Kaitlyn opened her eyes, she was in a dark room, a knife clutched in her hand. The room was cold as ice, moonlight shone through a small window. Next to her stood Hazel, Kaitlyn followed his gaze to the doorway, a large man stood there, backlit by the hall lights behind him.
"Ahh, so you two managed to make it this far, a commendable effort!"
"Who the heck are you?" Hazel asked the man, Kaitlyn fell into a fighting stance but Hazel put himself in front of her.
"Your partner isn't very… bright, is he?" The question was obviously directed at Kaitlyn.
"He's the smartest person I know, Ivanovich."
"Wait… this is the person we're looking for?!" Hazel exclaimed, he moved himself completely in front of Kaitlyn, even though she tried to resist.
Ivanovich, one of the most disgusting individuals on this planet. He's done things so terrible the worst of the worst fear him. And I'm standing right in front of him.
"So recounts of my misdoings have even reached the ears of the infamous Nightshade." Ivanovich observed.
"Don't you ever call me that again!" Kaitlyn snarled.
"Yeah well, uhh, they also reached the ears of me! The infamous… crap. Gimme a minute to think of a name," Hazel quickly submersed himself in thought, "the infamous… uh… the infamous… the infamous… yeah I got nothing!" He tried to sound menacing, and even during the tense situation Kaitlyn could barely restrain a laugh.
"The infamous crap, how apt! That must be what you have for brains." Ivanovich said with a chuckle. "I don't know where you found this one, Nightshade, but he's a riot I tell you!"
"I told you not to call me that!"
"I'm a bad guy, Nightshade, you think I care about what I can and can't do?" Kaitlyn remained silent, she had no response.
"Now, we'd better get down to business my friends. You see, you've broken onto my property in the middle of the night and disrupted my sleep! Have you no manners? I wonder which of you will be the most enjoyable to play with, dung for brains over here or the deadly Nightshade." The mask covering the elderly face obscured his voice, making it deep and gravelly.
"You are not going to lay a single finger on her!" Hazel yelled.
"You first then."
"Wha—?" Hazel didn't even have time to react. A spray of blood hit Kaitlyn in the face. She looked down at the sword an inch from her neck, it was covered in blood and innards.
Blood splashed all over the floor with a sickening splat! Hazel coughed. Kaitlyn couldn't move, she couldn't do anything. She couldn't process it. Hazel got stabbed. Hazel got stabbed. Hazel got stabbed. HAZEL GOT STABBED! What do I do? What do I do? What do I do?
The sword slid out of Hazel's body and he fell to the ground, bleeding out everywhere. Kaitlyn could see it in his eyes, he was barely hanging on.
Kaitlyn knelt beside his body in utter denial.
"Dude, get up. Hazel? C'mon buddy, it's just a cut. Why aren't you moving?" She brought his head into her lap, "Hazel buddy c'mon! You're good!"
"Nah," was a sickening gurgle, as Hazel coughed up more blood, "I'm not." He was gone, over, dead, wiped from existence.
"No! No! Not—,"
Kaitlyn awoke with a start, she was covered in sweat.
"Hazel?! Hazel are you there?!" She looked to her right… and there he was snoring loudly, somehow he'd flipped himself upside down.
"Aghh, hey… Kalyn… ib bit monig et?" He asked sleepily. Kaitlyn sighed, he was fine, she was fine, nobody was dead.
"Yes, you fool, it's morning." She said with a somber smile, trying not to think about the terrible dream. Hazel brought himself into a sitting position, followed by the seat. He rubbed his eyes and licked his lips, taking a minute to fully wake up.
"I wanna shower. And I want food, my tummy really hurts."
"Alright you little baby, let's find somewhere we can stay. There's some gum in the center console if you need it." The whole car reeked of body odor and sweat, Kaitlyn almost started laughing at Hazel's messy bed head. I guess I'm not one to talk, mine looks just as bad.
"Day one! Day one of our partnership!" Hazel stuck out his fist for a bump, an immature grin painted on his face.
"You're such a child." Kaitlyn bumped his fist anyway.
"Yeah, well, children don't have to pay taxes or go to work."
"Child labor exists you know."
"Fair point. Quick, c'mon, let's go! To the nearest food place! Or shower place! Or whatever place!"
"You do realize the drive is a couple of hours right?"
"Are you screwing with me again?"
"No, but… it's not like there's anyone on this road, so we can go as fast as we want!"
Kaitlyn stomped on the gas and Hazel was slammed back into his seat.
"At least let me buckle first."
* * *
Hazel let out a gasp, the cityscape was stunning. Large, thick, and beautifully, architecturally structured buildings reached for the sky. A thin haze filled the air, a mix of sun and dust. The road layouts varied in size and direction, some circular, others tightly packed grids. The city was still expanding rapidly, evidenced by the frequent construction sites littered throughout the smaller surrounding cities. Countless people were traversing the streets, living their lives. Lives full of concepts foreign to Hazel.
"How does stuff even work around here?"
"I haven't fully figured that out myself." Kaitlyn answered, obviously amused at his childlike curiosity.
I've never been anywhere besides the states, and I've only lived in two states at that! Where do we stay? Eat? Drink? It almost feels like I'm in an alien world, a different dimension entirely!
"We're gonna need some different clothes, I mean, what would they think of a short blonde with sickles, a gun, and a tight, black bodysuit? And then there's me, a guy with pink skin, torn pajamas covered in blood, and the weirdest hair they've probably ever seen." Hazel'a hair was, in fact, utterly strange; strands stuck up in every direction, I look like I'm high! Or homeless! Possibly both….
"I'll just stuff my weapons under the seat!" Kaitlyn said, a victorious grin plastered across her face. She seemed proud of her brilliant solution to the problem.
"Thats like, the first place car thieves look. Also, we're in a Mercedes-Benz, an expensive car, which naturally makes us a bigger target!"
"Oh… er…. what if I put them in the back! I've got a compartment back there!"
"And you didn't think of that first?"
"No…" Kaitlyn muttered, an embarassed flush appearing on her cheeks.
"Er… is it legal to pull over here?"
"I dunno! I've only been here a week!"
"You're telling me you did no research on local laws before arriving?!"
"I thought I'd figure it out! Y'know? Learn by experience and all that?"
Hazel let out a sigh, is it possible for someone to lack this much common sense?!
"There!" Hazel eyed a large building with something resembling a parking lot out in front.
"Where?!" Kaitlyn looked around frantically.
"The big building with the parking lot in front!" Hazel pointed this time to make sure she got the memo.
Kaitlyn jerked the wheel left, swiftly cutting through the traffic. Hazel admired the sheer size of the building, sprawling and a stretch taller than the surrounding structures. It had an extravagant and luxurious atmosphere surrounding it, is that… a mall?
"I think you just broke like, three laws."
"Probably." Kaitlyn replied, pulling a phone from her pocket. "Looks like we're at a…" she took a moment to affirm their location, "mall!Seems like they've got lots of stuff here!"
"Then let's go shopping!"