Driving for two hours is not an enjoyable process for most. I am one of those people who usually enjoys it though. My home state of West Virginia always made the views scenic and far more pleasurable than driving through the middle-of-nowhere like Kansas. Driving on a motorcycle is a far different experience though. In a car you have music to help distract you. On a motorcycle, the wind is so loud that you can’t even hold a conversation. To clarify, I was not driving. I was holding onto the frame of Sofia as we swerved through the county roads in Virginia. We crossed the state border an hour back, Lynchburg was now only a few minutes away.
Now then, it was not a boring ride. Sofia ensured that. Sofia was not going to enjoy the Appalachian mountains as she tracked down Roxane. Sofia was not overtly sexual but when two people ride a motorcycle together, there's a certain level of contact necessary for everyone’s safety. I tried not to hold her side tightly and keep some distance, but she wouldn’t allow it. Having me fall off while she turned a corner was not something she felt like dealing with. I found myself holding onto her sides with my legs curled behind hers in permanent contact. If it were not for the nerves of the ride, I would’ve surely developed undesired growth. The ordeal of the ride did make me wonder how she got me from Morgantown to here. She refused to answer that question.
The second reason I could not be reduced to boredom or at least comfortability was the speed at which Sofia rode. She would drive double the speed limits on straightaways and every turns felt like we would lose all friction and slide off the road. It was a miracle we survived in all honesty. Or at least never attracted a state trooper’s attention.
I saw as a ‘Lynchburg City Limits’ sign passed by us. Sofia ducked and weaved between the light midnight traffic. The density of vehicles and people was reaching its highest this entire journey. The rugged mountains transitioned to flatter hills with dense forests turning into powerlines, churches, and conveniences of modern urban life. It was approaching two in the morning and we needed to now find where Roxane was, or worse case left to.
Sofia slowed down for the first time in ages as she pulled into a small gas station off of U.S. Route 501. The lights from the gas station’s overhead roof flicked with moths flying above. The old building was uninhabited with the sole exception of a cashier inside. Sofia set down her bike stand and hopped off to head inside without a word or removing her bike helmet. I was left alone with the bike and took the chance to hop off and thank the world that I survived the journey. My nerves had been spiking all night and this was the very first time I could catch my breath since I fell asleep.
Not a minute later, Sofia walked back outside. She didn’t address me as I slowly caught my breath with my hands on my knees. She coldly removed her helmet and began to pump gas into her bike. I looked up to her in the light. Her hair was a raven mess from the helmet that matched the rough beauty in her heavily pierced face. I spoke up to break the silence.
“So what’s the next step? Start searching where Roxane might be?”
She looked towards me with the chocolate eyes and smirked.
“You think we’re gonna search for her ourselves?”
I raised an eyebrow as I adjusted my posture. Something about her gaze made me feel like I wasn’t good enough, or didn’t seem worthy of living. I nodded in response.
“Um… kind of. You made it sound like we were.”
She chuckled as the pump clicked to mark that it was finished. She took it out of her bike and placed it gently back into the place.
“No, we have someone else doing the searching.”
This was the first time I have heard her mention someone else. She had mentioned this mysterious benefactor of hers she called ‘Boss.’ But she hasn’t bothered to mention any other ‘employees.’ I’m getting tired of not having explanations.
“Who? And better yet, how?”
Sofia pointed above and behind her. The gas station had a singular camera near its roof’s corner. It moved every few seconds, scanning for any signs of trouble. I raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“Cameras?”
She nodded in response and gave a playful smile that showed her white teeth and pierced tongue.
“Bingo! Once you found out where she was heading. Our friend started looking through every camera in Lynchburg to find where she went.”
Now she was ‘our’ friend? Her explanation only led to more questions.
“How can she access every camera in Lynchburg?”
Before Sofia could respond, a faint ringing sound began. Sofia reached into her pants pocket and a simple flip phone appeared. She hadn’t used it in front of me until now so I was a little shocked that she had one. She flipped it open and began to talk to whoever was on the other side. Sofia was smiling as she spoke.
“Got any good news for me, shut-in?... You did!?”
She pumped her fist celebratorily. Then something said seemed to annoy her.
“Yeah fine, he was useful like you said… What should I do with him now though?... Yeah, obviously… Shit, fine, I’m on the way.”
She closed the flip phone then looked up and down at me. She didn’t speak for a moment but seemed to just think. I was about to ask what she was talking about when she spoke.
“How are you in a fight?”