[reverse darkest timeline au: you stay here]

[stilljustandrew]

The thing about a road trip is: you need roads.

No one's been maintaining this particular stretch of highway for years, which means there are places where they have to maneuver slowly around pitted and cracked surfaces, around fallen trees, around the abandoned wreckage of less fortunate cars. One such heap looks a little too deliberate, according to Kali, and they go back to detour wide around that one for fear of ambush.

There's an enclave somewhere around here, she says, calls itself Nowhere Special. Human, which doesn't mean friendly; there's every chance the ambush was theirs. Or of some enemy camp looking to take over their territory.

It's late afternoon, somewhere between misty and drizzly, when they pull up to the long-abandoned gas station.

Comments

[forewarned_is]

The question gets a faintly crooked smile. "I don't plan to engage them directly. And if they turn out to be more troublesome than I expect, I can get away more quickly on my own."

She pauses. "If any get past me, the charm should keep you hidden -- but if you have the slightest worry that it isn't holding, take off. Drive and keep driving. If that happens, or if six hours go by and I haven't returned here ..."

One hand comes up, and plucks a hair from her head, and holds it out to Matt. "Burn this and speak my name, and I'll find you."

[semicharmed]

Gently, carefully, Matt takes the hair.

"You got it," he says.

And, tucking it into his front pocket, adds with a small smile, "I'll be praying for you."

[nita_callahan]

"Okay. Just be careful."

She looks out the windows, trying to spot the oncoming enemies.

"We'll see you soon."

[forewarned_is]

Kali nods; her gaze dwells on Matt for a moment longer, with just a touch of extra warmth to it.

"Stay safe," she tells them both, and vanishes.

[semicharmed]

Matt lets out a long breath.

Then he maneuvers the car into what at least feels like a more tactical part of the gas station parking lot: away from the road-such-as-it-is, several points of egress.

Of course, if you're desperate enough, everything's an egress.



"She'll be okay," he says. "She's survived out here awhile."

[nita_callahan]

"And she's a god," Nita agrees.

There's an edge of anxiety under her words, though.

"Any luck on gas?"

[semicharmed]

"Oh, you're not gonna believe this," Matt says, twisting in his seat to face her (the car, in park, is purring like a lion). "Gas stations store all their gas underground."

[nita_callahan]

". . . Soooo we can't get at it."

[semicharmed]

"I mean we could in theory."

[nita_callahan]

Nita heaves a sigh and crosses her arms on the back of the passenger seat.

"I guess I could try and have a talk with the pumps, see if they're still functioning."




Time passes; uncertainty makes it feel longer than it probably is. The threat must have passed them by now, Nita thinks, but she can't quite shake that feeling of danger.

"How much longer do you think we should wait?" she asks eventually.

[semicharmed]

Matt has been dividing the time by peering in each direction in turns. Hitting those cardinal corners. However, he's trying not to be too too obvious about it, in case it unnecessarily rattles Nita.

He would offer her a snack, but she has all the snacks. She will undoubtedly eat when she's hungry.




When she speaks, his spine twitches straight.

"Uhh," he says, and does a quick north-south-east-west. "Kali did say she'd come meet us here."

[nita_callahan]

"Yeah. You're right. Sorry, I'm antsy.








"Sorry, also, I really need to pee."

[semicharmed]

"What?" Matt exclaims. "Ew, gross, seriously?



... Sounds good. I'll take the charm apart so you can find the car coming back."

[nita_callahan]

Nita thumps the back of his seat in retaliation for that face.

"Gonna be okay on your own for a few minutes?"

[semicharmed]

"Oof," he protests.

"Yeah, yeah--you? I mean, you could even take the charm with you, if you wanted."

[nita_callahan]

"No, keep it. I can handle myself for five minutes."

She opens the door carefully and peers around, climbs out of the car -- then turns back and pokes her head inside.

"Was there any toilet paper in the store?"

She does not sound hopeful, but hey, can't hurt to ask!

[semicharmed]

"Oh." On a falling note. "I was kind of hyper-focused in there, so I didn't--I mean there could be? And the place was clear when I went in, so."

Why didn't he bring any toilet paper of his own? Note to self, next quest bring TP.

[nita_callahan]

"Iii will check."

Off she goes towards the store. The bell jingles faintly as she goes inside.






It's about ten minutes later when the bell suddenly jangles again, and Nita comes striding out at a pace just under a run. She heads pretty unerringly for the car and pulls open the front passenger door.

"We gotta go. Now."

[semicharmed]

Jamison, who had the head start of seeing her approach, is already switching gears--reverse.

"What'd you see?" he says.

[nita_callahan]

She shakes her head, casting a look over her shoulder at the store, and the woods beyond.

"I heard something out there -- not anything natural, I don't think. I don't wanna risk it."

[semicharmed]

"Okay, okay." Drive now: towards the road, such as it is. Jamison hesitates a moment before going back the way they first came.

At least he knows how to find the gas station if he goes this way.

"Yeah," he concurs. "Better safe than sorry. Uh, anything in particular stick out about the sound?"

[nita_callahan]

"Uh--"

She rubs her forehead.

"I mean, it sounded like something big moving around out there. Either one big thing or a few human-sized things. And I thought I smelled sulfur." She wrinkles her nose. "But I've been smelling that on and off since we got here."

[semicharmed]

Matt considers, wrinkling his own in sympathy.

"It's weird out here--environmentally, I mean. Even the rain feels like it resents me."

Add sulfur to 'something big,' and you get a whole lot of not good!

[nita_callahan]

"Like it resents you," Nita murmurs, thoughtful. "Yeah."

A moment later, she blinks and focuses on him again.

"Are you sure we're going the right way?"

[semicharmed]

He slides a glance to her.

"I'm sure we're going the wrong way. But I'm hoping whatever you heard will have cleared out in a bit, and then--hn."

Matt pauses to ease around a fissure in the asphalt that's ambitiously pushed up a bevy of reedy grasses.

"Ugh, this is what road trips back home were really missing."

That and mortal danger!