Title: Texas
Rating: Still PG-13, but will be R later.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Third Watch so please don't sue me.
Author's Note: Thank you so much for all the great reviews! I really appreciate them. Keep in mind that they haven't actually made it to Texas, they're stranded somewhere between there and New York.
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They'd been walking for what seemed like hours. The sun had long since went down leaving them in complete and total darkness. The moonlight was the only thing making it possible for them to keep track of each other. That, and the fact that Bosco was practically hanging off of her. Apparently the dark made him clingy.
"Faith?"
"Yeah."
"Do ya hear that?"
She listened but heard nothing. "Hear what?"
A soft rumbling sound came from behind them, followed by what appeared to be headlights.
"That." He pointed in the direction of the semi-truck heading towards them.
"Thank god! It's about time we came across someone out here."
They both started waving their hands in the air hoping to catch the driver's attention. The big truck whizzed by them, stopping only at the last minute. Bosco and Faith jogged up to the driver's side window, praying that the person inside would give them a ride.
The window rolled down, revealing a man that appeared to be in his late fifties, smoking a cigar and eyeing them up slowly.
"This ain't a safe place for ya'all ta be wanderin 'round at. Did ya get stranded?" He spoke with a heavy southern accent.
Faith spoke up first. "Yeah, we've been walkin' forever. Could ya give us a ride to the nearest town?"
He puffed his cigar a few times, almost as if he was considering weather or not to say something. "I'm not sure ya wanna go to the nearest town. Folk up there can be a bit.unfriendly. I can drop ya off at the next one over."
"No the nearest one's fine. We just need to pick up some gas and use the phone" Bosco said as they walked around to the passenger side. When they were both in the driver started up the truck again. "Suit yourself."
Twenty minutes later they arrived at a small motel. The driver looked at them sadly. "Ya'll be careful now. Keep ya doors locked at night." They nodded and said their thank you's, both a bit puzzled as to why he suddenly seemed so concerned for them.
The motel was minimal to say the least. With only ten rooms and a tiny office in the front. They made their way to the front desk looking around to for a phone but not finding one.
Bosco rang the bell twice. "Hello?"
Several moments later the desk clerk appeared greeting them with a huge smile. "Well hello there, welcome to the Shady Acres motel. What can I do ya for?"
Faith raised an eyebrow at him. "We just need to use your phone and be pointed in the direction of a gas station."
"Oh I'm sorry our phone lines have been out all day, and the nearest gas station is about 3 miles away. You're welcome to take a room though and wait till mornin' I'm sure the phones we'll be up an' runnin' by then. Just so happens number six is available."
He held out a room key to them, which Bosco took. "Great. Just great. We're gonna need two rooms though."
"Sorry, we're booked solid, this is the only one we got left."
Bosco smirked at him. "You're booked solid? How the hell does that happen?"
The clerk continued to smile at them and shook his head. "Don't know really. Folk tend to get stranded 'round these parts quite often. We just happen ta be in the right spot."
Bosco glanced back at Faith who shrugged her shoulders at him. "Fine. Thank you."
"No problem, number six is around the corner to your right. Enjoy your stay." He waved them off then disappeared into the back room.
Faith stayed close by Bosco as they entered number six. "I don't know about you, but that guy gave me the creeps."
He sat down on the bed and checked his gun, making sure it was loaded. "This whole place gives me the creeps. He said all the rooms were full, but I didn't see any of the lights on."
She sat across from him in a chair and began taking her boots off. "Maybe they're all sleepin'. It's after ten."
"Maybe. Just stay inside tonight Faith, don't go out lookin' for ice or anything."
"I wasn't plannin' on it. Speakin' of sleep, I'm really tired. How do ya wanna work this?" She gestured to the one bed in the room.
"You go ahead, I'm not tired anyway. I'll just fall asleep on the chair later."
She looked after him as he sat in the chair and stared out the window through the parted drapes. "You sure? Cause we can be adults about this and share, I'll stay on my side and you can stay on yours, it's big enough."
He raised an eyebrow at her and grinned. "I don't know Faith, I've herd women say that to me before and they never stayed on their side."
She rolled her eyes and tossed a pillow at him before climbing into bed. "Goodnight Bosco."
"Night."
*****************
Hours later Bosco was still awake, clutching his gun and staring out the crack in the drapes. Something about this place was keeping him on edge and he didn't think he could fall asleep if he tried.
A light in room number four across from them had gone on a few minutes ago and he watched it for any sign of movement. Bosco jumped nearly a foot in the air as something ran past his window. He couldn't make out who it was, and opened the curtains a bit more, looking for the person he'd just seen. All he could see was darkness, whoever it was had gone now.
The light in number four had gone out and Bosco settled down into the chair to continue watching it. Seconds later a piercing scream filled the air. Faith was startled from her sleep and flicked on the bedside light.
"What the hell was that!?"
"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out."
She jumped up and grabbed her gun from the nightstand before following him out the door. Bosco headed for room number four with Faith close behind him. They stopped next to it, listening for any movement inside.
"This is the police, everything all right in there?" Bosco shouted. He repeated himself again when no one answered.
He looked back at Faith who nodded at him and then proceeded to kick in the door. He stopped short, causing her run right into him.
Bosco caught his breath as he stared into the room. The walls and bed were covered in blood, the entire place looked like it had been hit by a tornado with pieces of furniture turned over and the belongings of the former occupant scattered about.
"Oh my god." Faith placed a hand on Bosco's arm causing him to flinch. "What happened here, Boz?"
"I don't know, but I think it's safe to say that whoever was here is dead now."
"No kidding. Come on, we need to go tell the clerk and see if the phones are back up."
"I was watching this room."
Faith turned to see him walking further into the room. "What?"
"It's right across from ours, I was watching it from the window, the light went on a few minutes before we herd the scream."
"You didn't see anyone go in?"
He returned from the bathroom. "No, and they couldn't have, there's no other door. I was watching it the whole time Faith, no one could have gotten in here without me seein' them."
She nodded to him and headed toward the door. "Come on, let's get outta here."
He took one last look around and followed her out, but stopped in his tracks a few feet from the office, suddenly remembering what he'd seen before.
"Wait! I did see somethin'. There was this person, a shadow that passed in front of our window before it happened. I didn't think nothing of it, thought my mind was playin' tricks on me cause I'd been up all night, but there was something there Faith, I saw it."
"You didn't see who it was?"
"No, it was too dark."
"We need to call the authorities Boz, just cross your fingers that the phones are back up." She headed for the office door when she felt his hand on her arm. "You believe me right?"
She looked up at him and nodded. "Of course I do."
They both entered the office and rang the bell several times. "Hello! We need help out here!" Faith yelled into the back but got no answer. She rang the bell again, but there was still no sign of the clerk. She marched into the back room hoping to find someone that could help them, what she saw puzzled her. The entire space was covered in dust. A small desk and several filing cabinets lined the far wall with cobwebs hanging off the edges and in the corners.
"Bosco, come back here." She walked over to the nearest cabinet and began pulling out files.
"Wow, I think the maid's been slackin' off" he walked up behind her, looking over her shoulder. "What are ya lookin' at?"
Faith flipped through several of the files, chewing on her bottom lip as she read. "All of this paperwork is from the 40's. It lists all the people that stayed here, but it just stops at 1948."
"It sure looks like nobody's been back here for a couple of decades." Bosco glanced around the room, taking note of the old furniture and outdated calendars before heading for the door. "Let's go, the desk clerk has to be around here somewhere."
Faith replaced the files and took a last look around before following him, grabbing a ring full of keys on her way out. "This should come in handy." She dangled the keys in front of him with a satisfied smirk on her face.
He grinned back at her. "I knew there was a reason I keep you around."
She had an urge to whack him upside the head with the keychain but decided against it, wouldn't want to loose any of the keys.
Fifteen minutes later they were no closer to finding the clerk or anyone else then they were when they'd started. All the rooms were empty, with no signs of anyone staying in them and no clues as to where they could have gone. The entire motel was deserted.
"The sun's gonna be up soon. We should go back to the room for now, we'll go further into town when it's light and try to find a phone." Bosco glanced at Faith who was leaning up against one of the room doors. She watched him walk away, but stayed where she was.
"Bosco?"
"Yeah."
"What do ya think happened to the person is number four?"
He thought for a moment, shifting his weight back and forth on each foot. "I don't know, but we not waiting around so it can happen to us. The best thing we can do is get the hell outta here and into town. We'll get the help there." It sounded like a good plan to him, he just hoped it would be that easy.
***************************
TBC.
Rating: Still PG-13, but will be R later.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything related to Third Watch so please don't sue me.
Author's Note: Thank you so much for all the great reviews! I really appreciate them. Keep in mind that they haven't actually made it to Texas, they're stranded somewhere between there and New York.
**************************
They'd been walking for what seemed like hours. The sun had long since went down leaving them in complete and total darkness. The moonlight was the only thing making it possible for them to keep track of each other. That, and the fact that Bosco was practically hanging off of her. Apparently the dark made him clingy.
"Faith?"
"Yeah."
"Do ya hear that?"
She listened but heard nothing. "Hear what?"
A soft rumbling sound came from behind them, followed by what appeared to be headlights.
"That." He pointed in the direction of the semi-truck heading towards them.
"Thank god! It's about time we came across someone out here."
They both started waving their hands in the air hoping to catch the driver's attention. The big truck whizzed by them, stopping only at the last minute. Bosco and Faith jogged up to the driver's side window, praying that the person inside would give them a ride.
The window rolled down, revealing a man that appeared to be in his late fifties, smoking a cigar and eyeing them up slowly.
"This ain't a safe place for ya'all ta be wanderin 'round at. Did ya get stranded?" He spoke with a heavy southern accent.
Faith spoke up first. "Yeah, we've been walkin' forever. Could ya give us a ride to the nearest town?"
He puffed his cigar a few times, almost as if he was considering weather or not to say something. "I'm not sure ya wanna go to the nearest town. Folk up there can be a bit.unfriendly. I can drop ya off at the next one over."
"No the nearest one's fine. We just need to pick up some gas and use the phone" Bosco said as they walked around to the passenger side. When they were both in the driver started up the truck again. "Suit yourself."
Twenty minutes later they arrived at a small motel. The driver looked at them sadly. "Ya'll be careful now. Keep ya doors locked at night." They nodded and said their thank you's, both a bit puzzled as to why he suddenly seemed so concerned for them.
The motel was minimal to say the least. With only ten rooms and a tiny office in the front. They made their way to the front desk looking around to for a phone but not finding one.
Bosco rang the bell twice. "Hello?"
Several moments later the desk clerk appeared greeting them with a huge smile. "Well hello there, welcome to the Shady Acres motel. What can I do ya for?"
Faith raised an eyebrow at him. "We just need to use your phone and be pointed in the direction of a gas station."
"Oh I'm sorry our phone lines have been out all day, and the nearest gas station is about 3 miles away. You're welcome to take a room though and wait till mornin' I'm sure the phones we'll be up an' runnin' by then. Just so happens number six is available."
He held out a room key to them, which Bosco took. "Great. Just great. We're gonna need two rooms though."
"Sorry, we're booked solid, this is the only one we got left."
Bosco smirked at him. "You're booked solid? How the hell does that happen?"
The clerk continued to smile at them and shook his head. "Don't know really. Folk tend to get stranded 'round these parts quite often. We just happen ta be in the right spot."
Bosco glanced back at Faith who shrugged her shoulders at him. "Fine. Thank you."
"No problem, number six is around the corner to your right. Enjoy your stay." He waved them off then disappeared into the back room.
Faith stayed close by Bosco as they entered number six. "I don't know about you, but that guy gave me the creeps."
He sat down on the bed and checked his gun, making sure it was loaded. "This whole place gives me the creeps. He said all the rooms were full, but I didn't see any of the lights on."
She sat across from him in a chair and began taking her boots off. "Maybe they're all sleepin'. It's after ten."
"Maybe. Just stay inside tonight Faith, don't go out lookin' for ice or anything."
"I wasn't plannin' on it. Speakin' of sleep, I'm really tired. How do ya wanna work this?" She gestured to the one bed in the room.
"You go ahead, I'm not tired anyway. I'll just fall asleep on the chair later."
She looked after him as he sat in the chair and stared out the window through the parted drapes. "You sure? Cause we can be adults about this and share, I'll stay on my side and you can stay on yours, it's big enough."
He raised an eyebrow at her and grinned. "I don't know Faith, I've herd women say that to me before and they never stayed on their side."
She rolled her eyes and tossed a pillow at him before climbing into bed. "Goodnight Bosco."
"Night."
*****************
Hours later Bosco was still awake, clutching his gun and staring out the crack in the drapes. Something about this place was keeping him on edge and he didn't think he could fall asleep if he tried.
A light in room number four across from them had gone on a few minutes ago and he watched it for any sign of movement. Bosco jumped nearly a foot in the air as something ran past his window. He couldn't make out who it was, and opened the curtains a bit more, looking for the person he'd just seen. All he could see was darkness, whoever it was had gone now.
The light in number four had gone out and Bosco settled down into the chair to continue watching it. Seconds later a piercing scream filled the air. Faith was startled from her sleep and flicked on the bedside light.
"What the hell was that!?"
"I don't know, but I'm gonna find out."
She jumped up and grabbed her gun from the nightstand before following him out the door. Bosco headed for room number four with Faith close behind him. They stopped next to it, listening for any movement inside.
"This is the police, everything all right in there?" Bosco shouted. He repeated himself again when no one answered.
He looked back at Faith who nodded at him and then proceeded to kick in the door. He stopped short, causing her run right into him.
Bosco caught his breath as he stared into the room. The walls and bed were covered in blood, the entire place looked like it had been hit by a tornado with pieces of furniture turned over and the belongings of the former occupant scattered about.
"Oh my god." Faith placed a hand on Bosco's arm causing him to flinch. "What happened here, Boz?"
"I don't know, but I think it's safe to say that whoever was here is dead now."
"No kidding. Come on, we need to go tell the clerk and see if the phones are back up."
"I was watching this room."
Faith turned to see him walking further into the room. "What?"
"It's right across from ours, I was watching it from the window, the light went on a few minutes before we herd the scream."
"You didn't see anyone go in?"
He returned from the bathroom. "No, and they couldn't have, there's no other door. I was watching it the whole time Faith, no one could have gotten in here without me seein' them."
She nodded to him and headed toward the door. "Come on, let's get outta here."
He took one last look around and followed her out, but stopped in his tracks a few feet from the office, suddenly remembering what he'd seen before.
"Wait! I did see somethin'. There was this person, a shadow that passed in front of our window before it happened. I didn't think nothing of it, thought my mind was playin' tricks on me cause I'd been up all night, but there was something there Faith, I saw it."
"You didn't see who it was?"
"No, it was too dark."
"We need to call the authorities Boz, just cross your fingers that the phones are back up." She headed for the office door when she felt his hand on her arm. "You believe me right?"
She looked up at him and nodded. "Of course I do."
They both entered the office and rang the bell several times. "Hello! We need help out here!" Faith yelled into the back but got no answer. She rang the bell again, but there was still no sign of the clerk. She marched into the back room hoping to find someone that could help them, what she saw puzzled her. The entire space was covered in dust. A small desk and several filing cabinets lined the far wall with cobwebs hanging off the edges and in the corners.
"Bosco, come back here." She walked over to the nearest cabinet and began pulling out files.
"Wow, I think the maid's been slackin' off" he walked up behind her, looking over her shoulder. "What are ya lookin' at?"
Faith flipped through several of the files, chewing on her bottom lip as she read. "All of this paperwork is from the 40's. It lists all the people that stayed here, but it just stops at 1948."
"It sure looks like nobody's been back here for a couple of decades." Bosco glanced around the room, taking note of the old furniture and outdated calendars before heading for the door. "Let's go, the desk clerk has to be around here somewhere."
Faith replaced the files and took a last look around before following him, grabbing a ring full of keys on her way out. "This should come in handy." She dangled the keys in front of him with a satisfied smirk on her face.
He grinned back at her. "I knew there was a reason I keep you around."
She had an urge to whack him upside the head with the keychain but decided against it, wouldn't want to loose any of the keys.
Fifteen minutes later they were no closer to finding the clerk or anyone else then they were when they'd started. All the rooms were empty, with no signs of anyone staying in them and no clues as to where they could have gone. The entire motel was deserted.
"The sun's gonna be up soon. We should go back to the room for now, we'll go further into town when it's light and try to find a phone." Bosco glanced at Faith who was leaning up against one of the room doors. She watched him walk away, but stayed where she was.
"Bosco?"
"Yeah."
"What do ya think happened to the person is number four?"
He thought for a moment, shifting his weight back and forth on each foot. "I don't know, but we not waiting around so it can happen to us. The best thing we can do is get the hell outta here and into town. We'll get the help there." It sounded like a good plan to him, he just hoped it would be that easy.
***************************
TBC.