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Apr. 19th, 2025 at 7:28 PM
[A few hours of open road makes for easygoing fun. It's great to be traveling again, and the feeling of Chrissy leaning up against his back, holding on tight while he whips ahead on a wide-open freeway through the pitch black of night is like nothing else. The last time they were racing up and down this freeway, they were on the way to go burn a bunch of people's lives down - but now that's hours back, back with the rest of the city. They've left the lights and have nothing to look at but the pavement in Johnnie's headlight, the glimpses of stars shining weakly through hazy clouds, and occasionally an oncoming car.
Johnnie hasn't exactly been trying to tune in to his senses or abilities or whatever it is he has - he's just been cruising, letting the night go by, enjoying their plunge northward without a care or a thought. So it is deeply irritating when the pavement quickly fades to a well-worn dirt track that almost tosses him and Chrissy to the ground, and it takes all of his skills to get the front wheel under control and to slow down before they hit a rock that really might launch them into the nearest alfalfa field. Or whatever it is that's here, whenever they've found themselves. Somewhere pre-freeway. Boo.
But there are a few lights ahead, and he did need a stop to pee, so, fuck it.]
Well, shit. Y'know, I dunno exactly where we are. Last sign said San Jose was still fuckin' hours off. You good? That was kinda shaky.
[As long as this dirt road stays packed, they can drive it, but it's going to be slow. Good thing they're almost to somewhere.]
Johnnie hasn't exactly been trying to tune in to his senses or abilities or whatever it is he has - he's just been cruising, letting the night go by, enjoying their plunge northward without a care or a thought. So it is deeply irritating when the pavement quickly fades to a well-worn dirt track that almost tosses him and Chrissy to the ground, and it takes all of his skills to get the front wheel under control and to slow down before they hit a rock that really might launch them into the nearest alfalfa field. Or whatever it is that's here, whenever they've found themselves. Somewhere pre-freeway. Boo.
But there are a few lights ahead, and he did need a stop to pee, so, fuck it.]
Well, shit. Y'know, I dunno exactly where we are. Last sign said San Jose was still fuckin' hours off. You good? That was kinda shaky.
[As long as this dirt road stays packed, they can drive it, but it's going to be slow. Good thing they're almost to somewhere.]
Comments
I think this is the right way!
[It's late, but she still shouts anyway, laughing before she howls up at the lights overhead. She winds up dazed and staring upward as they all howl back in blinding white light, and stumbles until she falls back and winds up rolling right down the hill they just walked up.]
I'm okay!
[She hops up as soon as she stops rolling, and raises both arms over her head in victory. Those silly hills are playing hard to get.]
You're right. It's too much up and down. It needs to be flatter.
[In fact, she sees no need to go up the hill. So she sits right where she's at and figures she can take a breather. If she ends up distracted by staring straight ahead into a void where she can see the air swirling as it breezes over her, it's not her fault. It's just too pretty.]
So while she stares off at nothing, he finds himself doing the same, though it's a different nothing - one where the buildings roll like waves and where the sky billows like sails catching the wind.
Someone's car is parked by the road here and it offers the perfect seat to hop onto and watch from. It's a chunky Jeep, not his style, but it's in the right spot. He's in no rush to get back on his feet and tackle the hills, he's enjoying this just fine. This is all he'd wanted from the drugs anyway, a spectacular easy night.]
Hey baby girl, you're lookin' real good. I got me a car, you wanna see if we can take it for a spin?
[Keys would be nice, but they're not necessary after all.]
Let's drive this thing right into the ocean!
[It seems like as good of a idea as any. A joyride and crashing into the ocean. She leans over, lips pursed like she's waiting for him to kiss her. At the last second her attention span shifts, and she quietly presses her hand against the horn to hear it give a soft honk. That gets her started giggling, and she can't stop.]
[He's a little disoriented right now and he's not sure where the ocean is, but he's aware that San Francisco is mostly surrounded by it so it can't be too hard to find. And besides, maybe the ocean will come to them if they drive so fast they make it all impressed.
That's how that works, right?
Anyway, he misses the attempted kiss and howls with laughter at her little tap of the horn, then jiggles his knife in the ignition to see if he can get it started. But it seems like cars in this day and age must have made some modifications to make theft a little more challenging, so he sighs and starts pulling off pieces from the dash to find the wiring. He knows how to do this, too, it just sucks and usually is reserved for when he needs to swipe something in particular and has the time to fuck around.
Eventually he finds the cables he needs to get the engine to spark to life, and he gives himself a cheer of victory before slamming on the gas. Except it's still in park, right. Okay. Cool, he can drive. Reverse, then - until he gets it out of its parking spot and on the road, moving at a pace that's too fast to keep up with but feels absolutely right.]
Ocean, here we come!
[Just because the sound is fun, she lays on the horn in quick bursts as Johnnie speeds along. It's good fun, but what's more enjoyable is turning on the radio full blast and letting rock music blast through the speakers. It's a song she actually knows, and she's able to scream sing and pretend head bang as she plays an invisible guitar. There's not much more fun than singing to Duran Duran's Hungry Like the Wolf, especially when she can howl every now and then.
All the while, colors and shapes blur and zoom around them. The ocean is there somewhere, she can feel it. Smell it. She's pretty sure she can even taste the salt in the air. ]
Let's try going that way. I bet we'll find the ocean there.
[It's decided after sticking her tongue out to feel how much salt winds up on it. The saltier her tongue, the closer they must be. The ocean is practically reaching out to drag them in close now.]
[Johnnie spins the wheel to follow her gut sense about the ocean, grinning as the rugged little car swerves responsively. The road rises up to meet them - or maybe it's another hill - and after a long climb it drops back down. He guns it and lets out an exhilarated shout as the speedometer ticks up - 40, 60, 80 on tiny city streets until he has to slam the brakes to make a turn and the tires screech and squeal in protest.
They swing around the corner like they're in a roller coaster, and in his mind the road swirls them around and the whistle of the tires is music. It's all music and lights, and somewhere down below in the financial district, the city beckons them forward. The dark blue-black of the night reflects off of office buildings, the same color as the sea at night.
He's not quite so lucky with the next turn. The car clips the curb and skitters sideways across an intersection, and before he can regain control they crash into a hedge, leaving a long back streak across the pavement behind them as they finally come to a shuddering stop. Johnnie is laughing despite the hard landing, and spits leaves out of his mouth as he reaches forward to shove the mirror, which is stuck under a branch. It creaks and pops off entirely with one last creaking gasp.]
Whoops! Hey, we're still good though, car's still running! I can fix this! Which way's the ocean now?
[The car shudders and shakes as he tries to reverse back onto the street, but it does seem to be moving still.]
[Both of her arms move like wings up and down as she insists he waits, and she laughs as she climbs over to sit on his lap. Sure, he could scoot over and she could drive. But it's more fun to sit on his lap and let him control the gas and brake while she steers. It's like teamwork, only better because they're cute.]
I wanna steer this ship. I think the ocean's...
[She pauses as she sticks her tongue out both in concentration and an attempt to taste the thick salt air. She doesn't get much of a taste of anything, but does spot the street rippling like waves beneath them. Gosh, they're really rolling. Are they on a hill? She can't figure it out, because her head swivels toward power lines that look like giant craggy arms sticking out of the earth. They're all connected by wiry lines that remind her too much of veins, and her eyes close for a second as she continues to steer.
They side swipe a few cars on the road in the process, and she gasps with a laugh as her eyes open and she rights the wheel so they get back on the road.]
This way! The ocean's this way!
[There's no real confidence there, just laughter and someone having a good time fooling around. Even if they don't find the water, they'll at least drive this thing until they crash it through a building or something. Then they can ditch it and move on to something else fun.]
The sideswiping makes him laugh harder, but also makes him take the wheel back from her, or at least hold onto it to "help" by pulling a little harder and directing them toward wherever "this way" is. They squeal their way on down back to the east side, not too far from where they first arrived in the city, and there, finally, is - well, a bay, but to him right now it's the ocean. It's a lot of water.]
Yeah! Yeah, fuck yeah, we did it! Seagulls, so that's the ocean!
[There's a wooden boardwalk and a few shabby buildings. Johnnie swings the poor sputtering jeep toward the boardwalk, but hits a curb he'd been oblivious to and the car comes to a stop again.]
Hey, I remember that bridge. That's not the famous one, but it's real big! Huh.
[Before him, it seems to stretch on eternally - like elastic, it reaches even farther over the black water shimmering with lights, pulling farther and farther away as he watches it go.]
Shit, but we gotta get this into the ocean still!
We can't be in the car when it goes into the ocean! It's like...we'd be stuck and would drown or something, you know?
[Her dream of making the car belong to the ocean may not come to fruition, but that's probably okay. She's already distracted by watching the way nearby blades of grass make music visible as the breeze colorfully blows over them.]
Do you have your lighter? Maybe we could just light it on fire, and then go. Fire is better than the ocean anyway.
[But he's not convinced. Jeep, ocean. They go together in his head now.
Except she's right that they can't be in it, and maybe if he was on some other drug he'd feel up to getting the car going real fast and then jumping out while it's moving, but he's pretty sure he's not capable of that right now, and he's extremely sure that he doesn't personally belong in the ocean. He's had enough drowning in black for - well. A lifetime.]
Okay, but what if I put it in neutral an' we push it in?
[That would work, right? They'd have to push pretty hard though. Maybe he can find a boat ramp. This place must have one of those somewhere.]
[She blinks as his voice pulls her from admiring the grass, and she turns to try and process what he's just said. It eventually sinks in and she gasps as she nods.]
That's a pretty good idea. We probably only need to drive a little more, then we can just push it off a dock or something!
[He doesn't need to give her any more incentive, she's already going to hop back in the Jeep so they can get it to the edge of something. Putting it in neutral and shoving it into the water is going to be so easy, and the sound of it hitting the water will be payoff enough that she's sure she'll remember it...well, maybe not forever. But definitely at least until the high wears off.
They somehow manage to get the thing back onto the road, and she helps direct him using road signs until they end up stopped dockside at a Yacht Harbor. The place just reeks of rich people, and Chrissy's eyes light up as she looks from all the yachts over to Johnnie.]
If we can't set the Jeep on fire, can we set some of the boats on fire instead?
[There's movement here, though. Must be getting on toward morning now - are there rich people up this early? No, it must be their boat servants, because that's probably a thing. People hired to make sure the yacht is ready to go for a morning cruise.
Johnnie eyes the figures in the shadows, but they're ignoring the car, so he chooses to ignore them. Maybe a jeep at this hour isn't that weird to them anyway. People drive. It's cool.]
Okay. I mean, we could do both, right? Set this fucker on fire an' give it a shove once it's blazing? Long as those guys aren't too bothered by it. Or if they are, I dunno. Fuck 'em.
[He positions the jeep at what looks like a good angle for running it off into the water, then hops out and slams the door shut, and wobbles for a moment once he's on his feet. Whoops, wasn't ready for that.]
Did you get it in neutral?
[She checks as she hops out after him, and peeks back in to see that it is indeed set to the big N. That looks right. There's a big grin on her face as she laughs and dances her way around to the back.]
You get it lit up, I'll push.
[Which is a little comical, since he's the muscles between the two of them. But surely he'll come back and help her push this thing off the edge of the dock once he's got it on fire.]
[Shit, what is he doing, he didn't even check for hidden goodies yet anyway! So while he digs through the glove box and the dash and under the seats for loose scraps of paper, he's also rooting around for fun hidden things. But the owners of the jeep are fucking boring - all he finds are some receipts, a pack of gum, a pack of cigarettes (those are his now at least), and a couple of pens with most of the ink gone.]
Goddamn, who keeps a car this clean? Okay, fuck it, you ready?
[It's lighter time. The receipts will have to do, once he wads them up, takes out his knife and cuts a seat open to reveal the shitty foam stuffing, then lights the paper on fire and snuggles it right into the gash in the upholstery.
It's a slow fire. Sort of a smolder. Fucking disappointing. He needs gasoline for this really, but what's a guy gonna do.
With a sigh of mild disappointment, he gets back there next to Chrissy to help push.]
As it turns out though, stopping to howl in the moonlight is a little difficult as they reach the edge of the dock and she starts getting winded. It's hard to shove the car off that final stretch, so she puts her all into it. The effort has her very nearly toppling over the edge with the Jeep, but either Johnnie grabs her and pulls her back or some invisible force out there does. Someone must be looking out for her. Maybe it's the moon.
She leans back against Johnnie and looks up at the sky to give the moon a wink. It doesn't mind what all they're doing here. It seems to be cheering them on by sprinkling the sky with stars like confetti. A few seconds later the sound of the Jeep hitting the water makes her laugh, but she slaps a hand over her mouth so it'll be quiet enough they can hear the stupid think sink like the rock it is.]
Do you think any of those people called the police?
[Maybe they should...go. But she feels compelled to stay there at least for a little while longer. What fun is it to push the car in and then leave right away?]
[Luckily it's dark. His jacket stands out more than his face. His jacket stands out a lot here, really, but that's kind of the point. Maybe in this version of the world, where people seem to think the World Enders are done for, maybe they'll realize how fucking wrong they are once word gets around about the kid with a lightning bolt on his back and several on the sleeve.
The water is awfully quiet. It accepted that car like a gift, and bubbles rise from where it drifts downward, but other than that there's no indication that anything happened. Johnnie decides to chance it and sits at the edge of the dock, legs crossed, and lights a smoke.]
I guess if the cops turn up we can leave, what are they gonna do anyway? We're good at gettin' outta the way of those assholes.
[She smiles as she sits down beside him, yawning a little as she gets comfortable. Her head rests on his shoulder, and her legs dangle down over the edge of the dock. It's a nice quiet moment after some physical labor that was fun but a little tiring.]
We really need to get a camcorder while we're in this time. We can grab lots of tapes too, that way we can have enough to record all the great things we do.
[Is it stupid to film their antics and have hard evidence? She doesn't think so. She's pretty convinced the World Enders deserve to have movie nights once a month where she can display everyone's big accomplishments and feats. Everyone would have a turn to be a star.]
I'll have to get one tonight. Or this morning, I guess. It's getting kinda bright out, don't you think?
Huh. Yeah, kinda. Summer's such bullshit, hardly any night at all. Least the days are gettin' shorter now.
[Summer's fine, actually, anyway. It's nice when it's a comfortable temperature out, and tourists love to come and spend their money in the summers. Lots of potential for casual theft and drug pushing.
But, well, here they are far from home and dawn is approaching, dragging the corners of the world up into the sky with it. He swears he can see the fabric of the night being pulled aside like the curtain on a stage.
So at least the mushrooms were the real deal. Dante was an asshole but he sold them good shit.
There's more movement. More people arriving in cars and several of them give him and Chrissy long, confused looks as they walk past. He offers her his cigarette and stands.]
Oughta go, I guess. Man, I dunno where we even are from here, though, where'd I even leave the bike? Feels like fuckin' forever ago.
It feels like it was years ago we left it...somewhere. Come on, let's just head back the way we came. We'll have to find it sooner or later.
[The only issue with her optimism is the fact she can't exactly remember the way they came. Everything's a colorful and fun blur. Which is great, only she's pretty sure that they could easily walk around for a day or two and never find his bike. It's a good thing the sky at this hour is so pretty, like a dark watercolor painting growing in vibrancy. Otherwise she might really be freaking out.]
Did we leave it parked near the club? We were definitely at a deviant club earlier.
[Mostly the direction they're going? Because yeah he has the same problem. "Back the way we came!" makes great sense until you fucking forgot which way you came from.
But there's only so many streets. They took a few turns and there were a lot of hills, but they'll figure it out. Worst comes to worst, they can ask where the club is. Normal morning people might even know, might be used to seeing people drunk off booze and sex stagger out of there.
Shit, that's right, it's coming back to him now. He fucked her against the wall right where everyone could see if they wanted. He snickers and reaches to tug her close until their hips briefly bump.]
We came down a hill... Maybe we gotta go up this one. We'll get there. Man, though, if those Jawbreaker motherfuckers fucked with my bike, I'm gonna blow 'em up.
[That's not really a problem, but the thought of it taking longer to get back to their bike because of a hill is really upsetting in the moment. What if it takes them just long enough that people mess with his bike? Then she'll have to make people explode or tear their skin from their body or something, and then she'll have a bloody nose and maybe even pass out. She'll never get a camcorder if that happens.]
Come on. I'll race you up to the top.
[They might as well turn it into a competitive game if they're going to make their way up the hill. It's the only way to motivate them to get a move on.]
Then we'll be so high maybe we'll be able to see the club and we'll know exactly where to go!
[Actually? She's so hopeful that will be the case that she doesn't wait for him to say okay. She just takes off at a light jog as the moon and stars overhead cheer her on.]
[And even if they don't, the optimism is fun. It gives him extra energy to bound up the street - for a little while anyway before he has to slow down. Damn. He's good on his feet for a long time in a lot of situations, but he can't say he regularly goes running uphill and it shows.
Especially not while high on mushrooms, where his feet feel like lead and the ground turns to molasses. It's a hell of a slog - and, just because he feels compelled to check with a finger swiping against the sidewalk before he presses it to his tongue, it doesn't even taste like molasses, so what the fuck is the point of that?
Eventually he makes it up to the crest of the hill with a groan, and stops to catch his breath. She's beat him this time for sure, especially since he had to stop and make sure the street wasn't actually tasty.]
D'you see my bike down there? Wait, that club was downtown, right? Those buildings look taller that way. That's gotta be it!
Her head turns just in time to witness Johnnie approaching, and she smiles as she nods in agreement. The tall buildings are definitely the right direction. It's just that they're so far away.]
Do you think that if we tried really hard, we could run and leap off this hill and fly? I mean, we can do so many other really cool things we should be able to fly too! Or at least glide all the way over there.
[Of course, she could always try to focus enough to open a little tear right at those tall buildings. She can see them clearly, it should be easy enough.]
[He turns to her with a smirk. After that uphill slog, his feet could use a break, and the mushrooms definitely have him feeling light as air. Somewhere in the back of his mind he vaguely remembers flight attempts while high not going well, but also, he doesn't remember well enough to know why. It's all in good fun, what's the harm?
She's going to have to catch up to join him, because with a whoop and a leap, he's off, mostly sort of run-hopping down the hill toward downtown with his arms spread. He's clearly having trouble getting any height, but he's having fun trying.]
So when she catches up to him she puts all her efforts into creating a tear large enough for the both of them, making sure it's far enough ahead he won't run right past it. It takes a lot of effort to keep it open, but she's still able to run. Her hand grabs his as they edge in closer, and she uses her free hand to claw at the air and tear open the hole large enough that they can see tall buildings on the other side.]
Geronimo!
[She hollers, keeping her hold on him as she takes a leap toward that shredded opening. Her eyes close as she feels momentarily like she's being pulled at every edge, but when she feels her feet hit pavement on the other side she opens her eyes and stares at a tall building. Fuck, she can do this even when she's high. She's amazing.]
We did it! We made it downtown!