1 - The Defiant Ones
The first hour of driving was reckless. The frame of the Volkswagen rattled around them as Nikki pushed the needle past 70, not caring much where the road took them so long as it was away from where they'd been. After a while the man in the passenger seat tapped one finger on the back of her hand and gestured for her to slow down. She eased her foot off the pedal and tried not to think about how slippery the floor was with her own blood. She didn't dare to look in the rearview mirror, too afraid of seeing the outline of a wolf back there chasing her. On they went for hours with the headlights cutting a low tunnel through the darkness and only the sound of a man breathing to keep her company. It was like nothing else in the world existed outside of the car and the beam of light. Eventually Nikki glanced down at the dials behind the wheel and felt her stomach lurch a bit.
"Looks like we don't have enough gas to go much further." A few moments of silence passed before she remembered that there wasn't going to be an answer. Nikki reached over and waved her hand next to the man's face until he looked at her. She met his eyes while tapping her fingernail over the gage and shaking her head. He jutted his chin in acknowledgement. She hoped he had a plan. About ten minutes later the man rapped his knuckles on the dash and pointed. She followed the direction of his finger and turned the car off the road onto a gravel lane that took them into the woods.
"I don't know about this, big fella," she muttered, careful not to move her mouth too much. Once they were well off the road he gestured for her to pull over. She coasted off the gravel and parked. The man reached over, killed the ignition and pocketed the key. By the time Nikki looked over to him he had already opened his door and was awkwardly unfolding himself out of the seat. Nikki stayed put. She did not trust her ability to walk any further, and she didn't particularly want to leave the relative safety of the car. It was a gift, after all. Her door opened and the man, either in a hurry or sensing her reluctance, grabbed her under the arm and hauled her out. As soon as she found her feet he started walking, and Nikki had to either walk along with him or be dragged.
They cut through the woods in a straight line, or as straight as two people who were exhausted, wounded, and limping could manage. Each grasped the other's sleeve in one hand, and the chains dangling from their wrists clattered together. Like really sad sleigh bells, Nikki thought. The man seemed to have regained some his strength, but he was breathing loud and sometimes pulled hard on her sleeve like he was using her arm to regain his balance. Nikki had lost track of the time, but it must have been the small hours of the night. The trees blocked most of the moonlight, and she found herself tripping over unseen roots and branches that the man seemed able to avoid. When the trees started to thin the man redirected them, and Nikki realized they were walking downhill. She had to keep her head down so as to keep the little footing she had, and she didn't notice that the man had stopped until her head knocked clumsily against his shoulder. She looked up and saw a lake.
"We going swimming, mister?" It was sort a joke, but she was also a little scared that it was true. The man didn't notice her question, or chose to ignore it. He was looking around, and Nikki wondered vaguely if he could see better than most since he couldn't hear at all. He pointed at something and then nodded at Nikki before pulling on her sleeve and striding out again. She followed, of course, but her legs started shaking and she grabbed onto his jacket with both hands. Almost without breaking stride the man stepped behind her and pressed one hand behind her shoulders, pushing her forward while balancing her with his other hand on her arm. On they went through the dark. Maybe we will never stop, Nikki mused with the delirium of the exhausted, maybe we really did die and our punishment is to walk forever through a dark forest. She laughed a little so that she wouldn't cry.
It was only a few minutes later that Nikki realized where they were going. It was a cabin, tucked back in the edge of the woods with a raised patio overlooking the lake. As they approached it the man swung Nikki around by her arms and pushed her down so she was sitting on the stairs to the patio. He put his face in front of hers, and when their eyes were locked he pointed at her and then tapped his ear and made a circular gesture. She nodded, and he patted her shoulders before crouching down and making his way around the corner of the cabin and disappearing from view. She tried to be as quiet and still as possible until he came back around the opposite corner. He raised his eyebrows at her and tapped his ear again. She shook her head, and he nodded. They grabbed each other's arms and slowly made their way up the stairs. At the top, the man braced himself and kicked once at the door, which gave way with a crunch. They waited another moment before walking in, then stood in the dark until Nikki spotted a table lamp and staggered away from the man to turn it on. In the dim light they could see that the cabin was one big room with a kitchenette in one corner and a bathroom in the other. An assortment of miss-matched chairs were scattered around. The only big pieces of furniture were the table by the kitchenette and a sofa in the middle of the room. It was all a little dusty. She looked back at the man who was shoving the door back into place. He grabbed the nearest chair and wedged it shut. She limped over to the kitchen sink and turned on the faucet. It spluttered, and reddish brown water splashed out. She let it run clear before sticking her mouth under the stream. The man had followed her, and when she was done she hopped aside to let him drink. When he stood up again they looked at each other. Their faces were bloody and their mouths were wet. They were both pale and shaking with exhaustion, but they were alive and, for the moment, safe.
"I can't believe you got us here." Her voice was unsteady. It was all too strange. She'd been shot by an arrow, participated in a beheading, visited a bowling alley that maybe wasn't a bowling alley, met man who maybe wasn't a man, and fallen in with a deaf convict – clearly a killer – who had swooped in and protected her like a guardian angel her for no reason she could guess. An angel who decapitates people. None of it made any sort of sense, but here they were. "I guess it's meant to be," she said out loud. Maybe she had just gone crazy.
The man shrugged.
"What next," she asked him. He held up one of his wrists and shook the chain.