Chapter 2
Zipper Hardy was deep in thought and considering the sun, which was setting, when the blonde girl intruded upon his secluded place on the beach, an exceptional place that shielded him by sand dunes on three sides. He was not at all pleased to see her. Lately, he was never pleased to see the willowy Lil Adams. Always, she appeared at exactly the wrong time, like this very moment when Zip was contemplating life and its meaning, his own motorcycle-centered existence, and the future that he either had or did not have. Lately, Zip had spent a lot of time alone. He liked it this way. Alone, he could think. But his leadership of the "Devil Cats" robbed him of aloneness. And, when the club didn't demand him for a caper, Lil did.
"Hiding on me again, eh?" she said, flopping on her side next to him.
"Naw-not hiding, thinking. Go on, beat it."
"Man-what a crab." She smiled into his face, then raised on one elbow so that her lips were directly on a line with his.
"I said beat it," he muttered, looking at her, then glancing away.
"What the hell's the matter with you, Zip?" she asked, her head cocking to one side.
"Nothing. I'm just thinking, that's all."
"And you've been doing a hell of a lot of it lately."
"So?"
"So, it doesn't leave any time for me, baby. And that I don't like. Hell, even the cats are beginning to growl about how you're always thinking."
He raised a bit. His expression turned interested. Then he said, "What about the cats? What's with them about me?"
"Just that you're always thinking-and not thinking about capers for the club either."
He turned from her, saying, "They ain't got no kicks. They voted to come to this crummy burg because the heat was on back home-couldn't ride any place without the fuzz on either side and front and back. So we're here-what the hell do they want?"
"Action, baby, just like me."
"They can make their own action."
"They want some recruits, Zip, and that's the truth. And they want the girlie kind. The 'Janes' around here are going dry-the boys need some new action kind of stuff, and they're looking to you to arrange it."
He did not answer. He stared straight ahead, feeling a discontent within himself that he did not understand, a strange, rumbling kind of discord between himself and those who were the members of his club.
"And there's something else, too," Lil said. She paused, waiting for him to look at her.
He did not, but he said, "Yeah-what's the other gripe?"
"Terrible and Joe and Itchy all need parts for their bikes. We gotta heist some in town."
"Let the bastards go to a parts store," Zip said.
Lil laughed, then said, "And when did any of us ever buy anything we can steal."
"Never."
"That's the truth," she agreed. Then her voice changed, went disturbed and unhappy as she said, "Come on, Zip, what the devil is it with you? You ain't been the same for weeks."
"Same as what?"
"Same as you were before we came to this burg."
He laced his hands behind his head and looked over his motorcycle, which rested in the single entrance to the clearing. He thought of the bike, its power, the feeling it always gave him, the sensation of reckless abandon and daring. Even death. For a second he thought about death. He had faced it several times after crashes with his bike. But it didn't impress him, neither with fear-or promise. Then he thought of life, especially his own, the aimlessness of it, and once again a kind of restlessness careened through his body.
It was an unfamiliar sensation. And, because of its unfamiliarity, Zip wished to dismiss it as quickly as possible. He looked at Lil who, for Zip, had always been the means of forgetting.
She smiled and raised a little higher above him. Then in a quick motion she lowered the zipper of her leather jacket, allowing her breasts to loom forward.
Zip grinned, then said, "You always start that way, don't you, baby?"
"Good a way as any."
"Not today it isn't," he said.
Offended, she asked, "Why not?"
"Because I don't want to," Zip said. "That should be a good enough reason for anything. But for you, I'll spell it out. I want to be alone. Quiet. I want to think. I've got a lot of things on my mind and I want to get them straight. See? So, scoot now, eh?"
"Ah, Zip...."
Impatiently, he shook his head. He looked past her. It was then that he saw a familiar dark figure standing at the entrance of the clearing. Zip smiled. He felt relieved. At least if he couldn't get rid of Lil, another had brought an intrusion to the scene. Zip was glad.
"Man, oh, man alive, do I ever pick the wrong time to show up," a deep Negro voice said from the entrance.
Lil looked in the direction of the voice, then angrily said, "What the hell do you want, Ham?"
The figure moved closer, then paused in front of them. The Negro boy smiled. He was very attractive in his red leather jacket, and his Negro features served to subdue the brightness of his smile and the red jacket, giving him a neutrality of appearance. A nice neutrality. He was about nineteen and very strong looking.
"Come on, Ham, sit down," invited Zipper.
Disturbed, Lil made an unpleasant sound and looked away.
"Okay, Ham, shoot-what's up?" asked Zip.
"Nothing much, man," Ham answered, smiling broadly. "Just a little item like a couple of recruits we've got down the beach-a couple of little high school Janes that say they want to cruise with us a spell."
Zip was not pleased with the news. It threatened him and the mood of complacency that had been with him for weeks. And it threatened his leadership of the Devil Cats, a leadership he had lately neglected.
"Who did the recruiting?" Zip asked angrily. "I didn't give any go-ahead on anything like that yet."
"Terrible Jones got the Janes," Ham replied. "Guess he was getting a little impatient since his ol' lady went back home."
"So goddamn impatient that he'll land us all in the clink," Zip growled.
"Aw, no, man, nothing like that," Ham said, shaking his big black head. "These little girls are real anxious to cruise with the Cats."
Lil, who had risen, said, with a note of scorn in her tone, "What the hell, bet the little chicks can't even make it through the initiation."
"Well, little woman," Ham said, "that's exactly what we're proposing to find out right now if you and the chief can tear yourselves away from this little patch of solitude."
"We're coming," Zip said.
"Coming?" Lil repeated with a short laugh. "Man-you're saying it wrong."
"Come on, let's get with the others," Zip said.
"Oh, goodie," Ham said, feigning enthusiasm. "We're going to be mighty pleased to have you with us, Chief."
"And what does that mean?"
The Negro grinned, then said, "It means the absence of our leader has just shook us all up terribly lately."
"Where's the gang?"
"At the beach house." He paused and grinned again. "I reckon you still know the way there."
Zip glared at him, then walked past him. He flung a leg over his Harley-Davidson, then jammed his foot downward, sparking it to power and life. Then he turned and waited for Ham and Lil to join him. When they did, Ham claimed the seat behind Zip and Lil clambered into the big Negro's lap, while she cross-legged the bike.
Then they were off, roaring down the beach and into the dusk. Zip felt the power of the machine beneath him and thought how much it was like a woman-fully-charged, strong, yet liquid-moving. And yet he felt a misdirection and fraud in the machine as if it were meant for one thing but used for another. He wondered why it meant so much to him, why it, and the gang, had for nearly two years been his only interest, his almost total preoccupation. And then he thought of the town, Sanford, that the gang had come to in order to ride their bikes in freedom. He thought of the town and its people, especially the young people he had seen, and he felt a curiosity about their lives. Then he remembered the pretty, auburn-haired girl who had looked down upon him, the way she was half-concealed and had obviously been spying upon the gang. He grinned, remembering the way she had brazenly held his look when he had stopped and looked up at her. It had been a good display of guts, Zip acknowledged. And yet there was something about her that had made him think of her and the town and its people and how much the Devil Cats were opposed to that kind of conformity. And then, he once again shook his head, dismissing the thoughts, knowing that they could only hurt him, cause him evil doings within his own midst.
Zip braked the bike in front of the broken-down beach house, the place that a landlord had been quick to rent to the first inquirer.
The three of them departed the motorcycle. Zip saw that several lights shone dully against the last shades of dusk. They gave off an ominous appearance, as if they shone for trouble and that alone.
"Everybody's here," Ham offered.
"Good," Zip said.
"Yeah, real good," Lil concurred. "The more the merrier, I always say."
"You always say too cuttin' much," Zip growled.
He pushed ahead of Ham and Lil and mounted the front stairs of the house. He moved across the porch, then hesitated at the front door. He waited until Ham and Lil were next to him, then he pushed the door inward.
All of the members of the Devil Cats were present in the large living room. Most in evidence were Zip's lieutenants, Terrible Jones, Itchy, and Joe, a black-leather attired threesome who appeared far meaner, cruder, and dirtier than any of the others. The three lieutenants were in the center of a ring the others had created by sitting in a circle on the floor. In front of the motorcyclists, and talking to them, were two girls, both of whom appeared to be fifteen or sixteen and were exceptionally pretty, one with jet black hair, the other a blonde with curls that teased at her ears. Both of the girls had mature bodies, which they had apparently taken special care to reveal as much as possible. They both wore very short, tight skirts that revealed high parts of their thighs and showed the most intricate outlines of their buttocks. The dark-haired girl wore a white peasant blouse. It was loose at the bottom and displayed delightful patches of belly-flesh when she stretched or moved. And, if this was not sufficient to announce the absence of undergarments, the hard points of her nipples pressing against the thin cloth of the blouse clinched the impression. The blonde girl, who was taller than her friend and more solidly built, was also without the encumbrance of a bra. She wore a soft, cashmere sweater. Her breasts rippled and bounced when she moved, and the hard breast ends pinpointed the exact centers of her very ample roundness. The eyes of the girl were interesting, too. They glinted excitement and inner heat much as if they mirrored the sensations of their young bodies.
"Hey, Cats, get excited, I got the chief with me," Ham said, grinning and coming even with Zip where he stood just inside the door.
"Yeah, greetings," Terrible Jones said sarcastically. "Glad to see you around, Zip."
There was laughter from the group, laughter that was meant as a reprimand for their leader and his recent negligence of the gang.
"All right, can that," Zip said sternly. "What's cooking?" He looked at the young girls, each of whom turned and fastened him with their very best, most sensual, wide-mouthed smile.
Itchy, who was tall and thin and had the nervous habit of scratching at the leather of his jacket constantly, stepped forward a few paces, grinned at Zip, then nodded toward the girls.
"Well, these little Janes want to cruise with us, Chief," Itchy said. "They say they want to join our little group."
Lil pushed forward, fixed the girls with a cold stare, then said, "I can tell right now, they ain't got the guts."
The big Negro, Ham, grinned, ran his eyes over the bodies of both girls, then said, "Hell, little lady, their guts look just fine to me."
Laughter, coarse, and interspersed with ribald remarks, filled the room.
Zip held up his hands for quiet. When it was attained, he turned slowly, letting his eyes roam over the circle of Devil Cats. Then he looked at the girls, who continued to smile at him but who, obviously, had no intention of speaking until the gang leader indicated that they should.
"Where are you two from?" Zip asked the girls.
The blonde was spokeswoman. She took a step forward and said, "From town-from Sanford."
"You go to school there, eh?"
"Yes, at Sanford High," the blonde replied.
"We're juniors," the dark-haired girl offered.
"Juniors?" Terrible Jones exclaimed. "What's that-you mean you got the same name as your old ladies?"
"It means they're next to their last year in high school, stupid," Zip said without looking at Terrible.
The girls tittered a light laugh.
"What are your names?" Zip asked.
"I'm Dottie, said the blonde. "And my girl friend here is Terry. We're sixteen, and we want to...."
"Just answer the questions, Goddammit," Zip cut in sharply. "Now, why the hell do you want to ride with the Devil Cats?"
The girls looked at each other a second, then Terry, the dark girl, took several paces toward Zip, walking in an undulating manner that seemed meant to enchant and enrapture the leader of the Devil Cats.
"We want to ride with you Cats because we're looking for kicks-big ones-the kind we can't get in Sanford," she said, stopping and staring straight at Zip, holding his eyes for a moment, then looking at all of his body, touching at his shoulders, his narrow waist, and at the tightness of. his jeans where they plastered to his thighs.
"It's not that easy, kid," Zip said. "Any Jane that rides with us has to make it big at the initiation."
"We can," said Terry, lifting her chin.
"Maybe you can," said Zip, laughing. Then he added, "But come on, there has to be one big reason that makes you come to us, ready to peddle yourselves just to be with us. What is it?"
Again the girls looked at each other. Soon, Terry said, "Well, this is the way it goes. You see at school, well, there's all kinds of competition-especially among the girls. All the gals try to outdo each other in kicks."
"And you're the leaders, eh?"
"No, we're not, and that's what's buggin' us." She paused, then continued, saying, "Darcy Williams is the hottest thing at Sanford, the little snip. She's always coming up with something that tops everybody for kicks. Well, Dottie and I are out to top that little bitch-and we can do it if you let us cruise with you Cats."
"Where's this Darcy Williams?" Zip asked.
"Who knows? Probably in a back seat at the drive-in movie."
Zip grinned and tried to create an image of Darcy Williams, feeling, as he did so, a certain admiration for the leadership of this unknown girl, her leadership that prompted others to seek out the Cats as a means of victory over her.
Boldly, Zip walked over to Terry. He stopped only inches away from where her breasts stretched outward from her peasant blouse.
"You got any idea what our initiation's like?" he asked.
"No, but it doesn't matter," Terry said. She turned to her girl friend and added, "Does it, Dottie."
"Not a bit," the girl replied, walking next to her friend and looking at Zip.
Zip turned to the assembly of his fellows, then raised his hands and said, "What do you say, Cats-do we put 'em to the test?"
Loud, affirmative shouts issued from all the Devil Cats.
The girls smiled widely and waited.
"Okay," Zip said. "The rest is going to be up to you gals."
"That's all we need," Terry said.
"Yeah, just a chance," Dottie offered.
"Well, we'll see how you make it. Hell, you might make it big enough to get to wear our insignia." He pointed to a white skull and cross bones that was painted on his jacket. It had splashes of red where an imitation of blood had been painted so as to ooze from the eye and mouth orifices of the skull.
"Man, what do we have to do to earn that?" Terry asked excitedly.
"You'll see." He turned toward Terrible Jones, then said, "Okay, Terrible, you recruited 'em-take over the initiation ceremonies."
"Yeah," Terrible breathed evilly. "Just let me get goin'. "
He moved to where the girls stood waiting. He grinned at them and he was a gruesome sight. All of his front teeth were broken in the middle and the remaining parts were yellow with stain. His eyes were pale-blue and they glistened, but it was in a way that gave the impression that they looked not at the girls but through them to some secret visions of them he created. Terrible's hair, once brown, now was a non-definable color made up of the dirt of a thousand dusty roads. It was matted and long, straggled nearly to his shoulders.
But the way Dottie and Terry looked up at the motorcyclist gave the impression that he was out of Hollywood and the dream-king of the teens.
"Let's see what ya look like under them duds, eh," Terrible told the girls.
They looked at each other. Dottie flushed a light pink at her cheeks, but it did not detain her from immediately sliding the zipper of her skirt downward.
Zipper Hardy watched as the girls started undressing. For a moment he tried being objective, like another person watching himself, and the proceedings, intent upon the investigation of his thoughts and sensations. What he discovered frightened him. He felt a stab of genuine pain as the teenaged girls slipped out of their skirts. They looked young and innocent, although he already knew that they were certainly not the latter. And as he looked at them, he again remembered the auburn-haired girl that had caused him to stop and look and wonder-especially wonder about what it would be like to be in school, have a girl such as she was, and be free of the Devil Cats' life, which was dedicated to the humiliation of all other kinds of life.
Zip shook his head, then looked to the side where Lil stood watching the young girls. Her face was hard and set in lines. She was still feeling for not having sexually gained him this night, Zip guessed. Then he recalled that lately he had avoided sexual encounters, that whenever he did make love with Lil, he did so more out of duty than desire.
A cheer arose from the crowd.
Zip turned his attention to the school girls. Both of them were nude and standing very straight, much as if they were slaves presenting themselves upon the trader's block. Zip felt a rumble of passion trill at his thighs. The girls were exceptionally well-built, he decided. And they were on a par in the desirability of their bodies. Where Dottie, the blonde, was bigger in the breasts and more flaring of hips, her friend, Terry, had breasts that were harder and more pointed, with cherry-tips that raged outward like stiff fingers.
Terrible groaned some erotic sounds and looked from one girl to the other, then back again. He clasped his hands together in front of him like a boy being presented with a long-sought gift. Then he reached out and fondled Terry's breasts. She threw her shoulders back, boldly offering more of her breasts to his anxious hands. And in a moment, Dottie barged into the erotic act. She moved next to her friend and thrust her breasts out for Terrible's attention. He laughed, then fondled her with one hand while he continued to knead Terry's breast.
"Man-you're too damn slow for this Cat," big Ham suddenly shouted. He leaped to the center of the ring, then ripped his red leather jacket off his strong shoulders. And then he unbuttoned his shirt and flung it to the ground.
Zip was moved to interfere, then decided against it. He looked at the big Negro and wondered how the young girls were reacting inside their bellies to the sight of the huge Devil Cat readying himself for action. Ham's muscles rippled and glistened beneath the lights. His stomach indented in a hard, tight manner.
"Hey, Zip," Terrible called out. "You ain't goin' let this Cat butt in are you?"
Ham turned, locked his hands at his waist and looked defiantly at Zip.
"Why not?" Zip asked. "After all, any Jane who rides with us gets ridden by us-all of us too, doesn't she?"
"Yeah, but I did the recruiting," the gruesome one protested.
"Sure you did," Ham cut in. "You did the recruiting and I'm agoin' to do the cuttin'. "
As if they were competitors, the two boys made a dive for the girls. Ham caught Terry to him and she thrust so hard against him that there was a sharp smack of their flesh that sounded through the room. Itchy, as if not to be outdone, clasped Dottie to him and rolled to the floor. And soon the four of them, side by side upon the floor, were moving in erotic speed, giving and taking to each other as they took inspiration from the exhibitionism of their act.
Zip looked away from it. He found an excuse for his eyes to do many things other than watch the sexual performance in the center of the room. It seemed to him that it would never end. But, finally, it did, amid moans and cries and shrieks and yelping.
Zip turned now, but he did not see the girls. They were still on the floor, on their backs, smiling and waiting as the scuffling sounds grew loud while the Devil Cats lined up, one behind the other, in front of the girls.
"Hey, Zip, are you joining the gang-bit?" one of the Devil Cats called to him.
"No. You guys go on. I'm going to-to check the security outside."
Almost immediately, there were the loud sounds of laughter and shouting encouragement from one Cat to the other as they took their turns with Dottie and Terry.
Zip turned and exited the room, thinking of the scene behind him, of the hundreds of similar scenes he had witnessed since becoming a member and leader of the motorcycle club. And strangely, through it all there came another memory, one that seemed remote yet strangely close, the memory of an auburn-haired girl of extraordinary beauty watching from a hiding place as he zoomed off on his motorcycle. Zip felt a tremendous curiosity about her. He wondered why he continued to think of her. Then he wondered if he would ever see her again, if perhaps in some strange way she was destined to enter his life. He felt a chill. He knew that it had come both from fear and from desire.