Tales from the 13th: Just Over the Bend

                                                                    

                                                                    Just Over the Bend

            Bruce Alam and Jimmy Dietz were inseparable. No matter what the scheme that Bruce came up with, Jimmy was always along for the ride. Ever since grade school, the two have always been in trouble. Dietz couldn’t say no to the one person who paid any attention to him. Bruce was his only friend, and he didn’t even know about the hardships that his friend had at home. Jimmy was always “grounded.” That meant that no matter when he went out with Alam, as his parents allowed no friends over, he was always “grounded” for some reason. If he didn’t go out with his friend, his parents would ask him why. When the answer came that he was “grounded,” he was told how he wasn’t. These mind games forced Jimmy, at an early age, not only to distrust his parents but also to distrust adults in general.

            Growing up, the two were inseparable. That did lead to them getting into trouble at school, whether it was with simple reprimands or detentions. On rare occasions, suspensions would come. This would be the only time that Jimmy would earn his groundings. The teachers didn’t know what to do with them. They always seemed to end up in the same classes together, even though the computer was set to make classes up at random. Bruce and Jimmy terrorized their teacher equally. However, their biology teacher, Ms. Keller, seemed to take the blunt route of their ire. It could have been that she was a younger teacher, it being her third year of teaching, when they had her. Or it could have been Jimmy’s secret crush on the plus-sized woman. There was something about her that drew him to her. There came a time when he would leave dirty jokes on her desk to seduce her.

            Like the other girls and later women in his life, she rejected him. Not only was he underage, but he was a disgusting slob. He was always in blue jeans, a rock band T-shirt, and a jean jacket. Jimmy’s hair was unkempt, and at the time of his youth, he had a mullet. The day he cut it off, Bruce was amazed that he did something on his own. Usually, ask his friend for permission first before doing anything. This time, they were going all out. Each already had a police record. Jimmy’s was riddled with accomplice busts. Unlike the other times, they were making sure that the rest of the world would hear about Alam and Dietz. Today was the day they were going to rob the Marquette Bank and Trust.

            The bank, located off 64th and Prairie, was not only part of the master plan but also their parents' bank. Jimmy remembered when he was a child and his mother opened a secret savings account from his father, and wondered what it would be like to rob the joint. Pictures of old movies, outlaws robbing the banks successfully, ran through his little mind. This was something that he shared with Bruce. Alam came from a well-off family. His father, an accomplished architect, earned enough money for his wife to stay at home and care for their only child. Toys were showered upon the boy as his parents thought that was a sign of love. Jimmy was always jealous when he went over to his friend’s house, as their mothers were best friends. If only he were able to get a fraction of what Bruce was given, he would have been happy.

            Unfortunately for Jimmy, his father worked as a factory worker at the local manufacturing plant. The only reason the man held his position there was due to his grandfather. He was a well-respected man and got his bumbling son a job. When the time came for the elder Dietz to retire, not even a year later, the father was permanently laid off. Whenever he felt inadequate at work, which was most of the time, he came home to beat Jimmy. Presents that were given to Jimmy would always go missing. It could have been that they were given to the children of his father’s mistresses, or they were sold at the local pawn shop. There was a time when Jimmy showed an interest in photography, and his grandparents bought him a brand-new camera. The boy only had it for a day before it “miraculously” disappeared. It just happened to coincide with the time when his father came into some money and bought a rattlesnake head for his cowboy hat.

            That was the past; today was what mattered the most. And today was the day that they were going to rob the bank. They knew, from a friend whose father worked for the police department, that it would take seven minutes from the sound of the alarm for a squad car to arrive. Putting on their masks, the two readied themselves for the thrill of a lifetime. Bruce managed to get his hands on two nine-millimeter Beretta and armed themselves. They entered the building and shot off two rounds. While Jimmy kept the old security guard at bay, Bruce went to the tellers and demanded cash. As they filled his bag, they tried to see any distinguishing features. However, their eyes were covered with sunglasses, and the lower part of their faces was covered with a scarf that hid their nose and mouth.

            The only other thing they could use to identify the men was their manner of speaking. Both men spoke with a British accent. These were, of course, fake. The two had become fluent in speaking with accents. Something that they perfected in school. Bruce urged them to hurry up, checking his watch every few seconds. Once a minute had passed, he ordered them to hand over the bag. The two shot out another round each, into the ceiling tiles, and made for their getaway. The old Bonneville, which they got from Jimmy’s grandmother, had a set of old plates on it. These were also “borrowed” from the garage wall. Even if they ran the plates, they were long since expired and won't come up in the system.

            The only thing the duo hadn't counted on was that a patrol car happened to be just two blocks away when the alarm went off. No sooner than the men got into the getaway car than the squad car pulled up. They waited a few seconds, trying to act natural now that their masks were off. The expired plates, being an unusual color compared to those used today, caught the eye of one of the officers.             Seeing that the charade was up, Bruce floored the car and took off. Only getting the make and model of the vehicle, and that the plates were yellow, they radioed for backup. The chase was on. The driver was nervous as he swore, dodging the cars in front of him. Jimmy kept a lookout out the back, relaying information to his accomplice. One squad car quickly turned into three, then four. There was no way that the old car was going to outrun the newer police vehicles.

            The police, who were well trained in this method, tried boxing the car in. But Bruce wasn’t going to give up without a fight. He swerved and struck the one patrol car. Slamming on the brakes, he forced the one behind him to hit the car next to it, trying to avoid the collision. It was at this time that one squad car struck the tail end of the Bonneville, sending it over the bridge's barricade. Seeing that they were going over the rim, they began screaming, holding onto the car as they braced themselves. This was it. They knew that they were done for. The car cleared the railing and was headed on a direct collision course with the freeway underneath. As if their bad luck wasn’t bad enough, a semi-truck, pulling logs, was heading in their direction.

            “We’re gonna die!” Bruce yelled, looking at his friend.

“I don’t want to die!” Jimmy yelled back. “Oh, God… help!”

But as they screamed, terrified of the fate that was coming their way, the car miraculously froze midair. It took a few seconds for them to realize what had happened. Time was standing still. The radio, which was playing Johnny B. Goode, was skipping one note. As their screaming stopped, Jimmy looked at his watch. It was true, time was frozen. Not that either of them was good at math, but they were able to project that their car was going to get demolished by the semi-truck. They pushed themselves up as straight as they could. Terror filled them both as their impending doom was about to happen.

Jimmy yelled out, asking what was going on. Bruce proclaimed that he didn’t know. It seemed like they were in suspended animation. Neither man knew how long it would last. They were there, facing their imminent deaths, terrified out of their minds. Dietz kept asking what the hell was going on, to which Alam responded, “How should he know?” He was as clueless as his childhood chum. Jimmy attempted to unroll his window, but Bruce started freaking out. After a good three-minute squabble about the dangers of opening the window, and that it might cause them to fall, the daring young man tried it. There was no change. They were still in suspended animation.

Everything but the two of them was. Seeing that they might have a chance to live, Jimmy reached into the loot bag, pulled out a hundred dollars, crumpled it up, and tossed it out the window. Curious as to why his friend had done that, he told him, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, that he was testing the outside. To their surprise, once out of the window, the money fell like it usually would. They were defying gravity while in the car. Outside, it seemed that the usual natural laws were applied. So why this car, why then, why now? Neither was able to determine why. It was above their pay grade.

“I’m going to try to make it to the bridge,” Jimmy told him.

“Are you out of your mind?”

“What other choice do we have?”

“I don’t know. But you saw the money.”

“Yeah, I saw it. I don’t want to become like it.”

“This is freaking nuts. What if it starts back up when you’re out there?”

“Then it starts.”

“Then it starts,” he says. What about me?”

“Come with me.”

“We’ll never make it.”

“Bruce, the ass end of the car is still hanging over the bridge. If we Dukes of Hazzard the car, we can make it.”

“I’m not climbing out of this car.”

Jimmy explained that this was their only chance. Bruce, on the other hand, asked him, "What if this was their hell?" He said that they didn’t know if they were to remain there, contemplating their lives, and regretting the sins they committed. Dietz would rather risk it all than stay in there and end it all. Considering it crazy talk, Alam was more worried about being busted by the police than he was dying in such a horrific manner. Still, he kept ranting about the police as the friend was working out in his mind how he was going to do this. As the driver continued, Jimmy told him to look at the truck. Even if he somehow survived the crash into the ground, the car would be upon him in a matter of seconds. He would be dead.

Bruce didn’t care. He was more terrified of going to prison and becoming someone’s bitch than dying. This fear of jail came from his father going into explicit detail over what men did to men in jail when he was only five years old. Yet, he waited until he was seventeen to talk about what men and women did. His father was a messed-up man. Jimmy pointed out that they were way past the point of going to jail, as they had committed the crime knowing the risk. Hearing his friend say 'risk,' he told him to examine the situation they were in. Dietz said to him that they were being handed a chance to escape and pay for their crimes or die. He was choosing life over death.

Seeing what he needed to do, Jimmy reached into the back seat and manually rolled the window down. Nothing in the car's electrical system was functioning as it should. Seeing his friend about to crawl out of the window, he begged him to stay there, where it was safe. That was the thing, they didn’t know how long it would be safe. This was a blessing in disguise, and they needed to act upon it as quickly as possible. With that, the young man climbed out of the car’s window. Sitting at the door, he felt the pull of gravity. His initial idea was to use both windows as openings that he could walk across and then work his way to the trunk. Shaking his head, he knew this was not going to work the way he thought.

Jimmy’s problem was that he was terrified of heights. All it took was for him to sit on the door to realize it was a huge mistake. There was no way he could scale the car from the passenger-side window. Sliding back in, he looked at the situation again. Bruce pointed out that it couldn’t be done. That he was being stupid, and that he should sit back down and relax as best he could. Shaking his head, Dietz climbed into the back seat. It was harder climbing up into the back than he realized. Once there, he looked at the stain left behind where Toby the beagle had thrown up. Although it was clean, the strain remained, and he was not going to touch that area. Taking a couple of deep breaths, he psyched himself up to open the door.

It flung open, as the car was still on a tilt, and went in the direction of gravity. The air was still moving as it blew through his hair. It was a relatively warm day, one that required being in an air-conditioned room. At first, he thought time started back up and that he was going to be killed without the safety of the car. Now, standing on the frame of the doorway, he gingerly pulled himself up and onto the trunk of the vehicle. There he rested for a second. The in-climb allowed him to be nested against the back window. He looked in and saw Bruce, still sitting there, arms extended out for the brace.

“Come on, Bruce. It’s not as hard as you think.”

“NO!”

“Please. I can’t face this alone.”

“I'm not moving!”

Shaking his head, Jimmy made the hardest decision of his life. For the first time, he was doing something on his own. There was no backup. This time, he was free of Bruce. Knowing that the glass wouldn’t support his weight, he propped his one leg on the outside frame, to the left. His other foot pressed against the roof of the car, and he readied to push himself up. Jimmy counted to three and squatted, thrusting up. Grabbing the end of the trunk, he pulled himself up and threw his leg over. Placing his weight onto the bumper, he looked back one last time. Alam hadn’t moved at all. He was still holding the steering wheel with both hands. Even from where Dietz was, he could see that his friend's knuckles were white from holding it so tightly.

The urge to call Bruce remained. But deep down, he knew that it would be futile. His friend was too far removed for him even to contemplate what his friend was about to do. Even now, he would have gone back all the way to help his friend up. Seeing that there was no use in arguing with him, Jimmy readied himself and prepared to jump. His breathing was short and rapid. He was scared. What if he didn’t make it? What if he did? With time frozen, what would he do with no one to speak to? He couldn’t face being alone, especially when it came to his best friend. Calling Bruce, one last time, his offer to go with him was denied.

Disappointed, he jumped onto the bridge. He managed to catch the railing and struggled to pull himself up. He was not a strong man. Hell, he’d never done a single pull-up in his entire life. But this time around, adrenaline was coursing through his veins. When he was close enough, he tossed his right leg over the beam and hoisted himself up. Rolling onto the ground, he rested on his back. Looking up to the sky, with two birds frozen in time hovering above him, he thanked God. He didn’t know how or why this had happened, but it did. After a few moments, he stood up. Triumphant. With his breathing returning to normal, he looked at the frozen car.

He called Bruce, trying to show him that his plan was plausible. The only difference between when he did it and his friend's attempt was that he had Jimmy there to help him. Alam refused even to contemplate the action. Still, Dietz begged him to at least try, but it was pointless. He told him that he was about to walk away. That he had had his fill of the planning and scamming, telling his friend that God was giving them a way out, he was shocked by the reply. Alam told him that he didn’t believe in his ‘sky king’ and that he was going to stay right where he was. Jimmy looked down at his hands and shook his head. This was an opportunity, and he was going to take it.

He let out a deep sigh, closed his eyes, and started walking away from the car. Several police cars were coming their way, and he nervously walked past them. Heading north, he had only made it past the first car when the sounds of sirens started breaking the silence. Turning around, he saw the old Bonneville’s brake lights flash, and time was starting back up. He, like a few other people on the walkway, watched as the car crashed right onto the highway, in the path of the semi. Just as they predicted, there was no time to stop. The big rig plowed right through the car. The horn blared as the sound of twisted, scraping metal filled the air. Jimmy felt sick to his stomach.

The police paid no attention to him as they went about their business, securing the bridge. They had an accident to deal with, as well as the recovery of the money, which was now blowing in the wind. All Jimmy wanted to do was cry. His childhood best friend was gone, but he wasn’t sad. No, when he finally broke down, these were tears of joy. He was safe, and all signs indicated that he would likely get away with his participation in the robbery. He continued down the street, away from the scene of hell. Dietz didn’t want to remember his friend as the mound of crushed bone and torn flesh. At the end of the bridge, he turned and decided to take the long way home.

With the weeks that followed, he wasn’t even brought in for questioning. The patrons in the bank were so focused on the loud one that they forgot that there were two of them. Mournfully, he attended the closed-casket funeral of Bruce Alam. And though he couldn’t explain it, he knew that this was his opportunity to make good with the life he was given. From that point on, he changed his life for the better. For that day, as low as it was for him, he found that redemption was just a small crawl away. All you must do is work for it, no matter how daunting it may seem, and reach for it.