Trent Reedy - Divided We Fall

“We’re gonna die!” Cal screamed.

“These tires are so expensive,” said Sweeney.

I bit my lip and held the brake and the wheel. There was nothing more I could do. We would crash or we wouldn’t.

Finally, we stopped. I opened my eyes, though I hadn’t even realized I’d squeezed them shut. Then I sat back in my seat and unclenched my fingers from the steering wheel, grateful I hadn’t killed us all. I let out a sigh of relief.

“Get out of the car!” An officer tapped my window with his.45.

“Oh, now we’re in trouble,” Cal said. He ran his hands down his face.

The black FBI cars pulled up, followed by the other police from the first barricade. We were surrounded now. “I’m sorry, guys,” I said. “I’m really—”

“Get out of the car!” the officer yelled again. At least now he wasn’t pointing the.45 at us. We all climbed out. Tension rocked through my whole body. It was like being all tight with my fists, ready for a fight, only with no way to let loose all the adrenaline. I couldn’t fight all these cops.

The FBI agents piled out of their cars and drew their weapons right away — a mix of nine mils,.38s, and.45s. The police all around us hoisted their weapons. Most of the cops had guns like the FBI’s, but some had shotguns, and several were packing AR15 assault rifles. They were all tense, ready to shoot. Did they think we were packing?

The officer who had come to my window took two steps closer and raised his.45. “Don’t move! You’re under arrest.”

I slowly raised my hands in the air to show them I was unarmed.

“He said, don’t move,” Sweeney said out of the side of his mouth.

“Bill,” said the officer to another behind him, “get these kids in my car.”

“Let’s go,” said a voice behind me. I felt a firm grip on my shoulder pushing me back behind the barricade. He opened the back door of one squad car and motioned for us to get in.

One of the FBI agents lowered his weapon and gestured for his fellow agents to do the same. “Thanks for your help.” He smiled at the lead cop. “You can handle the other kids with whatever you want to charge them with, but I need to take Daniel Wright with me right away.” The lead cop remained completely serious. The Fed agent frowned. “Is there a problem?”

The police officer nodded to the other uniformed police. “Now, boys.”

Suddenly a dozen cops rushed the FBI men, grabbing their weapons and slapping them in handcuffs. The Feds struggled a little bit, but stopped when the cops showed them their guns.

“I guess you didn’t understand me,” said the lead cop. “I’m Sheriff Nathan Crow, and you men are the ones under arrest.”

“You can’t do this!” the FBI agent said. “Who the hell do you think you are?”

The sheriff didn’t move. “Like I said, I’m Sheriff Nathan Crow. Governor Montaine sends his regards.” He motioned to another officer standing by him. “Get these men loaded and take them back to the lockup at Freedom Lake.” He stepped out into the middle of the small army of policemen. “The rest of you, get out on patrol. See if these Feds brought any of their friends along.”

The sheriff laughed when he saw us standing outside his car. “Well, don’t look so surprised. What? Did you think I was arresting you?”

“I was driving one-fifty in a sixty-five zone, Sheriff Crow,” I said.

“Recklessly,” Sweeney added. I elbowed him.

“Please, call me Nathan.” The sheriff reached out his hand and I shook it. “You probably don’t remember me, Danny, and of course now it’s been a long time, but your father and I were good friends. You sure have grown!”

My father didn’t come up in conversation that much, so when he did, it always threw me off. Sheriff Crow was right — I didn’t remember him — but if he had been friends with my dad, he must be a good guy.

“I’m glad we were able to catch you!” The sheriff slapped me on the shoulder. “I thought the first barricade would have been enough to rescue you, but I’ve never seen moves like yours, ’cept in the movies. No wonder you made it past them.”

JoBell looked from Sheriff Crow to me and then back again. “Wait a minute. Why is the governor involved in this? What’s going on here?”

“She doesn’t know?” Crow asked.

I shook my head. Governor Montaine must have told him why these FBI guys were after me.

“No, I don’t know.” JoBell glared at me. Tears were welling up in her eyes. “But I just risked my life on the run with you, so I better get some answers soon.”

“This is supposed to be kept secret,” Crow said.

“What’s supposed to be kept secret?” JoBell asked. Then she gasped. “Oh no.” She wiped her tears with one hand. “You mean, you… You didn’t stay home to help your mom that Friday night, did you?”

Becca put her arm around JoBell’s shoulders. “It’s okay.”

JoBell’s tears were rolling down her cheeks now. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Sheriff, is there some place me and my friends can go to talk in private?” I asked.

“Sure.” The sheriff shrugged. “You’re free to go, if you’re okay driving home. I ask that you remain vigilant, and keep an eye out for more Fed agents.”

“Come on, Jo. Let’s get in the car.” Becca gently led JoBell back to the Mustang.

Sheriff Crow handed me a slip of paper. “Here’s the governor’s personal comm number. He wants you to contact him as soon as you can.” He gave me another slip. “Here’s my number. If you have any more trouble, if you need anything at all, feel free to contact me. I mean it. Your father and I were real close. I take friendship very seriously. You need help, call.”

“Thanks,” I said. “I will. Do you know what the governor wants?” I snuck a peek toward JoBell and my friends back at the car. JoBell was still crying.

Crow patted me on the shoulder. “He didn’t tell me. I’m only a sheriff.” He nodded toward JoBell. “But it seems to me you have more important people to deal with. The governor can wait.” He held out his hand, and I shook it. “You’re a good kid. A good man. You got guts, and I have a lot of respect for you. Hang in there.”

“Thanks,” I said. “For everything.”

Sweeney let me drive again, saying I’d earned it after that crazy chase. As I steered us back toward Freedom Lake, this time at an easy sixty miles per hour, nobody spoke for a while. I think we were all trying to take in what had just happened.

“You know,” Sweeney said after a long time, “I know we were almost caught by the FBI and we almost crashed and everything. But still, you have to admit, that was… kind of awesome.” He gave me a light punch to the shoulder, and then hit a fist bump with Cal, who was riding in the middle of the backseat. “Dude, you whipped us into such an awesome spin! How did you know how to do that?”

I bit my lip to hold back my smile.

“Eric,” Becca said. “Not now.”

I caught a glimpse of JoBell’s tear-soaked face in the rearview mirror. “I don’t feel like going back to school right now,” I said. “Everybody cool if we head out to Party Bridge?”

“Yeah,” Cal said. “I don’t even want to be in school on a normal day. After all this? Forget about it.”

“Sounds good,” said Sweeney.

“Yeah,” Becca said.

JoBell stayed silent.

I drove around the ROAD CLOSED sign on the Abandoned Highway of Love and then steered slowly down the middle of the road, veering into the right lane at the point where most of the left lane had long since fallen into the river.