beyondtheline | Tornadoes and skeletons and nacho dogs, oh my

[She takes her time removing those bandages over her tattoo, and getting lotion on as best as she can. He can help her get it on really good later. For now, she's in a hurry to get over to that trunk.]

I was wondering what's in it. Why would he keep it locked like that?

[She doubts it's weapons or anything. Most people wouldn't leave those in a secondary bedroom. It's probably not money or jewels, because he doesn't have any need for them. So she's insanely curious about what it could be.]

I've got my hairpins, if you think you could get the lock open. But he has to have the key around here somewhere. Let's try looking around.

[There's absolutely no issue in her mind with stealing the key and looking inside. They're just curious, it's not like they're going to take what's inside. It's all innocent, good fun. She grabs his hand and pulls him off the trunk, and laughs as they make their way out of the room to see if they can find a key.]

[With her pulling at him, he swings to his feet and bounces those few steps out of the room to start exploring. Today is off to a great start already - some hot wake-up sex, and now a cool mystery trunk to open? His kind of day. Personally, he's hoping for cool ghost secrets, some kind of mysterious artifact, maybe. But he's betting it's money, which is way more boring.

The main room does have hooks by the door, but no keys on those. Shelves with food and plates and cookware too, and even a butcher block with a drawer inserted into it, but no keys anywhere obvious.]

If I had a key an' wanted to hide it around here... Under the floor, maybe?

[Thing is, with the house in this state, most of the floorboards are already pretty loose. He kicks at one until he gets his toe underneath and pries it upward, but it's just dirt under there, so he lets it drop back into place.]

Or out in the barn? Or inside the mattress in his bedroom?

[Oh, but there's no obvious bedroom. The only other room connected to this one is a tiny bathroom with a tub that looks like it gets used more for washing clothes than anything else. Hm. No fair, why does he have to sleep and this guy doesn't? The storage room they're in must be the old bedroom.]

Maybe it's in that room we just came out of, actually.

[Chrissy gets caught up in thinking while he starts poking around. Cruz is a really cool cowboy, but he probably doesn't just leave things like keys to unlock a padlocked trunk in an easy to find location.

Then again...

Maybe he knows how people are and knows hiding things in plain sight is usually the best course of action. She goes from door frame to door frame, standing up on her tiptoes to feel around. She's able to produce a key on the door frame leading into the bedroom they're staying in.]

Babe, look! [She's giddy as she runs over to the trunk and tries to stick the key into the padlock. Only...it doesn't fit. At all. She huffs and puffs as she tries a few times, but it never goes into the lock. In a fit of frustration, she throws the key across the room.]

That stupid key unlocks something else. But there's nothing else with a lock on it in the house. [As soon as the words come out of her mouth, she remembers something from earlier.]

But there's a cabinet in the barn with a lock on it! Maybe this will open that, and the key to the trunk will be in there.

Hey -

[Yeah, smart call, but even if this key isn't for that, he scrambles after it to retrieve it anyway. If they don't need it, better to hang it up where it was to make it less obvious they went poking around.

He picks it up, then gives it a toss and catches it again.]

All right! To the barn.

[He trots his way on outside and blinks at how bright the sun actually is once it's not filtered through the rickety walls of that shack. He can get a better feel for where they are now, too - dirt road, old fallow field overgrown with weeds, but there's a property line just back in the direction of town and that field is full of greenery in neat rows. And people, bent over as they tend to the crops. People who, he can only assume as he watches, are there against their will.

Goddamn this place. So fucked. He gives a short frustrated huff and redirects his attention to the barn and heads inside.]

This cabinet?

[The paint is flaking, but it has several locked drawers inside. The key sticks in the first lock, but he rattles it until the tumbler gives up, only to find nothing inside.

The second lock, second drawer, now that opens smoothly. This one gets used sometimes. And in that, there's actually a ring with two keys on it - but one looks small enough to fit in a padlock.]

[She winds up spending more time than she should out watching those fields, frowning at the sight of people out working. She gets the idea that it's not something she wants to examine too closely, and it's with a frown on her face that she makes her way into the barn where he's found the cabinet.

When the second drawer produces a keyring, she reaches in to take it out. No alarms go off, but she still looks around to make sure nothing bad will happen for taking them. After she's sure they're in the clear, she hurries back to the house, taking care to not look back out toward those fields on her way.

She goes straight into the room with the trunk, and crouches down so she can work the smaller of the keys into the padlock. It clicks and unlocks, and she hurries to get the trunk open. Despite all the clues they had been given when talking to Cruz the night before, she's not really prepared for what they find inside.

There's plenty of things in there, all of them things that must be purely sentimental. They all belonged to a woman, one that she finds a picture of. There's a few other pictures she pulls out, ones that must be her with Cruz when he was alive.]

They looked so happy.

[She whispers passing the picture off to Johnnie. All of a sudden, it doesn't feel right to be looking at these things. Her frown grows as she looks at the back of the picture.]

Her name was Elizabeth. I think she was his wife. I wonder what happened to her.

[He pauses again outside. There's probably nothing he can do right this moment - no chance that running over and knocking down a fencepost and telling them all to run is going to help. It's what he wants to do, but this is bigger than that.

But maybe before they head out of town he'll have a better answer. Cruz will know.

Soon he finds himself kneeling beside the trunk, back inside, and taking an old photo in hand as Chrissy passes it over. He'd put as much together after what Cruz told them - poor guy fell in love with a white girl and was probably hanged for it by some lynch mob. It's one thing to guess at that, though, and another entirely to see their faces, preserved side by side.]

Yeah. I wonder. Fuck.

[It's times like this he just isn't sure what to say, but he feels it all strongly - feels awful for Cruz and Elizabeth, but meanwhile, his skin prickles with anger at what these people must have done in retaliation.]

See if you can find a last name. I bet her family lives here.

[He'd bet hard money her family is responsible, in fact. He pulls out a necklace, a comb, then frowns and puts it all right back. It just feels weird to be handling her things.

But then there's one more item he can't resist - a folded piece of paper, but filled to the brim with more. It's a collection of letters.]

Oh, here. Elizabeth Auclair.

When we rode through town earlier, I think that was the name on the store those guys were in front of. Auclair's.

[So yeah, her family definitely lives here. She can't help but wonder what it would've been like if she had been alive and Johnnie had tried to be with her back in Hawkins. How her parents would react, what they'd do to the both of them. They'd definitely try to have him killed or arrested. They'd probably send her away - if not something worse.]

I don't think she's alive anymore either, Johnnie.

[Because it would be one thing if Elizabeth let her family tear them apart, let them hang Cruz. She isn't sure he'd be holding onto these things in quite the same way at this. This is something else, far more than simple loss and regret.]

I think maybe she died before he did. Or at the same time, maybe. It wouldn't surprise me if her family had something to do with both of them dying. But if they were both killed, why isn't she here with him?

[It's with a sigh that she puts everything back where it belongs. Poking around here just doesn't feel right at all. It makes her incredibly guilty. Once everything is in, she shuts the lid and makes sure to lock it back up. It bothers her that they don't know where Elizabeth is or what happened to her. But she thinks maybe it only bothers her as much as it does because she identifies pretty strongly with her. ]

Dunno.

[Awful thought, though. He scoots away from the trunk, back onto the blankets, and frowns as he mulls all of it over.]

Maybe that's why he keeps her stuff, though. Not just for him, but for her, if she finds her way back. Kinda hopeless though, right? Considering she's probably just... gone.

[That's the thing about this shitty universe, not everyone gets what they want. In fact, most people don't, and the ones who do, it's just coincidence. So on the one hand, he hopes Cruz isn't waiting too desperately, looking too hard, for someone who's just not around anymore.

But on the other, he totally gets it and hopes that fucker never fully gives up his search.]

Let's get those keys back before they all get here.

Okay. But, Johnnie?

[She lowers herself down to her knees on the blankets, and then leans down so she's on her hands and knees beside him. It's easier to crawl in close, so her head is over his and she's able to comfortably kiss him.]

No matter what, I wouldn't let anyone hurt you.

[He has to know that by now, but it still feels pressing for her to say it. There's some kind of guilt she can't describe that's floating within her now. Like if he sees these things and realizes Elizabeth didn't save or try to stay with Cruz, then maybe she'd be the same. He's not the type to do that, but the itching sense of wanting to reassure him helps her feel better all the same.

Her nose brushes against his as she smiles, and just takes a few seconds to appreciate that quiet moment between them. The promise of a day of adventure stretches out before them, and she's not looking to dampen that with too many emotions.]

[He gives a soft chuckle as he gently headbutts her forehead with his after that tender little moment of quiet. She's pretty bothered by all this, he can tell. Maybe it should bother him more, but he learned long ago that sometimes you just get dealt a shitty hand now and then, and you learn to make it yours anyway because it's not like you get a redo.]

I know, babe. You fuckin' jumped off a moving motorcycle into shotgun range once. I'm pretty sure if you thought you could plant your feet in front of a train an' stop it for me, you'd try.

[Too damn cute, too damn devoted after just barely three weeks. Or three centuries, maybe.

He stands up and offers her a hand, but instead of leading her to the barn he pulls her into his arms and kisses her again.]

[She knows she'd try it, too. At least they're both aware she'd move heaven and Earth and everything in between to keep him safe. That makes her happy. A smile slowly stretches out across her face, one of someone that knows they're loved. She's content to be pulled into his arms and enjoys that kiss, and lets it draw out until she pulls away for a breath of air. It's sweet, a simple moment that means a lot to her just because he makes her feel seen.

He says anyone can make her feel understood like that, but so far everyone else has only ever disappointed her. He's the only one that ever has bothered to see her as she is.

As the kiss ends, her hand slides down his arm so she can link their fingers together. They've got to put the keys back in place, so no one knows they were snooping around.]

Do you know what? [She breaks the silence when they're halfway out to the barn, laughing before she says what's on her mind.] I'm really glad I don't have to dress like the other women here do. The clothes look so...sad and boring.

Yeah, right?

[He's quick to respond with a big grin.]

The whole fuckin'... Long sleeves, dress down to your fuckin' toes, like you're wearin' a tarp? It's not like it's even practical for farm work, either. I don't get it.

[Then again, maybe most of the women in the saloon last night weren't the kind that do much work, since they have people to do it for them. Ugh. Once inside the barn, he shakes his head and kicks at an ancient dried pile of horse shit, sending it flying in pieces.]

An' speaking of farm work, I dunno how anyone could live here without bein' fuckin' depressed about what's goin' on all around. I wanna get some of those people out. Dunno how, an' I know it won't fix the whole system, but there's gotta be a way to help at least some of 'em while we're here. You can't keep people penned up like fuckin' livestock, it's pissing me off.

[He'd noticed Chrissy's attempts to just not look earlier, but that's just not his tactic. He can't ignore shit like that.]

It's like the other places we've been to. People are just used to it.

[She whispers, bracing her hand against a wooden post. She has no idea how to help those people, but remembers the upset and disgust she had felt when she first saw them out having to work the way they were.]

We could set the farm on fire. Use it as a distraction to get them out. But where would we have them go to? They don't have anywhere to go, and it's not safe for them to just run out in the open.

[They'd probably be killed on sight, which doesn't sit right with her.]

But maybe that's something Cruz can help us figure out. He and his friends could get tons of people out of here if we found them a wagon or something!

[They could set the farm on fire, but he'd want to get word to the people who need to escape, so they don't get caught up in it themselves. It's a good idea, though. Burn the crops, ruin the farmer's income. It looked like beans, all that greenery, but they'll burn fine if the fire's hot enough. He nods as he thinks it all through.]

Yeah. I figure it's worth asking Cruz. Dunno why he an' his guys haven't tried it already, though. Maybe 'cause his house is right here. We gotta make sure the fire can't come this way.

[Or, okay, maybe they haven't set the field on fire because that's not typically what people first think of doing. So maybe they have other ideas. He can't let himself believe Cruz and his friends are fine with slavery right next door.]

We gotta talk to them, too. The slaves, I mean. Gotta let 'em know so they can be ready to fuckin' high-tail it outta there. Maybe they got ideas too an' just need an opportunity. An' we gotta get our hands on shit that burns real good. Old straw in here will just turn to ash before it gets hot enough.

Unless you plan on staying here for a few days, we'll need to give up going out with Cruz and his friends to make this happen.

[She crosses over to wrap her arms around him from behind, rising up on her tiptoes to press her chin against his shoulder.]

But it would be worth it to get to help people.

[It's something she likes to do, whenever she's able to. And if they're able to create enough chaos in this time and place to free a bunch of slaves, then she thinks it would be well worth the effort.]

What if Cruz says he's not interested in helping though?

Don't see why we can't do both. Gonna be easier to act at night anyway. We go out with all them, we get a feel for what they think, we pitch an idea an' see if they all wanna go along with it.

[They have all the way until dawn to do something. Okay, so maybe it makes it harder to get word out, if anything, but whatever. He doesn't want to miss out on the opportunity to hang out with cool cowboy ghosts and hear more about what they get up to, and then he can ruin the lives of some asssholes who think it's cool to try and own people.]

If Cruz an' his buddies aren't in, then we'll figure something out. Hell, look what we've done so far, just the two of us? We can set fucking fires without anyone else's help.

Yeah, but -

[She hesitates, pulling away from him so she can pace a little. Her small hands are balled up into loose fists, and she starts worrying her way around in circles.]

Do we really want to spend all day riding around with people, if they don't care about the fact other people are being treated like property?

[But he's right. They can get things done on their own. They make an amazing team, so she's not worried about that. She's far more worried about her idolizing Cruz being ruined by his just not caring.]

Is everyone you know perfect?

[Okay, now he's being an asshole. At least he recognizes it, though, but it doesn't stop him.

And, really, after about a second, he shrugs and holds up a hand before she can try to reply to that, since it wasn't really the kind of question that needs an answer.]

Let's see what the guy says before we get all worked up about if he does or doesn't, all right? I don't wanna sit here an' dream up imaginary situations, fucking waste of time.

[He shakes his head and starts toward the barn door. He wants another look at that field, maybe figure out the best way to tackle it if they have to do it themselves.]

Fine.

[She flinches at that first part, and it stops her dead in her tracks. She knows that he doesn't mean to snap at her, and he probably isn't intending to be dismissive in how he holds up his hand. The fact remains that it feels like he's being a jerk, but she doesn't want to call him out on it right away because she doesn't want him to get angry at her or even more frustrated than he seems to be right now.

That means giving him his space, so she can also have hers to try to soothe her hurt feelings without being needy about it. She lets him watch the fields, and instead of standing out there with him, she makes her way back into the little house. She wants to finish getting cleaned up and ready for the day, and also wants to get their things packed.

If he doesn't want to stand around and think up imaginary situations, he's free to take all the time he wants outside figuring out a plan. Whenever he's ready to come back inside, he'll find her sitting on the floor beside the trunk, using it as a table so she can write in her notebook. She spots him and smiles a little, but closes the cover to her notebook.]

I was just writing about when we got to Nashville. [Not that he needs to know, but she tells him anyway.] Did you figure out a plan?

[It does him good to have a few minutes alone anyway. Not that he ever really needs or seeks out alone time, but he's also not normally with one person so constantly. It's a good sign that they tolerate each other so well the vast majority of the time. And he feels bad, just a little, for being short with her, but not enough to apologize. It is dumb to worry about a conversation that hasn't even happened, he figures.

Of course, it's no more than a few moments of being alone that he tries to change that - not by seeking out Chrissy, but by trying to wave over one of the men picking beans in that field. He gets a pause and a wary look - not like the look of a man afraid to approach for normal reasons, but rather, the look of a man looking through a shadow that might leap out at him at any second.]

Hey. D'you see me?

[Worth asking, but he doesn't get a response. Well, shit. Maybe he doesn't, or maybe the guy doesn't speak English, or maybe he's that terrified of being reprimanded if he's found talking to someone outside the farm. Man, he hopes it isn't that, just for how fucked up that is.

Well, whatever. They can fuck up a farm, they can tear down a fence, but Cruz is the one who will know if there's a route these people can flee down, or if there are people who can help them get far away.

So a few minutes later he strolls his way into the house, a half-burned cigarette in hand, and smiles down at Chrissy, then shrugs.]

Nah. Tried to talk to a guy but I dunno if he even knew what he was looking at. So fucking weird how inconsistent it is. Like, what is it that means some people see ghosts an' others can't? 'Course, he mighta just been freaked out someone was trying to talk to him.

[She nods as he explains his lack of a plan, and takes in a small breath. Her hands go to rest against her legs, and she can feel herself trembling. Logically, she knows Johnnie won't hit her or anything. But he might yell at her, and she needs to learn to just accept that's part of being in a relationship. Sometimes people might yell, and she can't always be so sensitive. She's still nervous though, but wants to assert how she thinks and feels.]

I've had some time to think it over just now, and I think you were wrong to snap at me like that. It scared me and made you sound like a jerk.

[There's a flinch right after she says it, like she's conditioned to bracing for impact. But there's never a need for it, and she relaxes with a shaky exhale.]

And I just think you should know that.

[Her hands flex against her legs, and she slowly moves to stand up, so she can pack away her journal and pen.]

Huh? Oh.

[Yeah, he'd kinda said worrying about Cruz was a waste of time, huh? Well, he stands by that, but he probably could've said it differently. All his easygoing charm just evaporates when he's annoyed, though. He gets blunt, and blunt can be mean. And she's so damn sensitive to mean, poor thing, after the fucked up people she's had in her life.

So, he gives it a thought, then nods a little.]

Yeah, I didn't need to say it like I did. Sorry, baby girl.

[With how she's trying to keep herself calm, he just stays where he is, even though he wants to reach out and slip an arm around her waist. Something about that nervousness a second ago says she might read it wrong if he moves toward her. Makes him want to gut that Jason asshole all over again, make him choke on his own blood.]

[She nods, and takes a second to breathe in and out a few more times. She's really calm after that, and she takes a step in closer to him.]

I'm not mad. [That point is softly stressed, and she bites at her lip as she creeps in a little closer.] It just scared me, that's all.

[And that's where she leaves it, since he's apologized. She's the one that closes the distance between them, wrapping her arms tight around him as she presses her face against his chest and breathes in his comforting scent.]

Thanks for apologizing.

[No one else ever did when they scared or upset her. The fact he's willing to do it at all for her shows how much he cares. And she knows he's impulsive and prone to being blunt. She just needs to grow thicker skin, and she thinks that's just something that will take more time.

That's not worth worrying about though, not when she knows she's growing and changing every day. She lifts her head so she can look up at him, smile shy. Her eyes meet his, and they just hold each other's gaze for a second before she's leaning in for a kiss.]

I'm sorry for being so sensitive.

[If he can apologize, she needs to woman up and be sorry for her faults too.]

[The hand with the cigarette hangs at his side, but he curls the other arm tight around her and smiles back before gladly sharing that kiss.]

Nah, it's all right. I'd rather you or anyone else gets to really feel shit an' mean it. Even if it means you get hurt sometimes. 'Cause you know what's fucking sad are the people who try an' hide everything inside an' don't let themselves feel anything. I love that you're not like that.

[So she gets another kiss, and a brighter smile, before he takes a drag from the cigarette and then offers it to her, just in case she wants some.]

For what it's worth, I think if Cruz is cool with people bein' slaves then he's an asshole not worth our time. Just so you know.

[No point in speculating about it, but also, she's right.]

[That last part makes her all out grin, smile bright as she laughs and nuzzles her face up against his neck. She takes the cigarette from him then, and enjoys it for a minute while he holds her close.]

I'm really glad you told me that. Because I was starting to wonder.

[But now that they're on the same page as far as that's concerned, she's content enough. The cigarette is passed back as she claims one more kiss, just in time for the sound of something rumbling in the distance to draw her attention away from him. She's curious and goes over to the window, where she sees a dust cloud approaching. It's easy enough to see lots of hooves in that dust, and she gasps as she taps at the glass.]

I think they're here! Let's go outside and meet them.

[If it isn't obvious, she's 100% excited for Duke's return. She's running out of the room and right out of the shack in order to wait by the barn for that skeleton horse's return.]

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