He had been left everything but he did not know what to do with it. What does a mere child do with money and a detective board and a house that he grew up in but hated. The logical answer seemed to be to burn it which had entered his mind but he was not demonic. Quiet, awkward, but not demonic. California would always be home though.
He sealed the identification card. Business before pleasure always and he watched as the golden locks left and he slept. That was four days ago and this morning he was up extra early because it was the start of a new season on overwatch.
He looked at the phone. Cam. Well that was slightly better than Porter. He had been trying to get in touch with him but he had not answered. That was probably for the best. Then Cam was not on for the new season. That sent a small alarm to him and he looked around this empty house.
He refused to do season with anyone but Cam. When you did seasons with others they got you dragged down into the depths of bronze where the smurfs play and didn't play because that was what smurfing was truly about. None the less he needed to get to..Georgia as that was the last place he had actually been able to get a signal on his own phone which Cam had by accident.
So he packed a small bag and began to poorly hitch hike. If needed he had some money and since he cared less about money his father's hands had once been on, it was not going to be that hard for him to let go of it.
California was a bust. Chase packed up his car, slower than usual. Normally something like this would have only taken him a couple of minutes but he had a lot on his mind. He slammed the trunk on his car shut and lit a cigarette. Chase then leaned against his car and took a few hits off of his smoke before he tossed it on the ground and crushed it out under his boot. He then looked over toward the now setting sun and sighed a bit.
It had been five years since his parents died and his sister went missing. He had overheard some chatter about a mutant that fit Brenna’s description, with similar power sets here in California but it wasn’t her. Chase did what he could to help the teen girl he did meet but now it was time for him to head back home, back to work, and back to searching. It was something that he would never give up.
Chase hopped in the driver seat and started the car. He backed out of the parking lot wondering how far he could get on a full tank of gas, he didn’t want to stop and sleep but he knew that he was going to have too. He headed toward the interstate with the sun setting behind him. On his way across the country, toward another ocean and more questions.
It was now dark and Chase had been heading east on a seemingly empty highway for about an hour when he spotted the hitch hiker. He thought it was odd. This just isn’t the type of thing that he saw back home in his small town. His first thought was just to drive on by and ignore him but as he came closer he saw that it was a kid.
Chase eased on his breaks and rolled down his passenger side window and looked at the boy. Was he even a teenager yet? ”Hey kid, it’s not real smart to be out here like this. Haven’t you ever seen It?” Chase said in a serious tone. Chase had never seen It anyway and didn’t really even know if it was relevant.
The car finally came to a stop. Chase sighed a little bit and lit another cigarette. He knew that he couldn’t just leave the kid here. ”Get in. Where are you heading?"
He stayed mostly out of the way of getting hit as the sun began to set. Then a set of wheels stopped and the driver was speaking to him. It?
"No sir I do not watch much television."
The respect had pretty much been beat into him and as much as he wanted it out of him Rhys had been pretty much institutionalized to his father's methodic way of drilling so respect he had which in the end was probably better for him. He debated getting in and decided it probably was best to at least be with an adult.
"Thank you and Georgia. Looking for a friend of mine."
He did not really know why since Cam had not even had the decency to return his phone. Then again Cam probably had not even noticed.
"Are you going that way?"
Rhys was checking out the car. It looked like a classic and not one of today's advanced cars with all that dreaded technology embedded into it. He was silently grateful.
Chase just blinked at the kid as he climbed in the car and asked questions. The first thing that ran though his head was he was now a kidnapper. He was going to go to jail for kidnapping this kid. Then the kid said that he was going to Georgia. This was a joke right? There is no way that this child just happened to be going to the same place he was. Sure, Georgia was a big state but this was a big country. ”Do you need to call your mom or anything?” He asked.
Chase waited on the kid to close the door and he pressed back down on the gas heading east bound. ”I am actually going to Georgia myself. Just east of Atlanta.” He informed the boy. Chase was really confused. He didn’t actually think that the kid would get into his car. He was a little to trusting. Chase wondered if the kid may have been in some sort of trouble, but he decided not to ask. If he wanted to share then he would do it in his own time.
He just decided to let the kid lead the conversation, which seemed to be on his car. ”It was my fathers car, and when he passed away this classic became mine. I’ve spent a lot of time and money fixing it up.”He informed the kid. This car was really all that he had left from his father, well of course he had his home but this car was more important. ”My dad and I worked on this car since I was a kid. He bought it second hand from some shady dealer in Atlanta as a project for us." Chase stopped. Those memories were to hard for him, and Chase wasn’t really the sharing type.
”So this friend? Where is he? And how old are you? Are you sure you should be going to Georgia alone?" He asked. Chase really didn’t want to end up catching kidnapping charges before he even got out of this state. ”Oh and the radio works, but I have a firm no Beiber rule in this car."
Rhys went silent for a minute. It must have been such a nice feeling to have good memories, which lead him to think that he should feel some sort of guilt about what happened with his own father. There was less than nothing. He ran his hands through his hair and nodded. He laughed at the Bieber mention though he had no idea who that was.
"My parents are incapacitated at the moment. I plan on getting back before they realize I am gone."
He did not feel right telling the stranger that his mom was pretty much unknown and that his dad was dead. He would have felt bad soiling the man's good memories of his father with not so good ones of his own.
"I do not exactly know where he is. I'm quite worried about him. He is a good guy but a bit stupid honestly."
Rhys ran his hands across his face when the man asked how old he was.
"Sixteen."
He knew he did not look sixteen. Tweleve, thirteen if he was lucky ironically enough. Alone.
"No..but it's bothering me. Our friendship is strange but it would be like if something happened to me, in the end you got to hope that someone comes looking. If someone is looking for you then even if it is bad when they find you, at least they know they gave it their best shot. The result in the end might not be a nice one but at least it is a result."
He opened his bag and some of the assorted materials fell out. The most notable thing was probably half a stock of cardstock paper. It was thicker than regular printer paper. It looked like it had a couple of pictures. He reached down in his bag and pulled out a pair of scissors and slowly began to cut.
"I will just cut these identification cards out if it is the same with you. The radio being off is fine with me."
He was behind and he needed to get these cut out. His other friend only had a few more days before she was going to have to be on the run again. Now that he thought about it he needed a better class of friends. As he cut his concentration was evident and so was the slow tap of his foot which accidentally knocked the rest of his bag over.
When the cash fell out, Rhys did not even flinch. He continued to cut and simply said.
This kid had a story. Chase liked stories, but he didn’t know how much of this one that he wanted to hear. After all he could be a kidnapper by now. Has this kids parents called the cops or did they just not care about their son? He didn’t understand how a parent could not care for a child but it happened everyday across the world, especially if a mutant child was born to ignorant human parents. Chase and Brenna where a couple of the lucky ones who’s parents didn’t care that they were born different.
Chase mostly kept his eyes on the road but glancing over to the kid from the corner of his eyes ever so often. What was he doing with the identification cards? And what was a sixteen-year-old doing with so much cash. ”I’m Chase” he muttered. He didn’t know what to really say to this kid. He obviously didn’t know where he was going, but he was trying to help someone and Chase admired that.
”So tell me about your friend. How do we find him?” He asked. Chase wasn’t going to let him go at this alone. Maybe this kid was crazy, and don’t even know what he is going on about, but Chase had been watching Dr. Phil and he says to always believe a child until he is proven guilty. So here he was driving across country with a kid that he may or may not be kidnapping.
Chase watched him cut the card stock for a few more minutes. ”What are you doing?” He asked. This was one of the weirdest kids that he had ever met. Chase looked down at his watch. ”We are going to have to stop for food soon. What’s good around here?” Chase asked the kid as they crossed the state line into Arizona. No amber alert yet so, so far so good.
Rhys didn't figure they would stay on the same path once they got to Georgia and he was okay with that. The man, Chase had been nice enough to give him a ride and he was glad.
Rhys : I am Rhys. As for my friend I tracked him.
Okay even Rhys knew that sounded a bit stalkerish now but it was the truth. He made a mental note of the fact that he might need to learn to lie a little better. Spread the truth so as not to get caught up because too much truth could hurt you as well.
Rhys : Well we first met online and then we met at a tournament and then I thought he might be dead and now I know he's alive. He seemed okay but not like he could take care of himself.
He stopped making the identification cards.
Rhys : Making a fake id so I can get into a club.
That was a good lie and believable taking in his age.
Rhys : I even brought ones for the strippers.
Wait, food?
Rhys : I will sit in the car and you can go order if you want. I don't have my license yet so there is no worry of me stealing your car.
“Yeah, I’m thinking maybe a drive thru” There was no way Chase was leaving the little creepy kid alone in her car. Chase had a sneaking suspicion that this kid was smart. Really smart, and not telling him the whole truth. He spotted an exit sign that had a Taco Bell so he pulled off and went through the drive thru and ordered a ton of food. They could eat until they were full and if they got hungry again they could have left overs.
“I just got to same one thing Rhys” Chase said as he chewed up his taco. “I don’t think the fake ID’s are going to work. I mean no offence kid but you look eight.” Chase finished the Taco and took a swig of his mountain dew. Chase tossed the taco wrap in a trash can in the back floor bored. He didn’t like throwing things out of the window.
He reached back for another taco. “I’ll help you find your friend and help you guys get home or whatever kid. But you must be honest with me about everything. Starting with why isn’t anyone looking for you?” Chase picked up his phone, no notifications. He then unwrapped his second taco and took a bite. “We have been driving for hours and there hasn’t been any Amber alert issued for you. I’m not judging you kid, but you are traveling across the country with a stranger carrying a wad of cash and some poorly made fake ID’s.”
Rhys liked tacos. He listened and he sighed for as awkward as he was telling someone what had happened was just a bit weird. He supposed that was how the truth worked.
"I don't really know who my mom is. It was my father and me for the longest and one day I'm pretty sure I killed him."
He wanted to feel something, anything in the end but sadly he still felt nothing. The guy, Chase was nice and Rhys really did not like lying to adults even though he knew he looked a smooth ten at least.
"Actually no pretty sure about it. I know I killed him."
At first it was just a pretty sure but after replaying the scenario over in his head he knew it was him he just was not exactly sure on how. He thought he might be one of those..special ones but even so he did not know if he should say that much to a stranger.
"The police ruled it an accident and it was."
Though it brought him joy as if it were a well plotted murder that he had gotten away with.
"So now it's just me by myself. The money is from my bastard father and there is more but I don't want it. I just needed a little bit to get where I need to be. You know what they say, money talks."
Chase was quiet for a few minutes. He lit a cigarette and rolled down the window a bit. He could see the New Mexico state border coming in sight and he knew they were just a little closer to their destination. “I’m sure it wasn’t your fault kid. And even if it was I am sure it was an accident. If it wasn’t an accident he probably deserved it.” Chase took a log drag off his smoke. He was really at a loss for words, but he knew now why no one was looking for him.
Chase tossed the smoke out of the window and rolled it up. He glanced over at Rhys for a moment. “Do you have any other family?” He asked. He didn’t know what to do with the boy now. Chase knew what it was like to lose his parents at a young age, and then feeling responsible for their death. “We will find your buddy when we get to Georgia Rhys.” Chase said to reassure him. “I just need to know where to go. Getting to Georgia is the easy part, but where in Georgia do I need to head?” he asked. He hoped that Rhys had a little more information to go on besides just being in Georgia.
"He was last seen in Cedartown and he did deserve it to by the way."
Maybe he should have felt bad for saying, honestly confiding that in a stranger but the truth was the truth regardless of if you were telling it to a stranger or not.
"I feel it anyway. Once we get to Cedartown I should be good on my own. I know I'm a young kid but it's a small town and I should be okay. You..I know you can take care of yourself and you seem like one of the good ones, despite the whole picking the kid up on the street thing."
That was how Rhys knew that for the most part the guy was probably truly nice.
"I hope you find whatever you are looking for, or at least find some peace with it."
