Arrow of Time (Marauders)

by Andersson, Lina

  Arrow of

  Time

  Marauders: Book One

  -o0o-

  by Lina Andersson

  FREAK CIRCLE PRESS

  Arrow of Time © Lina Andersson 2013

  All Rights Reserved

  Lina Andersson has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this book under the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are a product of the authors imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales are entirely coincidental.

  Cover art & Design by Kalle Andersson

  -o0o-

  Arrow of Time – A concept developed by the British astronomer Arthur Eddington. It is the distinction between past and future. They are separated by an arrow of time and the direction is irreversible.

  Acknowledgments

  To my husband; this is what I did when I wasn't cleaning. Sorry.

  To my brother; you are brilliant.

  With a love that stretches throughout the world,

  to my Freaks. You're the only reason I, on occasion, call myself a writer.

  To Shannon Flagg; for constant encouragement, for lovingly giving me so much of your time and for always believing in me.

  And finally, to Susan Fanetti; we both know I wouldn't have done this if it wasn't for you. I can never thank you enough.

  1.

  The first of them is Elsa, and Greta is the second,

  Right well the two have reckoned

  The force of their valor upon me.

  Small hurricanes are they, that come and go but never tarry,

  Like modern Goths and Vandals they raid me and they harry,

  Until they despoil me utterly.

  “Marauders” - Gustaf Fröding

  CHAPTER 1:

  Done With the Walkabout?

  -o0o-

  Thursday, February 23rd

  I WAS IN GREENVILLE, Arizona. Population somewhere around 30,000 the last time I checked and less than a thirty minute drive southeast of Phoenix. With a 'thank you' and a smile to the truck driver who'd been my latest ride, I jumped out and looked towards the garage that was the final destination.

  I was beat. I’d been up for two days straight, and I preferred to not think about when I last had a proper shower. I’d washed up as well as possible in public bathrooms all over Mexico. I reeked, was about to fall asleep still standing up, and I was nervous; it was weird being back.

  As a kid I spent countless hours looking through travel catalogues. I stared at the pictures with fascination, read all about the places and did a list of things I wanted to see. It was my way of escaping reality. I didn't know where that list was now, and I had no recollection of what was on it, but I was sure I'd seen most of it. I had been traveling for just over six years.

  The first year I did those things that everyone wants to do. Visited the Eiffel tower, touched the Berlin wall and walked the Great Wall Of China. Then I got fed up with the tourist traps and did the other things, sought out the real people of the places I went to. It takes a while, but soon they see the difference between you and ‘normal’ tourists, and they stop trying to rip you off and instead show you the real deal. I had accomplished some of what I had set out to do when I left. The rest I doubted was something that I'd be able to find or fix on my own.

  Despite all the traveling I had never been to a place like the one I was now walking into. It was a clubhouse and a garage belonging to the local charter of Marauder Riders MC. Their logo was painted on the wall of one of the buildings. A man in leather pants, black coat and a top hat, seated on a bike that was half a bike and half a horse morphed together. He looked like Death, and it reminded me of the book of Revelation and the four horsemen of the apocalypse. I just couldn't remember which one of them was the black horse, if it was war or famine.

  I looked around as I walked inside the lot, towards the garage and the office that I knew where there somewhere. There were bikes in a row along the wall, and the bikers they belonged to were spread out on picnic benches. There were quite a few women as well, lightly dressed, resting in the sun. All of them looked at me, but no one tried to stop me, despite the fact that I hardly looked like a customer.

  I continued towards the door that looked like it led to an office and carefully knocked on the door before stepping inside. And there she was, Melanie, or Lanie, as I most often called her. It was her and three guys, obviously bikers. Two sitting on a couch and one standing next to the desk Lanie was sitting by. I’d seen pictures of all of them, and the guy standing next to her was Wade ‘Brick’ Baxter, the president of Marauder Riders MC and also Lanie’s husband. The three men were looking at me, but Lanie wasn’t. She was on the phone. Knowing that someone just walked through the door, she held up a finger to indicate that she wanted me to give her a second.

  “One moment, please.” Then she looked up at me with a smile that froze the second she realized who I was. “I’m gonna have to call you back,” she mumbled and hung up the phone without waiting for a response.

  From the corner of my eye, I saw Brick glaring at me, but I wasn't looking at him. Instead I was staring at Lanie. So beautiful, with the long blond hair, heart shaped face, full mouth and straight nose. She was taller than me, a lot more curves, and I'd always been jealous of how beautiful she was.

  The lump in my throat got bigger, and I could feel my own heart beating, I was so nervous. To try to regain some focus, I looked away from Lanie and turned my attention to the two bikers on the couch. Just like Brick, they were dressed in faded jeans, t-shirts and biker boots. And just like him, they were staring at me. They looked hung over, and I knew why. I had missed Lanie's 40th birthday the day before. I had planned to come home in time for it, but I'd gotten stuck on the way, so I just barely missed it. I turned my eyes from them and back at Lanie, my big sister. Desperately trying to figure out what to say to her.

  -o0o-

  Brick wondered what the fuck was going on. Mel looked like she was seeing a ghost; she seemed barely able to breathe, and her eyes didn't leave the woman standing at the door. A woman that looked extremely uncomfortable with the situation. And Mel had hung up on Ella. Just like that. In the middle of planning the fucking Spring Hog Roast they were having the weekend after. She’d been planning it for weeks, along with the birthday she'd had the day before, and Ella had been her lifeline in all that the past weeks, and now she just hung up on her. But she seemed to have forgotten everything the second she noticed the woman at the door.

  He took a good look at the woman in question and decided she was almost a girl. She was pretty—not his type at all, though. She had long brown dreads, pierced nose, faded jeans, steel-toed work boots and a leather jacket. There was a big backpack next to her, and she did look like someone who'd been backpacking for quite some time. She was in a desperate need for some sleep and a shower. He noticed her briefly looking at Bull and Sisco sitting on the couch before completely ignoring the men in the room, her blue eyes turned to Mel and then they stayed there. He recognized those blue eyes; he saw the exact same ones every day on his wife and his daughter.

  A backpacker who looked like she'd been on the road for a long time with the same blue eyes as his wife's. It was probably the hangover that stopped him from making the connection sooner, but he was sure. This was Edie. His wife's sister. And to confirm his suspicions, Mel came to her feet and spoke up with a shaky voice.

  “Edie.”

  -o0o-

  Bull couldn't figure out what the fuck was going on. The kinda hot, but messy looking chick was just standing at the door, staring at Mel. Didn't even fucking say anything, and she completely ignored everyone
else in the room. Didn't even look at them twice, which kinda got to him. Kinda hot chicks who came into the compound usually did look at bikers twice. This one didn't. Didn't matter, though. She needed at least two showers and three days of sleep before he'd bother.

  That's when Mel stood up, and it sounded like she was about to cry.

  “Edie,” she mumbled and the chick at the door looked like she was about to cry, too.

  “I'm sorry,” she said and dropped her worn, dirty bag next to the big, equally dirty, backpack on the floor.

  Bull sighed. He had no fucking idea what was going on, but he could smell chick drama when it hit a room and he was not interested in getting involved in that. Ever. Especially not when he was hung over as fuck.

  -o0o-

  Melanie could hardly believe her eyes. She hadn't seen Edie in six years. They'd emailed to each other, mostly her to Edie. Even if Edie didn't always have internet access, Melanie had kept sending her emails, every week, telling her what was going on. Now and then she got one back, just letting her know that she was alive, where she was and that she was fine. Rarely anything personal, like what she'd been up to. In a way, the emails had more been for Melanie. Almost like a diary and a way to keep herself sane as she went through some of the craziest times in her life. And the most wonderful, too, so she wanted her sister to know all of what was going on.

  She didn't blame Edie for leaving; she had a lot of things to deal with, and she did it in an Edie-kind of way, by herself away from everyone. She had never been much for talking about things; she hid her problems and took care of them herself the best she could. It wasn't always the smart thing to do, but she hadn't trusted that many people in her life. They were sisters, but were so very different.

  “I'm sorry,” Edie said and dropped her bag on the floor.

  “Oh, honey.” She walked over to her and hugged her tight. “I'm so happy to see you.”

  “I'm sorry. I tried to get here in time for your birthday....”

  “Baby, don't worry.” Edie was shorter than her, and she felt her press her face against the side of her neck. “I’m just so glad you're home.”

  Her baby sister was in her arms, she didn't give a shit about anything else. It had taken six years, but her Edie was finally back.

  -o0o-

  My brave, big sister was standing in front of me. No accusations, no blame, nothing. Just like she'd done when I was a child, she held me as close to her as possible while stroking my hair and mumbling comforting words in my ear.

  “Everyone, get the fuck out!” Brick yelled, and they all did, closing the door behind them.

  That's when I leaned back and took another good look at Lanie. She was her usual smashing self. We were different in a lot of ways, but how we dressed was the most obvious difference. Lanie always liked to look proper; no matter what the situation was, how shitty the circumstances or how bad she felt, she dressed up. As oppose to me, I never cared about what I looked like, I went for comfort. Or the clothes that made sure I wasn't noticed, I always preferred to not be noticed when I was younger. That had changed a little, but it didn't mean that l cared about what I was wearing.

  “Hell, you look great, really great,” I said, because she did.

  Nice blouse, pencil skirt, high heels, but that wasn’t it. It was a glow about her that I hadn’t seen before. She looked... happy. With raised eyebrows she looked at me with a slight smile.

  “Honey, I wish I could say the same, but you look like you need a shower and some serious sleep.”

  “I do.” I nodded and dried my cheeks. “I've been up for about two days.”

  “Okay,” she smiled. “I'll take you home, get you food, a shower and then you sleep. We'll talk when you're done with all that and ready.”

  I nodded. I didn't think I'd ever be ready to talk, but if agreeing gave me shower and a bed, I would. Besides, Lanie knew me. She knew it wouldn't be that easy.

  We walked outside, and Brick and the other two guys were waiting just outside the door. Lanie pointed at me.

  “Baby, I'm taking her home. She needs rest.”

  “Sure,” Brick said and looked at me.

  I still had a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that my nice, well adjusted, sister had hooked up with the president of a biker club. She had gotten married to him and even had a kid with him. He was older than her and had two boys from a previous marriage. Boys that actually weren't all that much younger than me, and whom Lanie seemed to adore. She'd told me all this because she sent me emails, at least once a week, often more. Sometimes I had up to twenty extremely long emails, with pictures, waiting for me when I could get to a computer, and I loved reading them. She seemed happy, looked happy and I was glad she was. The only thing I was sorry about was that I had missed it, that I hadn't been there for any of it.

  If this scary-looking guy made my big sister happy, I liked him. If he let me crash at their house, I liked him even more. And when he looked at me with a smile, came up to me and extended his hand to greet me, he actually managed to make me feel welcome.

  “I'm Brick,” he said when I took his hand. “It's good to finally see you, I've heard a lot about you.”

  “Edie,” I said. “I've heard a lot about you, too.”

  “Are you okay?” he asked, still holding my hand.

  “Yeah. I'm good. Tired, but besides that I'm fine.”

  “You in any trouble?”

  I wasn't sure what he meant, and pulling my hand out of his, I smiled, trying to figure out what exactly it was he was asking.

  “Ehh... I hope not,” I finally answered.

  That made him laugh, and I remembered that Lanie had spent about half of a really long email describing his laughter. How it came from somewhere deep in his chest, spread all over his face and sounded amazing. She'd been right, it was a great laugh. An honest one.

  “I'll see you when you wake up.”

  “Yeah. Thanks.”

  I threw my backpack in the trunk of the car and got in next to my sister. She turned her head and gave me another one of those smiles. I'd missed them.

  “So,” she said as she started her car. “Done with the walkabout?”

  “Think so.” I thought about it for a while.

  Six years all over, and now I was back. It had just gotten to me a few weeks ago, that I was fed up with it. That I had figured out the things about myself that I had set out to figure out. The basic stuff. But I also knew that traveling around wasn't gonna do more for me that it already had. I was ready to go home, and Melanie was the only home I'd ever had. When I realized that her 40th birthday was coming up, I rushed to get to it. I'd missed it by one day, though.

  I looked around the lot, the guys and women sitting all over it, all of them with their attention directed at the car I was in. They'd stared when I walked in, but their stares were even more intense now. Guess that's what happened when you shook hands with the president and took off in a car with his wife. I might not have been at a clubhouse before, but Lanie had explained a lot in those emails. Basically while she herself was figuring out how all this worked. It didn't seem to be that different from most tribes, down to their view of women, which sucked. Some of the things I’d heard I googled to confirm—the outlaw parts, that is. But that was none of my business. My sister was my family, the only one I had, and this was her family so I wasn't gonna question that. I'd roll with it.

  I looked at Lanie again, my calm, beautiful and brave big sister, and I nodded once more.

  “Yes. I'm done,” I said, and her smile grew even bigger at that.

  “Good. I missed you.”

  -o0o-

  Bull turned to Brick, but before he could say anything, Sisco jumped the gun.

  “Wanna fill us in?”

  “That was Edie. Mel's baby sister.”

  “Mel has a sister?” Bull asked.

  He couldn't remember ever seeing her—no birthdays or anything like that. Not even at Brick and Mel's wedding. He couldn’t
even remember hearing about a little sister. Even if this was chick drama, a person who could get into the club as fast as this one, was something he needed to keep an eye on. He wasn't in the habit of trusting women, he'd done it once and that had been a big mistake.

  “Well, I’d say she does,” Sisco answered his question while pointing towards the car that was disappearing. “That was her.”

  “Just... never heard about her.”

  “She's been away,” Brick said in the dismissing ‘don’t ask any fucking questions’ way.

  That wasn’t really what Bull wanted to hear, but Brick had put him in charge of security, so he knew he'd get more info later on. He was still confused.

  “Away? You've been with Mel for over five years, she's been away for that fucking long?”

  “Yeah. Traveling. She took off six years ago.”

  “Six years? Are you shitting me?” Sisco pushed. “Why?”

  “She needed it.” Brick turned around and looked at them. Bull knew that look, too; he'd had enough. “And I'd say the rest is none of your fucking business. She's Mel's sister, she had some shit to deal with, and she took off. She's back, and Mel's happy about that. Leave it at that.”

  “Fine,” Sisco shrugged.

  Bull had a bad feeling about this, and he wanted to have the talk to Brick about her as soon as possible. He knew he'd get the info he needed, though. So for now, he nodded in agreement and turned to get back into the clubhouse.

  -o0o-

  When Melanie stopped the car on the driveway outside the house, Edie leaned forward to look through the front window of the car, and then she started laughing.