All sat in their vehicles for awhile - a good three minutes had passed since the shockwave of the Violet-Black Dragon's mouth encompassing the surrounding area had finally subsided. No one really wanted to move - as though the air, still thrumming with the heartbeat of engines idling and the blaring of car alarms, was taut with thousands of invisible cords. That while the noise itself was ceaseless, any movement would snap these invisible cords and cause a hitherto unknown retribution to be visited upon them. Even the cows in the field seemed unwilling to move, despite the constant mooing they made.
Stacked and shuffled, bumped and jostled. Smashed, wrecked, haphazardly placed, and rudely crowded: the once neat and orderly line of cars fuming at the indignation of being delayed a few minutes on the highway were now in various states of worry, fear, and disorganization - as though a string of magnets had crumpled in on itself at irregular intervals. As a result, the headlights of the various cars were pointed in nearly every conceivable direction *except* its once straight and orderly line. Shining both a decent amount and an obnoxiously limited portion of the landscape, the headlights looked like conical daggers of luminance stabbing through the shade, the haughty mist of this organic cavern flitted in a mist and danced in the headlights.
Eventually, a siren was heard - it echoed in the cavernous expanse. No, not an echo - well, not entirely: there was a delay of noise, although slight, but in this case it appeared there were two sources of the sound. Wait, not two. Three. It sounded like two sources were coming from one end of the road which crested the hill ahead. The other came from behind.
Barlow physically stuttered and fidgeted with the button that controlled the windows of his car. Was he sure he wanted to stick his head out there? There could be anything! Microbes! Poisonous gas! Little blue men that kept the monster's teeth clean! Anything! Not that that prevented anyone else from taking the risk. Already half a dozen people were exiting their cars and checking on loved ones and over the damages to their vehicles - fortunately, no one seemed injured based on the lack of panic. Instead, there was a general air of shock as everyone tried to gather their wits.
Barlow saw outside that a cycle of red and blue lights were cresting the hill - a police van was haphazardly making its way down the highway. Well, following the highway where it could. Most of the cars were blocking too much of the oncoming lane for it to be of much use - but that didn't slow it down much. The officer was not hesitant at all to veer off the road where needed and in some cases didn't mind nudging smaller vehicles if he felt he could squeeze by.
The siren from the opposite direction was getting closer as well - seemed the two were trying to meet up. Twisting in his seat to where he could see out the rear window and through the shafts of light, he could clearly see that it was a black Dodge Challenger with a white top - a state trooper. While Barlow speculated that his starting point was shorter than that of the cop, he seemed to be making slower progress. Where a vehicle was in the way, he waited until they moved, or if one stalled, the trooper's silhouette could be seen getting out and helping to move the vehicles. At this distance, the trooper seemed to be a tall lean man with a very slight belly - denoting age.
The two law enforcement officers eventually met up as the surrounding crowd took interest. Andrew was still too far away in his vehicle to hear things clearly or see exact details of everyone present, but in his usual method, he watched from the outside taking note of who reacted to what. Particularly who gave them their ear and who went on about their business.
The officer from the van was only a hair shorter than the trooper if you subtracted the trooper's wide brimmed campaign hat, but seemed much stockier for his build - he had his hands tucked into his belt and carried himself with the same sense of purpose as a bull in a china shop. Even at this distance, he seemed like the kind of man you would feel crowded against even if you stood a meter away.
As the officers spoke their muffled tones only barely penetrated Barlow's windows over the thrum of engines and that strange drone he kept hearing - something about "staying calm", "emergency services", and needing "full compliance". It was stuff that Andrew knew even without being told - and so his eyes drifted across the crowd absently, trying to gauge who he was stuck in this awful situation with. There were all sorts. He noted a family of five, a gaggle of young women with slim builds, a hefty looking fellow whose balding top shone in the darkness, a particularly large fellow who was checking on cars and ignoring the officers, two men in ball caps that watched from a large black truck, two old women who were checking on the children of the family of five. And of course, the pelican throated man, who had strutted up to the officers and was now boisterously conversing with them. As Andrew made these mental notes, he saw more people exiting their cars or walking up from either direction to get at the officers with their own questions. How many people were on this road when it was caught?
A loud mooing issued from Barlow's passenger side window, with a start Andrew whipped his head in surprise to see the cow from earlier was just outside and looking to him as if he had answers. Raising his gaze, he could see that a section of welded wire fence had apparently snapped from the tension of tremor caused by the crash - just how deep did those teeth have to penetrate the earth for them to shift and displace that much ground?
"Sorry girl," consoled Andrew to the forlorn heifer "I'm afraid I can't let you in right now - let's call it "social distancing""
The cow lifted its head and shook it absently, its neck skin tousled in that peculiar manner of all large animals before going back to grazing. Mentally, Andrew christened the beast "Bessie" and promised to come back and see her if they somehow got out of this.
One! Two! Three! Four! Five! Six gunshots rang out! At first Andrew was afraid that someone was feeling equal parts homicidal and suicidal - attempting to take out a crazed panic on some of the drivers. He hunched, to the best of his ability as space would allow, crunching himself behind his car door only peeking his eyes out his window. The bulky cop whipped out his pistol as if he had been waiting for it, the trooper placed his hand on his holster and raised a flat hand as if to say "hold". One of the men with the ball caps were in the bed of the black truck and had fished out what looked like a shotgun - but was careful to keep it low as to not get too much attention. Even the pelican throated man had raised a small revolver that he didn't have before and was keeping it at a downward angle with both hands - where had he kept that?
It was then that Andrew realized with dawning horror that the shots were not meant for any driver - as horrible as that would have been - but instead meant for the Violet-Black Dragon! The siren scream of the other dragon had been plainly audible over the storm at great distance when it was shot. What would it be like when they were in this one's mouth? These thoughts cascaded in a span of microseconds as Andrew rolled down the window of his car and began yelling.
"Everyone get in your cars! It's going to scream!" Everyone looked in Andrew's direction as though he was talking babble - only two sets of eyes went wide at the realization of what he was saying.
"Get down!" Grunted the pelican man, as he hit the ground as flat as his belly would allow.
Three…
"Everybody on the ground!" Roared the stocky cop with a wave of his meaty hand as he took to a laying stance to protect his eyes.
Two..
The tall trooper was the first to follow along with the large fellow and the gaggle of girls, some hopped back in their cars who hadn't moved too far - like the old ladies. While others - like the family of five - chose to huddle in the nearby grass.
One…
Andrew was still blaring his warning - what was he doing? Wasn't the whole plan to stay isolated from the danger? "Everybody get in your cars! It's going to -"
His voice was cut off, like a heavy weight had snapped it in two as a wall of force descended on the highway. There was no particular "sound" to it, it was too loud for that. It was more like a blast of vibration that buckled the body, rocked the vehicles, and left and horrible ringing in one's hearing. Andrew plugged his ears with his fingers as his car shuddered - protected as he was, he hadn't had time to roll up his window. He was getting an earful, but not as much as the poor people caught outside.
Through slitted vision, Andrew saw that some of the cars were not offering as much protection as he had hoped. The sound was so intense that multiple cars had windows shatter in their frames! Some had merely splintered into a fractal of shattered glass, others had fully busted out from the force of the frequency. Had Andrew just consigned those old ladies to a face full of glass?
Even worse, the sound was doing something strange to Barlow as it reverberated through his body. It was difficult to breath, his head started feeling light, the vibration shook his bones and hurt his teeth. It felt like a giant had picked up his body and had begun shaking him like a snowglobe. After 13 of the longest seconds of Barlows life, the scream stopped. Just as quickly as the wall had descended, it lifted once more.
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Barlow checked himself over in quick order and bounded out the car door - isolation was no longer an option. Outside, the vibrations had caused an upset almost as bad as the crash. Dust had filled the air again and some of the vehicles had shifted. This time, in addition to the car alarms, all manner of screaming and crying could be heard. Car windows were broken, some people were bleeding from glass or the abrasion of the vibrating asphalt, a lot of people were covered in dirt and cuts, others were hyperventilating from panic or whatever strange effect the extreme sound had had on their respiratory system, and a few were bleeding from one or both ears. It got worse - it seemed that in the wall of sound, one of the smaller vehicles had "bounced" on its tires from the vibration and landed on one of the girls' hands. Fortunately, it hadn't gotten stuck but it was enough to bruise the young woman's whole hand - if it wasn't broken, it was likely ruptured in a few places. Fortunately her friends seemed to be tending to her - if in a slightly panicked way. Though one in particular, a girl with dark hair, large blue eyes, and a purse larger than her head seemed to be getting it under control.
Andrew started towards the old ladies who were likely covered in glass from the broken windows of their lime green punch bug, but saw that the pelican man, surprisingly, was on his feet and checking on them. Feeling like a loose end, he looked to see if anyone else was in need of help. Everyone seemed to be helping everyone else, but he suddenly remembered the family that had huddled off the side of the road in the grass. Looking back, he became aware of the baby of the family crying and went to inspect.
"Are you okay? Is anyone hurt?" Started Andrew, looking over the family.
The mother was a slightly heavy woman - gun to his head, Andrew would have described her as "full figured". She wore a black shirt with a purple logo that Andrew failed to recognize and black pants patterned with flowers of purple and pink. Her black hair was frizzy, wide, and flat at the top. She wore two gold hooped earrings textured like a spiral along the band. She was adorned with various bobs of jewelry - a couple of rings, and two bracelets on either hand, one pair solid and etched and the other basic silver chains, and a necklace of gold with an etched heart shaped locket with the word "life" on it. Her shoes were plastic pink flip-flops and two more silver chain bracelets with beaded silver hearts encircled her left ankle. Her nails, both her toes and her fingers, were painted with a purple flecked with white sparkles. Her skin tone was a rich hickory - no sign of makeup adorned her face, save for her lashes, and her skin held no blemish aside from a long pink scar on her right forearm. The effect spoke of a young but aging mother who wanted to play to that youth and beauty.
"I think we're fine" her voice carried a laughing twang with a touch of fear to it as she lightly shook her head "My baby's still breathing and not bleeding anywhere, so we're doin' better than most, haha!"
The woman's face was cheery - high cheek bones and thin pointed eyebrows. Full lips. Laughing eyes - particularly bright eyes at that with irises so dark they were nearly black. Her face was exercised in the practice of smiles and her button nose accented the expression well but her laugh was a hollow one - she was putting on a brave face for her kids and possibly herself. But what she said was true: while the infant was crying like nothing else the child seemed fine. No blood in the ears, no abrasions. The child was still an infant in the truest sense, only a few months old, and outside of a complexion like coffee, a tousle of curly hair, and the same bright eyes as their mother, no personality was outwardly evident - except for being extremely unhappy.
The husband was looking over the two older kids, an air of playfulness to the inspection for injuries. Unlike his wife, the husband's skin tone was more of an umber and marked with the trappings of tattoos in a bluish dark ink. As a result, they didn't stand out very well and Andrew's eyes glazed over most - the vast majority being character symbols he was unfamiliar with and the occasional stylized cross. This wasn't helped by the curls of hair on the back of his hands and forearms. Except one. There was a tattoo in the image of a lipstick print in a violent purple at the base of his collar bone with vibrant pink cursive writing that read "Chay".
The man himself was actually the same height and basic build as Andrew, which put them both only an inch or so taller than the wife, though the man was slightly more developed in terms of lean muscle. His black hair was buzzed fade on the sides with a pencil thin line cut shorter still through that, only the top had any dense hair and these formed into fizzy but defined curls that shaded his brow. His face registered something that Andrew had seen in few people - an innate intelligence danced openly behind friendly but calculating almond shaped eyes and irises of coppery brown. His nose was somewhat flat and nostrils broad, a frizzy anchor beard was set under his nose and jutted from his chin. His eyebrows were oddly bushy and set like hedge bushes above his eyes and most unusual of all, his already umber skin was flecked with darker freckles that seemed to spread from the bridge of nose in a spray and across his face. Outside of that, the man was dressed simply - black collard t-shirt with button top undone, dark blue jeans, and black sneakers. The only thing that denoted any flair was a single gold earring in his left ear.
"Thanks for checking on us" he said in a mild tenor - he didn't carry the same twang as his wife. And while he seemed equally jovial, it was clear his mind was working to get his family to safety.
Andrew glanced at the kids, they had wandered back to their mother to help with the baby. He couldn't tell much about them as dark as things were - only that they had the same bright eyes as their mother and hair more like their father. One was a little girl - around five. And the other a little boy - around three.
"…Where's your car?" Asked Andrew after a moment - he needed to know the kids would be safe.
The man casually jutted a pointing finger to a beat up looking red and brown van around twelve cars back as he dusted himself off from the huddle - even from here it was plain to see it was a rust bucket. The windows were broken from the scream, one side of the car looked lower than the other - like something had shaken loose during the crash or the scream. Andrew wasn't sure it even had air bags.
"Listen," started Andrew hesitantly - talking with new people was always stressful for him "My car is in better shape - I think that if you have a car seat and the little ones squeeze a bit, we can fit all of us in there. Your family will be safer if there is another scream like that."
The man looked between the two cars absently scratching his chin with a hand on one hip. It was easy to tell he didn't like the idea of abandoning it, if only for the duration of the present crisis. But as he looked back at his children, watching them play a game of patty cake now that the infant had calmed down, as he turned back the choice was reflected in the man's eye before he even replied.
"That's good of you - let me tell Chay and get the kids and we'll bring our stuff over." With that, he reached out, shook Andrew's hand, and motioned to leave. But he stopped short, turn back to Andrew and asked with a pointing motion "Hey, what's your name?"
"Andrew" replied Barlow.
"Good to meet you - name's Michael" Said Michael with a grin and a firmer handshake. This time he shook his hand with both hands - the gratitude was self evident.
With that, he turned and ran back to his family and over the course of the next ten minutes, spent time moving various goods to Andrew's car and getting everyone set up. Apparently their actions had not gone unnoticed or other people had the same idea, as soon other individuals had come to similar arrangements. Moving people and various oddities to any cars that hadn't suffered serious damage from the last two crisis. Apparently the old women were fine, if suffering a few cuts and were presently in the pelican man's truck cab. The police vehicles had taken off to deal with who ever had fired shots at the dragon. The gaggle of girls were apparently split between two vehicles before the crash and after the scream had piled into one, with the dark haired one with the big purse reaching an agreement with the men in the black truck. There was, on the whole, a great deal of reorganizing going on when "it" finally happened.
There was a gasp and shock from behind Andrew, who turned to see the pelican man standing - shaking. At first he couldn't tell what was happening - until he noticed the strand of translucent lights that were perched on the man's shoulder and the ghostly translucence that curled around the man. It was like an overgrown jellyfish had wrapped itself around him, lit by an eerie luminescence - but where had it come from?
Andrew looked up quickly only to see a cloud of the same type of creatures forming a linked tether to the pelican man. With unearthly strength, the man was hoisted off the ground and into the sky by the swarm, disappearing in the mass of luminescence and translucent blue flesh!
"To the cars!" Shouted Andrew as he bolted to his vehicle. For a third time he heard a gunshot - this time much closer. It was a shotgun blast from one of the boys in the ball caps. Did no one learn anything from the last time?
The sky lit up an violent green as the translucent creatures shone bright enough to illuminate the landscape! The man in the ball cap was snatched up before he could get off another shot and was dragged skyward into the mass. Pandemonium broke out as everyone could clearly see where they were and what was happening. People were plucked indiscriminately from the road like fresh fruit from a tree. The flesh of the dragon's throat shone in the horizon, the green glow of the mass giving an unnatural light to the dragon's purple-black flesh! Eaten! Eaten alive! That was what the people on the road were surely screaming to themselves as the mass latched onto whole cars and hoisted them up the monster's gullet.
The children of Chay and Michael were already buckled in, as a precaution. They had been so busy prepping they hadn't really had the time to talk about where they really were - more specifically *what* was trying to eat them.
As he hopped in the car with Chay close behind, Michael started that particularly difficult conversation. "What's trying to eat us?" he breathed through clenched teeth.
Andrew watched in a cold sweat as Bessie the cow was picked up by the mass. "Which one, the dragon or the mass?" he mumbled.
"Its okay baby, its okay!" called Chay to her children - all four of whom were in the back seat. The children were crying in panic and fear.
The group felt a thud on the roof. Translucent tentacles wrapped around the car's body. There was a heave and a rush of motion like an elevator as the sound of metal straining rang in their ears. Andrew pressed his eye to the window just fast enough to see the ground and his world be left behind.