1, The open road

Nash

The open highway, the hum of the engine and the lack of flying bullets had me in a good mood. I couldn’t remember when I felt so relaxed as of lately. It had been a while since I went on a long ride like this. Sure, it would have been even better if the whole club had been with us, but Bones was a good companion to ride with. I relaxed into the freedom of being on the road. We had been on the road for a little over a day and we were getting close to our destination. We passed the sign welcoming us to New Mexico and Bones signed for us to pull to the side at a rest stop. We used the facilities and to my relief; they had a soda machine that delivered cold drinks after we filled it with coins. We took our sodas and leaned against our bikes and looked out over the desert landscape and the plateau mountains.

“You remember what I have taught you?” Bones asked in a gruff voice.

“What? Like everything? Probably not, but a good deal of it,” I said.

“Stop being a smartass. I’m talking about the statutes,” he told me.

“Right, those. Yes, yes, I remember,” I told him. Bones was one of the few persons in the club who still placed any values in the statutes the mother chapter had given the club. Our former Prez, Bones’ best friend, had been as strong of a believer in them as Bones was. But since his death, the club had strayed away from them. I was torn by the question. I was loyal to Bones. He was the closest thing to a father I had. But some parts of the statutes were not making any sense. Like that the club should hold communal dinners for all club members and their families at least three times a week. Or that the Prez should be called Alpha. Then there were the things that did make sense, like the hierarchy or that the able bodied should train to keep the club safe.

“We are going to the mother chapter, son. They take these things seriously. We can’t fuck this up,” Bones reminded me. I got serious and nodded. “If we do right by them and we show respect, they will help, and you know as well as I do that we are going to be screwed up the ass if we don’t get their help.”

“I know, old man. I won’t mess up,” I told him. As we got back on our bikes and set off, I tried to remember all the rules. I sighed and wished I had read the fucking statutes before we headed out.

Hours later, we turned off the highway onto a dirt road. Half an hour after that, we turned off to an even smaller dirt road. In the middle of nowhere, there was a beam across the road. On the side of the road was a small shed with one side open. Next to it two bikes stood and out from it two gigantic looking men stepped. They were both walking with confidence as they eyed us.

“Yes?” one of them asked. He looked like a biker had a baby with a viking and that baby had been fed miracle growth.

“We are Bones and Wolf, Vice… Ermh. Beta and Gamma of the Howlers. We need to speak to the Alpha of Ulvaskall,” Bones told the man. The man grunted to let us know he understood. He fished out a mobile phone and looked to be typing something. Then we waited. I didn’t hear the notification, but the man looked at the phone and then at us.

“You can go through. Follow the road until the village. Someone will be waiting,” he told us.

“Thank you,” Bones said and we continued as the beam had been lifted to let us pass. I kept an eye out for the village. In my mind, it would consist of the traditional terracotta coloured houses with flat roofs. It made sense out in the desert. What we found was nothing like it. The road turned around a plateau and the town came into view. It was made up of bright red wood buildings with white painted details and tiled roofs.

“What the fuck?” I asked, feeling utterly confused. It wasn’t just the buildings that confused me. The valley they were in was filled with green plants. It was like an oasis. In the middle of the village stood a big building. Three stories tall with several entrances. To the right of it was a mechanic’s shop and in front of it stood a horde of bikes and a pink jeep. There was a man in front of the big building, looking at us. He was tall, blond and looked like he could bench-press a small mountain. What did they put in the food around these parts? Bones and I both parked our bikes to the side and got off. The man was walking up to us.

“Welcome. I’m Ulf, Alpha Jacob is my father. He is waiting inside,” the man said and reached out his hand.

“Thank you. I’m Bones, the eh Beta of the Howlers. This is Wolf, the Gamma,” Bones introduced us as we both shook Ulf’s hand.

“Wolf? Interesting nickname,” Ulf said with a smirk as he showed us in through one of the side entrances. We walked into what looked to be a bar. In the middle of the room was a long table with benches on both sides and a chair at each end. Around it were smaller, round tables and in a corner a bar. At the head of the big table, a man sat. He looked like Ulf, but was about twenty years older. This had to be the Prez of the club, I thought.

“Beta Bones, it has been a while,” the man said and stood up. Another freaking giant. His long, blond hair and braided beard had me thinking about vikings again.

“Alpha Jacob, it has been indeed. Far too long for me to like thinking of it. Thank you for seeing us. This is our Gamma, Wolf,” Bones said and shook the hand of the man. Jacob nodded at me and I returned it, knowing well that Bones would kill me if I wasn’t on my best behavior.

“Sit and tell me why you are here,” Jacob told us and indicated the bench. “Gus, bring us some beer!” he then called out. The man behind the bar, another big ass man, this time with red hair and beard, got working. Bones and I sat down.

“We are in trouble, Alpha,” Bones started.

“The club?” Jacob asked as we got our beers. “I haven’t heard anything about it, you always pay your dues on time. True, we have had some troubles of our own, but that has been taken care of,” he continued.

“It started a couple of months back. All of a sudden other clubs came after us like we were hording a fucking treasure or some shit. Two days ago, we had another shooting at the clubhouse. This time, we managed to take one of the fuckers alive. He told us there has been declared an open season on us,” Bones explained. Jacob and his son cursed. At least I think they did, they used a language I didn’t understand. But few things sound like curse words, regardless of language.

“Get Johan and Gunnar,” Jacob told his son. We sat in silence while drinking our beers as we waited. It didn’t take long for Ulf to return. He was followed by another two huge looking men. They sat down opposite us and Jacob asked Bones to tell them everything, in detail.