The Ride - Chapter 16 - Warriors behind...

[OMR]

Glen’s voice startled Sandy awake. Her crystal blue eyes widened in shocked surprise as she stared out at the warrior riders surrounding the car. Glen quickly counted 8 riders. One seemed to be larger than the rest and had more sculls than any of the others hanging off his bike. He assumed that this was the leader of this tribe… and he didn’t look as though he wanted to talk. Glen wasted no time in starting the car. The riders seemed surprised and backed away momentarily until their leader shouted at them and motioned with his knife to attack the car. They surged forward at the same time as Glen slipped it into gear and floored it. The wheels spun in the dirt and for a moment Glen thought he had waited too long as the first of the riders landed on the hood. But the car responded quickly and surged forward and into and over several of the riders. The warrior on the hood was raising his knife to plunge it into the windshield when Glen cut the car sharply to the right, throwing the warrior off the hood into the leader’s bike. They collapsed into a heap. That seemed to freeze them all for a minute… long enough for Glen to make good his escape out of the trap. The look of amazement on their faces would have been funny except for the seriousness of the situation. They were after blood. Glen and Sandy’s blood! Several Knives bounced off the car’s body while several others stuck in the metal. The back windshield exploded in a shower of glass fragments. Several more knives came through and rattled around in car. Sandy screamed and then shut up. Those must be some sharp knives to piece the metal body of the car, Glen thought.

Glen brought the sliding car under control, just in time to avoid one of the stumps of a tree on the side of the road. Glen could hear the howling sounds the warrior riders were making over the car’s engine as their prey slipped through their hands. He quickly steered the car back onto the road and floored it again. Glen could see in the rear view mirror through the dust, the warrior biker’s leader rising and calling his men to follow the car. Several jumped on their bikes and started after the car. But their bikes were no match for the speed of the car and Glen quickly left them behind. Glen turned to Sandy and started to ask if she was ok when he noticed that she wasn’t saying anything… just staring straight ahead… not moving. There was blood on the seat beside her. He touched her arm and got no response. “Sandy…. noooo!” Glen screamed. He knew she was dead.

After 10 minutes of driving, Glen pulled the car over into the dirt and got out and opened the passenger side door. Sandy had not moved. He closed her crystal blue eyes and saw that the knife had entered her back through the seat, pinning her there. Pulling the knife out, Sandy slumped forward. Glen started to cry. This was not fair he thought, after all they’d been through, he’d lost another Sandy. I just can’t take this anymore! He sat there in the dirt for several more minutes staring across the hills. Finally, he got up and pulled her out of the car. He gently laid her beneath what was left of a tree. He couldn’t leave her here like this. The bike warriors would surely find her and probably eat her, or the dog things would have a feast. That just was not right. Getting one of the gas cans out of the car, Glen poured it on her body, said a prayer and lit a match. The flames immediately engulfed her body. The black smoke swirled into the sky, marking this place for all to see. Glen glanced back along the highway and saw several small dots moving towards him in the distance. They were not going to give up were they!

Climbing back into the car, he gunned it to life and spun the wheels out of the dirt and back onto the pavement. Although the pavement was beginning to get more broken up and higher speeds were not possible, Glen soon left the others following him in his dust. He had a feeling that they were intent on following him to hell after what he had done to the leader’s pride. But in this car they stood a snowball’s chance in hell in catching him. It was then, at that moment, the car decided to quit working.

Glen coasted to a stop. He knew he was on the old Santiago Canyon road, somewhere close to Blackstar Canyon. He had ridden here many times with his friends and knew the area well. He fiddled with the car for 30 minutes before giving up. He had no idea what was wrong with the car. It had plenty of gas…. It just wouldn’t start. He slammed down the hood of the car in disgust. Glen stuffed the backpack with everything he thought he would need: food, water, tools and other surprises. Pulling the bike out of the back, he donned the helmet, slipped on the driving gloves and walked down the road a couple of steps before looking back at the car. Here might be a way to slow them down, he thought.

Walking back to the car, he took the extra gas can and dumped it out inside, soaking the interior of the car. Taking a book of matches apart, he taped the striker material to the door frame and laid several match head on the material. He carefully lifted the door partially closed over them. They would have an unpleasant surprise waiting for them when they opened the door of this car, igniting the hidden matches. Some of that military training was beginning to paying off, Glen mused… and then the familiar ache for Sandy hit him again and he hoped it would kill them all.

Glen walked back and picked up the pack, slipped it on, picked the strange light bike up and pedaled away. Silverado Canyon Road was right around the bend. Glen took it and turned onto Blackstar Canyon road. If he was lucky, they would continue on down Santiago Canyon Road and away from him. But somehow he didn’t think that was going to happen. He had this feeling they were going to somehow pick up his trail and track him until they caught him… and he knew he didn’t want them to catch him. I don’t want to be a scull on somebody’s old bike, he thought. This was a strange land he was now in. The countryside looked as though it had been torched. Could this have been his time line… only in the future? He thought of the brown plastic official Boy Scout flashlight with the compass in the handle. He had stuffed it into the pack. It now rode securely on his back. He would have to study it more to try and understand how to get back to his time line. There had to be a way back!

Being back on the bike brought back many memories of his old life. It felt good to have the wind in his face and be rolling down the road. He came to the end of the paved road and found that the large iron gate that had been usually closed was now thrown open inviting all to enter. Riding across the thresh hold, Glen found a few trees that were still green. They stood out starkly from all the surrounding brown around them. This had been a beautiful canyon at one time. I wonder what happened to this time line?

Glen’s ride up the lower portion of Blackstar was uneventful. Here and there he could make out the remains of homes…. some in better condition than others. He continued at a good pace until he reached the first switchback. Hopping off the bike, he pulled the water sack from the pack and took a long drink from it, repacked it and started pedaling again. He was up about 300 feet above the canyon floor when he heard a muffled explosion. Glancing out across the canyon he saw a large fire ball in the distance with the resulting black cloud. Well, somebody’s going to be late for dinner tonight, he thought. A little payback! But that only brought thoughts of Sandy and he refused to think about that right now. Right now he had other things on his mind. He was being chased up Blackstar Canyon by a band of flesh eating warrior mountain bikers with long wicked knives. He knew in his bones that they were determined to catch him…especially after the little “surprise” he had left them. Well, he had a good bike under him, he was in pretty good shape, had plenty of food and water, and knew the area.

Was he scared? Damn right he was!!!

He was riding for his life!

[Red Hot Sloth]

SAandeeeee!!!!

[genusmtbkr5]

Hope I ride as fast as Glen tomorrow. Thanks OMR!

[OMR]

Enjoy the ride tomorrow... I'll see you at the top of The Motorway....errrr, The Silverado Trail.

Be sure and stick these chapters in your sticky...

[genusmtbkr5]

Originally Posted by OMR

Enjoy the ride tomorrow... I'll see you at the top of The Motorway....errrr, The Silverado Trail.

Be sure and stick these chapters in your sticky...

Thanks Gregg. Will you get a chance to ride down the MW errrr, Silverado Trail?

BTW, I already stuck both chapters 15 and 16.

[Pain Freak]

I really, really like more revenge. It just keeps getting better.

[xhuskr]

so this is where the knives you mentioned in a 'previous post' come into play!?

[OMR]

Originally Posted by genusmtbkr5

Thanks Gregg. Will you get a chance to ride down the MW errrr, Silverado Trail?

I'll be doing sweep down Silverado to Aid #1.... then back to O'Neil for some beverages. got to check out all that work you did.

Thanks!

[foofighter]

love it thanks OMR

[devodoc]

Be sure and stick these chapters in your sticky...

I feel stupid but what's a sticky?

Two chapters in one week - what a pleasant surprise!

[denmother]

Well, when is the next one due????

[slowSSer]

Originally Posted by devodoc

Be sure and stick these chapters in your sticky...

I feel stupid but what's a sticky?

Two chapters in one week - what a pleasant surprise!

a sticky is a permanent post- it always stays on the 1st page at the top. Moderators have to make them.

here's the sticky for all of "the ride"

OMR's - The Ride

edit: thanks, OMR- too bad i missed chapter 15 and read them out of order. doh!

[OMR]

Originally Posted by denmother

Well, when is the next one due????

Been a little busy lately with funeral arangements and such and haven't felt much like writing ... and if I did, it would be pretty dark...

We scattered the ashes at sea this morning .... I'm working my way past this....

[Abui]

Originally Posted by OMR

Been a little busy lately with funeral arangements and such and haven't felt much like writing ... and if I did, it would be pretty dark...

We scattered the ashes at sea this morning .... I'm working my way past this....

My condolences.