As her eyes opened slowly and she awoke, the blurry vision ahead of her cleared and she faced the view of the dry, desert land coming into view. Luckily, she had not been kidnapped and locked in a basement somewhere. Breathing a sigh of relief, she faced out the passenger seat window, where among the rocky mountains were several cacti that she stared at in awe. Growing up in Liberty City, this was completely out of her element. "San Andreas… We ain't in North Yankton anymore," she thought to herself, with a smile coming across her face. Being from the East Coast, she had always wanted to come here. And finally, she was. Of course, it had to happen under unfortunate circumstances. But to Sasha, she decided to take back control of her life and turn the situation into something for her advantage. As she stared out the window, the hazy events of the past 24 hours began to flood her mind. Suddenly, the vision of her mom screaming flashed her consciousness. "I had to get out… I had to leave." She couldn't take it there for any longer. It was the first time she was going to visit her mother and sister in North Yankton since they had moved there from Liberty City. She knew how it always was with them, especially her mother, with the emotional abuse and manipulation. Yet for some reason, she wanted to believe this time could be different. She thought that maybe since they weren't in Liberty anymore that somehow things would magically change between them and their relationship for the better. It hadn't. She thought wrong. And so in the midst of the hysteria, she packed her bag and left the house. "Things are never going to change… It's probably for the best that I just stay out of their lives," she thought to herself as she stared out the window at the passing scenery.
"Well, rise and shine Sasha! We're in San Andreas territory!"
Her thoughts were quickly interrupted by the older man to her left, driving the eighteen wheeler truck she rather impulsively hopped into last night. Truthfully, she hadn't even had the thought of leaving the state entirely and running away. She knew she couldn't handle it there any longer, but when she stormed out of the house she had no intention of never returning back. However, when she first left the house in anger and frustration, she walked into a nearby gas station to buy a sandwich and overheard the man buying a load of red bull at the cash register telling the cashier how he has got an 8 hour drive to San Andreas for a delivery shipment, an idea struck into her mind as if a lightbulb popped above her head as if she were in a cartoon. She had many friends from college in and around Los Santos and thought that maybe this was her chance to turn this dreadful vacation into the adventure she had always wanted. She studied the man at the cash register as he paid, and decided he was un-creepy enough to go for it. She knew the idea was absolutely absurd, but going on an unplanned adventure like this was always something she had fantasized about doing. Not to mention, this seemed to be her golden opportunity. It was as if the universe was giving her a sign, and well... she at least had to ask. As he exited the store, she swallowed her pride and approached the man. She introduced herself, explained her situation, and informed him that she needed to somehow get to Los Santos in San Andreas and would be willing to throw some money his way to make it worthwhile. The sweet older gentleman, whose name was revealed to be George, was more than happy to accommodate but had informed her that Los Santos was south of where he was headed, and he needed to go all the way to the Northern region of San Andreas. She decided that that was no problem and would go along with him as far as he could take her and excitingly got into the truck, eager of the idea that soon she would be in San Andreas, away from her mother and North Yankton for good. She knew it was a long drive to San Andreas, and she fought hard to avoid falling asleep next to a completely strange man. Although she had conversed with him enough up to this point to assume that he wasn't an absolute psychopath, she could never be too sure. Yet, the weariness of her body was winning the fight, and soon she was sound asleep and slept throughout the night as the older man drove through the dark for eight hours straight.
"Wow, morning, George! Geez, you made excellent time," she said as she looked at the clock, realizing it was only 11 in the morning and they had expected to be in San Andreas by 1.
"Yup, drove straight through the night without stoppin'. You slept pretty well," the older man replied.
"Well, this truck you got here is surprisingly comfy. Not to mention, I was just so exhausted… So this is San Andreas, huh?" Sasha questioned.
"Yes, ma'am! I hope you rested up enough because your stop is comin' up soon. About 20 minutes ahead in the desert here is the good ol' town of Sandy Shores. I'll need to keep headin' North and get on the highway to Route 909, but I can drop you off there. And the city of Los Santos is only a few hours South," George responded.
"Oh wow, thank you!" Sasha exclaimed.
"No problem, sorry I can't take you all the way to Los Santos, but this shipment has gotta make it there in time. Y'know, duty calls," the man replied apologetically.
"Trust me, you've done far more than I could ever ask. I can't even thank you enough for taking me this far," Sasha replied. Before she knew it, the truck was pulling over to the side of the road just before the exit onto the highway.
"Now, on the left over these mountains right here, you'll find Sandy Shores. Quiet little town, nothin' compared to Los Santos. But hopefully, you'll find a bus or somethin' to get you outta there soon enough," George said to her as he pulled over.
"Thank you so much, George," Sasha responded, and she started to reach for her backpack to grab her wallet when the old man interrupted.
"Now now, no payment required. You keep your money. You never know when you're gonna need it, especially since now you'll be travelin' on foot and all. You got a plan?" George questioned. She smiled to herself at the man's generosity.
"Not necessarily, but I'm really good at winging it. I mean, I made it this far, haven't I?" she said as she let out a chuckle at her own joke. The old man laughed lightly in response.
"Alright, I'm sure you know what you're doin'. Somethin' tells me you got experience. Now, just be careful in Sandy Shores. I ain't been there many times but from the times I have been, I can tell you, it's an awfully weird place. Just, keep to y'self is all. A pretty girl like you is an easy target for them redneck weirdos," he warned.
She laughed in response. "Will do, thank you so much again George. Good luck on the rest of your journey!" she exclaimed.
"You too, darlin."
Without the man noticing, she had slipped a twenty in the cupholder. "It's the least I could do for him," she thought to herself. She grabbed her backpack, and hopped out the truck, with her feet creating a tiny dust cloud when she hit the ground. The truck drove off, entering the highway. She wondered how she got so lucky to encounter such a sweet old man. Across the road, she saw a valley in-between the mountains towards the direction George had told her to go. As she started to walk, she thought about George and what his life is like, whether or not he has a wife, and how many times he had picked up hitchhikers. In between the mountains now walking through the valley, the desert sun was shining down hard. She had paused to put her long, thick dark brown hair up, as beads of sweat began to form on her skin. She wondered how long she'd be walking until she'd come across Sandy Shores, and wondered what kind of "redneck weirdos" George warned her about that she would encounter.
After about forty minutes of walking, the small town had come into her view. No skyscrapers, no crowds of people, just low buildings, a whole lot of cactuses, and some palm trees. As she walked through the still town, she took notice of the quietness. All she heard was some motorcycles riding through here and there, and a few trucks passing by. One which honked at her mockingly, causing her to roll her eyes. As she walked through, she reached the Alamo sea. "Well, that's one good thing about this place," she thought to herself. She sat down on a rock, enjoying the view, and started skipping stones across the sea, wondering what her next move would be. "I guess I should go find a bus station or something…" as she got up, along the way, she lost her sense of direction, and couldn't recall which way South was to get to Los Santos.
Looking around, she saw a strange looking young man walking by the sea up ahead a few feet from where she was. He was humming and singing oddly to himself in a weird manner. She wondered whether or not she should say something to him, but figured he must've been harmless and well, he was the only person around. She stood up and shouted towards him.
"Hey!" she shouted towards him.
"Huh?"
The younger man looked up ahead confused, and she waved towards him to come over. He skipped his way over, and as he came into view, she noticed his odd features. He had dreadlocks, a variety of facial piercings, and a red bandana tied around his forehead.
"Oh, hey there! How ya doin'?" he shouted as he approached her.
"Hi…" she trailed off. "Do you know which way Los Santos is?" she asked curiously.
"Oh oh, Los Santos! It's South," he responded.
She chuckled… "Right… which way is South, again?"
He laughed before commenting, "well… uhh… it's that way," he said as he pointed behind her. "Actually, no.. that way, I uh, think," he said as he pointed in the opposite direction.
She laughed to herself. "Are you sure?"
"No, not actually. Nice to meet ya, I'm Wade," he said as he randomly introduced himself and outstretched his hand to her.
Finding him to be somewhat amusing, she took his hand willingly… "Nice to meet you Wade, I'm Sasha."
"Sasha! Cool, so whatcha goin' to Los Santos for anyway, Sasha?" he replied, emphasizing her name.
"Oh, I've never been... and I'm just trying to meet up with a friend," Sasha responded meekly, not wanting to delve into the details of her runaway.
"My cousin lives there, his name's Floyd! Any chance he's your friend?" Wade responded enthusiastically.
She chuckled to herself, finding him oddly amusing and very child-like. "No, not necessarily… but maybe I'll run into him. If I ever figure out how to get there first," she sighed.
"Well actually, I'm goin' t' see him soon! Hey, you should come with! Maybe we can drop you off or somethin'," he replied.
"Really!? You're driving to Los Santos? When?" Sasha asked with a gleam upon her face.
"Yep, well I'm not drivin', Trevor is. But I'm sure he won't mind! We're leavin' tonight, I think. He's gotta find like, a ghost or whatever…" Wade trailed off in confusion. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion at his last statement but decided not to ask.
"Well, do you think this Trevor guy would let me come along?" Sasha asked innocently.
"Well, sure. I think. He's real nice, to me at least. But I've seen him been reaaaaaal mean to other people though… but you're a lady. I don't think Trevor minds ladies. We can go meet him now, and I can ask, if ya want," Wade replied.
"Um…. yeah… you know what? Why not? That'd be really cool if you could do that," Sasha responded. She initially hesitated but decided that with her stroke of luck so far that there is no way she could pass this opportunity up.
"Well, surely ain't no problem, Sasha! His trailer is only a few minutes this way, we'll be there in no time," Wade responded as he began to walk towards the other direction. Sasha quickly followed along, and the two began to walk together along the seashore.
"So, he's your friend? How do you know him?" Sasha inquired.
"Yep, I work for him. I actually only met him 'bout a year ago, and when my friends suddenly disappeared, Trevor was there for me. Has been lookin' out for me ever since!" Wade preached.
"Wait, what? Your friends… just disappeared?" she asked in puzzlement.
"Yeah, it was real weird actually. We was on our way to the gathering, I was wit' Daisy Bell and Kush Chronic… We met Trevor on the way. Anyway, later on Trevor and them drove out to the quarry, and they just disappeared. Haven't seen or heard from 'em since. But Trevor has been by my side ever since it happent'!" Wade responded enthusiastically.
She let out a laugh… "So they just… disappeared right after they met Trevor?" she questioned suspiciously.
"Strange, ain't it?" he replied.
"Yeah… geez that is weird," she said as she laughed to herself, wondering if the man had anything to do with their disappearance and if Wade was too naive to realize it.
Before she knew it, a trailer came into view. Sasha immediately wondered who exactly she was going to encounter, because from the vague description given by Wade, she wasn't too sure if this was a good idea. But, she didn't make it all the way to San Andreas to get cold feet now.
"Trevor! Ohhh, Trevor!" Wade called out as he entered the front yard of the trailer through the gate, with Sasha following right behind. She mentally prepared herself for who she was about to meet.
"The FUCK are you screaming outside of my trailer for, Wade!?" The older man shouted as he kicked the door open angrily, with his eyes quickly searching for Wade. Alarmed, Wade scurried to hide behind Sasha. She quickly looked behind at him confused, thinking "Isn't this YOUR friend!?" When Trevor noticed Sasha was standing there, his angry posture calmed as he eyed her, up and down. She felt as if her entire body was being scrutinized, and she looked back into his eyes and as his eyes met back with hers, it felt as if he was looking through her soul. He was much older than she had imagined him to be, and a lot more… intimidating, but she sort of expected that part. Yet part of her thought he was oddly pleasing to look at, in an admirable, older man kind of way. She quickly swallowed and continued to stare him directly in the eyes without speaking up.
"Well, well, well… and who is this?" he said as he grinned at Sasha menacingly. "Wade, where the fuck are your manners? Aren't ya gunna introduce me to your new…. friend here?" Trevor finished off in an uncertain tone.
"This-this is Sasha, Trevor… and Sasha, this is Trevor.. my friend I was tellin' you about," Wade said nervously as he stepped out from behind Sasha. Trevor smiled at her devilishly and outstretched his hand to shake hers. At first, she hesitated for a nanosecond to shake his hand, but decided she should comply. She smiled and took his hand as they exchanged a handshake.
"Nice to meet you," she said quietly.
"Oh, the pleasure is all mine, beautiful!" he replied, emphasizing the beautiful. She shyly smiled in return, feeling her cheeks flush.
"So, what the fuck is a gorgeous girl like you doin' with a moron like Wade, huh? Lost a bet or somethin'?" Trevor said as he laughed at his own joke. She laughed in response.
"No… we just met, actually. He uh, told me that.." she began to speak.
"I found her by the Alamo sea! She needs to get to Los Santos!" Wade interrupted, cutting her off. She nodded in agreement.
"Yeah… exactly," she said as she stared back into Trevor's eyes. Trevor, never taking her eyes off her, slowly nodded his head.
"Oh, Los Santos, huh? Wellllll, lucky for you missy, we're headin' there tonight," Trevor responded.
"Yeah, Wade told me! Would it be okay if I… tag along? I can give you some money," Sasha said as sweetly as possible, hoping she could use her charm to her advantage in this situation. Trevor laughed somewhat maniacally to himself before speaking up.
"I don't need money, babe. But if you're willin' to offer me other… services… I'd be more than happy to accept," he said while tonguing the inside of his mouth, staring her up and down. Her mouth opened slightly in shock at his innuendo, and before she could muster up a response, Wade interrupted again.
"Ooh, ooh! Maybe you can draw him a picture, Sasha!" Wade shouted enthusiastically. She looked at Wade and laughed out loud, knowing he was being completely serious and the sexual innuendo went completely over his head. She looked back at Trevor to quickly see his reaction and found him rolling his eyes.
"Not. Exactly. What. I. Meant. Wade... Anyway, Wade. We got some business to take care of for Trevor Philips Industries. Let's get goin'," Trevor said as he descended the stairs and passed both Sasha and Wade.
"Okay," Wade replied as he turned to follow Trevor.
"Now, Sasha! You're welcome to uh… stay in my trailer. We won't be leavin' for a few hours, so you can just make yourself comfortable in there and do whatever ya gotta do to get yourself ready for our little road trip! And, don't open the door to ANYONE, okay? There shouldn't be any trouble, but hide if you need to. I wanna make sure that beautiful body is still there for me when I get back," Trevor said as he looked back to face her and eyed her intensively. She laughed uncomfortably in response and admired his confidence silently while half rolling her eyes.
"Okay… but do you have like, any water or food in there? I'm simultaneously starving and dying of thirst," she said half-sarcastically while folding her arms.
"Mi casa es tu casa, doll face. Take whatever you want. Wade, let's go. We'll be back later," Trevor said as both he and Wade walked towards the truck.
The both of them had entered the red truck and began to drive off, and Sasha waved at them as she stepped into the trailer. As she looked around, she could not believe what disgust she had walked herself into. "What the fuck am I doing here?" she thought to herself. But with her current money situation, she knew it would cost a lot more to find a way to Los Santos herself than by hitching a ride with so far two of the strangest people she has ever met. She thought about Trevor, and how despite his rugged behavior and off-putting demeanor, there was something about him that was slightly… alluring. And there was no doubt that he was into her from the obvious sexual references, but she had assumed he had done that to almost every girl he met. "I mean, he is creepy enough. And he's like… forty years old," she thought to herself as she chuckled, finding him to be very amusing despite his terrifying nature. She knew that she should probably get out of there. But something also told her that this was the adventure she had always wanted. Even if it was with the two people she'd least expect.
She discovered the trailer room by room, although there weren't many. Trevor definitely wasn't a very clean man. She looked through the fridge but found nothing but strange looking meat, which she immediately disapproved of as she didn't feel like risking it in case it turned out to be something else. At this point, she wouldn't be surprised. In a cabinet, she found a half-empty box of cereal and decided that would suffice. Eating straight from the box, she also looked around for something to drink. In the fridge, there was nothing but a half-empty gallon of milk that was spoiled. It smelled disgusting. She dumped it down the drain, wondering how this man ate and took care of himself as a living. All she could find was a 6 pack of beer, something called Pisswasser. She wasn't usually a beer drinker, but at this point, she couldn't care less. She cracked open a bottle and started to chug, the cold alcohol alleviating her thirst. To her surprise, it was actually pretty good. She continued to look around, and even snooped somewhat through his things a little, out of force of habit, in case she'd find anything weird. Well, everything was weird about him and the situation, but anything that could send her running for the hills. She found nothing that alarmed her entirely and felt very tired from walking in the heat of the sun all morning. Figuring she wouldn't know when exactly they'd be back, or even if they'd come back, she decided to take a nap. She knew it had to at least be hours from now. Deciding that the most cleanly place to rest her head was more the bed than the couch, she laid down on Trevor's bed. She wondered exactly how many women had been on this bed and what kind of fluids were scattered across it. "I doubt he washes his sheets…" She had to quickly change her train of thought to prevent her from jumping out of the bed with disgust. She decided to think about home, about her mother, about North Yankton and everything that happened… She had known it was the right decision to be away from that place now. As bad as this seemed to be, that was much worse. Her eyes began to close knowing as of right now, she is hopefully exactly right where she should be. "Sleeping in a stranger's bed who comes off as somewhat of a psychopath. Great," was her last thought before she slipped out of consciousness.
