Daylight\\A.I. & C.H.

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Ashton and Calum

"Damnit Calum," Ashton growls, opening the trunk of his red Mustang, "This is why I didn't want you to drive." Calum rolls his eyes while mouthing Ashton's words to him as Ashton grabs out the crossbar, scissor jack and handle wrench. "I saw that."

Calum rolls his eyes again and helps; removing the spare tire while Ashton gets down in the rocky dirt to place the jack under the frame near the front passenger tire and lift the vehicle to accommodate the change. He huffs with frustration as he pulls out his phone to flash the light for better view in the darkness. Calum squats down, taking Ashton's phone to assist before looking around, the stillness out in the cold night eerie. The wind blows the trees in the distance, the sway sending crunchy brown leaves to crackle against the ground before they float away.

Ashton positions the jack and crawls out to begin lifting the car, grunting as he pushes hard on the metal handle wrench with his long thick brawny arms to twist the jack higher and bare the weight of the mustang. Calum continues to shine the light for Ashton, watching the tire lift more and more off the ground with each twist from Ashton while his grunting becomes louder and he puffs with exertion. He gets the tire three inches off the ground and unhooks the wrench, groaning as he pushes himself to his feet and grabs the crossbar.

Calum shines the light onto the tire for Ashton to attach the bar to a lug nut. He attaches the bar at an angle and steps away, resting his foot on the bar before he puts his weight on it, this 6 foot muscular body enough to loosen the nut easily so he can spin the bar until the nut comes disconnected. He does this with the remaining four before standing upright and leaning back, stretching his cramped muscles.

"Still no service," Calum says, tapping his phone.

"Well we haven't moved from this one spot, so yeah," Ashton sasses as he rolls his shoulders, annoyed to be doing all this work when it was Calum who wasn't paying attention and ran over a fucking two by four with nails sticking out after taking them in the wrong direction for 40 miles.

Calum stays silent, wanting to tell Ashton to piss off, but he knows this is his fault, as he rolls the tire to him and lifts the light again, angling so Ashton can get the bolts and holes lined up on the spare. Something crunches in the field past the car, stealing Calum's gaze as he searches for the reason. His eyes scan the field, moving slowly over the terrain as he tries to detect any movement save the light tussling of the weeds. He feels the hairs raise on his neck, feeling like something is watching him, but he can't make out anything to solidify his senses.

"Dude," Ashton gripes, "I can't see shit."

"Oh," Calum looks down at Ashton, adjusting the phone, "Sorry, Mate."

Ashton withholds his smart ass remark, as Calum's gaze drifts across the black tarmac, and gets the tire on before twisting on the nuts with his long slender fingers while releasing a deep sigh. He contemplates the next series of events of tightening the lug nuts, then lowering the car back down, then replacing the items in the trunk, punching Calum in the shoulder, and trying to find their way back. He reaches for the last nut from the dirt when Calum jumps into the car, almost dropping Ashton's phone.

"Shit, I just saw something move," Calum says, the color beginning to drain from his olive tone skin.

Ashton turns around and scans the abandoned shacks near the outcroppings, seeing only the movements of trees and tall weeds, "Man, its just the wind."

"No, bro, I saw something!" Calum says adamant, looking out where he knows he saw a shadow.

"Stop fucking with me and just hold the damn light still," Ashton grumbles, shaking his head as he screws on the last nut before grabbing the crossbar and tightening all five nuts.

Calum's gaze stays out in the darkness, his hairs standing again as his skin crawls, making his heart thump as he tries to take a deep breath, feeling silly. Ashton lowers to his knees and hooks the handle wrench on the screw before quickly spinning and returning the mustang to all fours, the rocks in the dirt making a crunch sound from the tires crushing weight. He stands to his feet with the tools and Calum follows him to the trunk, his eyes flicking to the field before he turns and stares across the street.

"Dawg, you're freaking me out. Stop," Ashton furrows his brows at Calum, "Go wait in the car."

"Are you sure?" Calum asks, looking around full circle, making sure its safe to leave his friend.

"Go," Ashton waves him annoyed.

He shakes his head after Calum returns his phone and looks out at the shacks paranoid before opening the car door. Calum slides in slowly while Ashton watches, wondering what the hell has got into him. The door to the car shuts as Ashton returns the tools to their spots and he replaces the trunk floor. He feels relief once he gets the busted tire in and raises his hand to slam the trunk shut when the hairs on his neck rise, sending a shiver down his spine.

Ashton freezes, suddenly aware of the complete silence and only his breathing, feeling extremely cold in his leather jacket after changing a tire. His eyes turn to the sides before he looks behind him, finding nothing. He looks out at the darkness, searching to confirm there really is nothing and winds up successful. Only the wind rustling the dying trees and flowing through the scraggly weeds. He shakes his head, trying to rid the feeling deep in his gut as he closes the trunk before his heart beats in his ears, confirming his visceral reaction to danger.

Calum is looking out every window when Ashton enters into the car, locking the doors immediately and quickly starting the engine, ready to get the hell out of there. He shifts into first and slowly inches the spare tire up to the asphalt, making sure it feels firm. Once he feels confident in his change job he slams his foot on the accelerator, spinning out in the gravel before shooting down the road and leaving the creepy vibes behind.

"You felt it too didn't you?" Calum asks once he doesn't see the abandoned buildings in the side mirror.

"What?" Ashton twists up his face.

"Like you were being watched," Calum looks at him.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ashton shakes his head, playing cool, but his hair is still on end with a scratching feeling running down his spine.

"Don't act brave," Calum grimaces at him, "I can tell you were spooked, too."

"No I wasn't," Ashton purses his lips, hoping he will just drop it, finally feeling warm again.

"Yes, you were!" Calum pushes, "Then why did you get us the fuck outta there like that?"

"Because you got us extremely lost and now we need to find cell service so I can get our asses to that party," Ashton snaps, his chest still feeling tight and wanting to forget the sinister feeling.

"Fine," Calum huffs, checking his phone, "Whatever."

"Whatever," Ashton mocks him before he checks his phone quickly, clipping it to the dash so he can see the navigator once they regain service. His bars return and he releases a breath, realizing he was holding in his fear, before he begins recalculating them to their route.

"FUCK WATCH OUT!" Calum yells.

Ashton slams on the breaks before his eyes land on the two figures in the road, the mustang screeching to a halt only feet before. The tire smoke travels around the car, clouding the windows before it dissipates past the shapes in front of them. Calum and Ashton pant with adrenaline and alarm as the forms come into view, two young women with wide eyes and gaping mouths, their hands on their chests.