Page 58 of The Wilder Widows

The cheers rose again, and I looked back over my shoulder. A body flew through the air to the chorus of gasps from the onlookers. When he disappeared back into the terrified crowd, I began to question this decision for the first time since we arrived. Screams peppered the air around us, and the runners took off at breakneck speed, blowing past us on our scooters.

The runners parted, bodies launching and diving out of the way. I saw the black shadow emerge from between them—muscles rippling as it charged our way. The deep scar across his face identified the snorting, angry wall of dangerous muscle headed our way.

“El Diablo!” I screamed, and the widows spun back to look. The huge bull headed straight for us, and I squeezed my handle tighter. Sweaty palms threatened to slip, but I tightened my grip and willed my scooter to impossible speeds.

“El Diablo! El Diablo!” Alice panted and pushed herself harder, but her speed slowed even more.

“Run, soldier! Run!” I commanded, but she continued losing pace as the bull closed in.

“I’m not gonna make it!” She puffed. “I can’t run anymore! Don’t forget! Use the good picture!”

“No man left behind! Hop on, sweet cheeks! Hurry!” I leaned back, opening my arm and waving her in. The huffing of the bull’s deep breaths grew louder, and I could hear his thundering hooves approaching. “Now, Alice!”

With a shriek, she launched herself into my lap. Her red high heels kicked in the air as she struggled to balance on my lap. The roar of the crowd drowned out El Diablo for a moment, but soon I could feel his hot breath on my neck. I looked behind me and saw eyes lit with fire boring into mine.

“Holy shit!” I screamed, turning back to stay on course. A man fell down, and I gunned the gas while we bumped over his legs. The jarring movement nearly dislodged Alice, but she wrapped her arms around my neck and held on tight.

The bull veered away from me, locking onto Doris beside me while she leaned forward on her scooter and tried to get away. “He’s coming for me!” Her blood-curdling scream rivaled the cheers around us. The bull bore down, his horns low while he barreled up behind her.

Holy shit. I killed Doris.

I prepared for the impact and the guilt that would forever haunt me while Doris tried to scoot away.

“Doris!” Sylvie screamed.

But instead of impaling her with his horns, he stayed just behind her, his body following her scooter everywhere she went as she tried to get away. The crowd roared again, and I glanced back to see another black bull coming our way. “Incoming!”

This one moved with speed, like lean marathon runners who’d trained for this their whole lives. Faster than El Diablo, and from the look in his eyes, even more dead set on turning Doris into a shish kabob. He locked onto her, moving up alongside El Diablo.

White knuckled, Doris glanced over her shoulder one more time. I could see her mouthing a silent prayer while she veered again.

“Do something!” Alice shrieked.

“Hey! Hey!” I shouted at the bulls, trying to get their attention while I beeped my horn.

“Well, don’t bring them over here!” Alice shrieked again.

Ignoring my attempts to dissuade them, they continued after Doris. The lean bull moved up on her, head lowered, and eyes locked on.

This was it. Doris was toast.

As the bull charged forward, El Diablo grunted, swinging his huge white horns through the air, blocking the blow from connecting with Doris. The lean bull stumbled for a stride, righting itself before turning its attention to a man tearing down the street ahead. It dug down hard, racing after the man in front of us and sending him flying through the air to the chorus of the crowd’s screams. It left him lying on the ground and galloped on, disappearing around Dead Man’s Corner.

El Diablo cantered away, bypassing Doris but slamming a man into the wall before he too, disappeared around the corner.

“Whoo! You’re okay!” Sylvie cheered, and we all looked at Doris, whose ashen face looked like they’d successfully skewered her, leaving nothing but a corpse still bumping along on her scooter.

“I’m alive!” she called over.

“You’re alive!” I yelled back, grinning so wide I thought my face might tear. The pounding of my heart drowned out the sound of the screaming crowd.

We skidded around Dead Man’s Corner, heading down the final stretch before the arena. The onlooker’s cheers rose, working like a warning siren, and I looked back to see the herd of bulls boring down on us again.

“Incoming!” I yelled. We moved our scooters closer together, and Alice gripped me tightly. The raw power from the herd of bulls rushing past sucked the breath right out of me. I watched them go past, and for a moment, I envisioned Stilts racing ahead of them. Taunting them while he covered the ground with long, elegant strides. His boyish smile stretched wide across his face while his laughter echoed through the streets. Manz raced beside them, ducking and darting between them, using his small size and agility to dodge their swinging horns. And Percy.

Percy was by my side, holding my hand while he grinned down at me. Staying with me. Keeping me safe. Always keeping me safe. My partner through life. My best friend. My soul mate. And then I felt his grip slip as he raced ahead, his laughter mingling with his friends’ while they disappeared into a sea of black bulls. My heart fluttered in my chest. Tears brimmed my eyes as I closed them, holding their memories close while I finished the final stretch we’d vowed to run together.

The red banner signifying the end flapped just up ahead, and I followed the bulls under the tunnel and out into the arena. Cheers shook the walls while bulls, runners, and my Wilder Widows poured into the sand. And once again, I saw my boys. As if time had stopped back in ‘Nam, they looked the same way I remembered them the first day I saw them tossing around the football. They stood in the center, grins wide, while they waved at me one last time.