"Application"

40. Hunted .40

You left your phone behind.

You left your clothes.

You left with nothing.

...save for the bag of money you had steadily been adding to.

More importantly, you left with no one.

Key was nowhere in sight, and you didn't care to find her.

You took one of Andy's cars and just drove.

You drove,

And drove.

And you couldn't make yourself stop.

Turning randomly, driving aimlessly,

No destination in mind.

Maybe you drove for hours,

Maybe it was only minutes.

Maybe you were driving all day,

Because it was growing dark,

And the car was running low on fuel.

There was a light in the distance.

A town.

You looked at yourself in the rearview mirror.

A corpse.

You were withering slowly,

From the inside, spreading out.

With this hopelessness washing over you,

You weren't likely to ever stop your mind from decaying.

But you could always do what you did best,

You could freeze yourself over,

You could delay the process.

___

"A room for one, please."

The elderly lady behind the door frowned at you in concern, immediately beginning to usher you inside. "My goodness, ya' sure do look a wreck! Come in, come in. It'll be rainin' soon, Dear."

You nodded briskly as she shut the door behind you, cutting off the flow of cold air, and you turned to point out the window at the car you stole from Andy. "Is there any place nearby where I can sell my car and get a new one?"

The lady furrowed her eyebrows as she spotted the car. "Why ever would'ya want one of the cars 'round here, when you've yourself a beauty like that?"

You gave her a contemplative look. "Do you own a car?"

She gasped, seeming to understand where your thought process was. "Now, don't ya' look at me like that! I couldn't operate a car like yers if I tried." She stared at Andy's car hesitantly. "And 'sides, my old rust bucket won't do ya' any good in ya' travels. The A.C. don't even work."

"I don't mind."

The lady seemed conflicted. "Ah, well...I s'pose if you really don't want ya' car, I wouldn't mind tradin' with ya'..."

You smiled. "Thank you."

"Don't ya' go thankin' me yet, Dearie. That car o' mine's a menace!"

You shrugged, pulling out a one-hundred-dollar bill and handing it over. "I'll be on my way as soon as it's light enough." She stared at the money in shock.

"This is enough for a week at the least!"

"Just take it for the inconvenience, I guess." You handed Andy's car keys over to the woman, who then fished around in her apron pocket for her own keys.

She smiled at you as she dropped her keys into your palm. "Thank ya' kindly for the extra money then, Dear."

You nodded.

"Now, just follow me this way to ya' room!"

___

Andy closed her laptop.

"Darling, are you home yet?"

The door creaked open.

It was Key, and she was smiling. "If you're calling for Y/n, she left an hour ago."

Andy furrowed her eyebrows. "I thought I told you to go with her wherever she went."

"Oh! My bad. I'd promise to go with her next time, but I have a feeling that she's not coming back."

Andy's breathing halted.

"See, Y/n and I returned from the store an hour ago, and I think she might've...overheard some questionable things when she was looking for you."

"And you didn't think to tell me that she was there? Or that she had fucking escaped?" Andy was seething, pacing around the room.

Key shrugged. "Nope."

"I swear I will--!"

"What?" Key took a predatory step closer, smile widening.

Andy glanced away, sweat beading at her hairline.

"What were you going to say, Ms. Seline?"

"Ju--just, go get your team together and bring them out here."

Key gave her a knowing glance. "That all?"

"Yes, that's fucking all! Just leave already!"

___

That night, a message was sent to every member of the group chat.

And the hunt was on.