Already Gone [SlyPKC]

Calls From Emmitsburg

SSoH POV

"Who's Aleks, again?" Peony asked from behind, tugging on my shirt.

I looked over my shoulder, raising a brow. "Why?"

Curly looked down, and I saw the walkie-talkie in her hand. The speaker muffled in her palm and a smile formed on my face. I held out my hand, "He's almost family."

She lifted the radio to her lips. "He's right here," She said.

"Uh- okay?"

Peony placed the walkie-talkie in my hand, and I raised it to my mouth. "How's it goin', bud? What do you want for Christmas?" I chuckled, and I could hear Aleks sigh.

"Ha. Very funny," He said sarcastically. I could almost see him rolling his eyes. "We've made it to Maryland if you haven't guessed already."

"I figured that as much," I said, strolling into the kitchen. "How are you two holding up?" I opened the pantry and pulled out a package of saltines. "Is James better?"

"Yeah... about that..." Aleks trailed off. There was a bit of rustling, and I could barely hear a lifeless groan in the background. My stomach twisted, and my breath caught. It sounded like a-

"Just kidding," James laughed through the walkie-talkie, and I leaned against the kitchen counter, about to collapse in relief.

"Fuck you," I gave a half hearted laugh and ate a cracker.

"Love you too, Seamus." James snickered, and I carried my package of saltines out to the dining table in the main room.

"So where is his Kodak bullshit?" Aleks asked.

"Koda," I corrected.

"Whatever. Where is it?"

I ate another cracker. "Where are you?" I asked. Peony rested her head on he arm of the sofa, and I caught her eye. She smiled, and I winked back.

"Emmitsburg." He said, and Peony's eyes lit up along with mine.

"That was easy," I laughed. "We passed through Emmitsburg. Have you gone by a school yet? There's only one."

"We're coming up on one right now. Why?" He questioned. James said something in the background that I couldn't make out. "Holy shit that's creepy as fuck."

My brows knitted together in realization. "You saw the children? Just leave them alone. They're really loud." I thought back to when we picked up Peony. "Just keep heading south, and soon you'll come across a highway. When you see an abandoned house randomly on the side of the road, you should be half way here. Be sure to stop there for a while if you're tired, it's next to a large field."

"Then?"

"Keep heading down the highway 'till you see the trees, and then there should be a road going off on it's own tangent to the right. It's the first turn off you'll see. It'll lead you straight to Koda."

"Did you get that, James?" The Russian asked.

"No." The ignoramus answered, and I chuckled. Aleks groaned.

"Before I go, who was that girl I chatted with?" He questioned, and Peony snickered from across the room.

"Someone we picked up," I assured him. "You'll like her."

There was a slight pause. "Alright, well, we'll see you in a couple days," Aleks said.

"On Christmas?" I teased, and he sighed.

"Sure." And then he was gone. I set the walkie-talkie on the table and grabbed another saltine.

"Don't tell Sly about them coming over. Let it be a surprise," I told Peony, eating the cracker.

Sitting up, she stretched her back and neck. "Gosh. You're having me keep a lot of secrets." Curly sighed and rose from the sofa. "One day I'm going to explode!" She exclaimed, shooting her hands up in the air at the last word.

I furrowed my brows. "Yeah. Right."

"It is going to happen," she hissed jokingly, backing into the hallway. "You just wait," Peony whispered, letting out a small chuckled before disappearing into what I assumed to be her room. It's not like she would just chill in the hallway.

Scratching the back of my head, I grinned as I remembered Sly was coming back tomorrow. I shook my head, still smiling, and reviewed his stupidity. That Latino, crazy enough to enter hell again. Crazy enough to run through a crowd of dead kids. Crazy enough to steal my food and give it back five years later. That's Eddie Cardona for you.