Chapter Text
The old beaten radio hummed softly in the background. Here is where we meet the hero of our story, who couldn't have been more than 17 years of age. She stared out the window; she looked happy in a comfortable way, a way that wouldn’t have been normal for most people. She had been in the truck with its driver for what could have been at least 3 hours. Time blends when you don't have a destination or a deadline.
Through the window, she saw a sign: Santa Carla 10 miles.
That's where the truck was headed to make its drop. Or at least that's what its driver had said before she had gotten in. You see this was her life; she hopped on trucks as a mode of transportation. Relying on the kindness of strangers. Sometimes the drivers were friendly, wanting some company, other times they thought the girl was some type of sex worker and would do things for them in return for the ride; during those times she would be thrown out after refusing.
Once the truck had reached its destination, the girl began to get out of the massive vehicle pulling her beaten-tattered suitcase along with her. It was an old thing that was held together by an equally beaten belt that she had stolen from a trucker. She turned to her current driver to say a polite thank you before leaving because that's how her mama raised her. To always be respectful to strangers, "You can only make a first impression once," her mother had told her as a young child. "You might as well be nice because you can always be a bitch later." She had taken those words to heart, and so far they had gotten her pretty far.
From where she stood, she could see the sleepy coastal town, the sun was high in the sky and she could smell the ocean from where she stood. Hazel eyes took in the scene before them. This is the town she would be calling home until she felt the need to run away once again.
She was a pretty young thing, not too tall. You could call her short in fact; her dark hair was a wild mess of loose curls that reached her lower back. She was dark from having to spend hours walking around looking for a ride to her next adventure. Her eyebrows were bushy, and her smile was radiant, undying from excitement. She wore an old off-the-shoulder blouse that looked like it used to be white but was now a bone-ish color. She also wore an old skirt that had been torn up the leg after she had run from a more aggressive driver. On every one of her fingers, she wore a ring, some that rested entirely on her skinny fingers, others that were too small and landed just halfway down. She wore no shoes because they had been stolen after she spent the night under a bridge. Many truckers had tried to buy her new one, but she could never say yes to a handout after they had fed her and given her a ride; it was too much.
By the time she had reached the beach of Santa Carla, the sun was gone, and the moon had taken over the sky. She was aching from the day's scorching sun. Not only was the sun killing her with its burning beams, but her stomach was beginning to act up after not eating for so long. So she did what any other desperate person would do and began to dig through the nearest trash can. No shame in survival, that's what she always told herself when it got to these sorts of situations because, in all honesty, she was dying on the side.
"Excuse me, miss?" A gentle voice said from behind her as she dug through the trash. If her face wasn't red from the sun, it was most certainly from the pure wave of embarrassment. "Uh, yes?" She answered, trying to fix her hair to the best of her abilities with no luck. She looked up to see who the voice belonged to, meeting their eyes. In front of her was a very tall man with kind eyes. " I couldn't help to notice you from my store; I was wondering if you needed any help." He said as he gestured to a video store not too far from them. “Oh No!” She smiled, lying through her teeth, “I accidentally dropped one of my rings in the trash!” He gave her a look that she tried to laugh off reaching back into the trash and taking off one of her midi rings. “Yay! Found it!!” She cheered, faking excitement, causing her to feel dizzy. “Oh, dear!” The man held out his hands helping stead the dirty girl in front of him.”Sir, I’m not gonna lie to you,” She looked up at the man, “I ain’t eaten anything today and I’m feeling awful faint.” She held onto his hands for dear life. “Oh, you silly teenage girls and your silly fad diets!” The man exclaimed like he was talking to his own daughter. He quickly led her to a hot dog cart that was just around the corner from where they had stood.
He ordered two hot dogs and then began to speak to her once again, this whole time she held on to her ratty suitcase like it contained her life because it did. He had asked many questions. Where she was from, what she was doing, what she planned to do, and just too many questions. To which she had no answer. As they talked, he handed her a hot dog, and once she had finished, he gave her the other. She had told him all that she could. "Do you have a place to stay?" He had asked her as she finished the second dog. "I'll figure something out," She responded shyly once again, not meeting his eyes. The man looked at her with so much worry. “Honey Santa Carla isn’t a safe town. It’s dangerous out here, especially for a young girl.” His voice was laced with a hint of fear "Would you like to stay with me?" He asked to her surprise.
To say that she clammed up would be an understatement. Her face lost a little color and she swallowed the rest of her hot dog hard. She had heard horror stories from other girls out on the streets. Stories about girls who were never seen again after going off with a kind stranger. “I’m sorry sir as nice as that sounds, I don't think it would be wise for me to go with you.” She said shyly looking down at the ground. “Oh dear no! No need to feel sorry!” The man tried his best to laugh off the situation, “It’s very smart of you actually!” He said, causing her to look up at him quickly. “Really?” She asked, most men would have been pissed off, but here was this dad character telling her she was smart instead. “Yes, dear! You don’t know me! I could be a bloodthirsty vampire for all you know.” That caused the girl to laugh. “I appreciate the offer.” She told him, smiling that bright smile of hers. The man reached into his jacket pocket. "If you ever need anything, give me a call," He handed her a card. It read:
Max's Video Store
We Have It All!
867-5309
“I’m Max, by the way,” He reached out his hand. “Valerie.” She said and with a smile, he went on his way. She went to find a safe place to sleep for a couple of hours or maybe for the rest of the humid night.
Ending Credits:
Two Words - Retrofile
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