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It seemed that Goldenrod was limiting its agents and equipment to the outskirts of town—for now, at least. two blocks deep, they reached a gravelly vacant lot with a tall wooden fence around it and nothing inside but a few broken-down cars. Oscar quickly pointed the place out. "There. Let's hide there for a minute."
(Gotta work all day, probs won't be back until tomorrow)
(That's alright, have fun!)
She looked towards where he pointed, not terribly fond of the place as she first looked at it. "Ok, if you say so," She said, pulling in and parking inside the lot. "Well, here we are." She turned off the truck and looked over at him, getting out of the truck to open up the back. She popped down the gate to the truck bed and looked to Oscar, "You can get in, there's blankets in there, I'm going to lock the truck quick."
Oscar nodded and did as she instructed, glancing around furtively. There didn't seem to be anyone around—perhaps the town's residents were hunkering down in their homes until the danger had passed. By now the sun was starting to set, filling the vacant lot with pinkish light and deep blue shadows. It began to slowly cool off, and all was quiet except for the muffled rustle of wings from the pigeons circling overhead.
Finding some blankets, Oscar sat with his back to the cab and stared out at the world miserably. "What are we going to do? What if they find us before they find the one they're hunting for?" His expression turned to a glare. "And if there really is one like me nearby, why can't I tell? I thought my kind would feel….different from normal humans somehow."
Honor locked the cab of the truck, stuffing her keys into her pocket before walking back around to the back and joining him laying against the truck. She pulled one of the blankets from Oscar's grip, smiling gently at him as she wrapped it around herself. "Maybe they're not nearby? Maybe that's why you can't feel them." She suggested, pulling her knees up to her chest and resting her head on her knees.
"Maybe…." Oscar focused all his attention on the puzzle for a moment, mostly to distract himself from the danger all around them. "I can almost feel them, somewhere around here….but I can't pinpoint it. It's like they're behind an invisible wall or something." He curled up is hands tensely. "Do you think if we could find them, we could somehow get them caught by Goldenrod and escape while they're not looking?"
"Maybe…" She thought over his suggestion for a minute and shrugged, "We would have to play it right, make a big enough scene with them that they brought all the forces in to deal with them while we bolted." Honor sighed and laid her head back against the truck, watching the sun start to set slowly.
"I bet we could do it," Oscar insisted, clinging to the idea for lack of a better one. "Maybe if we found it and hurt it so it couldn't escape, then made lots of noise then ran before anyone saw us–"
From only a few feet away, the empty air within one of the old cars suddenly spoke in a faint, tired man's voice. "I wouldn't try it if I were you."
(Oops I gotta go, seeya later)
(Ok! See ya!)
"That sounds like it could work." Honor seemed to jump three feet in the air at the voice, her head smacking the topper of the bed of the truck and she was instantly shaken. "Holy crap..I think I almost just had a heart attack," She muttered, looking around for the source of the voice, "Who are you? More importantly, where are you?"
(For pete's sake I know this is supposed to be a fun little prank but I did not wake up in the mood for this…. Thesaurus Parasite and I kinda hope it goes away soon)
(Okay I breathed deeply and got used to it, little Dusty's less grumpled now XD)
"I'm right here," the voice said tentatively, still emanating from the front seat of the unused vehicle. "But I'm not going to tell you who I am until you promise not to hurt me and let Goldenrod catch me. That wouldn't be very kind….and like I already said, it wouldn't work. If I could just run while they were distracted, I would have already. Who are you guys?"
(Same lol XD I woke up this morning to the word change and I wondered if it was just me..but apparently everyone is seeing it)
Honor looked over to Oscar, silently asking him if they would promise that to the disembodied voice. "I'm not going to tell you that until we know that you're not going to sell us out or kill us," She said, pushing her blanket off her lap and in a stupid, spur of the moment decision, she climbed out of the back of the truck. Honor didn't move beyond standing upright next to the tailgate, her eyes scanning the car she was sure the voice came from.
(yeah it's wild, too bad it didn't actually happen on the 1st lol)
"Honor, be careful," Oscar hissed, his eyes wide. For his part, he was as bristly and scared as a startled porcupine.
"I'm not going to do anything to you, I promise," the voice said softly–almost sadly. "It's okay….we're in this together right now. So your name's Honor? That's a nice name…..I'm called Ernie."
"Ernie.." She repeated the name softly, then nodded, "Nice to meet you, I'm Honor as you know, and my friend Oscar is the one in the truck." Honor's hand was fisted tightly in her shirt as she took another hesitant step forward, "Could you come out from there? I promise I won't hurt you."
There was a pause, and then the car door opened. A moment later, there was a gangly, scruffy-looking man in his late forties standing in front of them. He was wearing mismatched, worn clothes that were all either too big or too small, and frankly looked like he usually lived in a dumpster. His skin was very tanned and weathered, and his unkempt hair was bleached white as straw. His eyes were big, sad, and very blue, and the look he gave Honor was a bit like that of a lonely kid at a playground. Nothing about him looked unnatural, exactly….but something in his face and the energy he gave off made it clear that he was definitely not human.
He smiled cautiously. "Hello. I'm sorry, but….do you have anything to eat?"
"Hi," She replied, somehow finding herself giving him a tiny smile before nodding, "Yeah, we have food. Anything, in particular, you'd like?" Honor turned back to the truck, motioning for Oscar to come on out. "Sorry for being blunt, but are you the being that they're looking for?" She asked, taking a moment to climb back into the back of the truck and bringing a small cooler back out with her. It was very clear to her that she was the least powerful one here, but she didn't feel terribly out of place, if anything, she felt calm. Ernie was like Oscar and they both didn't seem to want to hurt her.
"I'll take whatever you can spare," Ernie politely responded to her first question. "And yes, I am the one they're after. I'm sorry you two got caught up in this—I didn't expect another Erased One to be in the area."
He started to walk forward, but instantly Oscar slammed both hands against the side of the truck and actually snarled at Ernie, his eyes completely black and his mouth full of teeth. There was blood running freely down his face now, and he looked like a demonic guard dog as he dared Ernie to come closer.
Ernie stopped, but didn't look scared at all. "Um. Could you tell your Level Three friend not to be so rude? I know he's afraid of me, but I'm truly no danger to either of you."
(for frick's sake g.remlins, I'm trying to be serious here)
(Lol a demonic guard woody wolfscendent mad me laugh XD)
Her eyes widened as she watched Oscar snarl at Ernie, pulling her legs up as she sat on the tailgate. "Oscar…what's going on? He's not going to hurt us," She said gently, opening the cooler and rummaging through for foods they could spare getting rid of. "I could make you a sandwich…would that work?" Honor was more on guard now, keeping a safe distance away from both of them. "What level are you?"
(heh yeah me too honestly XD and now breaddystack loolll)
"Goldenrod identifies my kind as Level Four," Ernie explained, still staying a safe distance from Oscar. "I outrank your friend, so his instincts probably made him react aggressively. But don't worry, most Fours are non-violent unless we're cornered. And a sandwich sounds good, thank-you."
Oscar didn't look away from Ernie throughout this, just backed away with another low growl. "Honor, I don't like him. I don't want him anywhere near you. He's too….bright, it hurts my eyes."
"Level four…." She tried to remember what she had been taught about that level as she started to assemble three sandwiches. The knowledge popped into her head in an instant and she looked up at Oscar, "I know why he hurts your eyes…level fours control energy or light..don't they?" Her question was directed at Ernie and she held the sandwich out to him at the same time she asked, holding another out to Oscar. Maybe it would keep them from fighting if they were both eating.
"Some do," Ernie said, accepting the sandwich and taking a huge bite in one fluid motion. "I connect with light specifically, but Fours can manifest any kind of energy–kinetic, thermal, electric, and so on. Threes, they tend to lean more towards flesh and blood and bone, and they're the natural enemies of Fours. I think some of us eat Threes, actually." He smiled, his sandwich already gone. "But don't worry, I like human food just fine."
Oscar devoured his own food angrily, still quite wary of Ernie. "You see, Honor? It's his fault we're in this mess, and I think we should get him caught so we can escape."
Ernie's smile faded. "Please don't do that. I'll tell you how we can all escape, together, but I would need your help for the plan to work."
Honor couldn't help but shoot Ernie a dirty look when he said his level ate threes, "You're not going to eat him, alright? That is one of my rules. No one eats anyone else, natural enemies or no." She noted how quickly they both scarfed down their sandwiches and made two more, handing them out to each of them. "Oscar, lets at least hear out his plan, then I'll decide who's idea to go with." Their arguing was bothering her, but she could put up with it.
Ernie accepted the second sandwich and took a smallish bite, clearly trying to pace himself this time. "Goldenrod has been after me for a months and almost caught me several times, so I know how they operate. Those floodlights they set up are actually broadcasting at a frequency that keeps Erased Ones from Manifesting—or using their powers at all, really. Neither I nor Oscar have a chance of slipping out quietly, because if we get too close to the edge of town, they'll detect us with the sensors they use. We show up like suns on their machines because we're so powerful. The only way to get out of here is if a human gets close enough to break or turn off at least one of the lights. Then we have to Manifest and get out of here as fast as we can, before they restore power and sap our strength again. Does that make sense so far?"
Honor nodded, knowing immediately what her role in the escape would be if Oscar agreed that they could help Ernie. "So I would be the one to take out the lights, and you two would make a mad dash for it? What exactly does Manifesting entail? For both of you?" She was already willing to help both of them, but in return, she wanted the questions she had answered.
Ernie shuffled his feet and tugged at his dusty jacket in a way that made him look very human. "It's hard to explain, since I don't really know how it works myself. But basically a Manifestation is when an Erased One shows their true form temporarily in order to access their full powers. Usually it's dangerous for a human to be too close when we Manifest, but I think there are things we can do to shield you from the effects." He gave Oscar a long look. "Level Threes Manifest when their emotions are too strong or uncomfortable for them to handle, or when they're about to attack. I see your friend is very close to Manifesting right now just because of how nervous he is, but he can't because of Goldenrod's technology. When those lights go down, he might forget who's an enemy and who's a friend for a moment, so be careful."
Oscar hissed. "I won't forget. Leave me alone."
Ernie shrugged. "We'll wait for you just out of range of their sensors, Honor. You only have to damage one light to break the circle. When you do, run back to us and I'll get us all out of here as fast as I can. Okay?"
"When are we going to do this?" She asked hesitantly, looking over at Oscar. Honor didn't like the tension between Ernie and Oscar, she disliked it immensely, but she wanted to help both of them get away, and this seemed like the best way to do it. "And more importantly..how can we trust you? We can't know for sure that you're not working with them..maybe you're leading us into a trap."
Ernie looked down. "I don't know how to prove myself to you….I don't think there's anything I could do to win over your friend. But if I was working for Goldenrod, why would I be spinning such a complicated lie? Why not just overpower you right away?" He shrugged awkwardly. "That's all I've got, sorry. If you want to do this plan, we'll wait until it's fully dark to make our move. Most of my powers are gone right now, but I think I can still keep us hidden until then."
Honor nodded, "I'll help you." She really had no choice but to trust Ernie and hope that he was telling the truth. "First though, Oscar, can I talk to you for a minute?" Before she hopped off the back of the tailgate though, she climbed back into the bed of the truck and put the cooler away. She came back out carrying a bag of chips, and even though it had already been opened and wasn't full, she held it out to him in case he was still hungry.
(sorry it's short, I gotta go to bed)
Oscar hesitated, then accepted the chips as if they were a peace offering and followed her. "Okay. What is it?"
(That's alright, goodnight!)
Honor walked away from the truck, walking over to an empty area of the vacant lot before she started talking. "Do you trust Ernie? I know you don't like him at all so it's up to you. You have to decide if you trust him enough to try to escape town with his help..if you don't want to then I'll just try to think of some other way to get out."