𝚍𝚊𝚛𝚔 𝚊𝚗𝚐𝚎𝚕 (𝚊𝚛𝚟𝚒𝚗 𝚛𝚞𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚕𝚕)

𝚌𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚎𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝

"no, i used to live there a long time ago," said arvin, relaxing a bit. he took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair.

"well, it probably ain't changed much. little towns never do," said carl. "that your wife?" he said, gesturing to calypso.

"fiancee," said calypso sweetly before arvin could answer. she was a bit irked that carl had said it directly to arvin, as if she couldn't speak for herself.

"congratulations," said sandy. "how long have y'all been engaged?"

"oh, you know, a few months," said calypso airily, lying through her teeth. "wedding should be soon, if all goes well."

"i remember our wedding," carl said..

"me too," said sandy shortly.

calypso was getting slightly suspicious. carl took a turn onto a smaller road. it didn't look like it was on a map, but calypso didn't want to be rude by checking. she gripped arvin's hand and gave him a look. he gave her another slight nod, and they continued on the road.

"where is it y'all live?" asked arvin when more awkward silence ensued.

"chesterfield," said carl. "we're heading up to chicago, illinois. we like picking up strangers along the way. meet new people, don't we, hon?"

"sure do," said sandy unenthusiastically.

calypso put her hand on her pistol through her dress to reassure herself. she saw arvin do the same to his in his waistband.

"oh, shit," said carl. "my old billy don't work like it used to. i'm gonna have to pull a leak and take a leak somewhere around here. that all right by you?"

"sure," said arvin uncomfortably.

"there should be a road somewhere up here on the right," said carl.

"here?" sandy asked quietly, though it didn't seem like a question.

"no, a little further...little further...slow down...turn in right here. this is good."

calypso inched the pistol ever so slightly out of the holster. something was wrong. the car came to a stop in a clearing amongst a bunch of trees.

"yeah, this'll work," said carl.

him and sandy stared at each other for a moment before carl climbed out to do his business. both arvin and calypso caught a glimpse of a gun tucked into his pants. calypso, sitting behind the passenger seat, quietly rolled down the window. carl did his business as sandy struggled to light a match, but she got it eventually and lit her cigarette.

"damn, that's gonna be one fine sunset," said carl, startling calypso as he leaned against calypso's open window. "you have to be patient with me while i get a few shots off." he leaned against the passenger window as sandy handed him a camera. "don't you worry none, we got some hooch in the back and, well...sandy's good company."

calypso didn't miss the way he winked at arvin when he said that, and if the situation hadn't been so serious she would've laughed at the mildly horrified look on his face when sandy gave him a sultry smile. carl went to get something out of the trunk, and got out his pistol as he walked back. arvin and calypso both gripped theirs. he walked around to their door.

"hey, tell you what, why don't you--"

it all happened within five seconds. carl raised the gun to point it at calypso. arvin slammed calypso back against the seat to get a clear aim, and shot carl twice in the chest. carl clutched at his chest and grabbed the handle of calypso's door. the door swung open and he grabbed at her foot. she screamed, and her pistol dropped down into the floorboard. he nearly pulled her out of the car as he keeled over backward and collapsed, but arvin held onto her. sandy cursed and fumbled for something in the front seat. arvin shoved calypso behind him and aimed for sandy, but before he could shoot she pulled out a gun of her own and pointed it at him.

"no! calm down, please!" pleaded sandy.

"i don't wanna shoot you!" said arvin.

"put the fucking gun down!" yelled calypso.

sandy shook her head frantically.

"i don't wanna shoot!" arvin shouted again.

"i'm sorry. i'm so sorry!"

she shot at arvin and he shot back as he ducked down, pushing calypso with him. there was no blood on either of them, but sandy's blood was splattered on the windshield. she took one last shuddering breath and her head lolled forward onto the headrest of the passenger seat. outside the car, carl groaned one last time and went limp.

arvin and calypso each scrambled out of the car. arvin muttered her name like a prayer, checking her body for bullets before doing the same to his. calypso was in shock, but still managed to shakily help arvin feel around for wounds as they panted, adrenaline still rushing through them. arvin wrapped his arms around calypso and squeezed her like a teddy bear until their breathing returned to normal and they calmed down a bit.

"fuck," muttered calypso. she'd murdered not one, not two, but three people. taken not one, not two, but three human lives.

"hey, hey, it's okay," said arvin, fighting to stay calm. "stay here, okay? i'm gonna get the bags and shit."

while arvin fumbled around in the car trying not to look at sandy's corpse, calypso gingerly removed carl's wallet from his coat pocket. there was some cash which she pocketed, as well as a gory photograph of a handsome young man who appeared to have been shot with sandy naked in the background. calypso tore her eyes from it and shoved it in her pocket along with the cash. she walked over to arvin, who had just gotten done in the car.

"nothin' worth taking in the car," he said, his voice shaking slightly. "there was a bunch of film in the glovebox, but nothin' else."

"i took the cash in carl's wallet, but i found this too," said calypso, showing him the photograph. neither of them could look at it for long without feeling like they were going to be sick. "i'm gonna keep it. might come in handy if the cops come looking for us."

"good thinkin'," said arvin. "let's get back on the main road. hopefully someone else'll pick us up."

a/n: i'm sorry i made y'all wait so long but i love every single one of you and hope to be updating more often <3