Sarah walked down Main Street and flicked her long blonde hair over her shoulder, as she passed by a store window and checked out her reflection.

She had been nervous while she was getting ready, and as a result, she had found herself wearing an outfit that was completely out of her comfort zone. She had rifled through her closet, and found things she had long forgotten about. She couldn’t believe some of the miniskirts she had worn when she was younger. They were tiny and tight, and very revealing, but at least they still fit her. She had felt rather smug as she slipped into the small, black leather one she had worn to a party in high school. And was delighted as it even seemed a little bit looser than it had been back in the days when she would have worn it without fear of being too overdone.

She looked at herself now in the frosted window of the closed down store she was standing in front of, and she was glad she had taken the risk. This was her best friend’s bachelorette after all.

She looked at how long and lean her legs looked, she had managed to sculpt them perfectly after many hours of yoga, and she was finally beginning to see the brilliant results. She smiled at herself and was happy that she had decided to wear the short leather skirt; it flattered her in all the right ways, and coupled with her high heels, it made her look badass and as if she meant business. It was a complete change to how she usually dressed now that she was older and a lot wiser, but she thought, to hell with it. She was heading to a biker bar, and she was sending her best friend off into married life in style. Why shouldn’t she let her own hair down and enjoy herself too?

She had coupled the skirt with a tight little black t-shirt, and she had volumized her hair and secured it in place behind one ear with a black clip to contrast against the gold of the blonde. She had done her eyeshadow dark, and she had painted her nails a deep, dark red.

She looked vampy, and she felt as if it were kind of like an armor, setting her up for the battle that lay ahead.

She had no idea what she was walking into, but she could only assume it would be as crazy as it had been in Tanners, if not more so.

She clutched her purse to her side and carried on walking. Up ahead, she could see the sandwich board out on the sidewalk that announced the location of Faith’s Bar, and she was relieved to see that Nicole had already arrived.

“Hey!” she called ahead to her as she held up her hand and waved.

“Here comes the bride!” Sarah laughed as she pointed at Nicole as they tottered toward each other and bumped into a hug.

“I still can’t believe it when I hear statements like that,” Nicole grinned. “Now come on, let’s get ourselves a drink.”

She looped her arm through Sarah’s and began to pull her away from Faith’s and down the street toward the intersection.

“Are we going straight there?” Sarah asked, almost with alarm. There was a part of her that was hoping they would stop and have a drink to calm their nerves somewhere else first. But it didn’t appear that was on Nicole’s agenda.

“I told Ranger we would be there not long after seven,” she said as she smiled across at Sarah. “He’s fine with us going, by the way.”

Sarah felt a wave of relief. She had been somewhat worried that her brother may have been saving up another lecture for them when they arrived.

“Oh, so he knows we’re on our way? That’s a relief,” she laughed.

“Of course,” Nicole smiled. “Husband to be and all that.”

Sarah found herself nodding.

The girls tottered along on their heels and Sarah found herself beginning to get excited. She had heard so much about this bar, and yet she had never even seen it from the outside.

She remembered her brother talking about it when he was younger, long before he was part of The Forsaken Riders, and long before he had gone off to join the military. He had looked on toward it with a kind of awe, and the way he had spoken about it to Sarah had made her view it in a kind of legendary light.

She had heard stories of illicit love affairs, of late night drug deals, of lawless bikers fighting in the streets, and of how the cops had long decided to leave that part of town to their own devices. It was crazy to think it was all just normal for her brother now. That he had gone into that world, embraced it, and was now a fully fledged member of that kind of society.

If she and Nicole hadn’t been connected to The Forsaken Riders in that way, there would be no chance that good girls like them would be heading to that part of town. Not only was it potentially damaging for Sarah professionally, but it was also just too frightening for words. And yet, they both skipped on toward it with excitement and without a care in the world.

“Do you think maybe we should hail a cab?” she asked Nicole as she stopped at the next set of lights and reached down to rub her foot. Already, her heels were starting to chafe, and she didn’t fancy being covered in blisters by the time they finally arrived.

“Sure,” Nicole grinned as she looked around the street.

As if by magic, a cab swerved around a corner up ahead and Sarah jumped up and down on the spot, waving her arm.

The driver saw her and began to slow before doing a U-Turn and screeching to a halt next to them at the side of the road. Sarah bent forward and put her hands on the open window.

“Hey,” she smiled. “Can you take us across town to The Bleeding Bullet?”

An amused grin spread across the cab driver’s face, and Sarah couldn’t help but notice that he had several days of unshaven stubble which made it look as if he hadn’t showered.

“Sure,” he said as he hit the unlock button on the car doors. “Hop on in.”

Nicole slid onto the back seat first and then Sarah followed. As they sat down on the grimy upholstery, Sarah winced and gave Nicole a sympathetic look. She could only imagine that this was a taste of things to come.

The cab swerved back out onto Main Street and into the traffic of other cars. He tapped his fingers along on the steering wheel as heavy metal screeched out of the stereo.

“I wonder what kind of music they’ll be playing in the bar,” Sarah smiled.

“No doubt it’ll be as loud and crazy as this,” Nicole mused.

“So,” the cab driver said as he looked at them in his rearview mirror. “What brings a couple of girls like you to this side of the tracks?”

Sarah couldn’t help but grin. It all seemed to cloak and dagger, it was as if they were about to step into a secret world.

“It’s my bachelorette party,” Nicole said with a giggle.

The driver studied her in the mirror and raised his eyebrows.

“Getting one last final fling out of your system then?” he asked wryly.

Sarah had to cover her mouth to try not to laugh, and Nicole somehow managed to keep a calm and straight face.

“Yes, something like that,” she said.

Sarah reached down and squeezed her hand. It would be tempting for them to tell the driver that they were in fact the fiancé and the sister of one of the lawless bikers, but if it was one thing Sarah had learned from her brother, it was to never admit your connections.

“Well,” the driver said. “Not much farther to go.”

Sarah looked out her window and took in the changing landscape of the town.

It was as if they had left Slate Springs entirely, and now they were on their way to somewhere deeper, darker, and more industrial. The streets were lined with big, old, cavernous and abandoned warehouses. Most of them were boarded up, but the ones that weren’t all had their windows smashed in. It looked messy, but it also looked kind of cool. There was something very post-apocalyptic about it, something that made you want to travel further and discover hidden secrets.

At either side of the road were burned out and skeletal cars. Old wire trash cans were burning and alight with rubbish while a couple of homeless men warmed their hands by them. It had been a blisteringly hot day, but even the desert got cold at night, and these people looked as if it had been a long time since they had spent an evening under cover.

Sarah shivered.

She couldn’t imagine what it must be like to live a life like that. And suddenly, she was incredibly grateful for how lucky she was.

She looked back out the window and saw some abandoned police cars. They were half up the curb and on the pavement, with their windows smashed in and graffiti plastered all down the sides.

“Yikes,” Sarah whispered. “Looks like the cops really have just given up on it over here.”

“They’re not needed in these parts,” the driver confirmed. “The bikers do a better job than them anyways. And this,” he waved his arm around, “It’s all for show. It’s to intimidate other gangs, or truckers passing through that might feel like causing a bit of trouble.”

Sarah nodded, she could see why they would try and pull a stunt like that.

The warehouses were all so big and private, even with their broken windows, she could only imagine what The Forsaken Riders were hiding inside. She could almost feel the forbidden entities lurking within their walls. Guns, drugs, stolen money… Who knew what was boxed up and locked away deep within the basements of those old, cavernous buildings.

The driver pulled the car around another corner, and she felt Nicole grab her hand. She looked forward and let her eyes settle on the building looming up ahead of them.

It was completely black, with all of its windows blocked in, but it had two strong red spotlights being reflected up onto it, so it looked as if the entire building was dripping blood. Sarah couldn’t help but smile, it was all she could have hoped for and more. It looked mean and dangerous, and completely out of bounds, and yet she couldn’t wait to get inside.

On the steps and leading up to them were bikers and their molls draped around their shoulders. The place oozed sex and indecency, and the women were all scantily clad, wearing leather and fishnet, their hair backcombed high and their make-up dark.

“Wow,” Sarah whispered. And she was instantly even more glad she had chosen to wear such a risqué outfit. It looked as if she was going to be one of the most conservatively dressed there, and yet she was in stilettos and a leather miniskirt that could have doubled as a belt!

“This is it,” the driver said as he screeched the cab to a halt and looked over his shoulder.

 “Thank you,” Nicole smiled as she thrust twenty dollars into his palm and climbed out onto the street.

Sarah followed and winced as her heels scraped along shards of broken glass and old trash.

The street really was a mess, but it served its purpose. This was clearly the kind of place that had a message to convey.

“Well, here we are,” Sarah grinned as she looped her arm with Nicole’s. “Happy bachelorette… And welcome to The Bleeding Bullet…”