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Archive name: pursued.txt (FF, rom, mexican, v)
Authors name: Marcia Hooper (marciaR26@aol.com)
Story title : Pursued

--------------------------------------------------------
Copyright 2002. As the author, I claim all rights under 
international copyright laws. This work is not intended 
for sale, but please feel free to post it to other 
archives or news groups, keeping the header and text 
intact.  Any commercial use of this work is expressly 
forbidden without the written permission of the author. 
--------------------------------------------------------

Pursued (FF, rom, mexican, v)
By Marcia Hooper (marciaR26@aol.com)

***

Remember being fifteen? Remember hanging out at the mall? 
Remember walking home afterwards and being yelled at by 
guys? This story is based upon what happened to me and my 
friend Janie one November night back in 1985. Most of it 
actually happened to us, just the way I write it. Only 
the ending is different. (Well, maybe a few other parts 
too, lol.) Anyway, I hope you enjoy.

***

This is a work of fiction and is not meant to portray any 
person living or dead, nor any known situation. It is 
meant for adults only and is not to be read by person's 
under the age of 18, or the legal age in the 
county/state/country in which the reader resides. 

If you would like a Microsoft Word or WordPerfect version 
of this story (much easier to read), please contact me at 
MarciaR26@aol.com.



Pursued

by Marcia Hooper
MarciaR26@aol.com


It was Friday night, ten p.m., and Denise and Billie were 
on their way home from the mall. Both wore heavy coats 
against the unexpected cold, and Denise, who only the day 
before had on shorts and a tee-shirt, just hated it. 
Billie complained as well, but only so far as the cold 
made her nose runny and red. Billie hated a red, runny 
nose.

"I should have called my mom," Denise complained. 

Billie shot back: "I'd rather fucking freeze!"

Denise huddled deeper in her coat, shivering. "I'm glad, 
because that's exactly what I'm doing!"

Billie laughed and a plume of steam drifted over her 
shoulder. "Pretend you're skiing!" she said

"Skiing, shit!" Denise scrunched her shoulders, dug 
deeper into her pockets. "You are such a jerk!"

They were on foot because Billie and her older sister, 
Regina, had fought. Over something stupid, of course--a 
borrowed top--but Regina was angry enough to say walk or 
get another ride. Neither had a boyfriend with a car. 
They had walked.

"You know," Billie said, "if you're fucking parents 
weren't such dicks, we'd be okay."

Denise grew red. Both knew it was having to leave early 
that meant not getting a ride. No one wasted precious 
time running two girls home with an eleven o'clock 
curfew. Not on a Friday night.

"Fifteen years old and a curfew!" Billie railed. "What 
shit!"

Denise only dug deeper.

After the movie they had hung out in the mall, 
alternating between the entrance, where Billie and some 
of their  other friends could smoke, or in a loose, 
constantly shifting group at the mall's center. They 
cruised, and Billie, for a time, had disappeared with 
Greg Vollmer. She got a thorough grilling from Denise 
when she got back. At quarter to ten, faced with Denise's 
eleven p.m. curfew, they had left.   

"You are pathetic," Billie said.

Denise buried her face in the coat's lining. "Lay off, 
will ya?"

Five foot two inches tall and one hundred twenty pounds, 
Denise was olive-complexioned, with huge brown eyes, and 
hair cut just below her jaw. Although cute, she suffered 
from a mild to moderate case of teenage acne. This, 
combined with a slight chunkiness, caused her acute 
insecurity. She never got attention like the blond-haired 
and blue-eyed Billie. 

Crossing the immense parking lot, Denise and Billie 
walked along Frederick Road to the intersection with 
Montgomery Village Avenue. Instead of waiting for the 
light to change, they headed toward the center island.  
They ran to beat traffic. 

Coming from their right, and moving way too fast, was a 
gold Toyota Corolla. The light changed just as the girls 
stepped onto the island, and the driver slammed on his 
brakes. The Toyota fish-tailed to a stop. Both girls 
laughed.  

Laughter was a mistake. 

"Uh, oh," Denise whispered.

Low to the ground, with mud flaps all around, the Toyota 
had chrome wheel rings, dark film over the  windows, and 
belonged to gang-bangers. Or what passed for gang-bangers 
in Gaithersburg, Maryland. It backed to allow traffic to 
pass, and then the driver's side window rolled down. The 
driver leaned out. 

"You find somethin' funny, puta?"

Denise, an instant roiling in her gut, found they were 
stranded on the island. Cars passed behind them with the 
changed light.

The driver, with a thin mustache and slicked back hair 
and, what may or might not be been a razor scar  on his 
left cheek, looked like Rickie Richardo on crack. "You 
find somethin' funny, puta?" he repeated.

Always confrontational, Billie jibed back: "You're 
driving, maybe?"

Denise hissed, "Billie--" and jabbed her left arm.

"Puta's a smart-ass," the driver said, looking at his 
friends. There appeared to be six of them in the car; 
three in front and three in the back seat. They were in 
their mid to late teens. The driver was older. 

"What you puta's doing on foot?" he asked. The rear door 
opened, and a gang member dressed in a red shirt and dark 
trousers set out a foot. "We got room for two more," the 
driver said. "Get on in."

Denise took a step back. 

Billie, grinning sagely, indicated the green light. 
"You're holding up traffic," she said. 

The driver laughed, said something to the others in 
Spanish, then:  "Puta is a smart-ass."

Denise watched her friend bridle. 

"I am not a puta--" she hissed, spitting out the word 
like a bite of bad meat "--and I ain't smart-ass enough 
to get in your fucking' car! Now drive!"

Denise took Billie's elbow and backed her away. Traffic 
had thinned enough to let them make it back across the 
street, and she wanted out of there before things got 
worse. 

The driver made a waving motion with his hand both 
meaningless and obscene, and said: "Maybe the puta needs 
slapped around a bit. Teach her some manners."

Spitting mad now, Billie leaned forward, pulling almost 
out of her coat. Denise dragged her back. 

"You fucking prick! You think you're man enough to hit 
me?"  She kicked at the driver's side door, missed and 
fell off the curb. "Go the fuck back to Puerto Rico or 
wherever you came from and climb under a rock!" 

Denise was now frantic. "Billie! Billie let's go!" 

But, Billie lashed out again, this time connecting with 
the rear door. It slammed shut on the gang members shin. 
He yelled out as all the doors opened. Then a siren 
erupted. 

Denise, shrieking in response, spun around to find the 
front end of a police cruiser just at her knees. Blue and 
red lights flashed.

"GET BACK IN THE CAR!" the speaker boomed. The Toyota's 
doors closed.

The policeman indicated for Denise and Billie to get out 
of the way, and they retreated to the cruiser's far side. 

"Turn off the ignition and place both hands on the 
dashboard," the officer commanded. "You three in back, 
put your hands on the seat-back where I can see them." He 
got out, microphone in hand. Pointing at the driver, he 
said: "License and registration. Now." Then he looked at 
the girls. "You okay?"

Denise, gasping, and never so glad to see a cop, 
exclaimed: "Yes!"

Billie glared hard at the Toyota's driver and nodded. Her 
mouth was compressed to an invisible line. The driver 
glared back. 

"What going on?" the policeman asked.

In a halting, still frightened voice, Denise explained.

The cop got out of the car, closed the door, and put his 
nightstick through a loop in his belt. He said, "We'll 
get this sorted out, okay? Stay right there." 

Denise could have kissed him.

The light changed again, and despite what the cop said, 
Denise and Billie moved to the front of the car. Traffic 
passed slowly, everyone ogle-eyed and speaking in quick, 
excited bursts. The officer pointed at the oncoming cars, 
forcing them to stop. He directed the girls to the 
opposite curb. 

Denise hissed, "I can't believe you did that!" 

Billie laughed. "Fucking pricks."

Denise flashed into anger. "You must be crazy! They could 
have killed us! Dragged us into that car and no one would 
ever see us again!" She was so unnerved tears sprang to 
her eyes. "What is the matter with you?"

Billie's anger flared as well. "He wasn't calling me 
that!" she snapped. "Us, I mean! You know what that 
means? Puta?"

Denise snapped back. "Of course I know what it means! But 
I'm not getting raped over some word!"

Billie scoffed. "No one's getting raped. For Christ's 
sake, look where we are."

Denise looked. 

The big Holiday Inn across the road was reassuring, but 
there was no one in the lot. There was a commercial strip 
to their right and behind them was the mall. In the 
circumstances, it seemed mighty deserted. 

Billie seemed to realize this too. Begrudgingly, she 
said, "Maybe I did come a little unhinged."

"A little!" Denise wiped her eyes. "I was ready to pee!"

Billie bumped Denise on the shoulder with her own. 
"Sorry," she said. "Guess I'm a stupid, sometimes."

"I guess."

"Still love me?"

"I guess."

"Still having my baby?"

Denise whacked her on the arm with her elbow. "Cut it 
out."

The officer had the driver outside the car and with a 
flashlight examined his license. Then he directed 
everyone out of the car and into a semi-circle behind the 
Toyota. Then a second cruiser arrived, driven by a pretty 
blonde. The driver fixed Billie with a glare and Billie 
glared back.

"Jesus. Why don't you just go over there and smack him," 
Denise said.

"I wish I could."

"You're antagonizing him, Billie. Stop!"

Billie raised her left hand--still inside her coat 
pocket--in an obvious, single-finger gesture. She mouthed 
the word, "Prick."  

Frustrated, Denise said, "These aren't some local beads 
punks, Billie. These guys are for real."

Billie snorted. "I'm not afraid."

"Well I am!" Denise hissed. "And we still have to walk 
home!"

"So?"

"So?" What if they let them go?" 

The second officer had the Toyota's trunk open and was 
looking inside. 

Billie said. "Maybe, you're right. "Maybe we oughta just-
-" she slid her hand sideways. 

Denise looked doubtful. "Leave?" 

"Uh-huh."

Denise looked around. Traffic was scarce, the mall's 
parking lot was emptying quickly, and the longer they 
remained here the bolder the gang-bangers got. "Okay," 
she said, finally. 

"Let's cut down Russell Avenue, then back up Watkins 
Road," Billie said. She looked at the scar-faced driver, 
at the rest of gang members across the road. All returned 
her glance with a hard stare. "Yeah," she said. "We 
should do that. Right now."

Shoulder to shoulder, Denise and Billie crept away. 
Billie set the pace and the farther they got from the 
intersection the faster they walked. 

"What's happening?" Denise asked.

"Nothing, yet," said Billie. "They haven't noticed us 
gone." In fact, someone had noticed. The driver followed 
their retreat with determined eyes, casting glances 
whenever the officer turned away. Billie saw this, but 
said nothing. "Just keep moving," she said.

Twenty feet from the intersection, Billie grabbed 
Denise's hand and dashed off across the street. Cutting 
through the lot in front of a deli, she headed down 
Russell Avenue. 

"What's the matter?" Denise cried.

"The cop," Billy lied. "He was looking around." What had 
actually spooked her was the cops seemed to be letting 
the pricks go! 

"I hope they don't come after us," Denise said, looking 
back. "The cops, I mean."

The wind caught Billie's hair and tossed it across her 
face. "Just run," she cried. "Okay!"

The girls ran past the four dealerships along Frederick 
Road, past the Costco Wholesale where Denise's mother 
worked, past the Lincoln Mercury dealership where 
Billie's dad had bought his last car. Turning up Watkins  
Road, they slowed to a fast walk. Then turned back onto 
Frederick Road.

"You okay?" Denise asked. 

Billie shook her head. "Cold."

Denise struggled to keep up. "I don't like this," she 
said, looking back over her shoulder. There were no 
lights behind them, flashing or otherwise. She quickened 
her stride. "Maybe we should go back a street."

Billie grunted.

They passed in front of Hechinger's, where the parking 
lot was deserted. Only three vehicles were in sight. 
Inside the store, going left to right, lights were 
turning off. This brought gooseflesh to Denise's chest 
and arms.  

"Billie," she said. "I am really scared."

"It's okay. Just keep walking."

A line of cars approached from behind, and though no one 
called out, Denise felt suddenly zeroed-in. The road was 
a mess of construction, concrete barriers lining both 
sides with orange and white barrels marching in haphazard 
formation to the half finished bridge below.  A huge and 
still unfinished wall was to their right.  Descent any 
further seemed suicidal. 

"Billie, stop."

Billie kept walking.

Then Denise looked around and her heart nearly froze. The 
gold Toyota was pulled to the curb. A street lamp cast a 
glare on the windshield, making it impossible to see 
inside. 

Her voice a crackle of fear, Denise wheezed, "Billie!" 
and ran to her friend.

Billie whispered, "Oh, shit!"  

"What do we do?" Denise cried, looking frantically 
around.

"I don't know!" Billie whispered. "But this is bad. This 
is really bad." 

The wall to their right made flight in that direction 
impossible; across the street was a commercial office 
plaza, dark and completely deserted. Beyond that was 
woods. Nowhere to go but  straight down-or back toward 
the car.  

Denise's teeth chattered noisily. "What do we do, 
Billie?"

"Be cool, Nisey," Billie said. "Be cool."

The Toyota inched forward, and Denise stumbled against 
Billie, making them both nearly fall.

"Oh, Jesus, Billie! Think of something!"

Just when it seemed the girls would be forced to flee--to 
almost certain doom--headlights crested the hill. A line 
of vehicles approached, and with the road narrowed to 
only one lane, the driver had no choice. He pulled ahead. 
As it  passed, hands gesticulated from the Toyota's 
windows.

"You slimin' ho bitches!" someone yelled

"I catch you bitch, I make you eat this fucking' thing!" 
yelled the gang-banger with the damaged shin.

Then the car was past, and breath exploding from each 
girl's lungs, Billie spun and nearly knocked Denise flat. 
She grabbed her arm and took off up the hill.

"Where are we going!"  Denise screamed.

"Up the hill!"

"I can see that! Where?"

Billie shook her head. "Anywhere! Just off this road!" 

Ahead of them was Travis Avenue. Reaching it, Billie 
dragged Denise around the corner. "There's houses up 
there!" she yelled, pointing up the hill.  "We can hide!"

Denise could barely catch her breath. "Shouldn't we call 
the police?" she cried. "Call my mom?"

"Not now! Just get out of sight!"

The grade was steep and before getting a hundred yards, 
both girls were winded. Despite her panic, Denise 
couldn't stop thinking that no one ever drove past in an 
emergency. Let them be skipping school and every neighbor 
she knew would pass. Plus a dozen of cops. 

Bent over and holding her knees, Denise panted, "Can't go 
on." Her lungs were erupting volcanoes. Lights popped in 
her eyes. "Gotta--gotta catch my breath."  

Billie's chest ballooned in and out and she rubbed her 
side. "Can't stop," she said, pulling Denise along. "Just 
a little ways further."

"No!" Denise protested

Billie ran ahead anyway, with Denise in tow. 

Reaching the first street, Russell Avenue again, Denise's 
only desire was to find the closest big bush and dive 
behind it. Billie had other ideas. 

Dragged along behind, Denise pointed back and wailed: 
"Houses! Houses right there!" 

"I don't like townhouses!" Billie yelled, as though 
explaining everything. 

The second cross-street, Braddock Road, was lined both 
sides with single family homes. Billie cut to the right 
across the yard of the first house, then continued up the 
hill. 

"Slow down," Denise begged. She was ready to drop.  
"Please?" 

Billie geared back to a loping jog, then to a fast walk. 
Halfway up the block, she came to a stop. Bent over and 
panting, she began to laugh.

"I--don't know--what--you find so--funny," Denise gasped.

Billie laughed harder. 

Denise pushed tousled hair out of her face, then tucked 
it behind her ears. Her nose ran, and her face glowed 
cherry red. "You are so fucking weird, Billie Hart! You 
get the prize!"

Billie, laughingly even harder, reached out and said, 
"Give it to me then!"

Denise dug into her pocket. "Here," she said, pulling out 
her loose change. "Eighty-one cents."

"Not even enough to buy a condom!" Billie laughed. 

Both girls erupted in laughter.

Finally, standing upright, Billie pointed toward the end 
of the street. They began to walk. Denise watched behind, 
while Billie watched ahead. Both awaited headlights; both 
prayed they wouldn't come. The road stayed blessedly 
dark.

"Think they gave up?" Denise finally asked.

Billie shook her head. Then she went suddenly stiff. The 
intersection behind had suddenly brightened. 

"No! You don't think--" 

"I don't know, and I don't mean to find out!" Billie 
exclaimed. Grabbing Denise's hand, she fled alongside the 
nearest house, heading into the darkness behind. Inside, 
a dog started to bark.    

"Where are we going!" Denise cried. 

"Just run!" Billie replied.

Separating the single family homes from the town homes 
behind, was a strip of woods. Denise was alarmed to find 
Billie heading straight toward them. They plunged into 
the tree line and Denise ran with her free hand up. It 
didn't save her being slapped by a low-hanging branch. 
"Ow!" she yelled. "Billie! Slow down!" She dug in her 
heels and made Billie stop. "You're gonna kill us!"

Billie laughed, breath steaming from her mouth.

"This is not funny!" Denise cried, punching her arm. 
"You're always getting me in trouble!" 

Billie laughed even harder and Denise punched her on the 
shoulder again. "I can't cross the street without getting 
molested, and now you got me in the woods. Jesus!"

Billie could not control her laughter. "I--I'm sorry," 
she choked, then broke down completely. Bent over and 
holding her knees, each attempt to speak degenerated into 
hilarity.

Denise fumed. "Go ahead. Laugh." She craned her neck, 
looking back through the enveloping brush. "I'm never 
doing anything with you ever again!"

Billie brayed and Denise mock-kicked her on the shin. She 
snapped around at the sound of an approaching engine, but 
it was the deep-throated rumble of a street rod, not the 
Toyota. A jacked-up red Camaro appeared between the two 
units of townhouses ahead and just as quickly 
disappeared. 

"Shit," Denise muttered, recognizing the car. It was Greg 
Vollmer.

"What?"

"Nothing. Let's go."

Billie held her back. "Nisey, I'm sorry. I'm a fuck-up, 
sometimes. I really am." She looked up and down the path, 
realizing for the first time one existed. "I promise you, 
we get out of this and I'll never fuck with you again."

Denise scoffed: "Liar." 

"Really. Okay?" Billie held out her hands in two fists.  

Reluctantly, Denise hit them with her own. She said, "I 
don't believe you, Hart. Not in a million years."

Feeling her way ahead, Billie pushed aside what branches 
she could, stabbed herself on those she couldn't. She 
cursed softly. Behind them, the same dog set off on 
another round of barking; soon it had raised a chorus. 
Denise, who had always thought this funny before, now 
failed to see the humor. 

Billie lead them out between two end units. Then she 
stopped up short. To their right, one hundred feet 
distant, was Travis Avenue again. Left, the road sloped 
down and out of sight. Nothing visible moved in either 
direction. She stepped cautiously out of the shadows, 
leading Denise to the sidewalk.

"Was it them, you think?" Denise asked. She looked back 
to the woods. The canine chorus, though muted, continued 
resolutely on.

Billie shrugged. "The car was moving slow. Like they were 
looking for someone."

"Would they follow us into the woods?"

Billie rubbed her nose. It was runny and red. Seeing her 
wet finger, she made a disgusted face. "They would have 
had to seen us, and I know they didn't do that."

Denise was not so sure. "What now?" she asked.

Billie headed away from Travis Avenue, dragging Denise 
behind. "There's an intersection ahead," she said, 
indicating the bottom of the hill. "Past the apartments." 

Denise had a vague idea where they were. Watkins Road was 
ahead. Which lead them right back to Frederick Road. 

"We're going back?" she said. "That's kinda stupid."

"There's a pay-phone across the street, at the bus-stop."

"There is?" 

"Yeah."

Although they walked quickly, looking continually back, 
Billie no longer lead Denise by the hand. She had her 
hands jammed deep in her pockets. Denise did the same. 
Their frosty breath drifted behind. 

"Guys are such assholes!" Billie said.

Denise grunted.

"They're not men unless they shit on you and screw with 
your head. My sister? When she was our age, she said no-
one acted like this. No, I take that back. Some guys 
always act like this. Now they're so into this macho 
bullshit, even friends think it's cool to diss you." She 
stopped suddenly. "You know what that prick Jimmy Winters 
did? I was bent over, getting stuff out of my locker, and 
he came up behind me and started dry humping my butt." 
She laughed bitterly. "You believe that? He laughed about 
it too, even after I hit him. And I mean I hit him hard, 
Nisey. Everyone else was laughing at me. I felt like a 
complete!

"Then, a couple days later, I was at my locker again, 
dropping off books, and a guy I don't even know stands in 
front of me and puts his dork in my face. He actually 
touched me, Nisey! I was so mad! He said, 'Oh baby, 
you're the best', and then  hi-fived two of his buddies. 
All I could do was stand there and fume. I hate guys!"

Denise listened to this tirade, almost in disbelief. Just 
two months before, their own friendship had nearly 
splintered over Billie's increasing disregard, both for 
Denise, and for everyone else. It left Denise feeling 
helpless and hurt. 

"I hate boys!" Billie grumbled again. "I just hate them!"

Denise suddenly understood. Not even a for-real item yet, 
Billie and Greg had  problems. Greg was ultra-hot, which 
meant ultra-popular, which meant he cheated on Billie 
left and right. He lied about the Halloween dance, 
getting instead into Emily Holland's pants when he was 
supposed to be home sick. 

"At least you have someone to diss you," Denise said. "I 
don't even get that."

Billie jerked around. "Stop that!" she said. "Guys just 
go for the easiest lay." She burst out laughing, pointed 
at Denise, warningly. "Don't you even say it!"

Both girls erupted in laughter, forgot for a moment their 
danger. What made it especially funny was that both girls 
were virgins. 

Denise sobered. She looked at her watch. "You know what's 
the worst?" she offered. "They won't even believe us. 
They'll say we made it up just to stay out late. Doesn't 
that suck?"

Billie nodded. "Parent's are assholes."

Almost too late, they both heard the car. Turning around, 
Denise saw headlights coming down the hill, shockingly 
close and shockingly familiar. The vehicle approached 
slowly, the engine at idle, the gang-bangers obviously 
inspecting each yard. Billie shoved Denise to their 
right, into the yard of single family home. They went 
down behind a hedge. 

Denise's breath rasped. Her voice was a whine of terror.  
"Did they see us?"

Billy looked cautiously around the hedge. "I don't know. 
They didn't speed up. They would have sped up if they 
had." She looked back at the house, at the dark yard 
behind. "Why can't they just leave us alone?"

The 'L' shaped hedge, two feet wide on the side facing 
the sidewalk, was less than a foot wide on the other, 
offering minimal protection. Once the Toyota passed, they 
would be visible with a backwards glance. 

"Billie!" Denise cried. "They'll see!"

"Shhhh!"

Suddenly, a mass of shivers, Denise peed her pants. "Oh, 
God!"

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Then shut up!"

The Toyota pulled abreast the hedge and stopped. Denise 
was near panic and Billie, feeling it, grabbed her with 
both hands and forced her to the ground. "Don't move!" 
she hissed. 

Denise's knees felt immersed in ice water. It made her 
pee even worse. She started to sob.

"Jesus! Nisey!"

"I can't help it!"

Billie whispered fiercely in her ear. "They're going to 
hear!" 

Denise began to softly wail: "Billie!"

"Stop it!"

"I can't!"

Then the Toyota's front end was visible beyond the hedge, 
and Billie pushed Denise around the corner.

"They see us, we're fucked!" Billie hissed. 

Denise hiccupped and frantically covered her mouth and 
nose with both hands. Her eyes were silver dollars.

"Stop it!" Billie hissed, adding her hands to Denise's 
own.

Then the Toyota was past and once sufficiently distant, 
Billie whispered, "Come on,"  and dragged Denise to her 
feet. They took off running down the sidewalk.

"Where!"

"Back into the woods!" Billie cried.

"The woods? No!"

Billie said nothing.

"Billie!"

"Nisey, please!" Billie was on the verge of tears. "Just 
run!"

Billie veered into a cul-de-sac, dashing between the 
house in the middle and the one to its left. Huffing, 
Denise followed. 

"Wait!" she cried. 

Billie refused to slow. 

Denise started cursing. There was nowhere to hide and 
woods lay dead ahead. 

Suddenly Billie stopped. "Remember Tommy Bowen?" she 
panted. She pointed at the house on their right. "He 
lives right here. Or he used to, back in fifth grade." 
They moved hurriedly to the rear of the house.  

"So?" 

"So, we used to play in the woods."

"Play?"

"And other things too!"

"Wait a minute!" Denise huffed. She had her hands on her 
knees and was puffing white breath. She pointed at the 
pitch black trees. "Those woods are deep, Billie! There's 
no street on the other side, not like back there."

"But I know the way," Billie said, pulling Denise forward 
again. "There's a path that parallels the back of the 
houses. We'll be safe."

Although she was dead set against it, going into the 
woods seemed better to Denise than being on the  lighted 
street. "Come on, then," she gasped. "Let's go."

They moved carefully into the tree line and holding her 
hand, Billie lead Denise through a light thicket. They 
found a path on the other side. Soon, all sight of the 
houses was lost.  

"I thought this paralleled the houses," Denise said. 
Every scrape of branch or snap of a twig made her jump. 
"It's heading straight back."

Billie pushed aside a cluster of branches. "It turns real 
soon," she said. Her voice lacked confidence.

"You're sure?" 

"Pretty sure, yeah."

"Wait a minute!" Denise yanked Billie to a stop. "We're 
getting lost!"

"We are not!"

"We are too!" Denise insisted. An eerily illumination 
came from above, not moonlight and stars, but a reflected 
glow from the low-hanging clouds. It penetrated the bare 
branches, casting everything in a pale, ghostly white. 
Denise turned completely around, trying to see through 
the underbrush. She could not. "This is just great," she 
said. "Lost again."

Billie grumbled: "Okay, so I might have missed the cross 
path." She smacked the branches on her left, looked 
through the underbrush. "It shoulda been there."

Denise said, "We're going back, then. Right?"

Billie shrugged. "If we keep going, I'm pretty sure we'll 
come out on three fifty-five."

Denise shook her head. "I want to go back."

Billie hesitated, then shrugged. "You're right," she 
said. "I'm not getting lost in these woods." Suddenly 
grinning, she put a hand either side of her head, stuck 
her thumbs in her ears and wiggled her fingers. She 
moaned, "Ooooooo!" Then, feigning holding a camera to her 
face, she mimed: "I am so afraid. I want your parents to 
know this is all my fault. I should never have gone into 
the woods alone." She sniffled loudly. "I wouldn't worry 
about that big black witch standing behind you though, 
she only wants your teeth."

Denise punched her on the arm. "I ought to pull your 
teeth!" she said.

"Ooooooo!"

"Stop it!"

"Ooooooo!" Billie moaned, louder.

For a moment the two wrestled, until Denise lost her 
balance and nearly toppled over. Billie pulled her erect. 

"Whoa!" Denise said. Then, "What?" as she saw Billie's 
tense expression. She suddenly realized that expression 
had nothing to do with gang-bangers, or boogiewomen in 
the woods. 

For a moment there was an energy between them, Billie's 
eyes liquid and bright, her expression troubled. Then she 
blinked and swallowed hard and released Denise's arms. 
"We should go," she said.

Flummoxed, Denise distractedly pushed hair out of her 
face. She wiped her nose. "You okay?" she said. 

Billie looked away. "Sure."

Denise put out a hand. "What's wrong."

Billie stopped, but didn't turn around. "I just wish this 
was over," she said. "That's all."

Denise hesitated, then dropped her hand and fell in 
behind her friend, now more confused ever. They walked 
silently back, tiptoeing when necessary to avoid snapping 
twigs. Even so, Denise thought bears foraging in the 
woods made less noise.

"We get out of this alive," Denise whispered. "I'll never 
refuse a ride from my mom again." 

Billy laughed. "I'll even let you." 

"Shoot me if I do, okay."

Billie laughed again. Looking at her watch, she said, 
"Your parents are going to be pissed, Nisey. It's almost 
midnight."

Denise checked her own watch. "They'll never believe us," 
she said.

"Neither will mine," Billie said. She slowed as the trees 
began to thin. "They think because you're a teenager, you 
can't have real problems. Everything's either sex or bad 
grades or being the mother while you're just the kid." 
Ahead, a street lamp cast a cone of orange light onto the 
street. Bitterly, Billie added, "We aren't always lies 
and deceit." Then she laughed at her own solemnity. 
"Jesus! Now I sound like my mother."

Denise laughed. "Then, you call my mom when we get home 
and tell her everything I say is true." 

"I'll have her telling you what a brave girl you are!" 
Billie said. She looked between the two houses at the 
empty and quiet street. "Looks okay to me." 

"Ya think?"

Billie stepped out, took Denise by the hand, just as 
quickly dropped it. She hurried ahead, and Denise, 
looking pained, jammed her hands deep in her pockets and 
followed.

They stopped in front of Tommy Bowen's house, looking up 
and down the street. They listened for the giveaway sound 
of an engine. Half a minute's worth of courage-building 
later, they walked to the  sidewalk and began to walk.  A 
couple of houses away, another dog barked. 

"Shut up!" Billie growled. "I hate fucking dogs."

The wind had kicked up, making both girls shudder. Denise 
felt like an icesickle. Her knees ached and so did her 
toes; her new Nike's were caked with mud and leaves. 

"If it gets any fucking colder..." Billie said, stamping 
her feet. 

Discovering the street lamps haloed in white, Denise 
said, "Oh, man. Not snow!" then stretched out her hand, 
caught a pinhead-sized snowflake. It was soon joined by 
others. She shook them off in disgust. "It's sticking 
too," she said.

They followed the sidewalk to Watkins Road and turned 
right. A tall, wooden fence was to there right; it 
continued all the way to the corner. Homeowners had 
planted shrubs or flowering vines along the fence and in 
places, denuded foliage hung almost to the ground. 
Visible across Frederick Road was the Ride-On bus stop. 
There was a pay telephone on a pole. 

"Yes!" Billie exclaimed, jamming her fist in the air. 
"That's more like it!" Then she rammed Denise  against 
the fence.  

"What? What is it?"

"I don't believe it!" Billie hissed, looking around a 
bush. "I just don't fucking believe it!" 

The Toyota sat in front of the bus stop. 

"This is fucked! This is truly fucked."

Denise, pushed flat against the fence, whispered 
desperately, "What are they doing?"

"They're using the fucking telephone! What the fuck do 
you think they're doing?"

Denise burst into tears, sobbing loudly. 

Looking around in surprise, Billie put her hand over 
Denise's mouth. "What are you doing!"

"Get offa me!" Denise bawled, angrily shaking her off. 

Billie whispered, "I didn't mean anything by it, Nisey. 
Jesus!"

Denise pointed angrily at the street. "Make them go away, 
then!" she hissed.

Billie whispered back, "I wish I could! Just keep it 
cool, okay?"

"I don't wanna keep it cool! I want them to go away!"

"I know, I know! I do too!" 

Looking again around the bush, Billie started to walk 
backwards, pushing Denise ahead. She whispered, "Go-go-
go-go-go!" 

After thirty feet the road had turned sufficiently for 
them to hide and Billie took off running. Denise 
followed. They passed Russell Avenue again and continued 
down the hill to Braddock Road. Here, Billie cut left 
again and started up the hill. It was a long climb.

"This is--ridiculous!" Denise panted. "Where are we 
going?"

"To bang on someone's door!"

"About fucking time!" Denise cried, looking at the 
surrounding houses. She was about to say, "What about 
there?" when Billie leaned forward and kissed her on the 
mouth. 

For an eternity Denise stood frozen, the breath trapped 
in her chest, then she said: "Billie!"

Billie turned and hurried off. Denise took off after her. 
"Wait!" she said, catching up and matching Billie's 
stride. Breathlessly, she said, "What was that about?"

Hands jammed in her pockets, shoulders hunched forward, 
Billie only shrugged. They walked for the better part of 
a block in silence. Then Denise asked, "Are you okay?"

Billie said, "Sure."

Denise looked all around. "Think they're gone?" she 
asked, needing something--anything--to say.

"Don't know."

Denise stopped. "Billie! Cut it out."

Billie stopped also, shrugged again. "It's no big deal," 
she said. "We've kissed before."

Denise was flummoxed. "Not like that!"

"Don't worry about it, okay. I just got excited. It 
wasn't anything."

Denise breathed lightly. "For you, maybe."

Billie turned around and walked back. "Don't make a case 
out of this, Nisey. People do stupid things when they're 
stressed."

Denise said nothing. All around them, snow continued to 
fall, flakes now the size of dimes. The air danced with 
their swirls and soft gyrations.

Billie walked away and Denise caught up.

"I'm not upset, okay?"

Billie's head tilted fractionally. "Meaning what?" 

It was Denise's turn to shrug. "I'm just saying there's 
no reason to be upset."

For a time they were silent, their footsteps the only 
sound in the night. The snowfall had thickened, covering 
the sidewalk and street with a thin white gauze; it stuck 
to the grass. 

Billie stopped. "I am upset," she said. "You should be 
too!"

Denise sensed a watershed moment, a moment when making 
the wrong move, uttering the wrong words would leave them 
second guessing for the rest of their lives. She never 
got the chance to speak.

A car approached. 

Caught directly beneath a street lamp, haloed in snow, 
the girls were completely exposed. Both looked for a 
place to hide.

"There!" Billie said, pointing to a wooden shed just 
visible behind the next house. They charged off through 
the grass, dodging any patches of snow that might leave 
tracks. Seconds before the vehicle arrived, Billie and 
Denise slipped around the shed's corner.

It was not the Toyota.

"Jesus," Billie said, collapsing against the shed's door. 
"I am so sick of this."

"Me too."  

They panted in unison, open-mouthed and expelling steam. 
Both girls wore crowns of snow in their hair. 

"I don't know what's worse," Billie said. "Being chased 
by these grease balls, or being punished for it." She 
slipped her hand, along with Denise's, into her right 
pocket.

They returned to the sidewalk. 

"We should try Hechinger's," Denise said, remembering the 
metal sheds, the wooden gazebos and the cedar framed 
Jacuzzi's. "There's a phone outside, and at least some 
protection."

"Let's hope," Billie said. She sounded more wishful than 
convinced.

Following Braddock Road back to Travis Avenue, the girls 
turned left, moving alongside the building. At the 
corner, Billie cautiously looked around. Except for a 
Ford Bronco turning gradually white, and an old pickup, 
the lot was deserted.

Denise pointed to the telephone, fifty feet away. Billie 
pointed out another, next to the Pier One. Two chances, 
then.

Digging in her pocket for a quarter, Denise said, "Here. 
You call."

Billie stuck the quarter in the coin slot and the 
receiver to her ear. She started to punch the buttons, 
then stopped. 

Denise's stomach tightened. "Don't tell me." 

Billie slammed the receiver back in its cradle. "Jesus 
Christ!" she exploded, slamming the side of the coin box. 
She kicked the side of a cedar platform, making it ring 
hollowly. She limped angrily away.

Losing hope, Denise fed in another quarter, her next to 
last, this time hearing the coin drop with a sickening 
thunk. The phone was definitely broken. "What now?" she 
said, looking around.

Billie indicated the second phone. 

Just as they stepped off the curb, however, headlights 
appeared and the gold Toyota screeched around the corner. 
Denise spun around and ran into the wall, bounced off, 
then ran into Billie. She squealed incoherently.

"I know! I know!" Billie wailed. "Run!"

They dashed headlong up the sidewalk, past the first and 
the second entrance, the sound of the Toyota's revving 
engine echoing off the wall.  The Toyota reached the end 
of the building first, cutting them off. Both girl's 
shrieked again.

Reversing course, Denise's feet slid out from under her 
and she crashed to the ground. Grabbing her arm, Billie 
tried to get her up, but by now, the gang members were 
all out of the car and they were trapped. 

"Billie!"

"I know! I know! Easy!"

They backed flat against the building. Denise could 
hardly breath. Two of the gang members took up position 
on their left, and two on the right. The driver and the 
smallest member confronted them. Denise had never been so 
afraid. She clenched Billie's hand.

"Looka what we got here," the driver sneered. "The little 
stink-bitches. Been all over the 'hood chasing you down, 
little stink-bitches." He stepped forward, head cocking 
first to one side, then to the other. "Glad you stuck 
around," he said, drawing out the last word.

"What do you want?" Billie demanded.

The driver laughed. "The little stink-bitch wants to know 
what we want!" 

This brought laughter and the gang members drew tighter 
in. Denise's legs felt ready to give. This isn't 
happening! she thought, locking them in position. This 
really isn't happening!

The smallest gang member, a nice looking teen with short 
black hair and a flawless complexion, looked ready to 
bolt himself. Out of place in loud baggy clothes, he 
looked no more than fourteen. His eyes, the few times 
they met Denise's, seemed almost as fearful as hers. 

Billie said, "Why don't you just leave us alone, okay? We 
didn't do anything to you."

The gang member on Denise's immediate left, tall and 
skinny in a red silk shirt, laughed and hi-fived the 
member beside him. "Gonna fuck this little bitch," he 
said in broken English. 

"Si!" the other youth shot back. This one bore the look 
of a malicious small animal, one fearful of being left 
out of the kill. His eyes told Denise that she and Billie 
would be gang-raped, maybe even killed.

Denise, looking desperately from one gang-member to the 
other, gripped her coat tightly around herself; she 
backed harder against the wall. Her teeth chattered 
noisily.

Emboldened by the talk and by Denise's show of fear--and 
Billie's lack of it--the driver herded Billie against the 
wall. "What you think, puta? Any reason I shouldn't put 
you in the car and fuck you right now?" 

Un-cowed, Billie shoved the driver back. "I told you 
before! I am not your puta! Now get  the fuck away from 
me!" 

Quick as the snake he resembled, the driver stuck a 
forefinger against Billie's forehead. "You just a little 
stink-bitch, 'ho. I eat stink-bitch's every night and 
pass 'em on. Just like I'm gonna do you." He slapped 
Billie's face.

Screaming in rage,  Billie leapt forward and dug her 
fingernails into the driver's face. He fell back howling, 
tripping over his own feet and going down; the other gang 
members were too shocked to react. Rather than run while 
she had the chance, Billie followed the gang-leader down, 
continued to maul his face. She took multiple hard 
punches to the head and sides before the others jumped 
in. Then they wrestled her to the ground and punched her 
repeatedly.

Denise took off running. Flying by the startled young 
teen, and into the parking lot, she headed for the 
street, screaming.

"Get her! Get the other bitch!" the driver yelled. 

Red-shirt and the other vicious looking youth gave chase 
and hauled Denise down. They immediately silenced her 
with a hand over the mouth and picked her up. Fighting 
back in terror, she kicked and flailed but was dragged 
back to the Toyota and thrown in. The two gang members 
held her down.  

"Move and I'll break you fucking' neck," one of them 
said. 

"Please! Please don't hurt us!" Denise begged under the 
hand. She looked outside for Billie.

Red-shirt said: "We takin' you and you girlfriend for a 
little ride." 

Denise tried to shake her head no, but was not allowed to 
move. 

"Do it easy and we be easy on you. Do it hard and we fuck 
you up real bad. Understand?"

Beneath his clamped-down hand, Denise nodded.

"Do it hard, puta," he laughed. "I wanna fuck you up real 
bad."

In the parking lot, Billie was now off the ground and 
being carried back to the car by the driver, the 
frightened looking youth, and the sixth gang member. Her 
bloodied nose oozed bright red, and she moved not at all. 
Bundling her into the front seat, the driver held her as 
the frightened youth got in, then went around to the 
other side. The sixth gang member slammed the passenger 
side door and got in. Denise found herself between Red-
shirt and Weasel in the back seat, locked in a bear-hug.

"Vamoose!" Red-shirt yelled.

Gunning the engine, the driver sped away across the 
parking lot. Tight-faced with anger, Red-shirt leaned 
forward and smacked the frightened-looking youth on the 
head. 

"Hey!" the youth shouted, spinning around. "What the fuck 
you do that?"

Red-shirt hissed, "You nothin' but a pussy-faced little 
coward!"  and struck the youth twice more in the head. 
Then the driver stopped the car. 

"What the fuck are you doing!"  

Red-shirt angrily replied, "The sombitch did nothing! The 
white 'ho ran right by him and he didn't do nothing!" He 
cursed again in Spanish. 

The exchange continued heatedly for some moments, then 
the driver pointed at Red-shirt and yelled: "Shut the 
fuck up or I shoot you fucking dead!" 

A chrome-plated automatic was in his hand.

Red-shirt, seething with anger, smacked the roof of the 
car. He got out to walk off his frustration. 

"Anyone else?" the driver asked. When no one answered, he 
addressed the youth. "You okay, hombre?"

"Si, Jose."

Jose smoothed the boy's hair. "Next time, maybe you stay 
home, huh? Take care of the women?"

Though rebuked, Alex seemed terrifically relieved. "Si," 
he said, again.

Jose motioned for Red-shirt to get back in the car. Once 
inside, the Toyota peeled off.

"Please," Denise begged. "Don't do this!" 

"Shut up, bitch!" said the driver.

Denise was forced onto Red-shirt's lap. She jerked in 
panic as the youth beside her first forced open her legs, 
then dug a hand into her crotch.

"Nooooo!"  she wailed. "Leave me alone!"

Red-shirt's reaction was immediate. Whipping out his 
hand, he smacked the offender on the face. "Get your 
fucking hands off her!" he said, rearranging Denise's 
legs. "Do that again and you be one dead hombre!"

Denise didn't fool herself for a moment: Red-shirt was 
protecting his kill. 

Doing sixty miles an hour, the Toyota crossed the newly 
built bridge, hung a ninety-degree turn into the first 
turnoff, and after a series of jolting bumps, 
transitioned onto a graveled road. The driver sped up the 
narrowing path and, Billie, awake again and looking 
around, began to struggle. Her nose was obviously broken.

"Stay still!" the driver hissed. 

Billie struggled even harder. Red-shirt leaned forward 
and smacked her on the back of the head and Billie 
caterwauled, trying first to bite Alex's neck, then Red-
shirt when her tried to grab her.  

They're going to rape us! Denise's mind cried. They're 
going to rape us, over and over again!  She felt her mind 
loosing its grip, drifting toward mindless shock, and 
then a hand went inside her coat and yanked out her shirt 
and another hand yanked at her belt. "Leave me alone!" 
she screamed, twisting sideways. She caught the gang 
member on the end with her right foot and smashed his 
head against the glass. She kicked him again, and the 
glass shattered. Then she threw back her head and 
screamed, dodging the hand over her mouth. 

"Shut her up! Shut her the fuck up!" Jose bellowed.

Denise continued screaming, kicking even harder. 

Yelling, "Jesus Fucking Christ!" Red-shirt tried to 
restrain her, but Denise got her right leg free and 
kicked again at the end youth. She caught him full on the 
neck, and the youth became enraged. 

"You stupid fucking bitch!" 

Grabbing her feet, he jammed them between his legs while 
Weasel undid her belt. Denise became hysterical as both 
her jeans, and then her underwear were dragged down to 
her knees. "Noooooooooooo!" she screamed, while fingers 
sought to violate her.

Suddenly the Toyota was skidding sideways, the rear end 
jolting up and down on the rutted ground. Denise realized 
Billie had her foot jammed hard on the accelerator, and 
she began to scream.

"Wreck us Billie! Wreck us!"

Tying to control the skid, Jose yelled, "Let go! Let go!" 
and hit hard against Billie's chest with his elbow. 
Denise heard cracking ribs. Totally enraged, she kicked 
her legs free, punched hard with her right foot into the 
end gang member's head, smashing it through the window 
entirely. Holding his bloodied face, the gang member 
started to scream, but was kicked again, driven back into 
the jagged hole. Then she brought both feet down in a 
vicious kick to the boy's groin, and he was permanently 
out of the fight. He spewed yellow vomit between his 
feet. 

"Denise! Denise help me!" Billie screamed. She was pushed 
almost horizontal and the engine no longer revved. 

Struggling into a sitting position, Denise kicked at the 
driver's head, but Red-shirt dragged her viscously aside. 
Screaming, she smashed her head back against Red-shirt's 
face, but two blows landing on her jaw made stars 
exploded before her eyes. There was terrible pain in her 
mouth. Hitting at him again, she connected this time with 
his right temple and this was all the break she needed. 
Drawing back both feet, using Red-shirt as a buttress, 
Denise kicked viciously at the driver's head. She drove 
him forward against the steering wheel. Then the Toyota 
was spinning out of control, denuded trees whipping past 
the windshield, and everyone screaming and grabbing for 
handholds. They careened sideways into a tree, then 
whipped back to slam into the opposite embankment.

"Noooooooooooo!" someone screamed. Then everything turned 
topsy-turvy as Denise was thrown first against the roof 
and then against the floor, then back into the roof 
again. In her terror she heard the   shatter and spilling 
of glass, the crunch and the groan of bending metal and 
then a tremendous thud as the Toyota righted itself and 
plunged nose first down the hill. Then the car went 
suddenly vertical and for a moment it stood there, 
precariously balanced on the grill, as the human cargo 
inside crashed against the dashboard and windshield. 
Then, like a tree toppling in slow motion, the Toyota 
smashed down into the creek bed. 

For Denise, the world went black.

*

"'nise? Nisey?" 

Denise heard the voice, heard many other sounds she could 
not identify. She heard crying. 

"Nisey? Please? Please be all right! Please?"

She opened her eyes and Billie was there, looking truly 
awful. Her nose was smashed and a deep gash cut through 
her right eyebrow. A paramedic tried unsuccessfully to 
attend the cut while Billie pushed her away.

"Nisey?" Billie burst into tears. "Oh, God! Oh, thank 
God! I thought you were dead!"

Denise tried to speak, but something was wrong with her 
jaw.

Tears running down her face, Billie shook her head. 
"Don't try to talk," she warned. "Don't even try." She 
laughed in sobbing fits. "Your jaw's broken Nisey, broken 
all to hell. They have you in a neck brace, and you're 
strapped down to a board." She laughed again, and Denise 
discovered the only thing that moved were her eyes. "It's 
okay," Billie said, reading her panic. "Just take it 
easy." 

Denise became aware of four paramedics working over her, 
one stripping lengths of tape from a roll and attaching 
them to equipment laid out on her chest while a second 
yanked plastic tubing from a bag and started an IV. A 
third paramedic had arranged a bottle of oxygen--she 
assumed it was oxygen--between her knees and was fitting 
her with a mask. When she experimentally moved her hands 
and feet, she found them strapped down also.

One of the paramedics, a pink-faced young blond in her 
late twenties, adjusted something out of sight. "Don't 
move," she said. "Don't move at all. Just blink twice for 
yes, once for no. Okay?" 

Denise blinked twice. 

"We have you on a transport board, Denise. You've been 
hurt, but we don't know how bad." She conferred in a 
whisper with someone beyond Denise's field of view, put a 
comforting hand on her shoulder. "Probably it's nothing 
more than bumps and bruises, but we don't want to take a 
chance. You do have a broken jaw though," she confirmed. 
She grinned. "And it's a beaut. Get used to that. She 
gripped Denise's left shoulder. "Everything's going to be 
fine."

The paramedic lifted Denise's shirt--Denise recoiled from 
her cold fingers--and probed gently among her ribs. 
Something even colder was planted on her chest in three 
different places; wires strung out to an electronic box. 

"It's okay, Nisey," Billie said from somewhere to her 
left. "They got you all taken care of."

The board was lifted and carried by the four paramedics 
along what Denise perceived as a stream bed, then up a 
shallow but very high embankment. She was met at the top 
by her frantic parents.

"Denise! Oh, my God, Denise!" her mother wailed. 
Immediately, she was in tears, clutching the board as the 
paramedics went by. "Oh, God! Are you all right, Denise? 
Is she all right?"

Then her father was there, wrapping Denise's mother in a 
protective hug, pulling her aside so the paramedics could 
get by. All Denise could manage was a grunt.

"Were putting you aboard now," the pink-faced paramedic 
said. 

Denise strained for a glimpse of Billie, wanting only 
that her friend be okay, but the rear doors slammed shut. 
She was in sudden, sterile silence. 

Siren wailing, the ambulance sped away down the gravel 
road. Focusing on the ceiling above, the dangling plastic 
lines and unnamable but somehow familiar equipment, 
Denise shut her eyes and tried to blank out the pain. She 
never remembered making it to the hospital.



Epilogue:


"What about Alex?" Denise asked.

Two weeks had passed since the wires were removed from 
her jaw, and Denise still found speaking difficult. 
Broken in three places, her jaw now had gold plates and 
fourteen surgical steel screws. She sat with Billie and 
Billie's parents in the corridor outside Courtroom 604. 
They awaited sentencing of four of the remaining five 
gang members. Denise's parents were en route from work. 

Billie's father replied, "What about him?"

Denise leaned forward. "They're letting him go, right?"

Billie's father said in disgust: "According to the 
assistant D.A." He looked at his wife, then at Billie, 
then back at Denise. "Why you girls--" he shook his head. 
"Why you would stand up for that scum in court, I don't 
understand."

Billie, looking both irritated and resigned, folded her 
arms. "Because he pulled Denise and me out of the car. 
Hello?"

"He also dragged you in there, if you remember right. 
Denise, as well."

In a somewhat stilted voice, Denise said, "He never 
wanted to be involved, Mr. Hart. We could see that the 
whole time. I honestly think he wouldn't have taken 
part." 

Mr. Hart shook his head. "I don't believe that for a 
second."

"Dad--"

"Six guys and two helpless girls? Come on!"

Mrs. Hart elbowed his ribs. "Enough, John. Remember where 
you are."

Billie rolled her eyes. "Like we weren't the one's 
there."

"Young lady--"

Mrs. Hart cut him off. "Billie's right, John. That car 
went up in flames not ten seconds after he got Denise 
out. He didn't have to do anything. He could have run 
away. Like the others."

"He did run away," grumped Mr. Hart. "Afterwards."

"And that's understandable. He's only fourteen."

"Fifteen."

Mrs. Hart shook her head.

There was silence for a time, then Denise leaned forward. 
"It wasn't just us," she said. "He saved Jose too."

"Should have let him burn."

"John!"

Denise went on, "It took him and Billie both to get Jose 
from behind the wheel." No one, including Billie's 
father, said anything to that. "I think he's a hero."

The door to the courtroom swung open, and a Bailiff 
motioned them in. "The judge is ready for sentencing," he 
said.

"About time," mumbled John Hart.

Waiting for Denise, Billie took her elbow and whispered: 
"They don't let him off, I am going to be so pissed!"

Denise nodded. It was difficult holding anger toward 
someone who'd saved your life. 

Sitting together in the second row, Denise and Billie 
observed the remaining defendants. All were in suit and 
ties, their gang-banger persona's scrubbed miraculously 
clean. It didn't matter. Denise and Billie's testimony 
would put the four away for years.   

"What about Greg?" Denise whispered, leaning over.

Billie looked caught off-guard. "We're going out Friday," 
she said, glancing around. "But he's ready to dump me." 
She leaned close, lips touching Denise's ear. "Should I 
care?"

Denise looked sideways. A tiny grin stole over her face. 
"Not in a million years," she whispered back. 

For a moment their eyes met and held, then, as the judge 
entered the courtroom and sat down behind her bench, 
Denise moved her hip and right leg in against Billie's. 
She allowed herself to smile.


The End

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
This story was written as an adult fantasy. The author
does not condone the described behavior in real life in
anyway shape or form. 

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Kristen's collection - Directory 19