Slowly Turning in the dirt }}Justin

[rumour]

{{ Think far out but I'm still locked in
I'm still lost, walking circles... }} [/color][/size]

This, had not been a good idea.

They say that old habits die hard, and this particular one had landed Rumour in a world – a place she really didn’t want to be. Damn her feet, and damn Ever for making her think about, for making her miss this place. Without realising, Rumour had gone for a walk, had shoved her music into her ears and followed a path familiar to her feet, that didn’t involve crossing roads, where she could get away with being presumed to be an obnoxious teenager for not moving out of the way, and now she was at the pier. Shit.

Not that she disliked the pier. Rumour had recently rediscovered a love for the beach, but the noise here was too much. Yanking the buds from her ears, she stopped as another person pushed past her, taking a moment to figure out where she was. It took only a second for her remaining senses to tell her all she needed to know. Seas salt, candy... the fresh breeze on her skin, the sound of stupid arcade games, laughter... too many people talking; timbers under sandaled feet – jostled and pushed, the noise, the smell, it was confusing, it was disorientating, and it made her stomach churn.

She had to get out of here. Picking a direction and walking, pushing through crowds of people, Rumours blind eyes rolled around in her head beneath her sunglasses, tracking sounds and voices this way and that, trying to work out which was the way back to the road. Hell, even if she could make it back to the beach or something, work out where she was and get her bearings. Once she had done that, she would be fine – she could start to pick out the sounds she recognised, the ones to pay attention too, the ones that would get her away from the pushing people around her; the people who didn’t care that her ribs were brushed and each shoved was like being stabbed in the side.

Walking, her hands made contact with the metal rail, and Rumour let out a small sigh of relief. Right. This was good. This she could deal with. She could follow that to the end of the pier and find the path. Or the end. And then she could just turn around and follow it back. Starting to walk once more, Rumour let the fingertips of her right hand drift across the metal whilst her left hand reached into the pocket of her left, grasping the metal cylinder in there. A lighter, it provided some comfort in the knowledge she could have a cigarette once she calmed down.

It took her a few minutes to find the end of the pier – the end she didn’t want. There were less people here, less dense as the amusements were farther down, at the opposite end of the timber walk way. But there were still enough people that she got jostled. Pausing at the end of the pier, her fingers glided over a catch – the gate for the end of the pier, where the ferry pulled up. It wasn’t here, but the catch was loose, and the gate wobbled with her touch.

Pausing, Rumour gave into her craving and removed the lighter from her pocket, lifting her hand from the rail to fish a cigarette from her other pocket, lifting them both to her lips to light the end. Inhaling the first, she leant lightly against the rail, the top bar reaching her hip. Well, she thought absently, they hadn’t thought about that. It would be too easy to just fall off the edge – someone tall to simply tip over. Inhaling the sweet smoke, she shoved the lighter back in her shorts and lifted a hand to remove the cigarette from between her lips, turning her head to blow the smoke over her shoulder, our across the ocean.

She barely registered the voice shouting at her when something hit her in the head, right on the temple. Whatever it was it was hard and made her see stars as she knees buckled, slumping back against the gate. But that wasn’t the worst part. Getting hit upside the head she could deal with. She’d blacked out before. But the truly gut wrenching realisation that got her was that the metal behind her had given way, and she was falling.

“LOOK OUT!”

{{...There's nowhere to go }}

[justin]

The smell of sea air, coconut oil sun tan lotion, and salt water drifted into Justin’s Gran Torino. The sun was shining and there were few clouds in the sky. In all honesty it was the perfect day for the beach in Florida. Justin had been coming from a solo hunt. An easy one seeing as how he was just getting his feet wet when it came to this stuff. It had been a simple salt and burn. It had actually gone pretty smoothly. He imagined Sastre would be pleased enough to hear that.

Finally giving into the urge to take a break and enjoy the vast ocean, Justin parked the car and got out. He shrugged off his jacket, tossing it over the back seat and put some money in the meter before making his way to the pier. In all honesty he enjoyed being outside now more than he ever did. Maybe it had to do with the fact that he’d been in a prison cell for the majority of three years. He wasn’t fond of small places anymore. He wasn’t scared of them, but Justin was isolated from the vast majority of the prisoners. That definitely had to do with the fact that he was once a cop.

Justin made his way to the pier. The arcade was buzzing with whistles and horns, music and laughter. The pier was packed with kids that looked to be in their late teens early twenties. Girls were taking pictures in bikini’s and there were a couple of guys tossing a football back and forth. He walked passed the masses seeing a drink stand advertising to Spring Breakers.

Ahh that explained it.
When he got to the end of the pier, Justin reached into his pocket for a pack of menthols and shook out a smoke. It took a few tries for Justin to get the lighter to work with the wind whipping everywhere. Finally after tucking his chin to his chest and making a small cave with his hands he’d managed to get it lit. He took a deep brag off the menthol cigarette, enjoying the sea breeze that brought a light spray of ocean that came with it.

There was the sound of something whizzing by his head. Justin’s instincts kicked in and pulled back out of the way, then watched as the football slammed directly into the head of a girl at the end of the pier. Justin cringed when he heard the slap of it hitting the girl. She started to slump.

Justin gave a glare at the two jocks who seemingly found it hilarious that they’d manage to brain someone with their antics.

“Real smooth guys.”

One at least had the decency to look sheepish at that point, while the other continued laughing. Justin shook his head at them. Then he heard the crack and groan of the railing. He turned his head back towards the girl just to see her fall over the pier and into the water.

There was a collective gasp as people saw her fall, though no one had reached out to stop it. Justin was already running. Without a moment of hesitation, Justin reached the end of the pier and dove in after the girl. Even if she could swim she had just taken a nasty shot to the head. If she was disoriented she could think that down was up and up and was down.

Justin hit the water with a splash and opened his eyes, looking for the girl.

[rumour]

{{ Think far out but I'm still locked in
I'm still lost, walking circles... }} [/color][/size]

Disoriented was far from what Rumour was. The football had hit her square on the temple, and as she fell the normally bright colours – the remnant of what had once been twenty twenty vision, faded, darkness creeping in from the edges. She knew what was happening, knew the unconsciousness that was coming to claim her and would have been fine with it, that is, If she did not also know of the water that lay beneath her, rushing up to greet her.

She landed with a splash that was enough to make even the strongest man cry out, the hit on her ribs driving the air from her lungs as she gasped in pain, choking on the sea water that was all too quick, all too ready to invade her lungs. In these long moments, Rumour truly believed she was going to die, and the thought surprised her. The girl was not afraid of death; she had long thought she was somewhat due past her sell by date, but she was mildly surprised at the way in which she would leave. Not at the hands of her father, but some stupid frat kids and their idiotic footballs.

Stunned and unable to swim, Rumour sank, choking on water as her body fought for breath but found only the ocean, the current ripping her further away from the surface. Her skin burnt and itched, a side she had denied for nearly twenty years fighting now to save her from death, to push its way towards the surface. It was enough to make her grasp at the surface, enough to make the girl pull herself towards what she believed to be the surface, but she didn’t find it.

Unable to fight another breath, Rumour couldn’t help but think how she had been lied too. Drowning was not painless. It was not a peaceful way to die. It hurt, and it burnt, you could do nothing but fight back the darkness that crowded into your mind – that turned each second to a minute and each minute to a second; and Rumour couldn’t do it anymore.

{{...There's nowhere to go }}

[justin]

There was a reason bathing suits were made of light weight material and people didn't swim in boots. Mainly? Because jeans, t-shirts and footwear not made specifically for the water got heavy as hell once they were soaked. It was easy enough to get dragged down into the current, your clothes acting like a an anchor pulling you down to the bottom.

Justin kicked and fought against, seeing the still body of the girl who had gone over the railing. His lungs burned with the effort, and he was starting to think that he should quit smoking. Madison always came down on him about it, especially since their father died of lung cancer. Despite all that he moved towards the girl, finally grabbing her hand.

He pulled her up, wrapping an arm around her slender waist before starting for the surface again. It seemed between the girl and his clothes Justin would never make it.

Finally, just as he thought his lungs would burst, Justin broke the surface, gasping and sucking in as much air as he could. Even as he was doing it he was already swimming towards the beach. A crowd was overlooking the pier, but none of them made a move to help them. Whether they even called for help had yet to be seen.

Justin hauled the girl up once he was able to walk, cradling her limp body in his arms. As soon as they reached the sand, he set her down and put his fingers to her throat looking for a pulse.

"Shit!"

Not finding one, Justin immediately tipped her head back, parted her lips and blew breath into her lungs.

"Come on kid."

He did the chest compressions next. At least he still had the CPR training from when he'd been a cop. It was coming in pretty damn handy now.

"Breathe!"

He brought his lips to hers, blowing air into her lungs once again, hoping that it would force the water out.

[rumour]

{{ Think far out but I'm still locked in
I'm still lost, walking circles... }} [/color][/size]

So maybe there was some truth to the peace of drowning. The actual act of drowning was far from the peace that near victims had described – maybe that was why they were near victims - but the darkness of death itself was nice. It was quiet, there was no worry, no pain; just a seemingly eternal darkness that was so unlike the lack of vision she was used too she didn’t mind if this was where she would spend eternity. She’d spent a lifetime in a living hell; why not spend the rest in a blissful, painless, sleep?

But even that was to be torn from her it seemed. Light, smell, sound and pain came back in a short second, along with the realisation that she was no longer in the water, and there was something; someone pressed against her mouth. Rumour tore her mouth away with half a mind to slap whoever it was around the face, but as it was there were more pressing issues to deal with right away. Water surged through her throat and she choked, vomiting it into the sand as she rolled onto her side, fighting for the air that her lungs, once so desperate to breath, now seemed adamant to fight off.

Her body rebelled against the oxygen and the salt water mingled with tears in her eyes. Breathing came slowly, in choking, shuddering breaths as the last of the water left her lungs, burning her throat and nose as fell onto the sand next to her. Finally, finally she rolled once more onto her back. Her chest hurt, her ribs hurt... her body ached with her near death and her head felt foggy, her ears buzzing. Someone was saying something, but she couldn’t make it out, and in that moment she wanted nothing more than to curl into a ball and block them all out.

{{...There's nowhere to go }}
Sorry it's short!

[justin]

Relief spread through Justin when the girl started hacking up the water. He turned her on her side to help the ease of it, rubbing a soothing hand on her back.

"That's it kid. There ya go. You're gonna be fine."

A small crowd had gathered as he had been doing CPR on her. Seriously where the hell were the lifeguards? At the very least where the hell was the sirens that should be wailing? Christ it seemed people cared more today about getting a thrilling show than actually saving someones life.

Justin noticed that people were using their cell phones, taking pictures and recording.

So not good.

Technically Justin McClain was dead. He had been killed during a prisoner transfer while trying to escape. The last thing he needed were for these videos to go viral and have someone in Georgia recognize him. That would complicate things a hell of a lot.

Dipping his head, Justin eased the girl onto her back when she was ready. Her face was screwed in pain. He didn't imagine it had been a pleasant experience.

Finally he heard the sirens in the distance. Justin was going to have to make his exit soon. At least someone had smartened up and called for help.

"Just take it easy kid," He told her, pushing soaked strands out of her face. He noticed the light scarring next to her eyes, but thought nothing of it for the moment. Justin was just glad she was breathing. Things could have turned out a whole lot worse. "An ambulance is on the way."

[rumour]

{{ Think far out but I'm still locked in
I'm still lost, walking circles... }} [/color][/size]

Rumour, for those few moments, was oblivious to everything but the sweet taste of the air as it brought back consciousness with each sweet, burning breath. She was beginning to understand what people could mean by pleasant pain – though she doubted whether it was an experience she would ever want to repeat. She was unaware of the people around her, the flashes of photography. She saw only light, darkness, shadows of things that were no more, the result of the scarring on her eyes.

The voice talking to her came slowly into focus, and the words drove all thoughts of remaining where she was from her mind. Her hand flew up to take a hold of the wrist by her face, of the hand pushing wet locks of hair from her face. Her fingers held on, and Rumour struggled to sit up, refusing to lay where she was, refusing to let the ambulance see her. No Hospitals. No paramedics. She avoided such people and places like the plague, going only when she truly needed too, and then only when forced, driven there by her father. She couldn’t cope with the questions, and though this time had truly been an accident, the bruising on her ribs was not caused by falling from a great height.

And they already had the records about her vision - the accusations made by her boyfriend at the time. Even the most stupid people, if they cared to look, could put two and two together. Luckily, Rumour was just as good at convincing them it made five.

”No...” She rasped, her throat sore from the water, from chocking. The salt burned, and goddamn she felt it now, her head spinning as she sat up. ”No! I’m fine. No ambulance.” She insisted, releasing the wrist she held to get to her knees. The world span, but she forced herself into a heightened position. As the fear of the hospital took over, her sense kicked back in, and Rumour became aware of the people around her, eyes casting about as she tracked the different voice. She needed to get out of here.

”I’m fine! I just swallowed some water. Help me up. I just need to go home.” her words were low, quiet and throttled by her throat. She needed a drink, but she needed t get out of here first.

{{...There's nowhere to go }}

[justin]

When the kid jerked herself up, Justin immediately put a hand to her shoulder. She had just nearly drowned and honestly, he wasn't sure she should be sitting up just yet. Then she shrugged him off. The panic was setting in. He could tell by her voice, the way she held her body.

Justin had been a cop for a long time before he went to jail. Reading people was something he did very well. This kid was adamant about not going to the hospital, even at the risk of her own health. There could be a couple of reasons for that.

"Easy," Justin told her softly. "You should let them look..."

She cut him off with more protests. Justin sighed. This put him in a predicament. He didn't want the cops questioning him after all. There was no way Justin could have just let her fend for herself though.

Something in his gut told him the kid was in trouble. Dealing with the police or the paramedics could make that situation worse. He worked his jaw, debating it in his mind. It might be beneficial for both of them to get the hell out of there. Besides, now the kid had him curious.

Leaning in he whispered to her, "I'll get you out of here, but you gotta let me pick you up all right?"

If Justin could scoop her up he could move much quicker than if he was trying to walk along the sand with her. It would be unstable and she was already lightheaded. If anything he could call Madison to look the kid over. It would be a while, as it was a few hours of a drive from Georgia, but it was doable. For now he just wanted to get the kid to safety, and his face out of the sight of cops.

"Just wrap your arms around me, bury your face in my shoulder, and before you know it we'll be away all right?" He used his calm, soothing cop voice. The same one he used for victims who needed that reassurance. The ones Justin needed to trust him long enough to get them out of the way of danger.

He just hoped this kid would go with it.

[rumour]

{{ Think far out but I'm still locked in
I'm still lost, walking circles... }} [/color][/size]

When the lips moved enar her ear, Rumour jumped, nearly protesting his idea. The last thing she wanted was someone carrying hr away when she had A) no idea who they where or what they looked like and B)were using the same tone of voice the officers had used when she had been sixteen – when she had been questioned about her father, the accusation of her boyfriend. It put her immediately on the defensive, and she lifted her hands to push him away, to tell him to fuck off and she’d walk home on her won – just point her in the right direction.

But... but the sirens were getting louder and she was stuck between a rock and a hard place. Trust the man who’d pulled her from the water, who had saved her life, or deal with paramedics. Cops. For the girl who trusted nothing in humanity other than the evil that lay within everyone, it was a hard decision to make, and one that took a long moment.

Lifting her arms, Rumour found his neck and did as he told her and let herself be picked up from the sand, turning her face away from the people still watching and into his shirt, wet from the water. Well. Didn’t they look like quite the pair? She almost laughed at the image in her mind, remnant from some silly movie she had watched in her teens no doubt, being carried away from the scene.

Once the voices fades, Rumour spoke again, turning her face away from the material at his shoulder to face the sunny day once more. Her skin was slowly beginning to dry, and it was making her feel sticky. ”Where are we goin’?”

{{...There's nowhere to go }}

[justin]

When the kid started to pull away, Justin was sure she was going to wind up denying the idea. It was apparent she didn't like to be touched, but at the moment their options were limited. It was either she trusted him enough to get them both out of there or they both wound up facing the police. It seemed neither one of them wanted that.

Still, Justin felt she should go to the hospital first and foremost. Since the world thought Justin McClain was dead he'd be able to use one of the fake ID's he'd managed to obtain, but he tried to avoid dealings with the police whenever possible. At least when he was on the wrong side of the incident.

Then the kid slipped her arms around Justin's neck hiding her face in his shoulder. He quickly scooped her up, pushing through the crowd. There was protests of course, but Justin ignored them, moving them swiftly to the Gran Torino.

"Good question," He replied when she asked where they were going. "Away from here for starts." He slid her into the passenger seat before quickly moving around to the other side and getting in.

Justin pulled out at a regular pace, trying not to draw anymore attention to themselves then need be. Once they were far enough away, Justin relaxed in his seat. He reached into his shirt for a smoke, sighing when he realized that they were soaked. Luckily he kept a back up pack.

Reaching into the center console, Justin pulled out a fresh pack of menthols and lit one up. "Names Justin." He decided to forgo his last name for now. "What about you?" He took a drag off the smoke and glanced over at her small frame.

Reaching in the back seat he grabbed his jacket and draped it over her. "You know we really should get you checked out."