Johnny and Kimi: On the Run [Published - Sample Only]

Chapter 4 - Night Ride V2.0

Chapter 4 - Night Ride V2.0

Dawn was breaking to the east. The two friends were somewhere on Highway 9 between Fairplay and Breckenridge. Johnny had decided to stay off the main roads as much as possible; way off! He and his father had ridden their bikes or driven the truck up here enough times to his grandpa's place that he knew several different ways to get there.

On the back of the bike, Kimi yawned and tiredly said into the intercom. "Sure are taking the scenic route."

"No shit!" he laughed, "but you know how much I hate Denver traffic."

"Right, it's five AM, there's no traffic yet."

"Yeah, I know. Are you as dead dog tired as I am?"

"Yeah, I fell asleep for a second and almost fell off the bike a few minutes ago."

"Me too can hardly keep my eyes open. I thought we could make it to the cabin tonight, but it's three more hours and there's no way. I think we better take a chance and stop for a few hours at least."

A few minutes later, they drove through the small town of Alma and pulled into an old-fashioned motel. It was fairly run down and based on the types of vehicles parked out front, Johnny figured: this will do just right.

He said to her. "See, I take you places."

She laughed. "Yeah, and they probably have an hourly rate!"

He parked the bike, took off his helmet and hung it on the handlebar. "I'll be right back."

Johnny walked up to the thick glass 24-hour window and pressed the ring here after midnight button. He looked at his watch and saw that it was 6:09 AM. A couple of minutes later a tired looking tattooed man of about 70 stepped up to the window. "Can I help you son?"

"Yes sir, I need a room for the night."

The old guy laughed. "A little late for that ain't it?"

"Yes sir, we've been riding all night and figured we better stop 'fore we fell off the bike."

"What, are you on your way to Sturgis?"

Johnny thought quickly and answered. "Yeah, exactly. My friend and I got jobs helping setup, you know, to pay for the trip."

Sturgis is the world's largest motorcycle rally and is held outside of Rapid City South Dakota every summer.

The old man raised his eyebrows. "Where'd ya' ride in from?"

Johnny had already formulated an answer which would make sense. "We rode in from Flagstaff."

The old man said suspiciously. "You're a long way from home, son."

"Yes sir, we thought we could make it further today. We pushed real hard, and here we are."

The old man laughed and showed off an old Iron Horse tattoo. "How long do you want to stay?"

"Um, how about until four this afternoon?"

"You sure like riding at night son. Okay, from one old biker to a young one. I'll make you a deal. We're not full now, and I like your style. You can check in now and stay until nine AM tomorrow for 40 bucks."

"Thanks that'll be great." Johnny handed over two wrinkled 20s through the metal slot under the glass.

The old man handed him a registration card. Johnny filled it out. He wrote: Mr. and Mrs. B. Simpson, 742 Evergreen Terrace, Flagstaff Arizona.