Chapter Text
It's fairly early in the evening. The sky is a deep sort of magenta as the sun is almost near the horizon line. Stars start fading into the skies open clear canvas and their freckle-like imprint sparkles and glimmers subtly. Soon these stars would become bright pinpoint lights against a black chalkboard more so than a blank canvas. So bright above the trees as if a driving guide. Their points almost making pretty lines as if to connect dots and those dots gleam above the tall pines and fern brush of the almost dirt road in the woods of Colorado.
Tim is driving on this almost empty road. He doesn't notice the stars or the fading magenta horizon line. Instead, he notices how dark it's becoming. How it's still light enough to traverse without the headlights of his car on brights but still dark enough to make him uneasy. In the back of his seat are the belongings, the ones he managed to snag before his house was burnt down. A pocket MIDI controller, his ukulele and banjo along with some other personal things. His medical documents were on the foot-place of the backseat with a yellow sheepskin jacket covering them. There also is a duffel bag with Jay's old laptop and his cell beside it on the other seat. There is a chest camera sitting in the cup holder which is usually empty, though the second one has a now almost chilly cup of black roast coffee. As he watches the old paved roads and their yellow dashing he almost feels entranced by the visuals. He finds this forest calming despite his usual impressions of those sorts of places. In his heart, he knows that his issues are resolved that what occurred just a year before is over now.
'Everything is fine.'
Tim, as he drives across the road, sees a younger man dash into the road almost crossing over the dashed lines when Tim triggers the brights and flashes them twice at the other man. However, the flashing isn't that fast and as Tim's car approaches the other he flashes one more time as an orange reflection of eyewear gleams back at Tim. Tim is startled.
'About time I put the brights on.'
After seeing the other man. Tim assumes they are both the same height and that the other is a bit thinner. He stares him down from the front windshield window and honks for the other to stop moving. The other man, however, seems to have not wanted to move at all. The honking instead of making the other more wary of Tim. As Tim opens his car door, unarmed, he notices other reflections, two beaming to the ground, two hatchets.
'Oh, this.'
Tim calls from the cracked door to the other man.
"Who are you?"
It's a plain question, certainly not a hard one for most to answer. Tim who's ears are pressed at the car door hears a clearing of the other man's throat.
"Okay," Tim shouts in response to the clearing.
It's not quite the response he wanted, though it's enough to allow him to keep collected.
"Please lower those. I hope that this 'issue' won't expand."
The orange goggle wearing man drops both hatchets onto the road. In front of himself by several feet.
"Can we agree to be friendly?" Tim shouts as he coughs a bit. He still can't cut smoking those cigarettes. When he tried to it never did him well.
He gets a sort of nod from the young man and as he notices he grabs a pocket knife from the passenger's safety compartment and attaches it to his belt loop and exits the car.
His flannel is not even enough warmth for a winter night in Colorado. He steps to the hatchets picking them up in front of the other and tossing them into the brush. This is a precaution, men walking in the woods dual armed is never something to just ignore mildly. The hatchets make a rustling tumble into the brush which is off-road and their holder sort of turns to watch where they landed.
"I'm not dealing with people armed with sharp things tonight. Someone like you should be in their bed studying for their spring semester." Tim says this in a sort of insulting tone. You could say Tim is tired of people armed trying to gut him. So he goes to the other man getting a closer inspection of him.
The man is the same height but underweight as he thought. His arms are thin but he does have strong legs to run with.
All those nights spent paranoid, the days of being generally out of ease to have given him an advantage of knowing proportions even out of focus.
"On the run, Kid?" Tim says giving an almost warm smile. He really shouldn't be this warm considering he's talking to a threat.
The other one stares quite aggressively at Tim though the aggression fades as he begins to speak.
"Feeling bored, local lumberjack?" Tobias says chuckling under his breath looking at Tim's belt loop.
"Get snarky all you want. I can't deal with this shit right now. Who are you? Why are you wearing converse in winter? It'll snow you know?" Tim seems now less tense but instead concerned while remaining on firm ground.
'This kids an issue.'
"Tobias Erin Rodgers." Tobias says with a military-like response.
"Why are you running in the woods this late?" Tim asks stepping closer. They are in the middle of a road the brights shining them down.
"Finding vital-life-substance." Tobias responds still very stiff in voice and tone.
"Why in the forest?" Tim interrogates looking up at the trees around them, almost entranced and trapped in the thought.
It's a forest, there's a man who's armed. Deja Vu. As he trails the scenarios in his head. Tobias notices this and tries to jump Tim. Tim's eyes dart to the boy and as Tobias makes a running start. Though even with Toby's speed Tim tackles him down. The shining brights gave little allowance for either to see properly.
"No, you don't." He says remaining still calm as he pins Tobias down.
"Not today. It's been a year of the bullshit over and you are an issue, right here right now."