I sure hope so.”

  The remainder of the ride was made in silence.

  CHAPTER

  25

  Kara’s headache was fading but still potent enough to make her uncomfortable. The lack of light coming through the small sliver of space between the edge of the mini-blinds and the outer border of the window made life more comfortable for the moment as well. “Hey, Ryan,” she called out in a volume just above normal.

  Ryan cracked the door and said, “Feeling any better?”

  “Yeah, a little.” The light from the hallway caught her eye causing her to raise her hand. “Will you get me a glass of water? My mouth is really dry.”

  “Sure, hold on. Need anything else?”

  “No, that’s all. Thanks, babe,” Kara said as she lay back down.

  Ryan returned after a minute with her request fulfilled. He handed her the glass and said, “I hate when you get these. I get them, too, but not like yours.”

  “Yeah, I hate it too. The lovebirds back yet?”

  Ryan glanced at the clock beside his bed and said, “No, not yet
but they should be back any time. They’re never up there past midnight and it’s already a quarter ‘til.” He started to speak when the phone rang. “I swear it never stops,” he said as he reached for the phone. “Hello?” he answered. He listened intently. His eyes opened wider with every sentence, his breathing irregular as he listened.

  “What?” Kara mouthed silently. She sat up on the bed.

  “How is she?” Ryan said into the phone. He heard the answer and said, “Sure, yeah, I’ll bring them. We’ll be right there.”

  “What’s going on?” asked Kara.

  “They’re at the hospital in Monroeville. Adam flipped the 4-Runner.”

  Kara got uncovered herself and ran a hand through her hair. “Oh, my God! Are they okay?” she asked.

  “He’s fine but she’s not. We need to get over there now. You feel like riding over with me or do you want me to come back and get you later?”

  “I’m going with you now. Did he say how bad it was?” she asked, already getting out of the bed.

  “I couldn’t get much out of him,” Ryan said with concern. “He didn’t sound good at all. Ten to one says he’s got at least a concussion. His speech was really slurred and he’s about to cry over what’s going on with her. We better go.”

  After Ryan ran into Adam’s room to grab the requested change of clothes, they hurried into the living room where Ryan forced his shoes onto his feet and Kara slid on a pair of sandals. Ryan ran outside and started the car as Kara closed and locked the front door of the house. Before Kara’s door was completely shut, Ryan was speeding out of the driveway.

  His target time for the trip to the hospital on their side of Monroeville was ten minutes, rather than the usual twenty. Most of the route was straight and not patrolled. The engine whined as the automatic transmission quickly ran through the gears. The speedometer on his Tiburon read eighty miles per hour as they blew by the forty miles per hour speed limit sign on the straight stretch of road.