My Partner In Crime

Chapter 5

Dodge: Ready?
Me: Yeah.

We decided to get going at around 9:00, since it starts at 10:00. We never arranged rides, like if he would come by and pick me up or if I would walk to the diner, so I decided to walk. I wasn't even halfway before I saw headlights on the streets. I squinted against them and waited for them to pass, but the car slowed.

"Clem?" It was Dodge.

"We never said anything about meeting anywhere." I said, getting to the point.

"That's true." He said, unlocking the doors. He then reached over the passenger's seat and opened the door. "Get in." 

I got in and we started on our way. I noticed that there were to-go coffee cups in the cup holders.

"You don't seem like much of a night owl, so I got the both of us coffee."

"Solid guess, thanks." I said. "Can I play some music?"

"The aux is broken," Dodge said. "But you can play something from your phone."

"Sweet." I grinned.

"Nothing crazy." He said with the smallest smile.

"Oh, just wait." I laughed. I flipped through my playlist labeled "Snazzy" and chose a song.

CUT MY LIFE INTO PIECES

"Clem," He said, shaking his head. I knew he wasn't actually serious.

THIS IS MY LAST RESORT

"This was the best option." I whispered.

SUFFOCATION: NO BREATHING

"Then I don't want to see what else is on that playlist." He joked.

DON'T GIVE A *insert f-word* IF I CUT MY ARM BLEEDING

"It's way too late for that." I grinned. After the song ended, I looked at Dodge. "Song requests?"

"Let me see?" He held his hand out for my phone. We were in a very empty road, so I wasn't worried about getting in a crash. He typed the song name into the search bar of my Spotify and tapped on a song. A dreadfully familiar tune played from my phone.

IF IT HADN'T BEEN FOR COTTON EYE JOE, I'D BEEN MARRIED A LONG TIME AGO
WHERE DID YOU COME FROM, WHERE DID YOU GO?
WHERE DID YOU COME FROM, COTTON EYE JOE?

"If I have to listen to your weird songs, you have to listen to mine!" Dodge declared. I grinned and looked out the window, where dark fields passed as the car moved.

"I wonder what the challenge will be," I said. Dodge turned the song down.

"What?" He looked over instantaneously before looking back at the road.

"What do you think the challenge is going to be?" I asked, turning my brown gaze to him. His eyes glanced at me for a second at a time every now and then.

"I wish I had any guesses." He sighed. "There's not much to do at the granary. I have no idea."

"This will be fun, I'm sure." I said.

"If it turns out to be absolutely insane, screw them." He smiled, holding his fist out to to me. I completed the fist bump and he made an exploding noise. I echoed it and he turned the song back up. It ended, so I, with the straightest face I could pull, played the one and only Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen.

It took about half an hour to get to the granary. Dodge and I got out, only to be met with a crowd, albeit smaller than the last one was. We found a place to sit closer to his car. We were sitting next to each other on the dusty floor, the both of us leaning against a smaller boulder. My eyes wandered and I saw Ray and his friends chilling in the busted old car about ten yards to the left of us. He made eye contact with me and winked. I looked away to track down Diggins, who was getting ready to speak. I nudged Dodge to get his attention.

Diggins explained that everyone would be walking across the rickety metal bar between two stands.

I leaned over to whisper to Dodge. "Does that count as absolutely insane?"

"We'll see how this guy does." He replied in a hushed tone. A plus sized guy climbed up the ladder and began his challenge. Dodge and I watched intently as he finished. We both clapped when he crossed safely.

"Clem Wilcox!" I jumped.

"I'm going to be so fast." I decided, pushing the terror away.

"Be careful, though." Dodge warned me. I nodded and went on my way and climbed the ladder. I saw Dodge watching, so I decided to have fun and salute him (like those videos with the song background that goes GLORY GLORY WHAT A HELL OF A WAY TO DIE). Diggins started the time and I walked it like a tightrope. The beam narrowed quite a bit towards the middle. I could even see the old, rusty bolts holding the thing together. I kept going, but wobbled when it creaked. My breath caught in my throat and I could see Dodge out of my peripheral vision, who was standing now. I regained my balance and closed the distance. People cheered when I didn't die. I climbed down and Dodge met me there. My time was twenty-three seconds.

"That was close!" I breath after we high-fived. The next person was called up and we moved back to our spot. This time it was Ray who crossed. He was down quicker than me.

"Dodge Mason!" Diggins called. We both stood up.

"Good luck!" I said before he went on his way. I watched as he crossed, but my heart dropped when I saw a bright green light on his cheek. It flashed into his eye. I watched as the black bit of his eye turned green and he slipped. I gasped and covered my mouth, not breathing, although he caught the metal bar. My heart didn't seem to beat as he struggled to heave himself up. My eyes didn't leave him even after he was back on the bar and finishing his challenge. As he was climbing down, I saw that Ray was standing at the base of it with a laser pointer in his hand. 

I didn't wait for Dodge to get down. Ray was making his way back to his friends when I charged at him.

"What the hell was that, Ray?" I demanded.

"Chill out, Clem, all's fair." He held his hands up carelessly. A blind rage swept over me.

~To be continued~