Futuristic Fading Convenience

[PerilousAbyss]

The plated woman chuckled at the sight of him covered in the worm's green blood, offering him a hand towel from her car to clean his face with. "Gotta admit, that was one hell of a takedown..." Paula commented, taking a seat on the hood of her car as she watched him approach, gauntlet-adorned hands softly nestled in her pockets.

 

[DemonicLillies]

He grabbed the towel, clearing the blood off his face. His clothes were another story, the blood was absolutely refusing to come out.

"I'm gonna have to burn these I guess." He sighed. He really liked these clothes. Luckily his truck wasn't too far away so he sprinted inside, disappearing for a few moments before emerging again wearing new clothes that looked practically identical to the ones he'd changed from.

"Got a light?" He asked, throwing the bloody clothes onto the ground.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

The woman nodded, pulling a cigarette from a cardboard pack in her back pocket before retrieving a lighter to ignite the opium-laced tobacco between her lips. "Yeah, I do. Here." She spoke as she tossed her lighter to the man, it was a pretty cheap one, comprised of green plastic but full of lighter fluid.

"So what now?" She asked, taking a drag before exhaling the purple smoke skyward and letting out a long sigh.

 

[DemonicLillies]

Danyon lit a rag and threw it down onto the pile of clothes, gesturing for Paula to come over.

"Night's approaching, I suggest we stay warm." He slumped down next to the fire, cracking open a can of some kind of meat. After eating a bit, he threw a second can over to Paula.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

The woman was at first hesitant to eat the canned animal bits, but decided to anyway given that she hadn't eaten in a while. "Works for me. So you're a Food Hunter, yeah?" She asked as she sat down on the other side of the crackling flame, crushing some salt crystals beneath her with a satisfying, crisp sound.

 

[DemonicLillies]

"Yeah, gives me something to do y'know. If I just sat around I'd lose my mind." He gazed off into the distance for a moment, thinking about past events. Events that had led him to where he was now.

"So, how do you spend your time?" He asked her, snapping back to reality.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

"I'm a Treasure Catcher. I collect, deal, and sell shiny trinkets and shit to people I encounter." She winced ever so slightly as some of the branches in her upper back grew taller and the leaves and flowers adorning her body grew slightly more dense. "I'm trying to find a cure for my curse. This horrible plant disease."

 

[DemonicLillies]

"You got any idea how to find a cure? I got a fair few connections, might be able to help out." Danyon didn't know all that much about magic and such, but he knew a lot of people who did. Hopefully one of them could help, if he could find them.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

"No leads yet, unfortunately. Those connections could be helpful, though. And if not, it was worth a try." The woman didn't seem to have much urgency to her regarding the hunt for the cure, even as it slowly overtook more and more of her body each passing moment.

 

[DemonicLillies]

He tugged at his sleeve for a moment, pulling it further down his arm. He knew how she felt, wasn't alone in being infected by some unknown disease. He shoved some more food in his mouth, deciding not to say anything on the topic.

"You got any place to go? You're free to hang around here if you need. I don't plan on going anywhere soon either way." His voice wavered a little as he spoke, worrying about something he didn't mention.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

The woman thought on his offer for a few moments before nodding in acknowledgment, recognizing that it'd be nice to not have to sleep in the car for a little while. "Sure thing, thanks. And thanks for the food." She spoke as she rose to her feet, stretching her arms as she let out a long yawn.

 

[DemonicLillies]

Danyon smiled for a moment, it''d be nice to have someone else around. Help with the loneliness.

"If you wanna head to sleep, should be pretty quiet out here for the night. If not, I can handle it." He smiled.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

"I'll take a quick nap. Certainly could use the rest after that worm fight." She spoke with a chuckle and stretched as she made her way to the man's cabin, getting herself comfortable on the couch, and drifting off to take a quick snooze.

 

[DemonicLillies]

Danyon wasn't prepared to sleep yet, he was too worried something would sneak up on them while they slept.

He stood up, noticing something moving in the horizon. Something moving fast. Could be a car, but why the hell would one of those be out there. No matter what it was, it was getting close and it was getting there fast.

It didn't take long for the car to arrive, a raggedly dressed man climbed out of the car, walking over to Danyon without saying a word. The man handed him a sealed letter before getting back into the car and leaving. Danyon looked down at the letter, a little fear welling in his stomach.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

Soon enough, Paula had slept for a bit too long in her mind, and as such she decided to step outside to check on Danyon. "What's up? Something happen when I was gone?" She asked, eyes darting to the sealed letter the man held between his fingers.

 

[DemonicLillies]

"It's... it's nothing, empty threats probably." He laughed a little to calm try calm his nerves. It didn't work.

Over the night he had considered throwing the letter into the fire, but something was stopping him from doing it. Some part of him had a strange curiousity as to its contents.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

Paula was intrigued by the possibilities of what was contained within the letter, and why it was so important to be delivered that its courier drove all the way across the salt flats to get it to Danyon.

"What's it say?" She asked, fiddling with a flower sprouting from her collarbone as she stared into the blaze.

 

[DemonicLillies]

He opened the letter rather slowly, sliding the contents out. He looked at for a couple second before sliding it back in.

"It... it's nothing." He took a deep breath, none of this was good. Honestly, he wasn't even aware raiders could write.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

The woman shrugged it off, tossing a chunk of salt into the bluish fire burning in the pit in front of them. "If you say so... Well, what do we do now?" She asked as she leaned back against her elbows, curious as to whether they were to just keep hanging out there or if it would be wiser to move out.

 

[DemonicLillies]

"We should go. I don't know where, but we have to go. Get the truck started I have something to... to attend to." He walked towards the cabin, pulling the door shut after he entered. Doing this... it was going to hurt. Going to hurt bad. But he had to. No choice.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

The woman sensed that Danyon was feeling a great deal of loss with having to abandon his home to ensure his own survival, but she knew that was just how things went. She secured her belongings in her own car before starting Danyon's truck, as per her request. "It's ready when you are!"

 

[DemonicLillies]

The man leaves his cabin, leaving the door open. As he walks towards his truck, the cabin begins to catch fire.

"Let's move." His voice was cold and empty, he shoved his fut on the gas, driving without looking back.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

The woman followed behind him, foot firmly planted on the gas pedal of her own vehicle as they tore through the salt flats. Why the man felt the need to burn his home to the ground, she felt she'd never know. Better not ask.

 

[DemonicLillies]

After a while of driving, he hit the brakes. The place they'd stopped was strange, it seemed to be a lot more muddled than anywhere else nearby. Different parts of different places all interjected each other, nothing was recognisable and nothing matched. Things were constantly shifting, pieces disappearing, new pieces appearing. It was a mess.

"This'll do, can't find us here." Danyon sounded certain, he looked around as he spoke, scouting out the area. "No one would come here, they wouldn't dare. Absolutely terrified of this place."

He dropped his small backpack to the ground, taking out a gun and strapping it to his belt. He rummaged around for a moment, eventually finding a second gun and throwing it to Paula.

"Just in case." His words rang cold, there was a dead stare in his eyes.

 

[PerilousAbyss]

Paula had never been out this way, and the twisted, ever-shifting landscape was unnerving to say the least. There was just something about the juxtaposition of all of these planes of reality that made her skin crawl. "If this place is so dangerous, then why the hell are we here?" She asked, making sure her shotgun was loaded and comfortably resting on her back as she stepped forward towards the distortion.