Work Text:
The car is quiet.
It wasn’t like he expected much conversation, the chaos and upheaval of the past few days making their presence known within the stifling atmosphere. The girl sitting in the passenger's seat was as dead eyed as she could possibly get, unblinking dull eyes staring straight ahead as they drove through empty highways. She ignored the frequent billboards and road signs, choosing to remain stubborn and steadfast in her gaze.
It didn't help that the roads are equally as vacant as her fixed look, soulless symbols of straight-toothed strangers in patchy suits and wide grins, advertising car insurance, life insurance, whatever it is, he drives by too fast to read it. Either way, whatever they're offering wouldn't serve him well now. They are the only splashes of colour along the otherwise grey roads, but somehow John doesn't find them worth it at all.
The radio’s tinny, staticy noises are a small mercy, even if their signal cuts in and out frequently. He supposes it's better than nothing, it being the only sound alongside his ever frequent taps on the steering wheel with the pads of his fingers. He is getting antsy, and he knows this, the anxiety that has propelled them this far continues as a dull throb within his mind, a push to keep going and to keep running no matter what.
All this to say, John has never dealt well with quiet.
His house was quiet, after his mothers death, once lively hallways felt cold and impersonal. His father, whenever he was home, locked himself in his study, every other room was left to gather dust in his absence. John could probably list on one hand the amount of times he had seen him leave his office. The emptiness seemed to soak into the very foundation of the manor, despite the two people inside, the house never once appeared lively again, although things got better when Sarah, Max, and Penny stumbled into his life, ushering fourth a loudness that he wasn’t aware he needed until it was gone again. His eyes briefly flick towards the polaroid photo pinned to his rearview mirror, Penny sacrificing one of her hairpins in order for it to stay up.
The photo showed all four of them clustered around a campfire, burning bright and orange with the dotting of stars in the background. Max had his arms outstretched, somehow managing to drag all three of them into the shot. It was blurry, imperfect. Sarah’s eyes were shut, mouth opened in an annoyed shout, while Penny just looked startled, smushed in the middle was himself, wearing a big grin that matched Max’s own wide smile.
The camera itself had been Penny’s idea, face practically beaming as she held it up to him. She’d wanted to make memories for their last year of highschool, brief moments of time preserved forever in tiny polaroid photos. His hands tightened on the steering wheel reflexively, willing his gaze away from the picture and back to the grey expanse of the road. The photo was full of ghosts now, a reminder of things he had left behind.
“John.” Came the voice from his right, too far in his own thoughts, he jolted, the car swerving briefly. If Kali cared, she didn’t say anything, and continued to stare impassively at him. Finally, she moved, head tipping to the side to look at him.
“H-huh? Yeah?”
She pauses then, searching his face for something, although he can’t tell what. It’s not like she looks nervous just… uncertain.
“You look angry.”
Oh.
His surprise must have shown on his face, because Kali’s eyebrows furrow, and if John didn’t know any better, he’d think it was an expression of concern.
“No, no I’m not- I’m not angry, Kali.” His fingers flex on the steering wheel, worn down leather giving way beneath his calloused pads. “Just,” he breathes a sigh, stuck inside his own mind with only memories for company.
“Tired.” He finishes lamely. The stress and the grief has worn him down, days spent full of adrenaline making his body feel as though it were made of lead. Energy drinks and pure anxiety can only get a man so far.
Kali makes a noncommittal hum as a reply, her attention now securely placed back in front of her. He watches her eyes trace the patterns of migratory birds in the sky, making their way far, far away as winter rapidly approaches. Everytime he looks at her now, face washed of streaks of blood and dirt, wearing actual clothes instead of what looked like a hospital gown, dirtied and bloody, he is struck by how normal she looks.
She is dressed in leftover clothes from Sarah, abandoned and forgotten in the corners of his room from when all four of them piled in for sleepovers, after camping trips or just weekend hangouts. He thinks Kali could have fit right into their motley friend group, squashed right besides Penny with both of their quiet dispositions. His fingers clench on the steering wheel again, throat suddenly feeling too tight. This train of thought is dangerous and yet,
He blinks and he is inside that house again, and it is colder than it's been in years. Returning home, although maybe it never was home, just a facsimile of one, where he and his father danced around each other for years after his mother died, playing house. He returns with a monster of a girl in toe, worse for wear and covered in blood. He feels sick, gazing at the foyer, once lovingly decorated and now gathering dust. He cannot stay for long, he knows this much, the girl besides him is already antsy, fingers picking at lint stuck to a backpack that jingles with barely restrained chains everytime she twitches.
He leaves her alone for what couldn’t of been more than 15 minutes, and yet, and yet,
He rummages through his fathers office, it’s his first time in there, door left unlocked by mistake or on purpose, he can never be sure. The more he thinks about his father the more certain he is that he never knew the man in the first place, just how much of him was real forever a mystery now. It is a mess in there, paper strewn about in utter disorganisation. What he’s looking for he isn’t sure, but eventually, he does find it. An innocuous file, sitting beneath a dusty keyboard.
Kali Aimes. Printed in neat letters right next to cold and clinical words and impossible phrases.
And he knows that name, doesn’t he? Within the echoes of repressed memories, something begins to tug. Subject 12, his stomach turns, remembering the imprint of numbers stitched onto the girl's lacklustre clothing. He doesn’t read more after that, doesn’t need to at this point, just shoves the paper deep inside of his bag and leaves as quickly as he entered.
When he returns to the foyer, where he left the girl, all he sees is red.
He thinks, briefly, that he might have died. Split in half by chains, body reduced to shreds by machine gun fire, it doesn’t matter, but he isn’t here anymore. The scent of blood strangles all of his senses, the taste of iron making him retch and gag, and among the various hues and shades of scarlet sits the girl, who ruined his life in a matter of hours. Her figure is a black hole, dark hair stark and loud, and she is laughing, face splitting apart in a wide grin. She is shaking, he realises in the back of his mind, trembling with the force of it all.
Blood paints the walls like cheap wallpaper, soaking and staining. John’s body is moving before his mind can command it, stepping down the stairs and hearing every creak and groan of his mothers desecrated house. The girl, the ghost, the monster, Kali, her name is Kali is kneeling over a body, uselessly twitching and spasming, and although John’s mind isn’t here anymore, he can recognize his own fathers form.
“Doctor!” Kali cackles, louder than he’s heard her before. She moves jerkily, the chains spilling out from behind her moving through the air frantically, writhing like snakes. She doesn’t even look at him, too busy toying with the corpse on the ground. “Doctor, what tests should we run today? What injections?” His fathers ribcage is peeled open, organs squirming and so, so red. Kali’s fist clenches, and John watches with morbid fascination as the man's heart continues to beat feebly.
He stands above the corpse of the man, although his body isn’t what he’s looking at. He looks at Kali, who continues to twitch and barely muffle her noises of pure glee. A numbness spreads itself through his whole body, he knows that he father is not a good man, knows that, perhaps he never was, but still, still,
“Kali.” Croaks its way out of his mouth, too quiet and too loud all at once, but she hears him. Her head snaps up, eyes astoundingly alert and present, the chains in the air collapse all at once with a resounding crash, the tile underneath cracking under their sudden weight.
“John!” And she is almost smiling, thrilled at hearing her own name, before her attention flickers back towards the body on the floor, and her expression falls. She jerks back up to look at him, “John I-”
“We need to go,” his sentence comes out in one breath, and before he knows it he is grabbing Kali’s hand and yanking her upwards. Her hand is warm with blood, but he can’t find it in himself to care as he practically drags her towards the door. His heart is practically in his throat, he can hear it pounding against his ribcage. Tears sting at the corner of his eyes, and whether they’re from fear, grief, or-
“John.” The road stretches endlessly in front of him, and Kali Aimes sits by his side, body angled towards him with a questioning expression clouding her face. He releases a breath he didn’t know he was holding, and relaxes minutely into the driver's seat. Her tone of voice is quiet and impassive, a stark contrast to the girl that exists so vividly in his memories. The severance of the two instances of Kali cement itself in his mind because surely, the girl from then cannot be the one sitting so passively in his old beat up pickup truck. Distantly, he realises he hasn’t responded to her words, and her face begins to reflect her confusion.
“Sorry, just… thinking too much.” And there, now, he can be sure he sees a glimpse of concern. Her eyebrows furrowed together, a crease forming between them. He fought back the instinct to smooth it out with his thumb. Before his body betrays him, she blinks, as if remembering herself.
“I’m hungry.” A pause. A beat of silence that stretched as he tried to wrap his mind around her words, eyesight still fuzzy around the edges, a part of him forever lost in that house.
“You’re… hungry?” And as he thought more about it, he was, too. “Yeah I… could probably eat. We’ll stop by the next town we pass.” She nodded jerkily, like she wasn’t used to the motion, and their conversation stalled once more.
The thought of actual food sounded incredibly appealing, drawing him further from his own muddied thoughts. There had been no time for rest-stops along the way, just a constant desire to keep going, to keep running to an unknowable destination.
Luckily, as they grew closer towards the nearest town, the radio’s signal became clearer, sounds that briefly faded out became full songs, and John wasn’t let to leave his mind to wander.
-
The town they ended up resting by is small, one of those tiny little things that were clustered around major highways, full of 24 hour fast food joints in an attempt to lure in weary travellers. Far off he could see the dotting of one-story suburban houses, lost in the cacophony of suburbia. Behind a McDonalds, John could spot the sun slowly peeking over the horizon, casting a gentle warm glow over the town.
His eyes automatically flicked to his dashboard, which displayed the time as being 7:07am. Next to the McDonalds sat a small and quaint little diner, looking older than the town itself. The lights outside flickered and dimmed in the early morning haze as the car pulled up. The parking-lot was almost entirely empty, save for just one other car in the only employee parking spot.
He took a quick breath of air, turning the key and stuffing it into his jacket pocket. Kali was already beginning the task of stuffing her chains into a bright pink Hello Kitty backpack he had haphazardly purchased from a thrift several hours prior, the cheapest and easiest option. She gets the majority of the mass of chains in, before wordlessly turning her back to him and letting him heft the rest. She had complained, at first, telling him that it would take nothing to simply levitate the appendages into the bag, although John had enforced a very strict “no distortions allowed in the car” rule.
“There,” he breathed while zipping the bag up, “you good?”
“Starving.” She replies easily, slipping out of the car with a jerkiness that could pass for exhaustion. He grimaced, hearing the quiet clank and jingle of the chains within the bag. It really wasn’t a foolproof plan, hardly much of a plan to begin with, but it's not as though they had many other options and…
“Kali if- if anyone asks, we’re… collecting bottle caps, okay? And that's why your backpack makes that noise.” Although she was already making her way towards the door, she made sure to shoot an unimpressed look over her shoulder towards him.
He is quick to follow after her, double checking the car is actually locked before he does a jog-run to where Kali is waiting by the door. She waits for him to open it for her, although doesn’t spare a “thank you” as she slips inside. He follows suite, gaze wandering around the empty diner.
It's… surprisingly homey, for what it is. No suspicious smells or stains, on the counter sits a stereo, quietly playing country music. There was nobody at the front counter, although he could hear the distant sound of humming from one of the back rooms that paused in its song once they heard the jingle of the doorbell. They were the only ones there at this hour, something John is thankful for.
Out comes a short woman, older in age with smile lines and wrinkles dotting her cheeks. Her hair is pulled up in a hair net, although a few stray strands of blonde hair slip past. On her chest rests a small pin decorated with floral stickers, with the name “Marie” printed in delicate letters. When she spots the two of them, she looks delighted, lightly jogging past the counter to greet them and lead them to a table.
“It’s been so long since I’ve seen two young folks around here! Especially this early in the morn,” she speaks fast, an energy unprecedented at this time of day. John’s mind scrambles to catch up, the waitress being the first normal human he’s had the opportunity to speak to in the past few days. She picks up two laminated menus, worn with age but still legible. She ushers them towards an empty booth by the window, giving them a glorious view of an empty parking lot. She smiles brightly at the two of them, stepping back with her hands on her hips.
“What can I get you two started with today? Anything to drink?” His first and immediate instinct is to ask for coffee, although the healthier option…
“Just water, for me, please.” He gives his best customer smile, hoping it doesn’t strain his face much. His attention turns to Kali, who has been staring at the menu since she was handed it.
“Uh… Kali?” Her eyes flick up to meet his, before her focus is drawn right back to the menu. He turns back to the waitress, smiling and as patient as ever.
“Just, water for her too, please.” He gives another apologetic smile, which wanes as soon as she turns back towards the counter. He gives a glance towards his own menu, classic photos of stacks of pancakes, french toast, staple breakfast options. He leans his chin on the palm of his hand, the homey atmosphere and comfort lulling him into a drowsy state. Maybe he should have ordered coffee instead.
“Anything look good?” Right, conversation. That could keep him awake. Kali’s eyes continue to roam over the menu, some sort of inner conflict warring behind them. She looks up at him, a hesitance forming in her expression,
“I can choose whatever I want?” He blanches, just for a second, remembering their limited amount of cash, although..
“Yeah, go for it. Not sure when we’ll be able to eat somethin’ as nice as this.” Her attention once again goes back to the menu, seemingly thinking things over very seriously. He glances at her every once and a while, watching her face screw up in what looks like heavy concentration.
The spell of silence is broken when Kali finally flips the menu over to him, finger pointing at a menu item. She blinks up at him, expectantly.
From just a glance he can tell whatever it is she is choosing is… horrendously sugary. Three waffles stacked on top of each other with a healthy pileage of whipped cream, chocolate, syrup, and caramel sauce. Scattered around its base are a helping of various berries and fruits. It’s not exactly on the cheaper side, although John isn’t about to deny her.
“Y-yeah, sure you can get that.”
The waitress returns without much fanfare, presenting them with two glasses of water that he all but chugs the minute she sets it down. Kali is a much more leisurely sipper.
He orders for the both of them, Kali still is not meeting the waitress’ eyes, and chooses instead to look out of the window at the rising sun. She smiles at him again, dutifully writing down their orders before disappearing once again.
It's… nice. For a brief moment he can pretend he is not on the run from some shadowy organisation, and instead, a normal teenager, at a normal diner, with a normal girl. He knows very intimately that this is an illusion, the girl sitting across from him making sure of this, but still. His eyes slipping shut as the gentle crackly melody from the stereo lulls him into an almost sleep.
It doesn’t last for long, maybe around 15-20 minutes, before the waitress comes back again, whistling along to the songs from the radio. She is carrying both their meals, a grin that pulls at her smile lines while she places them on the table. She stands back, dusting her hands off her apron.
“Can I get you two anything else before I go?”
“More whipped cream.” Finally, Kali acknowledges the waiter. A pause, she glances over at John, then back towards the woman. “Please.”
She exhales a small huff of laughter, nodding in direction to Kali before she is gone again.
Before the two begin their respective meals, Kali’s stack of waffles is topped up with an even healthier amount of whipped cream. John has ordered something a lot less sugary, eggs, bacon and hashbrowns, a very classic (and cheaper) meal. Kali doesn’t waste any time digging into her own food, hands that shook only slightly slicing the waffles into bits. When she takes that first bite, her whole face lights up.
“It's..” Her eyes are brighter than he has seen them since she was kneeled over the body of his father, an unspeakable awareness that sends the previous haziness away with just a second. “It’s really good.” She immediately goes for a second bite, and John can’t help but let out a small smile at her renewed energy.
The rest of their meal passes in relative silence, a more comfortable one then the stretches of silence along their drive. Kali doesn’t acknowledge the fruits that are scattered at the bottom of her plate, and lets John pick at them without much fuss. It's.. comfortable. Shooting her a sheepish grin as he swipes another strawberry, although she only lightly scowls, stabbing her fork a little too aggressively into her next bite of waffle, although the animosity is almost playful. It’s the most relaxed he’s felt in days.
It’s easy to ignore the grief and the regret this way. A momentary distraction, just an hour to forget about their crushing circumstances. He thinks that Sarah would have liked the dish Kali chose. Perhaps she’d be in his place, stealing berries from the other girl's plate and laughing when her face turned up in faux annoyance. He pushes past those thoughts, because Sarah isn’t here anymore, and she never will be again.
The two don’t talk, John is much too tired to try and engage in conversation, and Kali seems content with that. Again, her gaze is drawn towards the window, watching various birds flutter down and peck at the ground. He wants to ask her what about them draws her gaze but-
“Aaand, here's the bill.” He jumps at the sound of the waitress, although she doesn’t seem bothered, presenting him with a sheet of paper. He pays in cash, money scrounged from his fathers belongings. The waitress flashes him another smile,
“And will that be all for today?”
“Ah, actually do you know of any motels in the area? Preferably on the cheap side..”