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Luck seemed to be on their side, and soon a dusty gas station came into view. It seemed to be roughly the center of town, along with a hulking grain refinery. Probably everyone living here worked at one of the two places if not both. Oscar took in the tiny town, mildly disappointed that they didn't also have a library. "Do you think the gas station has any food in it?"
Honor shrugged, pulling into the gas station and parking next to one of the gas meters. "They might have food, do you want to go in and check?" She shut off the car and glanced over at him before grabbing her wallet and pulling ten dollars out of it, "If they do, you can get something as long as you also get me some type of candy and a root beer, no sour candy."
"Okay," Oscar said happily, unbuckling his seat belt. "Who or what do I give the money to?"
"Hopefully there will be a cashier in there, they're the one you'll go to when you're done getting food. Give them the money." She said simply, hopping out of the truck and glancing over at him, "If you need help just come get me, but don't bring any of the food outside if you haven't paid for it first."
Oscar nodded and headed into the store, running through the list of things she'd asked him to look for.
After a few minutes, a dusty, beat-up sedan pulled rather hurriedly into the gas station and parked at one of the empty spots. A big bearded man got out and started filling up his car's gas tank, repeatedly glancing over his shoulder at the road as he did so. Eventually, he looked over at Honor and spoke over the dry wind. "You passin' through? You might wanna hurry up if you're hoping to get out before they show up."
Honor watched the car pull up but she didn't speak until the guy talked, confusion written over her face, "Wait, who's coming?" She had a hunch that it was their buddies over at the Goldenrod agency but she was very curious as to why they were coming here. Did they catch onto Oscar already?
"Goldenrod," the man replied, confirming her fears. "We've been asking 'n asking for days, but they're only moving their butts now. They're gonna lock down this whole place to flush out the monster hidin' here. It ain't hurt anybody yet, but it caused a power surge when it got here, and then the next day it tried to eat everything in the store. But now the authorities are gonna take care of it." The man straightened with angry triumph. "Nothing's getting in or out until they're done."
She became much more serious after he relayed the information, curing under her breath and shaking her head, "Dammit, do you know when they're showing up? I don't want to get stuck here before I even get out onto the road." Honor was more worried for Oscar but she hid that under a ruse of acting like she was trying to get somewhere, especially when it was the goldenrod agency coming and looking for a being like him.
"I just called them," the man replied breathlessly. "They said they were less than five minutes out."
Honor shook her head, her eyes widening in actual worry and slight fear at the thought of being stuck in this town with a feral Other. One that she didn't know at least. "Well, that doesn't leave me much time to get snacks does it?" She asked, a small fake laugh coming from her as she finished filling up the truck with gas and glanced at the man again.
"Yeah, you better hurry." The man hustled back into his car and started the engine. "I'm gonna go meet 'em at the edge of town!"
She nodded, locking her car quickly before heading to the store to pay for the gas. Honor didn't know where Oscar had disappeared to or what he was doing as she opened the door to the store and looked around for wherever the cashier was to pay.
The cashier, who had a large bandage patch on the side of his face and his arm in a sling, was busy squinting suspiciously at Oscar, who had gathered everything Honor asked for and was now crouched at the end of an aisle, marveling at a display of toy farm equipment. When the door chimed, both of them looked up and smiled with varying levels of sincerity.
"Good afternoon, ma'am," the cashier called mechanically, just as Oscar said, "Honor, look at these little trucks. Can I get one?"
"No sorry Oscar," She said, keeping her voice calm as she motioned for him to join her at the counter so she could pay. "Gas at ten and whatever he's getting." Honor pulled out her wallet and smiled at the cashier, nodding to his arm, "I know it's slightly rude to ask, but what happened?"
The cashier's face darkened further. "It was one of those Others," he said, almost spitting out the word. "Came in here and started eating everything in sight. Security tried to drive it off, but it freaked and let out some kinda blast wave. Goldenrod's on its way now….I hope they atomize the thing. Here's your change."
Oscar had still been frowning that Honor had refused his request, but when the cashier mentioned Goldenrod he stiffened. "They're coming here?"
"Yup, and they're putting this whole area in lockdown until they're done. Have a nice day."
"Thank you, you too." Was all that Honor said, taking her change and stuffing it into her pocket before gently taking Oscar's arm and pulling him with her as they walked out of the store and back to the truck. "We have to get going, right now. I just talked to a guy out here and we have less than five minutes to get out of town before they lock us in here." She said, her words rushed. Being around Oscar, she didn't mind, but the thought of any other one of his kind being in the same town as them gave her chills. They were scary beings, ones she didn't want to mess with.
Oscar seemed just as anxious as Honor, fumbling to buckle his seatbelt. "I can feel them now. They're really close…..will they know I'm here too?"
"I'm not sure…probably." She said, being completely truthful even if it was a worrying thought. Not only could Oscar get taken away if they found him here, but Honor would also be punished severely for helping him. She quickly buckled as well and let out a shaky breath as she started the truck. It rumbled to life moments later and she tried to keep calm as she pulled away from the gas station and checked the main road to see if they were going to be able to get out of town before Goldenrod came.
In one direction–the way they'd come from–the road was already clearly blocked by dark blue vans and police cruisers. In the other direction, the road took a turn, but so far as they could see, the way looked clear. Oscar gripped the edges of his seat, digging his fingers in. The bandages on his forehead were starting to look a little battered and bloody again, as if the stitches on his forehead were breaking. "We really have to go."
(Sorry it's short)
Honor nodded, pulling onto the main road and not bothering to hide her nervousness. "I know." She said, her voice clipped and stressed as she drove. They had to get out of this town before everything was shut down.
(It's no worries, mine's gonna be short too XD)
They drove down the empty street and were just rounding the bend when Oscar jerked back in his seat. "Stop! Stop the car!"
As quickly as she could, she checked to make sure there was no one behind her before slamming on the brakes and looking over at him with a worried expression. "What's wrong Oscar? We have to get out of here before they close off this road and we're stuck here."
"It's too late. Look!" Oscar pointed at the edge of town, which stood so tantalizingly close. In the middle of the road, a van sat blocking both lanes, and several agents were busy getting equipment out of the back. How they had managed to get there so quickly was anyone's guess, but there would certainly be no sneaking around them. Luckily, they at least hadn't noticed Honor and Oscar yet, busy as they were setting up some strange metal tripods with lights at the tops on either side of the road.
Honor cursed loudly, smacking her hand on the steering wheel and deciding the best thing to do now was pull into the parking lot of the building in front of them. Once again she got the truck rolling, pulling into the parking lot and trying to think of what to do.
Oscar fidgeted worriedly, glancing up and down the road and tugging at the bandages on his head. "I don't like those light things they have. I can feel them, somehow…. there's some on either side of us, and in front and behind us too. They're making me feel sick."
"They're all around us?" She asked, worried but trying to hide it, "Are they giving you a headache? Or what?" Honor shut off the truck and turned to face him in her seat, studying his bandages as he tugged at them. Gently she reached out and grabbed his hand, trying to keep him from yanking the bandages off.
He stilled somewhat, staring off at nothing. His eyes were looking very dark at the moment. "I just feel kind of…..dizzy, like I can't breathe. I feel tired, too, but it's like a bad kind of tired. I want to hide somewhere, away from those lights."
"You could sit in the bed of the truck," She offered gently, "The light wouldn't be as direct then, and you could cover your eyes with a blanket is it got worse." Honor didn't know what to do if she was being honest with herself. Dealing with an Other was new territory, but one that didn't feel good and who's eyes were turning the frightening dark color again was way out of her knowledge range.
Oscar nodded, then pointed generally northeast. "Could we move the truck somewhere more in….that direction first, where Goldenrod can't see us? I think it's better over that way. And then could we sit together for a bit? I don't want to be alone…."
Honor nodded, bucking back up and starting the truck again, "Yeah we can go that way, tell me when it's far enough. And yes we can sit together, I don't mind that." She started driving, watching for any sign of people from the goldenrod agency or the lights that were bothering Oscar.