Chapter Text
The gentle bumps in the road coupled with lingering exhaustion from 1) waking up at the crack of dawn and 2) running your life, nearly dying, and abandoning said life yesterday threatened to lull you into a deep sleep once again. Two hours probably was not enough to safely operate the car if you needed to take over for Toby, and it was definitely not enough to maintain some semblance of sanity until you got to your next stopping point. Which was where? You realized you didn’t know where you were, despite looking for familiar names on the highway signs, checking exits, looking for landmarks--and you had no idea where you were going. You hesitated to ask for a moment, but figured this was now your life, too.
“Toby?” he hummed in response. “Where are we? And where are we headed?” He tilted his head side to side, slowly.
“Well, uh” he cleared his throat. “We are in Mi…mih-Mississippi right now, heading, uh, Northwest towards Arkansas. And as for where we are going, I…I figured we oughta have that conversa-aay-tion sooner rather than later.” you looked at him blankly. No real plan. Ok. Got it.
“I guess we oughta, too. How about now?” you asked, trying to come up with some ideas of your own before shitting on Toby’s apparent lack of planning.
“Yeah, yeah--I was thinking, basically as f-far away as puh-possible, like, Washington state, yanno, up North. Weather’s different, hah, but, uh--you know, safe for you” he said. Your heart sank slowly and heavily to your stomach as you imagined how far that was, a map of the continental US materializing in your brain, this tiny truck the size of a pinhead in comparison, traveling along approximately 2,500 miles of land. You had a very small family and only kept in touch--though infrequently--with your parents, who lived in the Midwest. They were self-sufficient and thankfully in good health, contrary to the bullshit you spewed on the phone mere moments before, and you thought to yourself, the further away I am, the safer they are.
“Well, I mean, everything I know about Washington is basically based on what I saw in the Twilight movies--though I don’t suppose there are any vampires or anything up there?” you tried to joke, but Toby looked at you very seriously.
“You would be surprised. I don’t particularly like them.” Not sure if he was deadpanning or serious, you gave an awkward half-laugh, half-snort.
“Uh…well, Washington sounds good. The further we are from here, the better, right? And--I don’t know if you know this for sure or not, but--are they gonna, like, find us? Or track us? How does that work” your head spun with millions of questions, anxieties, worries. What would happen if Toby got hurt? Or died? What if he got tired of you dragging him down like this and got rid of you himself? Were you going to have to spend the rest of your life together? How long would this last? Would it end? Would you get to go home again? Get to sleep in your own bed, use your own shower, brush your teeth and make yourself breakfast with your own things? Who even is this guy? Too much right now.
“Uh--y--they can track us, bu-but…it gets harder, when they’re, um far from home. It’s--I’ll explain later. For now, you should sleep. We have…uh…shit. ‘Bout 6 and a half hours til we get to the tripoint. That’s without stops, but, be honest with you--I mi-might need to sleep before then. And we’ll both probably need to eat and pee at some point.” Toby said. You hummed to yourself in thought.
“Damn…the tripoint…bet that’s a lovely area…” the tripoint referred to the tri-state border meeting of Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri, which technically falls in Missouri state bounds. You’d never been, but had heard less than stellar reviews of Missouri on account of the weather. And the people. Homesickness already was eating away at you. You thought of something else to say that actually responded to Toby’s thoughts, instead of dreading your destination.
“I’m looking forward to hearing your explanations, to be honest with you. Can’t be any worse or any weirder than what I’ve seen already,” you said light-heartedly. He sorta winced in response, sucked his teeth, and shrugged. Uh-oh. Maybe it was worse, and weirder. “Well, anyway, if you can make it another two hours or so--maybe three?--then we can stop and fill up, grab a bite, and you can nap while I keep watch? We can find a map, plan our stops and timeline, and uh…well, I don’t know. Should I look for a place to stay? Do we stay in the car? I think I might need a night or two in a real bed at some point,” you said.
Toby nodded in agreement. “Yeah, me too, it’s uh…it’s been a minute. Alright. Tell you what…we got, uh, all in--’bout 40 hours on the road, not counting stops, alright? Drive time only. I’ll do--um…yeah, until 9am, so ‘bout three and a half more hours, then we stop, get food, figure out a plan, and we gotta trade off driving so I can ruh-rest. If you ta-click-take over for me ‘round 10, stop time included, you can get us to Joplin, Missouri by, hmm, maybe 1 or 2 o’clock. We can eat, sleep a couple hours, get our legs movin’, and see what we gotta do after.”
Though you weren’t super excited about driving three hours on a stretch of flat, desolate land still running on a combined minimal sleep from the last you owed it to Toby to take over driving. His exhaustion was palpable. Plus, you had three hours to sleep in the meantime, plus, finally, a break to get some food. God, you were starving. For now, sleep would have to quell the hunger. You felt your eyelids getting heavy, and mumbled a “sounds good, wake me up when we get there…” to Toby before drifting off.
--*--
Dark trees reached towards the sky, reaching impossible heights--so far up into the heavens that even with her head tilted as far back as possible, the light from the sun, or the moon, was invisible. Instead, the clearing seemed to be completely shrouded in darkness, enveloping her from all sides. Somehow, she could still see ahead of her just about four or five feet, this limited field of vision illuminated by a soft white glow. The source wasn’t clear, though it seemed to lie some distance into the forest, the brightness waning and growing intermittently as though beckoning her towards it. Whatever paths may have been behind or next to her were too dark to attempt to follow; drawn by the mysterious light source, and left with essentially no other direction to travel, she began stepping towards it. Cautiously at first, she stepped forward, feeling out the surrounding areas with her toes while walking her palms along the trunks of the trees around her. Sensing no immediate danger, she began moving towards the light with more confidence, and the desire to reach out and touch it grew.
The light seemed to move deeper into the forest with each step, as though running away from her. She walked a pace faster, trying not to lose sight of it, and trying to ignore the nagging voice in her brain warning about straying too far from the clearing. After what felt like an eternity chasing this strange glow, the source still unknown, it got brighter, and brighter still, until it appeared that the whole forest was illuminated with white Christmas lights; for the first time, she saw what had lay all around her--a beautiful, beautiful scene of deep greens and earthy browns. Soft moss covered the trunks and bases of trees, and large boulders housed a variety of mushrooms. She could see the soft, curious yellow irises of what looked like squirrels, and maybe owls, nested in the trees. It was nearly breathtaking. It had been so long since she had been somewhere like this. To her left, she heard soft trickling sounds, and saw a small creek. She moved towards it, and with her movement came the light, as if following her to better light the scene.
Small frogs and tadpoles filled the creek which articulated with a very small waterfall. Out of curiosity, she reached out and touched the creek, fingers barely dipping into the cold and gentle flow. Electrified by the cold, and seeing how shallow the water appeared, she stepped one foot forward, then the other, seeing the tadpoles dart around this invader. Sighing a deep sigh of relief, she closed her eyes and tilted her head back once again, enjoying the beauty upon which she had stumbled. It felt unreal. Relaxation, at long last.
Breathing in through her nose once more, very deeply, she let the cool air rising above the creek fill her lungs, then exhaled it out, even more slowly than the inhale.
Snap.
The sound of a twig crunching under the weight of something caused her to snap her head in the opposite direction. Then, complete silence. Not a good sign. It meant something was there, and heard its mistake, and now was waiting in silence to see her reaction.
Despite a deafeningly pounding heart and beads of sweat dripping down her back and forehead, she feigned as though she had brushed it off, and returned her attention to the creek. Would this orb follow her and guide her way, or would it disappear if she left? Would the darkness return once again and trap her here? What was there, watching, waiting?
Steadying her breathing, and side-eyeing her periphery with as much accuracy as possible, she carefully stepped backwards out of the water and onto the soft, moss-covered ground. Pacing backwards a few more steps, she glanced slowly in the direction of the twig snapping. Then--motion. A blur of black tan sprinted to the side into the retreat of darkness, looking like it had peeled back the layer of light and hid behind the darkness that was out of her reach. Now wishing for the dark once again to conceal you, she ran. She ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction, for as long as possible, lungs burning, throat burning, legs burning, heart pounding, sweat pouring, feet torn and aching from the forest floor. As she ran, the light moved with her, and she heard footfall behind her. Leaves crunched and the branches whipped around her face and head, hands flying out in front of her to push them out of her sight.
Tears of desperation rained down her face as she pushed her body harder to get away, but she could hear the steps falling more and more heavily as she ran. Too scared to look behind and risk tripping, her brain began to conjure images of what might be chasing her, each imagination more horrifying than the previous. Looking all around her, she noticed that nothing else in the forest seemed to be illuminated like before.
This light was not guiding her; it was guiding what was behind her.
Finally, when her body felt as though it was going to collapse entirely, a shrieking, horrific ringing pierced the air, and the light source--now balled into a white and spherical shape--shot towards the sky, high above the treeline. The same immobilizing static filled her head and ears, and as it moved upwards, darkness crept in around her. She stumbled forward, palms trying and failing to catch her fall. Instead, the pain of a thousand burning suns shot up both arms as she heard, and felt, the cracking of both wrists. Letting out a pained scream that emanated from the depths of her gut, she rolled onto her back to cradle her now useless arms. Panting and full of adrenaline, she began kicking blindly at what had been chasing her and tried scrambling backwards as best as possible, pushing herself with one leg along the floor. The full weight of what felt like an adult human launched forwards into her, with the hands of whoever it was making contact with her shoulders and pinning her flat on the ground.
Winded and effectively fucked, she began pleading and twisting as best as she could with her eyes squeezed tightly shut. It was no use. The person's breathing was heavy and ragged, also winded from the chase.
"Look at me." The voice commanded. Against her will, her eyes fluttered open. Above her was that guy. Again. Tim.
"Wake up."
--*--
With a gasp, your head flew forward off of the headrest, neck sore and stiff from how you had been sleeping. Chest rising and falling more heavily than it had in a long time, you raised a hand to your heart to steady yourself, and placed your other hand on the door handle to make sure this was real. As you blinked the sleep from your eyes and looked around, disoriented from the nightmare, you noticed Toby's hand on your shoulder.
"Geez, some dream huh? I tried waking you up like five times. You okay?'
Still too in shock to reply, you nodded your head quickly, slumping backwards in your seat. God. What an awful fucking dream. Fuck that guy--can't get peace in real life with Tim out there, and now he's invading your only place of solitude and relaxation. You realized the car was in park at some random gas station in one of the four spots out front. Though it was light outside and morning time, nobody else was there, except for one car pulling away from the gas pump and heading back towards the highway.
"Whew. That was crazy. And awful. Just truly, truly awful. Holy shit, feels like I ran as much as I did in my sleep..." you mumbled to yourself. Toby cleared his throat and turned his body towards you.
"I need to pee, like bad, but I don't wanna go in there. I'm gonna go find a tree. You--" he pointed at you and began fishing in his jacket pocket, "take this, it's, uh...like, twenty bucks? That ok? Gi guh-get some water, uh, two gallons, and s-some snacks. Whatever you like's fine. And go pee. Also--the cat," her jerked his thumb towards the backseat where Pickle rest. You nodded, and watched as he turned to get out of the car. A feeling of panic crept over you, not wanting to be alone.
"Wait! Wait, sorry, uh, could I, like, wait for you here? And then I'll run in, and you wait for me? I just...safer that way, yanno?" you were not feeling to keen on being alone after that nightmare, seeing Toby as your best bet to surviving a scenario like the one your brain conjured up. He just shrugged.
"Yeah, sure, be right back," he said, before walking towards the trees. He turned one last time towards you, giving a small wave, before disappearing in the brush. Climbing over the console and plopping into the drivers seat, you locked the doors before sinking into the seat, paranoia giving you an unnecessary adrenaline rush. A few minutes passed before Toby re-emerged from the brush, jogging slightly and with one hand in his pocket. You unlocked the door and swung yourself out of the driver's seat, finally feeling the hard ground under your feet. You raised your arms above your head, feeling thankful for two intact wrists in this moment, and swaying gently from side to side to get the blood flowing a bit.
"How was it?" you asked, trying to be funny, but then realizing asking Toby to effectively rate his piss was kinda weird. To your relief, though, he replied,
"Great. Solid stream, much (click), much needed," with a slight laugh. You laughed in response, and felt a wave of easiness replace the paranoia you had been sitting with. Letting out a forceful exhale, you began pacing the length of the gas station convenience store while swinging your arms until all pins and needles were gone and you had regained sensation in your buttocks.
Taking a moment to breathe the fresh and chilly morning air, and enjoying the warmth of the sun on your face, you allowed your brain and body to wake up a bit before turning on your heel towards the truck again. You grabbed Pickle and took her over to a patch of grass, letting her do her thing, and then carrying her to the truck. You began to walk around back to the trunk to fish out some food and a bowl for her water, but Toby stopped you.
"Hey, just, uh, I got it. Food and water, right? Her bowls ahh-ah-are right here. Go inside, take a leak, get some food. I'll be right here."
The way he said that, almost laced with some familiar domesticity, made you feel a little butterflies-y inside. Trying to hide a giddy smile, you nodded an 'okay' and headed in. The first thing upon entry was a little rotating rack with some postcards, maps, and sightseeing guides. You made a note to grab one of all three, just in case. But first--you wanted to freshen up. Realizing you actually could brush your teeth and maybe put on some deodorant was a relief, so you quickly ran back to the truck, to Toby's confusion, and grabbed a small toiletry bag you'd thrown in your backpack, then went back inside. The cashier hardly looked up at you a single time during this process, seemingly transfixed by whatever newspaper he was reading.
Too scared to set your toiletry bag down anywhere in the bathroom, you shoved it in your jacket and went through the motions of brushing your teeth, washing your hands, pissing, etc.
After finishing up, you walked out of the bathroom feeling refreshed. You grabbed a hand basket and tossed in a map, two cute postcards, a sightseeing guide, and a couple of snacks. To your shock, they actually had some fresh fruits that were reasonably priced; maybe since it was a more rural area, they were able to source it from nearby? You grabbed a container of (fav fruit) and (fav fruit) and added them to your basket, then grabbed two jug gallons of water before heading up to the register. Dropping his previously aloof demeanor, the elderly clerk greeted you with a friendly smile that melted his face into a mosaic of smile lines and wrinkles with a contagious warmth. You smiled and waved, greeting him with a small, "hi" as he rang you up. Making smalltalk for a few seconds, and laughing at his jokes, he placed all of your items in a cloth bag that seemed to have come from another store. You took it and thanked him, wished him a great day, and left. Feeling much better after having some normal human interaction, and feeling very excited about these fruits and some cold water, you speed-walked over to Toby, who was leaning against the car. Pickle was lapping up some water from her bowl as you placed the items in the backseat, opening up the fruit containers and a pack of jerky. The salt and smokiness tasted so, so good after running on empty for so long. You refilled your water bottle and chugged about half, then ate some of the fruit, not caring if it was washed or not. It was so delicious. Much tastier than what you remember buying from the grocery store back home. Scarfing down a few more pieces of jerky and a handful of trail mix, you grabbed the food and walked around to meet Toby and Pickle.
Toby seemed to be mesmerized by Pickle's incessant water-lapping. She had cleared her bowl of kibble, and you wished you had some wet food for her, too, but you couldn't open it and save any for later because it would be sitting in the car, unrefrigerated. Better to wait for a more permanent stop. You extended the bag to Toby, who nodded thankfully at you. Instead of eating right there, he hopped in the backseat of the car, looked around, and then lowered his jacket hood. You remembered in that moment that he had an open wound on the side of his face, and that he was probably understandably self conscious about being seen eating. Out of respect, you looked towards your cat, and crouched down to scratch her head and rub her sides. After a few minutes, you brought her to the grass again, just in case, and then sat her in her spot in the backseat. Curling up comfortably, and seemingly sleepy after her meal, Pickle closed her eyes.
You hopped into the driver's seat and adjusted the mirrors and seat accordingly, and buckled in. Upon starting the car, you noticed the car had already been gassed up--probably done by Toby while you were asleep. You wondered if he had used your card, or paid inside with cash. Would the card leave a trace? Toby joined you up front in the passenger seat, reclining the chair backwards. Pulling the map from your bag, you consulted with Toby for a moment, just to make sure you knew which highway to follow and if there were any upcoming exits. Luckily, it was just a straight shot, three hour haul along the interstate until you got to Missouri. You estimated you'd get there around 1pm, maybe 1:30 to account for traffic and a pit stop. After that, you two would figure out the next steps.
With some adrenaline pumping, and Toby already out cold next to you, you pulled out of the gas station and got back on the road.