THE FIRST DYNAMO OF LIFE

A  LITTLE  HOPE  COUNTY  BENEVOLENCE  RARELY  HURT  ANYONE,  RIGHT?   as  far  as  nick  knew,  the  guy  looked  nothing  like  some  peggie  trying  to  pull  the  wool  over  his  eyes.   and  he  reckons  that  it’s  better  for  him  to  pull  over  than  some  eden’s  gate  pickup,  hoping  to  rob  and  loot  or  worse.   the  sun  gleams  off  his  aviators  as  he  rolls  to  a  stop  and  puts  the  vehicle  in  park.   one  good  look  at  the  truck  behind  the  other  man  might  suggest  that  a  simple  jump  might  not  work.          “     sure,  pardner.   looks  like  you’re  in  quite  the  pickle  and,   i  ain’t  about  to  leave  a  guy  stranded  out  here  in  peggie  country.   y’need  a  ride  somewhere?     ”

it’s clear for a second that the sentence as a whole doesn’t quite stick its landing, but john schools it away with an easy smile like it’s something he’s used to hearing and scratches at the scruff on his jaw.   “you know if there’s a garage or something ‘round these parts?”   it only takes a few steps to bring them into proper conversation range and he makes sure to stay far enough back that the guy won’t think he’s about to jump him — another day, another dollar, sure, but not today.   “alternator’s busted on this piece of shit, gonna have to replace the whole dang thing.”   not that he can afford it.   he scratches his eyebrow now, suddenly chagrined.

They were close. So damn close. A series of route reversals, backpedaling and dodging their tails through a maze of subways, underground stripmalls and even a venture through a multi-corporate plaza, the last step needed was to get to the getaway car. Rain pours in sheets as they stride briskly out; Reyes already reaching for the keys to the car – just as a passerby knocks into him in a rush to get inside and dry. The keys bounce when they hit the ground, falling to the curb and into the rush of water leading straight to the storm drain.

Quinn only stops and stares. When she finally looks up at him, her eyes convey what her words will not. “Tell me you have an extra set on you.”

the rain isn’t nearly as nice as he’d hoped it might be once they got outside.   it’s good for their current situation, heavy enough to cover any tracks they might leave behind, but it’s got a chill to it that makes the skin crawl at the nape of his neck and he can’t help wondering why the hell this shit can’t happen in nicer climates for a change.

he doesn’t even realize what’s happened until it’s too late, the moment drawn out in slow motion behind him with oh-so-helpful mental overlays with trajectory projections and probability flashing up seconds after the keyring is already gone.   he blinks at the drain, genuinely shocked into a moment’s silence, and  he can tell what she’s going to say before she even opens her mouth.

“ it’s the honesty of these worlds that makes my soul long for the past. “

“     YOU  MAKE  ONE  MORE  MOVE  AND  I’LL  SHOOT  YOU HERE.     ”          her  voice  is  threatening,  commanding,  and  if  it  weren’t  for  the  horse  beneath  her,  a  warning  shot  may  have  been  fired.  instead,  beau  shuffles  and  whinnies  in  a  peculiar  manner,  and  it  takes  almost  all  of  her  attention  to  keep  him  from  bucking  her  off.   brows  furrow  as  priority  shifts  and  the  threat  of  a  gun  becomes  less  and  less.  she  moves  to  pat  the  side  of  his  neck,  whispering  and  hushing  a  horse  that  has  never  been temperamental.          “     what’d  you  do  to  him ?     ”

HE KEEPS HIS HANDS UP by his head even as his fingers slowly curl in on themselves.   he’s not a threat, he wants that much to be clear, but he’s grown used to having a weapon at hand and his palms feel suddenly vulnerable without it.   he should be more concerned with the woman leveling a gun at him and maybe thinking harder on just how to get his gun into his own hand before this spirals too far out of his control, but he knows for a fact that the horse she’s sitting astride doesn’t belong to her and it’s become a much bigger priority than his own well-being suddenly.