CHAPTER 8 - Believe In Nothing.
Mallory's Malibu wasn't damaged half as badly as everyone expected and she had poised herself behind Broadways Avalanche. The two ropes were secure and everything was ready.
"Ok, when I say, just throw her into reverse and floor it. With any luck that little shit box of yours'll have enough power to pull me off of this thing!" She had piled all of the camping gear into Mallory's car to lighten her truck and make Mallory's car more stable. She shifted to reverse and looked behind her at her sister.
"Ok, drive!" Broadway called through the window. The small town car behind her pulled and the ropes tightened between them. In front of her, Arthur, Seth, Luke, and Zeke were pushing as hard as they could. After about five minutes, they were successful and the Avalanche dislodged itself from the fallen tree. Broadway unhooked the two ropes from her sisters' car and a few minutes later she had moved the tree away from the exit and asked her family to leave her the hell alone for a few minutes. She sat down on her tailgate and rubbed her temples. She had the worst headache of all time and couldn't understand where it was coming from. She was stressed out, sure - who the hell wouldn't be, but stress never gave her headaches before. Through the foggy lenses of her pair of glasses she could see the ghost of Dennis and Jean lingering around Dana and Susana. Arthur was near his car assessing the damage and her siblings were huddled around Mallory. Royce, or his car, where nowhere to be seen and Broadway figure he had crossed over or 'phased' as Dennis had called it. She felt a mixture of fear and relief and tried to clear her head. The sound of his horrible cry was still echoing in her mind. She had been through a lot in her life and Broadway had experienced some horrid things, but nothing could compare to that. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself for warmth, slowly coming to the realization that after this she and her family would probably need some hardcore therapy. For one reason or another, the thought made her giggle and she lay her head on her knees.
She became suddenly aware of another presence and snapped her head up. Royce looked sideways at her and blinked slowly.
"You're here?!"
"Where else would I be?"
"I don't know, where you're supposed to be!" She shot back. He cocked an eyebrow.
"Oh, alrighty then. How about this, as soon as you find out where it is I'm supposed to be, give me a ring and I'll head right there!"
"You don't know where you're supposed to go?"
"No. I figure that I'm going to be earth bound forever. Think about it, if I was heading anywhere else, I would have gone straight there in the beginning right?" Broadway looked at him for a second.
"How long have you been earth bound, Royce?" He shrugged.
"What year is it?"
"Uh..2003." He blinked at her again in mild disbelief.
"Well, if that's the case, I've been earth bound for fifty years now. Jeez, half a century" He paused and chuckled. "I'm a fossil!"
"Holy shit, fifty years? That means you died in.."
"1953." He replied. They fell silent for a few moments. Royce studied the body of Broadway's Avalanche.
"You really drive that thing?"
"No, I stand behind it most of the time and push." She replied, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. She looked around."Where's your car?" He pointed behind her to where Arthur was standing. It was near by looking not as demolished as before. "I take it you're feeling better then?"
"No, but the pain's a dull roar. I'm used to it like this." Another quiet moment passed.
"Why won't you look at me?" She asked finally.
"It's not a good idea." Royce replied quietly.
"Why not?"
"It just isn't."
"Good answer, but I'm not satisfied." She hopped off the tailgate and tried to catch a glimpse of his face. Royce flickered out of sight and reappeared in her spot. Broadway sighed. "At least let me stop some of the bleeding? Let me patch you up?" He looked thoughtful for a minute.
"Do what you want. You're good at that."
"What's that supposed to mean?" She snapped.
"Just that. You don't listen to people very often and you like to play with death." He retorted. She glared at him for a second before reaching into the glove box and returning with a first aid kit. Before he could protest she grabbed his chin and turned his head to face her. She looked closely at his torn flesh and wounds. He flinched and shut his eyes. After a pause, she let him go and opened the lid.
"I've seen worse."
"Liar." She shrugged and removed a large patch of gauze.
"If you want to believe that, fine, be my guest. But considering you know nothing about me or what I've seen in my life, you should think twice before making such accusations." They locked eyes for a moment before Royce shrugged his jacket off his shoulders. It fell behind him and he extended his right arm out to her. Like most of his face it was shredded and torn beyond imagination. "What happened to you?"
"I went flat out and stacked up my screamer." He replied absently. She raised an eyebrow.
"You were in a drag?" He glanced up.
"Yeah. Almost had it too." Broadway held up her hand to silence him for a sec and reached into Seth's bag. She produced a clean white t-shirt and tossed it at Royce.
"You might want to take that off first. I can't dress your shoulder and with it on, plus, it's all bloody."
"It'll white out once I heal. It always does."
"Don't be a suck - I still won't be able to get at your shoulder." He sighed and reluctantly peeled the bloody article of clothing from his body and discarded it beside his jacket. It wasn't a pretty sight, but nothing Broadway couldn't handle. She wrapped the gauze around his arm and shoulder and secured it with a bit of clear tape. She moved onto his torso and stomach. She was intrigued - the wounds were strictly on the right side of his body; it was almost symmetrical, as if someone had drawn a line down the middle of his body before hand.
Royce watched her with muted interest. He wasn't particularly comfortable sitting there half naked in the company of this strange girl but he wasn't complaining either. He watched as her hands gingerly worked the bandages smoothly over his abrasions and lesions. She was strong; he'd give her that. She didn't even flinch at his body when even Royce himself had a hard time looking at his reflection. He wondered what she was hiding in her memories that made her so immune to his injuries.
"Why did you go at Kalina like that?" He asked. She stopped dressing his stomach and looked up.
"Because you screamed." She replied shortly. "It was the most painful cry I've ever heard..I still have your voice echoing in my head. I've never heard someone cry out in pain like that before, I had to do something. I would have done the same thing for any of you." She tilted his head up and to the side and placed a large gauze pad over his skull, wrapping his face with bandages.
"Why did you help me in the first place?" He ventured.
"Because I saw the fear in your eyes." She taped up the last little bit of gauze and closed the first aid lid. "All done." Broadway smiled. "You look cute, kinda like something from an anime.'
"A what?'
"Never mind." She shook her head and watched Royce pull on the fresh shirt and slip his jacket on. He jumped off the back of her truck and shouldered his bat.
"Thanks dolly." He murmured quickly before flickering out of sight. She felt her cheeks growing a little hot.
"You're welcome, Prince."
Mallory's Malibu wasn't damaged half as badly as everyone expected and she had poised herself behind Broadways Avalanche. The two ropes were secure and everything was ready.
"Ok, when I say, just throw her into reverse and floor it. With any luck that little shit box of yours'll have enough power to pull me off of this thing!" She had piled all of the camping gear into Mallory's car to lighten her truck and make Mallory's car more stable. She shifted to reverse and looked behind her at her sister.
"Ok, drive!" Broadway called through the window. The small town car behind her pulled and the ropes tightened between them. In front of her, Arthur, Seth, Luke, and Zeke were pushing as hard as they could. After about five minutes, they were successful and the Avalanche dislodged itself from the fallen tree. Broadway unhooked the two ropes from her sisters' car and a few minutes later she had moved the tree away from the exit and asked her family to leave her the hell alone for a few minutes. She sat down on her tailgate and rubbed her temples. She had the worst headache of all time and couldn't understand where it was coming from. She was stressed out, sure - who the hell wouldn't be, but stress never gave her headaches before. Through the foggy lenses of her pair of glasses she could see the ghost of Dennis and Jean lingering around Dana and Susana. Arthur was near his car assessing the damage and her siblings were huddled around Mallory. Royce, or his car, where nowhere to be seen and Broadway figure he had crossed over or 'phased' as Dennis had called it. She felt a mixture of fear and relief and tried to clear her head. The sound of his horrible cry was still echoing in her mind. She had been through a lot in her life and Broadway had experienced some horrid things, but nothing could compare to that. She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself for warmth, slowly coming to the realization that after this she and her family would probably need some hardcore therapy. For one reason or another, the thought made her giggle and she lay her head on her knees.
She became suddenly aware of another presence and snapped her head up. Royce looked sideways at her and blinked slowly.
"You're here?!"
"Where else would I be?"
"I don't know, where you're supposed to be!" She shot back. He cocked an eyebrow.
"Oh, alrighty then. How about this, as soon as you find out where it is I'm supposed to be, give me a ring and I'll head right there!"
"You don't know where you're supposed to go?"
"No. I figure that I'm going to be earth bound forever. Think about it, if I was heading anywhere else, I would have gone straight there in the beginning right?" Broadway looked at him for a second.
"How long have you been earth bound, Royce?" He shrugged.
"What year is it?"
"Uh..2003." He blinked at her again in mild disbelief.
"Well, if that's the case, I've been earth bound for fifty years now. Jeez, half a century" He paused and chuckled. "I'm a fossil!"
"Holy shit, fifty years? That means you died in.."
"1953." He replied. They fell silent for a few moments. Royce studied the body of Broadway's Avalanche.
"You really drive that thing?"
"No, I stand behind it most of the time and push." She replied, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. She looked around."Where's your car?" He pointed behind her to where Arthur was standing. It was near by looking not as demolished as before. "I take it you're feeling better then?"
"No, but the pain's a dull roar. I'm used to it like this." Another quiet moment passed.
"Why won't you look at me?" She asked finally.
"It's not a good idea." Royce replied quietly.
"Why not?"
"It just isn't."
"Good answer, but I'm not satisfied." She hopped off the tailgate and tried to catch a glimpse of his face. Royce flickered out of sight and reappeared in her spot. Broadway sighed. "At least let me stop some of the bleeding? Let me patch you up?" He looked thoughtful for a minute.
"Do what you want. You're good at that."
"What's that supposed to mean?" She snapped.
"Just that. You don't listen to people very often and you like to play with death." He retorted. She glared at him for a second before reaching into the glove box and returning with a first aid kit. Before he could protest she grabbed his chin and turned his head to face her. She looked closely at his torn flesh and wounds. He flinched and shut his eyes. After a pause, she let him go and opened the lid.
"I've seen worse."
"Liar." She shrugged and removed a large patch of gauze.
"If you want to believe that, fine, be my guest. But considering you know nothing about me or what I've seen in my life, you should think twice before making such accusations." They locked eyes for a moment before Royce shrugged his jacket off his shoulders. It fell behind him and he extended his right arm out to her. Like most of his face it was shredded and torn beyond imagination. "What happened to you?"
"I went flat out and stacked up my screamer." He replied absently. She raised an eyebrow.
"You were in a drag?" He glanced up.
"Yeah. Almost had it too." Broadway held up her hand to silence him for a sec and reached into Seth's bag. She produced a clean white t-shirt and tossed it at Royce.
"You might want to take that off first. I can't dress your shoulder and with it on, plus, it's all bloody."
"It'll white out once I heal. It always does."
"Don't be a suck - I still won't be able to get at your shoulder." He sighed and reluctantly peeled the bloody article of clothing from his body and discarded it beside his jacket. It wasn't a pretty sight, but nothing Broadway couldn't handle. She wrapped the gauze around his arm and shoulder and secured it with a bit of clear tape. She moved onto his torso and stomach. She was intrigued - the wounds were strictly on the right side of his body; it was almost symmetrical, as if someone had drawn a line down the middle of his body before hand.
Royce watched her with muted interest. He wasn't particularly comfortable sitting there half naked in the company of this strange girl but he wasn't complaining either. He watched as her hands gingerly worked the bandages smoothly over his abrasions and lesions. She was strong; he'd give her that. She didn't even flinch at his body when even Royce himself had a hard time looking at his reflection. He wondered what she was hiding in her memories that made her so immune to his injuries.
"Why did you go at Kalina like that?" He asked. She stopped dressing his stomach and looked up.
"Because you screamed." She replied shortly. "It was the most painful cry I've ever heard..I still have your voice echoing in my head. I've never heard someone cry out in pain like that before, I had to do something. I would have done the same thing for any of you." She tilted his head up and to the side and placed a large gauze pad over his skull, wrapping his face with bandages.
"Why did you help me in the first place?" He ventured.
"Because I saw the fear in your eyes." She taped up the last little bit of gauze and closed the first aid lid. "All done." Broadway smiled. "You look cute, kinda like something from an anime.'
"A what?'
"Never mind." She shook her head and watched Royce pull on the fresh shirt and slip his jacket on. He jumped off the back of her truck and shouldered his bat.
"Thanks dolly." He murmured quickly before flickering out of sight. She felt her cheeks growing a little hot.
"You're welcome, Prince."