Battle Lines

Author's Note: This story takes place a year and a half after the end of "Duality" .

“Woodland Eagles! State Champs!” Rachel and Kirsten yelled as Josh pulled out of the stadium parking lot. It was late afternoon and the crowd was in high spirits as they celebrated Woodland High School’s first state championship win. Even the fact that somebody siphoned the gas out of the band buses during the game couldn’t dampen their spirits. All of the state football championship games were held in staggered schedules at the university stadium in Columbia on the first Saturday in December. The parents and staff had an hour to get gas in the buses and get them out of the parking lot out before people arrived for the next division game. Band members and cheerleaders got rides from friends.

“I almost didn’t come to the game because it’s so cold,” Josh said, turning up the heat. “Now I’m glad I did. That was a great game!”
Rachel wrestled out of the sash to her green and black band uniform. “Thanks for giving us a ride. What a way to end your senior year football season! I’m glad we won the state championship but I’m also glad there’s no more Marching Band in the freezing cold!”

It was colder than usual, even for a late fall day in central South Carolina. Josh’s dark hair and Kirsten’s blonde hair danced with static electricity, and Kirsten’s legs were covered in goose bumps. She curled up under Josh’s jacket. “Me too. At least the basketball games are inside. Are you playing in the Basketball Pep Band?”

“No,” Rachel said, pulling her long, brown hair out of a braid. “I play in the Concert Band in the spring. I’ll be busy with the literary magazine too.”

“You’re involved in too much,” Josh said. A car in the rearview mirror caught his eye. “The car behind us is driving like a maniac!”

Rachel turned to see a red Mustang gaining on them. “What’s their problem?”

“I don’t know,” Josh said. “Maybe they go to Lakewood and they want to heckle us. They were sore losers.”

“I’ll say,” Kirsten said, pressing a tissue against a cut on her head. The fans of Lakewood, the opposing team, didn’t take their loss well. They threw cups at the Woodland fans on the way out of the stadium, and Kirsten was hit by one on the way out of the stadium. Everybody suspected the Lakewood fans siphoned the gas out of the band buses.

A horn blasted behind them. “They just switched lanes and ran somebody off the road,” “One of you get their tag number when they pass.”

Kirsten leaned closer to Josh. “My cousin goes to Lakewood. I know a few people there. I want to see if I recognize the driver.”

“I’ll look,” Josh said.

“You wouldn’t know them,” Kirsten said.

They didn’t have time to argue. The red Mustang pulled up beside them and rammed Josh’s car. He fought to keep the car on the road. “Do you know them?” he shouted.

“The windows are tinted,” Kirsten said. She motioned to the driver to roll their window down.

“Are you crazy?” Rachel shouted. “Let them pass! I’ll get the tag number.”

“They might be willing to back off if I know them,” Kirsten said.

The Mustang rammed them again, this time knocking Josh in the shoulder of the road. Josh jerked the wheel and swung back on the Interstate, hitting the Mustang. “They either don’t know you or they don’t care. I’m hitting the brakes. Rachel, get that tag number when they pass.” Josh was about to hit the brakes when the Mustang swerved again. They skidded off the Interstate and slammed against an oak tree. Kirsten was slumped in the middle of the front seat. She took the impact of the hit. Blood flowed down the right side of her head.

Josh leaned over Kirsten. “Are you alright?”

Kirsten mumbled and reached for the cut on her head. She yelped.

Rachel pulled her cell phone out of her bag. “I’m calling an ambulance.”

“Wait,” Josh said, pointing to a sign on the road nearby. “There’s a hospital at the next exit. I can drive her there quicker than they can pick her up.” He pulled the car back on the road. “Did you get the tag number?”

“They didn’t have a tag,” Rachel said.

Josh swore under his breath. “Call the police and ask them to meet us at the hospital. Tell them we were just run off the Interstate by a late model red Ford Mustang and we’re taking a passenger with injuries to the hospital at Exit 110.”

Rachel made the call as they pulled in the hospital parking lot.




The police left an hour later. A patrol car was sent to look for the Mustang, but they didn’t find a car matching Josh’s description. They must have pulled off the Interstate shortly after the accident and found a good place to hide.

Kirsten was in the Emergency Room getting stitches, and her parents were on their way to pick her up. The damage to Josh’s car was structural, so he could fix that in his father’s auto shop. He studied the dent on his door, mumbling under his breath as he worked out how to repair the damage. Rachel shifted from foot to foot behind him for a few minutes, but the cold finally got the best of her. “Let’s go in the waiting room. We can leave once Kirsten’s parents are here.”

Josh stood. “The police and doctors said we can go now.”

“I know, but I hate to leave her in a strange town alone, especially after what just happened.”

Josh shrugged. “Whatever.”

They were walking away when a telephone rang inside the car. Josh opened the door and they shuffled around until they discovered it was Kirsten’s cell phone. Rachel picked it up. The display read “10 missed calls.”

“Good grief, somebody is persistent,” Rachel said. She flipped the phone open. “Hello?”

“Baby, I was worried about you. Where are you?”

Rachel jerked. “Danny, is that you?” She dated Danny the previous school year and broke up with him shortly after their junior prom.

“Yes. Wait, who is this?”

“This is Rachel.”

“Rachel?” He said, clearly confused. “Why are you answering Kirsten’s phone?”

“Why are you calling it?” Rachel snapped.

“What’s going on?” Danny snapped back. “I thought you guys were back from the championship game. Where are you?”

“We’re at the hospital in Columbia. Kirsten is getting stitches in her head. The gas was siphoned out of the busses during the game. Josh was driving us home when a car ran us off the road.”

“A car ran you off the road? What kind?”

“A red Mustang. Late model, no tag. Do you want to talk to Josh?”

Danny was silent a moment. “No, I’m on my way. Why don’t you and Josh leave?”

Rachel shook her head, but the gesture was lost. What was with these guys? “I’m not leaving one of my oldest friends alone in a strange town after she got hurt in an accident. We’ll leave when her parents get here.”

“Her parents are on the way?” Danny asked.

“I talked to them fifteen minutes ago. They were in the mountains, so it’s going to take them a few hours to get here.”

“I can get there faster. I’ll call her parents and tell them I’ll pick her up. That way they can go straight to Woodland without having to drive to Columbia and backtrack.”

Rachel sighed. “Josh and I are right here. Why don’t we bring her home? That way it’s no trouble for anybody.”

“I’d rather she didn’t have to ride home in Josh’s car in case that Mustang shows up again. I’ll come get her.”

“They won’t be back,” Rachel said. “They’re probably hiding in Daddy’s garage right now. I wouldn’t worry about it.”

“Just split,” Danny said. “I’ll pick up Kirsten. Get back to Woodland and get Josh’s car locked in his father’s auto shop.”

“Danny, what’s going on?” Rachel asked. “Why are you so worried about Kirsten?”

“I’m just looking out for my girl.”

Rachel sagged against Josh’s car. “Your girl?” she said.

“Kirsten and I have been dating for a month. We’ve tried to keep it quiet. You know, a popular cheerleader and a guy from the wrong side of the tracks usually gets a lot of flack. Still, I’m surprised she didn’t tell you.”

Rachel raised an eyebrow – another wasted gesture. “You’re dating my best friend?”

“You cut me loose. I can date whoever I want, and so can she. She really didn’t tell you?”

Rachel looked at Josh. “Did you know Kirsten and Danny were dating?”

The shock in Josh’s blue eyes told her everything she needed to know. “It’s news in our corner of the world.”

Danny sighed. “Look Rachel, here’s where it’s at. When we broke up, we agreed that you’d hang out with your circle of friends and I’d hang out with mine. Let’s keep it that way.”

“If you’re dating my best friend then you broke that agreement,” Rachel hissed.

“You’re breaking it by talking to me,” Danny snapped back.

“I can fix that right now!”

“Wait!” Danny said. “I realize you didn’t have to take this call. I appreciate you telling me what happened, but our agreement was to have a truce during our last year of high school. I’d like to resume that truce. You and Josh get in the car and come back to Woodland, and I’ll pick up my girlfriend. End of story.”

“Where does Kirsten fit in with this truce?” Rachel asked.

“That’s up to her,” Danny said. “She knows how things are between us and she chose to date me anyway. I think that says it all.”

“I’m not asking her to take sides,” Rachel said.

“Yes you are,” Danny said. “We both are. We established those battle lines when we made this agreement. Everybody that knew us realized they’d be on one side or the other. I’m sorry, Rachel. She hasn’t had the guts to tell you, but she switched sides.”

Rachel swiped a tear from her eye and looked at the hospital. How could Kirsten act like they were still best friends and date her ex-boyfriend, knowing they had a bad breakup? “Fine, but tell me one thing. Why don’t you want everybody knowing you’re dating a cheerleader? That’s moving up in the world. What kind of flack do you think you’d get?”

“You know how complicated things are with popular people …”

“Does this have anything to do with street racing?”

Danny was silent. Rachel sighed. “I was right. You are racing, and you’re trying to protect her from those thugs you run with on the weekends. Does she know?”

“Just walk away Rachel,” Danny said. The line went dead.

Rachel snapped Kirsten’s phone shut and swore. She grabbed Kirsten’s bag and stalked to the hospital. Josh ran to catch up. “What’s going on?”

Rachel stopped outside the door. “I’m dropping off her stuff and we’re leaving.”

“I thought we were staying until somebody came to pick her up.”

Rachel shook her head. “There’s been a change of plans, and we have no place in them.”




Danny locked himself in his bedroom and glanced at his reflection in the mirror. His red hair was a mess and his green eyes flared like they always did when he was angry. He controlled himself on the drive to pick up Kirsten, but his temper broke after he dropped her off half an hour ago. He knew what he needed to do. He had been in hiding long enough.

“Hello?”

“Hi Jake, remember me?” Danny asked.

The guy on the other end paused. “Danny, is that you?”

“The one and only,” Danny said. “How’s the second year of college treating you? Better than the first, I hope. I heard you almost flunked out.”

Jake laughed nervously. “I’m on academic suspension, but I’m doing better. Finals are next week, and I’m sure I’ll be redeemed for the spring semester.”

“So, are you still racing that Mustang to pay your way through school or are you up for hire? Running people off the Interstate after a football game wasn’t a paying endeavor when I left Eastvale.”

“I’m impressed. How did you figure it out?”

“Red Mustang, late model, no tags was a big clue, but I think it was the gas siphoned out of the buses that was your signature move. How many times did you do that to people that irked you in Eastvale? You knew all those people would have to bum rides home and you would be free to pursue your target. Really Jake, you’re too predictable. I just want to know why.”

“For going against me!” Jake said. “Do you think I’m completely blind to what you’re doing? I know you’ve set up street racing in Woodland. You come down here all the time to race, then you use the winnings to run your own thing up there. You had to know I’d figure you out. Just be glad your little princess and your old buddy walked away. I think the cute blonde in the passenger seat took the worst of it. By the way, who is she?”

Jake’s information was outdated! Danny breathed a sigh of relief to find out that Jake has no idea who Kirsten was, or that they were dating. He could use this if he played it just right. “You’re behind, buddy. Rachel broke up with me and Josh took her side. I’m pretty sure he has a thing for her.”

“What happened?”

“Playing the social scene didn’t work out for me,” Danny laughed. “Once a lone wolf, always a lone wolf. But you got me, fair and square. Let’s make a deal.”

“I’m listening, especially if you’ll throw Rachel or that cute blonde in,” Jake said. “Heck, if it involves them both, so much the better!”

Danny thought. Kirsten knew what she got herself into when they started dating. She told him on the drive home that she would support the racing any way she could, so he knew he could trust her completely. “Here’s the deal. We race one month from today. Your ring against mine, you pick the place. If you or one of your members win, you take over both racing rings. If I or one of my guys win, we remain separate. You stick to your turf; I’ll stick to mine. Deal?”

“What about the girls?”

“Leave Rachel out of this. She doesn’t know anything, and she’s a nerd. You’d be bored in five minutes.”

“Fair enough,” Jake said. “What about the cute blonde cheerleader?”

“She must be a friend of Rachel’s, and we aren’t speaking anymore. A few of the football players are in my ring and they’re tight with the cheerleaders. I’ll see what I can find out. If I do cross your paths, you’re on your own. I’m not a matchmaker, so you better brush up on your charm.” Danny gulped. He didn’t like this, but he was sure he and Kirsten could figure out something by next month.

“Good enough,” Jake said. “Bring me the blonde and I’ll do the rest. Now, what’s the prize for this race? I don’t race for fun and glory anymore. There has to be cold, hard cash in it.”

“Fifty thousand.”

Jake whistled. “Can you swing that?”

“I can’t,” Danny said, “but I talked to my guys and they’re itching for a high stakes game. If your guys will match our guys, we can do it. There are a lot of well to do people in this small town.”

“My professors say there’s a lot of development in Woodland,” Jake said. “That must be where the money is coming from.”

“Urban sprawl is good for something,” Danny said. “So, control of our racing rings are in it for us, and fifty thousand dollars for the overall winner of the race. Are you in?”

“I’m in,” Jake said. “One month from today. I’ll be in contact.”

“I’m sure you will.” Danny hung up and smiled. The game was on and everything was right where he wanted it. He and Kirsten would come up with a failsafe plan between now and then.




Rachel was checking the Christmas decorations in the front yard Sunday evening. She paused to survey the tree glowing in the front window and the sparkling white lights on the porch banister.

“They look good,” a voice said behind her. Rachel turned to see Kirsten.

“Dad asked me to see how they look from the road,” Rachel said. “What brings you by? Do you want to come in?”

“No, I just wanted to thank you for your help yesterday. I appreciate you and Josh taking me to the hospital and taking care of the police statement. Did they catch the guy?”

Rachel shook her head. “They didn’t catch him on the road and can’t do anything else without a tag number. Josh has been at his Dad’s shop all day fixing his car.”

“We’re lucky to have come out of it so easy.”

“Tell that to Josh,” Rachel said. “He’s still fuming, and not just about the car.”

Kirsten nodded. “Danny said he talked to you. Look Rachel, I was going to tell you …”

Rachel turned on Kirsten. “Tell me when? When exactly were you going to tell me that you were dating my ex-boyfriend?”

“I don’t know,” Kirsten whimpered.

“You know how strained things are between us! What were you thinking? Good grief, you’re my best friend. I’ve confided in you, and now I’m shuddering at what you could have told Danny about me over the past month!”

“It’s not like that!” Kirsten shouted. “You dated him for a year! You know he isn’t all bad. Did you expect him to pine after you forever? Get real! You knew he’d move on.”

“With my best friend? I’m surprised he even talked to you! How did this happen?”

Kirsten stared at the setting sun. “It was last month, while you were out of town for a band competition. We ran into each other at the Pizza Parlor and started talking. I’m sorry Rachel. I know I should have told you, but it happened so fast!”

Rachel nodded. “So fast that we talk every day and you still didn’t mention that my ex was on your speed dial.”

“I knew you’d get mad. That’s why I wasn’t ready to tell you. I knew I would have to decide between the two of you. I wanted to wait and see if things developed between me and Danny.” Kirsten pulled her jacket tighter. “Well, it did. It’s official. We’re a couple and you can’t do anything about it. I guess you know what that means.”

“It means you’ve made your choice,” Rachel said. “We aren’t friends anymore.”

Kirsten’s blue eyes welled up. “I’m sorry it had to be this way.”

“I am too.” Rachel looked away. “I broke up with Danny because I suspected he was into street racing. I couldn’t live with that.”

“I know,” Kirsten said. “Trust me; I know what I’m doing.”

“Nobody will tell me if I’m right or wrong,” Rachel said. “I’m sick of excuses so I’m done asking. Since we’re clear on where things are at, I’m through with Danny and anything that has to do with him. I’m sure that’s a message you’ll have no problem conveying to your sweetheart.”

“That’s for the best,” Kirsten said. “You walked away from him a long time ago. I realize you’re trying to look out for me, but leave it alone. I don’t like it but if letting our friendship go is the best thing, I’ll do it. The heart wants what the heart wants. I can take care of myself.”

Rachel blew out a long breath in a cloud of smoke. “I respect your decision. I just hope it doesn’t kill you.”

Neither of them knew it, but their decisions over the next few months would cost Woodland a greater price than anyone could have imagined.

Word Count: 3,356

This is the prequel to my novel, "Blurry." It's posted at http://www.authonomy.com/ViewBook.aspx?bookid=11829 .