Close Out

Free Close Out by Todd Strasser

Book: Close Out by Todd Strasser Read Free Book Online
Authors: Todd Strasser
clubhouse.
    â€œCome on, dude,” Bean said anxiously, “we’re running out of room.”
    In front of the clubhouse was a round plot of lawn with a tall white statue fountain. The driveway circled the statue then rejoined the drive they were now on.
    â€œKeep going,” Kai said.
    â€œI gotcha,” Bean said. “If they follow us, we’ll both go around and then head back out the way we came.”
    â€œExactly” Kai said.
    Bean entered the circular part of the driveway and naturally headed to the right. The car behind them also entered the circular part. Only they headed left. Which meant both cars would meet head on in front of the clubhouse.
    â€œGreat idea, Kai,” Bean muttered.
    â€œThere.” Kai pointed through the windshield. “See that road?”
    Bean squinted. Barely visible in the dark was a slight turnoff to the right. “No. I don’t see any road. I see a path, like for a golf cart or something..”
    â€œTake it,” Kai said.
    â€œAre you crazy?” Bean said. “We have no idea where it goes.”
    â€œTake it,” Kai insisted.
    â€œIt’s not meant for cars.”
    â€œBean, look in front of you,” Kai said.
    Bean looked. The other car was coming around the circular driveway. Heading straight for them.
    â€œI’m taking it.” Bean swung the wheel to the right.
    The next thing Bean and Kai knew, they were airborne.

Eleven
    L ooking back on it, Kai wasn’t sure they actually left the ground, but it sure felt like it. The front end of the hearse tilted down as if they’d just gone off the edge of a steep cliff on a sled. The path they were on veered sharply to the right. Going straight was not an option thanks to the row of golf carts parked directly in front of them. Bean spun the steering wheel to the right, and the hearse screeched and skidded, practically going up on two wheels. Kai was thrown against Bean, and in the back the surfboards banged together.
    Bouncing down the path in the dark, Bean managed to straighten the hearse out. In the fringes of the headlights, Kai could see whatappeared to be a low stone wall on their right and a vast open fairway on their left. Finally regaining control of the hearse, Bean started to hit the brakes.
    â€œDon’t stop,” Kai said.
    â€œWhy not?”
    â€œKeep going.”
    â€œBut this isn’t even a road.”
    â€œ
Keep
going!”
    â€œYou’re crazy,” Bean said, but he did take his foot off the brake. The hearse bounced through the dark on the narrow path.
    â€œTurn off the lights,” Kai said.
    Bean turned and stared at him.
    â€œJust do it!” Kai grabbed the flashlight and rolled down the window, lighting the path in front of them with the flashlight beam. Bean killed the headlights and slowed the hearse to a crawl. The golf cart path had gone from paved to unpaved, and the hearse lumbered slowly along. Kai stuck his head out the window and looked behind them. There was no sign of following headlights.
    â€œWhat do you think?” he asked Bean.
    â€œWhat do I think?” Bean repeated. “You mean,
besides
the fact that you’re certifiably insane?”
    â€œWhat do you want to do?”
    â€œGo home.”
    â€œI mean, right now.”
    â€œI know what you meant,” Bean said. “And that’s what I want to do. But somehow it doesn’t appear to be an option, so I guess the next best thing is we park somewhere and lay low until those guys get tired of waiting for us.”
    â€œOkay, here,” Kai said, turning off the flashlight.
    Bean pulled the hearse off the path and under a large tree. He cut the engine, and everything went quiet except for loud breathing as Bean and Kai caught their breaths. It was pitch black. The leaves of the tree cut off whatever moon-and starlight would normally illuminate the car. As Kai calmed down he heard crickets chirping.
    â€œNow what?”

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