By Peter B. and Art Intelli

Chapter Six: Captured by the Baldy Bikers

The roar of motorcycles died down as we pulled into a clearing deep in the woods. Firelight flickered off twisted tree trunks, casting eerie shadows over the makeshift biker camp. Many tents and oil drum fires surrounded a large circle of dirt in the center of the camp, with a row of heavy-duty choppers parked in a line like wild animals at rest.  Off to one side I saw an old-fashioned barber chair, the black leather seat torn and stained, but its chrome and porcelain gleaming in the firelight. At the other end of the camp I noticed several objects, all under filthy tarps, one appeared to be a large crate of some kind.

They yanked me off the back of the bike and dragged me toward the center dirt circle. My wrists ached from the cuffs, my breath coming in short gasps.  I was shoved to my knees.

“Welcome to your New Life, boy,” Q-Ball sneered.

It was then one of the bikers looking down at Viktor’s limp body.  “Hey, I know this asshole!” the guy shouted. “He was the strongman in the carnival that just closed down.  I worked for him for a while.  He treated me like a dog.  In fact, he even made me wear a dog Collar!”

“Oh yeah?” Q-ball shouted back.  “Then let’s show him how it’s really done!”  Q-ball strode over to the crate like object and dramatically pulled off the tarp to reveal a rusted iron dog cage.  “In he goes!”

It took three bikers to lift Viktor’s unconscious body out of the sidecar, drag him to the kennel, and stuff him inside. It was big enough to hold him, but barely. The bikers laughed as one of them kicked the cage, rattling the bars. Viktor groaned but didn’t wake. With a clank, the thick padlock snapped shut on the cage door.

I swallowed hard.

This was bad.

“When I said, ‘Welcome To Your New Life,’ I meant it.  I have decided to let you live, to keep you, and take you into our Tribe.  You may resist it at first, but you’ll soon see it’ll be better for you — and for your pathetic strongman buddy — if you just realize that you’ll be better off with us.”

I didn’t know what to do.  I figured if I could just get out of these handcuffs, maybe…

“Yeah, sure,” I heard myself saying.  “Why not join you?  I got nothing else going for me right now.” I almost believed myself.

“Turn around!” Q-ball snapped.  I complied.  I felt him grab my cuffs and tug my arms back sharply, and then expertly he unlocked both my wrists.  As soon as I was uncuffed, I made what turned out to be a really dumb mistake.

I turned and ran. My body acted before my brain could catch up. I bolted for the tree line, pushing off the ground with all the strength I had. I was running to get away, to find someone to help me and to come back with me later to help me rescue Viktor, as well.

Shouts erupted behind me.

I didn’t stop. I tore through the woods, branches whipping against my skin. My legs burned, my breath came in ragged gasps, but I just kept running.

Then I heard it.

The deep, throaty rumble of motorcycles starting up behind me.

The sound vibrated through my bones.

The woods lit up with beams of white light as the bikers tore after me, their engines snarling like wild beasts.

I threw myself into the nearest bush, my heart hammering.

For a moment, everything was silent except for my breath.

Maybe. —just maybe — they won’t see me.

Then…

VROOOOM.

A bike rolled to a stop just feet away.

Another.

And another.

Their headlights cut through the trees, illuminating my hiding spot.

I squeezed my eyes shut.

Then Q-Ball’s voice rang out.

“Come on, your stupid runaway rabbit! You really thought you could outrun us?”

I froze.

Boots crunched against fallen leaves. Then the bush was ripped apart, and rough hands yanked me to my feet.

“You made a real big mistake,” Q-Ball growled. “Nobody outruns the Baldies.”

I struggled, but it was useless.

The gang frog-marched me back to camp.

Back at the camp, Q-Ball shoved me forward, and I stumbled toward a hulking figure I hadn’t noticed before.

“This here’s Fuzz,” Q-Ball said, nodding to a man with a thick, crooked nose and a sadistic grin. “Used to be a cop, ’til he got kicked off the job for using excessive force.”

Fuzz cracked his knuckles, grinning.

“And this is Warden.”

I turned my head — and felt my stomach drop.

Warden was massive, almost Viktor’s size, with cold, dead eyes. A thick scar ran down his bald scalp. But the worst part was the heavy iron shackles hanging from his fist.

“Warden used to run a chain gang,” Q-Ball said, his voice dripping with amusement. “Till the state got all soft on prisoners. Had to let him go when he… well, let’s just say he got a little too excited with a Big Boss Prison Strap.”  My mind flashed back to the one time Viktor had taken The Strap to me that one time, and I shuddered.

I tensed, my eyes darting toward the shackles.

Warden smirked. “But lucky for you, I kept a few… souvenirs.”

He tossed two sets of iron restraints onto an old anvil near one of the fires.

“You won’t be running anywhere anymore, Rabbit.”

Many hands grabbed me. I fought, twisting, kicking, but it was no use. Fuzz and another biker held me down, forcing me onto the anvil. The cold iron touched my skin, sending a chill through me.

“No!” I screamed as Warden brought out the rivets — thick, metal pins glowing red-hot from the fire.

“Hold still,” he muttered.

The shackles snapped closed around my ankles. The iron was thick, wide, and heavy, growing hot from the rivet against my skin.

Then came the hammer.

CLANG.

I winced as Warden pounded the first rivet down, sealing the iron ring around my legs.

CLANG.

The second one.

The shackles were now permanent.  A bucket of cold water, and a hiss.

Q-Ball leaned in, grinning. “Try running now, Rabbit.”

The bikers roared with laughter.

“But I ain’t satisfied with that.” Q-Ball announced. “You fucking tried to leave when I offered you an honored place with this Tribe.  You made it difficult, so I think I’m gonna make your everyday tasks a little bit more difficult … harder.  I think you need to wear wrist manacles to match your leg shackles!  What do you think about that, Rabbit?”

“On your knees!” Warden barked.

Before I could even react to what he said, I was forced to my knees.

“Put your wrists on the anvil, or I’ll use this hammer to break every bone in your hands..!”

I rested my wrists on the anvil as ordered, looking down so as to not have to watch what I knew was about to happen.  I felt my right hand roughly being put into a wide heavy manacle, the familiar heat from the rivet and pounding from the hammer.  Cold water, hiss.  The same with the other hand.  I was now the Baldies completely shackled property.

My legs felt like lead. I stumbled, my breath shaking.

The heavy chain from the iron shackles around my ankles clanked as I hobbled toward the dog cage, where Viktor was just regaining consciousness. I felt the weight of my failure pressing down on me — not just the metal chains, but the fact that I had tried to run and gotten caught. I had only made things worse.

Viktor’s eyes fluttered open.  His gaze landed on me — on the chains fixed around my wrists and ankles.

“I’m sorry, Viktor,” I muttered. “I tried to get away… tried to get help. But now look at me.”

Viktor, still shaking off the effects of the beating, managed a weak smile. “Don’t worry about it, Brother. We’ll figure something out. Just stay smart.”

I swallowed hard, nodding.

“But for now,” he continued, “do what they say. Go along with it. Keep your head down.”

I understood. Survive first. Escape later.

I turned back toward the bikers, heart pounding.

I wiped the sweat from my brow, the chain from my new wrist manacles hit me hard on the nose.

Q-Ball grinned. He crossed his arms, looking me over like a piece of meat.

“You are now our biker slave.  You’ll haul trees.  You’ll dig our latrine trenches.  And you’ll polish my Hog until it shines like a fucking diamond.  If you prove that you’re not a worthless runaway piece of shit, maybe we’ll let you live, and just maybe you can become one of our Tribe after all.  If not, you can join your buddy there in the cage.  I don’t think the two of you crammed together in there would last very long…  So get Your Mind Right Now!”