Again.
Nothing.
Third attempt.
A cough.
Fourth.
Another cough.
“Again!”
She kicked with everything she had.
The engine exploded into life.
The sound slammed through the salvage yard.
Black smoke poured from the exhaust.
The handlebars shook.
The entire machine vibrated beneath Chloe like something furious at being awakened.
Arthur shouted over the noise.
“Keep it running!”
Chloe could barely hear.
“What?”
“Do not let it die!”
She engaged first gear.
The motorcycle lunged forward.
Chloe nearly lost it.
Arthur grabbed the rear fender for one second, helping straighten the machine.
“Easy!”
She found balance.
The Shovelhead rolled across the yard.
Gravel kicked behind her.
She circled once.
Arthur waved both hands.
“Go!”
Chloe hesitated.
“Arthur—”
“Go!”
She accelerated.
The Harley passed through the salvage gate and onto the road.
Freedom did not feel triumphant.
It felt unstable.
Loud.
Hot.
Terrifying.
But it was moving.
For the first time in years, Chloe was going somewhere Richard had not ordered her to go.
Wind tore at her hair.
The engine shook through her bones.
She headed east.
Then she looked into the cracked mirror.
Dust rose behind the salvage yard.
A white SUV appeared.
Light bar on top.
Chloe’s blood went cold.
Arthur was still standing near the gate.
He saw it too.
Even from a distance, Chloe recognized the vehicle.
Richard.
He had found her.
She twisted the throttle.
The engine protested.
The Harley accelerated anyway.
The salvage yard disappeared behind her.
Chloe did not look back again for several miles.
She followed the highway through a landscape that looked empty enough to swallow people forever.
Desert hills glowed orange beneath the sinking sun.
Telephone poles marched beside the road.
Heat shimmer bent the horizon.
Every few miles she saw an abandoned structure or old gas station.
Nothing she trusted.
She continued east.
Nevada became less an actual destination than a direction.
Away.
That was enough.
By sunset, Richard was no longer visible.
Chloe allowed herself to believe she had gained distance.
Then the Harley began changing.
First came additional vibration.
Subtle.
Then stronger.
The left grip numbed her fingers.
A metallic rattle appeared beneath the engine.
The headlight flickered whenever she hit a bump.
The rear wheel occasionally felt wrong.
Chloe remembered Arthur.
If it starts making new noises...
She laughed once.
It sounded almost hysterical inside the helmetless roar.
Everything is a new noise.
Darkness came quickly.
Desert night erased the heat.
Within an hour, Chloe was freezing.
She pulled Arthur’s jacket over her T-shirt while the engine idled badly beside the road.
Then she continued.
Ten more miles, she told herself.
Then another ten.
Just keep going.
The motorcycle answered with a violent crack.
The rear of the bike jerked sideways.
Chloe screamed.
The back wheel locked.
Rubber dragged across pavement.
The Shovelhead fishtailed across the lane.
Chloe fought the handlebars.
For one horrible second she saw nothing except asphalt.
Then the motorcycle left the pavement and entered the dirt shoulder.
Sparks sprayed from underneath.