Ptolemaea | Henry Creel

Grocery Shopping

GUYS HAHAHAOkay so this chapter is just about Sixteen's slightly chaotic journey to Hawkins, so the next chapter will actually take place in hawkins
This one is pretty short, but I just wanted to establish the conflict we'll be seeing these next few chapters on top of all the stuff going on in hawkins.

I hope you enjoy!! Honestly i think this chapter is pretty fun, and I wanted to lighten the tone a little bit after the last few chapters.

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I had always been of the opinion that disappearing was an art form. It took more than just a change of clothes or dying your hair red. One had to be deliberate in their every action. Where you slept, where you showered, where you ate, where you threw away your trash-- nothing could be written off as unimportant. Especially when an entire government task force was riding your ass, and you were stuck driving their obnoxiously large, shitty car.

I never much liked the southwest, and that sentiment was only reinforced after seven hours on the road. Highways stretched endlessly beside the occasional small, run-down town. I would watch them through never-ending powerlines that disappeared into evergreened forests, searching for something other than a incessant, suburban reminder of American living. Of course, I never found it.

I stopped paying attention after passing maybe a dozen churches, spring sunlight spilling through their stained glass windows. Picketed fences and farmhouses showed up every once in a while, but what I truly wanted was a gas station.

I'd passed a few already, only to chicken out before I actually entered the store. Now, if I knew one thing, it was that I didn't have any money. I was of the firm belief that robbery was bad, but of course, there had to be a grey area. It's not like I actually intended to hurt anyone, I just needed some cash and some food. Maybe a pack of cigarettes if I felt like indulging myself.

My eyes were glued to every sign I passed, desperately hoping for some indication that I was anywhere near another gas station. Instead, I was met with yet another 'Jesus Loves You' billboard, 'REPENT' on its backside.

I groaned and considered just crashing the car and saving myself some trouble.

But then-- just when I was convinced I would either starve or dehydrate myself to death-- there it was. A pain blue building with advertisements taped on every free surface. My saving grace. I switched lanes and pressed down on the gas a little harder than what was necessary.

It would be a simple operation. Walk in, wave my gun around, and make some veiled threats. Hopefully, the store owner had some sort of insurance or loss prevention for that sort of thing. And, considering I was in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, and there were no other cars in sight, I hoped he had a car I could borrow for the time being.

The drive from Nevada to Hawkins, Louisiana was about 29 hours, according to the sweet woman from the last rest stop I had failed to rob. Not knowing how much danger Eleven's friends were in, or exactly how time sensitive this whole thing was, I decided I would suck it up and drive the entire way in one sitting. 29 hours without sleeping was child's play at that point, so I wasn't too worried.

I pulled into the gas station parking lot and found it completely abandoned aside from two cars. With that, I took the pistol from the glove compartment and stuffed it in my pocket. I tried to fix my hair in the rear-view mirror, but there was no helping it.

Fuck, I needed a shower.

I stepped out of the car, wearing sweatpants from Project Nina and an oversized t-shirt with the word 'Pepsi' in bold lettering, which I had managed to steal from the first gas station I visited. I figured it would be best to at least change my clothes and make myself less recognizable.