ZoƩ stifled a yawn as she stared out of the windshield of the bright yellow Camero. She was beginning to regret the decision to leave the ninety for the hick road she was on now. The ninety had been flat and straight and boring. ZoƩ had left the interstate in the hope that the back roads would have enough features to engage her and help keep her awake. But no. It seemed the great state of South Dakota was flat straight and boring.
The trip had been a spectacular success so far though and ZoƩ was not going to be put off by one dull road. She was travelling east to visit her big sister and her family. A student in Seatle ZoƩ was having a blast driving 'Bumblebee' across the country to Chicago and actually getting paid to do it.
Her co-driver, Mindy, had bailed at the last moment. But, the owner of the car, a guy called Rod, had said he was not in a rush so long as she arrived safely. So instead of a continuous non-stop drive, ZoƩ had laid over in a variety of motels and actually seen a bit of the country.
She'd picked up a couple of hitchers on the way. A real gearhead in Montana had waxed lyrical about the car. ZoƩ didn't care about it other than it was Bumblebee, so was glad to offload the guy in Billings. The other was an ex-hippy school teacher type who had been fascinated first in ZoƩ's studies and then been quite useful in explaining the geography they were driving through. He'd talked her into dropping him off in Newcastle Wyoming, as it was a better route to Mount Rushmore. Something she'd not seen before.
She was missing the trees and hills of the west now though. As it was beginning to look like all South Dakota had to offer was a big statue of four dead presidents.
Three yawns and a stretch later she was startled almost to the point of crashing when a motorcycle roared by. Sitting up straight and tightening her grasp on the wheel ZoƩ checked her mirror. There was a whole gang of them behind. ZoƩ shivered in fear. She knew there were many law-abiding clubs, but what if these were Hell Angels or some other criminal gang?
Another bike overtook and the tight leather-clad thigh of the rider caught her attention. The rider was a woman?
With no oncoming traffic, the rest of the gang started to pass. They all seemed to be women. Several riders slowed and looked in at ZoƩ as they passed. But with tinted visors or goggles and bandannas hiding their faces ZoƩ got no idea what these women looked like.
Once all clear the first rider to pass her, who had also been passed by the rest, gave a thumbs up and sped off to catch up with the rest of the group.
Relieved that her fears had been imaginary ZoƩ re-tuned the radio to find something upbeat and laughed at her paranoia. About fifteen minutes further down the road though she had to slow to a stop as there had clearly been an accident. The pavement was full of parked motorbikes and their riders. A long black skid on the tarmac disappeared into their midst.
One of the bikers noted ZoƩ's arrival and walked towards her. Devoid of her helmet ZoƩ could finally make out the rider's features. Long black hair with bangs framed an attractive face that was made prettier by the smile she was wearing. ZoƩ guessed she was in her late thirties, perhaps early forties. She was very tall and her outfit did not seem suitable for biking at all. She was wearing a leather jacket that hung open to reveal a medium bust under a red vest supported by a black leather corset. Her nipped-in waist accentuated her hips, also clad in black leather, this time with a tight mini skirt slit at the side. There was a couple of inches of bare thigh below the hem before the tops of black leather boots, that sheathed her legs tightly, completed the ensemble.
ZoƩ lowered her window as the biker approached.
"Is everything okay?" Inquired ZoƩ.
"Sure. Midge caught a blowout is all. Put her on the deck but she's okay. We're just fixing the tyre now."
"Oh my god, are you sure? I could give her a lift to a hospital?"
"That's kind of you to offer but Midge is good. There's a diner about two miles on and we'll stop there for a break."
"Far to go?"
"Nope, we're almost home. Been to Sturgis though, some of the girls are a bit worse for wear if you get my drift. Those are some nice wheels for someone so young?"
ZoƩ smiled at the question in the woman's voice. It was not the first time on the journey that the question had been asked. "Not my car. I'm just a poor student driving this to its owner. I'm studying in Seattle but on my way to visit my big sister in Chicago. This way I get paid to travel home rather than fork out for tickets."
"Chicago from Washington, surely you can fly that for under a hundred bucks?"
"Probably, but my student debt is horrendous. Plus I've seen Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and now South Dakota."
"Did you visit Yellow Stone?"
"No, but I did see Mount Rushmore."
"Well good for you, getting out and seeing the world. I'll get these reprobates to move over so you can get past."
"There's no need really, I'm not in a rush."
"I'm sure, but they could be some time." She twisted and put her fingers in her mouth before giving a powerful whistle that turned the heads of the other bikers. "Make room for the traffic you lugs," she bellowed. "You'll be giving us a bad name around here."
People scurried and bikes were moved and soon a path through the crowd opened.
"Thanks," ZoƩ shouted at the woman in the boots and slowly drove the car through the crowd of motorcyclists. Once clear she opened up the throttle making 'Bumblebee' growl and soon the bikers were lost behind her.
A few miles on and she saw the sign for the diner the biker had mentioned. Hungry and needing gas ZoƩ pulled over and parked in the lot out front.