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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
[It doesn't seem like he's going to leap back into action, so she abandons the rail in favor of crouching down to get a look at his leg. It stinks that it cut through his jeans, and really isn't great that he's cut. But they can treat it whenever they find civilization again. Still, she likes fussing over him so she goes to the bike and finds a clean handkerchief so she can dab up the blood.]
I bet if we work it off the posts, it'll be free. Let's try kicking and shoving the posts away. Is your leg okay?
[They're wood. How hard can that be?]
[She's being all doting and that's great but it's pretty unnecessary. Getting sliced up by a piece of rusted metal is unfortunately not a new experience. It'll sting for a while though.]
C'mon, you can poke at me all you want when we got a better spot for it. Let's get that shit taken apart. I bet that wood's barely holdin' on.
[He gives her a hand up, then goes to test the metal guard rail's connection to one of the posts, giving the metal a tug just to see how loose it might be. That wood is old for sure, eaten by bugs and full of rot.
Well, he still has one good leg, and he'll be more careful with it. He gets on the side of the rail where the post is unobstructed, then kicks at that - with a little less force than he'd given the metal. It doesn't topple over or anything, but he scuffs a pretty good chunk of it off, and the crumbling flakes go raining down the hillside a short distance.]
Shouldn't take too long to beat this shit to pieces.
Yeah! I got it!
[Both hands are in the air as she jumps up and down in victory, but doesn't waste any time. She hops over to the other pillar that's in even worse shape and gives it a kick. Some goes crumbling down the hill, but she recoils a little and winds up hopping back. ]
I got this one started. Do you wanna finish it off?
[While he does that, she goes to the rail and tries pulling it back and away. Her legs brace, ready for it to fly free as soon as he gets the wooden pole down.]
[He cheers for her on that first one as she jumps around, earnestly enthusiastic. It's more fun to enjoy the process than dwell on the annoyances this situation has presented, after all. And hell, seeing her be all tough always gets him going.
Looks like the second one isn't going to play so nice with her though, and so he strides on over as she hops backward.]
Yeah, I got this one. You ready?
[That's not a real question, he sees here there, ready as ever. So he takes his turn, giving the stupid crumbling pole kick after kick until a few large chunks come flinging off, and the whole metal rail tears away from it, finally free.]
Hell yeah! Okay, okay, so now comes the real fun part.
[This thing is totally not sturdy enough to support the bike's weight fully, he can see that in how it bends. But it's going to have to be enough. It's only a few feet up anyway, if it flexes under the weight, who cares?
It's easy to get the strip of metal into position, and the natural groove in its shape is a great fit for the bike tires as he pushes it into place. But then, as he climbs up to the top of the shifted road with only a few choice words for the sting in his leg, he eyes the bike and frowns. Pulling is not going to be fun or easy.]
You're gonna have most of the weight down there, you really okay with that?
That leads her to hesitating, and he can probably see her thinking it over.]
I want to try.
[It's the simple truth. She desperately wants to prove to herself that she can do it. So she puts on a confident face and dusts her hands off on her shorts.]
So let's give it a try. I might be able to do it!
[The optimism gives her motivation to go over to the bike and get the kickstand up so she can walk it over. But gosh, it seems so much heavier with the saddlebags full of stuff. Still, she can do it. She can do this. It'll be fine.
The look on her face as she stands at the base of their ramp is hesitant though. Knowing she's not strong enough and knowing she's going to try anyway is leaving her feeling something funny she can't put a label on.
Pride? Maybe it's pride.
There's no time to think on it, because she takes in a breath and grits her teeth as she stays at the handlebars and starts making her way up the ramp. As soon as Johnnie can get his hands on it, she's sliding down to the back to push with all her tiny might.]
He leans down as far as he can to try and reach for the handlebars, though he overestimates his leverage. Sure, now he can touch, but he can't pull, instead he's just sort of here almost laying on the ramp touching the bike. At least he can keep it from tipping, though, that's not nothing.]
Okay babe, c'mon, take a breath an' then give it a real good push, an' I'll help you from there. I just gotta get it a little closer to me first. Almost there.
Just when she's almost there her arms start to wobble and shake. They give out and the bike rolls back, taking her down with it. Just the handlebars hit her at first, but she crumples down and the bike rolls over her. She curls into the fetal position as soon as she lands back down at the bottom of the ramp, just in time for the bike to topple right over on top of her.
He'll probably come down to help her, but she's quick to start trying to squirm her way out from under it. She can smell blood, and figures her nose must be a little busted up or something. Nothing hurts too bad yet, so she needs to get up so she can try again.]
It's okay! I've got it! I just -
I've got it!
[If she keeps telling herself that over and over again, she'll eventually believe it.]
[Johnnie is quick to launch himself forward, springing off the risen section of highway to try and stop the bike and, when that fails, to at least get it up and off her, because the way it's fallen, she's pinned pretty good.
He heaves the bike upright and drops the kickstand, then goes right back over to her, far more worried about her than any dings or scratches on the bike from that. It's durable, it's seen some shit. But it has heft to it and she could've broken a rib or something if it landed wrong.]
Nah, it's way too hard to lift that shit when you're on the ground, I got it. You okay?
[Yeah, she's bleeding, but it's the impact stuff that worries him more than a busted nose or lip. He offers her a hand up, but with some hesitation.]
Can you stand okay?
[Those monsters back in Wilmington were a lot. This? This is nothing. She smiles a little as she takes his hand and climbs up to her feet. There's some pain but it's fine. She's fine. So fine she makes her focus that blood she can smell. She wipes at her nose with the back of her hand, then rubs her hand on her leg to try and clear off the blood. It just ends with red smears all over, but that can all wash away later.
It's as she starts to walk up the ramp that she winces a little, but covers it up with a yawn. Like any of this is boring enough to be tired.]
I'll try pulling this time. We'll get it up there, I promise. I'm not giving up!
[She seems in good enough spirits, so he sends her off with a playful swat to the butt, then grabs the bike and pulls it back around to the bottom of the ramp.
Once she's up, he settles the wheel in the groove in the middle, and begins to push. It's real damn heavy, and they could take off the bags and carry those separately, but wheels on a ramp should theoretically make it easy enough regardless? Not easy, but doable.
The hardest part comes when the bike is nearly halfway up, just about where she can reach to pull. The weight of it is up higher, giving him a lot less leverage to push. He grits his teeth as he persists anyway, holding it steady and walking it up one inch at a time while his shoulder braces against the side of the bike to help take some of the weight.]
Almost atcha. We got this. We'll get a real nice break once it's up top!
Her head nods as she focuses on getting ready for the bike. He works it up inch by slow inch, and she makes sure her footing is solid. Both hands grab at the handlebars as soon as she's able, and she digs in and starts working her way back. With him solid and steady behind the bike, they're able to actually make some progress upward.
It feels like it takes forever, and her hold nearly slips a few times. But she always resolves her efforts and grabs the bike again, and ignores the fact she's sore as fuck in favor of getting the job done.
As soon as they've got the bike up, she cheers, and waits until she sees Johnnie there too before she collapses back to lay down with a gasp. She's out of breath, drenched in sweat, and thinks she's going to die of thirst any second.]
Oh. My. Gosh. We did it! We're the strongest people in the whole world. I'm just gonna lay here for a minute though, okay?
[That was not easy, and it was only a few feet of pushing. There better not be more of that ahead.
Meanwhile he's going for that water canteen of his. He takes a long drink, wipes his mouth on his sleeve, then leans down to offer it to her.]
Here. Man, that was tough. But we did it! Now I wanna see what the deal is with this place. How long ago did all this happen? Y'know, maybe people went north. Or east! Musta gone east. Anywhere away from the coast, if this was from a big fuckin' earthquake. I hope it's real far in the future.
[Because an earthquake this bad would be devastating. He's aware of that. But then again, taking advantage of the chaos? That could be a lot of fun. Him and the rest of the Enders could raid abandoned buildings for months. Not much stealing to do from actual people though probably, they wouldn't have much to give.]
Even if it's not real far in the future, we'll make the best out of it. All the Enders will.
[It's easy to imagine the group of them causing even more chaos and destruction together. The thought of it puts a little smile on her face, and she laughs as she passes the canteen back to him and tries to climb up to her feet. Her legs are just too wobbly still to do that, so she sits back down and sighs. A rest is exactly what she needs.]
I hope we end up in a different time once we're able to get back on the bike and really drive. Or even if we don't, we're able to find somewhere outside we can get some rest.
[After all that physical exertion just now, she's definitely going to crash and burn at some point.]
Does it look like we'll be able to ride from this point on? Or is it a lot more broken up pieces instead of a road?
[Even as she asks, she forces herself to stand so she can look out and survey the world around them. It's a straight shot for hardly any distance, and then a cliff down to...well, more rocky and jagged road. It's going to be a long time before they're able to get out of this, and her shoulders slump as she silently surveys what they're going to be dealing with.]
[He trails off, then sighs, slumping a little as he aims the bike headlight ahead so they can see the state of the road.]
I need a longer straightaway to get us out of this, I don't think that's gonna cut it.
[He doesn't need to know exactly how his time-hopping works to know that it follows a pattern. Enough road to lose himself to the hypnosis of it, that's what it feels like anyway - and that is not enough, that there, before the next drop-off.
But they'll figure something out, they always do. So with a shrug, he turns around to grab their makeshift ramp and drag it up to where they are. They'll need it up ahead.]
I'm good to keep goin' farther for a while, we might as well get through as much of this shit as we can. You still got the energy for it?
[It's not like they can just stay up where they're at for long. They've got to keep going. She's sore and tired, but she can ignore it for a while longer. The fact that Johnnie is pulling up their ramp so they can keep using it puts a smile on her face. He's making the best out of this, and she can too. ]
I probably can carry that down, if you want to try to walk the bike.
[See, she's not even going to pretend that she's strong enough right now to do it.]
Or I can put the ramp down and we can see if it holds us riding!
[That would be the way more fun option. She gives a little bounce and jogs over to help him pull the metal up, and as soon as it's level where they are she leans in for a kiss. All of this isn't so bad when they're doing it together.]
Fuck it, let's try! What's the worst that could happen?
[Probably all kinds of things but whatever. They're going down, it'll be fast even if it doesn't support their weight well for long.
But just to test it, first, just to make sure he's not about to get them wrecked and stranded out here, he takes a stride out onto the makeshift ramp and feels it flex under his feet. Stays put, though. Only bends a little.]
Seems okay! Least we're not gonna be goin' real steep. C'mon, let's go!
[He grabs a dislodged chunk of pavement to push up against the lip of the ramp, so the bike doesn't just push the metal down the little cliff instead of riding onto it. Up onto the bike he goes, then, with the wheel aligned and ready. And once she's on, he grins and lets that engine fire up nice and loud before riding forward. All speed, zero caution - slow and cautious now just feels like asking for trouble.
The ramp warps under their weight and tips sideways, and he yells in surprise as he fights to redirect the bike and keep them upright. At this speed, they're off the ramp in a second though, only to hit a few jarring cracks in the pavement that rattle his bones. He hits the brakes just as hard as he'd hit the throttle, and puts a foot down to keep them from tipping as they come to an abrupt stop.]
Ow. Fuckin' bit my tongue! But hey, we're down!
[Goddamn.]
You missed your calling as a stuntman, Johnnie.
[She's only teasing, of course. He does plenty of stunts on a daily basis. He doesn't need a bunch of people watching and cheering him on while he does it, it would go straight to his head.
It looks like the path ahead is bumpy but might be able to be driven, or at least the bike can be walked without too much effort.]
Let's see if we can keep going. If we're lucky, we won't need the ramp again.
[But her head lifts and turns back to look at it. Maybe she should just hop off the bike and grab it so she can pull it along with them as they go.]
If we need one we'll make another one later. Or we come back for it. But let's see how far this road'll take us.
[North, then. Through the headlands, skirting around places where the pavement has warped and rippled, dodging fallen trees, and finding relief for sure once the highway curves far enough inland that it seems to have escaped some of the worst of it.
They pass through a city here on the north edge of the bay that, like the road, doesn't look completely abandoned. As the sun begins to rise, he still sees lights on in a couple of the homes and businesses - but it truly is just a small handful. Most of the city is dark, vacant, crumbling.]
Well, I dunno which decade this is but it's future enough. The style of this shit ain't anything like what we got at home.
[Billboards advertising law firms, auto collision assistance, restaurants - he's no expert on graphic design, far from it, but it all reads as future to him with those sleek, clean fonts that have zero sense of whimsy. The abandoned cars look new also, and that's something he understands better, but they haven't done nearly enough travel in decades this far past his for him to really pick up on the year. It's not the sixties, not the eighties. And anyway, he doesn't really care that much.
There's an old blockade on the road ahead, but someone has pulled the makeshift gate apart to make travel easier. For a while though, evidently there was some reason to block this road.]
Someone didn't want anyone goin' north without their go-ahead. Maybe just tryin' to rob people though. Fuckin' toll to escape or shit.
[Or who knows. Maybe the damage is that much worse farther ahead. Doesn't matter now.]
They could still be here.
[The warning isn't needed, she knows, but it makes her feel better to get her anxiety spoken out in the open. Her hold on him tightens and she presses in flush against his back, her thighs baring down against the bike. She still remembers the time they wound up in some crazy race oriented version of the future and how being a girl made her some kind of commodity. She absolutely doesn't want a repeat of that.
There's no way around though, they have to keep moving forward.
As they pass through the gate her breath catches, and she's on high alert as she looks all around. No one comes storming toward them, no gunfire happens, there's no real sign of life. The area they drive through was once occupied in the time after whatever disaster caused the ground to shift the way it has. There's tags all over the place that she doesn't recognize, but what's interesting to her is it's done in mud and brushed paint that had to drip to dry rather than traditional spray paint.
They drive for about fifteen more minutes before they approach another makeshift barricade. Unlike the one before, this one is closed. Standing at the gate are two masked men, and even from a good distance away Chrissy can see they're carrying shotguns. There's no way around, they can only press forward.]
What do we do if those guys won't let us in?
But one thing is for sure, there's no clear way around. Not without doubling back and trying to head east instead, up into the hills, where the road and the people who live on it are likely to present some curveballs anyway.]
We deal with 'em, I guess.
[Not much choice. They can't exactly sneak up on the guys who are watching them and waiting for them to make a move. So Johnnie carries on, straight forward, stopping the bike when one of these guys puts a hand up.]
Registration and ID, sir. You too, miss. Where are you two heading?
[So that's not just an outright "this is closed", it's a "this is open for certain people if you follow certain rules." Maybe they can work with that. They sure do have a ton of bribes in the form of jewelry with them.]
I, uh, I don't have that shit. Lost it in a fire. Some assholes tried to rob my place an' burn it down. But we're just goin' north, y'know? How's the road look up ahead?
[He says it all with a smile, cheerful enough, like he'd love to play this game if he could.]
It's passable. [One finally says, and looks to Chrissy.]
But only for people with the right permits.
[The second finishes the thought, his tone implying they know there's no way they have the right kind of permit. But they're not shooting them, so Chrissy figures that's a good sign. She smiles a little, her eyes briefly making contact with the guy that's looking at her. When he doesn't look away, she averts her gaze first and ducks her head.]
You should know that by now. The only people with permits are military, clergy, and married couples that have business in New Greenwich. Everybody else stays back in the colonies.
[That's a weird list. Chrissy glances back up, and both men chuckle at the confusion on her face.]
Well, he's my husband. Why can't we go through?
[A casual lie just to get through won't hurt anything. Hopefully Johnnie manages to keep his reaction as easygoing as her response.]
You can as soon as you're able to prove you have enough to get you through the tollbooth at each zone since you don't got a permit. New Greenwich ain't cheap to get to. My family's been saving for decades and we can't get more than one zone out. There's no way you can afford it.
[So maybe this is just a situation where they have to pay to get through? Like only rich people can leave the areas they're in? It's starting to seem that way. That won't be...so bad. How many zones can there be before there's open road?]
But also, proving to these assholes they have enough to go through all the tollbooths right now sounds like extortion. These guys have shotguns, they'll just get robbed. Johnnie's pistol is tucked into his belt still, Chrissy can reach it if they need it, but that's not enough to get them past two shotguns in one quick moment.]
Don't see why it's your business we gotta prove we can pay the whole way. You seem like a smart guy, so how about this. We prove we got enough to get through yours here, we give you a little extra for bein' so polite, an' we move on?
[Bribery paves more roads than concrete, Johnnie's well aware of that. How could they resist a little extra for themselves beyond the usual toll? Sounds fair enough to him. However far this fucking Green place is, it's not like they're driving all the way there, they just need a little room on a long highway.
Johnnie tries to at least sound a little sad about having to pay, though, and while he doesn't take his eyes off the men with the guns, he tips his head slightly toward his shoulder, indicating Chrissy.]
Go on, sweet thing. We're gonna have to part with some of your mama's treasures.
[Boy, he hopes they'll take payment in jewelry and not some weird shit like fresh water, or - wait! They have the wine. That's gotta be valuable in a time and place like this one, and it's right on top too, she'll remember.]
[She wants to laugh at calling him that, but laughter doesn't feel like a good idea right about now. Instead she leans over and gets into the saddlebag so she can dig around. She pulls out a pair of earrings from her little lunchbox, and grabs the bottle of wine. Rather than hand over the earrings first, she passes the wine to Johnnie so he can be the one to pass it over.
They eye the bottle with interest, and one of them gets it open to take a swig. He passes it to his friend, and once they've both tasted they give a nod and motion for them to move back. The gate is manually opened a moment later and they're waved through. Clearly these guys are hard up for booze if they're taking that wine as payment.]
This gets the gate open. We'll need something else to let you pass through.
[She forces a smile and opens her hand, and rather than let Johnnie take them she makes eye contact with both men and waits for them to step forward to take them from her. The one who stared her down earlier approaches, and the other holds his rifle out to shoot in case anyone tries anything funny.
One of Chrissy's hand touches at Johnnie's back, right where the pistol is tucked into his waistband. It's a silent message that she knows where it is and is ready to grab it if needed. The moment as the man approaches and puts his fingers against her palm is tense, especially as he lingers and looks her over. She refuses to look away, even as the guy grabs the earrings and pockets them. ]
We're going now. Thanks for letting us through.
[She's really hopeful that if they just throttle it and really drive, they'll be able to get the hell out of this time and somewhere else so they can rest for a while.]
Because they do decide that, pretty quickly. A bottle of wine opens the gate, one guy pockets earrings, the other is left wanting.]
Hold on -
[The man starts in response to Chrissy, but Johnnie isn't going to sit and wait for these assholes to realize they have a whole treasury worth shooting them over and robbing. Every second longer that they stay gets more dangerous.
The bike engine roars to life as Johnnie tears off down the road ahead, risking some lumps and bumps from the uneven pavement just to get them the hell out of there. He hears the thundering noise of a shotgun blast go off almost simultaneously, but the guy was clearly too surprised to aim well, whichever of them it was that fired.
He can barely hear their yelling as they gain distance, and Johnnie finally lets out the laughter he'd been holding in.]
Goddamn! Fuckin' assholes just out here to rip people off. Fuck I dunno if I ever went from zero to a hundred that fast in my life!
[They are not going a literal hundred miles per hour on this lumpy road, but that's not a detail that matters very much. What matters is the elation at getting out of that situation without a big hole blown in either one of them, and with most of their jewelry and watch stash intact.]
This place is almost as bad as the last time we were really far in the future! Let's try to get outta here.
[Once they're a few more minutes ahead of those guys at the gate she feels more relaxed, and ignores the trace hints of settlements because she's guessing no one around is someone they'd want to meet. It's not long before they're making their way along the bumpy road and there's absolutely nothing. She chooses then to howl, because they're going to kick this place's ass by getting out of it.]
Do you feel anything like you did before? Any sign things are about to change?