(Hmm…..I have a couple more characters I'd like them to meet, and I think they should have a run-in with Goldenrod at some point…..how about when they get to the next town, they get stuck there for a while? Like because another Erased One shows up and the place is put under lock down until the authorities take care of it? That would be a potentially easy way to introduce one of the guys I have in mind, if it works for you)
Oscar watched the scenery fly by outside the window, listening to the radio with interest. There were many books on music in the library, but he still found it a pretty mysterious topic. "Honor? Do you think I could learn to sing?"
(Ok! Also sorry it's short)
She hummed to show she was listening, then nodded, "Sure, singing is easy." Honor listened to what was playing for a moment then softly started to sing along, tapping her fingers against the steering wheel in rhythm with the song.
(all good ^^)
Oscar listened with wide eyes, amazed. He wanted to do that! Quickly, he analyzed the song as well, until he was pretty sure he knew it, then tentatively joined in. His voice was a little wobbly at first, but soon he figured out what key it was in and began to sing more confidently. It was very fun. He still thought Honor was much better than him, but at least this was something they could do together.
"That's pretty good," Honor said once the song ended, a smile on her face until she looked at her gas tank gauge. She was close to empty already, though to be fair she couldn't remember filling the tank for a while so it made sense. "We're going to have to stop at this next town up here for a little while, then we can get back on the road." She said, glancing at a passing sign and reading that the next town up was only five miles away.
"All right," Oscar said, grinning foolishly over his success with the song. "Why do we have to stop? Are you getting tired of driving? We can switch places if you want."
She laughed lightly and shook her head, "No, I'm not tired of driving, we just have to get gas. the tank is almost empty, see? It won't take long to fill it again, but if we want to keep driving, we need to fill it soon." Honor pointed to the gas gauge quickly before focusing back on driving, humming as the next song came on and debating singing along to this one too.
"Oh, I see." Oscar glanced at her hopefully. "Can we keep singing until we get there? I thought that was really fun…."
(I gotta work all day today, probably won't be on much)
(It's all good! :) )
Honor nodded, starting into song again and tapping her fingers against the wheel in rhythm. She was nowhere near a professional singer, but her voice wasn't terrible, especially when she sang softly and her voice was slightly masked by the actual artist's voice.
Oscar was at about the same skill level, although he sang slightly louder because he didn't yet know enough to be self-conscious. It was odd—singing sort of pushed his mental library to the side and distracted him from actually thinking about things. He had no idea why it happened, but he decided he liked it. The lack of thoughts seemed to ease his headache significantly.
"Is that the town?" he asked after a while, pointing ahead to a humble cluster of buildings on either side of the road.
"Yeah, it is," She said, pausing in her singing and humming. It wasn't much, but she was almost certain there was a gas station here. If there wasn't…they would be in a bit of trouble. Her truck rumbled along the road until they neared the cluster of buildings, her eyes on the lookout for a gas station.
Luck seemed to be on their side, and soon a dusty gas station came into view. It seemed to be roughly the center of town, along with a hulking grain refinery. Probably everyone living here worked at one of the two places if not both. Oscar took in the tiny town, mildly disappointed that they didn't also have a library. "Do you think the gas station has any food in it?"
Honor shrugged, pulling into the gas station and parking next to one of the gas meters. "They might have food, do you want to go in and check?" She shut off the car and glanced over at him before grabbing her wallet and pulling ten dollars out of it, "If they do, you can get something as long as you also get me some type of candy and a root beer, no sour candy."
"Okay," Oscar said happily, unbuckling his seat belt. "Who or what do I give the money to?"
"Hopefully there will be a cashier in there, they're the one you'll go to when you're done getting food. Give them the money." She said simply, hopping out of the truck and glancing over at him, "If you need help just come get me, but don't bring any of the food outside if you haven't paid for it first."
Oscar nodded and headed into the store, running through the list of things she'd asked him to look for.
After a few minutes, a dusty, beat-up sedan pulled rather hurriedly into the gas station and parked at one of the empty spots. A big bearded man got out and started filling up his car's gas tank, repeatedly glancing over his shoulder at the road as he did so. Eventually, he looked over at Honor and spoke over the dry wind. "You passin' through? You might wanna hurry up if you're hoping to get out before they show up."
Honor watched the car pull up but she didn't speak until the guy talked, confusion written over her face, "Wait, who's coming?" She had a hunch that it was their buddies over at the Goldenrod agency but she was very curious as to why they were coming here. Did they catch onto Oscar already?
"Goldenrod," the man replied, confirming her fears. "We've been asking 'n asking for days, but they're only moving their butts now. They're gonna lock down this whole place to flush out the monster hidin' here. It ain't hurt anybody yet, but it caused a power surge when it got here, and then the next day it tried to eat everything in the store. But now the authorities are gonna take care of it." The man straightened with angry triumph. "Nothing's getting in or out until they're done."
She became much more serious after he relayed the information, curing under her breath and shaking her head, "Dammit, do you know when they're showing up? I don't want to get stuck here before I even get out onto the road." Honor was more worried for Oscar but she hid that under a ruse of acting like she was trying to get somewhere, especially when it was the goldenrod agency coming and looking for a being like him.
"I just called them," the man replied breathlessly. "They said they were less than five minutes out."
Honor shook her head, her eyes widening in actual worry and slight fear at the thought of being stuck in this town with a feral Other. One that she didn't know at least. "Well, that doesn't leave me much time to get snacks does it?" She asked, a small fake laugh coming from her as she finished filling up the truck with gas and glanced at the man again.
"Yeah, you better hurry." The man hustled back into his car and started the engine. "I'm gonna go meet 'em at the edge of town!"
She nodded, locking her car quickly before heading to the store to pay for the gas. Honor didn't know where Oscar had disappeared to or what he was doing as she opened the door to the store and looked around for wherever the cashier was to pay.
The cashier, who had a large bandage patch on the side of his face and his arm in a sling, was busy squinting suspiciously at Oscar, who had gathered everything Honor asked for and was now crouched at the end of an aisle, marveling at a display of toy farm equipment. When the door chimed, both of them looked up and smiled with varying levels of sincerity.
"Good afternoon, ma'am," the cashier called mechanically, just as Oscar said, "Honor, look at these little trucks. Can I get one?"
"No sorry Oscar," She said, keeping her voice calm as she motioned for him to join her at the counter so she could pay. "Gas at ten and whatever he's getting." Honor pulled out her wallet and smiled at the cashier, nodding to his arm, "I know it's slightly rude to ask, but what happened?"
The cashier's face darkened further. "It was one of those Others," he said, almost spitting out the word. "Came in here and started eating everything in sight. Security tried to drive it off, but it freaked and let out some kinda blast wave. Goldenrod's on its way now….I hope they atomize the thing. Here's your change."
Oscar had still been frowning that Honor had refused his request, but when the cashier mentioned Goldenrod he stiffened. "They're coming here?"
"Yup, and they're putting this whole area in lockdown until they're done. Have a nice day."
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