INHUMANE

I swear they think I'm crazy

The buzz of the car blurred Tommy's vision as he rested his head against the window. He shivered again, air-con blasting; the seatbelt was digging into his chest, and after the group had been driving for almost an hour, Tommy was jaded. The blonde tuned into the radio that was buzzing softly in the car as Wilbur hummed along to a song as it ended, a voice wavered through the speakers.

"Good afternoon, it's currently the 11th of July 1992, 2:34 pm. Traffic's light and-." Tommy hummed distastefully as Wilbur changed the radio.

"I was listening to that." He frowned, watching the brunette fiddle with the knobs- static filling the car.

"Too bad." Wilbur said, as Phil let out an unimpressed noise from the passenger seat, looking at Wilbur for a few seconds before the brunette's stare quavered as he gave in, reaching over and changing it back to the radio station they were listening to.

"-we'll be back in a second, for now let's listen to Billy-Ray Cyrus." The jazzy voice faded away as it was replaced by a country melody, Wilbur happily humming once more, tapping his slender fingers on the driving wheel along with the beat.

The melody eventually wilted away, and Tommy opened his mouth to voice his reoccurring boredom when Phil said. "Yeah, that's it. Turn there, mate." The man in the green coat pointed to a road leaving the highway, Wilbur turned calmly.

Tommy shut his eyes, trying to let his imagination wander as Techno called "I'm gonna need money for a new axe."

The blonde's eyes shot open, Techno watching him out of the corner of his eye as he waited for Phil to fish a fifty-dollar bill out of his wallet.

"An axe?" He blurted, pressing his body against the door, as far away from the pink haired male who was pocketing the money in the seat next to him. The teen quickly picking up his bag and putting it in the middle seat to create a makeshift barrier. The boy across from him snorted. "Relax, I'm not going to kill you with it. I need an axe because we need more wood to fix the balcony- Wilbur broke it...again." He explained, Phil visibly stiffening as he heard Techno talk about Wilbur breaking the balcony.

"You fucking did what?" He seethed, Wilbur pressed his body up against the window, breaking out in a nervous sweat- trying to avoid Phil's livid expression.

"I- ah-." He tried to explain, a smile crept onto Tommy's face.

"Eyes on the fucking road you cunt!" Techno uncharacteristically shrieked, arms flailing as he slapped the brunette across the back of his head. Wilbur instantly refocusing on the road as the man in the green coat huffed, crossing his arms across his chest childishly.

Fighting a smile that was quickly infecting his mouth, Tommy shut his eyes and tried to let his mind wander. He felt his body unable to quieten down the screaming thoughts in his mind, so he opened them again; his cobalt-blue eyes flickered about as Wilbur hummed choppy blocks of melodies and Techno clicked his tongue, satisfied as he destroyed level after level in his video game. The blonde noticed the comfortable silence that blanketed the family, one that Tommy himself isn't invited to. He drummed his fingers on his lap and directed his gaze to the colourful world blurring past his window. The brunette who was driving changed the radio again as Tommy noticed the land was getting sparse and noticeable lusher, which he recognised as countryside. He began to feeling panic arise in his chest again, running away would be incredibly more challenging now...he had been a city-boy his entire life, his entire existence revolved around exploring and navigating old, abandoned alleys of San Fransisco.

"We live quite far in the countryside, a small town. Still, plenty to explore though, as it isn't completely rural." Phil said randomly, as if he had read Tommy's mind- the possibility not doing much to settle the growing panic.