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Feb. 12th, 2023 at 9:15 PM
[An hour's drive outside of the flames of Virginia Beach finally returns them to solid pavement.]
Yes! Oh, fuck yes, finally.
[And Johnnie is sure glad to see it, as he cheers with a fist in the air. Now he can just sit back and let the bike carry them without having to dodge rocks and slide around in the occasional patch of mud. Those old roads are a fun challenge for a little while, no doubt, but they get old fast.
Relieved now, though, Johnnie leans back a little against Chrissy behind him, and looks around in the darkness at what he can make out of the countryside. Lights dot a lot more little plots of land now, the occasional car passes going north, and what was moments ago swamp and forest has definitely turned more toward farmland from what illumination he can get from the headlight of the bike. There's some song on the radio about a place called Margaritaville, which he sure doesn't recognize.]
You know this one?
[Might be more in her wheelhouse. He'll just keep watching for road signs or town names, anything to tell them if they're on a real highway or some shitty side road so he can work out how far they actually traveled in that last hour, and how much longer until they reach the coast.]
Yes! Oh, fuck yes, finally.
[And Johnnie is sure glad to see it, as he cheers with a fist in the air. Now he can just sit back and let the bike carry them without having to dodge rocks and slide around in the occasional patch of mud. Those old roads are a fun challenge for a little while, no doubt, but they get old fast.
Relieved now, though, Johnnie leans back a little against Chrissy behind him, and looks around in the darkness at what he can make out of the countryside. Lights dot a lot more little plots of land now, the occasional car passes going north, and what was moments ago swamp and forest has definitely turned more toward farmland from what illumination he can get from the headlight of the bike. There's some song on the radio about a place called Margaritaville, which he sure doesn't recognize.]
You know this one?
[Might be more in her wheelhouse. He'll just keep watching for road signs or town names, anything to tell them if they're on a real highway or some shitty side road so he can work out how far they actually traveled in that last hour, and how much longer until they reach the coast.]
Comments
[Old men love Jimmy Buffett, and she doesn't get it. But she remembers dancing around the backyard to this song during cookouts when she was younger, and she's able to sing along here and there until the memories become too much for her and she slips into silence.
Rather than sit there and be sad, she decides to distract herself.]
Do you think it's safe enough for me to drive now, baby? I need to pull over for a minute anyway.
[An intersection ahead provides an opportunity to turn off onto a smaller road with a little more shoulder, which makes for a better place to pull the bike over and drop the kickstand. He's eager to hop off and stretch, especially so he can shake out his wrists after having to bounce over some of those rockier spots in the road back there.
Oof, his hands still sure smell like gasoline. Well, if they end up in a diner again or something like that, maybe there will be people who smell that even if they can't see him, and that's a funny thought.]
If your dad loves this song, then, I guess we're somewhere between your time and mine?
[She was only a kid back then, but she doesn't want to say that. It feels too weird somehow. But she's distracted by her need to pee, thanks to the bumpy road jostling the urge right into her. She's just going to have to hold it until they reach a gas station or something. Maybe she'll get lucky and they'll come across one on the stretch of road they're on.
For now, she stretches her arms up above her head and goes over to rest her hands on his hips as she kisses him. Her fingers curl into the belt loops on his pants a second later, and she smiles against his lips.]
Maybe this time, I'll actually be able to drive fast.
[At whatever pace she wants. He gives her another kiss for good measure as he drapes his arms over her shoulders, then takes the strap of his guitar case and pulls it up and over her head so he can sling it onto his back.
She said she wanted him to pull over, so he figures she needs a minute, which means there's time for a cigarette. But by the time he has one in his mouth and is flicking the lighter, all he gets are sparks.]
Shit. Guess it's time for a refill. Gonna have to write a shopping list at this rate.
[Or like, shoplifting list, but same thing.]
I think you mean a stealing list.
[Her fingers tickle at his stomach before she reaches up to try and swipe the lighter from him. If he couldn't get it to light, maybe she has the magic touch.]
Or maybe we should call it a lifting list. It sounds less like we're criminals if you put it that way.
A lifting list. Yeah, we just gotta lift some stuff. We'll put it back down, it's all right.
[Put it in their pockets, more like, but who's keeping track anyway?]
We'll stop at the first gas station we see. Grab some snacks and anything else we see that we like.
[Maybe there will be a pink lighter she can grab and hold onto.
The tip of her tongue sticks out as she tries his lighter one last time, before sighing and handing it back over.]
Maybe we should get back on the road though. I kind of need to pee, and the faster we get to a gas station, the better.
[Sometimes, girls are baffling. Obviously if this spot was going to work for her she would already have wandered off. So, fine, instead he takes his lighter back, spits out the dumb unlit cigarette that's now soggy on one end and not worth rescuing when he can get more anyway, and gestures to the bike.]
Key's in there already, so you're good to go. Let's see about that gas station. They oughta have lighters, right?
[He hops back onto the bike behind her once she's settled. Gas stations that are open before dawn in remote areas aren't easy to come by, but the good news is neither of them particularly care if it's open or not anyway.]
[Grinning, she turns and kisses him before she focuses on getting the bike started. She's more confident now, which turns into the ride being not as shaky as her first attempt. It isn't smooth, not by any means. But it doesn't feel like they're going to tip over at any point, so after a few minutes she starts speeding up. It's a little by little effort, but the stretch of road is smooth and without any turns. It's about as safe as it gets, given they're the only ones on the road.
And as she flips through the stations and it settles on Dolly Parton, she sings along at the top of her lungs and finds herself driving faster and faster. As she does, she leans in toward the handlebars, arms curling upward. It's a weird and slightly uncomfortable driving pose, but it's easier for her to rev the engine that way.
Her biggest problem is keeping the bike straight. She moves all over the road, into the other lane and back, swerving through the lane they belong in. But the important thing is her confidence seems to be there and she's definitely having fun. Hopefully he's keeping his eyes peeled for a gas station though, because she's really focused on not crashing.]
Eventually, lights become visible ahead. Must be a little town up there. They pass a sign announcing an exit for Ahoskie, which is helpful - that'll give him some point of reference when he gets to pull the map out again once they park.
He pats her side to get her attention, then points.]
Hey babe, take that exit. They've gotta have gas here somewhere.
Oh, shit. Whoa!
[She applies the brakes as there's some gravel in the road here, and it doesn't feel like a great idea to keep going so fast. For someone that never learned how to even drive a car, she thinks she's doing pretty good. But obviously there's a lot she still needs to work on.]
When we find the perfect convertible, [Because they will] I can't wait to take it out on a joyride. I never learned how to drive, but I bet it will be pretty easy.
[He sounds a lot calmer than he should be considering how horribly quickly things can go wrong when someone hits gravel too fast while also turning. Taking over control wouldn't even fix that if she was about to launch them into the pavement, and they're both lucky she has a handle on things - and so it's exactly because they're not dead again that he's grinning at that abrupt turn and her sudden braking. Sure could be a lot worse, but instead, it's a perfectly good time.]
Oh, yeah, we'll get you a pretty little car. You'll do fine. Lots an' lots of back roads to learn on, too, until you get the handle of the basics without all the traffic.
[The first building at the edge of town that isn't a farm is a church, but that's just how this part of the country is, from what he's been seeing. Then some homes, another church, a school, and - aha.]
There we go, gas station. Man, right in the middle of town, huh? Let's hope nobody who can see us is up yet.
[Dawn must not be that far off, but it's still plenty dark for now. Either way, they can make a quick turnaround. Break in, she can use the bathroom, they can look for snacks and a lighter and a few other goodies, and then get back on the road.
Once she's parked, he's quick to hop off the bike and unsheath his knife, and finesse the tip of the blade in the lock. It's a tough one to jiggle open, though, so he gives up and instead goes to one of the windows. Stupid motherfuckers in some stupid shitty town have a tough lock on their door, but a basic latch on the window, like he wasn't just going to try that next? Really? With a few shoves that rattle the window frame, he eventually forces it open.]
C'mere, I'll boost you in.
It looks like she'll have a chance to be useful now though, as he's counting on her to get through the window. Nodding, she does a few little hops until she's in close, so he can boost her up and she can climb through. She barely has to wriggle her way in before she topples over onto the other side.
There's no alarms going off or anything, but she still tiptoes her way to the front door like she's being sneaky. And she unlocks the lock and cracks it open, arm sticking out to beckon him in with a crook of her finger. Once he's inside, she steals a quick kiss. And then skips off with a grin on her face.
He's got things to look for, and she's got a bathroom to find. It's thankfully in the back of the store, and she quickly takes care of business before making her way out to browse the snacks. She grabs and opens a pack of Hostess Snack Cakes, throwing the trash on the floor as she eats while looking around. Devouring one cake, she saves the other for him.]
Hey baby, do they have a pink lighter? I need one.
He sets to filling his pockets quickly. Lighter fluid to refill his, and a few more packs of cigarettes, because why not. A pack of permanent markers, on a whim. He opens the register just in case, but no, these people might be dumb about windows but don't leave money in the store overnight. Figures, but it was worth a shot.
He has his hand in a bag of chips when she speaks up, and walks on over to trade - he'll take one of those cakes, sure, and if she wants some chips, the bag's wide open and held out for her.]
Didn't see pink. They got red, blue black, I dunno. Usual colors. Or, you want a zippo? Gotta find paint, but we could make it pink.
I bet they have the cash register money in a bank bag somewhere. Maybe in the back office? Or they hide it in plain sight near the register. It's what I would do.
[But she's not exactly a business person or anything so...maybe that's a stupid idea. She doesn't pay it much thought as she walks among a rack of brochures and magazines and something catches her eye.]
Hey, look at this.
[It's a silly little pamphlet about Southern highway attractions. On the cover is mention of watching astral storms, as well as mining for Moonstones and Cosmic Ash.]
I found something that mentions that ash stuff we saw on tv back in New York.
[She grabs it, clutching it in both hands like it's precious cargo.]
[All thoughts of tracking down the hidden money vanish as he goes quickly to her side to have a look. He winds up reading over her shoulder, scanning the pages for anything useful.]
"Found deep in the Earth, undiscovered until a landslide near Tifton, Georgia, exposed a layer estimated to be over 1 billion years old..." Fuck. Well, we could go through Tifton. Says there's a mining museum and gift shop for the company that claimed the site. Apogee Mining Company?
[He's not going to go tour a gift shop for fun or educational purposes, and he's willing to bet tackling an entire mining corporation is bigger than he and Chrissy can handle, but it's sure as hell worth a look.
His map is back on the bike, but they have a display stand of road atlases here by the door, so he grabs one and flips through the pages.]
All right. So, looks like we're here. Ahoskie, North Carolina. We keep going south on 40, we'll hit Wilmington, then head down the coast and cut over to Tifton. That's... A long fuckin' way to go, but if we switch off driving, I bet we could do it without stopping.
[She whispers, pointing out their spot on the map. Her finger traces along until she finds Tifton, and she gives it a tap.]
Why don't we stop in Wilmington to rest for a little while? We can get something to eat, then sleep long enough that we'll have the energy to see everything that Apogee Mining Company has to offer.
[Unlike him, she is eager to see the museum and gift shop. And she figures that even if they're not open, they can take their own private tour. What she's really eager to see though, is whether or not they can find cosmic ash. And if it's actually able to help him come back from what happened to him.]
If it's just a big tourist trap, I'm sure we could burn it down before we go. [Wait, that sounds a little sociopathic. She pauses, frowning at how easily that just slipped out.] As long as no one else is there, I mean.
They're getting ahead of themselves, though. Who knows what's even there?]
All right, sure. Wilmington. You got everything you want?
[He's going to grab this entire box of Snickers bars. And, oh, right, look for the cash. Candy under one arm, he goes back to poke around by the register, but it's quickly evident it's not stored nearby. This is why he didn't try too hard - most people keep cash in safes overnight, and he hates those things.
But just to be sure, he goes toward the little accounting office in the back, near the bathrooms. Sure enough, under the desk and its records is a small but solid-looking safe.]
Yeah, these things aren't something I can just break into. Gotta have real tools to crack those. Need a fuckin' locksmith.
[There's rope back on the bike, after all. And it seems like something that would only happen in movies, but maybe it might open if they go fast enough. Or maybe it might act as an anchor or get caught up in the wheels...
Definitely a lot could go wrong. She pulls a face as she decides maybe it's better to just leave it alone and get money somewhere else. Then again, he could decide that plan sounds like a lot of fun and she almost laughs at the fact she's become almost as reckless as he is.
She goes through the candy aisle, and picks up a box of those candy cigarettes she used to get as a kid. They're tucked into the pocket on her jacket, right next to her pocket knife. She grabs a lollipop for the road though, and unwraps it to start enjoying the cherry flavor before they head out the door.
It's with a soft mmph sound that she stops in the doorway, pulling the lollipop out of her mouth so she can point over toward him. ]
Should we get gas while we're here?
[With a bike it's just too likely to get stuck somewhere and flip them and all their shit over, and he's just not that desperate for cash. There will be easier ways to stock up that don't risk destroying his guitar and motorcycle - which honestly he's more worried about than injury.
Time to give up on the money, pocket an extra Zippo for Chrissy, and head out. And, sure, top off his tank while they're here.]
Yeah, here, find a spot for these?
[He sets the box of candy bars on the seat of the bike, then goes to investigate the pumps. They're not all that different from what he's familiar with, and it's not hard to find the lever to flip and get the pump operating even though the place is supposed to be shut down. He comes back over with the nozzle and twists the cap off of the tank so he can add a few gallons.]
Wilmington's big enough on the map, I bet they'll have all the paint an' knives an' anything else we could want. Might even score ourselves a gun if we look in the right places. We'll be real prepared for whatever that mining operation has for us.
Without all of her clothes and shoes that she left behind at the beach cottage, there's a lot more room. Which is perfect room for any little treasures they find along the way.
Once the candy is put away, she goes over to him and curls her arms around his waist as he finishes up getting gas. She's still got the lollipop in her mouth, which means she has to pull it free so she can kiss him. The red from the sucker passes from her lips onto his, making her laugh as she pulls away.]
Do you mind driving for a little while? I can take over when your leg starts to bother you.
Sure, babe. I'll take over.
[Maybe that patch of gravel freaked her out. She did good though, no complaints from him. She gets one more kiss, more of a quick peck this time, then he grins and puts the gas nozzle back on the pump, screws the cap to the tank back on, and shrugs off his guitar so he can pass it back over for her to carry.]
Let's find us a liquor store somewhere, too. Maybe before we leave town here, there's gotta be something.
[Honestly he could even just go for a beer, that sounds good. Doc's cider was a nice treat but it didn't last them long. It would be nice to have a bottle of something harder stashed in the bags for whenever they get a longer break.
Anyway, time to get the bike going again and cruise down the block to see what this town has to offer before they completely blow through it.]
Man, this place looks sad. This town must not see a lotta people come through.
[Her eyes narrow a little as she tries to sound skeptical, but just winds up laughing it off. If it actually bothers her, she doesn't let it show. Instead she just enjoys riding passenger again. As much as she likes getting to drive, she's become used to being the passenger. And it's nice to be able to wrap her arms around him and lean in up against him as they drive.]
It's a small town. This is probably how Hawkins was back in the 1930's and 40's. If you drive just a little outside of where I grew up, there's still a lot of tiny towns and nothing but farmland.
[Which is wild to think about, how much they've seen of the country, but in reality it's actually very little. They've seen America at different points in time, and she has to accept the fact that not all of it is the same reality she was raised in. For better or worse, they seem to be steadily traveling through his.]
Maybe one day we'll drive through a reality where everything's different. There won't be any small towns and people will be everywhere. Like how it was in New York City, only worse!
[The idea of that is pretty overwhelming, but she can imagine he'd be excited by the opportunities that arose with such a chaotic setting.]
Small depressed rural towns are nothing new to him either, and he nods along at her commentary. It's just an observation, really. Plenty like this out west and everywhere in between, too.]
Yeah, I wonder about that. Buildings as far as the eye can see, roads full of cars. Gotta happen eventually, right? More people need more room, an' it doesn't seem like that's likely to stop anytime soon. Unless there's a major disaster, I guess.
[Which is absolutely for sure not out of the question, and maybe one day they'll discover there are true limits to when they wind up, if too far in the future comes the end for every reality. It's bound to happen eventually.]
Oh, here. Liquor store, that's more like it.
[And right beside a tobacco shop, not that he really needs anything more than what he'd just grabbed. Time to quickly park around the side and check the place out. The shades are drawn on the windows making it tough to see inside, and it's locked up pretty well, too.]
Yeah, they must know this is gonna be a prime target for people.
[And given it's the first floor of a two-story building, he'd put money on the owners living upstairs. Hm.]
With a wide and hard hitting swing, she hits the window as hard as she can. There's a shriek as the glass shatters, mostly due to surprise that the sound is so loud. Her eyes squeeze shut tight as she curls inward to protect herself from any flying debris, but still winds up with a little caught in her bangs. It goes unnoticed as she just stands there, finally realizing what she's just done.
Oh well. No time to be sad about it now. Chrissy uses the stick to bat away any remnants of glass before she steps through the window and into the store. Despite the fact that Johnnie could just walk in right after her, she unlocks and opens the door for him. The sound of glass on the bottom of her shoes is loud on the tile floor, but it doesn't matter. They won't be here long.
Which is probably pretty good, because she can definitely hear movement upstairs. Guess the people who own this place probably live right up above it.]
If a tiny girl with a stick can get in, anyone can.
[She's working hard to justify this to herself, that it's perfectly okay for her be slipping further and further along the path of doing whatever in the hell she wants.]