"Welcome home, honey," Jennifer joked as she squeezed Vin's hand, although the mineshaft felt more like a prison than anything else to her. She narrowed her eyes in an attempt to pick up anything beyond the pitch-black tunnel, but she could only make out an infinite amount of darkness.
Over the course of the past few days, her internal wounds had become much less painful and was causing her nothing more than mild discomfort. Jennifer's attitude had somewhat improved with her slight recovery, but she was still wary of the group from Harlan. She didn't have anything against them, but she did notice that their personalities seemed a bit off, maybe even hostile. Jennifer didn't worry too much about it though, figuring it was her own mind to blame for any feelings of prejudice she had towards people from small towns. But who could blame her, she'd been a city girl all her life and that would never change.
When Vin broke the silence and suggested she go in ahead to investigate, Jennifer shuddered at the idea of what she might find in that forsaken hole. Whatever rodents she happened to come across would be the least of her worries.
"Nate, why don't you and your brothers go ahead and make sure it's safe? It's not like we'll notice whether one of you go missing."
Over the last few days, Nate had some little to endear himself to the rest of the group. Apparently the only thing more annoying than the super confident Nate was Nate in pain. He had distracted himself from his own pain by generally pissing off everyone else. There were even times when he annoyed himself. The voices in his head had given him the silent treatment for a while. Nate wasn't sure if that was punishment or a reprieve.
The only person he tried not to annoy was Christi. She had been through enough already without having to deal with Nate's particular brand of assholitry. In fact, he actually tried his best to be nice to her. The others were fair play though.
He drank all of Eli's beer, cockblocked Vincent at every opportunity and generally insulted JJ. He didn't even have to try to annoy Eric though. That kid seemed to be annoyed by his very presence.
In between bouts of obnoxiousness though, he did find the time to treat his wounds as best he could, wrapping his ribs in the few bandages he could round up. He even tried to treat JJ'S wound. Right up to the point where he got bored and left her to her own devices. Despite somewhat still being in pain, he felt a lot better by the time the group decided to hike out to Eli's next five star hotel.
He had made his way through the thick woods with relative ease but not as easily as the locals seemed to. He seemed much more at home in this environment than either JJ or Vin though.
When the group finally arrived at their destination, Nate looked the shack over as Vincent suggested JJ go in first and scare the rats away. He snickered at that and was about to make some smartass comment when JJ suggested he be the first to head in to the mine. He arched an eyebrow at the suggestion that he wouldn't be missed and commented "Please, you miss me when I leave the room"
He then proceeded to smack her on the ass as he passed, ensuring that he was quickly out of arms reach afterwards so as to avoid being punched in the face. He wasn't afraid to take a look inside and was soon turning his attention to the door and making his way inside.
Eli didn't know what to expect when he walked in. He figured the inside would be as good as the outside, yet he didn't expect how sturdy everything looked. As he walked in he shined a flashlight at the ceiling. His biggest worry was it falling in. However everything inside looked recently replaced. On one of the walls he found an old rail lantern. He chuckled to himself as he lit it. "This could for a few hundred dollars. Only in Nobles."
The wooden building was little more than a shack. Inside was basically a somewhat spacious work shop that led into the mineshaft. Even Eli was a little disappointed by what he saw. He didn't expect much more than a place to lay down and keep dry.
It wasn't till he went into the mine that he started to realize what was really going on. The power lined that ran along the ceiling looked almost new. Eli knew instantly that wherever they led was going to be exactly what they needed.
It seemed like with every step he took inside the mine it only got cooler. There was a foreboding sense of isolation and something very bleak about the mine.
It was just wide barely wide enough two people to stand shoulder to shoulder and just hair over six feet tall. The darkness of the mine was enough to make Eli want turn back.
here seemed to be a slight breeze flowing through the mine. Eli found comfort in that, at least this place well ventilated.
Nate followed Eli deeper into the mine, more than happy to let the other man go first. Well he sure as hell wasn't going to be the one that got eaten by whatever monster was living down there. He swung his shotgun around in his hand as he went and contemplated pointing it at the back of Eli's head for his own personal lols but quickly thought better about it. He wouldn't put it past Eli to suddenly turn around and shoot him in the face.
Instead he merrily followed along until they reached another room off to the side. A surprisingly well furnished room at that. Well, by hillbilly standards at least. He had stayed in worse places. Hell, he had just come from one of those places. It would do. He still turned his nose up at it though.
After a moment of looking around, Nate said to himself but still out loud "Mumble, Mumble, something funny, mumble, mumble." "What?" he heard his own voice ask him in his head. Nate waved his hand around beside his head and said "Shhhhhhut up." He offered no explanation for his insane ramblings to anyone who may have overheard and instead turned to Eli and asked "Do you get cable down here?"
There was a low, rumbling noise. Abigail opened her eyes - dim shapes and sounds started to form around her...screaming, yells and horrific bangs. Blood and viscera coated the corridor. Someone had just turned the corner at the end in a frantic bid to escape, and the air was heavy with smoke and the smell of charred flesh. Abigail was aware of a pressure on her arm, gripping on tight and dragging her down an endless labyrinth of ornate wallpaper and plush carpet. She looked over her shoulder once more, then back towards the ragged, torn shirt and familiar portly belly. “Th’fuck is going on…” she murmured, feeling heavy and sick. It took most of her concentration just to keep up with the long strides and avoid falling flat onto her face.
“Kid! You back with us? Good.” Brooks was tearing down the hallways with determination, hauling Abigail’s slight figure behind him like a particularly heavy duffle bag. Every twist and turn revealed a new nightmare...people were fighting each other, bursting into flames. There were lances of ice and rocks like some sort of messed-up new superhero movie. “C’mon, keep moving!” shouted Brooks with urgency, shoving Abigail towards a flight of stairs as there was another explosion and a corpse whizzed right past her, rubble and beams jutting out where there should’ve been a corridor. Abigail screamed, taking the steps three at a time. She waited on the landing, her heart pounding so hard that she thought it was going to rip through her throat. There was blood...everywhere. It was oozing from the walls, it soaked her clothes, the railings were slippery with it. A small, weak jolt of relief surfaced in her mind as Brooks stumbled through the doorway and down the steps towards Abigail, grabbing her by the shoulders and looking her dead in the eyes.
“Listen to me, Abigail. Take the stairs and go out the fire exit.” Abigail registered Brooks’ instructions, but she couldn’t shake off the overwhelming fear and confusion. Her throat was dry and she started to shake horribly.
“Wh-...what’s happening, Boss? Why are we here? T-..” a wave of nausea hit Abigail and she took a deep, shuddering breath. “There’s-....so much...I can’t, I can’t,” she whined frantically. Brooks gave her a little shake.
“GET TO THE FIRE EXIT. I’ll be right behind you. Don’t stop moving.” With another push, Abigail was half-stumbling, half-running down the steps. Every door to an identical corridor was wide open and all sorts of madness brewed within - Abigail heard the clatter of bullets as a police barricade blocked one doorway, and she could see the red-blue glimmer of police cars in the hallway. The floor below was on fire. The floor after that revealed an ice-cold corridor, people were hung up on chains like...like an abattoir. Abigail ran, even though she didn’t know what she was running for. Tears blurred her vision and the noise was ever present. She could hear her Boss’ laboured breathing right behind her. Then there was an ear-splitting holler, and Abigail crashed into the wall. She spun around and saw-...
“BROOKS!” screamed Abigail, grabbing a hold of his limp hand. “P-please, no, don’t leave me on my own…!” she begged, tugging meekly at his arm the same way he dragged her. “Wake up, wakeupwakeupwakeup!” She pulled and pulled, but he was dead weight...Abigail’s grip faltered and she tumbled down the steps head-over-heels, falling deeper and deeper into the enveloping darkness. “No, no-...no...p-please, help!”
Abigail squirmed and groaned under Brooks’ relentless shaking. “Noooh, no…” she protested, as she had been doing for around five minutes now. Ever since the Gala, the young girl was plagued with nightmares; despite her tendency to be a light sleeper, she seemed trapped within them when they cropped up. The result was a very grumpy, very tired teenage girl slumped against the passenger window of the renovated pickup truck, talking and twisting in her seat.
Brooks had just stifled another yawn, keeping a firm hand on the steering wheel, as the other reached over for Abigail, shaking her shoulder in more of an annoyed manner then worried “Ey’! Abbey, quit that, wake up!” he exclaimed, harshly and firmly. The girl’s nightmares had been so consecutive that it had begun taking a toll on him as well. Long hours of driving on dark roads as it was safest then, naps for mere hours when he’s lucky and minutes when he could spare them, all topped off with a mumbling and fidgeting girl that shouldn’t have been here in the first place.
The guy was as much of a mess as her, unkempt greasy hair, a five o'clock shadow forming into stubble, stuck in a truck littered with newspapers and fast-food wrappers and their suffocating odor to accompany it. This wasn’t the first time he found himself in a situation like this, though he wasn’t a regular enough to call it home. However the stakes were raised; not only did he have to look out for himself but he’d put Abigail in danger as well, and felt responsible for her safety. He wished he was the iron-willed escape artist that Abigail thought he was, but he knew better. It was all just a facade to make sure a girl, one he wished he never brought along to the Gala, has hope.
Abigail eventually opened her eyes and wiped at them hastily, pushing away the shining tears in the corners of her vision. She quickly pulled the brim of her baseball cap right the way down, the way she usually does when she’s in a sulk, and remained like that for a painfully long time. The air was not only thick with BO and stale McDonalds; there was a strained tension in the air. Abigail usually got on very well with her employer but their relationship was sustained through frequent breaks from each others’ company. They both had their own lives, after all. This time there was nowhere to hide in the truck, and they were forced into regular interaction. Brooks may easily go for hours on end without saying a word, but Abigail hated the long and awkward silences and always found some topic of discussion - however menial - to break the ice.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled sullenly, but it sounded hollow.
Minutes passed.
Abigail pushed up the brim of her hat ever-so-slightly and took in Brooks’ weary features with guilt. She sighed and turned away again, watching the craggy rock face roll past her window. The view was awe-inspiring for a few hours beforehand, but quickly lost its allure and became monotonous as time dragged on. She had run out of things to do; all of the puzzles on the newspaper (“GALA SURVIVORS MISSING”) were completed save for a single crossword. She had already argued with Brooks over the single missing word at least twice through the duration of their journey and Abigail was almost certain that if she brought it up again, heads will roll. She checked the clock, and then noted the time down in an A5 notepad, sealed up in a ziploc bag in the inner pocket of windbreaker. She also noted down ‘travelling to Nobles’, just like she did throughout the last page and a half. “Hey, boss,” started Abigail tentatively. “Don’t-...don’t you think maybe I should drive for a bit? The road’s abandoned.”
He didn’t reply, hoping she’d get the message. His scowl fixating itself back onto the barely visible tarmac. After hearing the usual sigh, he felt it safe to change the topic: “You remember who we are, yeah?” He knew she knew, he was really just trying to keep his mind from falling asleep on the wheel, feeling strained as he managed to keep his focus on the ever creeping road.
Abigail smirked, giving a thumbs up. “Abigail Thornton. Don’t worry, I’ve got this all sussed out...dad.” She said it teasingly then, but there were a few occasions when she had practised using it and it just ended up sounding awkward. Their disguises were painfully simple, but it was the best they could do on such short notice...it wasn’t like anyone outside of their little corner in Buckhead would know who they were, anyway. Abigail highly doubted some of the people in Harlan have even heard of Buckhead. Giving up on the prospect of driving entirely she went to check the roadmap as the dark silhouette of a road sign loomed in the distance. “Oh come on,” she snapped irritably as Brooks zoomed past it before the headlights could provide enough light to read it.
Time stretched under the endless road and Abigail watched the sun rise out of the window, putting their filthy appearances into sharp relief. She cringed a little when she saw her face in the wing mirror; she looked like a tramp and smelt like one too. Whilst the girl couldn’t bring the nerve to admit it, Brooks looked just as bad as she did, if not worse...at least Abigail was getting some form of sleep. The moment they passed a road sign Abigail lurched back for the roadmap, having a breakfast of cold french fries as she used a chewed ballpoint pen to mark their position on the map.
“Jesus, we’re close.” A knot of fear started to form in her stomach and she offered the box of fries out to Brooks as she read the map. “It’s the third road on your right...we’re going to have to go right through the town to get to the mineshaft. Jimmy said we’d be the only white people in town so...uh, let’s hope we don’t draw attention as we go in.” A hopeless endeavour nonetheless, the town itself looked like it hadn’t seen a tourist in decades. As the old truck turned up the road towards Nobles, Abigail suddenly said “Pull over. Brooks, pull over right now.”
Brooks continued to drive on for a few meters, eventually pulling over as per requested. He remained silent all throughout the next process. Twisting the key to turn off the headlights as he let Abigail proceed with her nitpick-action. Letting out a tired yet patient groan, he snatched up the packet of cigarettes discarded on the dashboard, furrowing his brows as he found them to be empty. “Think ‘em Black Chappies got a convenience store?” he voiced over his shoulder at Abigail, hands idly drumming the steering wheel before wandering to his face to give himself a wake-up rub. It felt cold, even with the windows rolled up he could almost feel the cool country-side wind blowing against him.
Abigail proceeded to get rid of all the rubbish. Her meticulous care when it came to the little things and discarding their objects was quite admirable, especially since she had something of an obsession with getting rid of evidence and covering her tracks; a trait which has undoubtedly saved her life multiple times. She grouped all the litter into ‘flammable’ and ‘nonflammable’ and ‘biodegradable’ piles on the back seat, tossing the flammable wrappers into a heap at the bottom of a muddy ditch and setting them alight. The fire was short lived and barely produced any smoke, but it was enough to distort and char most of the food wrappers and destroy any fingerprints, hair or saliva. She pushed the nonflammable plastic containers into the thick mud of the ditch, burying them to the best of her ability, before hiding the biodegradable waste in some bushes.
Abigail seemed...distracted and restless. Her cold eyes looked through Brooks as she tried her best to tidy herself up in the reflection of the passenger window, lost in thought. Her lips were pursed and she kept fidgeting with her hair and clothes, rocking from the balls of her feet to her heels, barely able to keep still.
Brooks watched her fix herself up in silence, not caring much for his own apparel. What was the point anyway? As far as he knew they’re about to drive into a town that can’t even spell the word “Suit” yet alone know what one is. “You don’t talk to no one, you let me know if people get too close, and most importantly-” he paused, snapping his fingers once and pointing his index finger at her menacingly, making sure she’s aware of the seriousness of his last point. “- You keep. Your Shit. Together.” snapped Brooks, his trademark scowl plastered to his weary face. Abigail grinned weakly in return.
After being sure that Abigail got the point, he turned to reach for the key once more. Giving it a twist and letting the engine of the Chevrolet C/K roar. He took his time, idly rolling up his sleeves up to his forearm and cranking down the window on his side. With one elbow hanging out, and the other hand casually latching onto the top of the steering wheel, he drove their way into the town. Fingers gently tugging on the hairs grown on his chin, eyes lazily drifting from one building to the other, he kept driving onwards with no real clue as to where the rat Jimmy’s “Mineshaft” actually was, silently praying for a massive sign pointing ‘THIS WAY’. Luckily Abigail cleared her throat a little as they approached a smaller lane to their right, bringing him out his thoughts.
Abigail was used to the attention, but she was also used to waving, winking and pulling poses as a reaction, and now she pretended to be asleep in the hopes nobody would pay her any mind. Brooks was a broad-shouldered brute of a man in Abigail’s eyes; all eyes were on him as the truck crawled through the town and onto the gravelly side road towards the mineshaft. “Well this looks inconspicuous,” whispered Abigail sarcastically.
“Uh-oh~” chimed Abigail as she noticed the small crowd outside of the mineshaft. It was moments like these where she was extremely grateful for having someone else around to do the talking; Abigail was nice and safe on the passenger side, fake-sleeping her way out of trouble. From the looks of things, the crowd consisted of a man covered in tattoos, his skinny tanned girlfriend and a pale scruffy boy with a pair of goggles. She thought she saw another girl on the outskirts but couldn’t lift her head up enough to see.
Brooks came to a slow crawling stop, lighters of the truck pointing in the groups direction, speaking to himself out loud, “What the fuuuuck is this…?” before letting out a curse under his breath. “Who the fuck are those? Jimmy tell you anythin’? I’m gonna’ fucking kill that weasel-...” he stops himself, cautiously eyeing the group in front of them. He speaks again, this time to Abigail: “Reach for the pistol, i’m gonna’ try and call one over, see what the hell’s going on.” In response, Abigail let out an irritated sigh as Brooks blew her cover. She opened the glove box and slid the loaded pistol out and well within reach whilst her other hand pushed the baseball cap up and rubbed at one eye drowsily.
Brooks reached up for his own snub-nosed, tucked into a holster in the dashboard above the steering wheel. He takes in a deep breath before eyeing the group ahead one more time, making sure to leave the engine running for safe measures.
Leaning out of the window he lets loose a yell, low enough to not awake the whole town but loud enough to hopefully catch someone's attention. “ ‘EY! What the hell’s goin’ on? What’re you doin’ here?”
Abigail rolled her eyes. “Subtle,” she remarked idly. Brooks continued scowling, one hand gripping onto the steering wheel as he leans back from the window,ready to bail if it’s a bad one. His other hand adjusted his rear-view mirror, whilst he rested the snub-nosed on his lap, waiting calmly.
“Nate, you’re an asshole, a ballsy one, but still an asshole...”
Vin said in a hushed voiced, not wanting to wake anyone else in the area, but also making sure Nate knew he wouldn’t be forgotten if perhaps both him and Eli were forever lost in the abandoned mine shaft. These kinds of things happen no doubt, and a sudden collapsing support beam could prove disastrous in itself, whereby creating a domino effect that would take down the entire site. He knew it was going to take some time to adapt to his new surroundings, being out in the middle of nowhere wasn’t his first choice of getaways, but he apparently had little choice in the matter. Actually, “option B” would have been him probably dead with a bullet in his brain. So in retrospect, things were looking up for him. He was still alive.
“Better that we stay out here, yeah?” He smirked, wrapping his arm around Jennifer’s shoulders. “You know, in case little Eric over there get’s scared.” Vincent looked over his shoulder and was about to shoot Eric a mocking wink when he noticed dim headlights up the road slowly moving toward them. His eyes suddenly went in every direction, making sure there weren’t any other surprise visitors.
“Shit, we have company.”
He squinted his eyes, trying to focus on the vehicle that stopped a few yards away from their position, and could only make out that it was -not surprisingly- a pickup truck. Vin took a step back, keeping Jennifer behind him and his hand firming clenched to hers, he wasn’t sure what to do at this point. He motioned to Eric, hoping that the kid would move back a few paces, but no doubt this type situation was the norm for someone who lived around this area, as it didn’t seem to phase him. Before Vin even had a chance to say anything however, the driver leaned through the open window and yelled out the same question that was probably on everyone’s mind anyway. Lucky for Vincent, he didn’t have to ask it first.
He turned to Jennifer with an expression of uncertainty and fear, but shook it off as best he could. “Let me go find out what this dude wants.” He whispered, looking back at the mine shaft entrance in hopes that Nate and Eli would come out soon, before walking toward the truck, the engine still running and pushing out swirls of exhaust and burning oil as it idled.
Vincent hesitantly moved around to the driver’s side and noticed the older, heavy set man with graying hair, wearing a flannel shirt, assuming he had been the one speaking. “Nice ride.” Vincent finally said after a brief pause, surveying the rust and dents that made up a good portion of the exterior. “I think Fred Sanford is looking for his truck, by the way.” He seriously wanted to bust out laughing at such an archaic joke, to ease his own nervousness with the situation if anything, but instead he cracked a smile, and a half-hearted one at that. Just as the breeze shifted in the other direction, his nose suddenly scrunched up. “And what in the hell is that smell coming from in-” Vin cut himself off, realizing he doesn’t have to always say what he’s thinking and knowing his mouth caused him more trouble than it was worth.
“Sorry. No offense. Just chalk it up to lack of sleep, fucked up nightmares, and reduced to eating something resembling cold food out of a plastic bag.”
He looked passed the driver and noticed a young thin girl in the passenger seat staring at him with more suspicion that he had bothered to muster up. Her eyes caught what little light there was, but they almost appeared to glisten momentarily. Vin arched an eyebrow, wondering just what the hell a little white girl and an older greasy-looking fellow would be doing out in this part of town at this hour. But he also knew, of course, their group looked just as out of place, if not more.
“So...my wife and I were passing by and figured we’d do a bit of sightseeing, you know...out here...where there’s lots to see…” Vin cocked his head, never being a very good liar at times, and knowing these two were probably not going to believe any of the shit he’d try to conjure up, he went down a different path.
Look, I’m pretty sure you guys aren’t here by mere coincidence, and that woman over there...” Vin pointed toward where Jennifer was standing, giving her a reassuring wave and smile. “Well, you see, she’s what you would call a ‘panophobiac’, scared shitless of everything, and doesn’t really need an incident, if you know what I mean. But just so you know, we aren’t here to harm anyone if that’s what you think, and I’m -I mean- she’s hoping that you’re intentions are...well...honorable, yeah?” He let his words drift, hoping that the two in the truck were reasonable enough not to kick up any more of a shitstorm than was already brewing.
Vincent couldn’t help but glance back at the younger girl, whose expression seemed more annoyed than concerned, causing him to still feel a bit unhinged with the unusual meet taking place. He honestly didn’t know what to tell them, but he definitely wasn’t going to reveal where the other two companions were. What if he needed them now, and giving their position away would mean the end? Vincent just hoped that he could turn the conversation back on them, since maybe they had a better answer.
“So, what brings you two out here on this fine morning?”
"What the hell is wrong with you!" Jennifer attempted to smack Nate in the back of the head, but he moved faster than she anticipated and her reach could only get so far. In the blink of an eye they were both gone though, Eli and Nate had disappeared into the mineshaft as Vin gave him a piece of his mind for his careless stunt.
In that moment, Jennifer's attention was diverted to some very dim lights in the distance which slowly got bigger and brighter. She ignored Vin's remarks as he made fun of Eric, giving him a slight nudge to maybe get him to pay attention to the incoming headlights, but he noticed soon enough. Vin pushed her behind him, and Jennifer couldn't help but look around him to see who had crashed their party. From what she could tell, the vehicle was a pick-up truck. What a surprise.
"Wait--be careful!"
She didn't want him going up to strangers to initiate a conversation, much less question them why they were there, but she couldn't stop him, not if his intentions were to try to protect her. Jennifer turned to Eric, hoping he would know what the hell was going on.
"I wouldn't be shocked if we did. Nice place for what it is... Better than sleeping outside."Eli said with a skeptical look. He knew a this was going to come with a price tag. A rather large one at that. He wondered who they were going to be sent to kill, or what they were going to have to do. Nothing in Nobles was free, everything came with a price tag.
"Let's head back and get the others. I'm sure Mister and Misses Penthouse are going to be over the fucking moon." Eli's words were filled with sarcasm and more than a little bit of anger. These people were seeing a different way of life than what the city was, yet all they could do was look down on it. Eli really wanted to see what their lives were like when all this shit was over.
"Come on." Eli said as he walked passed Nate, a playful pat on the chest as he walked by. A few minutes they were in the shack, for once Eli let his guard down and didn't check before stepping outside.
When he stepped out to see a truck with two people didn't know. While His hand dropped to his gun, and his eyes glanced over to Jennifer and the Tatted Boy Wonder. "Play along..." Eli told Nate softly.
"Mister and Misses Nobles! The old Sanderson B mine is safe for your inspection!" Eli did everything he could to make his accent go away. "If you and yours will follow Cornwall Cornelius there he'll show you the mine shaft that your Great Grandparents deeded these fine people."
Eli motioned for Christabell and Eric to follow Jennifer, who he was gently pushing towards the dubbed Cornwall Cornelius. All he wanted was to get everyone inside. Once they have were inside, it didn't matter what happened to the two in the truck.
Nate let Eli go on ahead as he took one last look over their accommodations, taking particular note of the exits. Or rather the lack of them. He didn't like being confined like this but he figured one way or meant there was only one way in. It would at least make the place easier to defend. If it didn't come crashing down on top of them first. With one last look and a knock at a support beam with his shotgun, he followed after Eli.
Eli had already stepped outside by the time Nate caught up but there was enough of a delay between the two that Nate heard a fraction of the conversation outside and his pace slowed to a near stop. He stashed the gun in the back of his belt and made sure his jacket covered it before stepping out. He smiled gently at the group, giving an air of quite confidence as he listened to Eli attempt to act. The two in the truck didn't look like much of a threat. An old man and a young girl hardly seemed like much but if Nate had learned anything over the last week it was to not underestimate anyone.
He shot Eli an annoyed look when he dubbed him "Cornwall Cornelius" and made a mental note to punch him later. He seriously doubted this plan would work but he would play along, if only for long enough to get the others to safety. He clasped both hands behind his back and adopted a air of smug superiority that he thought sometime named Cornwall Cornelius would have. It was less of a stretch from his own personality than he would care to admit. He took Jennifer by the arm and motioned for Christi to follow them into the mine. His choice to get the girls out of potential danger first was less sexist than it seemed. It was just a fact that the boys were better equipped to handle themselves if anything kicked off. Vin and Eli with their powers and Eric with his gun collection that Nate was admittedly jealous of.
Abigail didn’t quite feel like it was her place to say anything, so she let Brooks do the talking in the wake of this...person. She kept quiet in the wake of the (perhaps unintentional) insults flung at her and Brooks, her heart sinking as she seemed to sense her boss’ patience wearing thin. This was going to be a literal train wreck of a conversation, and the girl knew that at some point she’d have to salvage some form of agreement from the wreckage. Abigail started looking for this solution early.
Brooks remained as calm as possible, leaning back into the ride as he watched Vin approach. His scowl altered to that of an inquisitive one at the man's comment regarding the pick-up truck, refusing to crack a smile. “It get’s the job done.” he replied sternly.
“I know how you feel, man…” Abigail replied sympathetically to Vin’s complaints about bad sleep and bad food. It couldn’t have been more heartfelt or genuine as she pinched the bridge of her nose and sank a little in the chair, turning her gaze to peer up at him. Unfortunately, at that moment Vin had chosen to look straight into her eyes, and Abigail resigned herself to this fact by trying incredibly hard not to look away under Vin’s stare.
No matter how good her acting skills were, or how flawless her lies could become, Abigail’s facades and personas had only one weakness - her eyes. Every part of her was crumpled up in the lazy, tired, bored, annoyed teenager act she was pulling off with surprising accuracy except for those deep blue eyes. They seemed out of place on the young girl because they were cold and sharp and intense as it seemed to burrow past Vin’s half-arsed lying and searched for what he was trying to hide, noting the protective stance, the quick excuses to keep the woman behind him safe despite the lack of imminent danger, the evasive way he tried to twist the conversation...those eyes said ‘You can’t fool me. I can see through your tricks.’ Just when it might’ve been brushed off as a coincidence, Abigail’s lips pulled back into an amused grin. Not only was she completely dismissive of Vin’s act, but she had the gall to find it funny.
“I, too, enjoy sightseeing at abandoned mineshafts with trucks full of guns,” noted Abigail politely. Her tone was lighthearted and conversational, and it would’ve sounded much more genuine than Vin’s little act if it wasn’t for the fact Abigail was clearly being a sarcastic bitch.
Brooks, noticing Vin’s gaze shift onto Abigail, interrupted: “You wanna’ tell us what the hell’s really going on here, or am I gonna’ have to assume the worst and that you’re about to gun us down?” he snarls, eyes locked onto Vin’s as he expects his next move to be a sudden one. The hairs on his arms stood up as he felt tension running through his body, his foot twitching once more on the gas pedal, and heartbeat rising in both fear and anger for what’s about to come next. Outwardly he appears as calm and contemplative as before.
Whilst Brooks became increasingly annoyed, Abigail just seemed to find the whole situation funnier and funnier; no doubt because she was getting a real kick out of their attempts to hoodwink her. Just at the last second, her eyes darkened, her stare became inscrutable. She shuffled around to peer at Eli who gaped at their truck for a half second with surprise and used the distraction to ‘accidentally’ lean on the gearstick and shove it into reverse, nudging Brooks with her elbow as she did so. It was part of her silent language; her way of saying ‘I’m getting ready for when this all goes to shit.’
Eli’s attempts to mask his accent were admirable, but only added to the suspicion. Why would someone who should’ve been showing his ‘guests’ around the mineshaft not sound like he was from the south? Abigail added two and two together - a group of people surrounding this specific mineshaft (which was actually a safehouse) armed with guns? Clearly, it was a trap. On the other hand...the only genuine thing Abigail had seen so far was the look of concern and fear on that woman’s face as Vin approached to try and fool them, and the way ‘Cornwall Cornelius’ was guiding the girls away. If they were sent to kill Abi and Brooks, why were they acting so funny? Why didn’t they shoot? Abigail’s gaze flicked to her boss and she sent him a confused look, wondering if he was seeing what she saw.
Noticing Abigail's gaze on him, he briefly averted his eyes from Vin, peering at the newly arrived Eli. His scowl deepened as he noticed part of the group being hassled into the mine, before snapping his gaze back at Vin, expecting and hoping for an answer sooner than later. Even with the tension currently surrounding the three in and around the car, he left his snub-nosed resting on his lap, as to not provoke Vin any further.
Abigail’s mouth opened as a flash of clarity crossed her features, and she suddenly lunged out and held an arm in front of Brooks. “Wait, wait wait wait wait!” she cried, grinning like a loon. “You’re...you’re NOT here to shoot us!” she announced cheerily, pointing over at Eli. “And we’re not here to shoot you! This has all been…” Abigail tightened her grip on the pistol, “...a simple misunderstanding. I hope you don’t mind if we stay in the truck because, uh, we trust you as much as you trust us.” Abigail released one of her disarming smiles, leaning out of her own window. “But the question still stands - why the hell are you in the mineshaft? Clearly you’re not here to inspect it, nor are you here to ambush us.” She raised up her free hand warningly. “And don’t try to spin this conversation around again, we’re not revealing shit until we know you’re not a threat. It’s the least you can do, since you outnumber us and have guns.”
"Eric, take those guns and get inside. Tell Cornwall in there too get ready. He'll know what to do." Eli said quietly and motioned for Eric to leave. His expression told Eric this was not negotiable.
"Lover Boy, why don't you just lay down?"Eli said to to Vincent. Since the women and children were gone, there was nothing left to keep Eli from shooting both of them in the truck.
"Best thing you two can do, come out with your hands empty. Anything else, you'll be longtime dying. Even if you get me, you'll never leave this holler alive." Eli said with his hand firmly on his side arm. He was ready to pull and shoot. Eli watched them both closely, any movement that didn't line up with what he wanted was going to be met with gun fire.
Abigail looked over at Brooks again. Her body language said she was scared, but he'd know better than to assume Abigail was frightened of such a common situation in their line of work. "If things get hairy..." she whispered, voice tremulous with non-existent fear, "...promise me you'll fight tooth and claw." Abigail looked back at Eli, bottom lip shaking as if she was going to cry. "O-okay mister, we don't want any trouble, fuck's sake please don't shoot us!" she responded, as if the sudden reality of the situation dawned upon her the moment the group started actually getting violent. She didn't reveal her pistol, but instead slipped it under the passenger seat and made a mental note of where it is.
Abigail clenched her jaw so hard that her teeth ached as she opened the door - she might've been scared and uncertain on the outside, but on the inside she was pissed off. She had come from a place where even the police wouldn't dare touch her, she had earned her reputation the hard way, slogging her way from being 'Brooksy's little girl' to something terrifying in its own right...the shadow in the Tin 'n' Lint, the blackmailer, the one who pulled the strings. If she was back home, she would've complied until she was out of ear-shot and that little iPhone would've been out in seconds - a few whispered orders and Eli would've never seen the light of day again. It was jarring being so helpless, but Abi knew she still had several nasty tricks up her sleeve, so she played along. For now.
Abigail held her hands behind her head, shaking from head to toe, avoiding Eli's gaze. "I don't want any trouble, mister," she repeated tentatively. "Didn't we just say we weren't here to shoot you?" The temptation to lob the whole goddamn truck at Eli's head was becoming even more irresistible. Her mind was reeling with all of the plans, the what-ifs and maybes that she could use to make an escape...but where would they run? As far as either of them knew, this was the only safehouse in the county. So why were these people here? They weren't prepared for Abigail and Brooks' arrival, so what were they-...
Abigail's stare shot to her feet as she emitted a little sob to cover her shock. She couldn't deny the possibility that the people in front of her were just as jumpy because they were using the safehouse; Jimmy was an arse and if she had the means, Abigail would've had him punished for making such a stupid mistake. "W-we got nothing to steal, neither. I mean, just look as us." Abigail tried to keep Eli occupied whilst she scrambled for ideas and new plans based on this new realisation. She was right, though - she looked like a tramp in a rusty old pickup truck. She kept looking over at Brooks pleadingly, helplessly, hoping to pull the pity act a bit further to convince her audience. There was nothing she could do but wait to see what Eli and his merry band of wannabe actors had in store for her; if it wasn't what she wanted, Abigail could just as easily barricade the mineshaft door and take out Eli with a rock or something. They could escape if they had to, but she really didn't want to go driving into the unknown again.
Vincent growled between clenched teeth as he turned to watch the gunslinging redneck throw his weight around like a sack of old potatoes.
“What. The. Fuck?”
For the first few moments prior to Eli emerging from the mineshaft, Vin felt he may have had the situation well under control considering no one was shooting at him...yet. Sure, his excuses were shit and he knew it, and he didn’t necessarily like using Jennifer as any form of a scapegoat, but he was running out of ideas and the lack of sleep, food, soap, sex, and a dozen other bear necessities weighed heavy on his better judgement. Still, he knew something good had to have come out of his somewhat non-threatening demeanor and the fact that he was unarmed. The one fear, however, that seeped into his weary mind was the unknown, as his repulsive power could ruin everything, or get him killed in the process of ruining everyone else's day. But he kept to the plan…
Up until Eli arrived that is.
Vin’s eyes shifted from Eli, back to the sweaty driver and his young companion, as he slowly backed away from the truck a few paces in the face of their “host” bringing his own perverse version of the welcome wagon. He couldn’t help but shake his head at Eli’s brand of handling everything and anything with the end of a gun barrel, and suddenly realizing that the guy may have had some kind of PTSD that made him truly believe he was deemed lord and sheriff of some backwoods town that needed a savior from the big, bad outlaw gang of two in a rusted-out pickup truck. A kid and a older guy who’d seen better days. Pathetic.
At least Nate had the right idea of getting the others inside, but it was most likely due to the the guy’s own self-preservation instincts kicking in rather than caring enough about the welfare of the group. Vin mused at the fact that if he died here, at least he didn’t have to deal with the asshole anymore. On the other hand, the thought of never seeing Jennifer again outweighed anything else at the moment, as he watched her being strong armed into the mineshaft. Again, Vin’s attention went back to the couple in the truck, as the young passenger blurted out something that was either random and non-sensical words or perhaps she was trying to get a grip on the whole situation in her head by thinking out loud. Either way, the sarcasm in her words wasn’t missed, causing Vin to grin slightly, as she did her best to diffuse the situation while maintaining their position within the truck.
Kids. Gotta love them.
He was starting the like this girl’s attitude, although he didn’t expect her, after a moment to open the passenger’s side door with her hands on her head like a petty criminal just pinched by the local cops. He felt bad for her, strong will and all, but still just a kid who ended up in a shitty situation with a bunch of people she didn’t know. Vin hoped Eli would see reason even as he decided to play cops & robbers with everyone's lives. In a last ditch effort to support what the girl was trying to relay, Vincent turned to Eli again in hopes that he didn’t completely abandoned reason for madness.
“Eli...bro, can’t you see there is an awkward enough standoff happening here...”
The thought of him being shot first didn’t slip his mind, even as he continued, knowing that whatever he’d say next could potentially help or hurt the group.
“I mean, c’mon, she’s a kid for fuck’s sake, and her old man -or whoever he is- just wants to know why we’re here at the ass crack of morning hanging out up in the hills of a place none of us look like we’d belong to anyway. And, on top of that, how in the hell would these two-” He motioned his thumb toward the truck. “...who clearly don’t belong in this fine upstanding community, just coincidentally end up here at roughly the same time we did?”
Vincent bit his lip, not really sure at this point if he was getting through to the neanderthal who called himself Eli, but Vin was at his wits end, and if a bullet didn’t kill him first, then the stress and anxiety of their current situation would most likely.
That was how long Christi had been a wanted murderer for. In some ways, her new life, if it could be called that, was exactly like she had thought being a criminal would be like. In others… it wasn’t what she had been expecting at all.
For example, she wasn’t too surprised when Eli had told everyone they were moving to a new safe house. Even in a sprawling place like Harlan, staying in one place for too long meant that, eventually, someone was going to find you. Add in the fact that pretty much every household had at least one frequent hunter, and “hiding” meant staying on the move.
On the other hand, she had not been expecting to have the sort of company she was keeping now. She had not been expecting to find out a man she vaguely knew of could create fire with his hands. She had not been expecting to meet a woman who could apparently take someone else’s injuries onto herself, and she definitely had not thought she would meet a man who’s tattoos could literally come to life, or a man who could apparently copy himself. Multiple times.
All of it was, plain and simple, insanity. And Christi couldn’t deal with insanity right now. So, she spent the bulk of her time away from the others, still keeping close enough to the cabin that Eli was reassured she hadn’t run off and always coming back for meal times, but generally finding space for things to at least pretend to make sense.
She didn’t really know what to make of the others. Nate was very… loud and crass, but he generally left her alone, apparently respecting her need for space from the others. Jennifer and Vin seemed quite wrapped up in themselves, though Jennifer could be just as crass as nate. Eric was… Christi still wasn’t sure how she felt about him. And Eli was, well, Eli.
Once they got to the mine shaft, Christi took one look at it and decided that no, she would not be going in there. They were good shelters for when you needed a place to sleep at night that was out of the rain, but for some place potentially long-term? She was not going to be staying somewhere that had only one way in or out. Outside, where she had room to run if she needed to, would work just fine.
Which brings her to the present moment. Christi had been preparing to slip away unseen with Jack when she had the chance, maybe find a place to camp out nearby where she could keep an eye on their surroundings, when the truck pulled up. Things got complicated fast, and Christi figured that it would be best if she just disappeared for a while.
Jack, however, had other ideas. Instead of following Christi, the German Shepard trotted up to the girl who had gotten out of the truck, sniffing around her legs and waist. Her eyes widened, and she rushed forward to grab him by the collar. “Jack, no! Down!”
"I can walk on my own," Jennifer said in a harsher tone than she'd intended, shaking Nate off as the two of them walked into the mineshaft. She knew her attitude wouldn't help the situation, but having a lack of sleep was something that always affected her mood, and not necessarily for the better. As soon as the two of them were out of sight from the rest of the group, she let some of her hysteria surface, making Nate the poor recipient of her nonsense rant.
"Brilliant plan bringing us here," Jennifer finally said, closing the distance between them as she abandoned any sense of personal space. "You wanted answers but instead, we're in some goddamn forsaken deathtrap with a few backwoods hillbillies waiting outside who are armed to the teeth and couldn't give two shits about us. Do you now see what's wrong with that picture?"
Jennifer knew her accusatory tone wouldn't make Nate any more likely to give her a proper response, at least not the one she wanted, but she was beyond frustrated with everything that was going on at the moment. She could only hope that Vin stayed safe and that his tattoos didn't feel the need to come out and play.
Rolling his eyes at Jennifer's comments, Nate adopted a high pitched tone and used his hand to mimic her. "Oh, gee. Thanks for saving my life yet again, Nate." said the JJ hand. "You're so cool and handsome and good at drums." "Think nothing of it." he said, using his other hand to represent himself with a much deeper tone than he normally spoke in. The JJ hand continued "No, really. I'd be dead several times over if it wasn't for you. You're a much better human being than I am." "Well that is true." conceded the Nate hand. "You really are awful, aren't you?" He turned away from her then and headed back towards the mouth of the mineshaft but continued his conversation with his hands. "Oh you have no idea." the JJ hand said with a weary tone. "Next time, you should just leave me to die at the hands of whatever crooked cops or grieving fathers or mob goons or evil business partners or shadowy organisations or angry rednecks or giant mine rats want to kill me." "Maybe I will Jennifer. Maybe I will."
He continued to mumble some more under his breath but it was completely incomprehensible. He stopped his little puppet show when Eric ran in and passed on Eli's message. "Keep an eye on the princess over there." he told Eric, throwing a thumb over his shoulder. It was only then that he realised Christi hadn't followed them into the mine. "Damn it, girl." he said in a whispered complaint as he stopped just out of site at the entrance to the mine, waiting to provide backup if shit went sideways.
Brooks visage snapped at Eli’s direction, staring at the man with an angered look as he spouted the command to exit the truck. “Easy now, we don’t want no trouble. Pistol on my lap, gonna’ move it aside.” he announces loudly, not in the mood to give the Action Jackson up ahead a reason to get an itchy trigger. He slowly reaches down, grabbing his pistol by it’s muzzle, holding it out of the window and letting it drop onto the ground, a measly dust cloud rising on impact.
He wasn’t going to take any chances, especially without knowing what exactly Vin’s role in all of this. With Abigail by his side, he unwillingly obeyed. Opening the car from the outside, stepping out and raising his hands next to his head, “We don’t want no trouble, just some talk.” he announced at both Vin and Eli. He bore his teeth as he felt a slow tingle of fear creep up his spine; Abigail’s frantic and scared voice certainly did not help him keep his cool, he barely managed to maintain his scowling and angered expression. “Listen, we just wanna’ know what the hell you folk really doing here. Because as far as me n’ the girl are aware, this place is was supposed to be empty. Let’s just take it easy, yeah?”
He probably should have waited more than a few seconds but Nate quickly got bored and poked his head around the corner to peak at the goings on. He was curious about who was going to get shot first. Although he had a feeling it would be Vin, he hoped it wouldn't be. Partially because he felt somewhat responsible for him being here but mostly because he knew it would make JJ even more annoying to be around. All those tears...Or maybe lack thereof. Nate honestly couldn't tell if Jennifer liked Vin or was just stringing him along. She was a confusing one.
Nate watched the girl and the old man pull themselves out of the truck after Eli barked at them and he had a brief flashback to his time in the military. He quickly shook it off though, knowing that he had to stay in the present. Stay focused. Something that he was finding harder and harder to do these days. There were so many thoughts running through his head all at once that it was increasingly difficult to focus on anything. He had to try though.
The old man tried his best to diffuse the situation but at the same time still wanted answers. Nate found that simultaneously brave and dumb. He had to admire the balls on the old man. Droopy as they may have been. Driving up on a bunch of heavily armed weirdos out in the middle of nowhere took a set. Nate admired that to the point of doing something potentially really stupid. The old man wanted answers, so...
"We're on the run from the cops, the feds, crazy rednecks and a mysterious organisation and looking for answers about why we all suddenly have superpowers that may or may not be the result of genetic mutations, bioengineering, magic or bad onion dip." He had blurted that all out without even thinking about it and immediately realised how stupid it was. His eyes slowly widened at the looks being shot his way and he added "I mean...nothing! Shut up! You're not my real dad!" then slowly disappeared back into the mine.
Everyone, at this point, wanted answers to questions that weren’t even being asked yet. The situation was, for the most part, tense and if Vincent wasn’t on the verge of dehydration, he probably would have already pissed himself just from the idea of being shot. The driver seemed to be a reasonable fellow, however, even revealing his weapon which was then tossed out of the window and onto the clay dirt road. Vin’s eyes followed its descent, where it rested only a few feet from where he was standing. A part of him had the sudden urge to leap for the pistol so at least he didn’t feel so defenseless after all, but the fearful and more rational side -the one he rarely ever seemed to listen to- told him to stay just where he was. He returned his attention to both the older guy and the young girl, who as far as he was concerned, were cooperating and not intentionally provoking the group. Vincent turned to Eli and was about to add to his previous argument for their case, in hopes things wouldn’t escalate into a more uncomfortable situation…
And then Nate had to open his big fucking mouth, which could be, in and of itself, considered an act of war.
Vincent froze in place, even more so than he had already been, as Nate ranted on about…something. He’d apparently gone off the deep end yet again, and divulged the whole reason they were there in one fell swoop. All of it. And if there was ever a new level of stupid that could be discovered, then Nate would certainly be the one to unlock that secret. From the expressions of the others that he could manage to read, there was that moment of the unknown, and the only one who seemed to be reeling from the kid’s sudden outburst was Eli.
“Shit.”
It was about all Vincent could muster up and out through his lips, trying to keep his already anxious heart from beating hard enough to explode through his chest. Both his hands clenched into fists, not knowing if he was more pissed off at Nate for being so dumb, Eli for being so trigger happy, or himself for being so ignorant to be led into this whole situation in the first place. But the answer was pretty obvious: Nate. The guy who was supposedly in the business of protecting, had most likely just pulled the master trigger on the huge guns hovering over everyone’s head. And all the kid could do was take his sorry ass back into the mine shaft while the rest of the group stood there holding onto what life they had left.
Jennifer didn't need saving, she didn't want saving if it meant she was expected to make everyone's injuries suddenly disappear like magic. They may be fully functional again, and while it was a blessing for them, it was a curse for Jennifer, one that she feared would stay with her for the rest of her life.
Having had enough of Nate's smart-ass mouth, Jennifer decided to get off her feet for a while. She found the nearest wall and made herself as comfortable as the floor would possibly allow. Once settled, she buried her head into her knees and arms and it wasn't long before she fell asleep, the exhaustion of pulling an all-nighter finally getting the best of her.
"Hey Jen Jen."
"Richard? What are you doing here?" She was confused, but didn't question his presence, not when it didn't seem that much out of place.
"I came to see you, actually," he added, slowly walking toward her. Jennifer became a bit tense, taking a few steps back until she found herself against the wall. "Oh don't be scared, I'm not here to hurt you."
Jennifer paused, struggling for a moment to believe him but finding herself unable to do so. She wanted to run, maybe push him out of the way in the process, but he was blocking her path and she was afraid she wouldn't get far. The gravity of the situation finally sunk in when Richard grabbed her by the arm and pushed her down to the ground, almost as if he was reading her mind. As Jennifer clawed at the ground, she felt Richard grab her legs and force her around to face him. It was then she came face to face with her true tormentor: Vincent.
"Vin, why are you doing this? Why are you hurting me?" Tears began to form in the corner of her eyes as she waited for a response but didn't get one. Instead, Vin straddled her without as much as a single trace of emotion. He did have the same creepy grin as Richard, and that's what worried her the most.
The rest of the assault was a blur for Jennifer. She woke up after about 5 minutes into the dream, her body covered in sweat and her heart beating at a faster rate than normal. But having learned from experience, Jennifer decided to keep quiet. She remained sitting on the floor with a solemn expression on her face as she stared at nothing else but what was ahead of her.
