Road Rage

Chapter eight

Canyon 7:00 PM

"Well I say we head out now. The sooner we find his car the better. We don't know how long it's been since the accident and there could be people out looking for him. They find the car, we lose the dope." Blake said to Woodward.

"I'm with ya partner."

"Hey Miller." Blake called over to Miller who stood looking down at Van. "We're going to go see if we can find this dude's car."

Miller glanced up at Blake then looked back down at Van and shook his head.

"This guy don't look too good. Maybe we could drop him off in town some where."

"How the hell are we going to do that? He's too weak to stay on a bike." Woodward said.

"Don't tell me you're getting soft on us Miller." Blake walked over.

"Blake, you know if we leave him here he's as good as dead. The nights are freezing, not to mention the place is crawling with rattlers… He's busted up real bad too."

"Hey." Blake held up his hand then walked back over toward Woodward. "That ain't our problem. Our problem is that if anyone comes looking for him they find us, and if they find us we're in big trouble. I'm not letting someone I don't even know get me busted."

Miller reluctantly agreed. He didn't like the idea of leaving a hurt man to fend for himself, but he knew he and his friends were wanted by the law and they had to come first.

Blake took out Van's credit cards.

"Here…" He handed the cards to Miller. "Woody and I are going to go find his car. You go into town, drop your bike off at Mac's, get the car and pick up some supplies. Meanwhile we'll get his dope and meet you there. Then we'll all head out to Jerry's and lay low for awhile till the cops get tired of looking for us."

Miller glanced down at Van who seemed oblivious to everything they were saying. He sat with his head back, eyes closed; relieved that the pain he had felt earlier was beginning to ease up. Van swallowed hard realizing his life line to Deaq had been cut off. He still wasn't quite sure who Deaq was but he wanted to believe he was really a friend and right now he just needed to hear a friendly voice. His body was burning up with fever and he knew he was in deep trouble and likely wouldn't get out of the canyon alive.

While Blake and Woodward packed their gear in the small trunk on the back of their bikes, Miller knelt next to Van. He put two bottles of beer and a couple joints of marijuana next to him with some matches.

"Here buddy, this ought to make you feel a little better." He lit one of the joints, took a couple of drags on it, then handed it to Van.

When Van touched the joint an image flashed in his mind of he and a black man holding guns on two men with a trunk load of drugs. He squeezed his eyes shut as a sharp pain shot through his head as the image slowly faded. Was the black man Deaq? And why were we holding guns on the two men? He wondered.

"Thanks." Van said. For some reason he felt guilty as he put the joint to his lips and sucked deeply. As the smoke hit his lungs he started coughing, then bent over in pain as his injured ribs protested. "Oh God." He moaned shivering from the pain and cold.

"We're out of here Miller." Blake shouted over as he and Woodward got on their bikes and sped off.

Miller reached in his pocket and handed Van some pills in a small vial.

"Save this for when the pain gets too much to handle." He said as he got up, got on his bike and with one last glance back at Van took off in the opposite direction of Blake and Woodward.

Van blinked back tears as he watched him go. Now he was truly all alone. No phone to call Deaq, and no gun in case the pain became too unbearable. It was starting to get dark and he dreaded the cold, lonely, night ahead.

Search team - later in the evening

Deaq wished he had a heavier jacket on but then immediately felt guilty as he fingered Van's jacket which he still had with him realizing that Van didn't have any jacket to keep out the cold. He looked around and noticed how the search group seemed to have closed ranks as if to borrow each other's body heat. He walked over to Billie.

"You okay Billie?"

"Yeah." She said her arms wrapped around herself trying to stay warm. "I never realized how cold these canyons get at night…Van must be freezing." Her voice cracked as she said the last sentence.

"We're going to find him Billie." He said reassuringly to her. He put his arm around her and pulled her close, trying to keep her warm.

"I know Deaq." She glanced at him and even in the darkness he could see the tears glistening in her eyes.

He swallowed the lump in his throat. Billie was strong and she rarely showed her emotions. He looked at the blackness in front of him, illuminated only by the searchers flashlights. His partner was out there somewhere, lost, hurt and scared, not even knowing who he was. A brief image of Van lying dead with mountain lions ripping him apart flashed in his mind. He shook the image out of his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. He was exhausted but he wasn't going to stop searching till they found his partner. Dead or alive, they were going to bring him home.

TBC