Work Text:
Konopný la- la- la-
CLICK CLICK
Ty už ně-
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KONOPNÝ
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"Motor! What the fuck are you doing with that radio?"
Motor groaned in response, waving their fists, then grabbing their head in defeat.
"SHIT AIN'T WORKIN'!"
They rolled over, pointing at the old, beat up radio they have owned for longer than the band has existed. The radio might have been older than Motor themself.
It was a quite big portable radio with a built-in CD player. The original blue colour was hidden below layers upon layers of spray paint, acrylic paint and stickers that no one could peel off without ripping them in half.
The cable, which could not be unplugged from the radio, thus making it near impossible to replace, was ripped apart and taped together in multiple places, hissing and buzzing with electricity any time Motor dared to touch it.
Motor themself was laying on their belly, their kicking feet now slammed toes first into the ground. They’d been attempting to make the radio work for the past ten minutes, failing miserably for the past nine.
"PIECE OF SHIT."
They pointed their middle finger at it, smashing the play button for a good measure.
"Come on dude, no need to abuse the troubadour."
Daphne admonished them, while she joyfully watched them get worked up over silly little things.
"Get off my dick." Muttered Motor, who moved onto bending the cable, in hopes the radio would finally play their desired song.
Daphne rolled her eyes and turned her attention towards Arisa, who lay in her arms, busy with a rubik’s cube.
Stroking the guitarist's greasy hair, Daphne relaxed further into the sofa, closing her eyes and letting her mind drift afar.
Satisfied with the disarray she made of the rubik's cube, Arisa dropped it to the ground and snuggled in deeper, her head resting on Daphne's chest.
Daphne hummed approvingly and kissed the top of her greasy head.
"You really should take a shower." She said, peeling a strand of Arisa's hair off her lips.
"You're the one to talk. You smell worse than your shoes look." Arisa muttered, looking up at Daphne and demanding a kiss on the forehead by repeatedly tapping it with her finger.
"What's wrong with my sandals?"
"You have socks in them."
"I told ya'll to pump more water into the jugs and canisters. Knew we'd need it." Latoya reminded them, stepping into the tour bus with freshly grilled cheese sandwiches.
She pecked a kiss both on Daphne's and Arisa's cheek as she handed them their meals. She left her own meal by her spot on the sofa, before moving on to Motor.
She ducked next to them, putting the food down infront of them, directly in their sight.
"Do you want a kiss too pretty boy?" She asked them with a smug smile. Motor frowned up at her and pointed at their pursed lips.
Latoya laughed and pecked a kiss on their lips, leaving with a loud smooch.
"Greedy ass."
Motor pulled out a middle finger and cackled, happy that they got the best kiss of them all.
"I'd bring more water, if someone didn't fill them with alcohol." Daphne continued the conversation, freeing herself by passing the guitarist back to Latoya, who peppered her with more kisses.
All eyes landed on Motor, who pulled themself up to a sitting position. They frowned, ready to defend their actions, but grew increasingly nervous.
"Don't look at me like that! It- it was free-
i- you cannot expect me to pass up such an opportunity!"
"I ain't mad man." Daphne reassured them.
"But a shower would be nice wouldn't it?"
"It would." Latoya nodded. "Not even that lake we passed can clean off our sins. I smell worse than a turtle tank."
"Turtle tank?" Motor asked, not understanding what she meant. They were imagining a tank that was operated by turtles, which couldn't smell good by any means. They thought the comparison was, unusual to say the least, but the longer they thought about it, the more funny it became.
"Turtle tank." They laughed, a toothy smile appearing on their face.
"Where did you hide all that beer anyway?" Daphne asked. She had been pondering this since the day Motor brought it to the bus. A cartload of canisters shouldn't be easy to hide, but Motor somehow managed it. And told no one of it’s whereabouts. She was almost sure they drank at least two canisters all by themself, with how often she found them passed out drunk in their bed.
"It's in the hidden storage space in the kitchen floor."
Bullshit. Daphne thought to herself, as she made her way to the kitchen space. She and her other bandmates had searched the whole bus looking for the alcohol, separately and as a team. None of them succeeded.
Did no one think of lifting the carpet? Was it that predictable that they just didn't think of it? As she kneeled onto the floor and pulled the carpet away, she prayed to the god she believed in for the beer's absence. Not because she didn't want it, but because she felt stupid enough for not thinking of it. It was quite typical for Motor too! They always hid their stuff there, sometimes they'd hide there themself.
She opened the hatch and-
"BEERS NOT HERE!"
She yelled over her shoulder, feeling victorious.
"Yes it is!" Motor yelled back. "Look to the left of the brown tin box, it's slid further back."
BULLSHIT.
Daphne looked further down, sliding towards the floor of the storage when she saw it. Canisters upon canisters full of beer. She wanted to scream. It was there all along!
THERE!
She groaned and grabbed one of the canisters, unscrewing the lid to make sure she didn't accidentally grab moyor oil or any other liquid.
Piss fluid.
She smelled it. And it was in fact beer.
"Motherfucker. So that's where you've been hiding it the entire time?"
"I thought you'd find it earlier." She could hear the grin in their words.
That little shit.
She closed the storage hatch and grabbed some plastic cups they'd collected on their journeys across the world. Or rather had been gifted by the venues they played at. Or rather they'd stolen from the venues they played at, and carried them away to their compromised living room. Motor was once again sprawled out on the floor right next to the radio, making poor attempts at making it work. She placed a cup next to them, just about to pour in the beer when she noticed they hadn't even touched their food.
So she left their cup empty and moved on to the cuddling couple.
"How long before they notice?" Daphne whispered, pouring herself and the couple their share of beer.
Arisa peek out to evaluate the situation.
Motor was too consumed in their attempts to make the radio work, they payed no attention to their surroundings, let alone the ever-growing buzz of the electricity coming from the cable.
"Anywhere from five minutes to half a day."
"Is that enough time for us to finish drinking this before they notice?"
"Only one way to find out."
Arisa downed the whole cup, which was foam for most part, and demanded more.
~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~☆~
It didn't take long for Motor to notice the absence of alcohol, or any liquid in their cup.
"You're not allowed to drink until you eat something." Latoya told them, downing her second beer and pouring herself another.
Unfair, Motor whined to themself as they bit into the cold cheese sandwich, chewing with growing disgust. The food tasted just fine, and they'd tell Latoya so later, to reassure her that her cooking skills live up to her greatness. They simply didn't feel up to eating. It was a deep gut feeling that turned their stomach upside-down every time they swallowed. A feeling that made it increasingly hard to breathe.
A feeling they wished to drown in alcohol.
Motor forced down the rest of the sandwich and victoriously slammed their cup onto the table, demanding their share of that bitter sweet, brown liquid.
Latoya obliged, with a wide smile. Motor was fun to be around, but when they got drunk, it got only better.
"Na zdraví!" They cheered and chugged the whole cup.
"Cheers!" The rest of the band joined them, drinking with them.
As hours passed, Motor's supplies of beer dwindled. What they believed would last them a month at least disappeared within hours. The band sang and danced, providing their own music. Motor banged their hands on the table, providing the much needed rhythm while Arisa and Daphne took the only acoustic instruments they owned. A tambourine and a kazoo respectively.
Latoya took it upon herself to sing lyrics to songs she could barely remember.
"Heeeell what was the song.... the song we
played on our first gig? The one we all knew for some god damned reason?" Latoya asked, giggling to herself.
"It wazzzzzzzzzmmmmm." Motor wondered.
"I know I knoooow!" Daphne mused.
"It went 'dun dun dun dundu dun dun'" She imitated a bass guitar with her hands, bopping her head to the beat.
"No, not the Deacon bass!" Arisa interjected, stopping Daphne from continuing her epic bass solo any further.
"What was it then, smart ass?" Daphne crossed her arms on her chest.
"S-t-a-r ch- chhhhhh."
"What?"
"The oregano expedition or whatever."
"I don't know them."
"Neither do I." Said Latoya.
"Bullshit ya don't! We have their record somewhere." Arisa stumbled up to her feet and with a huff began searching the bus for the box of CDs.
"You didn't hide them did you?" Arisa asked Motor, as she climbed up the shelves, shuffling around their belongings.
"Mm?"
"The CDs you... you twat!"
"What of them, witch?"
"Did you hide the CDs?"
Motor rubbed their eyes and peeked cautiously at Arisa from behind their overgrown fringe.
"Wha' exactly is it tha’ you're lookin’ for?"
"The onion... something."
"Nooo, t'was oregano... oregano expedition." Latoya corrected her.
Motor wondered what in the great name of whatever she could mean, when their train of thought was suddenly interrupted by-
"KONOPNÝ LANA, TAK TY UŽ NĚCO VYDRŽÍ"
All four of them turned their heads towards the radio, suddenly sobering up.
"I thought it wasn't working." Said Daphne quietly.
"It wasn't." Motor reassured her.
Arisa stepped down and walked around the radio, ducking down to unplug it. And yet, it kept on playing. Broken, without electricity.
The four of them stared, eyes widened with fear that came with realisation of what was coming. All four stumbled up to their feet and out of the bus, frantically turning and looking around the sky.
"There is it!" Latoya yelled, pointing at the disarray of colours in the far distance. The colours swirled and jumped over each other, each wishing to be the first to get to them. The clouds that followed changed shapes without a stop.
All four blinked and wiped their eyes clean from tears that welled up in their eyes and ran down their cheeks, their first warning sign.
Without giving it a second thought, Motor commanded all their bandmates to get into the bus at once.
"Secure whatever you can. We're not staying."
"Are you insane?" Arisa yelled as they moved to the front of the bus. "You're not driving this thing! You'll get us killed!"
"Would you rather stay here and beg your gods for mercy? You don't think this bus is good enough to keep us safe, do you?"
Motor barked, as they slumped behind the wheel. The seat was too far. It was hard to set, even with the car parked. And to Motor's dismay, the last person and the designated driver for the past two weeks was Latoya. It would make driving the bus harder.
"Unlike you," Motor continued. "I can actually drive this thing, both sober and drunk. Now be so kind and leave me to it." They said, trying to adjust the seat a little bit.
Or I'll leave you here to fuck yourself over you witch.
Arisa shook her head and left without a word.
Motor turned the keys, waiting for all the controls to go off, before starting the car.
It hiccuped and roared before ultimately dying on them.
"Ale no tak ty šrote."
They turned off the keys and tried again.
They pressed the gas petal multiple times, and tried again.
And again.
More tears welled up in their eyes, this time due to the overwhelming hopelessness of the situation that finally dawned on them. If they didn't get the bus to move, they'd be risking their friends' lives. They could not allow that.
Not like this. Not them.
Motor clutched the keys as they turned the ignition. They stared at the panel, watching all the controls die down.
Whoever is out there, please. Please take take my soul in exchange for them. I know I'm not worth that much but please. For them.
They turned the key.
Motor cried out, punching the steering wheel. Warm tears fell down from their eyes into their lap. The bus just wouldn't start. They could beg all the gods their friends believed in, but It wouldn't be worth the already wasted time. With the storm fast approaching, their only chance of survival was a damned miracle.
"What's happening, why aren't we moving?"
Latoya barged in with the might of a tall, burly drunk woman, that scared the poor bastard in the driver's seat more than the literal devil appearing in their latest dreams.
She layed her eyes on the little drummer guy before her, curled up in the seat. Ducking down next to them, she looked at the ignition key. Then turned it, once, twice. The bus struggled to kick it's engine to life, to no avail.
"Fuck."
"KURVA!" Motor slammed their fists into the steering wheel once more, for a good measure.
"What now?" Latoya asked, the only other person, who had at least some basic knowledge of how cars work.
"Start cables?" Motor offered.
"And do what with them? You gonna grab two metal rods and run towards the storm? I mean, it would work, you'd get fried but we'd have time to run."
Motor looked her in the eyes with a smirk. He'd do it.
"Absolutely not." Latoya concluded.
Motor frowned but said nothing.
"What about a battery charger? We still have it, don't we?
Motor shook their head. "You mean the charger that left us stranded for a day in the middle of the desert? That thing charges slower than.... than Arisa shits."
"Would be worth a try-"
"We'd be like... standing ducks."
"Sitting."
"Whatever."
The pair sat in silence, trying to think of any sensible way to start the car, without becoming stranded or abandoning one of their band members. Over the years, they had found themselves in a plethora of hopeless situations, they'd been running from the storm more than anyone, as they were a traveling band. They once all jumped on Motor's quad bike to escape, leaving their bus behind. Sadly the quad was collecting dust in a garage far away. Latoya stared into the distance, at a tree far away, thinking.
KONOPNÝ LANA, TAK TY UŽ NĚCO VYDRŽÍ
ZKAŽENEJ DECH-
Suddenly, as if thunder struck their ass, Motor jumped up to their feet, slamming their fist into the steering wheel for good measure.
"IDIOT. I AM SUCH IDIOT." They yelled and cussed, stumbling out of the bus, Latoya close behind them.
"Motor? Motor, I can see your genius finally struck but I can't read your damn mind! What did you come up with?" Latoya yelled after them, careful not to topple down the stairs.
Motor was frantically opening every storage space the band bus had, rummaging through them, throwing their belongings on the ground.
"Short version or the long one?" Motor asked, jumping into one of the storage spaces, banging their head on the roof before throwing out more trash.
"Long version." Latoya decided, knowing the short version would not make much sense, coming from Motor, sober or drunk.
"So, you remember when I dragged your asses to that Czech tribute band?"
"The one that dragged a boat around?"
"Exactly them." Motor confirmed, their voice echoing from the storage chamber. “We can drag the bus. It's small enough for the four of us to drag. Two from the back, two from the front. Then, once we get some moderate speed, I'll jump in and start the car."
"How?"
Motor tumbled out of the storage space, holding up a sturdy, yet dirty rope. They looked up to face Latoya. Their bangs flew slightly to the sides and she took a peek into their still half covered eyes. When she first met them, they wore goggles, for their bangs were a little too short to fully cover their eyes. Only Daphne had ever seen their eyes, only once. She refused to say what she saw in them. Motor jumped up to their feet before Latoya's brain had time to process what she saw, brushing their bangs back into their eyes.
"Just like them! We'll tie the rope to the car and pull!"
Latoya stared at them, her mind not wrapping itself around the concept, but before she could ask once more, Motor already ran off to the front of the car, tying the rope.
Soon, all four members of the band were slowly trudging, pushing and pulling the car forwards. Latoya and Daphne took to pushing the bus from behind, meanwhile Motor and Arisa pulled on the tied ropes. They were making incredibly slow progress, it was almost painful to look at.
Daphne looked behind her back, staring at the storm. Tears were streaming down her face, so were Latoya's and the remaining members in the front. The storm was slowly edging closer and closer with every passing minute. They'd need more than a miracle to outrun it now-
"Do you think we'll make it out this time?" Daphne asked, looking down at her feet. It caught Latoya off guard. Of course she was wondering the same, and undoubtedly so were the remaining two members. And truth be told, she had her doubts. She had known Daphne for years, and their relationship blossomed and bloomed on brutal honesty, she saw no reason to lie.
"I'm not sure, the wind is already picking up. It's getting close. It'd be a miracle if we survive this one."
"Hm. Yeah." Daphne agreed, paying no mind to the way the light breeze blowing from behind her played with her hair. "At least it's pushing the car a bit."
"Yeah, it is. Hey, in case we don't actually make it, it's been an incredible pleasure to have you be a part of my life."
"Same goes to you, my dearest friend. I hope, if the chance comes, we meet somewhere in afterlife."
“I hope so too.”
On the opposite side of the bus, the guitarist and drummer were far ahead of the bus, pulling it by the ropes.
"Hey Arisa?"
"What?"
"I'm sorry."
Arisa turned to look at Motor, who was looking straight ahead. She stared deeply, trying to see their expression, a glimpse of their eyes, but she saw nothing but hair that's been blowing forward, covering their entire face.
"If we don't make it out of this, I will haunt your ass." She said instead.
"Ha, you wish. By that time I'll be rotting in hell for all eternity."
"And I'll be your punishment. Forever bullying you."
"Well fuck! I better get this bus to move a bit faster."
Motor upped the pace, from walking to attempting to jog, trying to get the bus to move faster. Arisa followed their lead. And so did the couple pushing the bus from the back. From a slow jog, they slowly began to run. A hope sparked in their souls as the bus finally gained some speed.
"That's it! This is it! Our chance! Don't stop until the bus is running, then untie the ropes!" They commanded, throwing their rope to Arisa. Motor stumbled into the driver's seat.
You better work bitch.
Motor turned the ignition to the ‘on’ position. The panel behind the wheel lit up.
Motor floored the clutch, shifting the gear into second position, and slowly let go, while simultaneously turning the key and pressing the gas. The bus's engine roared to life, the bus now running on it's own. Motor cried out triumphantly, pressing the horn to let their friends know the car was on and working.
Feeling tears welling up in their eyes, unsure if it was the incoming storm or the overwhelming feeling of sparking hope, they clutched the wheel as if their life depended on it. In this situation, it did.
They heard their friends slowly climb into the bus. First came Latoya, who stomped up the stairs. After her hopped in Arisa, who needed assistance from both women. She was still holding onto the tangled rope she untied from the car when she climbed in, throwing it onto the ground. Last came Daphne, who slammed the door shut behind her.
"We're here!" She yelled to Motor, who sped up In response.
"Now let's pray we make it out." Arisa muttered, climbing into her bunk bed.
Daphne nodded, grabbing the radio to check on their designated driver. She knew Motor hated driving in silence, and now that the radio was working on its own, it'd be a good idea to bring it to them.
Motor was laser focused on the road before them, ignoring, or not hearing, the roaring engine.
"Press the clutch for me, Mot." Daphne said as she settled next to them, radio in hands.
Motor did as she asked and they shifted gears from second to fourth.
"Carry on."
"Thanks, Daph."
"No worries. Or well, I'd say no problem but we have one big ass problem chasing us right now." She laughed, rubbing her eyes.
"Haah. We're fucked, huh?"
She got no response from her friend, who switched the gears from fourth to fifth.
Daphne settled herself in the passenger's seat and watched the distant horizon. The road filled with holes that ran under them. The storm in the rear view mirror that was slowly closing on them.
Her eyes shifted back to Motor. Hands on the wheel, clutching it as if life depended on it. Their knuckles turned white.
Teeth clenched, their breathing was quick and heavy. She noticed how they shifted positions, to keep their right foot on the gas pedal.
She put down the radio, which now quietly played an unfamiliar melody, and with shaky steps made her way to the bunk beds. She went around, grabbing all the pillows they owned. She stopped before Arisa, who was laying in the back of her bunk, snuggled up with her favourite pillow.
"How's the shitstain in the front?"
"Alive, if that's what you want to know."
"Hm, what're the pillows for?"
"The shitstain in the front. The seat is adjusted for Latoya, they're practically laying it."
Arisa hummed and got to her knees, gathering almost all the pillows she owned and threw them to Daphne.
"That's unusually kind of you! Did our little grumpy lady have a change of heart?" Daphne teased at the unusual kindness shown towards Motor, from Arisa's side.
"They're the one dragging us out of this mess. Tell them to go eat shit and die without me." Arisa showed her middle finger to Daphne, as a nice addition to the message.
"I will." Daphne took the massive pile of pillows and took them to the front of the bus. She threw them on the passengers seat, taking the biggest of the pillows.
"I'm going to put those behind your back, alright?"
Motor hummed in response, shifting themself Into a half standing position, allowing her to slide the big pillow under them. Daphne stuffed the remaining pillows behind their back, allowing very little comfort in an already bad situation.
Motor glanced into the side view mirror. The storm was right behind them, reaching out its cloudy hands, trying to grab them. They tried to turn their focus back on the road but they couldn't bring themself to look away.
As if hypnotising them, the storm begged. Thousands of voices, yelling, screaming, bribed them to stop, to turn around and stare. They closed their eyes, letting tears run free, forcing their head to turn away, to stare straight ahead again.
Daphne stared at them, worried and expecting them to say something. The whole situation was taking a toll on them all, but mainly on the drummer behind the wheel. Yet, they remained quiet.
"Motor-"
"It's far away enough."
"That's not what I'm worried about." She said, unwilling to let the drummer get their way. She reached her hand towards their shoulder, hesitating a little before moving her hand down to their thigh and stroking it slightly, softly and with the intention to reassure them. She felt their muscles tense up under her touch.
"I'm alright." They whispered, refusing to look anywhere but ahead of them.
"You are not, Mot. Honestly man, you've been crashing at mine for years, I know you better than my old shoes!"
Daphne moved her hand from their thigh to their shoulder, giving it a light squeeze.
"We're not making it out of this." Motor whispered, a sob escaping their mouth. "After all of this, after all we've been through, this is the end."
Daphne couldn't deny it, no one could. The bus was too slow to outrun a storm that was right on their ass. They started running too late this time. Tears welled up in her eyes. She patted the radio in her lap, which played a song Motor seemed to know, for they wordlessly opened their mouth, mimicking the lyrics
"You did all you could, man." Daphne whispered, wiping her eyes free of tears.
"We won't blame you if it- If we don't make it out."
"Arisa will."
"Ha, yeah. She wants me to tell you to "go eat shit and die without her”.”
"Of course."
Motor felt their chest tighten up, the first pink clouds appearing above their head. The storm now began to occupy the sky above them, slowly making it's way beside them.
Neither of the pair had the strength nor guts to say something clever about their doom, and so they stayed quiet.
The bus was lifted from the ground, as if it did not weigh anything.
Daphne pulled out an Album from Motor's hidden stack and swiftly changed the CDs. A crack of a switch turning and a repetitive beat began screaming from the radio, followed by melodies of the guitarist's skilled hands.
"YOU SAID IT YOURSELF, YOU WOULDN'T CRY TONIGNT."
Motor's lips scrunched into a slight smile upon hearing their favourite artist. They mentioned, on multiple occasions, that the album brought some comfort. The Artist felt like home. Daphne nodded along to the beat, eyes closed. In her last moments, all she could do was enjoy herself, and for the first and last time In her life actually try to see what her friend hears in the songs.
In a hopeless situation like this one, when you know not even praying to all the Gods will help, acceptance is the least you can do, or at least that's what Motor thought as they finally let go of the gas pedal and crossed their hands in their lap, laying back in their seat.
Tears streamed from their face, some escaping, not hitting the ground but floating in front of them.
As the song was reaching its end, and Motor was getting ready to hum the lyrics of the upcoming one, the bus suddenly jolted, the force of gravity pulling it back down.
Before anyone could really react, except with a startled scream or yelp, the bus hit the ground, together with it's passengers, who went from floating to sprawling on the ground.
All four band members found themselves alive with a slight headache and bruise here and there.
"What?" Was the only thing Latoya was able to mutter, as she climbed out of the bus, staring at the sky, watching the storm retreat back into the sky. She rubbed her eyes, slapped herself to see if it was still her and not a clone or a dream she could be having.
Behind her appeared Daphne, with the same look on her face. She was confused, baffled.
Next to them appeared Arisa, rubbing her arm.
"Did we?"
"I think so." Latoya concluded, still processing what had happened.
"Oh fuck YEAH WE DID!" Daphne screamed, grabbing Latoya by the shoulders and pulling her into a kiss. Arisa joined them in cheering, receiving a kiss from both women. Motor soon emerged, wiping away tears from their face.
The moment they emerged, they were embraced by the small guitarist. She was lovingly cussing them out, calling them "the luckiest idiot that has ever lived". Daphne ruffled their hair while Latoya pecked a kiss on their cheek. Yet they heard nothing for the
longest while. Their ears were ringing as if they slammed their head into a speaker box and blasted bubble gum pop for a day straight. Motor stared at the sky, watching the storm retreat. They stuck out their middle finger, giving the damn thing a good send-off.
"That's the fucking spirit!" Arisa cheered, punching the drummer in the shoulder, which seemed to bring them back to their senses. They groaned, rubbing their face.
They felt like the world would open up below them, sucking them down to hell. They were sure they would rot in the sandy sun forever more if they didn't get a move on.
"I don't know about you, but I'm going the fuck to bed."
"You go rest, Speedy Gonzales." Latoya patted their back, sending them off. She took their place behind the wheel, starting the car back up.
Daphne and Arisa climbed in shortly after, picking up the pillows Latoya threw out of the cabin. "You take this shit to them, will ya?" She called out, adjusting her carseat and rear view mirrors. They were all bit too uncomfortably pointed outwards, allowing her a clear view of the space behind her.
She lowered them back down, not so much that she wouldn't see behind her, but enough so that she didn't have a direct view of the sky, but the road instead.
"Ready to go?" Arisa asked, setting aside Motor's broken radio that now dared not to make a single sound, and dropping into the passenger's seat.
"Bet. Did you bring snacks?"
"More coffee than one could have and some... things." Arisa studied the bag she took. At first glance, it did look like it would contain something sweet. The package was colourful at least. Upon closer inspection, it seemed to be something completely different.
"Not sure about this, but the rest seems edible."
On the other side of the bus, Motor dropped themself into their bunk, curling up into themself. Their ears were yet to stop ringing, eyes burning, tears running down their face. It hurt trying to prevent the tears from spilling out. They choked down a cry when they felt the bunk move, weight moving the mattress down.
"I've brought you some pillows and soda, for the headache, yknow."
Daphne.
Motor wiped their eyes and turned around to face her, gratefully taking the pillows from her, stuffing them into a pile they could lay on later. They slid to the side, cracking open the can.
"How do you feel?"
What a good question, Motor thought. How do I feel? Aside from the obvious overwhelming anxiety and the need to cry their eyes out. Not to mention how their stomach churned and ached.
"Bad." They croaked, hugging one of the softer pillows to their chest. "Might be sick later."
"Do you think you'll need a bucket?" Daphne got to her feet and opened the floor storage, looking for a suitable bucket.
"Bowl would do too, y’know." Motor rolled to the side, looking down at Daphne, who had almost fully climbed into the storage space.
"We have only one!" Daphne yelled back at them, crawling out with a slightly dusty bucket. "And Toya would kill us both if she found out you puked In it."
She placed the bucket next to their bunk, ruffling their hair. "You nasty fuckin Slav."
>:(
"You rest up now, God knows you need it."
Motor snuggled up into the pile of pillows, holding tight the one they snuggled up with. It was one of their own, one they made a good while ago. They based it off of a mascot from an album they liked. Their mind still screamed, ears kept on ringing, but their body refused to carry on much longer and soon enough, they finally fell asleep.