Outside

Chapter 4: Home at Last

"So, you ready for another ride in the truck?" Stacy asked as she locked up Sammy's apartment. True to what he'd said, he was long gone by the time they'd woken up, much to Scout's disappointment. She'd wanted to at least say goodbye, though Stacy had assured her that she'd see him again at soon enough.

"He wants to keep an eye on the stitch wounds, make sure they're healing right. So we have to come back here next week." She'd said. "Also, he's my favorite cousin. He kind of has to deal with me coming over, anyways."

While that hadn't actually made the Puppet feel any better, she did appreciate the effort. It actually meant a lot to Scout that Stacy would at least try to be comforting.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Scout replied from her hiding place in her Host's hood. She was mostly behind Stacy's neck, with her head peeking around the side to better see what was going on. Yeah she was surrounded by and covered in hair, but it was better than the other option of hiding in the bag. At least this way she could see things.

And see things she did. What had been hidden from her the other night now held a strange beauty in the bluish light of predawn. Buildings with darkened windows, street lamps starting to dim down, trees just starting to grow leaves. To the Puppet, who had only ever viewed the world through a TV screen, everything looked new and beautiful.

The entire, short, walk to Stacy's truck, Scout had to fight the urge to launch herself from her hiding spot in order to see better. It was too risky, even with how early it was. Anyone could glance out their window and see her, and she wasn't ready for that just yet.

As they made it to the vehicle, it beeped at them as the lights flashed, startling Scout. Stacy climbed into the truck and tossed her bag into the passenger seat. She then lowered her hood and gently dropped Scout on top of her bag. "You gotta ride over there. I need to concentrate on the road. Also I'm going to get us some Wendy's for the trip. What do you want to try from there?"

Scout didn't answer and instead climbed into Stacy's lap in order to plaster her face to the window. She ignored Stacy when her Host sighed, and watched as they pulled out of the lot and on to the road.

As they passed by the buildings, and occasional tree, Scout found herself getting more and more excited. 'The TV never told me just how big everything is out here. Or how many Hosts there are.' She thought as they turned into another parking lot and approached a weird looking box with a speaker . '... I don't think I thought this through enough. What if they all react like Sammy did? Fuck, I want to go back.'

"Welcome to Wendy's, how may I help you?" Scout jerked at the strange voice, and turned to look up at Stacy, who wasn't staring at a box full of pictures of food. She glanced down and, seeing the Puppet staring, gave her a quick pat on the head.

"Yeah, I'd like a single cheeseburger combo with a coke and a kid's meal with chocolate milk." She told the box as she did this, ignoring Scout as the Puppet fixed her with a death glare for her antics.

"What kind of kid's meal would you like?" The box sounded rushed. In the background, beyond the static, Scout heard a loud crash.

"Uh..." Stacy turned and stared at the Puppet for a long moment, almost to the point of discomfort. "Chicken nuggets? No sauce please."

"That'll be $11.83 please pull forward to the first window." The box shut off with a click, and Stacy slowly started driving up to the first window while Scout just stared at her.

When they reached the window, the Host reached for her bag and dug out a small, flat rectangle. When the window opened, she handed it to the Host inside, who did something with it before handing it back. Said Host also ignored Scout completely, which was just fine with her.