Nobody Rides For Free Ch. 01

Looking in the backyard I saw the Riley had everything covered up. Evidently Charlie had come by early and picked her up to make the veggie run. I decided to go work on my ride until they got home. The way it looked, by the time Charlie got home with Riley on his 'love machine' she'd be ready for a roll in the hay.

Charlie's bike was one that caused some consternation among the rest of the bikers he hung out with. Just in front of the seat where the gas tank came down and met with the seat, he had fabricated a large knob. The knob was covered with some Naugahyde, but it wasn't padded too much.

All of us, to a man, figured that ol' Charlie was nuts. If he ever had to stop fast or took just the right kind of spill...well...that knob could make someone less than a man. The way it stuck up it was about level with the top of the seat and once a man was sitting there...well...the family jewels would be exposed to a rather large, hard knob that had no give in it at all.

There had also been quite the speculation on why that knob was there too. Charlie never did tell anyone why he had built it into his design, and we were all at a loss as to why he'd want that lump there. It just didn't fit in with the whole look the bike had at all. Of course, over time I had learned that every biker has a couple of things they like that others can't quite see the why of.

I tinkered on the ride for a bit then I heard the phone ringing in the house. I picked it up from the garage extension, and for the umpteenth time kicked myself for not having gotten the ringer fixed on the phone in the garage. It had been lucky I heard the phone at all.

"Hello?"

"Yeah...it's Dog. What are you doing home man?"

"Oh...power outage at work. I decided to work on my ride. Riley and Charlie went to the orchard to pick up some veggies for the party this weekend."

"CHARLIE picked up Riley? Oh man...that's bad...real bad."

"Why? I don't understand."

"Do you know that Charlie has a thing for Riley man? I've warned him off before. She could be in serious trouble...especially if she's on his ride."

"Why is that? I figured Charlie is pretty harmless."

"Not while he's on that ride. Why do you think he calls it his 'love machine' anyway?"

"Never have known."

"You know that lump...in front of the seat? The one that everyone can't figure out?"

"Yeah."

"Well, Charlie likes to have women ride up front sometimes, under the pretense of teaching them to drive his ride. When they sit there, with him on behind, they're pressed them into that lump. It's a straight shot from the engine to that lump."

"Yeah...so?"

"Jeeesus man. Think. You know how worked up Riley gets when she's on a ride?"

"Oh...OH SHIT."

"Yeah. Exactly. Charlie could be out to get into Riley's pants right now."

"He wouldn't do that would he? I mean...she's my wife and all, and we are buddies."

"Nobody is Charlie's 'buddy' lessen they have something he wants. I tried to tell you about him sometime back but you didn't want to hear it. Of course, you already knew him then and I had just met up with you guys."

"Oh man. Wait though...if Charlie comes back with Riley and she's behind him...it will be all right though right?"

"Yeah...more likely. I wouldn't bet on it though. Not at all. I don't trust him...at all."

"Fuck...I'm going to try to find them then. I'm sure they headed over to the orchard. I'm headed that way."

"I'll stop by your place in a bit then, and hang out. I have my cell phone if you need some help."

I jumped in my truck and slammed it out of the garage, tires spinning. I'm sure my neighbors must have figured I had lost my mind. I never drove that way...ever. Driving down the street I turned and got on the interstate, thinking that Charlie would have gone that way and taken an exit. It would put the vibrations about right to work up any woman. Highway speed was about the perfect speed to start out with.

I drove over the speed limit as far as I dared. Right now I didn't need to get a ticket. I should have kept it under. Either that or my neighbors had called in my reckless driving and given the cops a heads up. I was cruising along when the lights went on behind me. BUSTED.

I pulled over at a nearby rest area, and the patrolman came up behind me in his car. He got out and slowly walked towards the truck, ticket book out and a wary look about him too. I put both hands on the steering wheel, cussing myself for losing my mind driving. I knew better.

As the cop was writing up my ticket I heard the distinctive sound of a Harley going by on the other oncoming lanes of the interstate. Looking across the median I saw Riley and Charlie. The very first thing I saw was the Riley was in front, hands on the handlebars. Charlie was behind her, his hands on her hips. His smile was not something I wanted to see right at that moment. It almost looked like they were actually fucking as they rode by.

I could see that Riley had on my favorite cut-offs too. I was in a real hurry now. That's when the cop decided to slow down and take his time. Evidently he had nothing better to do and sensed that I was in a hurry. I was fuming by the time he finished up all the paperwork and cut me loose.

Twenty minutes after I had seen Charlie and Riley go by. I got going and managed to catch an exit within a mile, getting turned around. Now I was cruising in hopes to catch up with Charlie and Riley before that something bad happened that Dog had warned me about.

Wanting to get there now, and also not wanting another ticket, I was torn. I finally decided that I'd better take the time rather than the ticket, and kept in under the speed limit...not much...but close. I drove with an eye out for them and never saw them. Arriving at home I heard Charlie's bike. He had pulled it into my garage and closed the door. I had left the door open in my hurry to find them, leaving him the perfect opportunity.

The bike was revving up again and again. From an idle to a nice throbbing mid range speed, over and over. I knew that he had Riley worked up for certain. I got out of the truck and ran to the side door. Once I tried to open it, I realized that I had locked the damn thing that morning. I fumbled with my keys, hearing that motor racing and idling.

Slamming the door open I saw what I never thought I'd see in a million years. Charlie was slamming in and out of Riley as she was bent over his gas tank. Straddling his bike, probably never having gotten off the damn thing, he had managed to get his cock out and up into Riley from behind, in a semi-modified doggie style position.

Riley's eyes were streaming tears, and then I saw that Charlie had a grip on both of her hands, holding them on the handlebars with one of his hands. His other hand was twisting on her breasts through her top, almost viscously. It was obvious that Riley was not a willing partner in this.

He was humping away; not even aware I was there. I ran at them, and as I came up to where they were, my fist slammed into Charlie's head, hard. It knocked them to one side and the bike slowly fell over taking them with it. Riley managed to keep her leg out from under it as if fell over, and the motion had caused Charlie's cock to pull out of her pussy.

Reaching over the bike I grabbed Charlie and yanked him out from under it, and began to beat the holy living shit out of him. I was as angry as I'd ever been. Riley had gotten up from the bike and was running off towards the house. I noticed that the crotch of her cut-offs was hanging down between her legs. Evidently Charlie had either torn them away or cut them away from the back.

I didn't know what she was doing, but at that moment I found I suddenly had my hands full. In my searching out where Riley was, Charlie had managed to get up and start to fight back. His strength and agility were more than I had bargained for.

Charlie wasn't as easy to put a beating on as I would have liked. Pretty soon it became apparent that his extra height and weight were going to win out over mine. I was now the one in trouble. Charlie was smiling as he began to gain the upper hand. His fists were putting a hurt on me and I was tiring too fast.

I found myself on the floor of the garage, ears ringing, and a darkness clouding my vision. He was banging my head again and again into the concrete floor. Darkness was the last thing I remembered. I'm not sure how long I was out, but when I came to it was quiet. Too quiet. Trying to get up I realized that I had been hog-tied and left laying. I started working on the knots, trying to loosen them...after a bit I realized that he had tied them far too tight.

Looking around my eyes found just what I needed. Just how to get it was going to be the question. Standing up was out of the question...and that box-knife on the workbench was out of reach. I rolled myself over several times to get right up next to the workbench. Looking around some more, my head throbbing, and my eyes fuzzy...I finally saw a short stick.

Getting my back to it was difficult, but I finally managed to grab it, and then I began trying to poke between the boards of my bench top in an effort to dislodge the knife and have it fall down near me. I worked at it for twenty minutes, almost crying in my desperate need to get loose and save my wife from that asshole. I was also having trouble with one of my hands. It hurt like hell every time I tried to move it.

Just as I got it to fall, I heard another bike pulling up. It was Dog.

"Man...what the hell?"

"Riley ran inside...Charlie's after her. Never mind me...go save Riley. She needs your help."

Dog ran off with an oath. I managed to grab the knife and slowly began to saw at the rope binding me. Once they loosened I knew that I was only a few seconds away from freedom. Head throbbing and my eyes still unable to focus too well, I finally stumbled into my house. I could hear someone crying loudly and a scuffle going on somewhere upstairs.

Still unable to maneuver too well, I groped my way up the stairs and down the hall. The sounds were coming from the guest bedroom I pulled myself up to the door, hanging loose, the top hinge pulled out of the door jam, and the bottom hinge barely holding it upright. I saw Riley on the floor, crying hysterically, her top torn, and breasts hanging free. Her cut-offs were still on, but I could see that the crotch was now torn away completely. She had bruises on her cheeks, and arms.

I stumbled over to her, and tried to gather her into my arms. Instead, she hugged me tightly. Her hot tears were dripping on my face. I collapsed, unable to keep going any more. I was vaguely aware that there was one hell of a fight going on just on the other side of the bed as I passed out again.

When I came to I was in a clean white room. There was a tube in my arm, and I was in a bed. I could feel tight bandages around my chest, and something wrapped around my head. I had one hell of a headache, and my face hurt too.

I couldn't feel my lips or nose, as they were numb. My right hand was bandaged up into a huge ball. Evidently I had been hurt. My memory was fuzzy like, and I was having a hard time remembering who I was or why I was here. I didn't even know what had happened to me.

"He's awake."

Some woman in a nurse's uniform was standing by the foot of the bed looking over at someone out of my range of vision. Suddenly a pretty blonde was next to me, crying her eyes out. I looked at her trying to figure out who she was, and for the life of me couldn't remember. It seemed that I should know her though.

"Oh Oz...oh baby. We've been worried about you."

"What happened?"

"You can't remember?"

"Nothing."

"I went to The Orchard with Charlie and he raped me once we got back home. You busted in and started fighting him off of me, I ran, the next thing I knew Charlie was in our bedroom having his way with me. Then Dog came in through the door, and started to beat Charlie. You came in all beat up and hurt, and collapsed on the floor beside me."

"Who's Charlie? For that matter, who are you?"

"Austin? What's wrong? It's me, your wife, Riley."

"You're my wife? Who's this Dog...person? Animal?"

"Oh my God...You really don't know me?"

She collapsed onto a chair next to the bed; her tears were pouring down her cheeks. I felt bad for having hurt her feelings, but I really didn't know who she was. I mean, she seemed familiar somehow, but I just couldn't place her.

Some guy dressed in a white uniform came in. His stethoscope was draped around his neck and his nametag said he was 'Doctor' so and so. He began to poke and prod at me, asking me questions and listening to my heart. He even put the stethoscope on the back of my neck in a couple of places too. Finally he took a stool that a nurse had brought up beside the bed.

"Well...Mr. Davis...you've had quite a week."

"Week?"

"You've been in here a week. Can you remember anything at all?"

"Uh...not really. Flashes of weird things...but nothing I can picture clearly."

"Well, you were brought in here unconscious. You had been beaten rather badly. I will say that the man accused of having caused your condition was almost dead though. Anyway, you've been out for about a week. At first we put you into a coma intentionally to protect you while the swelling in your brain went down. You've had a tube place in your cranium to drain excess fluids as well. Lets see...six broken ribs, a broken hand, broken nose, cracked jaw, cracked skull, cuts, abrasions, and probably one hell of a headache."

"You're right about that."

"You also seem to have suffered some type of amnesia. This isn't uncommon, although I will say that I'm surprised you didn't recognize this beautiful woman as your wife, Riley."

The name Riley struck a chord deep within me, but I still couldn't remember anything more than I hurt...all over.

"You said I had been beaten? Was I in a fight like in a bar?"

"No. From what the report said, it was in your house. The other man had attacked your wife and you came in on it. Evidently you tried to fight him off, succeeding for while, then he got the upper hand and...well here you are."

Suddenly I had a flash of a memory. It was gone before I could even see what it had been. I thought it had seemed like a motorcycle or something like that. I closed my eyes and went to sleep. Later I woke up finding that pretty blonde's head on my leg. She was sleeping, so I didn't move or try to move. I just looked at her, wondering who she was.

As I laid there a nurse came in and started to wake up the blonde. I spoke softly...hoping that I didn't wake her.

"She's all right. Let her sleep. She looks tired."

"She should be. Poor thing. First beaten and raped, then her husband lays near death for a couple of days, and now you've got this amnesia going on. I'm surprised that she was able to even function today at all. She hasn't slept more than ten minutes since you've been in here. Hasn't left you at all other than to go to the bathroom. Once some guy came by and took her home so she could change and shower up."

"This...she's my wife?"

"Yes. Riley. Riley Davis. Mrs. Riley Davis. Does that ring any bells for you?"

I thought about it. The name seemed...I don't know...'right' somehow. I just couldn't think of why.

"No...sorry."

"Don't be sorry. It will come back to you. Most times it does. It just takes a while. Some people take more time than others. Depends on the damage and other things too I suppose. I'm sure you'll get your memory back soon."

I laid there, alone with my 'wife' after the nurse finished up her checks. I just looked at her as she slept peacefully on my leg. I wanted to reach out and brush the hair out of her eyes, but she was on the side that my broken hand was on, and there was no way I could have done that.

She seemed vaguely familiar, but try as I might I couldn't figure out who she was or what she meant to me. I could tell I had some strong feelings for her though. It was weird. I couldn't even remember my own name, let alone my wife's. She seemed...right...but as it was, I didn't know what kind of 'right' that feeling was yet.

Wife? Friend? Confidante? Had we been in love? Had we been happy? Were we good together? How long had we been together? I had so many questions, and for the moment, no answers. None at all. As I was thinking about all these things, she woke up. Her eyes were on mine suddenly, and I realized she was smiling; yet that smile had a very scared look to it.

"Hi."

"I'm sorry. I fell asleep. I hope your leg isn't dead now."

"No. It's all right. I told them to let you sleep."

"Oh Austin. Are you okay? Do you remember anything yet?"

"Uh...not, not really. Flashes of stuff. I seem to remember a motorcycle. It's in a garage somewhere. Red paint with some kind of design on it. It appeared to be a chopper of some type."

"That's your ride. Your bike. I helped you with it. Lots of..."

She had a terrible look come across her face and suddenly she was crying. I put out my bandaged hand, even though the move hurt me, and tried to touch her, to let her know it was all right. It had been an instinctive reaction on my part. Her hurt, her pain, for some reason, hurt me. Deeply.

"I'm...s-sorry. It's just that...he...he helped you. Us. Then he..."

More tears, and I was about to cry myself. I wanted to really hurt who ever had hurt her. I could see that she was having a hard time with something. All I wanted to do was to take her in my arms and hold her. I felt bad for her, and even though I still didn't remember who she was to me, for some reason, to see her like that tore me up inside.

They had told me she was my wife. I supposed that was why I had these feelings inside of me then. Still...why couldn't I remember her? I moved a bit, discovering in the process that I was hurt in a lot more places than I knew. Suddenly an alarm was going off and people came running in. I had pulled something out of position and caused an immediate reaction with the hospital staff.

"I'm okay Austin...I am. You lie still. You'll hurt yourself."

A nurse came up to me with a soft smile.

"Hey...you need to lie still Mr. Davis. You unplugged yourself. That's bad. If you keep doing that we may just have to tie you up. Not really...but you do need to lie still and not jerk these things out."

When she said 'tie me up' I had an agonizing flash of memory. I seemed to remember cold concrete floor...and a knife of some type...a large hairy man running past me...it was all so fuzzy though I just couldn't put names or places to any of it.

I was hoping that I would get my memory back soon since this was driving me crazy at the moment. I hated not knowing who I was or who the people who were important in my life were. I hated not knowing why I had ended up here. The doctor's explanation only had caused me to wonder what I had been doing to get in that fight...who the man was that I had been fighting, and what had all happened.

The big hairy man in my flash of memory was in the back of my mind now. Friend? Foe? Who was that man? What connection did he have with any of this? Questions...I had lots of questions, and no damned answers.

Later that day I discovered that I was right handed, and my hand that wasn't wrapped up in a huge ball of white, looked as if I had some kind of desk job...or a job that I didn't use my hands all that much. They looked soft...for the most part. No calluses. No dirt under the fingernails to speak of either.

Riley, the pretty blonde who I had been told was my wife, stayed by me all day. She was working hard to try to jog my memory, and she also made sure I didn't want for anything. Finally, wanting to get some of the questions in the back of my mind taken care of I started to gently ask her about us.