Work Text:
“You missed the turn.”
“No, I didn’t!”
“We should be there by now, you missed the turn off.”
“Vance, I know what I’m doing.”
“Did you know you’re going the wrong way?”
“I’m not going the wrong way.”
“We’re lost.”
“We are not lost, Vance.”
“Robbie, do you know where we are?”
“Well, no, but-”
“We’re lost.”
“....Okay, maybe a little bit.”
Vance sighed and slumped back in his seat, looking out of the window of the truck as Robbie drove down the increasingly desolate and worn highway, a road that wound deep into the woods. They were supposed to be headed for Boulder City, to spend a few days there and resupply as well as go to some Avengers event. Vance wasn’t sure what exactly it was for. An opening night party for a team expansion, or something. He’d been out of the loop and only received an email invite, with the usual pleasantries but little actual tangible information. The two of them were supposed to reach the city by that time tomorrow but Vance wasn’t sure they were anywhere near it, or even if they were in Colorado anymore.
“It’s not too late, we can turn around, head back the way we came.” Vance proposed, though the road narrowed and the uneven terrain left no room to pull to the side of the road as it went uphill. “Or not. Great. Well, we’re bound to run into something ...eventually. A sign, or house, or gas station.”
“Right, yeah.” Robbie made a point to keep his eyes solely on the road, and not at the increasing cliff face to his left hand side. He tightened his grip on the wheel and squinted, “Who turned off the sun?”
The day hadn’t been cloudy before, but now dark clouds made their home in the sky, blotting out the sun. A fog settled over the mountain, obscuring the vision of the driver and passenger. There was an eerie quality that neither could quite place, something unnatural.
“...Unless Thor is in the area, it’s just an encroaching storm.”
“I thought the forecast said sunny skies?”
Vance shrugged. “Meteorology isn’t always one hundred percent.”
“Riiiight, well, I guess it could be worse.”
Now driving at a crawling pace, due to the fog, progress was slow. The road began to take a number of sharp turns at seventy five or ninty degree angles as it conitnued upward. Finally, the road evened out to a mostly straight section that was bordered on both sides by forest. Ahead of them, lighting crackled and struck somewhere on the horizon. Thunder rolled across the skies, the only noise apart from the radio which had gone to static.
Vance switched off the radio and sat up straight, straining to feel around in the foggy darkness with his telekinesis. Trees, trees, more trees, the remains of an old rancher’s fence, a rabbit, a few birds.
“Got anything on your radar, supertights?”
“Lots of trees.” Vance informed him.
“Damn I coulda told ya that.”
Vance shrugged and kept trying. “There’s a building, half a mile. We should stop there. I don’t think we’re going any farther right now.” He said, after a few moments.
“Hallelujah.” Robbie grinned. Lightning flashed again, and the distant sound of a tree falling was heard. Rain began to come down in droves, pounding on the windshield and flooding the sides of the road in record times. “Damn, perfect timing. I don’t think the old girl could handle the roads flooded.”
“Our things are gonna be soaked.” Vance sighed and looked into the back of the truck, where a few foodstuffs and supplies were stuffed in bags. He put a shield over them for the time being. The fog had dissipated with the rain, fortunately, but now they couldn’t see any better with the rain coming down like it was. Robbie was forced to keep going at a snail’s pace, using Vance to guide them.
The building turned out to be just an old barn, situated on a corner t-junction but Vance couldn’t find anything else in the area after a small perimeter search with his telekinesis. Robbie pulled the truck into the dilapitated wooden barn, only getting it stuck in the mud once.
The barn had long since lost its paint, and the inside was rotted but dry. Vance pulled the sleeping bags out from the back of the truck and set them on the ground beside the vehicle. Neils stretched out on the ground and warrily looked out at the rain, tail flicking.
“I don’t think this storm is letting up anytime soon, and it’s nearly dark.” Vance sighed, checking the time and then turning his phone off. He threw it into the truck. There wasn’t any service anyway.
“Bummer. I wanted a cheeseburger.” Robbie flopped down on his sleeping bag as Vance sat on his own, pulling out some apples and granola bars from their food duffle.
“This’ll have to do. I don’t think we’re getting a fire made tonight. No good wood. We can find somewhere in the morning, if we aren’t too far from any towns that is.” He tossed one of the apples and two granola bars at Robbie.
After their snack and a few worryingly close strikes of lightning, Vance managed to nod off for a time with the repetative downfall of rain lulling him to sleep. The old barn creaked with the force of the wind and rain pelting down on it, but held fast for the two lost heroes.
Vance’s sleep didn’t last long, and he found himself awake but lying with his eyes closed.
Vance’s eyes snapped open. He sat up fast, and shot his gaze around the barn, searching. Robbie was still asleep, snoring though Vance could hardly hear it. Neils was curled up on his chest. Something else was there, though. Slowly, he rose to his feet and reached out with his telekinesis. Beyond the perimeter in the barn, Vance felt the outline of a figure just past the treeline, human in shape.
Neils must’ve sensed it too, because he woke with a hiss and ran to hide under the truck.
“Robbie.” A nudge of telekinesis woke the man, a light sleeper lately, though he didn’t have Vance’s telekinetic sense to feel his surroundings.
“Whatwhat?” The blond blinked slowly, coming to. Vance shushed him.
“There’s someone out there.” Purposefully keeping his voice low, Vance crouched next to the truck, and tried to see out to where he felt the figure. He thought he saw a shadow move, but it might have been his nerves making his immagination act out.
That caught Robbie’s attention, and soon he was up and knelt beside Vance, trying to look out.
To normal human preceptions, little could be made out visually through the darkness and rain, even less being that this was an uninhabited area and thus there was absolutely no light pollution.
“..So creepy dude in the woods watching us? Freaky.” Robbie muttered, narrowing his eyes as Vance slowly stood and crept over to the edge of the barn.
“Whoever they are, they aren’t moving.” Vance observed. The figure remained deadly still. Vance pressed more with his telekinesis, trying to get a good idea of who this person might be. Tall, masculine, dressed in ..furs? And leather. “He has a weapon. An axe.” He whispered, getting ready to disarm the stranger.
“We could be on his property.”
“Odd that he wouldn’t confront us, then. Plus, what’s he doing just out in the rain and dark? No flashlight or car. Or a gun for that matter, most farmers in rural areas like these have one”
“Maybe its a ghost?” Robbie could feel the scowl Vance sent him, even though he couldn’t see it.
“Well, we’ve certainly encountered weirder haven’t we?” Vance shrugged. When he felt out again, the figure was gone. “...he’s gone.”
“Oh, shit.” Robbie exhaled.
Suddenly, a crackle of thunder boomed above and a flash of lightening struck only feet from the barn, severing a tree in half and bringing the great oak falling to the ground. In the momentary flash of light, a figure appeared just feet from the duo, a deep set frown set on rugged features of a homesteader, complete with a wood axe in hand.
The ghost raised his axe, swinging it at Robbie, who feigned out of the way. The axe met the metal of the truck’s bed, denting it. The ghost disappeared for a split second, before reappearing beside Vance, taking a swing at the telekinetic.
Vance fell backwards and stumbled, barely able to catch himself in his shock. He forced the figure back with a sharp surge of telekinetic energy, and the figure disappeared again. Lightening took down another tree, somewhere farther away.
The two heroes were left alone in the dark, panting and terrified.
“No, that was not okay. Is he gonna come back?” Robbie looked around, picking himself up.
“I don’t know. I don’t think I’m going to be sleeping anymore tonight, though.” Vance steadied his breathing, clutching the fabric of the sweater over his chest tightly.
“Yeah, nope, fuck sleep.” Robbie laughed, “Fuck this whole ass night.”
“Agreed.”
The two heroes remained on their guard for the rest of the night, transfering their sleeping bags to the truck bed and huddling there, facing out into the darkness and keeping a watch on their surroundings. The storm faded come morning, and neither remembered ever being so happy to see the sunlight.
In the light of morning, the two prepared to continue on their way, Robbie checking a map while Vance packed their things back into the truck with his telekinesis.
Neils meowed at Robbie’s feet, and when Robbie looked down he just about screamed.
“Robbie, what’s wrong?” Vance rushed to his side, blinking and looking around. Robbie nudged him and then pointed at the ground. At their feet, presented by Neils, was part of a child’s age-bleached skull. The bone was cracked, as if it had been shattered and cleaved by an object, like an axe.
“We need to get out of here.” Vance whispered, a worse feeling of dread settling in his stomach.
“Way ahead of you.” Robbie was already getting in the truck, clutching Neils close to his chest.
Vance drove them far from the plot of land, not stopping until they reached the next town.