The Straight Crimes by Matt Juhl Read Free Book Online Page B

Just ‘cause your drunk-ass stumbled over here doesn’t mean we’re movin’. Besides, you don't own the beach, moron.”
    "Everyone knows I hang out behind Iggy’s Bike Shop. Your kind ain’t welcome here.”
    “We ain’t goin’ anywhere.”
    “Yeah you are,” Ricky growled.
    “You gonna do somethin’ about it, tough guy? I ain’t got a problem dealin’ with you again.”
    He sneered. "Oh, but you wouldn't hurt me. I'm a guy. You like guys, remember?" He pulled her into his sweaty body. "What's wrong, Queer? Don’t you like being touched?”
    "Get off me.” Harper shoved him away.
    "You like it,” he teased.
    "Leave her alone,” Nik shouted, bravely making his way to his feet.
    However, Ricky instantly threw his fist into his jaw and knocked him back into the sand.
    His audacity fueled Harper’s rage. She charged at the ogre, shoving her fists into his flabby chest. Then she grabbed his shoulders, pumped her leg back, and threw a hasty kick into his groin.
    “You bitch!” Ricky swore, writhing in agony.
    She proceeded to jab her elbow into his flushed face and quickly leapt to her feet.
    Ricky reached out and pulled her down by the ankle.
    She fought him off while his sweaty hands tugged on her legs. During the struggle, she pulled free and kicked his rib cage.
    "I’ll kill you!”
    Harper smirked. “You’ve gotta catch me first.” She leaned over and threw a large pile of sand into his face.
    Ricky couldn’t see anything, coughing and spitting while wiping his face clean.
    Without looking back, Harper raced to Nik’s side and helped him to his feet. “C’mon, get up!”
    "Where are we going?"
    "I don't know, just hurry.”
    With hands locked, they feverishly raced across the beach, leaving all their belongings behind.
    Being inebriated made it more difficult to maintain his balance, but Ricky eventually struggled to his feet, gritting his teeth while charging after his prey.
    As Harper and Nik raced across Main Street, their bare feet smacked against the smoldering hot blacktop. It felt as if they were running through fire.
    They raced by all the shops and into the foreboding Dark Woods.
    “Do you know your way through here?” she asked.
    “Yeah, just watch your head.” Nik pulled back the low-hanging branches and swept large spider webs out of their path.
    Breathless and frightened, Harper turned and saw Ricky’s enormous body straddling his motorcycle.
    “Shit, he’s comin’.”
    Nik glanced over his shoulder. “Just stay along the tree line. We’ll lose him here in a minute.”
    Ricky’s bike growled while he revved his engine. It fishtailed as he recklessly made his way down the street.
    “What’s he gonna do, run us over?”
    Panic washed over Nik’s brow. “Follow me.”
    He pulled Harper into the heart of the woods where the crinkled fingers of the old treetops twisted, barely allowing light to the forest floor.
    The hungry motor roared over fallen tree limbs as if it were a splitting chain saw. It crunched through leaves, decimating everything in its path.
    Harper was astounded by Ricky’s violent perseverance. No matter how fast they ran, the motorcycle seemed to gain ground on them.
    “How much further?” she asked.
    “Up here, hurry.”
    Nik grabbed on to a tree branch while offering his hand to Harper.
    Suddenly, his sweaty grip on the bark began to slip. The pain burned through his entire body, but he pushed through and lifted her to the top of the hill.
    “He’s gonna find us.”
    “No, he won’t. Follow me.”
    Before they were seen, Harper and Nik raced inside an abandoned tool shed. The malodorous stench and intense heat were hard to ignore, but at least they were hidden. Through the cracks of the door, they fretfully watched his violence unleash.
    The motorcycle’s eerie growl echoed off the trees as Ricky relentlessly attempted to scale the hill. The smell of burnt rubber filled the air while his tires spun out of control.
    “He ain’t gonna stop.