them as Nate tried to regain control. Marcus reached out for her and told her to jump.
The semi was nearly upon them and Nate reached out to grab Samantha as she leapt from one bike to the other. Just as she landed on Marcus’s bike, he pulled her onto the seat and veered left onto the shoulder. Nate was not so lucky as the very moment he tried to keep Samantha from escaping was the moment he needed to avoid being hit by the truck. The force of the impact ignited his gas tank and it exploded in a glorious ball of orange flame. Fortunately for Nate, he had already died from the sheer force of the truck hitting him before the flames began to burn what was left of his body.
Marcus pulled down a small dirt road off the highway. He knew they would be looking for another motorcycle and wanted to remain out of sight. Samantha held him tight from behind as he looked for a spot to pull over and ditch the bike. He noticed that the dirt road led to someone’s private property but it looked like the house was empty. He surmised it was probably a summer rental but he decided to pull into an open shed, away from the house. As he stopped the bike and turned off the engine, he could still feel Samantha clinging to him.
“You can open your eyes now,” he said in a very calm voice. “The coast is clear.”
“Oh Marcus,” Samantha said as she began to sob. “I don’t know what would have happened if you had not shown up.”
“Don’t think about that now,” he replied. “Why don’t we leave this bike here and go for a walk?”
“First I want to know why you came back for me,” she said wiping away her tears. “I don’t see you for two years and suddenly, there you are. Hugged up on some tramp.”
“That’s not fair,” he said defending himself. “I know I haven’t come back for you but it was because I needed to lay low. The police were after me remember?”
“I remember a cop telling me that you were an escaped felon,” she fired back. “He said you were a very dangerous man.”
“I was a dangerous man,” he replied looking at the ground. “I did things that made me deserve to go to jail. But I atoned while I was there. If there was one thing I learned about being in prison is that it is worse than hell. I know I will probably end up there when I die but no man should ever have to experience the horror of prison. You might as well kill them, it would be more humane.”
“God, I’m sorry,” Samantha said. “I didn’t know. Look, you don’t have to tell me why you were there but please explain to me why you suddenly are here now if you were trying to lay low.”
“I’m here because of you,” he replied. “I needed to see you again.”
“Is that why you felt the need to surround yourself with women then,” she said slightly angered. “Please, explain it to me.”
“That girl you saw was another member of Death’s Angels,” he said. “She was trying to gain my affection, they all do.”
“Death’s Angels,” she asked raising an eyebrow. “And what do you mean by they all do?”
“Death’s Angels in the name of the biker gang I belong to,” he replied. “They all vie for my attention because I’m their leader.”
“You’re the leader of a biker gang called Death’s Angels,” she said crossing her arms and trying not to laugh. “With a name like that I would have though the grim reaper was your leader.”
“I didn’t name us that,” he replied. “It was named that long before I ever joined. And that is the nickname of the gang’s leader I might add.”
“Ok ‘Grim’,” Samantha said. “Tell me then why you came for me.”
“I came for you because I have feelings for you,” he replied. “And I needed to know if you felt the same.”
“I do feel the same Marcus,” she said as she walked slowly towards him. “I waited for you for two years. I know we never exchanged information but I longed to see you at the fair every year. It was very painful