County Line Road (11 page)

Jimmy put his arm around her and glared at the guy. He got the message and, when he turned around to talk to the next girl, he threw up on himself. At first he didn’t notice until he smeared his hand across his chin and looked at the vomit dripping from his fingers. Allison turned away in disgust.

Suddenly the lights went out. The crowd surged with one giant yell, all voices in unison. An announcer’s voice came through the speakers, welcoming them and the opening act. The new band ran out on stage playing the hit song off their first album. They were loud and energetic. The lead singer was a short little guy who jumped around, making himself seem bigger than he really was. They played for about forty-five minutes and then the house lights came back up, the road crew exchanged instruments, and the audio engineer checked the sound from his island out in the audience.

When the main band was announced, the crowd surged and cheered to greet them. Allison couldn’t see when the whole crowd climbed up on their chairs. She tried to see through all the people who clapped their hands over their heads. She got up on her chair.

A blast of light flashed across the audience and the guitar screamed and the audience screamed in response. Allison recognized the song and cheered too.

The drums and bass joined in, building up the sound with the climbing notes of the lead guitar. Then the lead singer jumped out of the darkness in a flash of light, microphone in hand, his black hair flying as if electrified.

The wall of speakers blasted and Allison could feel it bombarding her entire body. Through the crowd she could catch glimpses of the band as they played. The guitarist’s fingers moved so fast, they were a blur as he made the guitar scream out, going higher and higher, like it was climbing a ladder of sound, and everybody cheered, clapped, and screamed.

Then the middle of the song quieted down. The echoing of the singer’s voice made the hair on Allison’s arms stand up. He crawled to the front of the stage and sang in the hollow created by the musicians. All the women in the audience lunged forward with hands outstretched toward him. The security guards had to push back the crowd that gathered in front of the stage. People were crushing each other.

The music made Allison feet like she was looking into a black canyon so deep it seemed bottomless. She let the music take her with it.

In the front row, the security crew struggled to hold the front rows back while the guitars screamed louder, the drums punctuated the lines and they built to the crescendo, feeding on the frenzy. The lights blasted again as the band sang and played the chorus, ending the song with a punch and blackness. In the split second of silence left by the end of the song, the crowd’s cheering and screaming rose and filled in the moment.

With the first chords of every song, the audience screamed in recognition. Every time the lead guitarist stepped close to the edge of the stage, the crowd surged toward him. The lead singer leaped in the air, hung on the scaffolding, and ran the full length of the stage over and over. The women watched with their jaws dropped as he arched his back so far that his long hair brushed the back of his knees.

Everyone screamed and went wild. It was as if the audience was on a cathartic trip, everyone purging themselves of frustrations by screaming and pounding their fists in the air.

Jimmy was charged up and rode on the energy like a wave. He screamed the lines of the song as the guitars punctuated the lyrics. Sweat ran down his face to the tips of his hair.

Allison watched his biceps pumping, his neck straining, his mouth open. He was so alive, unleashed. She wanted to grab him, ride the electricity, join him down that raging river, know what it feels like to really be alive. She jumped up and down on her chair, and howled with Jimmy. He grabbed her and kissed her with such animalistic passion that she was dazzled. She felt she’d drunk of the potion and was now intoxicated too.

The band played all their major hits and songs from their new album. When they ended their set, cymbals crashing, guitars screaming, and lights flashing and left the stage, the audience screamed at fever pitch ceaselessly for over fifteen minutes for them to come back. The band came out for the encore, and the security guards were jostled and squeezed by the people who rushed to the front of the stage. People started to body surf across the top of the crowd. Girls and guys bounced up and down, arms and legs flailing, as they were passed overhead and eventually dropped back into the crowd.

When it was over Allison’s throat was hoarse and the palms of her hands were sore from clapping. Her ears were ringing and her body was dazed from the decibel level, but she felt great, like something had been released in her. She kissed Jimmy again.

As they shuffled out of their row to join the crowd coming from the front of the stage, Jimmy bumped into Jeanie. She held her hand over her nose and mouth. Blood ran out between her fingers. Her hair was a mess, and her top was askew. Just as he opened his mouth to ask her what happened, a drunk guy behind Jeanie grabbed her. She spun around and elbowed him in the collar bone. The guy winced then tried to grab Jeanie by the hair.

Jimmy stopped him by seizing him by the throat. The guy was so drunk, he couldn’t fight back and went limp then crumpled up on the ground. People in the crowd made room around him for a second, but then he got swallowed up as the crowd continued moving toward the exit.

“Jeanie! What happened?”

She looked up at him, her eyes full of tears. She shook her head No and tried to slip away from him.

“Wait,” he said to her. “We’ll help you. Come on.”

Allison stared at Jeanie’s bloody face in horror then got a grip on herself.

“How bad is it?” Jeanie lifted her hand. Her lip was cut.

“Let’s go to the bathroom to look at it,” Allison said, trying to act like everything would be fine so as not to alarm her.

Jimmy and Double A helped shove them through the crowd and to the hallway.

Jimmy pushed the gray bathroom door open for Allison and Jeanie.

“I’ll take her in,” Allison said.

“I’m going to that bathroom there,” he said, pointing. “I’ll meet you right here.”

Allison said okay, and Jimmy disappeared into the crowd.

Inside the women’s restroom, a long line of impatient women had formed. The air stank and everyone had the same strained, focused look on their face. The instant a stall door opened, the next woman in line ran for it, trading places with the woman coming out.

Allison escorted Jeanie to the sinks. A woman in a fringed top jerked Allison’s arm and said, “Hey, you can’t cut in line.”

“I’m not,” Allison said. “She’s bleeding. Are you blind?”

The woman blew smoke in Allison’s face, and disappeared into the next stall that opened.

Jeanie leaned over the sink and cupped her hands under the running water. The water only ran for a few seconds then shut off automatically. Jeanie waved her hands in front of the sensor, but it only haphazardly came on. Allison gave her some paper towels.

“Let me see,” Allison said.

“It hurts,” Jeanie said, her voice muffled through the paper towels. She lifted the towels to let Allison look.

Allison winced. “You need to go to a doctor. Do you want us to take you to the emergency room?”

Jeanie shook her head No.

“What happened?” Allison asked.

“Kicked,” she said. “And grabbed. Don’t ever go up and surf over the crowd. Guys grab you – all over. They tore my shirt. My bra is gone.” Her voice wavered.

“I’m sorry,” Allison said.

“It’s not your fault,” Jeanie said.

“We’ll give you a ride,” Allison said.

“No,” she said. “I got a ride. I gotta’ go.” She grabbed some more paper towels and threw the bloody ones away and turned to leave. She stopped and looked back at Allison. “Thanks.”

Then Jeanie was gone.

Meanwhile, Jimmy went in the men’s room while Double A waited in the hall. As Jimmy zipped up his jeans, a hand landed on his shoulder and spun him around.

It was Rich.

“What the hell?” Jimmy said When he saw Rich, he was relieved. “Where have you been?” Jimmy thought Rich looked high. The guy next to him too. Jimmy didn’t recognize him at first then he remembered he was Tim McBride, the guy with the Z28 Camaro.

“I gotta’ talk to you,” Jimmy said. “Linda is on the warpath.”

“Again? To hell with her,” Rich said. “When you gonna’ learn?”

“This is different,” Jimmy said. He whispered to Rich, “She said she put a steroid in my food.”

“I’ll get a masking agent for that,” Rich said.

Then Dion came out of a stall.

“Jimmy!” Dion said when he saw him. “You were right. Your brother is good for something.” Dion reached in his pocket and shook a bottle of pills in Jimmy’s face.

“What is that?” Jimmy said and grabbed the bottle from him. The label read a type of steroid.

“Don’t take that shit,” Jimmy said. “Who sold this to you?”

“What difference does it make to you?” McBride said, getting in Jimmy’s face.

Rich put a hand up as if he was about to negotiate. “I got this one, Tim.”

“Stay out of our business, Jimmy,” Rich said. “Just turn around and walk out of here.”

“You sold this to him?!” Jimmy threw the bottle across the room.

Dion chased after it desperately.

“He’s on my team! I’m competing against him!”

Rich’s expression changed as he realized what he’d done.

“You’re losing against me now,” Dion said, holding the bottle up. “Nothing you can do about it either.”

“I’ll turn you in,” Jimmy said.

“You won’t get that chance,” McBride said. He got up close to Jimmy and pulled a gun out of his jacket pocket and showed it to him. “Do like your brother said, and walk away.”

“I can’t believe you did this,” Jimmy said.

“I didn’t know, Jimmy,” Rich said.

“Did Linda steal these? She’s going to turn you in,” Jimmy said. “Both of us.”

Rich turned to Dion. “Give me that bottle.”

“No way,” Dion said and tried to leave.

Rich grabbed him, and they started to fight.

Jimmy jumped in and grabbed Dion. Rich kicked Dion’s legs, and Dion sank to the ground.

Rich grabbed the bottle of pills from Dion and tucked it in his pocket.

“Get out of here, kid,” Rich said to Dion.

Dion ran for the door, shouting, “I’ll get those back!” He left.

“Bodine! What the hell are you doing?” McBride yelled. “You gonna’ start get personal about customers? This is business, my business.”

Rich spun on McBride and hit him square across the face.

The swing caught McBride off guard and almost knocked him over.

“Here’s your fucking money,” Rich threw some bills at McBride. “Nobody messes with my brother.”

McBride was stunned, but he recovered quickly and became dangerous. He grabbed Rich by the shoulders and kneed him in the stomach.

Rich doubled over, coughing.

A switch went off in Jimmy’s brain, and he tackled McBride, sending him against the back wall.

The bathroom cleared out fast. A guy started yelling, “Fight! Fight!”, which drew a crowd.

Double A got pushed around in the crowd and swept away out the door.

Allison had just arrived near the door, and they ducked against the wall to avoid getting knocked over by the guys trying to see the fight. They held the door open and cheered.

“What’s going on?” Allison said. “Where’s Jimmy?”

“There’s a fight,” Double A said. “He’s in there.” He pointed just as Jimmy and Rich scrambled out the bathroom door.

McBride was on their heels.

“Go! Go” Rich yelled at Jimmy. Rich got swamped by the crowd.

Allison saw McBride’s hand clamp down on Jimmy’s shoulder and take him to the ground. He disappeared from her view like someone pulled underwater by a shark.

Two security guards passed her, heading for the bathroom.

Somebody in the crowd yelled, “Security’s coming!”

McBride turned to look. He shoved Jimmy into the wall.

“I’ll find you, and your brother,” McBride said. He slipped away through the crowd.

Jimmy made his way to Allison and Double A.

“Who was that?” Allison said. “What happened?”

“We gotta’ get out of here,” Jimmy said. “Where is Ritchie?”

“He went that way,” Double A said, pointing.

They poured out of the exit into the parking lot already busy with cars kicking up dust and crawling forward to the exits.

They scrambled into Double A’s car, and Double A drove around the back of the Sportatorium to a less crowded exit. Jimmy wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his T-shirt.

“There he is!” Jimmy pointed to Rich who was on his Kawasaki, cutting around the line of cars.

Just then Jimmy saw McBride driving his Z28 Camaro right toward Rich.

“Ritchie!” Jimmy yelled. “Get out of here!”

Rich swerved on his bike, and McBride slammed on the brakes to avoid hitting another car. Horns blared and people yelled. Rich took off, out the gate and down the road. McBride followed him.

“Let’s go!” Jimmy said.

Jimmy and Allison were thrown around as Double A cut around cars and made his way past the last entrance where people still poured out of the concert and away from the crowd. Jimmy gripped the dashboard and Allison was holding her breath and the seat. Double A stomped on the accelerator and charged out of the parking lot.

“My car’s faster than his,” Double A said. “We’ll catch them.”

He jammed the pedal to the floor and pushed the engine for all it was worth. The engine and tires responded with precision and power.

They charged down County Line Road, out past the last street light to where the pavement ended and the road turned to dirt. The dirt road narrowed, and canals lined each side of the road.

Jimmy looked out the windows, but dust obscured his view. “Where did they go?”

Suddenly Rich zoomed up alongside the 442, almost giving everyone inside a heart attack.

Jimmy started yelling to Rich, but Rich couldn’t hear him. Rich pointed up ahead and waved to tell them to follow him. Rich lifted the shield of his helmet.

“Go north, I’ll lead him south,” Rich said. Just then the Z28 appeared out of the dust and sandwiched Rich between the two cars.

Rich tried to accelerate out of the wedge, but McBride cut the wheel hard and clipped Rich’s back tire. The Kawasaki wobbled but Rich got it under control, accelerated fast and escaped.

“Damn it!” Double A yelled. “He almost killed Rich and hit my car!”

They approached the highway, US 27, a dark road used mostly by truckers hauling cargo to and from Miami. The intersection was dark. Only one blinking light hung overhead, casting an eerie flash like a warning.

Rich headed for the right lane.

“What is he doing?” Jimmy screamed. “That’s not south!”

Double A slowed down as he approached the turn. The Z28 raced around them and cut a hard right turn to follow Rich.

At the last second, Rich turned at a police cross-over to make a u-turn, letting the Z28 zoom past him. Rich accelerated again and headed off south. The Z28 skidded and turned around to follow him again but got slowed down in the dirt.

Jimmy saw a cloud of dust kick up like a tornado. It swirled around the car and motorcycle until Jimmy could not see them.

“Where are they?”

He and Double A and Allison peered out the window. Suddenly Rich zipped past them, going the opposite direction.

“There!” Double A said and turned his car around.

“He’s heading back down County Line Road!” Jimmy said.

“It’s too crowded,” Double A said. “He’ll get in an accident.”

“No way,” Jimmy said. “He’ll make it. He’ll slip in and out and lose McBride.”

The Z28 appeared in the rear view mirror. “Here he comes,” Double A said.

Double A swerved to the left and the right on the road, blocking McBride every time he tried to pass.

“Slow down too,” Jimmy said.

Then they heard a loud bang.

“What was that?” Double A said. He checked the gauges on his dashboard to see if any indicators came on but nothing showed.

“He’s got a gun!” Allison yelled, eyes wide.

Double A stepped on the gas and accelerated so hard, Jimmy and Allison were thrown back against the seat. The Cutlass 442 charged forward and the Z28 headlights got smaller in the rear window.

They approached the lights of the auditorium and traffic ahead. Double A had to slam on the brakes. They came to a skidding stop that kicked up a cloud of dust.

Jimmy could see Rich weaving his way through cars ahead.

McBride stopped behind them. He jumped out of his car and came for them on foot.

Jimmy opened the door and grabbed Allison’s hand to run, but McBride grabbed him by the shirt.

McBride wrenched Jimmy from the car and grabbed his arm. He forced Jimmy up on the roof of the Cutlass, climbing up and dragging Jimmy as he went. His boot heels dented the trunk. “Get up there!” McBride pointed the gun at him.

Double A was too stunned to speak. Other people ducked down in their cars or ran.

Jimmy climbed up, McBride shoving him the whole time. Jimmy almost lost his footing and slipped. McBride climbed up while still holding onto Jimmy. He tucked his gun away and held Jimmy by his arm. He was squeezing so hard, Jimmy thought his arm would pop off.

“There he is,” McBride said.

Just then, Rich turned his head to look back. He stopped.

McBride pulled out his gun, pointed it at Jimmy, and waved Rich back with it. Then he rested the gun against Jimmy’s head.

Jimmy could feel the metal barrel bang against his head. It made him stand very straight.

Rich turned his bike around and worked his way back to the Cutlass.

It felt to Jimmy like it took an hour for his brother to get there.

He took off his helmet and said to McBride, “Let him go. This is between you and me.”

“I’m negotiating this one,” McBride said to him.

“Come on,” Rich said. He got off the bike. “Let’s go, you and me. Out of here. Someone will call the cops. They probably already did. Look around.”

The people in the car ahead of them saw the gun. They scrambled out of their car and ran, the girls screaming. That kicked off a chain reaction. Other people started screaming.

“The cops are probably on their way already,” Rich said.

“Then I better finish you off so you won’t talk,” McBride said.

He aimed the gun at Rich.

Just as Jimmy felt the barrel slide off his skull, he elbowed McBride.

But it wasn’t fast enough.

McBride pulled the trigger.

Jimmy saw Rich stagger back.

McBride slipped and dragged Jimmy with him.

The last thing Jimmy heard and felt was his head crack against the pavement as he hit the ground.

Everything went dark and quiet.