The engine of the old white Corolla hummed, the yellow glow of the streetlights passing by lighting up Sayori's lap, each of them for a split second. The AC was blowing hot air – she still didn't have anything thicker to wear than a t-shirt, and the air outside was close to freezing.
"Don't worry." Kate said, her eyes fixed on the road. "I've got family living just a bit out of town, I'm sure they'll take us in."
She gave an encouraging smile towards Sayori, and she did her best to respond in kind, but didn't quite manage. She'd been watching the streetlights go by for a while, now, and everything seemed eerily quiet.
She hadn't seen anyone, no people, no "cannibals", but the banging on the door had been real, right?
The bloodstained handprint, that had been real too, right?
This was all starting to feel like a nightmare. A very lucid one, but a nightmare – a dream – nonetheless. Like she'd close her eyes or will herself awake or pinch herself or something and suddenly she'd be back at the Rosewood clinic, waking up to Mary or James bringing her the typical, flavorless breakfast before clocking out, wishing her a good day in the process.
She'd rummaged through the cabinets a bit as well, and managed to fit some medications in her backpack. Prozac for the depression, Valium for the anxiety, even half a blister of 40mg Oxycodone, in case of pain. She'd also grabbed a few bandages, but right now they seemed almost like an overreaction. The town was completely deserted with not a single soul in-
"...now have the first confirmed reports of a new disease sweeping the state of Kentucky. A preliminary CDC report states that the first cases were observed in Louisville, and rapidly spread across the rest of Knox County. The pathogen seems to be airborne, and..."
Kate had turned on the radio, possibly to get the news, most likely just to fill the awkward silence. They'd never been this quiet while together before, and something was definitely on Kate's mind.
God knows Sayori had more than enough to think about.
"Airborne, huh?" Kate mumbled, casting a quick glance at her friend. "I guess we finally know how it got from Louisville to Rosewood in under three days."
"Y-yeah." Her voice was hoarse, and she had to clear her throat before speaking. "That would... that would make sense." She agreed, not having the slightest idea about anything, just wanting to be somewhere warm and safe and well-lit.
They drove in silence for a while, the radio chattering on, different spokespeople saying different things, all of it equally hard to concentrate on.
"I need to make a stop – gas tank's a quarter full. You gonna be alright on your own?"
"Yeah, of c-course." She did her best at faking a confident smile, and felt like she succeeded this time. Truth be told, being left alone in the car, at night, in the middle of a halo of light from the lamps overhead, darkness all around...
That was the last thing she would have wanted.
But if she couldn't be brave, she could at least put on a brave face.
"Attagirl." Kate smiled. "I'll just go talk to the clerk, grab some snacks for the road. Anything you want?"
"A hug," She thought to herself. "or a cup of hot cocoa."
She just shook her head. "I'm fine. Really."
"Well, I'll still get something extra, just in case. Be right back."
And with a slam of a car door and a wave, Kate was gone.
Sayori tried her best to not pay attention to the time passing, but the car – initially a source of comfort – now started feeling more and more claustrophobic. Like a prison on four wheels. She wasn't locked inside, she could leave whenever she wanted, but she didn't know which would be worse – staying inside and feeling the car slowly shrink until she couldn't breathe properly anymore, or being outside, being visible, being a target, being
A faint scream shook her from her reverie. She'd recognize the timbre from anywhere – it was Kate.
it was katie
Sayori practically flew out of the car, half-hobbling, half-sprinting, her heart in her throat.
The entrance to the gas station proper was garishly lit with neon colors, but it almost felt like a dream, or a nightmare, she kept running and kept hobbling but didn't get any closer until suddenly she was inside and oh my god katies on the floor and there's someone else here its the clerk or at least hes wearing the tshirt and
"Sayori! He's one of them, he's a cannibal!"
the man in the fossoil shirt turned towards her and his eyes looked dead and there was fresh blood around his mouth and oh god ive got to get away ive got to get back to the car and drive somewhere far away im gonna drive back to japan and its going to be okay
Sayori only realized she'd slowly been backing away after a postcard stand behind her clattered to the ground. Moments later she was on the ground as well, laying on her back, the fall having knocked the wind out of her.
This was the worst possible moment for the cannibal to realize she was there, and Lady Luck definitely hadn't been in her favor so far.
The man creature shambled towards her, arms outstretched, and fell on top of her, hands grasping, teeth gnashing, emitting an unearthly wailing moan, blood and fluids she couldn't even name dripping onto her face as she kicked and wriggled and tried to push him away and oh god it's going to happen again he's going to fuck me until i bleed and film it and send it to his friends and if i fight back he'll hit me and call me names and threaten to kill me and
CRACK
Sayori felt a sudden spatter of something wet on the side of her cheek just as the creature moaned in protest and what she assumed to be pain but that didn't matter because she could get her good leg between them now so she turned him towards her right and wedged her left leg between their bodies and pushed with all her might and suddenly she was free just in time to see Katie pale as a ghost with an expression of total fury on her face and a baseball bat in her hands aiming a crushing swing towards his head and
CRACK
This one sounded more wet and there was blood spattered all over the floor but the body was still twitching and trying to move despite the skull being broken and i think that gunk is brain matter you know on the tip of the bat heading downwards agai
CRACK
"You alright?" Kate asked, between labored breaths.
Sayori could only nod – all words had left her.
Five seconds later she had crawled outside and emptied out her stomach onto the welcome mat, the engine oil and dried mud from before mixing with stomach acid and something that used to be a Spiffo's Cheeseburger with fries and a Sprite.
It took a moment for Sayori to notice that Kate was kneeling beside her, holding her hair out of the way. She suffered through one last dry-heave before finally speaking.
"Tha-thank you. Thank you s-so much." Sayori suddenly found herself fighting back tears, "If y-you wouldn't h-hav..." but it was too late, there was no stopping this flood. "I w-would have... would have..."
Kate sighed, the aluminum bat clattered to the floor, and suddenly Sayori felt a pair of arms around her, warm and gentle and smelling vaguely of sweat.
shesavedme
shesavedme
shesavedme
"Same to you, Sayori. Same to you." Kate mumbled into her ear, still breathing heavily. "That fucker hurt me pretty bad – almost tore a chunk out of my shoulder when I was trying to pay for my shopping."
She sniffled.
"I f-fell over. I was bleeding r-really badly. I'm- if it wasn't for you coming in and- I th-think I would have..."
They sat there for several minutes, locked in an embrace that neither was willing to let go of just yet, even after the tears ran dry, even after both of them realized they were mere yards away from a rotting corpse, just a few moments more.
Sayori exhaled deeply.
"A-alright. On five?"
She felt Kate nod into her shoulder, heard the muffled "mm-hmm".
one
two
three
four
five
"Thank God they had toothpaste." Sayori remarked, wrist deep in a bag of Jolly Ranchers. "That... that thing..." She shuddered.
"Yup." Kate still kept her eyes on the road, but Sayori could see her smile even in the dim lighting of the old Toyota. "Thank God for a lot of things. Baseball bats, toothpaste, chocolate, Sayori Takahashi."
"In that order?"
Kate laughed. "I never specified a ranking, and I don't think I ever will. I mean, you're tied with chocolate, at the very least."
It was Sayori's turn to giggle now.
"I know a lot of people who don't even come close to chocolate, so I'll take it. For now."
They drove along in amicable silence for a while. They'd left the lights of the Rosewood gas station behind a while ago, along with the clerk. The baseball bat came with.
"In all honesty though," Kate rubbed the back of her head. "I owe you, big time. Once we get to my grandpappy's place we'll repay you as well as we can. He's got a cozy little farm up along this road. The next left we take is gonna lead us straight there."
Sayori hummed her appreciation for a moment, letting her gaze drift along the pitch-black forests and shrubland that had somehow, in her mind, come to symbolize Kentucky – and by extension – America as a whole.
So much untamed beauty.
So many small towns, each with their own farmers and gossip circles and polite clerks and mom-and-pop-stores.
So much of everything.
"By the way – "Sayori mumbled, briefly glancing towards Kate in the dim, yellowish light. "where'd you get the baseball bat?"
Kate chuckled darkly.
"I used to work there before I became a nurse. A proper Louisville Slugger tends to deter most wannabe robbers, especially once you show them you're more than willing to use it."
"Huh."