faster, the whistling sound whinnying to too high frequencies until it was silent. The dirt clouds rose around him as the man charged heavily toward his direction.
Will snapped the rope and it wrapped around the thick man’s torso. The rope tightened; its coiled strands cutting deep into the man’s flesh and tainting the white rope with red. The man bellowed in anger as he fell stiffly onto the hard, dry, dirt of the empty lot.
Will pulled on the other end of the rope. He had control of the man now and he yanked, constricting the cords even tighter around the man.
The wrapped man shrieked and convulsed as his eyes bulged out of their sockets; and the dust thickened, and swirled around the adversaries.
Her view had been completely blocked from sight and she could no longer hear anything outside. Sarah couldn’t breathe as she looked on. What was happening? Where was Will? Was he safe?
When the sandstorm finally died down, everything was eerily calm and the heaviness in the air had disappeared, along with Will and the captured man.
Sarah’s face was paling. “Oh my god! Will! Where is he?” She could feel the blood draining from her face.
“They’re both gone!” Sam’s voice was shaking. “What? How?”
Rosa backed away from the window to sit at one of the empty chairs near her. She was fanning herself with her left hand as she continued to make the sign of the cross with her right. When she stopped fanning, she balled her hand into a fist and shook it towards the window. “Vete al infierno, demonio!”
“Ow!” Sarah yelped. Sam was gripping her arm. Her nails piercing flesh. Sam was petrified, looking at the swaying curtain covering the back room behind the counter. Sarah tried to swallow down her fear, but her heart felt like it had jumped into her throat to run for escape. She wrapped Sam in her arms as she tried to slow her breath.
Someone else was inside the restaurant and they had nowhere to run.
The curtain flew up from a gust of air and Will walked out covered in sweat and dirt. The rope he used was now neatly bundled and casually slung over a shoulder, much like the towel he’d used earlier. Sarah looked away as a ray bounced off of the highly polished metal tips of the rope, its brightness almost blinding in its whiteness.
Will set down the rope and Sarah’s whole body eased with relief to see him safe and back with them. Why did she care so much? She didn’t even know him and he didn’t know them, but he protected them from that man.
Sam ran to Will and gave him an excited hug. “You were incredible! Are you ok? What happened to that man? Where did you go? How’d you get back in here?” Her voice was still shaky and Sarah caught her wiping away some tears.
“All these questions will get you in trouble, Señorita,” Will replied softly.
“You are totally aggravating. Why don’t you ever answer me? If you just told me what was going on, I wouldn’t have to ask so many questions,” Sam sniffed.
“It’s better if you don’t know.”
“Will, thank you for saving Sam and me… out there.” Sarah’s heart was beating wildly. She could feel Will’s energy surround her, embrace her, even though she could see that he was standing across the room.
“No thanks needed. It’s my job.” Will smiled and dipped his head. “I’ll borrow Rosa’s motorcycle and take you both back to the border. We need to hurry. Please, meet me out back.”
Will disappeared behind the curtain again and soon after they could hear the rumbling of an engine revving to life.
Sam started to walk toward the counter. “Our ride is ready.”
Sarah nodded, kneeling in front of Rosa, taking one of her large hands and holding it between hers. She looked into Rosa’s eyes, and with all the sincerity she could pour into her Spanish, she said, “Muchas gracias por todo, Señora! Thank you for everything!” She wished she knew how to say something more meaningful, but her Spanish was basic at best.
She knew that whatever Rosa had done when they returned to the restaurant protected the restaurant from harm. She didn’t know how she knew, but she did. There was no doubt in her mind. Without Rosa’s help, they would have still been vulnerable to an attack.
For the first time that afternoon, Rosa gave her a smile; a big toothy smile that showed off the gap between her front teeth. “Ten cuidado, Mija. Be careful!” Rosa placed her free hand on top of Sarah’s and gave her a gentle squeeze of acknowledgement.
“Sarah, we have to go,” Sam interrupted. “Thank you, Rosa.”
“Go, go, go now.” Rosa waved them on.
The girls headed for the curtain toward the back of the restaurant where Will was waiting. He revved the motorcycle’s engine, making black puffs of smoke choke out of the pipe that extended beyond the rear wheel.
Sarah looked at the motorcycle and wondered what Will had in mind. It was a small motorcycle and although it fit him fine by himself…
“How are we supposed to fit on that thing?!” Sam asked.
“Easy. Sarah in front of me, you behind,” Will stated matter-of-factly.
“You are totally kidding!” her friend exclaimed.
“No, get on. Hurry. We can’t waste time.”
The girls looked at each other. Skepticism was written all over their faces, but what choice did they have?
Will extended his arm towards Sarah. She took his hand and let him lead her in front of him. She side straddled the small space in front of Will and he leaned forward to grab the motorcycle’s handlebars.
He scooted in further allowing Sam to have a little bit more room behind him. Sam hopped on and straddled the seat behind him. The little motorcycle sank down further, aggravating the small worn out shocks, making them squeal in protest.
Will turned his head slightly towards Sam. “Hang on.” The engine revved and the motorcycle awkwardly ambled forward.
Sam grabbed Will around the waist. “Ech! Easy dude! You got precious cargo here,” she shouted above the noisy roar of the engine.
Will weaved in and out of traffic within the Avenida and did everything he could to keep from stopping. Sarah slid into Will’s open arms as they drove through traffic. She felt safe there, protected, enclosed within a shield of muscles. Her eyes turned up, studying the contour of his chiseled jaw, the high cheekbones, and the ebony hair. She could feel his heart beating next to her, telling her he would be there to watch over her.
They stopped a block away from the border and found a spot to park the motorcycle. He straightened and pulled back from the handlebars to open up and give Sarah room to hop down. She moved slowly, not wanting to lose the physical contact they had during the too short of a motorcycle ride. Sam got off without hesitation; easing the burdened shocks and making the cycle spring up.
“You know what sucks?” Sam sounded completely annoyed as she pursed her lip into a pout. “I never got a picture of a zonkey!”
Sarah couldn’t help but laugh. The zonkey was a delightful thought after such a horrid afternoon. She was amazed at Sam’s resilience. Wasn’t it just a few minutes ago that she sat petrified next to Sarah? And now, she seemed unfazed.
“Zonkey?” Will asked Sarah.
“Don’t ask.” She smirked as she hooked her friend’s arm. The last thing she needed was for Sam to run in search of a zonkey. “Thank you, Will. I wish there was something we could give you or do for you -- for what you did. You were incredible!” She could feel her face warming.
“I’ll be in the States after the summer is over. Maybe we can all hang out.” Will smiled, his deep dimples making him more irresistible.
Sam quickly pulled out of Sarah’s light hold and ran to him.
“Sam!” Sarah gasped out.
Sam pulled a pen out of her backpack and scrawled Sarah’s telephone number on his palm. “Call her!” She winked, hurrying back to Sarah.
Will beamed. “You better go. I’ll watch from here. I can’t cross with you.”
The girls slowly walked toward the line of people waiting to cross the border. Sarah looked back,
wanting to look at Will for as long as possible. He was leaning against the motorcycle, his gaze diligently scanning the area before locking in on her and giving her a slight bow of his head.
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