Fire and Smoke - Wanda Maximoff x Reader

Chapter 32

Since my talk with Darcy, I've sat in near silence, only occasionally humming along to some song on the radio which I keep on to distract myself from spiraling into thoughts I know won't do anything to ease the unease I'm feeling. The drive feels like it'll never end with the landscapes around me only subtly changing. I try to stop as seldom as I can as the gnawing feeling of anxiety pushes me forward, not allowing me to rest. The roads are small and narrow as I finally enter Transia as the sun just starts setting and my eyes are becoming unbearably dry from exhaustion.

The forests I drive by have turned old, dark, and unfriendly, making me shiver despite the warm air in the car. I decide to make a quick stop at a small service station, deciding that I won't do anyone any good if I show up famished and my bladder close to bursting. Somehow, I don't think I'd make a very good impression would I to burst in to stop whatever the dark-haired woman and Maximoff are planning just to pee myself.

Chuckling, I shut off the engine to the car and open the door, feeling a gust of cool air instantly dissipating whatever warmth I'd found inside the car. My legs protest when I stumble out of the car and I feel the familiar, but not as an often-hitting twinge of pain from my ribs. The service station seems to not be very frequently visited as the cashier -an old man looks up in surprise when he hears me enter. I flash him nothing more than a quick, polite smile and enter further into the small building. After having found the bathrooms I pick out a packet of chips and a coke zero. Not the healthiest, but I distrust anything else I see in the shop.

The man scans my items and I go to pay him, but he stops me before I can hand him my card. I look up, confused.

"Not from here?" He asks me with a cracked voice in Hungarian and his thick, unruly eyebrows rise as to indicate his curiosity.

I shake my head, not trusting whatever remnants of Hungarian I do remember to be good enough would he start an actual conversation. I try handing him my card again, which he refuses, again.

"Where?" He asks me. I surveil him for a moment, trying to gauge why he is asking me these questions -if there's an ulterior motive outside of being friendly.

"Where going?" I ask back in Hungarian, and he nods. "Uh, mountain."

"Wundagore?" He replies and his tone makes a shiver run down my back. "Bad things happen there."

"I know. I try stop." I say, not really knowing why I am explaining myself to him.

"Hmm." Is all he says before reaching over to his left to grab something which I realize is a map of Transia as he presents it to me.

"Thank you?" I give him a puzzled look to which he shakes his head knowingly, with a small smile on his lips.

"Young people."

I don't know what to say to that, so instead, I try giving him my card again. He refuses, again and I sigh impatiently.

"Not work here." He says, shaking his head again.

"I don't have money." I pat my pockets as if to show him they're empty. He watches my movements and then lets out a croaky laugh.

"Ok. You go." He pushes the chips and coke towards me which I struggle with slightly, already holding the map and with my left arm still in the sling.

"Thank you." This time, I give him a grateful smile, and my stomach grumbles.

He merely shakes his head at me and waves me off. I nod once more before stepping out into the cooling air. The sun is still setting, its rays having turned a deep orange while I've been inside. I plop down into the driver's seat, not wasting any time before tearing open the bag of crisps using my hand and my teeth. Dignified is not what I am going for, here. After having shoved a few mouthfuls of chips into me, downing that with a few swigs of the coke, I set off again, looking down at my phone to make sure I am still going the right way.