Tuesday Afternoon

Chapter 6

Desperate People Do Desperate Things

"Are you sure you want out here? It's another five hundred yars to town-"

"Thanks for the ride. It's ok," Vash stated flatly.

"You really aren't going to listen, are ya? Well, to each his own..."

You eyed Vash from the other side of the car. He had gone surprisingly quiet for most of the ride to town. You felt you had a right to be at least somewhat worried.

Quickly giving the man a 10, you thanked him for the ride and apologized if Vash had come off rude. You gave a polite wave goodbye after telling him to drive carefully in the storm, before turning to your companion.

Your eyes widened at the large stretch of graves. Is this why he had been so quiet? Is this why he wanted to get dropped off here and not closer to town? Probably. Could it also have something to do with you having the cube that in part destroyed an entire city? Also likely.

The two of you began to walk in silence, save for the music coming from your shared earbuds, and sunglasses catching more sand than sunlight amid the storm. Even if you would have wanted to say anything, you would only taste the sand in the air. You were used to it; Haboobs - dust storms, they were commonly called - were a common occurrence back home during the monsoon season. Usually, people would stay indoors, or pull over if they were driving, and let the storm pass over.

But one of the things you had learned during your time here was that the storms tended to last much, much longer than they would have back home. For one, the entire planet was covered in nothing but sand and dust, so the storms developed on a much bigger scale.

Despite all of that, you let out a breathy laugh. Vash sent you a questioning look, so you held your phone screen up to him.

Now playing: TOMBI - Kvi Baba

The album cover with his face staring back at him. After the few silent hours you two had spent together, he finally laughed. A true laugh.

It brought a wider smile to your face.

•┈••✦ ❤ ✦••┈•

Once you and Vash had made it to town, you split up to buy supplies. The agreement was that you would meet again in the saloon in an hour since there wasn't too much to get. You had a sinking feeling you were missing something though.

"Excuse me, sir!" You ran up to a group of men that looked important enough to know about some 'action'. "Can you give me a run down? I think my, uh, boyfriend is dumb enough to have gotten caught up in it."

"Dick-"

Just then, a car screeched to a halt.

Was he calling him a dick or is that just his name?

A tall man with graying hair and a thin mustache practically lept out of the car as soon as it was stopped. He fiddled with his tie, pulling on it as if it were choking his nervousness, "Well? What's the situation here, Stan?"

Stan, the sheriff, looked away from the newcomers, "Alright, Dick! Will you inform these two about what's going on?"

With a quick 'yessir' he looked back to his notes, "Well according to the testimony from the witnesses, the group consists of four criminals and four hostages. I had a chance to talk to the folks that escaped and they told me that one of the hostages is a real pretty girl who loves cards, Mr. Bostalk."

"What are their demands?" Mr. Bostalk quickly asked.

"They want ten million double dollars in nonconsecutive bills and a getaway car."