[Phase 1]

Okay, it's 11:00. The band are on-route from the airport, which is certainly boring to Noodle and 2D. It's three hours to Kong Studios from the airport. They're all tired from the long flight from New York City; where they had been visiting Russel's family.

Currently, Noodle's stretched out in her seat, her head rested on Russel's arm. Stuart's in the front seat, as usual. He gets really nervous if he has to sit in back, oddly. That leaves Murdoc driving the car and Russ lounging with Noodle behind the other two.

The stereo system is on, the weather station. It's calling for severe storms, even a high tornado warning in their area. Everyone's strangely silent, even Noodle, who doesn't understand the distorted words coming from the car speakers. She seems to have picked up that there's a grim mood, and is quickly becoming transfixed with how the sky outside her window is looking. It's not the same dark sky she's used to seeing at Kong, it's interestingly different.

"R-Russel..?" She finally speaks, looking at him nervously. "Outside. . Green, look." Her tiny finger points to the window, confusion etched across her face.

"Shut the mouth, girly, we're trying to listen!" Murdoc speaks up before the drummer can answer his kid.

Russ takes Noodle into his arms protectively, glancing down at her for a moment. "Don't talk to her tha' way, Muds." His voice is threatening. In all honestly, he's worried about what's being predicted on the stereo system, though he's sure as hell not gonna show it.

"D'ya.. U-uh, think it's safe to go back, Murdoc?" 2D's very obviously scared, it not having occurred to him to try and hide it from Noodle's view so she doesn't become fearful. "B-back home? With this weather?

Before there's a reply from Murdoc, a flash of lightning lights up the sky, immediately followed by a deafening thunder clap; which shakes the whole car. Noodle shrieks, covering her ears. No one had been expecting something like that so soon, and she hadn't been the only one surprised. Murdoc had involuntarily stopped the car, having hit the brakes at the sight of the lightning. Luckily, they had been the only car going down that road for miles, so there isn't any collision. 2D is now even more of a stuttering mess, and not even Russ can translate what he's trying to say. The large man is holding Noodle tightly, she having buried her face in his chest for a moment. After the shock wears off, Noodle lifts her head from Russ' shirt.

"Loud!" She grins widely, patting the man's cheek affectionately before turning to gaze out the window again. "A big sound!" Noodle comments, not shaken at all. "No good, car shake much." She makes a 'tsking' sound and shakes her head; almost a reflection of Murdoc, who does precisely the same thing when given the reason to.

Russel laughs; a deep, roaring laugh. "Gee, Muds, she's actin' like you."

"Atta-girl." Murdoc's started the car again. He could've smiled, his lips crease a bit at the edges. He doesn't, though, too focused on the task at hand.

The station is getting too much static, so they can't really hear the news broadcaster anymore. Murdoc supposes it could be caused by the demon possessing the stereo system trying to fuck with him; or perhaps the ever-thickening cloud cover overhead.

"There's no overpass 'round here, is there." Stuart sighs. It's not a question, but a statement.

"Not seeing one, no." Murdoc answers. It's begun to rain, now, almost a downpour. He's got the feeling like time is running out before the storm really starts, and he'd better at least get them somewhere they can be protected from the growing winds. He'll be damned if he can't prevent Noodle from getting injured by this dangerous weather.

"A rain, see. Much of rain, yeah?" Noodle speaks up. "Hm, no good, make all wet." She sighs, setting the side of her face down on Russel as she stares outside. "Cold rain. Noodle not like." Noodle finishes with a yawn.

"Ya got that right, baby-girl." Russel agrees, grinning.

"Well, we'll 'ave to go out there. It's not safe to be in this hunk of metal when the weather's like this. It could very well tip over if the wind gets any stronger," Murdoc informs the other two adults. He puts the car in park next to an uninhabited petrol station; the closest thing to a safe shelter. They're in the twenty-mile stretch of bare land that leads to Kong Studios, but Murdoc knows that they aren't likely to arrive in one piece considering how dangerous the conditions are. Plus, he's not willing to risk their lives to try and finish the trip there. The winding road leading up to Kong is dangerous enough as it is without all this damned weather.

"Out? Hm, too wet. No like." Noodle shakes her head.

"No other option, dove." Murdoc says, zipping his coat. He pulls his hood over his head. "I'll go see if the thing's unlocked. You all can wait 'ere."

Before anyone can protest, he's out in the rain, walking over to the abandoned petrol station building.

"Uh oh, Mu-doc." Noodle comments. There's another jarringly loud thunderclap. "Where he go?" The rain's so thick now that they can't see through it clearly enough to keep an eye on Murdoc.

Russel frowns. "He's fine, but you're not going out there in nothin' but your tank top and shorts."

"No coat, Russel. None on." She points to herself.

"I can see tha'. Your coat's in the boot, ain't it?" He asks with a scratch of his head.

"Hai, boot in rain. No good, yeah?"

She's got a point; if Russel were to open up the boot of the car, it's likely that all of their things would be drenched in an instant. He's not in the mood to deal with Murdoc's incessant bitching about how El Diablo got wet.

"Alright, then." Russ pulls his jacket over his head, then placing it on Noodle. It's so big on her that her feet can't even be seen under the bottom hem of it. "That'll have to do."

Noodle looks down at the enormous jacket. "Noodle is a Russel. Good, good." She's got one of those cheeky grins on her face.

"Oh, Russ, how cute!" Stuart's turned around, having momentarily forgotten that he's nervous about Murdoc being out there. "It's like a big dress!"

"Toochee like Russel shirt?" Noodle asks, giggling.

"Yeah! It's cool!" He admires with a smile.

Russ chuckles, pecking the top of her head. "You're warm, now, yeah?" He asks.

"Hm, yes. Warm. Big shirt." She agrees.

"Good." Russel nods his approval.

Suddenly, the driver door opens to reveal a soaked Murdoc. "Come on, you lot, I've broken the lock!" He exclaims over the pouring rain. The wind is blowing his hair every which way, but he doesn't seem to notice.

"I don't want to go out there in the rain.." 2D mutters with a frown.

"You're coming out here right now! Let's go!" As if on cue, lightning strikes a tree only yards away from them, causing Noodle to squeal with excitement.

"Sky kill a tree!" Noodle exclaims after the thunder that follows. Stuart takes a deep breath before stepping out of the car and running towards the petrol station. He's not risking being in a metal box while it's storming like this. Russel sighs. It's now or never.

"Let's go, baby." He instructs, opening the door. Noodle nods.

"Pick up Noodle, Russel? Will fall, a big shirt." She gestures to the jacket.

"Aight." He takes her into his arms quickly, and she rests her forehead in the crook of his neck, bracing for the cold rain.

"Hurry up, we haven't all day!" Murdoc urges, locking the doors. It's way windier around here than Russ had thought it might be, and he tightens his hold on the child protectively. In the thirty seconds from the car to the station, everyone is positively soaked when they're finally inside. It's dark and falling apart on the inside and smells a lot like dead things, but Russ reckons it better than the car was. He sets Noodle down on the floor.

"Yuck! Smell no good!" Noodle exclaims. She notices that there's puddles forming on the floor where the roof is leaking. "Rain inside?"

"Huh?" 2D asks, looking at her. She points to the ceiling, where there's at least four places steadily dripping water. "Ohh.. Well, that's not good, is it?" He scratches his head and steps over to the holes to investigate further.

"No good, no." She agrees.

Murdoc's sitting in the darkest corner of the room, positively miserable at how wet he is. Noodle makes her way to him, tilting her head with confusion. "Sad Mu-doc?" She sits down on an overturned bucket next to him. The place is quite filthy, even by their standards. There appears to have been a sort of group playing around with guns in here at some point; the place is riddled with bullet holes and ammo casings.

"No, dove, ol' Murdy's just a tad tired, is all." The green man doesn't glance at her.

"Oh. Um." Noodle says helpfully. She pats his shoulder, looking around again. "Rain inside." She 'tsks' again.

"I heard, yeah. Not much I can do 'bout that, though."

The girl withdrawals her hand, roughly brushing her hair from her face. She'll be needing a trim, soon. "Thank for, um, uh.." She scratches her head. "Thanking for open dooring?" Noodle seems confused by her own words.

Murdoc seems to understand what she's trying to say. "Oh, of course, lovely. Not a problem." He replies absently. He seems to be in a Quiet Mood, so she decides to let him be.

Noodle hums, now looking around on the floor for something of interest. "Ooh! What this!" She murmurs to herself, standing up and walking over to a large bullet case. It's a large metal cylinder, obviously very old and rather rusted. She picks it up, eyeing it as carefully as she can in the low light. Lightning flashes outside, making her glance up for a moment.

"Baby, stay outta trouble, I don't need you gettin' hurt in this shithole." Russel directs. He's leaning on a wall, eyes fixed on her.

"Noodle okay, Russel no worry." She replies with a nod. "Noodle go see there?" Noodle points to an opened door in the back of the former storefront.

"Not on your own, no way in hell." Russel replies. "I'll go with ya. Anyone else coming?" The drummer glances at the other two men .

"Fine. It's awfully dull, here, anyhow." Murdoc agrees, standing up and making an effort of dusting the back of his trousers off, though to no avail.

"D-Don't leave me by myself!" Stuart exclaims. "This place is r-r-really creepy!!"

"Fuckin' hell, why are you such a baby? Think the bloody Boogie Man's gonna get you?" Murdoc looks a tad annoyed.

"N-No! Well. . . maybe!" Stu checks to make sure he's not in Murdoc's arm's reach.

"Why the fuck would he hang out 'round here, faceache?! He's better than that!" Murdoc replies, looking a bit befuddled at how daft Stuart is.

"No fight! Stop it now!" Noodle demands, crossing her arms and glaring at the pair. She'd tossed the old bullet case back onto the floor, having quickly lost interest in it.

They do; both appear to flinch under her furious gaze.

"Alright, let's go." Russel starts over to the opening. Noodle rushes to his side and slips her hand into his, then clutching to it tightly. He notices that she's feeling a bit cold despite the jacket, but doesn't say anything. The other two men follow behind. The walls are all coated in graffiti, enough to the point where the original paint color isn't discernable. There's shattered glass all over the floor in here, along with miscellaneous debris. Noodle lets go of Russel's hand, her eyes travelling around quickly. She walks ahead of the three.

Murdoc stops to laugh at a statement spray-painted on one of the filthy walls; "Freedy's gonna kill ya". The handwriting is god awful, he comments.

"Wonder who Freedy is.." Stuart mumbles. The other two shrug.

"Hey, where'd Noodle go?" Russel looks around quickly.

As if in response, there's a shriek from down the small corridor at the side of the building. The boys come running, Stuart tripping over his own legs a few times.

Murdoc's the first to arrive, eyes wild. He fixes his gaze on the girl, who appears fine. That is, until he realises that she's staring at something on the floor next to her with an absolutely horrified expression on her face.

He walks to her with a frown. "What is it, girly?" The Satanist asks, following her gaze.

There's a human body on the floor. Mostly bones. There's still some patches of skin and flesh clinging stubbornly to the yellowed bones, along with greasy hair clinging to the skull. The clothes are still on the body, too. "Oh, sweet Satan, what the fuck?!" Murdoc whispers.

Noodle's lip trembles. She knows what that is, and she's petrified. The girl has seen zombies before, but nothing like this. Russel and Stuart have arrived, too. Immediately upon seeing the corpse, Russ snatches Noodle up and away from the rancid thing. She's shaking violently, eyes squeezing shut.

"That explains the smell, yeah?" Somehow, Stuart isn't fazed by this sight. Probably something due to the fact that he's got that huge obsession with zombie movies.

"Shh, baby, I've got you. . ." Russel says, his hand rubbing her back. His eyes haven't left the body, but he's not planning on getting any closer. "You're okay, you're fine." He sounds like he's trying to reassure himself, too.

The girl sniffles. Wind howls outside, adding to the eerie feel of the room. "Well, that's something you don't see every day." Murdoc comments, scratching his head thoughtfully.

"Uh, we kind of do see this kinda thing every day. We live in the center of a graveyard." Stuart points out, fighting back the growing urge to poke at the thing with a stick.

Murdoc glares at Stuart, tempted to whack the idiot. His fists clench and unclench. He decides against it, again, but only because he doesn't want to upset his guitarist further. "Well, yeah, but those bodies. . . Aren't fully dead, see. Unless I'm mistaken; this one's *pretty* fuckin' dead." He mentions, eyes sliding back to the body.

"Probably so." Stuart shrugs, turning to Russel and Noodle. He frowns, taking the girl's hand and squeezing it gently. "Oh, don't be sad, luv, it's just a body."

"Dee, she's ten. Of course seeing shit like this is gonna upset her. 'Specially if she wasn't expecting it." Russ reminds him. "It'd upset anyone in their right mind."

"Oh, right." Is all Stuart says, squeezing her hand once again. She holds to him tightly, mumbling something.

"Sorry, luv?" The young man asks.

"No like dead. Dead a scary to Noodle." She repeats, having lifted her face slightly so she's understandable.

"Told ya." Russel eyes the body again warily. The head appears to have a bullet hole through the side; dried blood is caked around the entry wound.

"We, uh, we should probably leave it be, eh?" Murdoc says. It doesn't really seem like a question, though it's phrased like one.

"I ain't touchin' it." Russ grunts. "I don't need yet another soul in me."

"Hey, maybe this guy is Freedy?" Stuart says suddenly.

Murdoc finally whacks him upside the head.

Noodle murmurs something, tightening her hold on Russel and Stuart. "A bad. No like." She repeats herself again.

"I know, it's alright." Russ pecks the top of Noodle's head. "Did you touch it?"

"Accident. Noodle see shoe under a big wood. Move a wood off." She explains, her forehead moving to rest in the crook of his neck again.

"Ohh, must be why she screamed like that." 2D says.

"No shit?" Murdoc looks about ready to hit him again.

"A ouch." She adds, leaning back in Russel's arms to gaze at a long splinter impaled deeply in the palm of her hand. "A wood in Noodle hand." The child turns her hand to show Russ.

"Damn, that doesn't look good." The man sighs.

"I wanna see! Lemme see it!" Stuart demands. Noodle shows him and Murdoc. There's a low whistle from him. "That's gotta hurt a lot." The bluenette mutters. There's already dark bruising around the entry point, and it seems to be getting infected quickly.

She nods, turning to stare at the splinter herself. She tugs at it experimentally, hissing when pain shoots up her arm. She keeps pulling at it until the thing slides from the inside of her palm, biting her lip to keep from crying out.

The men all stare at her with mixed expressions: Murdoc looks impressed, Russel dumbfounded, and Stuart horrified.

"Uh oh, a bleed." Her eyes are a bit watery from the pain, but she doesn't complain about that.

"Well, naturally, yeah. That thing was bloody huge!" Murdoc bends down and picks up the dropped piece of wood from the ground.

Russ decides not to speak, only holding her tightly. He knows it'll definitely be infected if it isn't already; especially considering what that wood was on top of, but there's not much he can do about it in their situation. Taking the hand gently, he dabs at it with a fold of his shirt.

"Sorr-ee." Noodle says, gazing at Russel nervously.

"Don't be, baby-girl, you didn't know better. I'm not upset with you, just a bit worried." Informs the man.

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A few hours pass without any sign of the weather letting up. If anything, it's even worse. It's pushing on 16:00, Russel reckons. The four had moved back to the front room, none of them really wanting to stay in the same room as the body. Noodle's gotten back to her normal self despite her injuries, (both physical and mental ), and is rather bored. She and 2D had cleared some of the debris from the floor and had been playing tic-tac-toe until around ten minutes ago, when Noodle had won her fortieth game in a row. Stuart had given up the fight after that, throwing his arms up in defeat.

So now they're all just sitting around. Murdoc seems to have dozed off in the corner; there's slight snoring coming from him. He had been exceedingly angry to find that his fags had been too wet to smoke. Russ is keeping watch over the two youngest band members, his chin propped up on his hand.

Noodle's singing, "Is the money a star, is the money a star?" over and over under her breath as she paces back-and-fourth. 2D is biting at a loose bit of skin next to his fingernail, quite wishing he had remembered his own cigarettes. He'd left them in the car. He had even put them in a Ziploc baggie before they had gotten on their plane, so they wouldn't have been wet if he had brought them out in the rain.

"Home yet?" Noodle's stopped singing momentarily, gazing over at Russel curiously.

2D opens the door to glance outside. He's about to turn away when he notices a funnel of clouds over in the distance. "Holy shit." He mutters, closing the door quickly. "H-heh. Um. Russ." Stuart swallows a lump in his throat. His eyes have gone white with fear.

"What, dee?"

Stu jabs a thumb towards the door. "Might, u-uh, want to see." He says nervously.

The large man grunts, standing up and walking over to the door. Noodle follows suit, opening it a crack. Glancing out, her eyes widen at the sight of the tornado. "What that?" The child then squints to keep the pounding rain from her eyes.

Russ opens the door a bit wider so he can see out. "Motherfucker." He makes sure Noodle's fingers aren't in the crack created by opening the door before closing it again. "We gotta get out of here, it's headin' towards us." He tells.

"O-oh. Yeah, I thought so." Stuart agrees.

"Yo, Muds! Wake up." Russel calls. "We're leaving."

"Wha..? What? Why?" Murdoc mumbles, not fully conscious yet.

"Twister. It's comin' towards us, we gotta get outta here quick." His voice is urgent.

"Fuckin' hell." Suddenly, he's fully awake and ripping open the door to check. It's still a good few miles in the horizon, but he can tell that it's gaining way towards them quickly.

"Let's go, then, come on!" He yells over the pouring rain, heading to the car quickly. Stuart rushes after him, Noodle at his heels. Russ brings up the back, though he's not running. Somewhere between the petrol station and the car, Noodle trips and falls on the gravel, scraping up her chin. She immediately lifts herself back to her feet. Russel grabs her and rushes the rest of the way to the car.

Slamming the door after they get in, he exclaims, "Go, you shit!" Because he knows he's not able to safeguard his kid from an impending tornado no matter how hard he trIes.

The bassist grunts, pressing his foot hard on the gas.

Noodle presses her face up against Russel's window, transfixed with this funnel of destruction.

"Baby, your chin's bleedin'." Russ gently wipes a steady stream of blood from it, a worried expression on his face.

She finally turns away from the window to gaze at her reflection in the rear view mirror. "Uh oh, a bad ouch." There's a bloody gash and scuff marks around it from where she'd hit the ground. "It ow." She touches the scuff marks around the cut experimentally, hissing when it stings.

"Oh, Murdoc, isn't there bandages in here somewhere?" 2D asks.

"If there are, they'll probably be in the glove compartment." Murdoc replies. His mismatched gaze keeps flicking back and forth between the road and the tornado. The rain's thickening again, but at this point he has no other option but to drive if he wants them all alive.

Stuart opens the compartment to reveal the dusty box of bandages. Pulling the top part off, he realises that there's only one in there. It'll have to do. "Here, Russ."

The drummer takes the bandage, sticking a finger in his mouth; then wiping as much grime from the wound as he can. She lets him, doing her best not to flinch at the sting of raw skin. Once the bandage is on, she cuddles up in Russel's lap happily. He picks up the injured hand for another look. There's a red ring forming around the puncture, and he's sure it hurts like hell. Russel still can't believe she'd yanked that chunk of wood out the way she had; and without a single cry. He's not seen anything like that before, especially not from a ten-year-old girl.

"Ouch no good." Noodle says tiredly. "Hurt." She's comfortable, somehow managing to lay down in his lap. It'd been an easier feat before her recent growth spurt, but she still manages, even if her legs are hanging over the edge of his lap. One of his arms is supporting her upper half, and her head's rested on his right shoulder. Even with the growing, she's still so thin, and he hardly notices her weight whenever he's carrying her

"I know. We'll clean you up as soon as we're outta this mess, alright?" The man promises sympathetically. He sets her hand down gently, then pushing the hair out of her eyes.

"Nn." She replies, resting her uninjured hand on his other shoulder and shutting her eyes. "Noodle scared. The dead." Noodle admits, opening her eyes again. When she closes them, she can't see anything but that body.

The man frowns. "I'm sorry ya had to see it; 'specially now that you're hurt." He rests his chin on the crown of her head. "But I won't let anything else happen to you, okay? I've got you." His voice is gentle, now, and she feels a bit safer now that he's holding her.

"Love Russel. Russel a good." She whispers. Noodle closes her eyes again, now focussing her mind on the sound of his breathing.

There's silence around them now. Once, Murdoc stops at a red and turns his head to check on the two. They're being awfully quiet. His gaze softens at the sight, and he jabs his thumb towards them for 2D to look.

Stuart just about melts at the sight. His two best mates are dozing; Russ' lips are curved upwards in a slight smile. Noodle is snuggled warmly in his arms. The hand she isn't favouring is wrapped tightly in Russel's shirt.

"I'm glad they're resting, Russ was getting cranky." Stuart whispers.

Murdoc nods in agreement, his eyes now fixed back on the road ahead.

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Hello, all!

This whole story is well over double my normal length. I'm wondering, should I repost it as two chapters, or . . ?

The "Freedy's gonna kill ya" is a reference to something I found spraypainted in an abandoned barn when I was little. A couple months ago, I had gone back to that barn with my elder sister and her friend. Turns out, it had been burnt black, but the spray painted cinder blocks were still there, along with that saying and a half-burnt creepy doll. If you want some pictures, I can find a way to send them to you; so go ahead and ask if you're interested in seeing them.

Not much else to say, this time round. Hope you're having a good weekend!

Until next time,

Liz