ALETHEIA [ON GOING]

9. Friends

My playlist was playing, and 'The Thrill' by Wiz Khalifa and Empire of the Sun was playing, so I recommend listening to it while reading this chapter.

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I didn't plan to end up with my bike upside down in the ocean with me on it, but hey, it happens to the best of us.

How I got in this position? Well, let's see.

I drive up and down the streets of Taormina, with no idea of what to do next, as I drive along the pedestrian path, not caring about the curious looks people give me. It's a free country thankyou very much. After driving around, I spot a little path leading down to the beach.

I get an idea, and I check the time on my phone. 10:29. I still had time to kill. I look around before driving down the path, coming out onto the nearly empty beach, with only a few people sunbathing. I drive up and down the beach at full speed, making sure to dodge the sunbathers, but after an hour, I get bored so I formed another brilliant idea; to build a ramp. I park my bike onto the beach away from people, as I walk back into the street and look around for anything useful.

After an hour of collecting random trash, I bring my things back to my bike: three wooden planks, a dumpster, and an old mattress. A decent haul. It takes me an hour to finish my ramp, and by the time it's done, it's nearly 2PM. I stand back and smile at my new ramp. Positioned on the dumpster, the 3 planks of wood were tightly wound together with one of my shoelaces and dug deep into the sand, as the mattress was on the other side.

I get my bike as I hop on and drive a few metres away, before I rev the bike and drive towards the ramp, the speed increasing, as I drive up and off, and my heart beats with adrenaline, as I realise I grossly underestimated the distance this thing could go. I fly right over the safety mattress and into the water, as the bike leans forwards and creates a big SPLASH as it crashes into the water, as I jump off at the last second.

Luckily, the bike wasn't too deep into the water. Unluckily, I was. After having to swim until my arms ached more, I finally reach the shore, and I slump onto the sand as I cough up water, and even a bit of seaweed. Tasty.

I look towards my bike, and watch as it slowly sinks under, until only the back tire is visible. "Well, fuck." Now, I knew it probably wasn't a good idea to put the ramp near the water, but I figured in the worst case scenario, water would be softer than sand. Thank fuck for that.

I stand up, and I put my hands in my pocket as I feel something hard and cold. I pull it out, and notice my phone and AirPods are now wet and no longer working. Double fuck. I swim back in, and try to push the bike out of the water, as I can only just touch the bottom. With no luck, I get out and look around, before I spot a dock in the distance. There is no way I'm walking that far.

So, I don't. I follow the same path I used before and find myself in the middle of a night market, with people shopping around. Wringing my hair and clothes out, I walk around, asking if I could borrow someone's car. Obviously, no one said yes. Smart.

I look around, before I finally spot a blue Toyota Hilux under a tree, hidden from sight. Perfect. I look around, before I rip some cloth off my sweatpants and wrap it around my hand, as I break the glass. The alarm doesn't go off, and I quickly jump through the window. I pull off the dashboard, as I look for a red wire, and cut it, using a sharp rock that I had found next to the car. That should've disabled the alarm. For now.

I cut a few more wires, and tie them together, as the car starts. I should be a professional thief or something, I'm damned good at it. I drive the car back to the path, and wince as the side on the door scratches on a metal post. I drive down to the dock, and look around and grab one of the longest ropes and throw it into the back.