Status: Complete
Save Yourself, I'll Hold Them Back
The Van
Ray and Bob take the front, Ray driving. They have sunglasses on and are both tapping their fingers along to the music while the van crawls along in the traffic. They had taken the long way out of Battery City and while that was probably safer, it was taking far, far longer. They’re quietly playing this game they invented where they would have to guess the tempo and key signature of the song they were listening to. There was no way of really knowing if they were right and no reward for winning, just something nerdy they could do together to keep each other awake.
Frank and Mikey hung up spare shirts in the second row to keep the sun kind of out of their eyes, and they had drifted into an uneasy sleep. Mikey’s glasses are askew, one of Frank’s hands dangerously close to giving him a smack in the face, his knees shoving into the back of Bob’s seat. Frank himself is frowning and making little noises in his sleep, twisting every now and then from next to Mikey. He’s probably having a nightmare, but when Mikey wakes up just long enough to put a comforting arm around his waist, Frank’s mumbling ceases for the moment.
In the very back, squished in with the food and extra clothes, Gerard is sitting rather still. He’s staring out the windshield and blocking the sun from Anette, who is sleeping fitfully with her head in his lap. He strokes her hair absent-mindedly. It’s soft but slightly oily between his fingers. He wonders what she’s dreaming about, if she’s dreaming at all, and he has despairing thoughts about how this is all wrong and that she deserves more than this. She deserves more that being hauled around with them. She could actually have a future. Granted, he could only hope that that future could include him, but she could have accomplished something, actually bought her freedom from the state and lived outside of this desert wasteland. If they just hadn’t gone out last night…
-
“Frankie, come on. Quick break.”
“Mmm?”
Frank stirs at the sound of Mikey’s voice, and he slowly opens his eyes and rubs them. He has no idea how long he’s been asleep. He reaches up and fixes Mikey’s glasses.
Mikey smiles at him. “Thanks. Now, come on, you need to get awake so we can have the next driving shift.”
“Where are we?” Frank asks as he and Mikey scramble out of the van and follow Bob, Anette, and Gerard into the gas station.
“Just outside the city. It’s about noon.”
“Three hours.” Frank yawns wildly. “That’s not that bad.”
“Bob and Ray are both exhausted, so I’m going to drive next.”
“And I’ll keep you awake.”
“Something like that.”
They relieve themselves and walk around a bit while Bob and Anette buy water for everyone and Gerard goes out behind the station for a smoke. Frank joins him shortly, pulling out a slightly squished cigarette and borrowing Gerard’s lighter.
“Did you sleep?” Frank asks, but he doesn’t really need to because he knows the answer.
“No. Can’t.” Gerard leans against the stone building and lets smoke drift lazily out of his mouth. “It’s okay though, I don’t want to.”
“Did you see anything suspicious? Anyone following us or anything?”
“No, but that doesn’t mean they don’t already know we’ve left. And once they know that…”
“They’ll send out the forces,” Frank supplied.
“In mass.”
They’re silent for a few moments while they smoke. It’s a terrible habit to kick, but at times of high stress, it’s calming and comforting. A little bit of home, of the old days, when things weren’t so bad.
“Do you think—” Frank stops, unsure of himself. “Do you think that they’ll send out… Korse?”
Gerard stops, drops the butt of his cigarette, and puts it out with his boot heel. “Maybe. I dunno.
“Because if they do—”
“We’ll be fine, Frank.”
“But if they do—”
“Don’t worry about it. It’ll just make your imagination your worst enemy.”
Frank puts out his cigarette, too. “I… I guess you’re right, Gee.”
Gerard offers him a half-smile. “We’d better get back. I want that middle seat this time.”
-
Once they’re out of the city, it’s nothing but desert, sun, wind, and the blacktop. And it is hot. The AC is pumping, but it’s helping only a little, and they’ve stripped off their jackets and hung them around the windows to block the sun and Frank has even pulled off his shirt and kept driving, trying to ignore how sweaty his hands are. It’s five in the evening, and he and Mikey both have sunglasses on, but it’s still hard to see through the blinding sunset off to their right.
“Gee, pass me up some food, I’m starving,” Mikey says, turning to look back at Gerard.
“Alright, give me a sec,” Gerard mutters back, and he crawls enough over the seat that he can reach a bag of food without bumping Ray or Bob. “Do you want some graham crackers or… what the fuck is this… I think this is canned pasta.”
“Give me the pasta.”
“Crackers for me,” Frank adds, and Gerard grabs two packs of those. He hands up one of them and the pasta before digging in to his own package of crackers. He rips it open and chews a cracker greedily, finally realizing how starved he is. Funny. He isn’t tired, though he hasn’t slept in over twenty-four hours, but he’s hungry like nobody’s business.
“Anyone think that we should stop soon to cook?” Gerard asks, kind of hoping that someone will say yes and they can get out of the van for longer than a few minutes.
“Maybe when it gets a little darker,” Mikey says, trying to open the can with his knife. “Fucking bastard, just get in there…”
Gerard glances over to Anette, who has pulled back her white-blonde hair and is leaning against the window, lost in her own thoughts, her skin glistening with tiny droplets of sweat. “You want one?” he asks, offering her a cracker.
She glances at it and shakes her head sadly. “No. I’m not hungry, thanks.”
“Come on Anette, you should eat.”
“I’m not hungry, Gee.”
“Anette, you haven’t eaten in ages.”
“I’m fine,” she says sharply, slapping his hand and the cracker away from herself. Accepting defeat, Gerard puts the cracker down and reaches over. He takes her hand and strokes the back of it with his thumb. She sighs and says, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright.”
“I’m just…”
“On edge?”
“Yes. But I really can’t eat.”
Gerard snorts.
“Besides, before I eat, you’re going to sleep.”
“I can’t sleep, you know that.”
“You look like you’re going to keel over dead.”
Gerard opens his mouth to argue, but Frank cuts him off. “The lady’s right, Gee. You should sleep.”
“Got you, you bastard,” Mikey swears with grim satisfaction as he finally gets the can open and starts eating the cold pasta.
Gerard sighs. There’s no way to win with these people. “Alright, fine, I’ll… I’ll go to sleep after the next stop. We’re close, aren’t we Frank?”
“I think we can make it to about seven or eight, depending on where the next town is.”
Gerard groans. He doesn’t know if he can tolerate their nagging for that much longer.
-
By eight, they’re freezing again. When they stop, they’ve pulled their clothes back on and stumble stiffly out of the van. Bob and Ray are sleepy still, Mikey goes off to try and find a trash can for his empty tin of pasta, and Frank, Gerard and Anette attempt to get warm and find some water and sandwiches all at the same time.
“Fuck this desert,” Gerard mutters, wrapping his arms tighter around himself. “So fucking bi-polar.”
“Is ham okay?” Anette asks, holding up a sandwich.
“It’s not like there’s much choice,” Frank says, looking at the small sandwich section. “It’s that or salami, and that shit is just… no.”
“Alright.” Anette laughs slightly and starts picking up sandwiches.
Shortly, Gerard comes up behind her, his lips brushing her ear. “Anette, ditch the sandwiches. We have to go now.”
“What?” she asks, panic rising.
“Korse.”
She tenses at the name. She glances up to the left where a mirror has been placed, and she can see a bald man entering the gas station. He’s wearing white and frowning, looking around for something. And that something could only be them.
“There are two Draculoids outside, but we don’t think they’ve seen the van yet.”
“Where are Mikey and Frank?”
“I think they made it back to the van. Ray’s there too.”
“And Bob?”
Gerard swallows, his eyes darting up to the mirror. “I don’t know.”
Trembling, Anette puts the sandwiches back and they start working their way around the shop. They try and keep distance between themselves and Korse while making for the door. They get trapped behind the first row next to the door, and when Korse rounds the corner, they sprint out. He chases them, pulling a lazar gun from inside his coat. Anette turns her head to look, but Gerard grabs her arm and drags her on towards the van.
“Anette! Gee!”
Bob is running towards them, lazar gun pulled. A Draculoid is chasing him, fumbling with its gun. Bob turns and shoots it before making it to his sister and Gerard. “Get in the van!”
Gerard yanks the side door open and throws himself in just as the second Draculoid and Korse reach them. “Let’s go!” Mikey yells from the driver’s seat as Bob starts shooting again. Anette is about to get in next to him when Korse aims for her.
“No!”
Bob lets loose more fire and hits the container for natural gas next to the building. The force from the explosion sends him backwards into the car; Korse and the Draculoid, to the pavement. But just as Bob is pushing himself into the seat, Korse raises his gun once more and shoots Bob in the arm that’s trying to close the van door. Bob yells out, clutching his arm while Ray puts the van in drive. The squealing of tires is drowned out by a second explosion, and Gerard leans over Bob to slam the door shut. The last thing he sees is Korses’ eyes, burning in the firelight.
Frank and Mikey hung up spare shirts in the second row to keep the sun kind of out of their eyes, and they had drifted into an uneasy sleep. Mikey’s glasses are askew, one of Frank’s hands dangerously close to giving him a smack in the face, his knees shoving into the back of Bob’s seat. Frank himself is frowning and making little noises in his sleep, twisting every now and then from next to Mikey. He’s probably having a nightmare, but when Mikey wakes up just long enough to put a comforting arm around his waist, Frank’s mumbling ceases for the moment.
In the very back, squished in with the food and extra clothes, Gerard is sitting rather still. He’s staring out the windshield and blocking the sun from Anette, who is sleeping fitfully with her head in his lap. He strokes her hair absent-mindedly. It’s soft but slightly oily between his fingers. He wonders what she’s dreaming about, if she’s dreaming at all, and he has despairing thoughts about how this is all wrong and that she deserves more than this. She deserves more that being hauled around with them. She could actually have a future. Granted, he could only hope that that future could include him, but she could have accomplished something, actually bought her freedom from the state and lived outside of this desert wasteland. If they just hadn’t gone out last night…
-
“Frankie, come on. Quick break.”
“Mmm?”
Frank stirs at the sound of Mikey’s voice, and he slowly opens his eyes and rubs them. He has no idea how long he’s been asleep. He reaches up and fixes Mikey’s glasses.
Mikey smiles at him. “Thanks. Now, come on, you need to get awake so we can have the next driving shift.”
“Where are we?” Frank asks as he and Mikey scramble out of the van and follow Bob, Anette, and Gerard into the gas station.
“Just outside the city. It’s about noon.”
“Three hours.” Frank yawns wildly. “That’s not that bad.”
“Bob and Ray are both exhausted, so I’m going to drive next.”
“And I’ll keep you awake.”
“Something like that.”
They relieve themselves and walk around a bit while Bob and Anette buy water for everyone and Gerard goes out behind the station for a smoke. Frank joins him shortly, pulling out a slightly squished cigarette and borrowing Gerard’s lighter.
“Did you sleep?” Frank asks, but he doesn’t really need to because he knows the answer.
“No. Can’t.” Gerard leans against the stone building and lets smoke drift lazily out of his mouth. “It’s okay though, I don’t want to.”
“Did you see anything suspicious? Anyone following us or anything?”
“No, but that doesn’t mean they don’t already know we’ve left. And once they know that…”
“They’ll send out the forces,” Frank supplied.
“In mass.”
They’re silent for a few moments while they smoke. It’s a terrible habit to kick, but at times of high stress, it’s calming and comforting. A little bit of home, of the old days, when things weren’t so bad.
“Do you think—” Frank stops, unsure of himself. “Do you think that they’ll send out… Korse?”
Gerard stops, drops the butt of his cigarette, and puts it out with his boot heel. “Maybe. I dunno.
“Because if they do—”
“We’ll be fine, Frank.”
“But if they do—”
“Don’t worry about it. It’ll just make your imagination your worst enemy.”
Frank puts out his cigarette, too. “I… I guess you’re right, Gee.”
Gerard offers him a half-smile. “We’d better get back. I want that middle seat this time.”
-
Once they’re out of the city, it’s nothing but desert, sun, wind, and the blacktop. And it is hot. The AC is pumping, but it’s helping only a little, and they’ve stripped off their jackets and hung them around the windows to block the sun and Frank has even pulled off his shirt and kept driving, trying to ignore how sweaty his hands are. It’s five in the evening, and he and Mikey both have sunglasses on, but it’s still hard to see through the blinding sunset off to their right.
“Gee, pass me up some food, I’m starving,” Mikey says, turning to look back at Gerard.
“Alright, give me a sec,” Gerard mutters back, and he crawls enough over the seat that he can reach a bag of food without bumping Ray or Bob. “Do you want some graham crackers or… what the fuck is this… I think this is canned pasta.”
“Give me the pasta.”
“Crackers for me,” Frank adds, and Gerard grabs two packs of those. He hands up one of them and the pasta before digging in to his own package of crackers. He rips it open and chews a cracker greedily, finally realizing how starved he is. Funny. He isn’t tired, though he hasn’t slept in over twenty-four hours, but he’s hungry like nobody’s business.
“Anyone think that we should stop soon to cook?” Gerard asks, kind of hoping that someone will say yes and they can get out of the van for longer than a few minutes.
“Maybe when it gets a little darker,” Mikey says, trying to open the can with his knife. “Fucking bastard, just get in there…”
Gerard glances over to Anette, who has pulled back her white-blonde hair and is leaning against the window, lost in her own thoughts, her skin glistening with tiny droplets of sweat. “You want one?” he asks, offering her a cracker.
She glances at it and shakes her head sadly. “No. I’m not hungry, thanks.”
“Come on Anette, you should eat.”
“I’m not hungry, Gee.”
“Anette, you haven’t eaten in ages.”
“I’m fine,” she says sharply, slapping his hand and the cracker away from herself. Accepting defeat, Gerard puts the cracker down and reaches over. He takes her hand and strokes the back of it with his thumb. She sighs and says, “I’m sorry.”
“It’s alright.”
“I’m just…”
“On edge?”
“Yes. But I really can’t eat.”
Gerard snorts.
“Besides, before I eat, you’re going to sleep.”
“I can’t sleep, you know that.”
“You look like you’re going to keel over dead.”
Gerard opens his mouth to argue, but Frank cuts him off. “The lady’s right, Gee. You should sleep.”
“Got you, you bastard,” Mikey swears with grim satisfaction as he finally gets the can open and starts eating the cold pasta.
Gerard sighs. There’s no way to win with these people. “Alright, fine, I’ll… I’ll go to sleep after the next stop. We’re close, aren’t we Frank?”
“I think we can make it to about seven or eight, depending on where the next town is.”
Gerard groans. He doesn’t know if he can tolerate their nagging for that much longer.
-
By eight, they’re freezing again. When they stop, they’ve pulled their clothes back on and stumble stiffly out of the van. Bob and Ray are sleepy still, Mikey goes off to try and find a trash can for his empty tin of pasta, and Frank, Gerard and Anette attempt to get warm and find some water and sandwiches all at the same time.
“Fuck this desert,” Gerard mutters, wrapping his arms tighter around himself. “So fucking bi-polar.”
“Is ham okay?” Anette asks, holding up a sandwich.
“It’s not like there’s much choice,” Frank says, looking at the small sandwich section. “It’s that or salami, and that shit is just… no.”
“Alright.” Anette laughs slightly and starts picking up sandwiches.
Shortly, Gerard comes up behind her, his lips brushing her ear. “Anette, ditch the sandwiches. We have to go now.”
“What?” she asks, panic rising.
“Korse.”
She tenses at the name. She glances up to the left where a mirror has been placed, and she can see a bald man entering the gas station. He’s wearing white and frowning, looking around for something. And that something could only be them.
“There are two Draculoids outside, but we don’t think they’ve seen the van yet.”
“Where are Mikey and Frank?”
“I think they made it back to the van. Ray’s there too.”
“And Bob?”
Gerard swallows, his eyes darting up to the mirror. “I don’t know.”
Trembling, Anette puts the sandwiches back and they start working their way around the shop. They try and keep distance between themselves and Korse while making for the door. They get trapped behind the first row next to the door, and when Korse rounds the corner, they sprint out. He chases them, pulling a lazar gun from inside his coat. Anette turns her head to look, but Gerard grabs her arm and drags her on towards the van.
“Anette! Gee!”
Bob is running towards them, lazar gun pulled. A Draculoid is chasing him, fumbling with its gun. Bob turns and shoots it before making it to his sister and Gerard. “Get in the van!”
Gerard yanks the side door open and throws himself in just as the second Draculoid and Korse reach them. “Let’s go!” Mikey yells from the driver’s seat as Bob starts shooting again. Anette is about to get in next to him when Korse aims for her.
“No!”
Bob lets loose more fire and hits the container for natural gas next to the building. The force from the explosion sends him backwards into the car; Korse and the Draculoid, to the pavement. But just as Bob is pushing himself into the seat, Korse raises his gun once more and shoots Bob in the arm that’s trying to close the van door. Bob yells out, clutching his arm while Ray puts the van in drive. The squealing of tires is drowned out by a second explosion, and Gerard leans over Bob to slam the door shut. The last thing he sees is Korses’ eyes, burning in the firelight.