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May. 22nd, 2023 at 8:56 PM
[So this is how he gets away with it, then. Cruz, a skeleton, with a skeleton horse, lives in a skeleton of a house with a skeletal barn attached - and he remains unseen, his home apparently abandoned, all the way on the outskirts of this thing that's barely a town.
Well, you do what you gotta do, and Johnnie won't turn down a kind offer of a safe place to stay the night. He can't help but grin at Chrissy having such a good time riding that bony horse as he pulls the bike in through the barn door and parks it to the side, then hops off.]
Hey man, we owe ya for this. Here.
[See, this is yet another reason it's good to stock up on alcohol. He finds their most recent stolen bottle of tequila and pulls it out as he saunters over to their host and offers it in an outstretched hand.]
On us. Uh, if you drink, that is. You do drink, right?
[Normally that would be a dumb question to ask but the guy appears to be actual bones. But, bones that can smoke, without lungs, so he can probably drink without a mouth, right?
That earns a laugh from Cruz.]
I sure do, fella. You don't have to, though. I'm not looking for any kind of repayment, just helping out a couple folks in need.
[Johnnie shakes his head and waves that attempt off.]
Nah, it's all yours. Or if you really insist, we can all split it tomorrow, the three of us an' the rest of your crew. Can't wait to meet 'em. They all skeletons too?
Well, you do what you gotta do, and Johnnie won't turn down a kind offer of a safe place to stay the night. He can't help but grin at Chrissy having such a good time riding that bony horse as he pulls the bike in through the barn door and parks it to the side, then hops off.]
Hey man, we owe ya for this. Here.
[See, this is yet another reason it's good to stock up on alcohol. He finds their most recent stolen bottle of tequila and pulls it out as he saunters over to their host and offers it in an outstretched hand.]
On us. Uh, if you drink, that is. You do drink, right?
[Normally that would be a dumb question to ask but the guy appears to be actual bones. But, bones that can smoke, without lungs, so he can probably drink without a mouth, right?
That earns a laugh from Cruz.]
I sure do, fella. You don't have to, though. I'm not looking for any kind of repayment, just helping out a couple folks in need.
[Johnnie shakes his head and waves that attempt off.]
Nah, it's all yours. Or if you really insist, we can all split it tomorrow, the three of us an' the rest of your crew. Can't wait to meet 'em. They all skeletons too?
Comments
[But there aren't many trees out here. The real trouble is that this section of highway is poorly-lit and it's hard to see much past the road at night with just his bike headlight.
But it's fine, they'll figure it out. First step is to get on the bike and make sure those bolt cutters are coming along with them, and then get moving past all this flaming wreckage and one injured fuckoff cop. A shiver runs down his spine at that kiss to the back of his neck, and he breathes out through his nose.
Sitting on a bike while getting hard is not the most comfortable.
But an option presents itself in just a few minutes, as a gravel road turns right off the highway, and he takes it. It crosses the train tracks and winds up in some kind of makeshift ranch parking area, or maybe it's just a turnaround, because other than gravel and darkness and thorny shrubs, there's really nothing at all for miles as far as he can tell. No lights, just the sound of wind and crickets and the bike engine, which he cuts off.
And then he hops off the bike and slides his hands up under her top, kissing her before she even has a chance to move while he palms at her breasts.]
Fuck, baby girl, you're so fuckin' hot. My little flame.
I want you so bad.
[It's not fair, how attractive and amazing he is. He's able to reduce her to a whining mess in barely any time at all. At least right now, she's able to wrap her legs around him so she can grind against him, and her hand guides his to palm at her breasts just how she likes it.]
Making me burn so hot for you.
[Her laughter is breathless as she nips at his lip, before her head ducks and she works her mouth along his throat.]
Yeah, babe, I wanna feel it. I wanna be inside all that heat.
[This is one of those nights he's not going to bother to undress. It would take too damn long. He pulls his hands away from her to undo his belt buckle, and unzip his pants, and that's going to have to be good enough. His hands are back on her as quickly as they can be, and while one curls around her back so he can hold her close and kiss at her collarbone, the other runs up a leg until he can rub his hand firmly between them, in what space he can find despite the seat of the bike.]
No trees here, babe, an' all the bushes are fuckin' spiky. But we always got the bike, an' I can't wait to spread you wide open on top of it an' fuck you hard.
Yes, yes -
[She gasps, biting at her lip as she tries her best to lean back against the seat. But it feels so uneven that she might topple over. So maybe that doesn't work. Time for a new plan: being as cute as she can and begging him for what she wants.]
Baby please, can you bend me over the bike and fuck me? I need to feel you.
It's worth it, though. Johnnie gives a soft chuckle that has an edge of hunger to it as he leans over her, grabbing her shoulders as he grinds down against her ass, cock exposed to the cool night air and the roughness of that candy-striped fabric. He scrapes teeth across the bare skin of her shoulder as he grasps at her hips, then sucks at a spot while his hands tug her panties down just enough to make room. There's no patience, no gentleness as he thrusts himself into her right after, and then sets a pace that speaks all too well of his raw need.]
I wanted you in front of that fire. Almost couldn't wait, coulda had you right there. Tonight's for you, baby girl.
[All for her. There's nothing quite as hot as her with fire in her eyes, taking her victory for herself against the things in the dark.]
You should have had me there. I would've -
[Her toes curl against her shoes as she gasps, rocking back against him to try and drive him home a little deeper. Tonight's for her, alright. He's really giving it his all, which is why she feels a little bad when she only lets him get in a few thrusts more before she's reaching back to claw at him instead of the seat.]
Wait, wait. I want to face you now.
[Changing position in the middle of things might get dicey, but it'll probably be worth it. Oh, she still rocks against him because she's greedy and wanting and loves the feel of him that much. But she can be patient enough to wait and see if they're even able to switch things up without getting completely frustrated.]
[Better hope she can balance like this, then. He has to pull out and help flip her over, but once she's on her back, he grabs first at her legs so he can just take the damn panties off her before they get too irritating, flings those carelessly aside, then leans down over her and positions her legs over his shoulders.]
You hold the fuck on, don't go fallin' off sideways.
[He laughs a little, though it's really only half laughing, and otherwise panting, then presses in firmly and gets right back to fucking her like he needs it the way he needs air. He clutches her waist in his fingers, digging nails into her skin, and although he can't quite bend low enough like this to kiss her, he watches her for each one of those gorgeous reactions as he thrusts into her. With her legs up like this he can sink deep into that tight heat, and it's so good it's nearly overwhelming.]
Why bother being totally quiet, when she's as into this as she is?
Her fingernails dig into him wherever she can touch, trying to hold onto him and stay on the bike. Maybe this wasn't the best position to ask for, but she loves getting to see him. After tonight, she wants to just spend hours soaking up every bit of him that she can. Yeah, they have to get back on the road soon. But until then, it's just the two of them and the darkness they belong to, with the stars shining dimly overhead.]
He straightens up a little as he wraps his arms around her thighs, changing the angle just slightly, and fuck does that send a bolt of pleasure through him. From here, standing more upright, she's laid out before him like some kind of night goddess draped over his bike and fuck, his eyes drink in the sight, from her perfect little lips crying out for him, all the way down to where his cock is buried inside her. Something tightens low in his belly, and he snakes a hand down to pinch and roll at her clit as he can tell he won't make it much longer. His lips are against her knee, kissing and mouthing at her skin when he suddenly comes hard, and a breathy moan traces across her leg as he works himself deep into her a few more times before he finally has to stop.]
She's left panting and reaching up to pet at his hair, and her touch idly slips down so her fingertips are pressed against his cheek.]
Oh my god, baby. We've got to have nights like this more often.
[She's not sure she'll be able to walk right later, but that's okay. This was definitely worth it. Right now though, she's desperately trying to shift so he can lean in to kiss her.]
Well, there'll be more. Promise you that. We have so many nights ahead of us where we'll have somethin' to celebrate.
[He aches for the cacophony of it all, the chaos and joy of having friends all around, howling their triumph at the night sky, passing drugs and booze around a fire that eats away at whoever dared to cross them. They'll find moments to steal away together, and then later rejoin the party and all that revelry under the stars.
But until then, they have this and it's damn good too. He smiles against her lips and kisses her again, slower this time.]
[She's still breathless, and smiles more as he kisses her again. This kiss is slower and more passionate, the emotion and bond between them amplifying the sensation. She only lets him pull away when she feels her lips are kiss swollen and red, and it's then that she tries to sit upright so he doesn't have to completely support her anymore.]
But this really has been the best night I've ever had. Thank you for helping me become so strong, Johnnie.
[One more kiss won't hurt anything. This one is just as slow and drawn out as the one before it, but somewhere in the midst they manage to get her off the bike and onto her own feet. Which is good, because she has to straighten out her skirt and go hunting for her panties.]
[He helps her down, an arm around her as she hops to the ground, and flicks on his lighter to help hunt down where he'd thrown those. It's not like they went far, thankfully, and the light fabric shows up easily enough against the gravel.
He zips himself up as she gets them back on, and then pulls her in for one more kiss before they both get back onto the bike. He takes a deep breath of cool desert night air, leans back into her hold for a satisfying moment, and then gets the engine purring underneath them as he turns and makes their way back onto the highway. Talk about one worthwhile little stop.]
Not much left of Texas. You still got your heart set on cowgirl boots?
[At some point early in the state she'd asked about those, right? Fact is, though, they can find those anywhere all the way west, too. It's not like the world will run out of cowboys the moment they cross into New Mexico.]
[She may laugh as she says it, but she really means it. Johnnie getting home is so important, and seeing him happy is important to her. Besides, she can find boots in California. And hats. And probably any other clothes she sets her heart on. LA has a lot going for it.
It's impossible to resist squeezing him a little tighter in a hug, and she imagines how excited they'll be once they get closer to home.]
Let's yeehaw out of Texas, okay? We can stop whenever you get tired.
Yeehaw, then! Fuck Texas. Except Miss Toni, she was all right. That was a good dinner. So fuck Jason, specifically, I guess. That asshole deserved everything he got.
[He mimes shooting a pistol into the sky, cackling as he does it, then blows off his smoking finger-gun and keeps driving. It really ought to be a nice open road for miles, judging by the map. They'll roll into El Paso by midnight, he figures.
He was not, however, counting on having to stop again so quickly but it's only a few minutes before lights and stop signs appear ahead, and they're forced to wait behind a couple other cars, all lined up at a border patrol check station that seems not to be letting anyone through. He waits, parked, for all of ten seconds before he groans and slumps forward with arms crossed over the handlebars.]
Man, what the fuck is goin' on here?
[He can see a guy in uniform on the radio, pacing back and forth, while another couple officers, a mix of CBP and regular police, seem to be loading up into vehicles.
Okay so maybe a detective had his car blown up and maybe somehow word's already gotten out since it wasn't far away and they were kind of occupied for a few extra minutes. Johnnie frowns and drums his fingers against the bike.]
I mean, they're not gonna know.
[The real question is is it faster to sit and wait, or faster to take winding gravel roads into the fucking abyss of the desert night?]
But what if they do?
[She whispers, holding onto him a little tighter. Her eyes watch all of the police presence, before she turns to look off to both sides.
I mean, I've never been to prison before. That's like jail, but worse.
[That's what she's assuming, anyway. It's unfortunate that the path ahead is the faster route, because she's seriously considering pleading with him to head off in another direction and see where that ends up. She knows she probably looks guilty, and the second they're questioned she'll probably burst into tears.]
[She sounds all nervous, poor thing. He probably should be more nervous, but he can't be bothered to get that worried about it. Maybe if he got stopped in his own time, in his own state, where someone probably has a damn folder with everyone's faces just watching for one of them to fuck up and get caught, but here? There's no chance anyone at this checkpoint has somehow already gotten to that detective guy, gotten a statement, and come back, and already has an idea of who to watch for. Surely, they've beaten him. It looks like they're maybe just now sorting out what even happened.
But the longer they have to sit and wait here, the higher the chances of them getting a car back and forth and picking that guy up and someone IDing them. Ugh. And then it's charges of assault and theft and illegal possession of weapons and pot and honestly who knows what else they'll come up with. Or, maybe that guy will describe some kind of fire demons, or maybe the fucking idiots here won't see them at all because they're looking for live people, not dead ones.
Another minute ticks by and he gives up.]
Whatever. Gotta be another way to get to El Paso, right? These guys might be at this all night.
[It might look suspicious as fuck that he's turning around, but what are they going to do, chase after him just because he's impatient? Time to make a u-turn and look for a side road, because he's pretty sure they passed one somewhere in the last few minutes.]
I don't really wanna give those guys time to work out we were involved in what happened back there. An' we can't really go south, so I guess we're lookin' for a road that goes north. Man, fuck border patrol, that's the worst kinda cops, too. Maybe we blow up the checkpoint instead.
[He wasn't serious, but then he says it and maybe that's actually a good idea. Or, if not a good one, then an exciting one. They have time to decide while he looks for an alternate route.]
We only have a lighter. How are we going to blow it up?
[Clearly, she has no moral obligation to blowing up a cop checkpoint. What's border patrol supposed to be, anyway? It sounds restrictive and mean, and they really need to do something about that. Her question is sign enough that she's on board with whatever he wants to do. They can keep on going down this route and try to find their way through El Paso. Or they could blow up the checkpoint and blast through screaming like the really cool people that they are.]
[It's kind of a big job, normally. Not something he'd ever dare attempt by himself, knowing the consequences. But the thing is, now that he's dead and can't be pinned to any particular time here in this part of the world, there are no consequences. If they ever come back to this year or those shortly afterward, if anyone bears witness to their attempt well enough to recognize them even with goggles and bandanas pulled up, there could be trouble, but honestly? How bad could it be?]
I guess we could just blast right on through, don't even have to blow anything up, I just fuckin' hate these guys for wastin' everyone's time. I mean, look. Look at all this. If anyone's smuggling cargo tonight, they don't go on the highway, they just go around like I was gonna. So what the fuck's the point?
[He gestures broadly to the night around them, then pulls the bike abruptly around again so that they're facing the checkpoint and its distant lights. Time to decide, before options start to shut off one by one.]
I'm just gonna drive. I can fit the bike through up there an' they can't catch us before we fuck off into some other decade anyway. You ready?
[He's had his goggles around his neck as he drives, preferring to leave them off when there's no bad weather or anything, but now? It's Time Bandit time. He pulls them up over his eyes and grabs his bandana from his back pocket to tie around his face, then gives her a thumbs up. It's silly, but fuck it, it's probably not the worst idea he's had tonight, having some bare minimum of a disguise before he charges the checkpoint, just to help them out in the future if they wind up near this time and place again.]
I was thinking maybe we could try shooting some of those cop cars in their gas tanks, but I don't think that would make anything blow up or set on fire. We're out of bottles of alcohol, so we don't have anything left to throw.
[He seems like he's already set on just driving through as fast as he can, which is fun in its own way because there's probably some kind of barrier or block they'll charge through. Her hands go to his shoulders, and she rubs them to help him get ready. She can press her face against his back and not need to cover her face, so her thumb goes up and she laughs.]
I'm totally ready. Let's do this!
But she leans up against him, and he lowers his head, streamlining them both as the speedometer ticks rapidly upward and the lights of the checkpoint grow quickly closer. It's not worth yelling anything over the engine sound right now - sure, he could caution her to be ready if they come after the two of them, but that's obvious. He sees those squad cars, he knows they're disorganized here, trying to figure out what to do about the situation they've freshly found themselves in. He and Chrissy can just add to their disarray and that will have to be enough for now.
He assesses the situation as they draw close. Officers are already looking their way, at the bike coming at them at high speed, but they won't have time to react. They've just recently stopped the checkpoint operations, they still haven't actually swung the gate arm closed, but he can see two people trying to do that right now before they can get through. Johnnie rips fuel through that throttle and shifts his weight hard, using Chrissy at the back to his advantage as he pulls the front wheel into the air right as he's about to connect with a guy's face. He can see the sweat on his bald forehead, the whites of his eyes as his pupils shrink to pinpoints before narrowly tumbling out of the way, while Johnnie gives a howl of pure delight. They just bump the gate arm and send it flying on its hinge, where it knocks someone else over and then thuds into the hood of the nearest waiting car.
The front tire hits the pavement hard as he comes back down, and for a second he raises both hands in the air, middle fingers to the cops they're now leaving in the dust of the I-10.]
So long, motherfuckers! Whooo!
[There are lights and sirens and engines rumbling behind them now, but there's little chance they'll get up to speed and catch them anytime soon. They'll probably call ahead to the next patrol office, send people coming this direction, but by then, he and Chrissy are likely to be long gone, into the past or future.]
As soon as she hears that holler from him though, she's lifting her head and looking around. The first thing she sees is both his hands up in the air, middle fingers raised in a salute. She laughs and joins in, though it's a little too late. That checkpoint is far behind them now.
It's only a matter of time before they'll shift out of '67, and she's a little sad about that. Johnnie never got to speak to Alex, but Dale will get his message back and everything will be fine. They'll be expecting them to come crashing back into town any day now. That thought fills her with such a giddy joy that she can't stop giggling for a few seconds. She has to lean over and give his cheek a smacking kiss before she can focus on anything but that happiness that's flooding through her.]
Nothing's gonna stop us from getting there now!
[She wants to stay close, so she rests her cheek against his and hugs him tight. It's probably a little too close for his comfort, so that doesn't last for too long. Eventually she leans back, extends an arm, and enjoys feeling the wind between her fingers.]
How far do you think we'll be able to get before morning? I want to find somewhere to pull over and stop so we can have a breakfast picnic and watch the sun rise.
Uh, let's see. What is it now, gotta be around eleven? I guess it just depends on the roads. Maybe Tucson, if we keep the highway.
[History says they won't keep the highway the whole way through, though - he knows that by now.
From up in these rocky hills, they look down onto the black stretch of midnight desert below. It's one long, straight highway heading northwest from here, and there's nothing to judge the decade by but the radio, which is still keeping on whatever it was just outside Van Horn, playing old country tunes. The style of cars at the checkpoint felt like what he now recognizes as the late 90s or early 2000s, maybe, same as in town when they left. It won't hold out forever.
In the far distance to the west, a series of tiny lights flicker through the brush. Flashlights, probably.]
We'll just have to see where we end up. I'm gonna guess we gotta slow down just to get through El Paso, anyway, that's gotta be a big city. We'll get gas there as long as it's not all cowboys an' indians again. Then from there, we'll go as far as the road lets us. I just hope we don't gotta walk too much of it, because that'll be real fuckin' rough in the desert.
Luck is only on their side for so long, and eventually the road vanishes and it's just hard rock and loose sandy dirt beneath the tires. The radio doesn't work for them then, and they both get off and work together to keep the bike going until the road comes back to them.
Once they're back on, they approach a big city soon enough. It's late at night, but there's still all kinds of lights up ahead. She isn't surprised when she sees it's El Paso, and judging from the cars parked all over it looks pretty close to the time she comes from.]
We have to be in the 80s sometime. That looks exactly like my parents' station wagon.
But the road comes back, and the lights come back too, little pinpoints of towns along the river on both sides of some imaginary line drawn in the sand and mesquite, and now ahead, too, as border villages merge into the sprawling network of El Paso and Ciudad Juárez. He looks at that car Chrissy points out, parked outside a movie theater, and nods.]
Yeah, I remember seein' ones like it. All right, well, let's hope the 80s here aren't too damn weird, I just wanna get through.
[And get gas, before they run out of modernity again. It's some bullshit, because he could probably drive all the way to Tucson on this tank if he knew he could rely on the interstate and some kind of temporal consistency, but whatever. There's a gas station ahead with its lights on, and hopefully that means the pumps are on, too, so he doesn't have to fuck around and find the switch.
Unfortunately, that level of optimism is clearly too much. Once parked, he grumbles and kicks one of the damn machines, then starts looking around for a button or valve or however this decade's manual override works.]
They probably got it inside the damn -
[He's looking at the little building itself, lights on but locked up for the night, when he spots the VMB tag with their signature spiral symbol sprayed just around the corner, next to an empty newspaper dispenser. His demeanor shifts, from casual but irritated to something on far higher alert as he scans the area.]
Are you fucking kidding? Out here?