(LSWC) THE LAST RIDE

When I was 4 years old, I began to have a re-occurring dream. It would wake me from a sound sleep, and I would be crying, scared out of my mind. If my mother was at work, my father would try to comfort me. It usually wasn't too long before I was asleep again, but sometimes the dream would come back the same night. I remember once, my father telling me, that everything was OK, and that it was just a nightmare, and that many people have them sometimes. When I told him it was the same one, and everything I remembered about it, he became concerned. He tucked me in, and I heard him call my mother at work.
"Marie...Lori had that nightmare again. I don't know what to make of it, and I don't know what to tell her anymore..Yes, I think she's back asleep. I'll see you when you get home."
And so it went, that I would have the dream at least twice a year, till I was 18. And then all I had of my dream, were memories, and fear....



THE LAST RIDE

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Tony pulled the car up alongside the front of the club. The flashing lights of the sign illuminated the people waiting on the sidewalk for a taxi, their diamonds glittering like rubies, sapphires and emeralds.
The air was humid and thick with ozone, and the dark clouds of a storm loomed in the distance, but were blowing in fast.
They both got out of the car, and ran up to the sidewalk under the streetlight. To any observer, you would think they saw nothing but each other. And they would be right.
Tony reached out to touch her face. She was so beautiful. When her eyes looked up at him, he fell inside. Her dark hair so soft as he ran his fingers through it. She closed her eyes and whispered to him..
"I love you."
"And I love you Angel"
They kissed then, so deep, not caring about those who walked past.
"Goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow." Tony whispered almost breathless.
She went to let go of his hand but he held fast.She smiled and kissed him again... then giggled as she let go, and ran inside the club.
***************************************************************************

From the rooftop, 12 stories above, he watched them. His blood boiling in anger. He gritted his teeth as he flipped the gold cigarette lighter over his knuckles. His right hand reached inside his coat, and he lovingly stroked the handle of his Smith & Wesson.
They could not see him.Though illuminated by the streetlight, they didn't even notice others as they walked past. They were lost in the infinity of each other.
He was not sure who he should be more angry with. His eye twitched and he grimaced as he watched them kiss each other goodbye. He gripped the gun tightly.
It would be so easy to just pop one off from up here. But she was standing too close, and he didn't want to miss. Besides..too many witnesses on the street.
Tony would get what was coming to him.
He watched , as they parted, then one last kiss, before goodnight escaped their lips.
She ran inside the club under his feet, as the Jazz music could be heard all around when she opened the front doors. The first drops of rain began to fall as thunder boomed across the city. He watched Tony get into his car, and he smiled.
"RICO!" He hollered into the office. "Take Enzo with you and follow him!."
He pointed to the car on the street below.
"Follow who boss?"
"Tony Gallo"


***************************************************************************

Angelica practically floated across the room full of gentlemen in their finest attire, and ladies in flowing evening gowns on their arm. A few nodded and waved to her, as she made her way to the elevator. Her black satin gown barely dusted the floor behind her as she walked. She loved to wear black. It matched her hair, and it made her lips a deeper red without make-up.
Charlie smiled and winked at her.
" Good evening Miss Russo. You look especially stunning tonight. Top floor?"
"Yes Charlie. Thank you. I've just come from Broadway, and a wonderful after party at Birdland. Must look my best you know."
"My dear.." he quipped, "I have never seen you look anything less."
"Oh Charlie," she giggled "Such a charmer. No wonder you have such a lovely wife."
She patted him on the shoulder as the elevator opened, and she walked towards a huge set of dark stained oak doors.

************************************************************************************

Damian Russo reached inside his suit jacket pulling out a gold cigarette case. On it were the initials "F.R." after his late father and mentor. He lit up a smoke and placed both the case and lighter back into his pocket. He took a deep drag and felt the calming effect wash over him. He exhaled and watched the raindrops make tiny holes in the smoke before it drifted up to join the storm clouds.
The door to his office flew open, and in breezed his sister Angelica, fresh from her evening out.
The calming effect of the cigarette, had changed back to fury that would rival it's ember burning bright on the end. He threw it to the street below, extinguished before it hit the ground.
"Damian! You missed a wonderful show! Everyone was asking about you. And here you sit in this dreary office. Come inside, you'll catch cold out there in the rain."
He shot her a glance, worthy of how much he really cared not for missing anything.
"Oh brother dear, what am I going to do with you?" She walked over to the side table and poured him a brandy, then carried it out to him on the roof.
'Damian, did you at least make an appearance downstairs tonight?"
He took the glass from her, downed it all in one swallow, and threw it to the street below as well.
Angelica gasped as he turned to her and grabbed her by the arms.

"I SAW YOU WITH HIM! HOW DARE YOU FLAUNT THAT IN MY FACE? IN FRONT OF MY CLUB, FOR ALL TO SEE?HOW DARE YOU BETRAY YOUR OWN FAMILY BY SEEING HIM! NO MORE I SAY! NO MORE! IT ENDS TONIGHT! "

He grabbed her by the chin. His face in hers. Glaring at her with a such coldness. She didn't even recognize him. She wondered if he truly recognized her.
He pushed her closer to the railing, leaning over her. She felt her balance shift, and feared she may fall. Through tears she cried..
"Damian, you can't tell me who to see, or who to love!"
"Angel, you are my family, my sister. I love you, I protect you. Family is who you love. You will obey me!"
Struggling in his grip, she begged..
'NO! Stop! You're hurting me!"
He let his grip loosen, and she stood upright, sobbing at his outburst. He stroked her cheek. So lightly, so lovingly, that for a moment she closed her eyes...
and he slapped her hard.
She fell down, and he loomed over her....
"This is the last time we will ever speak of you seeing Tony Gallo."

Angelica scrambled to her feet, and fled the rooftop, through the office as fast as she could. Damian's right hand man, Bernardo, watched her leave.
"You want me to follow her, boss?"
Damian rubbed his hands over his face out of both frustration and exhaustion.He walked over to the side table and poured himself another drink.
"NO Bernie. The boys are tailing Tony, and she's probably going home."

****************************************************************************************
She ran down the stairs, no patience for the elevator, and burst back into the club. Her vision blurred by tears, she could see many whose laughter and voices became silent at the sight of her. Her hand rose to her cheek, and the heat from it made her realize the object of their gaze was not just her tears. She quickly ran for the front door, into the night that had become cold, and the rain that fell like her sadness.
The car Damian had given her for her birthday, sat parked across the street.
He watched her from above. She opened the door, slid behind the wheel, and sped away. He knew she would come to realize this was best. And he looked away, walking back into his office. Had he continued to watch, he would've seen the car parked a few spaces back, glide into traffic in the same direction. And had he been able to see who was in that car, he would have recognized them for who and what they were.

*********************************************************************************************

The rain was coming down hard now. Rico was complaining to Enzo.
"I hate driving in the rain!"
"What? You want me to drive?" Enzo replied quizzically.
"Hell NO!" was the response.."I hate your driving even more!"
Enzo laughed at that. They had followed Tony for 20 minutes, and realized he was headed for home. Nothing eventful, but they followed anyway. Orders were orders.
They watched as he pulled up to the wrought iron gates, and drove inside as they opened. He drove up to the house, and leaving the car parked out front, ran up to the front door. It was Enzo's turn to complain.
"So are we gonna wait here till morning or what?"
"Just a few minutes or so. To make sure he ain't leavin' again."
They settled back in their seats, watching as the lights came on throughout the house, and lightning flashed from above.

*****************************************************************************************************

Angelica was speeding. She knew it but she didn't care. She just wanted to drive. Just get away. The rain was making it difficult to see, but she wasn't a bad driver. It was her tears making the driving even more difficult.
"HOW DARE HE MAKE DECISIONS FOR ME!" She screamed out loud. "I'll do as I please brother dear."
She wiped her eyes....and yelled again..
"DAMN HIM! DAMN HIM TO HELL!"

(Continued next post.)

She drove and drove. Out of the city, with the radio playing in the background. A mix of Jazz, swing, and new "Rock" music. There were very few cars pass her on the road. She never noticed the black Chevy following behind her, the headlights switched off.
She turned off the main road, onto a narrow dirt lane. She had no idea where she was but she didn't care. She would either drive till morning or she ran out of gas.
It was then that she noticed headlights switch on behind her, and she saw the men in dark suits and hats in her mirror. A fear of recognition swept over her. Had they followed her all this way? She sped up more, trying to lose them. The rain had made the old dirt road very slippery, and she was coming up on a steep hill. At first they were gaining on her, but she realized their car was not making it up as fast as hers. She didn't slow down. She floored it. She fishtailed a bit at the top then went around a sharp right turn. What she didn't see, was the the "BRIDGE OUT" sign on the side of the road. Ahead of her was a wooden covered bridge, and she hit it, full speed going over and into the river from high above.
Gallo's men, hit the brakes,doing a 180 degree turn, before narrowly missing the same fate. Both men got out of the car, walked over to the riverbank, then got back in their car and drove away.

Angelica was unconscious, having hit her head on the steering wheel on impact. The car was filling with water, and the radio played on...EARTH ANGEL...till the lights went out and the music was gone. The water rose to her waist. So cold, yet her eyes did not open. To her chest, her neck, and finally, a flutter of eyelids, a choked gasp as her mouth filled with half water, half air. She spit out his name.."Tony.." before falling unconscious again, as the water filled the rest of the car, and sank to the bottom of the river.

*****************************************************************************************************

This would be where I would awaken from the dream, always. For those who believe in past lives, I believe this was mine.
In this life, Iam afraid of heights, bridges, falling, deep water, thunderstorms, and most of all..driving. I avoid them all.

AccessDenied

YouTube Link

Would it be possible for a mod to correct whatever is making the page so wide?
Not sure how I did that, but it's very annoying.

Thanx,

Good story, well told . . . the pics were a nice touch.


I'm guessing you may be having the same problem I did vis a vis the page width.

I was using a couple of long parallel lines, these: ~~~~~~~~~~~

To indicate a break between introduction and story.

Get rid of your asterisks and see how it looks in preview.


When I got rid of ~~~~~~~ my pages returned to the same as they were in the word processing program - (Word Perfect.)


You can use some shorter stuff to indicate the end of a chapter.
Three symbols seems to work ok.

I copied and pasted my story from wordpad. But I can no longer go in and edit it.

reply to post by AccessDenied

---

Is the story saved somewhere?

I have WordPad, but don't use it.

Anyway, I copied part of your text and removed a couple lines of asterisks.

The results are shown below.




"Tony reached out to touch her face. She was so beautiful. When her eyes looked up at him, he fell inside. Her dark hair so soft as he ran his fingers through it. She closed her eyes and whispered to him..
"I love you."
"And I love you Angel"
They kissed then, so deep, not caring about those who walked past.
"Goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow." Tony whispered almost breathless.
She went to let go of his hand but he held fast.She smiled and kissed him again... then giggled as she let go, and ran inside the club.

From the rooftop, 12 stories above, he watched them. His blood boiling in anger. He gritted his teeth as he flipped the gold cigarette lighter over his knuckles. His right hand reached inside his coat, and he lovingly stroked the handle of his Smith & Wesson.
They could not see him.Though illuminated by the streetlight, they didn't even notice others as they walked past. They were lost in the infinity of each other.
He was not sure who he should be more angry with. His eye twitched and he grimaced as he watched them kiss each other goodbye. He gripped the gun tightly.
It would be so easy to just pop one off from up here. But she was standing too close, and he didn't want to miss. Besides..too many witnesses on the street.
Tony would get what was coming to him.
He watched , as they parted, then one last kiss, before goodnight escaped their lips.
She ran inside the club under his feet, as the Jazz music could be heard all around when she opened the front doors. The first drops of rain began to fall as thunder boomed across the city. He watched Tony get into his car, and he smiled.
"RICO!" He hollered into the office. "Take Enzo with you and follow him!."
He pointed to the car on the street below.
"Follow who boss?"
"Tony Gallo"



Angelica practically floated across the room full of gentlemen in their finest attire, and ladies in flowing evening gowns on their arm. A few nodded and waved to her, as she made her way to the elevator. Her black satin gown barely dusted the floor behind her as she walked. She loved to wear black. It matched her hair, and it made.... "

reply to post by Desert Dawg

---

So much for that theory.

It looked ok in preview, but is still wide after posting.

I did the copy and paste bit to my WordPerfect program.

You may be able to do something if your word processing program - other than WordPad - has reveal codes capabilities.


I wouldn't worry about it.
The story is good enough that a little bit of extra work is probably not going to dissuade anyone from reading it as is....

Exactly. It showed up fine in the preview for me as well.
Oh well..
Thanks for the effort Desert Dawg.

Absolutely wonderful Acessdenied. That first song really puts you in the era as you read. The two just go together incredibly well.

Thanks so much Void.
It was really missing a key element till I added a little Ella.

I really liked it alot. I liked the songs and the pictures, but most of all the story and how it is your nightmare with the thought of reincarnation. Well written and starred and flagged.

Thanks Solarskye. To be honest it was very hard to write the ending. I got choked up. Felt like I was 4 years old again.

From the very beginning I was thinking that this had to be a past life memory. Very well written my dear S@ F for you.

Excellent story AccessDenied. Easy to follow. Except when I have to arrow to the right and left. Mods please if you can,,, fix it for AD. This story is a superb entry. It would be a shame if other's don't read it , because they have to arrow to the right and left.

Hey MountainStar..
Thank you. Apparently the format cannot be changed. I find Iam able to center it and read it.
I'm writing another story, and will be more careful how I post it.

FANTASTIC!!!

Great story AD! Loved ever second of the read!

I believe in past lives. Not sure though what i was - ever - though i am told i am an ancient soul - who knows hehehe... i think my daughter is a very old soul too. She is ony 16 months old now, but she seems so wise - if such a young child can seem that way - wise beyond her age. I really can't explain it but a friend of my mom is a medium etc etc etc. She told me things in GREAT detail that there is no way she could know OR my mom. And she said, before my daughter was born, a very special soul is waiting to come to be with you. And not too long thereafter my daughter was conceived.

HOW on the money she was. If you spent an hour with her you would marvel at her sense of everything around her. I really cannot explain it - you have to know what i mean LOL

But this is your thread.

And again, FANTASTIC read!!

AD your story is so well written the wide page shouldn't make difference. Once you start reading it..... You can't quit! Can't wait for your next story. I'm extremely afraid of fire. I believe I was burned for being a witch in my past life. I starred & flagged you too, of course.

AD, I loved it. It's cleverly done, taking us into the dream so that we forget it's a dream...until you bring us back again. Star and flag for you.

Past lives? Yes, I believe in them. It would be hard not to with what I've experienced -- but that's another story. Put it this way: I have my particular avatar for a very special reason.

Edit to add: Don't worry about the width -- if a computer moron like me can get it centered for reading I'm sure others can And think about this: instead of just asking "How long should my story be?" we can now add "...and how wide?"


[edit on 3/7/08 by JustMike]