beyondtheline | Tornadoes and skeletons and nacho dogs, oh my

[This is a goggles on, bandana up kind of ride for sure, and he fishes his bandana out of his pocket. It's dirty and wet but better than getting mud all over his face and in his teeth, and so he nods to her as he ties it around his face.

Time bandit time, just like they'd agreed days, or months, or who knows how long ago. It's a blur.]

Yeah, think they're in the front of that one on the left. That's where I saw 'em last, anyway.

[He holds a hand back to take them, but meanwhile his eyes are on the road ahead, puddled and dark. The bike's headlight will only do so much on a night like this. They'll have to roll out of here slower than he'd like.

At least the rain is quickly washing dirt off his face and out of his hair. He'll take the free shower. And once his goggles are on, he turns the key, flips the kickstand up, and gets rolling. He can feel the tires slip in the puddles - this road isn't packed by the weight of cars, just feet and horses and wagons, and the mud is like clay.

The wind gusts straight at them, and he grips the handlebars hard to keep the bike pointed forward as a branch tears off a nearby tree and flies right over their heads.]

You hold on tight back there, baby girl!

[What starts as a fun ride through heavy rain quickly becomes something more. As that branch flies over their heads she gasps, and glances back to try and see where the branch went. But the wind is getting so strong that it's long gone. He's not driving very fast at all, but it feels like if she doesn't take his advice and hold on tight enough she'll be next to be blown away.

She leans up against him, head turning so her cheek is pressed tight against his back. And she wraps her arms around him to hold on as tight as she can. Even with that, she can feel the resistance the wind offers. It feels like she might be pulled off. That worry only grows stronger as the sound of the wind grows louder and louder, until it's howling around them.

In retrospect, maybe setting everything Cruz owns on fire was a bad idea. They could've at least hid in the barn until after the storm passed. Now they're out in the middle of it, and she's trying her best to find the excitement in everything. Fear is winning out though, but she keeps that to herself. Johnnie needs to be able to focus so they don't get swept off the road.

Eventually though, the storm feels like it's not safe to be out in anymore. That's about the time as the pea sized hail starts, and being pelted with it makes her hold on him go away completely so she can cover her face with her hands.]

Do you think we should find somewhere to pull over?

Where? There's nothing out here.

[Their progress is slow enough that he can see the distant glow from the farm, still - not just Cruz' house, but the first one they attacked. He can't get a good look and focus at the same time, though, as he tries to dodge the worst of the mud.

Ahead, there's a bolt of lightning and a loud crack followed by an immediate boom of thunder. The air smells of ozone, sharp and metallic, and the ground shakes as something crashes to the ground. That something is quickly revealed to be a large pine tree, which has dropped right across the road, forcing Johnnie to stop and turn the bike.]

Okay, guess we'll go around. More than one road outta here.

[Back toward town, though, branches and stray pieces of wood are littered everywhere, making progress slower than ever. The wind grabs and pulls at them like it's trying to rip them from the bike and throw them up into the clouds with the smoke from those fires. Another tree falls somewhere ahead, torn loose from the soft, muddy ground.]

This has to be a fuckin' hurricane or something, this ain't a normal thunderstorm.

[Which is part exhilarating, but part frustrating given he really wants to leave this place before Cruz and his guys catch up to them.

The wind hooks itself around the roof of the saloon and lifts a chunk of it from its frame. Inside, people panic, but Johnnie ignores them as a large board slams down onto the tree ahead and stops.

A ramp. Okay, he can do this. This is fucking stupid, but he can do this. As the bike finds some traction on the muddy road, he brings the engine to a roar and slides right over the mud, up the ramp, and over the tree. He whoops with joy as they catch a few seconds of air.

They should have hit the ground with a bone-jarring thunk after that, but the storm has other ideas, and that's when Johnnie realizes this isn't a hurricane, not exactly. It's a much smaller spiral.]

Oh, fuck I-

[From somewhere in the tornado they now find themselves a part of, a branch knocks into his head, hard enough to leave him briefly dazed, and to shut off all thoughts and speech for the time being.]

[It takes Chrissy a few seconds to realize a few things. The first is, they're in the air. The second, he's been hit and is unconscious. Panic quickly swells within her, as she finally gets the situation they're in. They've just driven right into a tornado, and he launched them right into the middle of it. Debris is rapidly building, and they're a part of it now. She's being pelted with little things that do little more than sting in the moment, but she's more worried about him.

Johnnie! Baby, answer me!

[She tries shaking him, tries calling his name a few times. The storm grows around them, with their bike carried up higher and higher. Debris seems to be funneled up at a bottleneck here, and they're both continually hit with things until she's dazed enough she can't hold onto him any longer. She's torn off the back of the bike and slammed into a wooden door, and her vision goes back as her body flies through the tornado.

The storm stirs them up higher and higher, unkind in how it pummels and whips them around. When they're spit out, they're still in the same town. But the time has changed, the storm expelling them into a more modern decade. Even with things being more advanced here, it's no match for the force of the tornado. It tears through town in the opposite direction they've been dumped, leaving destruction in its wake.

Chrissy lands in a pile a couple hundred feet away from the bike. But she's alive and breathing, even if she's still unconscious. Her poor body has been through a lot the past few weeks, and she's still trying to heal from all of it. These new injuries hurt like hell, and they're what pull her into consciousness. He's the first thought on her mind as she comes to, and she screams his name as she moves to try and get up on her feet.]

[Somewhere in the middle of that storm he comes to, watches the world spin beneath them. There are city lights now, and he gives a cry of joy at the sight, at the land like stars littered below while the sky above is pitch black. At the sheer badass fact that they're riding a tornado through time.

But also, it fucking hurts, as shit gets flung into him. Good thing he has his goggles on, and even the bandana spares him some scrapes, but once again it's that leather jacket that serves as armor against some of the blows from debris in the storm.

His laughter stops as he realizes Chrissy isn't on the bike anymore, and it's shortly after that the wind dumps the bike one place and him in another, and he must have hit hard enough to black out again for a little while. When he comes to, he's face-down in the mud, and he can hear Chrissy shouting even through the ringing in his ears.

He spits out dirt as he drags himself onto all fours first, then sits up on his knees and clutches at his shoulder. Damn, something hit hard. He runs his hand through his disastrous hair too and comes away with blood, probably from that first hit, still slowly seeping.]

I'm over here!

[Maybe a hundred yards away in another direction. He thinks about standing, then decides against it and sits instead. Nothing obviously broken, plenty of scrapes, but he's had worse. The tornado spared him and wrecked the town. Hopefully it spared Chrissy and the bike the worst of it, too.]

You okay?

[Hearing his voice is enough to spare her any panic. The nausea that was building doesn't subside completely, but quells enough that she can stop trying to get up on her feet. She's dizzy and her ears are ringing, and she just needs another minute before she tries moving again.]

I'm alive!

[And beyond that she has no idea if she's okay yet. Her ribs and her shoulder are killing her, and so is her head. But she's definitely been through worse with those monsters. She can get through that, and she'll get through this too. Gritting her teeth, she moves to stand up and starts hobbling her way toward the sound of his voice.

He isn't hard to find, thankfully, and she feels a sudden burst of joy at the fact they've both been spit out of the storm in the same time and place. They're both bruised and are bleeding from the head, but things could be so much worse. Her laughter cracks away with emotion as she stumbles her way forward to him. At first, she can only get down on her knees so she can lean in and hug him.]

That was one hell of a storm. Are you hurt?

[Oh, that hug. He's so glad to see her, and even more happy to lean in and feel how warm she is, even if all her clothes are soaked through and everything is covered in dirt and blood and weird spooky makeup and hair grease. He laughs, just because he's so happy they're here and they're fine, they're together and they just had the most badass ride.

Carefully, he tugs her down so she's sitting in his lap, then winces. Something there is pretty hurt, and reaching down he finds there's a shard of wood pierced into his leg. Adrenaline must have covered up the pain from that. His bandana is still somehow tied to his neck even if it's not on his head anymore, he can ruin yet another one to stem the blood flow - but not yet. Not right now.

First, he tugs his goggles down around his neck and kisses her.]

Mm. Uh, I dunno. Just scrapes. An' my leg, but, hang on.

[It's not that bad, it's not like the time he got shot. Bandana in hand now, he tugs the shard out with a hiss and presses the cloth to his leg to help keep the bleeding down.]

... Okay. Yeah, I'm fine. Man, what a fuckin' night, huh?

[She wants to fuss over his leg, but it won't do him any good out here. That, and she's cold and exhausted and just wants to go someplace where they can shower and rest. He's right though, it's been a night.]

It's been a really incredible night. But do you know what? I'm ready to get the hell out of here and find a town that isn't destroyed so we can get a room somewhere.

[Should they stay to help the people here? Once upon a time, she would've said yes. Now she's not very concerned with the people here. They've got each other, they can take care of themselves and figure it out. She and Johnnie have their own problems to worry about. And right now, he's warm and solid and not hurt that badly and she's just so grateful for that.]

Do you think you can get on your feet?

[She gives him a quick kiss, and presses her hand over the cloth on his leg so she can help him apply pressure. If he can't get up yet, she can try to get the bike herself. ]

Gimme a minute.

[Between his leg and the ringing in his ears, he'd like to make sure that at the bare minimum he's not bleeding severely and can walk in a mostly straight line. But after a short wait, he uses her shoulder as a crutch and stands. Things hurt in some funny ways, that's for sure. But he takes a step, then another, and figures he's all right, just a little beat up. Nothing he can't handle.]

Did you see where the bike got to? Hope it's not trashed.

I think I saw it over this way.

[She had briefly caught a glance as she was looking for him. There's nothing wrong with being his crutch for now, and she stays at his side and lets him hold onto her as needed. She's got some pretty strong leg muscles, she can support his weight.

When she catches sight of what looks like the motorcycle, she makes sure he'll be okay on his own two feet before running up ahead.]

It's over here! And it looks like it's in one piece!

[Like she had in Wilmington, she tries picking it up on her own. She really needs to work on her upper body strength, because it's a real struggle. But unlike before, she's able to get it up after a few tries. Once the wheels are on the ground, she makes sure the kickstand is down before leaning against the seat to catch her breath. Gosh, she wants a fluffy bed to fall into right about now.]

As long as it runs, we can try to do any repairs in the next town we get to.

Yeah, hope it's a big enough city to have bike parts. Poor thing's taken a beating on this trip.

[The rest of their stuff has too. Boy is he ever glad he has a sturdy case for his guitar, but the liquor in their bags is probably all broken and spilled all over again. He can't bring himself to investigate right now, though. He looks over the bike itself, decides that aside from some dents and scratches nothing seems obviously broken, then carefully swings a leg over and sits. The engine starts, so, as long as it keeps them going down the road, he'll make do with any other discoveries as they come.

Around them, people are continuing to emerge and assess the damage to their town, but the two of them are mostly ignored. Everyone has problems to tend to. For him and Chrissy, the biggest problem now is going to be the road.]

Think we wanna aim for Austin, or San Antonio. That way.

[That way, like every way, is completely full of debris.]

Gonna take us a while to get outta here. But hey, we can switch off, one clears shit outta the way on foot, one drives to keep up, until we make it outta the path of the tornado. Which job d'you want first?

[It's really hard to keep in the tiny sound of disappointment. She's so tired, but knows that he can't do this on his own. She's got to woman up and be strong, and pull her weight.]

I'll clear the debris first.

[She wants to watch how he drives in these conditions, see how he applies the brakes and gas so she can try to copy it when it's her turn. Besides, she'll need to do the heavy lifting while she's still got some adrenaline left and some strength in her. She's going to quickly reach a point where she's too tired to be much use other than driving, so it's smart to get the lifting portion of things out of the way now.

As he slowly moves up ahead, she hops off the back of the bike to jog ahead and clear the road as best as she can. Some stuff is really heavy, but she's able to get it moved enough that he can slowly swerve around.

Rather than hopping right on the bike, she has to walk for what feels like miles, clearing things so they can keep progressing forward. It would be easy to sulk about having to do so much work, but instead she tries to make conversation. ]

What year do you think the tornado dropped us in? It's hard to tell looking at the people we've seen.

[Driving first gives him time to clear his head from that crazy ride, anyway. Focusing on the path ahead, tricky though it may be, is a fun kind of challenge. Maybe a little frustrating on account of how slow it is, but nothing terrible. She must be wearing herself out, though, seeing all that stuff she has to move. Whenever she's ready to switch he'll gladly let her just so she can have a break.]

Uh, good question.

[The radio is probably the easiest way to find out, so he switches that on and lets it run while he navigates around a section of road that's been pretty broken up by rubble hitting hard. By the time a few songs have gone by, it's pretty easy to narrow down the date. Harry James, Frank Sinatra, and Dinah Shore? The fourth comes on and he finds himself singing along to It's Been a Long, Long Time - never a favorite, exactly, but one of those things he remembers well enough from when he was little.]

Mid-forties. Maybe 45, 46? Around there, anyway. You can tell rock hasn't hit mainstream yet. You know this one?

[Easier to judge the date by ear than try and look around while the town is in such a wreck, but the cars look more or less right, too.]

[She pauses in the middle of dragging a piece of sheet metal across the road, just so she can give him a lopsided grin. It's really amazing to her how he can pinpoint the year just from music alone.]

That's a gift you have, baby.

[She laughs, and finishes dragging the metal to shove away before she makes her way back to the bike. There, she can hear the song that's playing. It's not something she recognizes, but she's still able to pick up the tune and hum along as she walks at the side of the motorcycle.]

I don't think I've ever heard this one, but I think the earliest music I hear on the radio is probably from the 50's. It's really neat sounding though! It would be perfect to dance to, actually.

[A hand is held up then, signaling for him to wait. She moves on ahead and clears the debris before shuffling back to climb on the bike. She just needs a minute to rest before they switch.]

[He grins and brushes her compliment off with a shrug. Sure, a gift, otherwise known as a life full of music. And it happens to be a decade he's familiar with just on account of what his parents were listening to when he was young.]

Yeah, it's one a' those my parents an' their generation all woulda been dancing to as the war ended an' all the guys came back home. Man, can you imagine?

[So many of them didn't come home. And while he's not exactly a huge fan of governments sending people off to die, fuck the Nazis. That war had to be actually worth fighting.

She comes back to the bike and he drops the kickstand and hops off, but she needs a breather so he stays close and loops his arms around her, giving her a kiss as the song plays out its last bars.]

My parents were really little when the war ended. They told me about what my grandparents were like when it happened. So I can imagine.

[Sometimes the fact he was born a long time before she was hits her hard. This is one of those moments. It isn't anything bad, but it does make her thoughtful as she gets on the bike and he wraps his arms around her. All those thoughts flood right out of her head as he kisses her though, and she enjoys the music drawing to a close as he's in close.

She can imagine what it was like back then, so happy to see her soldier come home from the war. Johnnie would be so eager to see her, and she would've pushed through the crowd to tackle him down with a hug and a kiss. And oh, they would've danced the entire night away. They can do that now, of course. But she can imagine what it would've been like back in the 40s. And that makes her smile as she breaks away, giving him a gentle nudge.]

You know, this may be the year you were born. Wouldn't it be weird to be able to call up your parents when you were a baby and tell them they better be ready for trouble?

[She laughs, before caressing his cheek and giving him one more kiss. He gets another little nudge, this one meant to shoo him off the bike so she can take his place driving.]

Yeah, that'd be pretty fucked up. Like they don't already have trouble with the other two. Hell, I could warn them about all three of us.

[He laughs and scoots away to go investigate the debris ahead of them, then starts working on clearing a path for her just as she had been doing. Man, something must have twisted wrong when he landed and he's just now feeling it while lifting this chunk of fence and dragging it out of the way, it makes his shoulder twinge in sharp protest. But other than a grimace, what's he going to do about it? They need to get out of here somehow.

There's something kind of relaxing about doing hard manual work while listening to oldies. It triggers some weird sense of nostalgia, which isn't something he usually feels.]

Well at least if there's ever another war, I won't have to worry about it much. They can't draft dead people!

There's always other wars. You know about Vietnam, right?

[He has to. She's not very great at history, but she's pretty sure that would be from his time. Unless it doesn't happen in his version of Earth, which is a possibility.]

And then there's the cold war, but that's not exactly the same. I guess everyone says it was over last year, but it still feels like the entire world is constantly fighting.

[Which is stupid, but that's just how the world is. Always violent and clashing. But she's not looking for a heavy conversation, so she just shrugs and focuses on driving. She's confident enough on the bike that she's not wobbly or shaky at all this time, which makes her smile a little.]

But hey, I know this one!

[She turns up the radio as Perry Como's Prisoner of Love plays. Her parents listened to this enough that she knows the words, and sings along as she stays focused on driving and keeping the bike upright. They really do make a great team.]

'Course I know about Vietnam.

[It just feels far away, like part of a different lifetime. Anyway, fighting the Nazis is one thing. Fighting Vietnamese people is fucked up and stupid. She must know how it ended, then, but only in her world, and who's to say it ended the same way in his? Also, he just doesn't care. One more fucked up injustice by the pigs at the top of the pile, flinging shit down on everyone else. Hard to focus much on that when wrapped up in all the stuff going on in his part of the state.

Speaking of wars, and phone calls, man. They'd really better hit '67 so he can call Alex.

He grunts as he shoves a bunch of shattered wood to the side for her, then taps his fingers on his leg to the beat coming from the radio. Somewhere ahead, the road looks less like a warzone. They'll get out of this.]

What's the cold war about?

It's not a war like you're thinking. I guess it was more like...everyone was afraid Russia was going to use nuclear weapons on us in America. And I think they were afraid of the same thing there. Growing up, we always had to do these drills where they'd make us duck under our desk. Like that would really save us if there was ever a bomb dropped.

[Her laugh is empty and almost bitter. Now that she understands more about the world, she sees how fucked up the situation is. How people in power ruin everyone else's lives, just so they can stay in control.

Things likely don't ever get any better, but at least she can say she's finally on the right side of things. That thought makes her more content, especially as she sees the road starting to clear up ahead. Not much further, and then they'll be able to just drive.]

But even a standoff can feel like a war, I guess. It still doesn't make any sense to me.

[It's better not to think about it, so she brings the bike to a stop and uses her foot to get the kickstand in place. He's got one last cluster of debris to clear, then she can drive for a little while.]

Huh. I wonder if in some version of things, that did happen. The bombs, I mean.

[Given apparently there are all kinds of possibilities for how the future goes, there must be some alternate world where things got to that point. What then? Talk about an end of the world scenario. Maybe that kind of thing is what makes those forces of chaos and entropy happiest, if "happy" is even a word that can be applied to a being like the one he's aware of.]

Sounds like it'd be one hell of a light show, though, if that's the last thing you get to see.

[Better than what he got, but he can't change that, so oh well.

He's sweating and exhausted as he moves a large panel of plywood over the top of a bunch of shattered windows. It's the last of the roughest stuff, though, finally, and he hangs there a moment to catch his breath, then gestures forward.]

Think we're good for a while now as long as the road isn't trashed ahead. Here, I'll stand on this so it doesn't move when you hit it with the bike. See if you can just get enough speed to get over that bump an' then I'll come join you.

[Oh, look at her. She's a daredevil, a stuntwoman! Crossing over a pile of debris. She revs the engine before hitting the gas, and winds up going a little too fast. So yeah, she gets over the bump. And winds up having to apply the brakes with a squeal of the tires. That all makes her red in the face as she laugh, and she gives him an apologetic look as he eventually approaches.]

Sorry! I'm still getting the hang of this!

[But she doubts he's actually mad, so she leans in to kiss him before once again putting down the kickstand and scooting back so he can hop on and drive.]

Next stop! San...Angelo?

[Okay, she forgot the name of the city they're headed toward, but she's excited to get there, all the same. Next big city means motel and a comfy bed and a shower. Maybe even something to eat, too.]

[He laughs tiredly but still with plenty of approval and gives her a round of applause, then makes his way over to jump up onto the bike.]

You did great, babe. Thanks for all the help.

[He twists and leans back for a kiss and gives her thigh a squeeze.]

San Antonio, you mean. Or Austin, I think we hit that next, but I wanna get some distance as long as we got highways so I think we'll just go right through. San Antonio's only a little farther than that.

[And if they get stuck in the 1800s again, well, he'll figure it out. But pavement under the bike means it's time to get back up to speed. He pulls his goggles back on just in case they hit more storm, and gets them flying down the road to some radio DJ's chatter about the same stormy night they're a part of. Tornadoes in not just Nacogdoches but other nearby cities, people missing, likely dead. All the while, he has music in his head, not from the forties but from his own time. Just another weird night on the road to home.

An hour or so of good road puts him in a better mood. He's had plenty of time to rest up now and feel all the weird bruises and sprains resulting from being flung from a tornado, but since it's all stuff sustained from riding a tornado he'll wear it with pride. A sign passed along the way makes him laugh and point.]

Wait, Davy Crockett National Forest? Really? Was that dude real?

[She's enjoying driving the motorcycle more and more, every time she gets to do it. But there's still nothing better than being behind him, holding on tight and pressing in close as he drives. The companionable silence stretches out between them, and she enjoys listening to the radio and the road noise as they drive.

When he laughs and points, her head turns to try and catch what the sign says. She misses it, but he fills her in.]

I guess so. I remember there used to be a song about him. And a movie my dad would watch all the time. I always just thought he was a character. But I guess he's real in Texas.

[Here, everything feels like a world of its own. It's hard to believe one state is so big and open.]

I'd say we should go check it out, but we haven't been on the road long enough for a break yet.

[That, and it's just a park. They both know exactly what they'd get up to out in a park, where there's plenty of trees to press up against.]

It would be really neat to buy a hat like he wears though.

You'll come outta all this travel with so many new clothes you'll never wear again, but you could be a one person theater if you wanted.

[Seriously, a raccoon hat? Costumey for sure, but funny. Hard to see that trend taking off in LA.]

I guess eventually we oughta stop an' see about food, actually. It'll be a while until we get to a real city that's likely to have anything open late. You think any of those jars survived?

[Now probably isn't the best time to dig around in bags either, not while they're going this speed, but he's hungry. He's just not hungry enough to risk eating jerky full of glass shards.]

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