Fallen

Chapter 11

"Ready to meet him?" Nicola squealed.

"Meet who?" I grabbed the last of the homework I needed before closing my locker.

"Ryder. You said you wanted to meet him. So we're meeting him right now. Let's go." She grabbed my hand pulled me to the end of the hall at a fast pace. I eventually caught up to her speed right before we exited the building.

"Is mom on duty?" Nicola asked as I climbed into her passenger seat.

"Yes, you have me until 6." I buckled my seat belt just in time for her to hit the gas pedal.

"Promise me you won't judge right away. He's really sweet to me. He looks like he has a hard exterior, but he's really a teddy bear at heart." She giggled to herself.

"I promise. Where are we meeting him?"

"Actually, we are meeting him at the very place I first met him. He has a race tonight."

"Okay," I sighed and looked out the window. Nicola has provided very little information about Ryder. I know he races, but I'm not sure what device he uses in order to race.

We pulled into the town park. I spend most of my Friday nights here with Jack, talking about life after midnight milkshakes. The park was relatively quiet except for the the occasional families playing on the play ground and having picnics by the pond.

Nicola led me into the woods along one of the many hiking paths. Her biking habits are excessive, so I am not surprised when she knows exactly how to get around swiftly straying from the path. The woods were overgrown, but there was a faint marking of path that looked worn from redundant use. I started to hear the faint noise of cheering as we came to an opening. I could not believe my eyes as I saw the crowd in front of me. We were now in the very middle of the forest, far from any civilization. Yet there were about fifty people crowded around and cheering. I could not see beyond the backs of the population in front of me.

"What's going on? Why are they cheering?" I asked Nicola, who had a huge smile plastered on her face. A guy in a leather jacket had caught her eye and started to make his way over to us. As he approached, he grabbed Nicola around the waist and lifted her into a hug immediately.

"Hey, baby," I heard him whisper. Nicola giggled as he released her. She turned to me and her cheeks instantly turned pink.

"Oh, Hannah this is Ryder. Ryder, this-" Nicola stared.

"Hannah. I've heard a lot about you. It's great to meet you." He smiled and extended his hand to me. I reciprocated his smile and handshake.

"Likewise." I looked at Nicola and saw the complete adoration she had in her eyes as she looked at Ryder.

"Are you going to stay for the race?" He asked.

"Yes," Nicola chirped at the same time I said, "What race?"

Ryder smiled and took Nicola's hand in his. "Come, I'll explain."

He led us through the crowd to the front where there seemed to be a course of some kind with hills throughout. Everything was dirt. The boundaries were made out of caution tape and stakes in the ground. There were girls everywhere in scandalous clothing, and guys dressed like bikers. Mostly everyone stood holding a red solo cup with an unknown liquid in it. The atmosphere was humid and held a sense of free spirit. There was a reason this was in the middle of nowhere on the outskirts of town. No one was intended to find it.

"What is this?" I gasped. I couldn't help the feeling that I was doing something wrong.

"Its called dirt biking sweetheart," Ryder explained. "We compete every Monday and Saturday night, but the course is open everyday. You have to pass a series of jumps and a timed race in order to compete in the real thing. Anyone can join though. We have 2 guys that are neck in neck with winning the big leagues. One of them is racing next. We are in between races. The small competitions are on Mondays. Saturday is for the finalists. That's when they compete for money."