Chapter 2: In Which We Wake Not

The car revved up again.

Heavy lids closed, hiding what Hisoka could have sworn were violet eyes. "Thank you."

Hisoka snorted cynically at the amount of gratitude he heard in the weary voice. His father picked up hitch-hikers not so much out of kindness as from a manic sense of economy. They'd be car-pooling everyday if they actually had neighbours within a few miles...

That aside, there was something strange about their passenger. But he couldn't put his finger on it. He seemed harmless enough though. His face had a child-like quality to it in sleep. He was wearing a rumpled suit and overcoat. A salesman? He seemed to lack the guile. But that might explain why his clothes were too loose: A lousy salesman. Hisoka smirked inwardly. Probably his car had broken down. Unlucky to have happened in these godforsaken parts. They were bordered in by dense forest on either side, only broken here and there by plantations of almost equal wildness. Civilization was miles away, and even phone signals were unpredictable.

Not to mention radio signals. He grimaced at the burst of static. His father had turned on the news, precisely at seven, as always.