Read Online Powerslide by Jeff Ross - Free Book Online Page B

broken bits of what had previously been Goat’s phone. I pulled it out in case the battery happened to be the same as mine. It wasn’t.
    â€œThe skateboard I gave you had a GPS tracker on it,” Goat said. “That’s how the photographer was able to locate you.”
    â€œWhat the hell?” Jack said. “You put a GPS tracker on my skateboard?”
    â€œYour agent told me to. He was the one who set all of this up.”
    â€œWhy?” Jack said. He was still kneeling beside Goat.
    Goat closed his eyes. “He said some of the producers were thinking of pulling out of the film and taking their money with them. They don’t think you’re going to make it as a non-kid actor.”
    â€œSo what does that have to do with the photographer?” I said.
    â€œJack’s agent asked me to get his face in the tabloids. He wanted dirty shots. Like the one of Jack in a fight at the party. And that one of the cop holding on to him at the park the other day.”
    â€œSo that was all a setup? That girl claiming I had assaulted her?” Jack said.
    â€œYeah. She’s a friend of mine. She told the cops someone had knocked her over and grabbed her arm and stuff. She said she thought it was you, but that she wasn’t certain. So the cops brought her to the park to ID you. Once the photographer had taken the pictures he needed, she told the cops it wasn’t you. But by then, the story was out about you being questioned on an assault case.”
    â€œMan, that is low,” Jack said. He stood up and took a couple of steps back. “Why would my agent do that?”
    â€œI paid McNaughton to harass you too,” Goat said. “To try and get you in a fight or something. Anything for a good photo opportunity.”
    â€œGoat,” I said. “Can you stand? We have to get out of here.”
    Goat sat up. He touched his right leg and cringed. “I think it’s broken. I can’t move anything from my knee down. It hurts too much.” He put his left hand on the ground behind him and fell back. “And my wrist too. Man, I think it’s broken as well.” There was no easy way to get back to the road. There was only one way for us to get out of here, and that was down the hill.
    I put my long board on the ground. “Do you think you can sit on our hands if we cross them into a chairlift?” I said.
    Goat raised his head, and we helped him sit up. He leaned against Jack. We slid our hands underneath his butt and tried to lift him.
    We could only raise him a foot off the ground. Goat was breathing strangely. Kind of gasping and then exhaling slowly. “This is not going to work,” Jack said.
    We put Goat back down. “Are you all right, Goat?” I said.
    He shook his head. “I told you, I can’t breathe right. It hurts every time I inhale.”
    â€œThat’s not good,” Jack said.
    â€œNo,” I said. “Goat. We’re going to have to get you down the hill.”
    â€œBut I can’t walk,” he said. His voice was quivering. He sounded terrified, like a little kid who’s lost in a mall and can’t find his mom.
    â€œGoat, no one is going to come and get us. The only person who even knows we’re up here is Sara, and she went to her grandparents. Unless you told someone?” I said.
    â€œNo,” Goat said.
    â€œNo one at all?” I asked.
    â€œNo, man. I didn’t think it was something we should advertise.”
    I looked down the slope into the darkness. Night had settled around us, and with the thick storm clouds and rain, no moonlight reached us.
    I knelt down beside him. “We’ll have to carry you. It’s our only choice, Goat. It’s going to get colder soon. We don’t have a phone, and no one uses that road at this time of year.” He looked at me, and I could tell he was on the verge of crying. “We’re not going to leave you here.” His