Summary:

Day two for the unlikely duo. Our heroine is determined to find a way shake off her new travel companion. Of course said companion is having absolutely none of that.
And they still need to get that damn engine fixed at some point.


Rey woke up with the dawn.

It was cold, and the pale light from outside gave everything an eerie, almost otherworldly glow. For several minutes she just stares up at the ceiling of her tent. Watches the shadows cast by the branches above her flicker with the breeze.

Something is off. She feels strange. Very confused and trying to put together-

She sits up abruptly as the events from the day before come flooding back. How could she have forgotten even for a moment? Seeing him, then meeting him, then... why the hell did she let him into her car? Taken him here with her?

Wait... where is here?

Only bits and flashes of the evening come back to her. She remembers feeling very faint. Unwell and with her head in a fog. It doesn't anymore, at least. But her memories are scattered. Huge gaps in what she can recall that only seem to move further away when she tries to reach out to them.

If she really concentrates, she can barely remember pulling out from the station with her new passenger. Then seeing flashes of trees illuminated by her headlights. It hadn't been dark when they'd left. They must have been driving for a while.

It's scary. Genuinely frightening to just not be able to remember more.

Physically, at least, she feels fine now. Enough to know that she wasn't... compromised in any way. But just having a total blackout like this-

Footsteps come from outside, interrupting her thoughts. If she squints she can almost make out a shadow moving in the near distance.

She holds her breath. The footsteps come closer.

Should she do something? Most likely it's him. But he hasn't done anything to hurt her. Or at least she doesn't think so. The scream building up in her throat seems excessive and unnecessary

The footsteps stop. The quiet extends into full silence. She's afraid to move, or even breathe too hard. Do anything that might give away that she's awake.

Seconds go by. Then she thinks she can hear a sigh. The footsteps start to move away. The shadow glides past, silhouetted by the first ray of sunlight and projected larger than life against the wall of her tent.

Rey waits another minute. Motionless and listening. Then decides this is ridiculous and crawls out of her sleeping bag.


It's so beautiful here.

When Rey gets out she remembers pulling into this spot. Her memory gets jogged by the tall spiraling trees and the rockslide in the near distance. This spot was some distance down a dirt road. Her beater car had trouble making it over some of the bumps.

She can't believe she was driving on a road like this in such a disoriented state. If any police had been around they would have pulled her over and thought she was drunk. But still, they made it here. Somehow.

Rey also remembers not feeling well. Or at least saying that she wasn't feeling well. She'd lied about it, said she was tired. She'd really just wanted to get away from him. He'd seemed sad. Quiet and sad. But he had helped her put up her tent. They had both struggled with it and had to use the headlights to see since she couldn't find a flashlight.

Little bits and pieces of her memory trickle in like that. But, for the most part, everything else that happened since he got in her car was still a numb spot in her mind. And now the Stranger's nowhere to be seen.

Had he told her his name? He might have. But he's not here now and she can't help but feel relieved.

The passenger seat of her car is in full recline. The only proof she has that this whole thing hadn't just been part of her addled dreams from last night.

Rey sighs, longing for a hot cup of coffee. Looks around, hugging her arms tightly against herself from the cold. The sun's just starting to rise. It won't be cold for long, even at this altitude.

No sounds other than the wind and her own breath. He's really not here anymore.

She wastes no more time. Takes down her tent in a hurry. Not bothering to pack it up properly and instead just throws it in a bundle in the backseat of her car.

Then she turns on the engine and gets the hell out of there.


Rey doesn't get very far.

It's been less than ten minutes, much less than a mile, when she meets him again. That same dark stranger who keeps popping up no matter where she goes.

Except this time she looks really guilty. He's walking up the road, back towards the campsite, and there's no way to explain what she's doing other than she had tried to split and abandon him out here.

He stares at her, wide-eyed. She wants to keep going, hit the gas pedal even if the road is in shit condition and she should drive slow on it. Instead her foot suddenly hits the brakes. Her car lunges to a stop, smashing her against the steering wheel. Reminding her that she was in such a hurry to hightail it out of there she forgot to buckle up.

"Something wrong?" he asks dryly, opening the passenger door a crack. Watching as she rubs the soon-to-be bruise on her sternum.

There's not much she can say. It's exactly what it looks like.

"Sorry," she mumbles.

He glares. She pushes herself back up. Buckles her belt and presses her lips together into a thin line. Hopes he'll just... go away.

"Is it alright if I get in?" Or are you just going to leave me out here?

She can almost hear that last part in her mind. His annoyed body language speaking volumes.

"Yeah. Okay."

Her voice is weak. He gets in with a huff. Fuck.

"Um, should I..." she fiddles with the heater, noticing how pale he is and how he tucks his hands under his arms. "Should I drop you somewhere in town?"

He holds his hands in front of the vent. "Sure. Beats having to walk all the way back."

She puts the car in gear. He gives her a sidelong glare. Then apparently decides to drop the whole 'running away' issue.

They're further down this dirt road than she'd originally thought. Not that she could remember much about last night though, anyhow. She has to go under 20 to avoid the potholes. He stays quiet, still sulking. Occasionally gripping onto the bar above the door when they go over a particularly bad bump.

"I went for a walk," he finally says.

"Sorry?"

"I just went out for a walk. This morning. I wanted to see the dawn. I've always liked it up here..."

"Oh."

Well, she hadn't actually asked. But she had been wondering. And, in fact, that sounds like a perfectly reasonable thing for someone to do. More or less. And it makes her feel like even more of a bitch for trying to ditch him like that.

When the next awkward silence becomes too much she turns on the radio and lets him pick the station.


Motown. The Stranger likes Motown. That and light jazz.

She would have assumed he'd like heavy metal, or black metal, or Black Sabbath. Or something else that matched his clothes. Hits from the Oldies wouldn't have been in her top 100 guesses.

He's staring out the window, watching the countryside go by. Holding onto the door like he's afraid she's going to throw it open and heave him out at any moment. How ridiculous. She could barely budge him an inch. Well, maybe she could if she really, really tried.

His head turns and he looks over at her with a raised eyebrow. She realizes she was laughing under her breath, feeling profoundly amused by how his chin would bob slightly with the upbeat rhythm.

"It's nothing," she says, brushing a hand through her hair to disguise her reaction. "Just thinking to myself."

He seems like he's about to argue and she clicks the radio up. They fall back into a silence she decides to consider as 'companionable'.


"So where do you want me to leave you?"

They're approaching that little town again. It's still very early in the morning, helped by her rapid exodus from the campsite, and she's not sure the mechanic will be open yet. But it's time for them to say their goodbyes.

"You're in a rush?" he asks, tone flat. He's staring straight ahead out the front window but she can see his back stiffen.

She starts to a get a sinking feeling he's not planning on being reasonable.

"Yes, I am," she lies.

She can feel him looking at her. It makes her cringe despite herself. And when she meets his gaze he's scowling. The he immediately turns back to the window.

"Um, what I mean is..." She swallows, trying not to let her rising nervousness effect her. "It might take all day to get my engine fixed. I wouldn't want to delay you from-"

"You won't be."

"But you need to find a ride. People may be going down the mountain for work or for the day. One of them might-"

"I can wait and go with you."

Rey can feel the beginning of a headache forming. Somehow she just knew that would be his answer.

"You'll need to find someone else. I'm not going the same way you're heading."

"Yes, you are."

Her fingers tighten on the steering wheel. He must notice because he slumps down, leans a little further away from her. Like he's trying to not seem intimidating. Which is completely impossible when you look like he does.

"You said you were going to Alamogordo to get your car fixed," he says, hints of irritation lacing in his voice. "I'm going that way too. It works for both of us."

"I didn't say that." She eyes the cluster of buildings slowly approaching in the distance. Just another mile or two.

"Yes, you did. Last night." He looks at where she's looking and frowns. Holds onto the armrest of the door again.

Well shit, she might have said that then. Everything about last night is still muddled in her head.

She falls silent. Trying to think of some polite way of giving him the boot out of her life. Sneaks a quick glance at him from the corner of her eye. His head is tipped down ever so slightly and his mouth is pressed into a firm line.

He seems very... somber

But she just can't let the puppy-dog routine work. And she wasn't lying: she really does have to have to get her engine fixed.

"How about here?" she says, pointing at a wide, gravel pulloff. They'd just rejoined Highway 82 and any traffic going through the area would have to drive right by this spot.

When he doesn't answer she shrugs, puts on her blinker and starts to slow down. He opens and closes his mouth like he's about to say something.

Then, just as she's about to pull in, he grabs the wheel and jerks it to the left. The car practically jumps back onto the road, swerving into the oncoming lane.

"Hey!" she shouts, slamming her foot onto the brakes. "What are you doing?!"

He lets go abruptly, pulling away and recoiling back to his side of the cabin.

"Keep going."

He says it as an order. Like he can just command her to do whatever he wants.

Indignation washes over her, making her sputter for a moment before finding her voice. "Get out. Now."

She grips the wheel tightly. He doesn't move.

"I said get-"

"No."

He raises his hand and for a moment she flinches, wondering if he's about to strike her. Then he clenches it into a fist and punches it against his own thigh. Gritting his teeth tightly.

Rey's anger immediately starts to transform into fear. Okay, maybe there really is something seriously wrong with this guy. But she has to somehow try and keep control of the situation.

"Get out of my car," she tells him again, trying to keep her voice level and sound more confident than she feels. Not sure how to enforce it or what she can do if he doesn't.

He doesn't move. Of course he doesn't move.

Instead, he just frowns at the floor. The hand on his leg opening and clenching.

"Keep driving. Please."

Please. As if that one word would make a difference.

She's about to insist again when she feels an odd twinge in the back of her head. Like an itch running along her scalp. For a moment she almost wants to drop it. Just keep driving to appease him and avoid a conflict.

Then she brushes it away. Steadies her voice.

"No," she repeats, glaring at him sternly. "I want you to get out of my car. Now."

He sighs deeply, closing his eyes and letting his shoulders slump. For a second she thinks he's actually going to go, then he mutters "fuck" under his breath, glaring at the road ahead.

Another car is driving down towards them, just cresting into sight on the horizon. A black semi-truck, technically. She's still partially sticking out into their lane.

"Keep driving," he tell her.

He's not going to let this go, is he?

Rey's had enough. She turns, unlocking his seatbelt from the mechanism. Then she reaches over him to the door handle, intent on throwing it open and heaving him out somehow. If he puts up a fight, hopefully she can flag the other driver down and get help.

He snatches her wrist from mid-air, squeezing it firmly when she yelps and tries to jerk it back. "Don't do that. Keep driving."

She wants to demand again that he leaves her car. Shout at him to let her go and just get the hell away from her. But just like yesterday she suddenly feels dizzy. Disconnected from herself with an intense sense of pressure in her mind. She tries to fight it and he squeezes harder, leaning closer and staring at her with focus.

Drive.

When her arm goes slack he lets go of her wrist. It falls limply onto his lap. She watches as he picks it up. Places her hand back on the steering wheel. Her foot leaves the brake pedal that she'd been stomping down on this whole time.

"Everything's fine," he tells her, looking at the truck approaching then back to her. "Just start driving. You're fine."

She accelerates slowly, feeling oddly like she's underwater. Straightens their car up and gets back into her own lane.

The truck passes and the Stranger waves at the driver. Some older man in a baseball cap. He ignores them completely, continuing on past to wherever he was heading. They do the same.


They stop at a viewpoint a few miles past the town. Rey is feeling a little more clear but it's hard for her to drive. Her reaction times are off and she kept almost running stop signs and lights.

The Stranger insists on them pulling over now, which is just fine with her. The last thing she wants is to have any problems with the local police.

She feels oddly calm as she steps out. Nauseous and slightly groggy, but calm.

Rey knows she should be more upset about what happened, but she can't quite seem to bring herself to be. In its place is simply a sort of numb acceptance that drowns out all her attempts to figure out what happened.

When she could speak again, she told him that she's more worried. It's a long way down off the mountain. She still has to get her car fixed and she thinks there's something wrong with her. She doesn't know why she's acting like this.

The Stranger had told her she was probably just dehydrated. He'd given her some water and told her they shouldn't stop at the mechanic in town. He was worried it would take too long, and wouldn't it be better to just wait and get it done at a big chain shop later on?

At the time she had agreed, not wanting to spend all day in some tiny waiting room.

Except she wouldn't have been, would she? No. She'd made a deal to help fix up some-

"Hey, come over here," her persistent new companion calls out to her. Interrupting her from her thoughts which immediately dissipate into the back of her mind.

He's standing in front of a small podium. Unfolding beyond him is a dramatic view of the desert floor, unfolding thousands of feet below.

"Are you feeling better?" he asks when she steps out of the car and cautiously approaches him.

He'd been nothing short of a complete gentleman since that incident half an hour ago. Asking her what she'd like to listen to, if she needed to stop to just let him know. And now he's trying to act like her friend. Keeping a respectful and polite distance as he plays tour guide. Pointing to different objects on the horizon.

"And that over there is White Sands," he points at a pale swath in the distance. "It's a National Monument and also next to an army base. It's a really beautiful area, we should check it out when we go by."

Rey stays silent. Her fingers itching to pull out her camera and just start snapping away like the perfect tourist cliché, but her mind rebelling against his aggressive attempts at chivalry. The blatantly obvious "we" of his statements grating on her nerves.

When she doesn't respond he seems to grow both frustrated and more apologetic. Tries harder to play nice and be charming. Offers to take a picture of her with the valley as the background.

And it's just not in Rey's nature to hold a grudge. To be petty and maintain her cold shoulder when it's so obvious that it's effecting someone else.

So she takes him up on his offer. Even tries to smile despite her pounding head and shaken nerves.

When she tells him that she's going to take that short trail up to the lookout point and he hesitates, visibly wavering between following her and waiting by the car for her to get back. She reluctantly invites him to go with her. Even asks him about the mountains she can see in the distance across the basin.

He follows immediately, head higher and a new pace to his stride. Irrationally it makes her feel good about herself. She's made someone else happy. She can tolerate this creeper for a few more hours.

But, no matter what, she can't shake how worried she feels. He had scared her badly back there. His quiet and little-boy-lost personality taking such a sudden 180. She had actually been afraid for her own safety for a moment, and then...

And then she'd... had a hard time. Her mind had just shut down. Something really was wrong with her. And he'd taken advantage of it.

"What's your name?" she asks out of the blue. Squinting against the glare of the sun as she reads the dais signboard that describes the geology of the area.

He stands to the side, blocking it with his massive shadow so she can see better.

"You forgot?"

She looks up at him. His face is perfectly stoic. "You told me before?"

He nods. "Last night."

"Sorry... I wasn't feeling well. I can't remember even asking you."

She's not really sorry, but it seems like the polite thing to say.

Unreasonably, she keeps feeling angry with him about her memory lapses. Those aren't his fault, though he's certainly done plenty of other things for her to be cross over.

"It's Kylo," he says, stepping away and turning to walk back down the path. "You thought it was a weird name last night. I'm surprised you forgot."

As hard as she tries, Rey can't remember that at all. But at least she has a name to call him by. It's probably fake, but that doesn't really matter. Sooner or later she's going to find a way to get rid of him, and then he'll just be an odd footnote in her memory.


Predictably, her car problems had not spontaneously fixed themselves.

They had made it down off the mountain. Barely. Stopping every few miles to let the engine cool. The mechanic had been right: it really was an all-day trip with her car in its current shape.

In a way Rey didn't mind, she was enjoying the scenery and the leisurely pace. But she would have much rather just had everything taken care of and to be alone. Not to have her temperamental new companion constantly lurking in her periphery.

It had been mid-afternoon when they finally got to the bottom of the valley. They'd had to stop again and she'd looked up several mechanics in the next town. Made a few calls and chose the cheapest one available. Set an appointment for tomorrow morning bright and early.

That meant another night of sleeping out. She was fine with that. It's what she'd been doing for months now.

The problem – the most serious problem – was what to do about him? She'd been rolling over ideas in her mind. Thinking of what was the most tactful way to convince him he needed to go. Convince him to find someone else to give him a ride and let him cling to them for company or attention or whatever the hell it was that he really wanted.

As she'd been thinking about it, he'd been visibly growing more irritated. Maybe he saw how her eyes would slide towards him every time they reached a crossroads.

Sometimes she would take a deep breath. Getting ready to start 'The Talk'. Then she'd lose her nerve at his scowl and turn up the radio.

And he had tried to make himself useful. To be helpful. Helpful in a passive-aggressive sort of way that made his resolve clear.

He'd even borrowed her phone and found a free campground not far from where they were. In normal circumstances she would have been grateful.

But he hadn't asked her if that's what she wanted. Hadn't asked if it was okay for him to spend another night with her. He had just told her that she will make a right turn in half a mile. Another order and when she had started to protest he'd glared at her with an expression so sharp and determined that she'd immediately folded.

She was still rattled from what had happened this morning, and he yet to apologize or explain himself in any way. He seemed to be simply trying to sweep it under the rug and pretend that his nearly-violent outburst had never even happened.

Rather than risk another incident, she gave in quietly. Turned down onto the side road and prayed spending another night in his company wasn't about to be a horrible mistake.