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Stuck Chronicle (Part 30 - Gather ‘Round!)
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Joel and Lyle donned their now-fresh clothes, and joined Mick outside for a bonfire. They roasted meat and marshmallows, while trading stuck stories.
“So you’re tellin’ me these buddies of yours got swallowed up by a blizzard?” Joel asked shakily.
“Yeah”, Mick replied, “according to them, a freak windstorm tossed them around like a tumbleweed!”
Lyle scoffed. "There's no way that's how it went down!"
"Hey, even I was surprised when Ethan told me", Mick said, "but he's not the type to lie about these kinda things! And he's almost as adventurous as I am when he goes offroad."
"Ok, ok...." Lyle replied. "So I guess I'm next..."
Mick leaned forward in anticipation, while Joel fidgeted in his seat.
"So...one of my classmates told me about this one swampy spot south of our town. Apparently, there was this guy that took his truck down there--he was a true offroading daredevil who faced every terrain possible. He thought he could conquer this swamp too, but it got the better of him. He thought he was just stuck...but it turns out the swamp was ALIVE! It pulled his truck into the center of the bog, and he found himself sinking more and more, until BLOOP!! The swamp swallowed his entire truck. Hell, it almost ate him too..."
"Whoa...." Joel said hollowly. His legs were shaking a little.
"I'd like to see this place!" Mick said, brimming with excitement.
Lyle rubbed Joel's leg. "I didn't mean to scare you, big guy..."
"I wasn't scared!" Joel said defensively. "I just...thought it was kinda eerie. I mean, a swamp that eats trucks?"
Mick snickered. "So, even the big bad bull gets scared. Who knew?"
"Mickey...", Lyle said sternly, but Joel stopped him mid-sentence.
"Nah, it's okay", Joel said with a grin on his face. "I got a story that'll make HIM start shakin'!"
"Ok, Muscles. Try me!" Mick said with a confident smirk.
Joel began, in a low voice...
"On a rainy night, this lone man was resting in his bed. A little past 2am, he heard a thump and woke up. Thinking it was just thunder, he drifted back to sleep. One few minutes later, he heard a louder thump--this time from downstairs. He was already fully dressed...he got his car keys in case he needed to make a quick escape. When he got downstairs, he saw a masked man sneaking around. The intruder looked up, saw the man, and lunged for him! The guy dodged, and ran outside fast as he can. He went straight for his car, and ducked down--the intruder ran another direction.
"Thinking he was in the clear, the man tried to start his car...but it just cranked without starting. No matter how much he pounded the gas pedal, the car wouldn't come to life. Suddenly, a pair of headlights flashed directly behind the man's car! At that moment, his car finally roared to life, as he floored it! But something was wrong--his car would only go in reverse, even though he was in Drive!
"Turns out, the intruder had a truck, and attached a tow line to the man's car, forcefully pulling it towards him! Even worse, he was pulling his car onto the wet grass! The RRRRRRRRRTT! sounds of his tires spinning on the pavement became a loud ZZZZZzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZzzzz, as they spun on the slick grass, quickly turning it into soft, gooey mud. The guy could only shout 'Come on, come on!', as he ended up digging his car even deeper into the mud. All of a sudden, the driver door ripped open, as the masked man stared into the eyes of the terrified, helpless man! He screamed, and tried to run off, but his dress shoes had no grip in the mud and he slipped. He could only look at his assailant in fear, as he dragged the man away, never to be seen again..."
"Yeesh!" Lyle said in surprise.
"Good one!" Mick shouted happily, as he clapped his hands.
"Wha--you were supposed to get SCARED!" Joel said as he kicked dirt Mick's way.
"Yeah, yeah", Mick replied, "well if it's any consolation, it WAS pretty good. You had me curling my toes in my boots for a second!"
Joel cringed a bit, while Lyle looked to change the subject.
"Sooooo", he began, "what got you guys into mudding?"
Mick raised an eyebrow. "You already know MY story", he said to Lyle. Then he turned to Joel, who seemed to be interested, and sighed. "Okay...when I was in high school, I had this friend in a higher grade that went offroading in this nice Ford truck. He got me into doing it; mind you, I didn't have my Jeep back then, so i got the tires of my dad's Buick spinning instead. I got stuck bad, blew a nice load, and my dad gave me what for that night--" he turned and smiled at Lyle "--but it was worth it, because that's how I became friends with L over there!"
"Awww, thanks", Lyle said teasingly.
"So I got him into it as well", Mick continued, "before making a name for myself by offroading in several spots in and outside of this town! I made some friends, some enemies, some rivals, and scored a bit too!" He beat his chest with one fist.
"Impressive", Joel stated.
Mick smiled, then turned to Lyle. "Your turn, buddy!"
Lyle looked down at his booted feet. "Well...you guys know most of it. Mickey was the first guy that I ever went mudding with. But even before that, the act caught my attention during my middle school years. There was this group of guys in my old neighborhood who'd go mudding in their ATVs on rainy days--tough guys in either leather or denim jackets, all wearing different styles of boots. I thought about them a lot. Even after I moved here, I couldn't stop thinking about how it would be to ride in the mud like them--or at least ride with a guy that liked to mud."
Joel and Mick both listened on with smiles on their faces.
"It wasn't until I met Mickey that I found such a guy", Lyle continued, "but after he left, I was pretty much on my own. Many of the guys I'd befriended or dated didn't really get my interest in mudding. So eventually, I got myself a bike and rode solo, until it broke down about a month before I met Joel. And when I met such a sweet guy with whom i could share my interests, it made me so happy!"
Joel wrapped his arm around Lyle. "Well, I'm glad I was able to help you sate that desire!" They leaned toward each other for a chain of kisses
"Well!" Mick said a bit loudly, "I'm glad I was able to turn the key to those desires. And I'd say you've come a long way since the day we met, L!"
Lyle looked at Mick. "Thanks, Mickey", he said with a grin. “I’m thankful for you too—I couldn’t have asked for a better BFF
”Mick smiled, then looked over at Joel. "Well, you know our stories", he said, "but I'm most curious as to what got YOU started, Muscles."
"I've kinda wanted to know too", Lyle added.
Joel let go of Lyle, and looked at him, then Mick. He took a deep breath, then shared his own coming of age tale...
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