"And she's a killer
And she's a keeper ..."
Otep "Ghostflowers"
It was a long drive and the hot stuffy air choked him the entire ride back home. Walter had sent him off to Oklahoma City to deliver a shipment of meth. Mac was the cook, he was the delivery boy. Still, it was great to get away from the crazy town every now and then. Turning down a dusty dirt road, he pulled into the Luna Mesa parking lot and pulled the keys out of the ignition.
It was around two a.m. and the bar was clear of all cliental and unwanted guests. The sky above them was clear and dotted with the brightest stars she had ever seen. When the car stopped she sat up from her lying position on the floor of his backseat. This man was a dim one, she decided. He hadn't noticed her during the entire ride there. Just as she sat up, the man reached back in, forgetting his phone.
For a long moment they locked eyes. Devon thought he was dreaming. A strange looking girl in a dirty straightjacket was sitting in the back of his car. She cocked her head to the side in question, her green eyes sparkling in wonder. Grinning, she suddenly opened the car door with her foot and dashed out into the night.
"Fuck!" Devon cursed, chasing the girl around his car. "H-Hey! Who the hell are you? Huh?"
The girl giggled and danced around him. She wasn't wearing pants, a tight pair of black underwear covering her lower half. Wild blond and brown hair twisted in the wind. Some psycho had hitched a ride in his car? Walter was going to blow a nut.
Devon was inches from tugging on a fistful of her hair but she was lighter on her bare feet and spun away from him. Fear gripped his gut when she shoved her way into the Luna Mesa, right where Walter was waiting. Mac was probably in there finishing off a bottle of whiskey before heading back to the canyons. They'd gut him alive!
When Walter looked up from drying a glass, he expected to find his youngest son strutting in, but instead a wild haired woman rushed in. The girl stopped, cocking her head to the side, taking in her surroundings in awe. Devon threw himself through the door.
"I can explain." He gasped out, still trying to find his breath after playing tag with the crazy woman.
Mac slithered out of his bar stoll, eyeing the girl. "Bring me back a present, huh?"
"Mac, back off!" Walter warned, pointing a finger at his eldest. Turning back to the girl he added, "Where ya from, girl?"
The girl smiled and carefully jumped up onto the bar stood beside Mac, wiggling a little. Devon groaned and sat next to her, ready to be punished for fucking up and bringing home some woman from a mental hospital.
"Oklahoma." The girl chirped. "Could I bother you for some water?"
After a glass of water was retrieved and given to the girl, Mac undid the ties of the straightjacket, freeing her. Shrugging the jacket off, revealing a black tank top underneath, she draped it over the back of the chair. The three men watched as she downed the glass of water, happily thanking Walter afterwards.
Mac eyed the girl like a wolf spying on a rabbit through a thicket. She was petite and scrawny, skin and bones. There were lumps of fat on her thighs and her breasts were a decent size, but her ribs poked through her top and her wrists looked like they would break just holding the glass. Her hair was dyed blond on the left and brown on the right, black roots spouting at the top of her head. She was interesting to look at. He wondered if she would be interesting to ruin.
"Gonna tell us why your hitched a ride in his car?" Walter jutted his jaw towards Devon. His meaty hands gripped the counter, supporting his weight as he lent on it.
The girl glanced at Devon, then her attention twisted back to Walter. "It was Mandy's idea. I didn't mean any harm. I just needed to leave the state before they found me."
"Who's 'they'?" Mac snapped, taking a healthy swig of his whiskey.
She pouted. "Could be the hospital. Or the police. FBI, maybe?"
When she saw their shocked and angered faces she quickly added, "But they probably think I'm dead. The doctors will probably say that if I'm alive I'll leave a blood trail." She shrugged. "Joanne killed two people but they think I'm a danger to society, so they locked me up."
"Jesus, it's like she was made for Mac." Devon cackled, leaning back in his chair. "Two fucking wackos!"
"Who's Mandy and Joanne?" Walter asked, ignoring his son's comment.
The girl shrunk in on herself at the words spat at her by the other man. Joanne was growling in her head and Mandy wanted to take over, but she remained firm.
"I have multiple personalities. Among other things." She began to fumble with her fingers. "Listen, I won't cause any trouble. Can I just stay here until it's all blown over? I can work here to pay off whatever…"
Walter rolled his jaw, thinking about her request. He didn't like other's poking their noses around his place. The idea of the FBI sniffing around the canyons for the scrawny little girl wasn't a pleasing thought. If he was lucky, Mac would deal with the girl before the morning sun rose over the canyons and they would have nothing to worry about. That was if he decided to kill the woman.
"Yer stayin' with Mac. Nobody pokes around his place, you'll be safe there." Walter glared at his son when his jaws opened to protest. "Got a name, girl?"
The girl shook her head and frowned. "I'd prefer not to use it."
Devon ran a hand through his hair, thinking back to the one semester of Psychology he took back in college. "We'll call you Sybil."
Mac scrunched up his face, displeased with the old fashioned name. "Fuckin' Granny name."
"Sybil was known for having, like, thirteen personalities?" Devon reasoned.
"I like it." The girl smiled. "I can be called Sibby! Lucy May likes it, too. She thinks it's pretty."
Mac eyed the girl, silently cursing his brother for bringing the weird girl back home. Grunting he placed the empty whiskey bottle on the counter then slid off his stool. Grabbing "Sybil" by her arm he pulled her to her feet and grabbed the straightjacket.
"C'mon, we're goin'." He hissed as he roughly strapped her back into the straight jacket.
The girl whined and struggled a little, not liking the idea of being contained again so soon after being freed. Mac pushed her towards the door, chuckling when she stumbled.
"Enjoy your stay!" Walter called out to the girl as she stepped out into the warm night air.