by Kara Hart
“I don't even know anymore. All I know is that I don't want this. I just want Rust.”
“You're a natural leader, Jackie. You can't just leave the fight. Your men need you.” he said, handing me a cigarette. I quickly lit it and inhaled the smoky fumes.
“What men? Most of the good ones have died. The others have joined the other side. I don't know what to do anymore, you know? I know I can't stop fighting. That would be an injustice to all who stuck around to the very end. But I keep imagining a different world. A better, more just world.” I took another drag and tried to shake off the feeling of my depression.
“You're an idealist. It's a good thing to be, honestly. And it makes you an even better leader than you know. If you will it to happen, you and Rust could change this whole city. You could bring back the golden years. Shit, I hope you do. Those days were good to me.”
I inhaled one last drag and flicked the cigarette into the distance. “Come on. Let's go inside. Maybe Glen has some good news for us.” Bruce simply nodded and followed me inside.
“How is he?” I asked Glen. He looked as if he hadn't a clue.
“It's not good. Based on all the literature, he should be back to normal by now.”
“He's going to break out of it, right? He’ll live, right?!” I screamed, pounding at the wall.
“Look, his heart started pumping fairly quickly after you went outside. So he's alive. Now it's just a waiting game.”
I ran over to Rust and grabbed his cheeks. “Wake up, Rust! Wake up!”
“No!” Glen screamed. “I already told you! You can't mess with him! He’ll die!”
But as soon as I grabbed his hand, Rust’s eyes opened. We all jumped back.
Glen looked at us in complete and total shock. “What the hell?” he whispered to himself. We all stood quiet, waiting for him to speak. Finally, after a full minute of staring, he did.
“That was one hell of a trip.” he said. “You guys gotta try it, honestly.”
“Rust? Is it really you?” I cried.
He squeezed my hand and smiled. “It's me alright. What's the matter? Quit your crying and give me a kiss.”
I smiled brightly and wiped the tears off my face. And then we kissed for what seemed like an eternity. It was beautiful. And then, as our lips pulled away from one another, I punched him in the arm. “Hey! What the Hell was that for?” he asked, holding his arm.
“Don't you ever leave me like that again!” I yelled.
“It's not like I had a choice in the matter. They forced it on me. They injected me with that shit. All I can say is that it makes you ready to destroy whoever is in your way. We’re going to have a long fight ahead of us, guys.”
Bruce stepped forward. “So you're going to keep fighting?” he asked.
“Until the bitter end.” he said. I gave him a concerned look. “Don't worry, my love. We’ll burn them to the ground.”
“How can you be so sure?” I asked him.
“Because we have this.” He reached into his vest and pulled out a large bag full of powder.
Glen’s eyes lit up. “Jesus Christ. That's enough to dose an army.”
“Shit, brother. You really thinking of giving our men that stuff? After seeing what it does to people, I'm not so sure it's a good idea.”
“He'll no. We won’t give it to our army. I have an even better plan.”
“Oh, Rust.” I muttered. I didn't want any more plans. I just wanted time with him. I knew there was no time though. We would have to act fast if we wanted to win this.
“Just hear me out. From what I’ve gathered, they only have a few hideouts. Once we figure out where they are, we can get some of our men to infiltrate the water systems. We give them all we got. We dose them and wait until the symptoms start setting in. Then we attack.”
Bruce mulled it over. I was against it, of course. Anything that put my man in harm’s way was something to disagree with. Bruce apparently felt the opposite. “That ain't a half-bad plan.” he said.
I shook my head. “But what if it backfires and you create a monster? What if it just makes them stronger?”
“It won’t.” Glen chimed in. “A person’s body can only handle so much. It'll kill anyone who drinks it instantly. I'm against it though. It's inhumane.”
“Inhumane? Who gives a damn about that? Look at what they did to Rust!” Bruce said. “If Glen says it'll kill them, I say we do it. It's our best bet, next to an all out war.”
“Good. So we’re on the same page.” Rust said. “So now all we have to do is find their hideouts.”
“That's easy.” Bruce said, cracking his knuckles. “I'll send some men to scout locations. They'll find them in no time.”
Rust nodded. The plan was agreed upon and set in stone. Any argument I had was currently useless. Not that I had any qualms with it, other than that I selfishly wanted to run away with him. I had changed since I met him and I believe that it was ultimately for the better, even if there were some intense roadblocks. And for what it was worth, I knew he believed the same. He looked at me and said, “Don’t you start worryin’. Everything will be alright. They haven't got me yet, and they won't get me tomorrow either.”
“I know it.” I said.
I rested my head on his shoulder and felt his strong heart beat against my ear. I knew he was right. I knew he was built to win. I shouldn't have ever doubted him, but it's hard on a woman to see their man suffer. The fragility of life and love sought to weigh itself down against you, at every second of the day. When the days of peace are finally here, I would be sure to welcome them with open arms. A new day. I needed a new day.
Rust
God damn. What a night. My body ached, but I was definitely itchin’ to get my own taste of sweet revenge. Only problem was, I had a wife who didn't want me to leave her side. I was lucky, that much I knew. But there was a job to be done. I couldn't just leave our gangs to die at the hand of those fucks.
“I just don't understand why you have to be on the front lines of everything. It seems so pointless when we have all these men who are willing to fight. Do you have a death wish or are you really just that selfish?” she asked me, throwing her arms up wildly as if her whole life depended upon her argument.
The thing was, I didn't operate on logic and she knew it. I acted on my gut. And right now, revenge was the only thing worth shit to me.
“I can't argue with you about this. Anything else, sure. But not this. It's personal now. I need to end Don and his fucking goons. I need to make sure they never get another chance to roam these streets. For our kids, Jackie. It's all for them.”
She dropped her beautiful eyes and a smile formed across her face. “What did you just say?” she asked me, knowing full well what I had just said.
“Our kids, Jackie. We need to think about them and their future. It's not just about us anymore.” I said.
“But I'm not even pregnant.” she exclaimed.
“You will be when I'm done with you. Once we take Don down, we’re getting a hotel and spending a week there. Just me and you. We’re going to start that family I know you've been dreamin’ about. How does that sound?” She jumped into my arms and wrapped her soothing hands around my neck.
“You’re everything good in this world. You know that, right?” She asked me, kissing my face.
“Shit. I wish I was.” I laughed. “But I know our baby girl will be. We’ll raise her to be the best woman to have ever walked this planet.”
“A girl?! Who said we’re having a girl?” She unraveled herself around me.
“Shit, if our baby is a boy, we’re screwed. He’ll be too wild to control. You really want that?”
When I looked into Jackie’s eyes, she looked utterly beautiful. Like a goddess, she entranced me. I was poised to be in love with her forever. The stars, the moon, and the sun could not even compare to her splendor. “I want anything and everything as long as it comes from you.” she whispered.
At that moment, Bruce walked
into the room. I nodded towards him. “So, you ready?” he asked me.
“Ready as I'll ever be.” I'll admitted. It wasn't the first time I felt this way. At this point in my life it was a necessity to fight back and defend what I felt like was my honor. But it wasn't like I was excited about it. I didn't get that rush I used to get before I loaded up for battle. Instead, I felt sick to my damn stomach. I would have to leave Jackie again and that was a sentence almost worse than death.
But she always seemed to surprise me. She pushed past us and blocked the door, saying, “I'm coming with you.”
A sly smile broke into my face. Bruce looked disappointed. “Like hell you are.” he said. “Men only, honey. Move aside.”
“If you want to get through, you'll have to put a bullet in me. It's either that, or you let me go with you.” She put her demands on a platter and served it harshly.
“Well, Bruce?” I sighed, waiting on his response.
But he wasn't having it. He was being a stubborn baby, hell bent on reliving his glory days. “Well, what? I'm not budging, God dammit! This is a two-man job. Any more people could jeopardize the whole thing!”
I looked at him and patted his back. “Come on, boss. It's time to give it up. I can't keep debatin’ this with people anymore. Jackie is our best asset and I'll be damned if she gets overshadowed, just because she's a woman.”
Bruce grumbled, clearly defeated in this. Five years ago, he may have been right. But this was a new era for everyone. If he didn't want to admit that's, it was at his own peril. I wasn't going to let him take me down with him. If anything, Bruce was our weakest link at this point.
“Fuck. Fine. I guess the boss’s decision don't matter anymore. Do whatever you want.” he said, hands hanging on his leather holster.
Jackie was pleased. She opened the door and smiled brightly. “Alright then. Let's go kill some bastards.” she said.
Jackie
Chaos spread through the region fast. Word got out about Don and his mad and devoted biker gang. The media, of course, went to town on the story. Headlines read:
“HAVE THE MOTORCYCLE GANGS OF YESTERDAY TAKEN OVER OUR FUTURE?” And “GANG ON GANG VIOLENCE SPREADS PANIC OVER THE CITY.”
Even before the police got involved, people knew to stay indoors. It wasn't a safe time to be a civilian. To me, this was a violation of all we stood for. Were we criminals? Hell yeah we were. But did that mean we should do whatever we wanted? Of course not. That's why rules were set in place. That's why we avoided war. It wasn't just the fact that we didn't want to put our men in danger. There was also the fact that cops were apt to ruin our fun when things got too heated.
Now that the word was out, we had to stay as invisible as we could. No doubt Don was doing the same. So we headed into the open desert, with only the clothes on our backs, and a duffle bag full of supplies, food, and weapons. To find them, we would have to first give up all traditional forms of comfort.
After riding and camping out for a couple of days, we came across an extinguished campfire. Crushed cans of beer, old glass pipes used to smoke methamphetamine, and classic playboys were littered across the scorching dirt. It was clear who had been here. “They’re close.” Rust said, looking around us. We were surrounded by the Rocky Mountains. “We better be careful. They could be anywhere at this point. Let's ditch the bikes and head out on foot.”
“Sounds good to me.” I said, arming my pistol just in case.
Carefully, we walked into the setting sun, bandanas over our faces. We were like a trio of bandits, on the hunt for freedom. Rust leaned over to me and whispered, “When all this settles, I'm going to give you everything I got. No more holding back.”
“Yeah? Is that an oath?” I asked him, feeling the core of myself grow hot and moist. He was the sexiest man on the planet to me. And now he was all mine. That is, if we managed to survive this shit.
“You're god damn right it is.” he said, squeezing my ass firmly.
We eventually reached a breach in the rocks. Sure as shit, there was a small abandoned house, complete with a well. “Well I'll be damned.” Bruce whispered.
“There it is.” Rust confirmed, looking ahead. “Shit, it looks like most of them are here.” Ahead of us were at least a hundred black motorcycles, all lined up in a row.
“Shit.” I said, feeling my stomach drop. We had bet on them splitting up, but now it seemed like they were all hiding out together. “We better get out of the way. There may be more of them coming.”
We ducked behind another set of boulders. I grabbed the bag of chemicals and held it in my hand. “I’m ready.” I said, breathing deeply.
“No. I can’t let you risk your life like that. I’ll do it. I’m going out there, whether you like it or not.” Rust offered.
I hesitated. On the one hand, it was probably better that he went out there. I felt more in control backing him up than going on the offensive. On the other hand, I never wanted to see him go out in harm’s way ever again. Ultimately, I had to acquiesce. “Fine.” I said, shielding my eyes. I didn’t want him to see how worried I was.
“Alright then. Let's hope this works.” he said, kissing me. “I love you, baby.”
“I love you too. Now go give them hell.” I said.
Rust
“Fuck, fuck, fuck!” Bruce muttered. “Why the hell would I listen to you two? They’re going to kill us all!
“They won’t if we play our cards right, brother.” I said, though I wasn’t sure there were any cards left to play.
“I’m getting sick of your optimism. You know that?” He shook his head. Beads of sweat rolled down from his hair onto his beard. He looked like a fucking wreck.
I had to shrug it off. There wasn’t anything to do but act. We couldn’t run. We couldn’t hide. We simply had to do the best we could. If we survived, then yippee. If not, they better bury me closed casket ‘cause this ain’t going to look pretty.
I ran out into the open desert, using the night sky as a shield. Shit, shit, shit! My thoughts were racing inside of my head. Truth was, I was terrified. Who knows what kind of guards they had watching over the place. Still, I made it over to the water system without any problems.
I grabbed the bag and held it in my eyes. The white powder shimmered against the moonlight. Power. True power. Only, it was an illusion. What the chemical really contained was the absolute opposite of power. You became dependent on the shit. Slavery is what it was. True slavery. It was the snake in the grass, ready to feed.
“Alright. This is it.” I whispered to myself. I opened the bag and closed my eyes. But just as I was about to pour it in, the lights at the compound turned on, shining brightly on the property. A loud siren went off and suddenly all of the bikers ran outside in formation, bandanas wrapped tightly around their heads. “Fuck!” I yelled.
Behind us, there was the sound of a rumbling engine. I quickly turned around and found myself face to face with three police cars. The siren roared. “Freeze!” a man in the intercom said. I dropped the bag in the dirt and threw my hands up. Wasted. The plan was fucking wasted. Gotta think, Rust. How you going to get out of this one?
Out from behind the rocks came Bruce and Jackie, hands bound behind their backs. And right behind them was Don. He shoved them into the dirt and held a gun to Jackie’s head.
“It’s over.” he said. “I knew you’d try and track us down. Lucky for me, I’ve got the whole city in my hands.”
“You bastard!” Jackie screamed.
“Baby don’t. It’ll only make things worse. Don’t worry, he’ll get what’s coming to him.” I said, trying to come up with a good enough plan.
“Baby?” Don laughed. “How cute. Isn’t he sweet, little Jackie? I think he’s a bit mistaken though, don’t you think? I mean, the way I see it, you’re nothin’ but a stupid bitch. A goddamn stupid, whoring bitch.” Don compressed his fists and hit her in the back of the head. She fell to the floor, completely unconscious. He looked at me and smiled, knowing full
well I couldn’t do anything with this many guns pointed at my head.
But he didn’t anticipate what I’d do. He didn’t understand how much I loved this woman. Well, if he didn’t get it now, he wasn’t ever going to get it. It was time to make him know. “Fuck it. You just made your grave.” I said aloud. I grabbed the bag and ran towards Don.
“What the—” He aimed his gun at me and fired. Boom, one bullet hit my shoulder. Another hit my leg. “Ah!” I screamed with rage. He wasn’t a very good aim. The pain went through my body but it didn’t phase me one bit. That was my woman he was talking about, not some slut we could laugh about at the club. I know what I had said when Johnny told me about her, but I wasn’t thinking clearly then.
I dove in the air, throwing the bag in front of me. The contents spread out in the air, landing directly on Don’s face. “No!” He screamed, collapsing next to me, holding his eyes. I could feel his whole body tense up into a seizure. He was screaming and writhing in pain and anguish. In that instant, we had both lost. He would perish and I would be taken away to an undisclosed location. I know what they did to people like me. I’d never see the light of day.
I jumped behind him and held him in front of me, grabbing onto his hair and whispering, “How do you like that, bitch?”
“Holy shit!” Bruce cried out in shock. He jumped up from the ground and grabbed Don’s gun, aiming it at the crowd ahead.
The police and his men swarmed in behind me and aimed their guns. “Let him go or we’ll be forced to shoot!” The intercom sounded in front of us.
“You shoot and he’s dead!” I yelled, backing up towards the rocks behind us. Jackie opened her eyes and looked around her in complete shock. “Run!” I said. She knew what to do. She turned around and headed towards the large boulder, also taking aim. It was useless, three against such a crowd. But fighting was all we could do. This whole thing had been so blown out of proportion. Thinking about it all didn’t make much sense. We were a biker gang, not a fucking army. But here we were, acting out the duties of an active militia group. Sometimes gang wars happened, and I suppose they weren’t pretty. But this was one that would go down in the history books forever.
