Stampede
Jovel’s Heroic Ride
Jovel and Seth took the Suzuki Samurai to Truckee. The owner of the Samurai swapped the little engine for a V-6, so it accelerated like a motorcycle on the streets, and the 4WD made it great on the fire roads.
The dirt road to bus creek had a steady flow of pilgrims cutting across from highway 89. The creek widened where the bus created a partial dam, so Jovel drove along the creek and crossed a little further down stream. The Samurai easily pulled up the bank.
Jovel punched the gas and accelerated up the hill. “Woooo Hoooo!”
The front tires came off the ground when they crested the top. Jovel turned hard and kept the gas on when they landed, spinning and completing a donut before stopping in a cloud of dust.
Seth laughed when he saw Jovel’s reaction. “Dude, you are like a five-year old kid on his first Big Wheel!”
“I am! I am! I hate Samurai’s, but this thing isn’t bad.”
“It’s a sleeper, that’s for sure. Who knows? Maybe the owner will be too.” Seth patted the dashboard.
Jovel started down the hill toward the fire road. “What do you mean?”
Seth shook his head. “This one is hard for me. I used to really trust this guy. I learned a lot from him.”
“What happened?”
“Several things, but the one that showed me his true colors presented a dark and sinister flag. I spent a year working with a client on a quarter million dollar project. It was to be followed by a second project at three quarters. Of course it’s too big for one guy, but I knew if I brought him and his crew in we would have a great year of work, and a client for life.”
Jovel shrugged his shoulders. “And… what happened.”
“From day one he walked around like he was the new sheriff in town and took over. Forever in my heart I will charge this guy with stealing what he was sent to protect… and it wasn’t the first time, and not only with me.” Seth smacked himself on the forehead. “I’m an idiot for ever considering him.”
Jovel chuckled. “Be careful man, that looked like it hurt.”
Seth laughed. “Well, I used to listen to Armstrong and Getty, and one of the guys, Joe, used to say all the time how stupid should hurt.”
“Think about it though… if your friend played his position we never would have met. That goes for Cruz, Trent, and all of us at the Oak Barrel.”
Seth reflected. “Yeah, that very well could have been the tilling of my soil to prepare for the seeds we’re cultivating today, but it hurts very deeply to be tilled.”
“Why did you let him in the camp?”
Seth nodded, laughing through his nose. “There’s the test. This isn’t my camp. The first person I turn away who is coming to serve the Lord puts me into a judge’s seat. I’m not a judge. Besides, I’m sure more people hate me for things I’ve done as a youth, so what right do I have to be at this camp. Not one bit more than him anyway.”
“Now you’re in his car, so I guess you still trust him.”
“Yeah. Maybe so, but I wouldn’t ride with him. I won’t ever again. In this life he is my spiritual adversary… you know what I mean?”
“What a head trip… you’re in his car, he’s in our camp, and he is now part of our team.”
“I told you this was a hard one for me.”
*****
Night fell on the way back. Around a sharp corner, three cars blocked part of the road. Several guys in purple hats were waving the cars through one at a time. They shined a flashlight in each car before allowing them through.
Seth ducked down. “How are we going to get out of here? There’s too many of them.”
“Don’t worry man. Cover yourself with a towel and stay low.”
“What are you going to do?”
Jovel scanned the details of their scenario. “I’m going to let the car ahead pull away. I’ll approach slowly and start rolling down my window. As soon as I see an opening, I’m going to duck down on top of you and punch it through. Then I’ll kill the lights and lose them in the dark.”
Two guys waved the Samurai to the checkpoint, one on each side. Jovel rolled forward and started rolling down his window. They shined their flashlights, causing Jovel to squint and block the light with his hand.
The guy on Jovel’s side started. “You can pass after we look inside.”
Jovel slowed down pretending to stop. He noticed these two were unarmed, but several of the other guys off to the side had guns.
The guy on the passenger side yelled something in Spanish that made everyone look right at Jovel. He popped the clutch and hit the guy, knocking him into the gunman on his side of the road.
Seth pulled the towel off and lifted his head enough to see out the back. “I thought you we’re going to duck down?”
“Things changed.”
“What did you hit?”
“A purple hat, with somebody in it.” Jovel kept looking back in his mirrors to make sure the road was empty.
“A purple hat, with somebody in it.” Jovel kept looking back in his mirrors to make sure the road was empty.
“Yeah, but going off-road will leave a trail of breadcrumbs. You know, dust.”
A couple of miles past Alder Creek Jovel saw the Hobart Mills barn. He slammed on the brakes. At the same time he grabbed the emergency parking brake and pulled it up while spinning the wheel. The vehicle spun sideways and stopped. He quickly backed it up the hillside into the trees.
Seth looked at the barn. “Hobart Mills? We should keep going south and lose them down the road.”
“Right into another road block? We don’t know how many spots they’re covering. Maybe this was a trap?” Jovel reached across Seth and opened the door. “Jump out! You can take Hobart Mills Road toward the lake. Randy’s guys will get you in safely. Our perimeter is just down that gully. Hurry!”
Seth’s mouth dropped open. “You want me to get out?”
“Yes! Quickly, those dudes are coming.” Jovel nodded for Seth to leave. Hesitantly he got out and closed the door. He turned to say something to Jovel, but the first of the three cars drove past and Seth quickly ducked behind the bushes. Jovel flashed his lights at the last car. They saw him and slammed on their brakes.
Jovel yelled through the window. “Get out of here!”
Seth ducked behind the bushes and out of sight.
Jovel pulled out and turned right, heading south on 89. The little Suzuki’s tires screeched with each shift. The three cars took a moment to get turned around, so Jovel made it look like he had car trouble by cutting his lights and letting off the gas. He puttered a moment, waiting to make sure they chased him. In the rear view mirror he saw them regroup and head for him.
“Okay boys… Come get me.” Jovel turned the lights back on and stepped on the gas. He turned right on Alder Creek, thinking he would loose them in the maze of streets Seth took him before.
A patch of sand in the turn on to Ski Slope Way surprised Jovel. The Samurai spun around, facing the wrong way. His tires started spinning as he punched it to turn back around. He saw the headlights of the others coming on Alder Creek.
The first of the three cars came around the corner before he got completely on the road. They opened fire. Jovel saw three little holes appear in the hood, and the driver’s window shattered. He turned the Samurai straight and punched it up the street. He smiled as he passed Bear Meadows doing seventy.
They kept on his tail until they got to the switchbacks, where Jovel’s awesome technique gave him a substantial lead… but it was too late. His blood soaked shirt was sticky and heavy. He put his hand over the hole on his side. It grew harder to swallow. Breathing became harder too.
Jovel winced and spit up blood. “I’ll never make it back to camp.”
The house on the top of the ridge came into view. It was the same house he and Seth stopped by to see the view. Swallowing hard, Jovel let off the gas and coasted toward the empty home. He stopped in the dirt driveway and tried to look at the stars, but his eyes welled up and he couldn’t focus.
He sniffed. “Seth calls these happy tears.”
Jovel tried to smile, but it hurt too much. Instead he spit up blood. He looked in the rearview mirror at his blood stained teeth. In the blurry distance he saw headlights as the others made it around the corner. He sat there revving the engine, barely able to keep his eyes open. Their lights brightened as they closed in. He popped the clutch and made a huge cloud of dust as all four wheels spun like crazy in the dirt. Slowly he started moving forward. He let off the gas for a second to get traction, and shifted into second.
Jovel charged down the driveway. Dust swirled in the air blocking the view of the three cars following right behind him. They carried a lot of speed from the street and quickly closed the gap to Jovel.
Shots popped from the lead car. Jovel’s left shoulder stung a bit, followed by another sting in his neck. His eyes focused on the end of the road, his mind alert, and his body comfortably numb. He knew exactly what the other side of the driveway meant. A smile started to appear on his face, but everything went black as Jovel felt a little sting in the back of his head.
The Samurai crashed through the chain, launching thirty feet into the air. The cars right behind him emerged from the dust, their occupants in disbelief. The first car hit the back of Jovel’s, slowing it enough for the other two cars to hit it. All four floated together for a brief moment, tumbling quietly through the night sky. They saw each other in the different vehicles, every half-second lasting a minute as they dropped toward highway 80 down the hill.
Jovel’s car hit the hillside first. The crunching metal snapped everyone back into real time as they tumbled and bounced violently down the hillside, stopping on highway 80 in a pile of burning metal.
It cast a radiant reflection off of Donner Lake.