What's the nicest thing you've ever seen a biker gang do? #reddit #redditstories — Transcript

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1. 0:00What's the nicest thing you've ever seen
2. 0:01a biker gang do? I've been riding with
3. 0:02the Iron Wolves for 6 years. Leather
4. 0:04cuts, face tattoos, bikes loud enough to
5. 0:06rattle windows. People cross the street
6. 0:08when they see us, and most days we don't
7. 0:09mind. It was a Wednesday in November,
8. 0:10around 2:00 a.m. We'd been riding
9. 0:12through central Pennsylvania coming back
10. 0:13from a rally. Cold rain, everyone on
11. 0:15fumes. Our road captain Brick called a
12. 0:16fuel stop at this run-down gas station
13. 0:18off the highway. One working pump, a
14. 0:19fluorescent light buzzing like it was
15. 0:21begging to die. We pulled in loud, eight
16. 0:22Harleys into a tiny lot. The clerk
17. 0:24looked ready to lock the doors. That's
18. 0:25when Brick spotted her, a little girl
19. 0:27couldn't have been older than six,
20. 0:28sitting on the concrete curb outside by
21. 0:29herself. Barefoot in November, thin
22. 0:31pajama top with cartoon dogs on it,
23. 0:32clutching a beat-up stuffed rabbit so
24. 0:34hard her knuckles were white. No coat,
25. 0:35no shoes, no adult anywhere. Brick
26. 0:37killed his engine and pulled off his
27. 0:38helmet slowly. When Brick moves slow,
28. 0:40something's wrong. Brick was 6'4", 280
29. 0:42lbs, full sleeves on both arms, a scar
30. 0:44across his eyebrow, and a beard that
31. 0:45hadn't seen scissors in a decade.
32. 0:46Children screamed when they saw him. He
33. 0:48walked over and lowered himself onto the
34. 0:49wet concrete next to her. Didn't say a
35. 0:50word, just sat there. This enormous man
36. 0:52folding himself down like he had all the
37. 0:53time in the world. The girl scooted
38. 0:55away, pressing her rabbit tighter.
39. 0:56"That's a good-looking rabbit," Brick
40. 0:57said, staring at the empty lot. "What's
41. 0:59his name?" She didn't answer for a long
42. 1:00time. Then, barely a whisper, "Pancake."
43. 1:02"Pancake," Brick repeated, nodding like
44. 1:04she told him the meaning of life.
45. 1:05"Strong name. Pancake looks like he's
46. 1:06been through some battles." The tiniest
47. 1:08smile, just a flicker. "Where's your
48. 1:09mom, sweetheart?" "Inside. She went to
49. 1:10the bathroom. She told me to count to
50. 1:11100 and she'd be back." "How high did
51. 1:13you count?" "I counted to 100 seven
52. 1:14times." Brick's jaw tightened. He
53. 1:16glanced back at us and made a quick
54. 1:17gesture. Coyote and Web, go inside, now.
55. 1:19They found her mother on the bathroom
56. 1:20floor, unconscious, needle still in her
57. 1:22arm. Coyote came back white as a sheet
58. 1:23and shook his head at Brick. Brick
59. 1:24didn't flinch, just kept sitting next to
60. 1:26a little girl who had no idea her world
61. 1:27was collapsing 12 feet behind a bathroom
62. 1:29door. "Is my mom okay?" she asked,
63. 1:30because kids always know. "Some really
64. 1:32smart people are coming to help her,"
65. 1:33Brick said. "Hang out with me and
66. 1:34Pancake until they get here. Sound
67. 1:35okay?" She nodded. Web called 911.
68. 1:37Coyote grabbed the first aid kit and
69. 1:38went back in. The rest of us stood in
70. 1:40the rain, seven men in leather who'd
71. 1:41faced bar fights and highway wrecks, not
72. 1:43one knowing what to do with our hands.
73. 1:44For 20 minutes, Brick sat on that wet
74. 1:46concrete, didn't explain anything,
75. 1:47didn't make promises. He asked about
76. 1:48Pancake's favorite foods, whether
77. 1:50Pancake preferred thunderstorms or
78. 1:51sunshine, if Pancake had friends at
79. 1:52school. She answered every question a
80. 1:54little louder, her voice steadying, her
81. 1:55grip on the rabbit loosening. Then she
82. 1:57leaned against his arm. This tiny
83. 1:58barefoot child pressing into the leather
84. 2:00of a man most people would cross four
85. 2:01lanes to avoid. When the ambulance
86. 2:03arrived, paramedics loaded her mother on
87. 2:04a stretcher. A cop knelt and started
88. 2:06asking the girl questions. She looked up
89. 2:07at Brick, terrified again. Can he stay?
90. 2:09She asked, pointing up at him. The
91. 2:10officer looked at this massive tattooed
92. 2:12biker and clearly wanted to say no.
93. 2:13Brick just settled back. I'm not going
94. 2:15anywhere, kid. He stayed two more hours
95. 2:16while they located an aunt three
96. 2:17counties over. Sat on a plastic chair
97. 2:19that groaned under him, nodding while
98. 2:20she described every character from her
99. 2:22favorite cartoon between bites of
100. 2:23granola bars we scraped from our
101. 2:24saddlebags. When the aunt pulled up at
102. 2:265:00 in the morning, the girl wrapped
103. 2:27both arms around Brick's leg. He placed
104. 2:28one hand on her head, careful, like he
105. 2:30was afraid he'd break her. Walking back
106. 2:31to the bikes, I noticed Brick's hands
107. 2:33shaking, not from the cold. We rode 60
108. 2:34miles in silence. When we stopped for
109. 2:36gas, I asked him, How do you know to
110. 2:37look for her? None of us even saw that
111. 2:38kid. He didn't answer, just watched the
112. 2:40numbers tick on the pump. Then he pulled
113. 2:41down his collar. Below his collarbone,
114. 2:42half hidden by his beard, was a small
115. 2:44faded tattoo I'd never noticed in six
116. 2:46years riding with him. A stuffed rabbit.
117. 2:47Because I was the kid on the curb, he
118. 2:48said, and nobody stopped.