beyondtheline | Tornadoes and skeletons and nacho dogs, oh my

Yeah, but even just you guys could be a really great gang.

[Chrissy pipes up, like she's an expert on all things gang related. Johnnie's got the right idea though, and she's animated as she gives a bounce and starts pacing a little to think of name ideas.]

You could be the Skeleton Crew!

[Oh no, that's awful. She hates that one. Even she has to groan at it, both hands pressed against her face for a few seconds.]

Hey baby, how do you say skeleton in Spanish?

[He, on the other hand, loves it. It's fucking hilarious for how dumb it is, and for a second he even chokes on smoke as he inhales a little too much unexpectedly.]

Oh, shit. That's good. Uh, el esqueleto? But, man, I dunno. Could be cooler, like the Calavera Crew! Now that's got a ring to it.

[Between them they've definitely earned a few smiles and laughs among those grinning skulls.]

Can't promise we'll adopt it, but I like the spirit behind it.

[That's Cruz, as he sears some tomatoes off to the side of the potatoes and eggplant, and tosses another onion on next to those tomatoes, cut in half only. He lets those blacken while Diego pours beaten egg over the potatoes and onion and gets it all scrambled together. Johnnie's stomach is about ready to jump out of his body and smother it all. It's hard to be patient.

But soon enough, that tomato and onion get seared hot until they start to smoke, and are taken aside to mash into a salsa with some salt while the rest gets cooked, scooped onto a big plate, and the tortillas are set on the remaining oil to puff.]

All right, get over here, time to eat up!

[Chrissy is beyond excited to try what they've made. It smells so good. She lets the men go first, so they don't see what she winds up taking for herself. Eating around Johnnie is one thing, but eating in groups is a total other. She doesn't take quite enough, and Cruz ends up clicking his tongue and piling more on her plate.]

You need the fuel for this big mission of yours.

[And somehow, that skeletal head is able to wink at her. She looks awestruck for a second, but smiles and takes her plate over next to Johnnie to sit and slowly eat.]

I've got a wagon in the barn. [Cruz offers once everyone settles in and enjoys their food.] If you two are willing to help patch it up, we can use it tonight.

[Man, it's too good. He's so ready to stuff his face. And there's plenty, that's for sure - these guys must have healthy appetites for dead people, and then they added more on top for their guests. He bumps his shoulder against Chrissy's and smiles around a mouthful of egg and potato, salsa dripping between his fingers.]

Yeah man, sure thing. Hey, can we decorate it too? You got like, cow skulls around? Man, we could make it look so fucking badass. Actually, shit, I want one for my bike.

[That is such a good idea, he wishes he'd thought of it years ago.]

I bet we could find some, sure. Might as well make this driverless wagon look extra haunted, hm? We'll spawn all kinds of new legends.

[Johnnie beams and raises a fist to the air.]

Fuck yeah, you will! Bet that'll scare some a' these fuckin' assholes off from chasing after it in the first place.

[She looks from person to person, grinning and laughing as everyone gives their ridiculous ideas for making the driverless wagon look extra haunted.]

Wait!

[She calls out over them all, waving her hands to get their attention.]

It's really only the white men we need to worry about, right?

[Which is debatable, because a lot of white women are just as terrible as the men are. Especially in this time period. But she's got an idea brewing, and she wants to contribute to the conversation.]

There's nothing that freaks them out more than women being loud. If people can see me, why can't we make them think that I'm some kind of vengeful spirit or something? I could start the distraction and Johnnie can trigger the fire, and then while I'm busy wailing and being dramatic, Johnnie can start getting the people out to the wagon!

[That plan leaves her alone and in range for immediate danger, and she second guesses herself the second the words are out of her mouth.]

La llorona!

[Guillermo says teasingly, to another round of laughter - which really had already begun anyway, at Chrissy's idea that white men are afraid of loud women. She's right enough, certainly.

Bobby pipes up, then.]

Hell, if my pa had been afraid of loud women my ma woulda laughed that man right outta the house. I swear you could hear her comin' from a mile away.

[To which there's general, jovial agreement. Clearly most of them either know Bobby's mother and her large presence, or have heard some stories.]

Hey Miss Chrissy, what are white women afraid of? In case we run into any. You should see some of 'em out here, they sling shotguns like you wouldn't believe.

They do?

[Color her surprised. That shock shows on her face, and she abruptly pops up to stand like she's going to tell them all exactly what white women are afraid of. But she's just so surprised most women here sling shotguns that she loses track of what she wants to say, turns dark red, and then sits down and stares at her plate and picks at her food for a few seconds.]

I guess most of them are probably afraid of things that are different. Of not being perfect enough to keep their husbands and their comfortable lives.

[At least, that's what her mother and her friends are afraid of. Chrissy shrugs a little, feeling helpless as she mentions it.]

But I think they're also afraid of anything they don't understand. If they can't fix it, they want to get rid of it before it can influence anyone else.

[That's something all the cheerleaders back at Hawkins were guilty of.]

I mean, I'm not afraid of all that! But if they see a pretty young ghost out luring their men away, they can shoot at me and that will keep their attention off of you. But if I die again, I'm sticking around and knocking all of your heads around!

[She gets back her energy at that point, which earns a roar of laughter that gets her to grin and join along with them.]

[Johnnie laughs along with them, but then gives her a smile that's warmer than the usual. He saw how she faltered there, but she recovered real well, and he's glad she can find friends in as ridiculous a group as this one. Hopefully LA doesn't overwhelm her with all its people, and with her having to adapt to not only a new city on the other side of the country, but also a time she isn't used to.

After gulping down another taco, he nudges her with his foot.]

So how is it, real home cooked food? Nothin' like Taco Bell, huh?

[He grins as he reaches for the bowl of salsa and spreads more on the food on his plate. Sure, she got to have stuff at that restaurant in Georgia that was good, but it's like he was telling her, Texas is where the food gets real. He's entirely happy otherwise to banter with the guys until he's too full to move, then flops backward onto the ground, content while some of the rest of them start to clean up.]

It's really good. [She nudges his foot in return as she happily sighs, feeling full and content. When he flops over onto the ground she leans over to kiss at the tip of his nose.]

Are you going to cook just like this for me once we're back home?

[She teases, planting one more kiss, this time to his forehead. She scurries off right after, to go help with the clean up efforts. It would make them bad guests if they just ate and didn't help cook or clean up. She insists to Cruz that she'll wash all the dishes and clean up, and that the guys should head out and start fixing the wagon.

It takes her about half an hour to get everything orderly and clean, but once her hands are dry and her hair is pulled back up into a high ponytail she makes her way out to join everyone.

The sight she's greeted with is Johnnie holding a cow skull and every single skeleton in the room gathered around him, trying to find the perfect place on the wagon to secure it. Even the horses are peering over, neighing and whinnying their approval.]

I thought we were repairing the wagon.

[The scolding is playful, hardly heartfelt at all. In fact, she tries to move on in close to Johnnie to give him a kiss, so she can grab the skull out of his hands in the process. She wants to be the one to pick the right place to put it.]

Pfft.

[Yeah he's not cooking like this, not any time soon. Not that any of this is even hard exactly, probably. Sure. He could figure it out.

Fuck, is he really going to try cooking to impress a girl who's already impressed? Maybe. At least once.

Anyway, the wagon is a way better way to occupy himself right now. The skull is massive, since when do cows have such big heads?]

Guess it's gotta go over the back, here, see? 'Cause then it'll be lookin' at them if they come up from behind. But what if we had six more?

[But, right, Chrissy has a point as she teases them. He lets her take the skull from her, then vaults on up inside the wagon to test the floorboards. They're uneven, a little rickety, but nothing a hammer and nails can't fix, probably. Fuck if he knows, he's not a carpenter.]

Looks like we gotta fix these, patch up the canvas, maybe reinforce this... thing? What's this called, the part where the horses go?

[The others set to finding tools, while Cruz looks over his shoulder at whatever Johnnie is pointing at.]

That's the tongue. Yeah, it got a good crack in it last time it got hauled out. Tried to cross a riverbed but the water knocked it off its tracks and into a rock. Was a real hassle, trying to get that whole thing out in one piece. Might check the front axle, make sure it's still sturdy after all that too.

I'm small! I can do that!

[Okay, maybe she's desperate to be useful. She hurries to hand off the skull to Diego, then darts over to crawl beneath the wagon. Of course, she knows absolutely nothing about wagon repair. But Guillermo talks her through what to look for, and slides on under alongside her to help coach her through assisting with the repairs that need to be done.

After that, he nudges her into going to help Johnnie with the floorboards of the wagon. She climbs and hops up to join Johnnie, helping put boards in place and hands nails off to him.]

How many people do you really think we can fit in here?

[She whispers to him as she takes the hammer from him, so she can have a turn doing some of the work too.]

Uh, well if nobody's that fussed about bein' comfortable, maybe eight? I don't think these things were meant to serve as a bus. But if there's kids, or people who can't walk too far, they can ride in here, an' anyone else can walk or jump on the back of a horse, maybe. If they can see the horses.

[That might be tricky. Can you ride a horse you can't see? Probably not. All the stories he used to hear about ghosts made it seem like they could go right through you.

Another few floorboards get whacked into place, meanwhile.]

Don't think this thing's meant to go fast anyway, walking oughta be all right if it means gettin' outta that shitty situation. I'd do it.

[Well, he'd do a lot of other things too, like slit some throats and set fires, but hypothetically, he'd walk.]

[She makes a soft sound that doesn't necessarily say anything, but shows her concern. This wagon isn't very large, and she's guessing there's a lot of people on that farm right next to them. In fact...

She holds up a hand and passes the hammer over to him, and takes a leap out of the wagon. As soon as she lands, she takes off at a jog to go back outside. Sure enough, the fields are being worked. And yeah, there's a lot more than eight people out there. She knows Johnnie's said other people can walk, but she only hopes that they can work together to buy these people enough time to get away.

Her hand is held up over her eyes as she tries counting how many people there are, and it's then that she spots a woman and two children staring across the expanse over toward her. She waves both arms up high and the children wave back. Gasping, she calls out for Johnnie.]

I think they can see us! Should we try going to talk to them? Or is too dangerous right now?

[Maybe they should wait until after they know how they're going to start the fire, so the people there can help them with pulling it off.]

[He hears his name and comes running, then looks around those fields for any sort of watchman or guard. There, in the distance, looks to be a guy on a horse, and while he hasn't heard Chrissy shouting, any more of that and he just might.]

Now's good while there's only one guard an' he's way over there, but I dunno the patrol. Lemme go see if I can get a closer look, maybe keep him occupied if I have to, while you sneak in there an' see about talkin' to those people. That work for you?

[Now, that means they can't agree on a plan together while talking it through. But by now Chrissy has a good head for how to tackle burning shit, he trusts her to come up with details if she has to. He has to keep her safe.]

[She watches the people for a second or two longer before nodding.]

Okay. I should be able to do that.

[Her knife isn't on her, but he likely has his gun and a knife. If it comes down to it, he'll be able to keep them both safe. She's small and fast, and good at being quiet. With how tall the crops are in the fields, she should be able to stay hidden well enough.]

Be careful. [She warns, voice soft as she pulls him in for a quick kiss. There's not any fear about doing this, but she's still cautious as they make their way in closer toward that farm. They separate about halfway there, and she waits for him to make his way in closer to look for the guard before she starts to sneak in.

She makes her way toward a group of women first, and puts her finger to her mouth to signal to be quiet as she stays low.]

Tonight, there's going to be a fire. A really big one. Run toward that old house out there and -

[One of the women gives her a look of terror.]

That haunted one? No m'am, ain't gonna be -

[Chrissy fixes her with a desperate look and reaches out to gently touch at her arm.]

Listen to me, okay? I need you to tell as many people as you can, so everyone knows. When the fire starts, run to that house. A wagon will be there, and you'll be able to get somewhere safe. Somewhere free.

[She doesn't wait to hear if the women will help. She just moves further into the crops and finds a few other groups to gather and talk to. But it's as she's speaking to the fourth that she hears the sound of someone approaching on horseback. She ducks down low as she can as the horse stops right nearby. Johnnie's not there as far as she knows, and she isn't sure what to do if she's spotted.]

[After that kiss, he pulls away to start trying to creep closer to the guard on horseback he'd seen earlier. It isn't easy - the guy has a vantage point up there, which he's clearly using to scan the fields for anyone misbehaving. He's not keeping an eye at his back, though, so Johnnie sticks to the thin pines and shrubs for cover.

All the warnings the guys had given him keep echoing in his head, which is some bullshit. Mostly Cruz was worried about him being seen with Chrissy, but the root of the matter is that these fuckers will take one look at him and think some really shitty things no matter what. But if that's the case, why do anything but be shitty right back? If they're expecting trouble, he'll give 'em trouble, he's not here to win friends. If they see a brown kid creeping around in the bushes, fuck it, whatever. Better than them finding Chrissy talking to the people they're keeping captive.

One of those shrubs is actually dense enough for him to sit behind and watch for a while. The guard nearest him has a pretty simple patrol, north and south along the field border. There's another he can see now too, making his way down a farm road in the middle of the fields. Sort of where he'd thought Chrissy was headed, but he can't see her from here to be sure. Hopefully she's well hidden.

Or maybe he can get the attention of a few of those assholes at once, keep them from going any farther that way. He's tempted to shoot at a tree just to make a noise, but they'll probably find him too easily. Instead, he looks around and finds himself a forked stick, grabs a hefty rock, loads it onto the fork and uses it as an extension of his arm to throw that rock hard at the nearest dude on horseback, then lays flat and watches.

The rock misses, but it hits the horse instead. Startled, it pins its ears back and crashes forward into the fields, scattering a couple of people in its way while the rider struggles to regain control of it. That ought to get people looking that way - maybe slow down some of the other patrols, as they first figure out what the fuck happened over on this side.]

[The second the commotion starts, Chrissy takes off at a run. There's enough chaos going on that she's able to get a good head start before someone calls out after her.]

You there! Stop!

[And like an idiot, she skids to a stop and glances back at her. The man on the horse points at her, spotting her. And as her heart starts to race and her fear takes over, the look on his face contorts into something...afraid. Like he's looking right through her.

Unsure if that means she can't be seen any longer, she takes off at a run. She must be flickering in and out of visibility, because that man on horseback ignores the way his horse is protesting, and raises his gun to take aim at her. The first shot hits the ground near her, and she shrieks. The sound must spook him enough to fire a second shot shortly after. This one clips her heels and she just keeps going.

By this point, the slaves have gathered at the edge of the fields to watch what's going on, and Cruz and his gang are out at right past the fire to see what all the commotion is. As Chrissy runs as fast as she can toward them, Cruz grabs her by the back of her shirt to stop her from crashing into them.

And as her eyes glance up toward him, he doesn't look very happy. In fact, he looks like he's capable of spitting fire at her any given second. She cowers, much like she did when faced with her mother's temper, and finds she can't really say anything at all. She doesn't the entire time he drags her back into the barn, either.]

You stay here until he gets back. No more big ideas, you hear? Stay put, if you know what's good for you, girl.

[The barn door definitely slams as he leaves, and she hears a lock click into place. And as she feels her eyes fill with tears, she can't help but think they're definitely in trouble. She climbs into the wagon to wait for Cruz to bring Johnnie back, and tries to figure out a defense for why they thought it was a good idea to just run off and cause trouble like that.]

[Well, shit. He hears gunshots after a few seconds of waiting to see what happens, and that's not something he likes much at all. He takes off into the pines, figuring if anyone notices and tries to come after him it'll at least slow anyone on a horse, and mostly just tries to get himself away from the field so he can circle back around to make sure Chrissy made it out okay.

The trees come to an end, leaving just open land for him to walk across, but with nobody following him he'll just walk and pretend he wasn't part of any of that. It's Chrissy he's worried about though, and he doesn't see her right away. Instead he sees Cruz, heading right for him with some serious stomp to his pace.]

Hey, did you see - ow, what the fuck?

[Cruz grabs him by the back of the jacket like a mother cat with a kitten in her mouth, and drags him a few short feet before Johnnie manages to wriggle free of his jacket and spins on his heel to face his apparent attacker, knife in his hand.]

What the fuck got into you, man?

[Cruz almost drops the jacket, but then thinks better of it and holds onto it as he backs toward the barn.]

You two are seriously going to put this whole plan in jeopardy before it even gets off the ground. Miss Cunningham is fine, no thanks to you.

[She hears Johnnie outside, and jumps out of the wagon so she can go to the barn door to try and get it open. It's locked tight from the outside though, so all she can do is jiggle the doors and bang on them and shout Johnnie's name.]

Let me out! Cruz? Do you hear me? I know Johnnie's back, let me out!

[Cruz doesn't turn his back on Johnnie though, not when he's getting worked up. Chrissy's left struggling with the doors, up until Cruz has had about enough of the both of them and goes over to unlatch the lock. The next slam of the door sends Chrissy toppling out on her face, where she's silenced by eating dirt.

All eyes stay on Johnnie though, and Cruz tosses his jacket back at him to try and keep the peace.]

This won't happen if you two go off by yourselves like that again. Got it?

You fucking locked her in there?

[All right, all good will, gone. No way is he gonna trust some dickhead who locks Chrissy in a barn, that's fucked up. If there weren't seven dudes all standing around he'd show Cruz exactly how he feels about that.

Instead, he gets a dark look before he folds his knife and tucks it away, then kneels down to help Chrissy up and wipe a smudge of dirt off her face.]

Hey babe, you okay? What happened? I couldn't tell where you got to when I saw those guys lookin' around, I just heard shots.

I'm fine, it's just -

[There's a lot of tension out here right now, and it makes her very uneasy. She had really wanted Cruz to like her, but it feels like she's ruined that by being impulsive and reckless. Still, she tries to smile a little for Johnnie's sake, because she doesn't want him to be mad.]

It was me they were shooting at. But I kept running.

[Cruz glances down at them before going back into the barn. She thinks things are just going to be left there, but he comes right back out a second later, pointing a bony finger at her.]

We told you how dangerous a place like this is for her. And you still let her go off and put herself in a situation she doesn't even fully understand. Do you know what could've happened to the both of you? What would've happened to her if she had been caught? I locked her in there for her own damn safety, boy.

[Chrissy glances up at Johnnie, frowning. She's pretty sure her lower lip is a little busted, because she tastes blood along with dirt. But it's nothing that bothers her too much, though her fingers do touch at her new belly button piercing. That's starting to throb, and she probably just got it really dirty and gross.]

I guess...I was only thinking about helping those people. Not about what would happen to me.

All right, first off, I'm not her fucking parent.

[He stands and grabs his jacket from where it was dropped earlier, and throws it back on.]

And she's not an idiot, and don't you dare fucking talk like that again, asshole.

[It's a culture thing, he knows that, but it's stupid and wrong to think Chrissy or any other girl isn't perfectly capable of making decisions and taking action. She's not his pet, she's not a kid, she's right here and she just got locked in some fucker's barn as some kind of shitty punishment for misbehavior and that is fucked up.

With a flick of his wrist, his knife is back in his hand, blade open again.]

C'mon. You and me, one on one. Right now. You don't go locking my girl up for any fucked up reason an' think you can get away with it.

[O-Oh.

Oh.

This is really bad. Chrissy feels something tugging her in two directions. One is definitely her heart fluttering because he's standing up for her and is being protective and that's really attractive to her. But the other is upset, because she doesn't want to fight with Cruz. And she isn't sure Johnnie would win in a knife fight, because Cruz is a skeleton.

The swooning wins out, and she feels like he's probably able to feel her heart eyes that she's making as she watches this dangerous situation unfold. She's blind to everything and everyone else but Johnnie, even as the other men circle around in an attempt to be a part of the action. No one seems to really want to, since they like both Johnnie and Chrissy. But they also clearly aren't going to back down from helping one of their own, either.]

You think a knife is going to hurt me?

[Cruz is definitely giving Johnnie one of those skeptical looks, and it breaks through Chrissy's swooning in a way that makes her angry.]

You know what? You...you...stupid skeleton! Let him defend my honor, all right? It's really sweet and romantic, and he can stab you if he wants to!

[Who's that picking up a nearby rock to throw at Cruz? Yeah, that's Chrissy. And the second it hits him in the chest, he stares down at the rock in disbelief.]

[A knife is a tool, and he's sure it'll come useful even if it's not going to be for puncturing skin and organs. It's just as good as a lever, a way to grab on between bones and pry them apart. Okay, not ideal, though - once again he finds himself wishing he had a hammer in his hand, or maybe a hatchet. But it'll do. He doesn't want to kill the guy anyway, that isn't the point of this, he just needs to knock him down fair and square and get him to back off as retribution for putting hands on them.

Chrissy's interjection makes him smile a little, but he holds a hand up - toward her, but also the fucking rest of them who apparently have zero honor.]

This is between me an' him, okay? If I see any of you skeleton boys try to get a dirty hit in, this is gonna get a lot worse.

[Johnnie is standing coiled like a spring, ready to strike, while Cruz is still slightly stunned this is even happening. He holds one hand up to his friends, but one to Johnnie.]

I knew you were trouble, Redmayne. But you're not stupid. We can talk this out, come up with a plan that leaves us all happy and then you and Miss Chrissy here can go on your way. Nobody has to get hurt before we've even begun.

[She feels her blood start to boil when she's essentially ignored. But she's seen Johnnie's hand held up, and she leaves it at the one rock being thrown for now. Her eyes look over to the others, and she can easily tell the worry on their face. They don't want this to happen any more than Cruz does. Really, she doesn't want a fight to happen either. But if one has to happen, and it seems like Johnnie really thinks one does, then she's going to take his side. There's no question in her mind about that.

Her hands anxiously knot together, and she watches Johnnie look like he's going to lash out at any second. She still isn't sure if a knife is the best tool to be using here, but she knows Johnnie is fast and strong, and that he's vicious when he has a cause to be fighting for.]

I told those people we'd make a fire and they could come here, and we'd help them escape. We have to figure out a way to be able to work together long enough to do that.

[A big, warm breeze blows over the area then, making dirt kick up in the air. Chrissy shields her eyes from the dust before tipping her head to glance up at the sky. What was once a bright and sunny day is starting to get cloudy. A storm must be planning on rolling in at some point. Maybe some rain would help diffuse the tension that's built.]

I apologize for locking up your girl. Miss Chrissy, it won't happen again.

[Cruz tries one last time to diffuse Johnnie's anger, before he has to resort to a fight.]

You heard her yourself. Those people are counting on us.

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