jump.
Calamity.
It was warm. Right on the back of his neck, cradling the side of his face warm. He tucked his chin down into his chest to allow the warmth to touch more of his skin, emitting a sluggish groan of protest as light filtered in through his tightly closed eyelids. Which asshole let the sun in? He didn't remember going to sleep with the blinds open.
...He didn't remember going to sleep at all.
"Th' fuck?"
Somehow, he was outside. The warmth on his face and neck was the sun, standing proud within the endlessly blue sky, not a cloud in sight. He blinked up at it, rubbing the fuzziness out of his eyes, hoping that somehow it would help clear the fuzziness in his head too. His goddamn brain felt like it was swimming through tar, barely able to focus, barely able to process his surroundings at all. When was the last time he slept? Was this what a good nights rest felt like?
Five rolled onto his back, letting an arm flop over his eyes to protect them from the harsh rays of the sun. Okay, so, he was outside. And judging by the scent and taste of salt in the air, he was probably close to the sea. If only the goddamn sun would stop blinding him for just a second, he could actually take in his new surroundings and figure out where the hell he was. And more importantly, how he got to where he was. After all, the last place he remembered being was in a shitty motel with the rest of his family. Luther and Klaus were curled up on a bed that looked like something straight out of an adult movie set, Diego had been showering -Christ, that stupid shower had been loud- and Vanya and Allison were seated at the foot of the shitty bed reading God knows what, because he hadn't bothered to ask.
He had been too busy figuring out how to fix the newly broken timeline. He had been doing important work.
And now-
He allowed his eyes to finally crack open, a slither of green iris visible between his squinting eyelids. Yep, he was near the sea alright. It wasn't too far away, either. There was a beach to the south of his current location, seemingly stretching on forever and the sea was there, waiting at the end of it. Just fucking great. How? How on God's green fucking Earth had he ended up on a fucking beach?
And was that a goddamn jungle? He'd turned to face his opposite, blinking in disbelief at the fucking forest that seemed to head inland. "Well shit." What the fuck was he supposed to do now? He had no clue where he was, how was he supposed to find a way back? Who had even bought him here? And why, why would anyone bring him here? Sure, he needed a goddamn vacation, but not like this-
Wait. Was that a person in the distance? His eyesight wasn't the best and they seemed to be pretty far off... But he was fairly certain he could make out a humanoid form on the sand. At least he wasn't alone this time.
"Hey!" Could they hear him from this distance? Where they even awake? Christ, his legs felt like lead, all of him felt like lead. Had someone drugged him? Was that how he got here? "Hey, can you hear me!?" Ugh, fuck. C'mon legs. Cooperate. "Hey!" He raised his voice, hoping it would carry over to the other occupant of the beach, rubbing at his temples in frustration. Everything felt so goddamn sluggish, heck, lethargic even. Just how long had he been out?
Well this was an interesting situation. Ashe had been up for roughly ten minutes, having woken up sprawled out on the sand of a beach rather than the usual deserts of Arizona. How in tarnation had she ended up on a beach? Deadlock Gorge didn't have any damn beaches! She hadn't been to a beach since she was what... in her twenties? Damn that had been a while. Maybe she should consider booking a vacation. Why was she thinking about vacations when she'd woken up in an unknown location, on an unknown beach?
She didn't even remember drinking. Hell, she was pretty damn sure the last thing she'd done was head to bed after saying goodnight to Bob-
"Bob?" Nope. No sight of him. Shit. She was really in deep, wasn't she? "If this is some kind of prank, I'm gonna kick the asses of everyone involved!" Nothing. Not a person in sight. No-one on the beach, no-one in the jungle, either. Great. "If y'all own up now, maybe I'll go easy on you!" She'd been walking for how long now? And there was still nothing but sand and sea, for miles and miles and miles. And goddamn, it was hot too. Suddenly she was regretting her choice to wear so much black.
She tugged at the collar of her shirt, groaning audibly at the thin layer of sweat that seemed to be building up beneath her clothes. She didn't even have any damn sun cream. She was gonna burn up. She was going to look like a damn tomato, and then she'd be the laughing stock of the gang for weeks. Her mouth pulled into a frown, brows knitting tightly together. This was just her luck, wasn't it? First, a fucked up train robbery, and now she was stranded on some stupid desert island, in the middle of who-knows where! Alone! The audacity!
"Sonuvabitch..." At least she was still armed, she could defend herself if needed, that was something. Sure, she'd eventually run out of ammo, but hopefully whoever or whatever decided to threaten her would simply run at the sight of a weapon. After all, if she ended up here of all places, it probably meant someone had bought her here. And being a notoriously infamous gang boss, she had a lot of enemies. And knowing her shitty luck, they were probably still around. Waiting for her to step foot in the wrong place, make the wrong move. Well jokes on them, this was her territory now. They'd made a mistake bringing her here, and they were gonna pay for it.
No-one messed with Elizabeth Caledonia Ashe and got away with it. She'd make them suffer, even if it did mean getting her hands dirty.
...He didn't remember going to sleep at all.
"Th' fuck?"
Somehow, he was outside. The warmth on his face and neck was the sun, standing proud within the endlessly blue sky, not a cloud in sight. He blinked up at it, rubbing the fuzziness out of his eyes, hoping that somehow it would help clear the fuzziness in his head too. His goddamn brain felt like it was swimming through tar, barely able to focus, barely able to process his surroundings at all. When was the last time he slept? Was this what a good nights rest felt like?
Five rolled onto his back, letting an arm flop over his eyes to protect them from the harsh rays of the sun. Okay, so, he was outside. And judging by the scent and taste of salt in the air, he was probably close to the sea. If only the goddamn sun would stop blinding him for just a second, he could actually take in his new surroundings and figure out where the hell he was. And more importantly, how he got to where he was. After all, the last place he remembered being was in a shitty motel with the rest of his family. Luther and Klaus were curled up on a bed that looked like something straight out of an adult movie set, Diego had been showering -Christ, that stupid shower had been loud- and Vanya and Allison were seated at the foot of the shitty bed reading God knows what, because he hadn't bothered to ask.
He had been too busy figuring out how to fix the newly broken timeline. He had been doing important work.
And now-
He allowed his eyes to finally crack open, a slither of green iris visible between his squinting eyelids. Yep, he was near the sea alright. It wasn't too far away, either. There was a beach to the south of his current location, seemingly stretching on forever and the sea was there, waiting at the end of it. Just fucking great. How? How on God's green fucking Earth had he ended up on a fucking beach?
And was that a goddamn jungle? He'd turned to face his opposite, blinking in disbelief at the fucking forest that seemed to head inland. "Well shit." What the fuck was he supposed to do now? He had no clue where he was, how was he supposed to find a way back? Who had even bought him here? And why, why would anyone bring him here? Sure, he needed a goddamn vacation, but not like this-
Wait. Was that a person in the distance? His eyesight wasn't the best and they seemed to be pretty far off... But he was fairly certain he could make out a humanoid form on the sand. At least he wasn't alone this time.
"Hey!" Could they hear him from this distance? Where they even awake? Christ, his legs felt like lead, all of him felt like lead. Had someone drugged him? Was that how he got here? "Hey, can you hear me!?" Ugh, fuck. C'mon legs. Cooperate. "Hey!" He raised his voice, hoping it would carry over to the other occupant of the beach, rubbing at his temples in frustration. Everything felt so goddamn sluggish, heck, lethargic even. Just how long had he been out?
Well this was an interesting situation. Ashe had been up for roughly ten minutes, having woken up sprawled out on the sand of a beach rather than the usual deserts of Arizona. How in tarnation had she ended up on a beach? Deadlock Gorge didn't have any damn beaches! She hadn't been to a beach since she was what... in her twenties? Damn that had been a while. Maybe she should consider booking a vacation. Why was she thinking about vacations when she'd woken up in an unknown location, on an unknown beach?
She didn't even remember drinking. Hell, she was pretty damn sure the last thing she'd done was head to bed after saying goodnight to Bob-
"Bob?" Nope. No sight of him. Shit. She was really in deep, wasn't she? "If this is some kind of prank, I'm gonna kick the asses of everyone involved!" Nothing. Not a person in sight. No-one on the beach, no-one in the jungle, either. Great. "If y'all own up now, maybe I'll go easy on you!" She'd been walking for how long now? And there was still nothing but sand and sea, for miles and miles and miles. And goddamn, it was hot too. Suddenly she was regretting her choice to wear so much black.
She tugged at the collar of her shirt, groaning audibly at the thin layer of sweat that seemed to be building up beneath her clothes. She didn't even have any damn sun cream. She was gonna burn up. She was going to look like a damn tomato, and then she'd be the laughing stock of the gang for weeks. Her mouth pulled into a frown, brows knitting tightly together. This was just her luck, wasn't it? First, a fucked up train robbery, and now she was stranded on some stupid desert island, in the middle of who-knows where! Alone! The audacity!
"Sonuvabitch..." At least she was still armed, she could defend herself if needed, that was something. Sure, she'd eventually run out of ammo, but hopefully whoever or whatever decided to threaten her would simply run at the sight of a weapon. After all, if she ended up here of all places, it probably meant someone had bought her here. And being a notoriously infamous gang boss, she had a lot of enemies. And knowing her shitty luck, they were probably still around. Waiting for her to step foot in the wrong place, make the wrong move. Well jokes on them, this was her territory now. They'd made a mistake bringing her here, and they were gonna pay for it.
No-one messed with Elizabeth Caledonia Ashe and got away with it. She'd make them suffer, even if it did mean getting her hands dirty.