A/N: U GUISE THERE'S NO END IN SIGHT
Disclaimer: I do not own Dragon Ball Z or anything affiliated with it.
-MalRev
DEEP - SIX
16 - How To Get Lost
It was a little comical watching Goku drive the tiny Civic he'd shoved me in to. The seat was all the way back but his long legs still bent at the knee on the gas. I glanced at the one hand he had wrapped around the steering wheel and wondered why I never noticed how he didn't quite fit the human bill. He could probably tear it right off without batting an eye.
His training clothes were damp with sweat like always and he leaned his head on his free hand, barely able to rest on the window due to his height. I looked down at my hands resting palms-up in my lap, soft and free of callouses—except the one on my ring finger where I balanced writing instruments. I flexed them into fists a few times, drawing the blood out of my knuckles.
"You gonna punch me, Ellie?"
Goku had an eyebrow raised and a sort of jeering smile on his face. My gaze traveled back to his hand on the steering wheel, only one finger in control of it, and I scowled up at him.
"Maybe," I said tersely.
"Cool, I needed a massage." Cracking sounds snapped through the car as he twisted his neck. "Aim right between my shoulder blades, please."
I crossed my arms over my chest, incensed. "I liked it better when you weren't an obstinate asshole."
The scenery was flying past us in a blur. We were traveling further and further beyond the city, off into the huge rural area surrounding it. The highway was freshly paved and other cars were becoming scarce. I peered out the window, heart pattering with curiosity and fear.
"Don't worry, I'll get worse." Goku switched hands on the steering wheel and reached over to envelop my thigh in one hand. "It takes a while for the pill to totally wear off—insurance from Bulma in case I forgot a pill." His eyebrows knitted together in worry. "No one is gonna like me at that point."
Fear slithered down my spine and I was suddenly inspired to look for the medication I had encouraged Goku to quit taking. I popped open the glovebox but only found some napkins and a road map.
"Want me to grab one for you?" I asked. It was hard to keep the anxiety out of my voice.
"Don't you like me this way?" Goku said with feigned shock. He shook his head, rolling his eyes. "The pills are back in the apartment. I'm going au naturel from now on. I'll need to be able to think clearly to figure out what I'm gonna do about Bulma and Vegeta."
"But… won't it be hard to do that if you're a rage monster?"
Goku cast me a sideways look. "It's not like I rampage out of control. The urge for conquest and domination just gets stronger. I become less inclined to kindness. That's very xenophobic, Ellie."
The words coming out of his mouth were so foreign. This wasn't my goofy tutee who showed me cat videos on YouTube and stared at the ceiling fan, trying to avoid learning about radicals. There was a bitter edge to his voice, like he was world-weary and much older than he looked. All the declarations of love suddenly felt more calculated. Maybe it was just a part of the chess game.
I didn't even retort back at him, just slid down in my seat and rubbed my arms. The hand stayed firm on my thigh.
"Bulma wants you alive," Goku said, continuing his earlier comment, "mostly because you know too much. She'll keep Owen as a pawn, since he's not worth getting rid of. They can't kill me." He clicked his tongue against the roof of his mouth, finally slowing the car down. "I'll have to call and check in on everyone else, but I'm sure they're fine."
We took a sharp turn down a dirt road that led in the opposite direction. I was thrown against the car door and banged my head off the window but Goku wasn't paying attention. He barreled down the path without hesitation, still gripping my thigh, black eyes cold and serious.
"Thanks for that!" I snapped, rubbing my head and wincing.
The road twisted a few more times, sometimes doubling back on itself like a maze, before we mercifully came to our destination.
It was a small log cabin. Seriously small—maybe the size of some people's garages. There were windows on each side with the curtains drawn and the chimney wasn't puffing smoke. Some stuff was littered around outside: a shovel, discarded pieces of wood, and some leftover siding from the windows. The cabin was stained deep brown but I could see bits of it were still light.
Goku didn't say anything. He got out of the car and walked around to my side before I realized he was gone. I hesitated when he opened the door.
He rested his arm on the door and the other on the car frame, leaning down to give me an expectant, "what the hell is taking so long" stare. It was deathly silent, save for the sound of water in the distance. No bugs. Just bits of sunshine dappling through the trees.
"What?" Goku said, shrugging his shoulders, looking seriously sick of me.
"I have a few questions."
He groaned and looked up to the sky. "Just get out of the car, Ellie."
"Why? So you can murder me and hack me into little pieces?" I took in the scenery through the safety of the windshield and rattled off my queries. "Who does this belong to? Where am I? Why the hell am I even here? And, circling back to our earlier conversation where you told me you're a fucking alien, what are you?"
Goku rubbed his face with one palm, sighing into it. "It belongs to me—since I built it—and it's a safe house I made when Vegeta and the others first showed up. You're here because no one knows about it besides me and you'll be safe here—" He stopped for a minute and gave me a sarcastic smile— "which is why it's called a safe house. Don't you watch movies? R.E.D.? All the old people saving the world?"
I scowled and folded my arms. "Yes. I hope you're not suggesting that you're my Frank Moses."
The banter wasn't really entertaining Goku. He grabbed me by arm and dragged me out of the car before I could even try to grab hold of something. I clawed at his hand and he dropped me to the crunchy leaves in response, then kicked the door shut.
"This is my Fortress of Solitude," he said, standing over me as I sat up and brushed leaves off myself. "I think Superman is more my speed."
"Superman was nice to people," I muttered. And he could probably beat you up…
Fingers threaded through my hair and Goku yanked me to my feet, ignoring my angry yelp of pain. Hurting me didn't look like it bothered him as much anymore. I wrestled with his hand and watched his black eyes scanning the area like a paranoid animal.
"I don't smell anything weird," he said more to himself than me.
"You have super senses, too?" I said with icy admiration.
"Sure do." His gaze traveled down to me and I paused in trying to pick his fingers out of my hair. He smiled. "Without the pill numbing them, I can always smell when want me."
My cheeks reddened but I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of humiliating me. He seemed to revel in that now. "Sounds like a lame super power."
Goku laughed for the first time in a while and pulled me along to the cabin by my hair. I winced and tried to drag my feet but there was no contest. A key twisted in the lock and it clicked open, where I was once again uncerimoniously dropped on the floor like a sack of potatoes.
It was cold inside and the hardwood under my palms was especially biting. The windows were all sealed shut and the fireplace was devoid of embers. I ran a hand through my hair, pulling out the loose strands, and sat up as Goku shut the door behind us. He locked the handle again, then slid a deadbolt across it the door and a chain over that.
There was a mattress in the corner of the room with just a thin blanket folded on top of it and one thin pillow. A cooler was on the opposite side of the cabin, two fishing poles leaning against it. A tackle box was beside them and there were some other necessities scattered about in the corner.
"Where's the bathroom?" I asked.
"Wherever you want it to be." Goku drew the blinds up on the window over the bed and opened the window. "Obviously I don't have plumbing if I'm off the grid."
I made a disgusted face. "I'm not staying here. I hate camping."
Goku took three steps to the other side of the cabin and smiled at me as he opened the window. "You're not going anywhere. Enjoy being close to nature, Ellie. Drink it all in."
"Are you crazy?!" I hissed. "What am I supposed to eat and drink? What if I get sick? What if a psychopath with a machete breaks down the door and kills me?! I've seen enough of those movies to know that I'm a prime target!"
"I'll feed you, and there's potable water here." He gestured to a super sized industrial paint container as he opened another window. "Just boil it. Didn't your parents teach you anything?"
"I don't live in the fucking woods like a mountain man."
Goku turned to me, hands on his hips, and grinned. "I did when I was a kid, and I'm okay. Sorta. Look, you'll be fine, just stay here and don't do anything stupid."
I stayed in my spot on the floor, glowering. "The stupidest thing I did was trust you."
He frowned, opened his mouth, then shrugged and smiled again. "Probably! I'll start a fire for you, then I need to go meet up with Chi and the others. They're probably worried sick but I'm sure she has it under control. We'll figure out what to do."
"Why couldn't I just come with you?" I asked.
Goku suddenly became contrite—the switch had flipped. He slipped his hands in his pockets and looked away from me out the window, where the only sound was the wind.
"Like I said: I don't know what would happen to me if something happened to you." He leaned over to kiss the top of my head and gave me a two finger salute. "I'll be back. Stay here, unless you really want to piss me off."
The two fingers pressed to his forehead and all of a sudden, Goku disappeared, leaving me in slack-jawed shock.