engraved • will ramos

Mystery Machine

The van is a beast of a vehicle, an old Chevy straight out of the seventies.

As you approach, you see through the draped windows that it's occupied, silhouettes bathed in a hazy purple light. The closer you get, the clearer you can hear voices, laughing, music—as though there's a whole ass party jam-packed into the confines.

While it's not entirely out of place here, in the heart of downtown Columbus, it definitely sticks out a bit. Glancing at Will, you see he's smiling again; excited, eagerly guiding you toward the back doors. 

"We got a secret knock, don't tell anyone, Bambi." Will says in a stage-whisper, and then proceeds to bang on the doors loudly, with absolutely no rhythm or cadence whatsoever. "Open up, bitches!"

You snort, wrapping your arms around yourself tightly as a breeze rolls through the narrow streets. Suddenly, the back doors open, and with it comes a wall of smoke, coalesced with weed and tobacco, hitting you like a freight. 

Squinting a bit, you look past the haze to see that yep, there is indeed a whole crew of people jam-packed into the van. You recognize three of them from earlier: Austin, sitting in the far back with his arm draped over a brunette girls shoulder, and the other two, one of which opened the door. 

"Get your asses in here, you're lettin' out the dank." He says, deadly serious. 

Will laughs, "alright, alright." Turning to you, he extends his hand. "Ladies first." 

You swallow thickly, glancing once more into the van—all those eyes focused on you—before taking Will's hand and letting him guide you up and into the back. You sink into yourself, burying your face behind the fabric of Will's scarf, still wrapped around your neck. 

"Hi." You wave, shyly. 

"Bambi!" Austin exclaims, like you guys go way back, and he didn't just see you a couple hours prior. He's way more lively than he was before, though. Leaning forward, waving you in, "I see you caved. No one can resist the Rat Kings charm."  

"Bambi?" Someone echoes, curiously, "Like the Disney deer?" 

"Rat King?" You ask, confused. 

"Yes, like the Disney Deer," Will speaks up, clambering in beside you, "and yes, Rat King." He looks over at you and grins. "I make rat noises." 

"You also make a terrible fucking door, now get inside already." The one holding the door says, coaxing you to venture further into the van, ducking your head as you go. 

You can feel Wills hand on your back as you go, the sound of the door shutting behind you telling you that nope, you can't hop out the way you came. Which is exactly what you'd like to do, because everyone is looking at you as you flounder for a second, looking for a place to sit. 

You didn't sign up for this, there's so many people squeezed into this thing, pressed together like sardines in a can with wheels. You're feeling a little claustrophobic.

"I think we might be a little over capacity." Austin remarks, "Allie, scoot over, would'ya?" 

A blonde girl whips her head up from her phone, "where's Moke, I'll sit on him." 

Moke, being the one who opened the door originally, shuffles past you and Will, switching places with the girl named Allie before tugging her onto his lap by the wrist. She giggles, throwing her arms around his neck. 

"All yours." Will says, motioning towards the single seat. 

You turn to look at him, the question of where he'll sit perched on the tip of your tongue, before someone calls out loudly, "let's see the ink!"