I'm on a roll.
I love it.
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"I really hope we've finally lost them." Ruth sighed nervously, occasionally looking over her shoulder to look out the very back window of the RV. Amanda and Tara proceeded to stand behind the drivers seat.
"With all the personalities after us, I don't think they'll ever stop." Amanda muttered. Graeme leaned in between the seats, setting his hands down on either armrest. He glared out the window, looking like he was contemplating to kill.
Tara leaned in to Amanda's ear and whispered, "Why are these people chasing you? They want Paul?" she asked. Amanda looked at her and nodded.
"They want to cut out his brain." She whispered back, saying it like she was breaking the bad news to someone with a dying loved one in the hospital. Her grandmother only gasped and looked down at the back of Paul's head.
She reached down and placed her hand flat on his head, "We won't let them get you Paul."
Amanda could barely see Paul smile, "Thank you Tara."
"I think we did lose them." Ruth said, looking over her shoulder again. Paul's eyes darted to the side view mirror, shaking his head.
"Shit, shit!" he hissed. Amanda looked in the rearview mirror and saw a black, government issued car. It was gaining on them, pulling up right alongside them. Tara gripped harshly onto the back of the seat, crouching down behind it, peeking over the top. Amanda was in the right mind to grab onto Graeme's shoulder, and then use her other hand to squeeze the back of the drivers seat, but she just planted her feet firmly on the ground.
The screeching of tires made Paul keep looking over, as everyone was able to see the small black car out the window. Agent Haggard was shifting around in his car, swerving everywhere, trying to get a good look of Paul and the others. Paul gasped, "He's trying to overtake us!"
"Don't let him get past!" Amanda advised, trying to keep looking out the window.
"Alright." Paul grunted. Clive twisted in his seat to look at Graeme, "What about the deposit?"
"Fuck the deposit!" he answered, leaping forward and taking the wheel.
With a bang and a jolt, the RV shot to the left and they smacked into the car. The car's tires squealed again and he pulled off the road so he wouldn't run into a sign. The RV sped past as the little black car did it's best to get back on the road beside him, only to end up behind the big, hulky RV. The car caught up and everyone stared out at him.
Paul jerked the wheel and smashed into the car again, trying to slowly push it off the road. They stayed neck-in-neck, side-to-side for a while, Paul on the wrong side of the road, and the agent's car off in the grass. Amanda leaned over the top of the seat to get a better view. The agent didn't give up, an evil grin begin to flash onto his face. He lifted his arm and pointed his gun at them.
"Aw, fuck, come on!" Paul whined as Amanda gasped and backed away from the window.
"Smile you son of a bitch!" the agent growled.
So, just like the agent told him to, Paul smiled. He also lifted a finger and pointed forward, "Eyes forward, butt horn."
A scream erupted from the little black car and Amanda shut her eyes as she heard the crash and whistle of the car flying through a barricade and over the edge into Lytle Creek. The RV was already halfway across the bridge when Ruth asked, "Do you think he'll be okay?"
Paul smirked, "Yeah, he'll be fine."
Everyone pretty much believed him, no one noticing him suddenly whimper after looking into the side view mirror.
The sun was beginning to set when they had all agreed that no one was following them, and if they were, they would have no idea where the RV could be going. Amanda led Tara back to the couch and sat her down, and Ruth fell onto the recliner tiredly. She stared between the two newcomers. One whose house was blown up and life before that had been ruined by ridicule because of Paul, and another whose faith was shaken by Paul. But they stayed, even through shit like what had just happened.
Amanda quietly exhaled and walked up between the seats with Graeme. She stared out at the colorful sky. The same blood orange, the same brown mountains, the same blue and purple hews, strewn with white specks. She smiled and kept her eyes forward.
"Now I think is the time for me to take you to the pick up spot." Paul muttered, smirking to himself.
Clive nodded, staring out the window. Graeme dropped his eyes to the floor, looking melancholy about what he had said. Amanda patted his shoulder, just staring out at the sky. She sighed and looked between the three of them.
"Can I be honest?" she asked.
Clive and Graeme looked at her. She smiled, "I didn't really think we'd get this far."
Clive snorted, "Why not? We've been a pretty well-oiled machine thus far."
She looked down at him and quirked a brow, "Have you seen us? For a 'well-oiled machine', we're really dysfunctional."
"No quest is easy." Graeme shrugged.
"True." Amanda smiled, pointing at him. "But think about it. We're like the island of misfit toys right now. Graeme and Clive are anti-social comic writers, my Grandma is considered crazy, Ruth is a former devout Christian, I'm a kidnapee and Paul's an alien."
Clive chuckled, "I see what you're saying."
"In all this commotion, we've been shot at, chased, almost crashed a few times, I've changed my last name, like—twice! No one I know would allow that to happen!" Which was true. Her real last name was Nixon, but at one point she changed it to Nelson. She had forgotten her last name when she had come up with it. Paul snorted and shifted in his seat.
"And yet you're the best friends I have ever had." Amanda muttered, staring out into the sky sullenly.
With puppy dog eyes, both Graeme and Clive looked at her. She shook her head and corrected her statement, "You're the best fake family I have ever had. I love you guys."
Paul's hand peeled off from the wheel and held itself up in front of her. Confused, she looked down at it and took it. He squeezed her hand and sighed, "We love you too, babe." Graeme took her other hand in his and they smiled at each other. Once they peeled off into some wooded areas with winding roads, Paul let go of Amanda's hand.
When it got extremely dark, they all began to feel like they could see smoke rising from the front of the RV. Paul pulled off to the side and they all filed out of the RV to inspect it. Clive pulled open the front panel and let out a cloud of smoke, staring inside. Amanda leaned against the RV.
"Fair thee well my friend. You were a faithful and mighty steed." Clive sighed. Ruth waved smoke out of her face and Graeme shook his head, "I can't believe she's gone."
"Ain't that a bag of tits." Ruth said in disappointment. Amanda laughed and looked out across the road. Tara shook her head.
"Oh, what do we do now Paul?" No answer. "Paul? Paul!" she called.
Up ahead, they saw him trudging up a hill with his back pack. Amanda pushed off the RV and furrowed her brows, "Paul! Where are you going?"
When he didn't answer, Graeme formed a line with Clive and Amanda to follow him. They made it to the top and they all gasped, seeing Devil's Tower straight ahead of them. Grins all began to spread across their chins and Graeme chuckled in amazement.
"See? Told you guys you'd know it once you saw it."
Clive began to laugh and he and Graeme said in unison, "Of course."
Amanda helped Ruth and Tara trump through the woods to get to a large field next to the tower while Graeme retrieved the fireworks and some flashlights. Clive and Graeme headed out towards the middle of the field right when clouds started appearing over them, turning the sky a gray blue. Amanda crossed her arms and shivered, following Paul out a little ways when he decided to head out to see what's taking so long.
"Do you think they'll see it? And they'll come and get you?"
He shrugged, "They'll be looking for the fireworks around here. So hopefully they will."
She nodded and stopped so she could run back and huddle with Tara and Ruth, preparing for the fireworks. Like maniacs, Graeme, Clive and Paul dropped the fireworks and ran back, Paul laughing the entire time.
"That's not funny, that's dangerous!" Graeme whined as they all spun around to watch the light show.
When the first one went, everyone let out a gasp and an "ooooooh". Every neck was bent so they could look up at the beautiful display above them. In everyone's eyes, the reflection was just of bright bursts of light and glitter, everyone, at one point, smiling stupidly. Paul just smirked and his eyes darted around the sky, like he was searching for his home at that moment.
Carefully, Amanda looked down at him and smiled, "What now?" she asked quietly.
"We wait." He muttered, still entranced by the sky.
They all turned with a shrug and formed a circle to sit, all starting to mingle about random things. Amanda leaned back on her hands and crossed her legs, staring up at the sky. Tara sat on one side of her and Paul on the other, both of them not really talking. Occasionally Tara and Amanda would put their word in, but otherwise Paul stayed quiet. She lolled her head on her shoulder and looked at him, trying to read him.
"Are you excited to go home?" she asked. He looked at her and nodded, "Yeah, actually. A nice change from being stuck in a government facility."
She laughed, wiggling her foot, full of anxiety. Paul looked up at her and nodded towards Tara, "So. She's your grandma, huh?"
Amanda sighed and nodded, "Yes she is. She's my illegitimate Grandma."
Looking confused, Paul squinted at her, "So you guys aren't related."
"Not by blood or marriage, no. I would visit her a lot as a kid, and I just started to call her Grandma." She explained. He stayed quiet, as did she. They sat in awkward silence while the others talked.
She shifted her hands and looked at him, "Why didn't you tell me you had something this important to apologize for?" she asked.
He shrugged, "Why didn't you tell me Tara was your grandma?"
She threw her head back and snorted, "Right. Like I was supposed to say, 'Oh hey, my Grandma might know you, her name is Tara'."
"It would've been informative, and much appreciated." He joked, laughing wildly. He shook his head, "Nah I'm kidding. I just thought the reason I was apologizing was something to keep private. I thought she would've been ridiculed and alone…so I didn't want to add fuel to the fire, you know?" he shrugged.
Nodding, she glanced at Tara, "I know."
"But she had you. She had you to believe in her, and in me, and that's better than anything I could ask for." He smiled. She chuckled and looked up at the sky.
"I guess this is where we leave the relationship then, isn't it?" Paul suddenly asked. She whipped her head around and stared at him. "What?" she asked quickly.
He shrugged, "Our friendship? We've been on good terms for what, a whole day now? Now I have to go home. It's like hanging out with a really cute dog at a store that you grow really attached to and then you have to leave it behind."
"Are you calling me a dog?" she asked.
"No! Well—maybe—but a really cute dog! Like a Pomeranian." He said, trying to cover for himself. She laughed and shook her head, "I know what you mean, don't worry."
He sighed with relief and placed a hand over his heart, "Oh good. I was worried for a second there."
She laughed and wiggled her feet around again. Looking up at the sky, she wondered when they would come. If they did, that would be the end of it. The end of the journey. She would have to leave Graeme and Clive and Ruth, and Paul would be gone. Leaving things the way they were, feeling so incomplete, would just be inappropriate. Paul going home is the cherry on top of that sundae. Even if anything got said, though, it would feel like everyone had kept their mouths shut.
Sucking in a deep breath, she leaned forward, right as he did, "I don't want you to leave—"
"I want you to come with me—"
"What?" she gasped.
"What?" he replied just as fast, looking around awkwardly.
"You—you want me to go with you?"
"Nevermind, forget I said anything." He said, shaking his head and looking away.
For a moment, she couldn't contemplate what he had just asked her. To go with him to his planet? And do what? She still had a life here, and a family. Her eyes were drawn to Tara who smiled happily with Graeme, Clive and Ruth. She shifted and looked at Paul.
"Take my Grandma." She said.
He turned to her, "What?"
"Take Tara with you." She insisted.
Paul looked over her shoulder and pressed his lips together. Without saying anything, he just nodded and leaned on his knees. She smiled and also nodded. They stayed silent some more until Paul looked at her and smirked, "You don't want me to leave, huh?"
She peered up at him and tried not to smile, "Well, yeah. You've changed how all of us see things. You've become one of my friends. It's not like I'm just going to watch you leave without at least feeling like I don't want you to go."
"Do you just feel like that because I just happen to be leaving, or do you feel like that because you mean it?" he asked quietly, gazing deep into her eyes.
Nervously, she twitched, not knowing what to say. She hadn't thought about that. But her silence must've indicated to him that she didn't know how to answer, because he skipped the question.
"You've changed how I see things too, you know. I don't really know how…but hey it sounds sentimental, so I thought I'd give it a whack." He shrugged. She couldn't help but laugh. He leaned back on his hands, one of them accidentally placing itself on hers.
Neither of them budged. A spark flew between their hands and Paul did his best not to flinch too much at the feelings. Amanda just smirked and peeked over at him. A gust of wind blew by and she sat up straight, taking her hand away from his. He looked disappointedly at his hand. She rubbed her arms ferociously and shivered.
"I'll be right back, I'm gonna go snag a blanket from the RV." She muttered, smiling at him. She jumped up and snatched up a flashlight, flicking it on.
Trying to get some heat, she ran across the field and into the forest, pointing the flashlight in front of her. She prayed to a higher being that she could remember the way there. It wasn't too hard. From ahead, she heard crunching noises. She froze and sucked in a breath, thinking immediately it was a bear. She looked around both ways and started going around trees, weaving in an out of them, like she was trying to lose it.
When she ran around one tree, she was blinded with a bright light. She gasped and shielded the light with her hand, squinting. The angry, almost red looking eyes of a man in black glared at her over the barrel of a large sniper rifle. Her eyes widened and her jaw clenched.
"You," she hissed. "You're from the farm house."
"Correct, ma'am. Now turn your ass around and take me to the alien." He ordered, his voice firm. She shook her head and took a step away.
"Not on your life." She growled. She heard a click and the gun was pressed against her gut.
"Then how about yours?" he asked, poking her so she would turn around. Trying not to throw up, she turned around slowly and allowed him to grab her shoulder and hold on tight. He pushed her through the forest, his gun pointing up to the sky, cocked and ready.
How could this have even happened? She growled inwardly, tripping and stumbling a few times. It must've been the damn fireworks.
"Come on, pick up the pace." He ordered.
"I'm trying." She hissed back. He pushed her again and let go of her shoulder so he could run up behind her. She followed his lead and also ran, even after he sped right past her. She wasn't going to let him get there first.
A distant humming sound caught both of their attentions. She smiled, "They're here!" That meant that Paul could get away.
The agent didn't say anything and they kept running along. She reached out to grab his arm, but it didn't work, "I'm not going to let you hurt him! Not when he's so close!" she growled.
"I'm not going to hurt him!" he snapped right back.
"Says the man with a gun!" she barked, trying to speed up and catch up with him. He pushed his way under a branch and came to a screeching halt next to a tree. Amanda smashed right into him but he paid no heed.
They squinted through the trees and saw bright orange lights hovering through the cracks in the branches and tree line. Amanda smiled again, "I told you they were here."
The agent just shook his head, "No…no that's not them." He muttered. She gave him an odd look as he mumbled, "oh no you don't. Come on!" he yelled to her before racing off.
"What?" she yelled, setting off at a sprint after him, both of them maneuvering about the trees. What the hell was this guys deal? He said he wasn't going to hurt Paul, and he says that the lights on the spaceship aren't the lights of a spaceship. What else could it be?
She finally caught up to him and looked at his profile. He looked like a good enough guy, yet he was running around with a rifle, preparing to shoot something. He claimed it wasn't Paul. Was he a good guy or a bad guy? Good cop, or a bad cop?
"Stay where you are, you little green bastard!" a female voice angrily called from the intercom.
The agent swore under his breath, "Fuck, she's here! Hurry!" he demanded. Miraculously, they were both able to pick up their speed.
"Who's she?" she yelled just as they burst through the tree line. They stopped in time to see everyone with there hands up, standing in front of a helicopter. Two armed men stood on either side of a well dressed woman. The woman in charge. The 'she'.
"PAUL!" The agent barked, setting up his gun. Paul spun around and looked at the two of them.
"Zoil? Amanda!"
With no time to lose, the agent shot a bullet and Amanda screamed, prepared to tackle him. But the bullet shot right past Paul and got an armed man right in the knee. Everyone ducked and the armed man fell to the ground screaming. The agent lowered the gun and grabbed Amanda by the arm.
"Go, go, go, go, go, go." He said under his breath with each other of their footsteps, pushing her in front of him. He ran right behind her as bullets hit the ground after every step they had taken. Amanda started to yell and cover her head. She felt a large hand grab hold of her arm and pull her to the ground. In expectation of more gun shots, she covered her head and lay still as the agent barrel rolled next to her and took aim with his gun. He fired another shot and it got another armed man, who Amanda didn't see get hurt. A shot was fired at them and missed, so he shot again and the other man went down.
She heard his heavy footstep indicate that he had stood up to take another shot. One loan gun shot from another gun sent him yelling and toppling right over Amanda's body. She screamed as he lay beside her, rolling around in pain, blood gushing from his shoulder. Bringing her head up to look, she scrambled to her feet to rush around him.
"Agent Zoil!" she gasped, kneeling beside him.
"Don't fucking move." The Woman ordered the others, smoke rising from the end of her gun.
"Agent Zoil." Amanda winced, trying to keep him still. He was a good guy.
"I gotta say, I'm a little hurt, Agent Zoil." The Woman said, glaring at him. Amanda glared right back, trying to figure out what to do about his shoulder.
Zoil sat up, swaying back and forth, "He introduced me to my wife—he's my friend." He cringed.
"You stupid son of a bitch, you could've been where I am in fifteen years." She said, pointing her gun at him. He shook his head, laying on his side, holding his arm.
"I don't want to be where you are." He moaned.
"Too bad, seeing as how I'm the one holding all the cards." She smiled, pointing her gun back at the others. "And by cards, of course, I mean big fucking gun." She growled, showing her gun off to everyone.
Everyone nodded. "That is a pretty big gun." Paul agreed. Zoil looked Amanda in the eye and nodded towards the others, "Go. Stay with them."
Hesitantly, she stood up and tried to figure out how to get to them without this woman pointing her gun at her or even firing it in her direction. The Woman just nodded her head towards Paul.
"Let's go Mork."
"Don't call me Mork." Paul scoffed. Graeme and Clive jumped in front of him, blocking Paul from the Woman. Amanda stepped around Zoil and rushed to their sides. The Woman just laughed at them, looking every one of them in the face.
"No, he's going nowhere." Clive hissed.
Paul shook his head, gathering Ruth and Tara behind him, "Guys you don't have to do this."
The Woman laughed again, "Can it, nerds. Shit I'd shoot you now if I didn't get off on the idea of you being hog-tied and pissed on in Guantanamo Bay." Graeme stepped around Clive.
"They've shut Guantanamo Bay." He said with a sneer, like he had gotten her good.
"Did they?" she asked, looking at him like he was an idiot. Amanda pressed her lips together and pulled him away from her. "Be honest with yourselves. What do you think you can possibly bring to the table at this point in the game?" she asked.
Amanda sighed and shut her eyes, "Shit." She moaned when she saw Clive reaching for the sword that was strapped around him. She hadn't even noticed it until he whispered, "Blind Fury." She had hoped he had had a gun or something useful. He pulled the end of the sword out, only to find it broken off in the sheath.
"Oh." He moaned when everyone gasped. Amanda slapped her forehead and shook her head.
"False economy, I told you." Paul sighed. The Woman stepped towards them.
"Step aside. Fag." She advised.
Weird noises started emitting from Clives mouth and Amanda looked up at him confused. Clive jumped out of Graeme's way and Graeme lunged at the Woman, punching her right in the face. Amanda shrieked and jumped up and down with Paul, who yelled encouraging words.
Over and over again they tried to continue. Graeme tried to punch her a few more times, but only got pistol whipped and punched in the face. Ruth cried out in protest as the woman brought Graeme to his knees. Amanda jumped back and grabbed onto Tara and Ruth who were trying to cheer them on despite their cringing and grimacing.
Clive grabbed the woman's arm beginning to struggle. Like a trooper he held on until Paul tried to charge her. Amanda gasped and tried to lunge after him but Ruth held her back, "Paul!" she shouted. The woman spun around and kicked him right between the legs sending him moaning to the dirt. Clive bit down hard enough on the Woman's arm that Amanda heard a crunch. He let her go and she punched him in the face. He flew backward and slammed into the ground.
Now Amanda had had enough. She pushed away from Ruth and ran at the Woman, pouncing onto her back like a cat. She pulled at the Woman's neck to try and strangle her, "You leave them alone!" she barked.
The Woman erked and then flipped Amanda right over her shoulder, smashing her into the ground. She gasped at the stab of pain that shot up her back and winced, looking over at Paul who panted, staring at her worried.
"Get away from her, you bitch!" they heard Tara scream, and the Woman flew to the ground with a bloody nose. Amanda looked up at her Grandma to see her shaking her hand in pain. She laughed and allowed her Grandma to help her up. They hugged each other tightly.
"Are you okay?" Tara asked her.
"I'm fine, are you?" she asked, grabbing a hold of her shoulders. Tara nodded and looked over at Paul, who was talking to Zoil. He was doing his best to try and stand up. Amanda looked at him concerned and jogged over to his side to help straighten him up.
Paul looked up at him, panting, "Sorry I zapped you back at the farm house."
"That's okay. I'm sorry I wasn't there to meet ya' outside the base, by the time I got there you had already gone." He cringed. She looked between them and smiled at Paul, who playfully smirked back.
Zoil looked up at Amanda and smiled tiredly, then looked up at the others who were approaching, "But it seems you've got a Plan B."
"Did I ever." Paul sighed. "These are my friends."
He began to shake all of their hands, "Pleasure to meet you, you did a hell of a job."
Clive grinned, "Thank you Agent Zoil."
"Please call me Lorenzo." He insisted. Amanda's eyes widened and they peered at him oddly.
"Lorenzo Zoil?" they all said in unison. Amanda had certainly seen that movie too many times to count. Agent Zoil just nodded and tried to look professional. Amanda's face scrunched up and she tried her best not to laugh.
Paul chuckled at the state of her face and smiled up at Zoil.
"RUTH!" a booming voice called from the forest.
In surprise, everyone spun around to see Ruth's dad entering the field. "Papa?" Ruth gasped. With the face of the devil (how ironic), he held up his bible, which held one single bullet. When he felt they had had a good look at it, he replaced it with the barrel of his gun. Everyone gasped and Ruth pushed Paul away.
"Paul!" she shouted.
"Ruth!" Graeme shouted, pushing her away as well.
Everything moved in slow motion. Amanda watched Agent Zoil jump away from it, along with her Grandma; Paul and Ruth stumbled to their respective sides; Graeme just stood there. Gun fire. She shook her head and jumped in front of him.
"NO!" she shouted.
The gun fire echoed throughout the field and birds burst from the trees. Paul and Ruth gasped and looked over at them. Amanda and Graeme just stood there, confused. Amanda looked around at everyone, only noticing the look of sheer distraught on Zoil's face.
"That was close." Graeme muttered. Zoil stared them up and down. Amanda looked back at Graeme, feeling a slight pain in her chest as she moved.
Suddenly, Graeme gasped and fell to his knees, feeling his chest. He was bleeding profusely from gun shot wounds that had hit him. Clive rushed to his side, along with Ruth, shouting his name. He shook his head, "I'm fine, I'm fine." He told them. Zoil came up next to Paul who looked sadly at Graeme. Tara didn't even move.
"Mandy—" she said, reaching out to Amanda.
Before that moment, Amanda had never realized how much of a delayed reaction pain has. She took one step towards Graeme and the heat of a thousand suns went rushing through her chest. She screeched in agony and clutched at her skin and clothing, finding nothing but a massive, bloody hole. Her gun shot wound. Her fatal wound. Graeme looked up at her in surprise and his face went white, "No—" his voice breaking.
Everyone looked to Amanda and their eyes widened. Blood came gushing down her front, pooling on the ground. Amanda looked to Paul, the pain of moving being too much for her; the pain of breathing being too much for her; the pain of looking at Paul's numb expression being too much for her.
"Oh, my." She winced before toppling to the ground, taking short, painful breaths.
Oh the pain.