LUNACY: THE JACK ARC. // A SPOOKY MONTH AU

CHAPTER 2: Back Home.

"..so.. what do we do? If—if there's no one here, then.."

"Skid—please.. we haven't checked the test of the town yet."

Pump let out a sigh, burying his face in his small hands. The two had already finished their fill of candy—but from how fast they had eaten, they were both beginning to feel nauseous. Both from their consumption, and the situation that was at hand. Skid stared in Pump's direction, his eye blinking as he frowned.

Silence fell. And Skid glanced off to the side. "..I know, but.. what if there isn't anyone here at all? What—what if we have to find somewhere else to hide? If you were able to make it all the way here, then the lab probably isn't that—"

"Skid."

"..."

"..ugh.." Pump let out a sigh. "I.. well, I guess if there's no one here, we'll just have to stay here for a bit by ourselves. There might not be anyone in the other towns if we decide to go somewhere else."

"Yeah, but.. we still need to find some place to hide. Mm.." Skid grumbled. "..maybe we can try staying here for a few days to see if anyone comes?"

"Maybe. If—If 'they' show up, we might need some way to protect ourselves. And if no one else shows up by then, then we'll.."

"..die..?"

"..I—well, I dunno. That sounds less worse than the stuff they've done to us."

The two went silent again, glancing around.

"I'll.." Pump hesitated. "..I'm.. I'll just go ahead and drive now."

"..ok—okay." Skid responded quietly. Leaning his head back against the head of his chair, he let out a sigh—and prayed for the nausea dwelling in his throat to fade as the car let out a slight rumble.

—————

No matter where they had driven, there wasn't anyone there.

Pump had drove past sidewalks, houses, buildings. Yet no matter where they looked, there didn't appear to be anyone else. The streets had been rusty and filled to the brim with all sorts of trash and leaves. The sidewalks were infested with all sorts of leaves and moss, the stone plates crawling with insects. Despite the conditioned air of the car, Skid began to feel a warm overwhelming flush wash over him.

The trash cans they had drove past had several signs of mold crawling all over them—and despite them both being in the car, they could both smell something foul. Or multiple scents that smelt foul. Every street and building looked abandoned—as if they had just been left sitting there for a hundred years. Even though Skid hadn't really spoken to Pump the entire ride for fear of any threats—and for the sake of keeping watch, he could tell Pump was becoming anxious too. Judging by the way he swallowed, and glanced around.

They weren't driving anymore—as Pump had managed to get them far enough to where a gas station had been. It was at least a station they both recalled from when things weren't like this. But the more romanticized memory of the station had been broken in his mind as Skid observed the area.

The once white and orange coloring of the building that was before the gas station was now completely rusty, brown patterns of mold scattered down the walls. There didn't appear to be any lights on inside, and the posters that were originally there either weren't there at all, or had practically been torn to pieces. A box of ice that was always sitting there from before now looked as if it hadn't been used in years—dark rusts lining down the blue coloring of it.

Skid couldn't help but stare, wondering how long it had been. Or what had even happened while they were gone. Why there wasn't anyone here. Why they had been taken in the first place. He looked down at his hands—only now noticing them in the dim light that only slightly filled the car.