Page 3 of The Fire and the Roar

Hopping off the bus, a twinge took hold of my heart, and I pulled my coat tighter around me. This town was nothing but drab. There was no old “frontier” charm of Meager—the vintage lampposts, the ornate storefronts with iron trim, the grand old Black Hills prairie style stone building here and there, the forested granite hills clustering around us. None of that here. The area was flat for miles around, dotted with a row of the same drab, boxy type structures that were probably untouched since they were first built post-WWII. I missed home so much.

The icy wind whipped my hot face, my mittened hands jammed in my coat pockets as I hustled through the parking lot. I wore my older brother’s coat. James had left for Vietnam and never come back. His double-breasted thick and dark-blue maxi coat was a favorite of mine in winter, and now that my other brother Leo was hiding out somewhere on his own, I felt closer to both of them, to a sense of home whenever I wore this stiff wool coat that went down to my ankles. It always kept me warm.

Our rooms were all in a single file next to each other off the parking lot. I was in a room on my own, and the guys had doubled up in other rooms.

A black pickup swerved into the lot and came to a screeching halt. Crates filled with beer and miscellaneous bottles were lifted from its cab. The guys had their rooms open, and people with lazy smiles drifted in and stumbled out, cigarettes lit.

“Isi, you wanna beer?” asked Eric, Teddy’s younger cousin who had just joined our tour doing anything and everything needed. “There’s also Tequila? Or Jack?”

Yes, I want a Jack, goddammit! My Jack!

“Tequila,” I replied.

I wouldn’t be able to sleep even if I’d wanted to. Who wanted to? Guns N’ Roses blared off of Len’s boom box, and I moved to the beat. The aroma of burning weed filled the air. I didn’t want to smoke any weed, though. The hazy sweet high often made me wistful, which led to sad. I’d get to thinking, and then I’d get to missing the one person I wanted most in this world. Then I’d watch the guys getting it on with girls, and I’d miss that. That indulgence, that friction, that thrill.

But I knew what I missed was that intimacy I’d never shared with anyone else, and knew I’d never find with anyone else. Ever.

Eric handed me a plastic cup, and I drank, the harsh liquor burning a trail down my gullet, warming my belly, filling the empty.Ha.Stewart and I moved to the music in the haze. More cars and trucks showed up, more people. I recognized a number of faces from the audience at the bar. With no snow on the roads, the young ones had come out to get their wild on.

Only one lamp worked in the parking lot. The other three were busted, so it was the perfect party hot spot. Couples were fooling around in the dark, drug deals were going down, drugs were being taken in all forms and all ways in the shadows.

From the open doorway of Teddy’s room, people spilled in and out, clutching plastic cups and bottles, drinking, smoking. Clusters of girls laughed loudly, singing along to that Milli Vanilli song. In his room, Len leaned against the wall with that chick who’d been interviewing him on her knees between his legs, giving him head. Her friends were watching. Were they standing in line? Len usually had the most girls interested in him. He was the hot lead guitarist with the long hair, after all. I grinned. That cute waitress from the bar was making out with Teddy, and he had his hand up her shirt. All was right with the world.

I knocked back another tequila and pushed at Stewart’s chest. “Go, go have fun. Go find a girl. You don’t have to stick with me.”

“I am having fun, Is.”

I yanked on his long, silky black ponytail that flipped over his shoulder. My protector. Stewart had become my best bud since I’d formally joined the band. A bit of an introvert with a simple sense of humor. I knew it meant a lot to him that Wreck liked him and trusted him. The memory of our initial goodbye before we left Meager remained fresh in my mind.

Wreck clasped Stewart’s hand like a bro, his bicep tensing. “Watch out for my woman, Longhat.”

Stewart lifted his chin, tightening his grip on Wreck’s hand. A bond between men. “I will.”

A thick roar ripped through the hazy darkness, and I swiveled automatically, heart skipping like I was a little girl in the heat of August and the ice cream truck bell had sounded down the street. But I was no little girl, and it wasn’t ice cream I was craving. That roaring metal scream meant only one thing to me, one person.

One.

All my senses sharpened as a stream of motorcycles swarmed the parking lot. The riders wore similar jackets, sported the same colors. An MC. But there was no familiar gleaming eye skull of the One-Eyed Jacks on their backs. Who were they? Shouts and hooting pressed all around me as I rose on my toes to try to get a better look. Each bike had orange and red flames blowing across its gas tank. Flames on the back of their jackets. I’d seen those before. Oh shit, the Flames of Hell. We were in their territory, weren’t we?

Rugged, bearded faces filled my vision. Stewart moved closer to me, blocking me. He was tall, and I grabbed his arm for leverage as I hopped up to look over his shoulder.

“Is, stop gawking. Let’s move over here.” He led me to the edge of the parking lot. I tripped on the buckled asphalt as I strained to see.

“Mary Jane?” hollered a Flame, standing in the center. “I know you’re here! Mary Jane—what the fuck?”

Holy crap. No way.

Mary Jane flinched, her face etched in shock and bright red as a strawberry in spring. But she didn’t let go of Teddy. Teddy wasn’t happy.

Oh no.

“Knew I’d find you here! You fucking—”

“Leave me alone! Stay away from me, Buzz!” came her shrill voice. Wow, at the bar she’d seemed all peaches and cream, girl next door.

“Who’s this asswipe?” Buzz gestured at Teddy. “Are you fucking kidding me?”

In a flash, Buzz’s fist met Teddy’s face with acrack. Mary Jane screamed, gasps and nervous laughs rose from the crowd. Teddy staggered backward, his shirt ripped in two, blood spewing from his nose, on his bare chest. Another Flame punched his side, and Teddy crumbled to the ground. He was no longer in my view.

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