3. Smoke
Tyler's Hummer was a present, a birthday present from a proud, doting father with high expectations of his only son. The Hummer was tailored to rugged perfection; reinforced glass windows, a bulky and sturdy frame of steel alloy, four immense tyres which withstood all terrain, and – every avid motorist's dream – an engine which was sheer strength, of countless horsepower and what-not. The Hummer was the pride of the affluent, a luxury vehicle for the well-off, disguised in a thin illusion of ruggedness which put to shame all ordinary sedans. For deep in the hearts of certain rich men there lies dormant a shameful desire to live the adventurous life, to drive through inhospitable terrain and face countless and deliciously dangerous obstacles along the way – and to them this was the life, and they could be real men. And thus the Hummer catered to this need, enabling them to live out their extravagant fantasies of daring escapades through forests in a wonderfully rugged four-wheel drive. And Tyler's father possessed this dream, and he wanted his only son to experience what he could not experience: the exhilarating joy of bumpy rides through the forests of Ipswich, into the wilderness, into the unknown. And Tyler's father could easily afford it, and the dream materialised into a Hummer for his beloved son, and all Tyler knew was that he had got an all-terrain four-wheel luxury vehicle for his birthday, instead of the convertible sports car he had asked for.
But Tyler learnt to love his Hummer (over time), and how could he not grow to love it, when Caleb's admiring eyes constantly hovered over every inch of the four-wheel drive, and Pogue could not deny that a Hummer was marginally cooler than his motorcycle, and Reid – Reid loved it most of all. Reid's deep envy was simply wonderful, and amused Tyler greatly. Reid was too proud to openly display his jealousy and admiration for the Hummer, but it showed – Reid would borrow the Hummer even for the shortest of journeys, and Reid would habitually seat himself behind the wheel of the Hummer, with Tyler taking the passenger seat in an unspoken agreement. Reid did not have a car of his own – his parents would not trust him with one.
Tyler had a general vague idea of road accidents. There was the moment of impact, flames, the stench of oil from a burning bonnet, broken glass, blood, and the tremendous explosion as petrol met stray flames. There would ambulances with screeching sirens, excited paramedics, and finally Gloucester Hospital.
This, thought Tyler as his dry lips responded to Reid's kiss, is definitely not a road accident.
Reid pulled away and smiled at a blushing Tyler. "You looked so cute lying on the grass, I couldn't help it."
Tyler frowned. He was indeed lying on the grass verge, and his Hummer . . .
Smoke in the distance, further down the isolated road. That would have to be his Hummer.
"I had to Use to get us out of there before it crashed. Hey, maybe Pogue can give us a lift." Reid did not sound in the least worried, or even remotely affected by what had just occurred.
It was Reid's fault. Idiot. Reid caused this mess, Reid had wrecked his Hummer, Reid had kissed him on purpose, and he had lost control of the Hummer, Reid would pay dearly for this, oh yes he would, Reid –
Reid had kissed him . . .
That's it. I'm sorry it's short and not very good. Flame me if you like, haha. I'll (try) to do better next time. I just wanted to end that earlier story arc in chapter one. Sigh . . . And I've run out of ideas . . . I need Help. Please . . . ?
P.S. And they have really got to make a sequel to 'The Covenant'. For Reid and Tyler's sake.