Dark Rider

“Why?” Kassie asked as she looked over the black shining paint job, she looked towards the hood and then towards the trunk, where she noticed a couple of police cars riding up towards them. “Oh no.”

“Let me do the talking, act calm for the love of God and maybe we’ll get away quickly,” he murmured as he looked down at A.J. who nodded and wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her off towards the hood, he acted as if he was showing her the grill and headlights as the policemen walked up to Rider.

“Excuse me, sir but may I ask you whose car this is?” the policeman sugared the question over as he stood close to his partner while facing Rider with a stern yet understanding look on his face.

“I have no clue officer,” Rider’s voice had risen to some kind of happy tone that she had never heard before; she furrowed her eyebrows as he continued. “But it sure is nice, whoever’s it is sure is loaded huh, this car goes for over eighty grand I hear. Is there a problem with me checking it out? I was just admiring it because I haven’t seen one up close before.”

“Nothing’s wrong with looking at it,” the officer smiled as he nodded to his partner. “But this is a stolen car; we’re going to have to ask you all to move away from it. We need evidence, have you touched it at all?”

“Not that I know of,” Rider played it off swiftly as he looked at the car in thought. “Maybe the windows but just to look inside, but we’ll go on. Sorry for touching the car, we were just looking.”

“Its fine son, no harm, no foul,” the policeman shrugged his shoulders as he opened the door quietly and glanced inside.

“Let’s go,” Rider whispered as he turned towards Kassie and A.J. who stood at the hood watching every move the three men made, when Rider began walking towards Kassie, she held her arm out and pulled him closer to her, grabbing his hand into her shaking one. “Have a good day officers.”

“You too,” the policeman called out as he stuck his head in the car to glance around.

“Oh no, Rider our bag was in there,” Kassie whispered as they weaved in and out the traffic on the sidewalk. “They’ll know it was us.”

“No they won’t,” Rider assured her as they reached a sidewalk, sighing heavily he leaned against the brick building and ran his hands through his short black mane. “Let me think a second and I’ll get us out of here.”

“Good luck with that,” A.J. grumbled as he leaned against the opposite building wall, Kassie stood in the middle staring at the sky. “Is there any train stations around here?”

“I’m not sure,” Rider leaned away from the wall and glanced down at A.J. suspiciously. “Why do you ask?”

“Let’s just say when you have a lot of spare time on your hands, you tend to find ways to entertain yourself,” he managed to say without laughing. “Me and my friend Lupus learned how to stow away in trains.”

“You did what?” Kassie’s head snapped to the side as she glared at A.J. menacingly, while Rider whistled lowly under his breath as he moved away slowly from the two. “You learned to stow away in trains, where did you go in those trains, Alexander.”

“A couple places,” he bit his lip and shrugged his shoulders innocently. “Don’t worry; we’re still alive aren’t we? We lived through it. If we can just find a train station we can get a free ride.”

A.J. hadn’t been lying when he said he knew how to stow away in trains, after finding the train station nearest to them the trio went to the station and followed A.J. with their trust riding on a thin line as he weaved in and out of dangerous situations that infuriated Kassie to know that he had been through them once or twice before. But she found respect in it once she was seated in a baggage cart riding all the way to Colorado. Of course they figured out after the train had started down the tracks that that would be quite a few days ride without food, water and potty breaks. Rider just shrugged his shoulders and explained that some unlucky little girl named Kassandra would be stuck on her own because boys could open the door and relieve themselves that way. Throwing back the comment that as soon as he began to relieve himself she would kick him from the cart made him backtrack and say they would find a way to fix it when the time came, she seemed satisfied with that and settled down on a bag with a smile. “Maybe we should have rethought this little adventure,” she commented as Rider lay out on a bed he made of people’s clothing from bags scattered around.

“Maybe but on the bright side,” Rider leaned up against his arm that propped against a wool sweater, he leaned off of it with a frown and scratched at his underarm before throwing it out the open door, that was courtesy of A.J. and his womanly hot flashes that demanded circulating cold air. “You can pick out some new clothes, there are bunches of clothes here. There is a Louie Vuitton bag over in the left corner; I bet there are some expensive clothes in there!”

“I don’t need clothes at the moment,” she grimaced as she crossed her legs and held her stomach tightly. “I’m hungry and I really have to pee.”

“Well I can help you out on the hungry thing,” he reached behind him and felt around for a second before smiling victoriously while pulling out a candy bar, he threw it at Kassie and it landed in her hands. “But your pee problem is up to you, pumpkin.”

“Some protector you are. Won’t even help your weak and defenseless charges find somewhere to pee,” she joked as she peeled off the wrapper and bit into the caramel goodness. “Where did you get this, what is this? Milky Way?”

“The Louie Vuitton bag, apparently whoever it is that owns the bag is skinny as hell but has a bit of a bulimia problem,” he shrugged his shoulders as Kassie pulled the candy bar away from her lips and threw it out the open cart door. “What the hell, Kassandra? I could have eaten that if you didn’t want it!”

“I feel bad, I can’t eat a sick girls’ food,” she said softly as she wiped her mouth on the back of her hand.

“Its different if the sickness is optional, she picked it. So don’t feel bad, feel bad that she hasn’t gotten help,” he shook his head in sadness as he looked down at the bed he made, he murmured to himself a few things before audibly saying. “I can’t stand skinny girls; need some damn meat on their bones.”

“I know, right?” Kassie covered her stomach with her arms resting across them; she leaned back and closed her eyes. “Rider, I really have to pee.”

“Oh well,” he sneered as he leaned his head on a pair of underwear on accident, when he realized what he was laying on, he jumped up and stood. “I really wish I could help you but I can’t as you can see.”

“Help me get on another cart just to pee and then we can come back,” she opened her eyes and stared up at Rider as he leaned against the cart wall. “I promise it will be quick, we’ll come back really fast.”

“You are going to get me killed,” he grumbled as he popped A.J. upside his head lightly, A.J. jumped away and glanced around to take in his surroundings. “Come on, your cousin has to pee.”

“Where exactly do you think we’ll be going so she can pee?” A.J. asked in a sarcastic tone, Kassie rolled her eyes as she pulled him up by the collar of his shirt.

“Come climb with me,” she smirked as she walked to the door, glancing down she grimaced at the long fall towards the rapidly moving ground. She glanced up and smiled to see a latter attached to the cart’s top, no doubt for maintenance workers. She turned back around and waved her hand towards the railing. “I’m going by myself if you two aren’t going, I’ve got to go.”

“We’re going with you,” Rider pushed A.J. closer to the open area as Kassie began to climb up the latter, A.J. opened his mouth to warn Kassie that she was wearing a dress but he was stopped by Rider’s hand being placed firmly over his lips. “Shhh.”

“Perv,” A.J. claimed when Kassie reached the top and Rider’s hand slid off his mouth slowly, Kassie rolled her eyes at the fact they weren’t climbing yet and motioned for them to come on up. “I’m coming, I’m coming.”

“Give me a break, she’s wearing a dress climbing, she set herself up for that,” Rider murmured as he climbed up after A.J. who kept quiet for the sake of keeping his concentration on climbing the small and narrow latter.

“Come on,” Kassie called out to them as she helped A.J. up on the top, she leaned down and helped Rider up with a hand out, once they made it all aboard the roof of the cart they began to walk towards the other carts. Thankfully it didn’t take that long for them to climb down the next latter and hide out in a linen closet for a few minutes and then finally find the bathroom where Kassie relieved herself, Rider and A.J. went also so they wouldn’t have to go as soon as they got back. “I feel better now.”

“I would hope so after all that,” Rider smiled as he walked over to Kassie while buckling up his belt. They were in a single bathroom so as one person used the toilet two had to turn away with their noses close to the wall to assure the others that they weren’t looking. Of course when it was Kassie’s turn, Rider turned to look and A.J. slapped his head into the wall. Kassie had asked what it was all about and Rider had chosen to lie and say that they were joking and A.J. accidentally hit him to hard, but the whole while he glared at A.J. for his so called accidental punishment.

“Well if you had to go as bad as I did, you would have fought a grizzly for a bucket to pee in,” Kassie explained as she opened the bathroom door and peaked her head out, glancing left and then right she sighed a breath of relief as she opened the door wider and walked out.

“You,” someone called out from behind Kassie as she walked a few feet away from the bathroom door, Rider and A.J. had yet to come out as she slowly turned to stare at the train conductor person.

“Yes?” Kassie answered the tall black haired man who seemed to be in his thirties with a not so friendly attitude towards the public. Kassie understood, she wasn’t a people person per say.

“You need to be in your compartment, Ma’am, do you remember your way back?” he asked as he walked closer to her, she glanced at the bathroom door for a split second before glancing back at the man, shaking her head to signal she didn’t. “You’re with the group wearing pink aren’t you?”

“Uh,” she looked down at her dress and spotted the pink polka dots and nodded her head frantically. “Yes, could you help me find my way back?”

“Come this way,” the man sighed a heavy heave showing he would though he hated to do so, but seeing as it was his job he complied to take her to her compartment. After a good two carts skipping, the man opened up a compartment door and waved his hand in. Kassie smiled and nodded her head to him in her thanks but he turned before spotting it. So she frowned and walked inside, turned around and closed the door before she turned back around. Spotting a room full of pink wearing women and some men, her breath seemed to hitch in her throat. Just what she needed, people.

“May I help you?” one of the women asked as she walked up, blond hair, blue eyes and fake nails and all. She smiled with bright pearly whites as she fluttered her eyelids.

“I—I was wondering what you guys were, I seen you down the hallway and thought it would great to spend the ride in here with you, if you don’t mind that is,” she lied even though she detested it and walked in fully to the inner circle of pink wearers.

“This is the cougar club dear,” the woman said with a rich deep womanly laugh as she flicked her wrist towards all the woman. “You are welcomed to stay in here with us.”