Juley x Vincent: The Road (Part 1)

    "Have you topped off the fuel?" asked Cyrus. "Just about," said Gillyn, emptying what was left of the jerry can into the fuel port. 
Vincent and his crew of five other guys were preparing to take the massive 150 ton Type 5 Heavy tank out for a weekly drive run. They had spent all morning preparing the vehicle; inspecting the tracks and road wheels, refilling the fuel tanks, and restocking ammunition for the 152mm gun-howitzer. Vincent looked at the massive tank before him in admiration. Him and his crew were the only ones who were capable of operating the Type 5 competently. Finally, all the crewmen assembled in a line in front of Vincent. 
    "She's ready for operation, sir!" said Cyrus loud and clear. The smile on Vincent's mouth widened. "Alright, then. Roll call! Cyrus!" "Here and ready!" said Cyrus "Gillyn!" "Present!" said Gillyn. "Rylan!" "Ready for action!" called Rylan. "Boris!" "Comrade Boris reporting!" said Boris. "Andrew!" "Always ready!" said Andrew. "Everyone mount!" said Vincent. Turning on their heels, the five men scrambled up onto the vehicle. Vincent quickly followed suit. After a minute, everyone was in their position. Gillyn started up the massive 1200hp Diesel engine, and the massive tank roared to life. He let the engine rev for five minutes, then initiated first gear and the tank slowly rolled forward. Once on the driving course, Gillyn got the tank up to more speed. Five, ten, thirteen miles per hour. That was as fast as they would ever go. Sitting with his torso popped out of the commanders cupola, Vincent pulled out his phone and dialed. Due to the racket the tank was producing, he had to raise his voice to be heard. "Hey, Juley! I was just wondering if you'd like to come down to the garage and hang with me for a bit. The crews here with me, and we're taking the tank out for a spin." Vincent smiled as Juley replied, although nobody could hear it. "Awesome! I'll see you in an hour then!" He hung up and let out a satisfied sigh. "Gonna be a good day." he said to himself.

    Juley slipped on her brand new black flats. Despite the thin sole and low cleavage at the toes, they were surprisingly comfortable and she felt cute in them. "Vincent will appreciate them too." she thought to herself with a blush. They were his Christmas present to her, and she absolutely loved them. Putting on her coat and grabbing her keys, Juley left her house, got in her car and turned it on. She gave a few gentle revs to warm up the engine, popping her heel from the shoe as she did so. "Vincent will really appreciate them." she said. 
    20 minutes later, she found the entrance to the dirt road leading to the garage. Upon seeing it, however, Juley instinctively pumped the brake and brought the car to a stop. The road looked to be in horrid condition. The surface was rough and underused, and erosion had dug several small trenches in the tire paths. She hesitated for a while, unsure of herself. Her car was for street racing, and consequently it was low to the ground and equipped with thin street tires. It certainly wasn't built for roads like this. On the other hand, Vincent was looking forward to seeing her, and she didn't want to hurt his feelings by not showing up. Eventually, Juley made her decision and gently stepped on the gas. She was going to brave the road whether the car liked it or not. 
    It started out fine at first. The road was deceptively firm and the car drove smoothly over it. Before long, Juley's confidence built and she slowed down a bit. "I guess this isn't so bad." she said to herself. The next 30 minutes passed uneventfully, up until Juley realized something was wrong. The soft vibrations of the car going over the coarse pebbles stopped. She looked confused at first and looked around. The trees weren't slipping past as she drove. It suddenly hit her: The car itself wasn't moving. Her foot was still firmly on the gas, and the engine was definitely still going, but the car wasn't in motion. Fear swept through her as she realized she was stuck.
    
    Again, she instinctively pumped the brake pedal, and the engine died down to a gentle purr. She slowly pushed on the gas again, further and further until it met the floor, the now the engine was at full rev. She could hear the wheels spinning helplessly in thick mud, and she flustered, hitting the brake again. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. She took a few breaths and stepped on the gas once more, and the car continued to dig further and further. The fear was beginning to turn to anger, and Juley could feel it welling up. She took more breaths and she felt the anger die away. "Okay, I can do this. I know I can. C'mon Juley, you've been stuck before, you know what to do." she told herself. She shifted into reverse and pushed on the gas. Nothing. She pushed it further until it met the floor again, and she could feel herself becoming flustered again. "Come on, I can't be stuck! Backing up always works!" she said, a little hotly. The engine was revving loudly, seeming to scream, and the wheels were now beginning to throw up mud. She let off the gas and slumped in the seat. "I'm stuck," she said coldly, and then in complete rage, yelled, "I'M STUCK." She slammed the gas in anger, and the engine screamed as the wheels spun in place, throwing mud everywhere. She held the gas pedal down with all her strength for a whole minute with both feet before letting go. She took several deep breaths, trying in vain to calm down. The engine was beginning to heat up, and she knew that once it did that, the performance would begin to die. She now gripped the steering wheel, trying desperately not to explode. After a couple minutes, she regained enough sense to take out her phone. While it dialed Vincent's number, Juley took a few more breaths to sound as calm as possible. "Hello?" said Vincent as he answered. "Vincent! Ahm, yes, uh, hey, I kinda need some help." said Juley gratefully. "Is something wrong? You sound a bit distressed." Damn. So much for trying to sound as if nothing was wrong. She sighed. "Yes, I am, actually. Listen. My car is stuck. Completely. Wheels buried. I can't go backwards or forwards." There was a slight pause, and then Vincent said "Oh, jeez, that doesn't sound good. Alright, just sit tight and hang in their. We just got back to the garage. I'll get a towing cable and we'll pull you out." He said goodbye and hung up.
    
    For the next hour, going against what Vincent said, Juley tried in vain to get her car unstuck. Quickly switching between forward and reverse, Juley slammed on the gas constantly and the engine screamed. At this point, the wheels were so far dug in that the bottom of the car was sitting in the mud. All the while, Juley began to yell abuse at her car in frustration. To make matters worse, it was raining. It began shortly after she had called Vincent, and now it poured down heavily. At last, Juley gave up. She turned off the car and slumped in the seat; super angry and very tired. She could feel tears beginning to form, and she fought with success to keep them away. She refused to cry. She was a strong, independent girl, and she wouldn't let something as petty as being stuck activate the water works. She was beginning to doze when she heard the monstrous roar of a heavy diesel engine. Trundling down the muddy road with ease was the massive Type 5 Heavy, the biggest tank she had ever seen. Perched in the commanders cupola was Vincent with a worried look on his face. The tank stopped around six feet away, and some of the crew began to dismount. Juley suddenly had mixed emotions about seeing him. Initially overjoyed to see him with the thick tow cable, her heart suddenly turned black with rage as she began to wonder what took him so long. It had been a little over an hour since she had called him, and only now he shows up. She rolled down her window and popped her head out. "Where the hell have you been?" she said hotly. As Boris, Rylan and Andrew got the towing cable, Vincent walked over to the helpless mess that was Juley's car. "Well, it was a combination of things really. First, we had to make a quick fix to the fuel pump. It started acting up during the run. Next, we had to get the tow-cable, which was on another vehicle. Then we had to remount and drive all the way here. The thing only drives above ten miles an hour on a good day." Again, Juley had to take deep breaths to prevent herself from exploding. "I suppose I can't argue with that." she said.
    
    Without skipping a beat, yet another problem arose. "Uuummmm, there are eyelets on the car, right?" asked Rylan. Vincent was suddenly dumbstruck. In all their rush to get going, he didn't give any thought as to how they would attach the cable to the car. "Just attach it to the bumper!" said Juley in exasperation. Andrew gave a worried glance to Vincent, who shrugged. "I guess we have no choice." he said. With the cable somewhat firmly attached, Vincent gave the signal to Cyrus, the driver. Slowly but surely, the massive tank began to slowly back up, pulling the car forward. Finally, the car was free. Suddenly, though, the bumper ripped off on the left side with a loud, metallic rip. Everyone, including Cyrus and Gillyn, who were still inside the tank, heard it. Juley tensed up, and her voice became low and very dangerous. "What. Just. Happened?" she said through gritted teeth. Boris hurriedly removed the cable hooks from the bumper and rushed backwards with them in his hands. He, like the rest of the crew, was speechless. Reluctantly, Vincent told her. "The left half of the bumper came off." he said in a slightly quavering tone. That did it. That was the last straw.
    Juley sat forward and rested her forehead on the wheel, all the while slowly putting her right hand on the ignition and resting her feet on the gas and clutch respectively. Her left hand clutched the wheel in a death grip. "I hate you." she said, in a voice so low that Vincent almost didn't hear it. "W-What? Juley, are you-" The car started instantly. "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I HATE ALL OF YOU." The car roared into a messy swerve, and Rylan was just fast enough to yank Vincent clear of the incoming rear of the car. The wheels ripped up mud and dirt, flinging it all over the place as the car sped away back down the road. For a moment, they stood there, dazed at the sudden turn of events. Boris was the first to recover. 

    "Well damn," he said, "I've never seen a girl that angry before." Vincent stood there at a loss for words. He'd never seen Juley react like that before, and experiencing it for the first time could be described as beyond painful for him. It was the first time he'd ever heard her swear before, and it was worse that she had swore at him. And not just him, either. She hated the whole crew, and possibly the tank too. The more he thought about it, the more broken his heart became. Rylan looked at him now with concern. "Vincent? Are you all right?" he said quietly. "Leave me." said Vincent. Rylan recoiled back as if he'd been punched. "What? Leave you? Out here in the pouring rain?" Vincent turned to him and said firmly, "Rylan, take over command for me, remount, and leave me. That's an order." Rylan wanted to argue, but he knew he couldn't. He saluted, "Yes sir." He turned to the somber forms of Andrew and Boris. "Remount. Cyrus, get us out of here."
    As they slowly drove away, Vincent turned back towards the road. The emptiness in his heart grew and grew, and he knelt down in the wet grass. It was just as well that they had left, because tears now freely fell from his eyes. He knelt there for an hour, not moving or saying anything. Eventually, he stood up and walked back towards the garage. At this point, he was thoroughly soaked, but he didn't care. His heart was shattered beyond repair.

(To be continued)