Chapter 16
Getting Somewhere
Bea Santello almost skips her way to the front of the Ol' Pickaxe, the early spring sun reflecting off the silver and teal hem of her shirt and silver streaks in her gray jeans. She turns back to stare at the empty storefront with a grin and locks the door, dropping the keys inside on her way out. She kicks the last remnants of dirty, packed snow on the edge of the sidewalk as she makes her way down the street to the Party Barn. The trees are just starting to bud, and color is returning to the grass. Autumn may be her favorite time of year, much like her dear Mayday's, but this spring feels like so much more.
As she approaches the door, she figures "why not?" and takes a note from Gregg, kicking the door open with one swift leather boot, without ever removing her hands from her pockets. "It's finally done!"
"WOO!" Gregg cheers from the stage as he sits beside a box of pizza with Angus, Selma, and Mae.
Mae leaps from her seat and rushes over to pull Bea into an overwhelming hug. As short as she is, she leaps up to get her arms around Bea's neck, and her buff-ass girlfriend holds her up just fine. They share a quick, but passionate kiss that threatens to become something much more for a moment before they remember where they are. "So this is it, then? Nothing holding us back?"
"Not as far as I know." Bea grins ear to ear before turning to Law, manning a laptop in the same spot Bea used to keep her own. "Go over the specs again?"
Law types out a few things quick and switches windows. "Let's see… 568k views on the Die Anywhere Else music video. Sales of the single are up to 59k purchases and four million, 230 thousand plays on Spotify. Radio play is kinda slim compared to everything else, but it's responsible for getting us a good number of sales too."
Jackie walks out from the bathrooms in the back. "I've got you booked to record the rest of the album next week a wonderful little place called Atlantis Audio."
Angus peeks up. "Wait, isn't that the one that almost got demolished and was renovated and restored by Witch Dagger?"
"The one and only!" Jackie smirks as she steps up and adjusts her shades. "This is gonna be a big one, guys. I hope you're ready to play your hearts out at next week's show, too."
Gregg hops to his feet. "No way in hell we're fuckin this up now!" He picks up his glass of soda and raises it high. "To finally getting the fuck outta here!"
"Cheers to that!" Mae raises and knocks his glass, spilling some on their hands before she chugs. "Now who's gonna be the first one there? Cuz I bet Bea and I."
Angus huffs. "Well, she's better at handling city traffic, and has a bit of a lead foot on highways."
Law snorts. "Nah, you guys haven't seen my dad drive. Now that's a lead foot." He huffs. "I won't be joining yas for a couple months yet, though."
Bea reaches out for a fistbump. "We'll be waiting for ya, lil bro. The moment you're out there, we gotta record another video."
"Oh, I've already got plans for that." He returns that fistbump and chuckles as he types something in quickly. "Gonna be a dull few weeks, though."
"I'm sure your dad and Germ can keep it interesting. Right, man?" Gregg peeks back to Germ laid out across the stage a short distance away.
He shrugs. "Eh, maybe. I think I might go train hopping for a while soon, though. Not permanently, I just wanna experience the crusty life for a bit to see a little more of the world before I find somewhere to settle down."
Mae jabs his shoulder. "If the trains carry ya our way, feel free to come crash on our couch any time." She sighs. "Honestly, I kinda figured you'd do that. Just don't go and disappear on us, ok?"
"Nah, I'm good." He sits up with a smirk, and Mae barely suppresses a shiver at the absolute certainty in his eyes. "I'll see you guys again soon enough, right when I need to."
Bea groans and sways a bit, leaning into Mae. "Damnit, you're growing into the whole Forest Seer role way too easily."
"It's in my blood. Literally."
Angus' brow furls. "Now you're makin me wanna write a song about demigods, and I'm not sure if it should be about their mortality making them better or assholes."
"Well, I'm not exactly a demigod, I've got like… fifteen generations between James and me."
"Ok, so the mortal part is an improvement, but the less mortal blood, the more of an asshole?"
Germ shrugs. "Not sure, but that seems at least a little accurate."
Mae hums and leans back against Bea as she sips. "Mmm… Makes me wonder if there's other demigods and descendants of James' siblings out there."
Angus groans. "Well, now I'm gonna be thinking about that for half the trip to Bright Harbor." He sighs and tugs his tie a bit looser from his green button-up, almost looking like Big Smoke. "We should all get moving, though. Pizza's about done, car and moving van are loaded…" He sighs contently and peeks over to Gregg. "We're finally doing it, Bug."
"And we're comin with ya!" Mae wraps an arm around Bea's neck and pulls her in. "City life, here we come!"
Gregg nods eagerly and steals a quick kiss from Angus. "Let's ship up and sail out, Cap'n."
He grins and takes Gregg's hand before looking to Germ. "Take care of yourself."
He gives a quick thumbs-up. "I'll see yas there."
He nods and turns to Law. "Try not to get too stir crazy while we're away."
Law waves him off. "I'll just brush up on my editing and practical skills until then. Maybe we can shoot a horror music video when I get up there."
He snaps and points. "Now that's what I was hoping to hear." He sighs and turns to the ladies. "We'll see you there. I'm sure you have a few people waiting to slow you down."
Mae nods faintly, but she can't help but smile. "Yeah, yeah.." She chuckles and peeks up to Gregg. "Just hope ya don't get T-boned by an 18-wheeler."
Gregg grins. "Careful ya don't get stuck on the tracks with a train coming!"
Bea snorts. "With Angus driving, he'll just park there and politely wait to get run over."
Angus huffs, but can't get the smile off his face. "Well, you best try not to get pulled over and arrested for conspiracy against the government."
Bea scoffs and places a hand to her chest in mock appall. "But how would they ever find out? You know I'm too good to get caught."
Mae snorts. "Please, you may be strong and brilliant, but you can't sneak worth shit."
"Ok." Bea jumps to her feet as she pushes Mae over. "I'm picking dinner tonight now."
"Damnit!" Mea hops up and shuffles over to Germ while Bea focuses on Law. "So, Mr. Warton…" She chuckles. "Gonna miss ya, Germ. Be safe on those rails, ok?" Her smirk fades just a bit as she looks him over, before focusing on his eyes again. "Somethin' tells me trouble won't be able to sneak up on you out there, though."
"Nope." He reaches out to shake, but the moment Mae takes his hand, he pulls her in for a tight hug. "Take care out there, Mae. These mountains ain't the only place where the world gets dark."
Mae's a bit stunned as she pulls out of that hug, but nods. "G-Got it. I'll, uh… keep an eye out for more holes."
He shrugs. "Nah, you'll just end up tripping in it first. But I don't think there's a hole on this earth you can't stubbornly climb out of."
Her smile returns with a nod. "Damn straight. See ya around, Germ."
He shrugs. "Yeah, gimme a few months."
She nods and catches up to Bea with Law, finding them in the middle of a long hug. "You know I'm only ever a call away, lil' bro. I'll try for a video call once we get settled in later tonight, ok?"
Law hesitantly pulls away, but gives a shaky nod. He doesn't bother with wiping any of his tears away, he knows more are coming. "A-Alright. I-I'll come see you guys the moment we get moving in up there, too! I-I don't care how long the move takes, I'll show up dead tired and pass out on your couch if I have to!"
She chuckles and ruffles his hair a bit. "We both know you're too hyper to do that to us. And ya really think we wouldn't show up to help you move in?"
"O-Ok, that's a good point." He sighs and closes his eyes so the moment can sink in. "… I'll miss yas, all of you. R-Really."
Both girls pull him into an overwhelmingly tight hug. "Love ya, little bro."
He's stunned for a moment, but a quick sobbing laugh breaks through. "L-Love you too, sis." He sighs shakily as he pulls away. "You guys should g-get moving. Don't want this goodbye to take t-too long."
Mae nods and ruffles his hair a bit herself. "Don't want you to make it too hard to leave."
"Y-yeah, guess I would, h-huh?" He chuckles and backs up. "G-Get going, guys."
Mae nods and peeks back to Selma and Jackie. "Hey, you two lovebirds about ready to go?!"
Jackie jumps a bit. "Uh, yeah, I've been ready!"
Selma smirks and shakes her head. "Coulda sworn the boys woulda figured us out sooner, the filthy shippers."
Bea snorts. "Nah, Jackie can't keep a secret, especially from me." She turns and leads the way out the door, and spots the Borowskis gathered on the end of the block, past the car. She gently shoves Mae towards them. "Go ahead, I'll give you a few."
She slowly approaches her parents and aunt, looking them all over. "A-Already said my goodbyes this morning, but… I-I guess it didn't feel like enough, huh?"
Without a word, all three of them pull her into the warmest hug of her life. Candy speaks first. "I knew this day would come eventually. I-I thought I was ready for it when you went off to college, but this… it's just so different!" She giggles as she pulls back, cuing the other two to follow.
Stan adjust his glasses and smiles. "We've got a handle on things here now, so you don't have to worry about leaving us here." He hums and reaches into his pocket. "Actually… I think where you're going, you may need a little more luck. This thing's brought me enough." He pulls out the old mine owner's tooth and passes it to her, now preserved in resin and attached to a steel necklace chain. "Don't forget to take our family legacy with you and show the world the Borowskis can't be trampled."
She slowly grins and gives an eager nod as she puts it on. "That whole city's gonna know my name someday, dad. I swear it."
He nods. "I know you'll do us proud."
Finally, she looks to Aunt Molly, who's been characteristically quiet so far, but far from stoic. Surprisingly, she's a bit teary. "You finally did it, kid. I may have been hard on you, but damnit, I'm proud. Hell, I've had your song on loop in my office lately." She chuckles. "Bein' the chief is gonna make it damn hard to get out there to see ya, but I'll manage after awhile. I'll just make sure some of my friends on the Bright Harbor force check in on you occasionally."
Mae snorts. "Come on, you know that's a terrible idea."
"Oh, I know it is, but it's time they got a dose of you and Gregg's brand of chaos while I get a long vacation from it."
Mae pouts for a moment, but her teary smile returns as she glances to them all, one after another. "I may hate this town, but… it's home. And I'll be back to see you all. I just gotta get stable enough meds to be sure I'm safe and finally get my license."
"Good luck passing the test out there, it's got even harder standards."
"You know I'm up for the challenge." She smirks. "But for now… my next challenge is getting used to life away from you guys again. Cuz you're right. It really doesn't feel the same as college. I really don't know what's gonna happen out there, but…" She sighs and turns to peek at Bea waiting by her car, and Gregg and Angus hopping into their own. Selma and Jackie have already left. "I'll have a little home with me, and I'll make that city my own."
Candy tears up a bit, but her face splits into a wide, proud grin. "Go raise some hell for us, sweetie."
"You know I will." She giggles a bit. "I love you guys. I'll call you when we get there!" She slowly steps back and breaks into a hop and a jog, wanting to break away before it gets any more difficult.
"We love you too, kitten!" They wave her off with teary smiles as she hops into Bea's passenger seat and buckles up.
"Ready?" Bea leans over and kisses her cheek.
Mae turns and gives her a real kiss before picking up her bass and turning on the CD player, cuing up the song that started it all and got them here, got them anywhere. "Now I'm ready. Time to finally get somewhere else."
She keeps her eyes out the window as the car starts and rolls along these old dusty streets. Now, seeing this town and all it's troubles being put behind her, Mae can see the faint glitter of something that was once beautiful beneath it all. She loved this town once. Some part of her always will. The school she set fireworks off in and pranked a dozen times. The forest she spent countless hours in. Mr. Chazakov waves from atop his roof as they pass. The Wartons, working on another construction project, salute them on their way out. The old tunnel wafts a gentle breeze from underground and up through her open window as she plays. In the back of her mind, she can hear the Deep Hollow Hollerers playing her off, to her own melody. Even James nods to her as they reach the bridge, with Rabies waddling along beside him.
As the Possum Springs sign is left in the mirrors and the sun peeks over the trees, it's well past dawn, but it feels like the dawn of a whole new era of her life. Finally, she's going somewhere.
.
.
A.N.: And... scene. This has been a blast to write. So many beautiful scenes, such deep and heartwarming characters that I find myself returning to quite often, somewhere in my mind, and now a bright future for them that I can be proud of having written. Making songs for it has been quite an experience, and one I feel will stick with me for a good long time. And I hope it sticks with you guys too!
But, don't expect this is over just yet. More demigods await out there, among towers of steel and glass. The world's just gotten a lot bigger for this band, and new troubles await them in their new home. So... until next time.
