Arizona - Cold and All Alone

[Ellia St. Claire]

Ellia sat in the waiting area, her head hanging and her face buried in her hands.

Things just kept going from bad to worse. Her relationship with Riley had been torn apart just when she was thinking it might have a real future, Lily had been taken by Darian and was dead or worse leaving Abbie a nervous wreck, and now her car had broken down... For good, or so the mechanic told her. That left her effectively stranded in the middle of the Arizona desert at this tiny, hole-in-the-wall excuse for a garage. She fought the urge to just crawl into a corner somewhere and cry.

It had taken her days of hitchhiking and hopping buses to even get back to her car after she and Riley had split. They'd left the vehicle parked outside of the first hotel they'd shared since she was riding with him in his truck anyway. It had seemed like a great idea at the time, but now she cursed herself for a fool. Upon finally reaching her old, beat-up clunker of a car, Ellia had been glad to find that it even started after having been left unattended for so long.

Of course, it had only run just long enough to break down on a secluded and empty desert road...

Now she wished she would've taken up one of her friends on their offer to just drive her back to pick up her vehicle. At least then one of them would have been following her back, and she wouldn't have had to walk miles to the nearest garage, then take a long and uncomfortable ride back to her car in the tow truck while the mechanic spent most of his time ogling her rather than watching the road. But it seemed like everyone had their own problems to deal with right now, and Ellia couldn't in good conscience ask one of them to help her on what had seemed so trivial at the time. Besides, it wasn't the first time that she'd had to hitchhike, and it probably wouldn't be the last either.

Sighing, her shoulders slumping, Ellia turned her mind once again to the problem at hand. She really had no idea what she was going to do. Her cell phone had died hours ago, and she didn't even have a charger on her. The mechanic told her that the phone here in the garage was on the fritz, and after trying it anyway just to be sure, she'd been forced to agree. At least there wasn't anything in the car of value, really. All of her instruments were left safe and sound in Chicago with Abbie's mom Lillian at her shop. But that didn't really help the fact that she was stranded here, with no way to call anyone for help.

Lifting her eyes a bit, she noticed the greasy, dirty, slovenly mechanic once again checking her out from across the garage. There was no way in hell that she'd ever accept a ride from him, even if he'd offer, which he so far had not. It wasn't that she was afraid of him, really. With her powers, she could easily manipulate the man's emotions and convince him that trying anything with her would be a very bad idea. Ellia had learned a long time ago that being able to project and manipulate fear was a powerful weapon, but it was one that she was loath to use. Even in cases where it was self-defense, she hated using her unique form of projective empathy to forcibly twist another person's feelings. It just felt wrong.

As the mechanic continued to leer at her, though, Ellia realized that she might not have a choice...

((TAG anyone who might want to play hero and save my damsel in distress, lol!))

[Axel Maverick]

Oh, some may call it a curse.
A life like mine, but others? A blessing.
It’s certainly a lonely life.

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Arizona was the new place for the hunt, and it was going well… until Axel was run right off of the road and into a telephone pole, where from there, he and his trusty four-legger companion were forced to fight with a vampire nest hunt that had just gone wrong. What went wrong? Well, Axel was forced to bring his dog onto the hunt with him because, once more, his left side was beginning to act up. He knew that bringing her was going to be a little risky, but he had too, and the vampires awoke during their daytime sleep to the smell of her.

Luckily for the two of them, they managed to get out of there with their lives, and minor injuries. Axel was punched a few times and was knocked around. He was sure that he had a sprained wrist and probably a twisted ankle. Other than that, he was just covered in bruises and cuts. Right now he was just waiting on the mechanic to finish replacing his bumper and his windshield and he was good to go. Yeah, Axel’s truck was a tough baby, she was a Dodge Ram, so when she hit something, the damage was usually not too bad. He lucked out this time once more.

He didn’t think that it was luck, he believed that his mother, Kaylynn Winry-Ann Maverick had been watching over him. It was a nice and pleasant thought, but he knew that it was unlikely… why? Because he was pretty sure that she was a death echo back in Salem Inn, Salem Massachusetts. He did go back there. He went as often as he could to get her to move on, but it didn’t seem to work.

He sighed heavily from the chair that he was sitting on and rubbed his face, wincing a bit as his fingers touched upon the swollen cheek of his face. Next to him, he heard the whimpers of his only friend and the light resting of her head onto his lap. He moved his hands and looked down at her, smirk as his fingers entangled in her fur, scratching behind her ear for a moment.

“Axel Johansson?”

Axel’s first instinct was to jump and punch out anyone that knew his first name, and he had nearly forgotten that he was in a public place waiting for his truck to be ready. “Your truck is ready.” The mechanic handed over his keys, and Axel snatched them up. He patted Winry-Ann’s head as the two of them walked off to retrieve his truck.

That was when Winry-Ann has stopped and looked over, her nose working a mile a minute. It took Axel to walk a few more paces before he had realized that his dog had stopped. He turned on his heal and looked over at her. He whistled, and she responded, but that didn’t mean that Axel wasn’t going to walk over there and check out what it was that she was looking at. Peeking into the next garage door where his truck was located, he spotted a young blonde woman who honestly looked a little more distraught than anything. He rolled his shoulders into a shrug, but that was when he had noticed the other mechanic, looking at her like she was a piece of eye candy.

Now I know you’re not thinking about leaving her there.

[/i] The sound of his mother’s voice was loud and echoed within his skull, it made him wince a little bit. He sighed heavily and commanded that Winry-Ann stay there at the door and wait until she was needed. Axel on the other hand went walking into the garage, giving Ellia a glance before he turned to the man that had been working on her car, giving him a hard shove. He exchanged a few low words before the mechanic nodded his head vigorously with his eyes wide. Axel gave him a smirk and walked off, heading off towards the woman.

He grumbled before he spoke. “He won’t bother you.”[/b] He said lowly, not sure how he was supposed to react to her. She seemed upset, and Axel wasn’t really the kind to listen to someone else’s issues… and then his mother spoke again.

Boy, you help her. Offer her a ride.[/i]

He sighed within himself. “Do… you need a ride somewhere?”[/b] To someone that knew Axel (which weren’t many), knew that he was sort of struggling to be kind to the woman. Then again, it was instilled in him at a very young age to respect women, no matter who they were and what situation they were in. Yeah, that happens when you only have your mother for the first eighteen years of your life.

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- - - - - - - - - -

But a fulfilling one at best.
Yet my cross to bear, And I bear it gladly.
Someone has to take a stand against evil.
Why should it not me?

- - - - - - - - - -

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co-starr! ELLIA ST. CLAIRE
word count! 795
picture credit! ME
listening too! Buried Beneath – RED
lyrics! Why Not Me? – Within Temptation
listening too! none

[Ellia St. Claire]

Ellia blinked in surprise when the stranger glanced at her, and then promptly approached the leering mechanic.

She could do little else but watch in dumbfounded amazement as the man gave the mechanic a shove before sharing some choice words with him. He spoke softly, so Ellia couldn't hear his words, but from the look of pale, abject terror that crept across the mechanic's face, she could pretty well guess at their subject matter. When the greasy, disgusting man nodded and practically bolted, Ellia had to force herself not to laugh, instead turning her attention to her apparent savior, who came back over to assure her that she'd be safe now.

He didn't exactly look like a knight in shining armor. Rather, he looked more like a drifter, with dirty but serviceable oft-mended clothes, and the shaggy beginning of a beard. His hair was ruffled and a bit unkempt, and he seemed exhausted, though his eyes were bright and keen. Nodding at his reassurances, Ellia found herself wishing she didn't look quite so bedraggled herself, knowing that she probably didn't look her best after the hassles she'd been through lately. Standing and running a hand through her hair in a vain attempt to straighten it out, Ellia extended a hand to the man who had come to her aid.

"I'm Ellia," she said, managing a bright smile despite herself. "And yeah, a ride would be great... As long as you didn't just chase that creep off so you could try and take a shot at me yourself..." She raised an eyebrow, wondering what his response would be, but feeling a lot more comfortable around him than she had around the last guy.

[Axel Maverick]

Oh, some may call it a curse.
A life like mine, but others? A blessing.
It’s certainly a lonely life.

- - - - - - - - - -

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Bahhhhhhh!

That’s what he was thinking right now. He really didn’t want to do this. He wanted to get into his truck, leave her here, and go back to his motel where he wanted to crash for a few hours. The better part of Axel, the part that never comes out, was getting the best of him and now he was going to be having someone else other than his dog sitting in the passenger seat…

Speaking of his dog, Winry-Ann was standing at full attention. Not in a way that was alarming, she wanted the command of her master to go over and say hello to the young woman that Axel technically just saved from a disgusting mechanic. And the young hunter caught this, glanced at her, and rolled his eyes, gesturing his hand for her to sit down. First off, Axel wasn’t going to let her jump all over this woman because not only was it rude, but she looked like she was going to fall over. He knew that he didn’t look his very best, he was dirty, roughed up, and just really un-presentable, but she looked worn down and beaten up mentally that there was no way that he couldn’t help her. Especially since he had his mother’s voice inside of his head telling him what do even after ten years of her death.

His face sunk to her name. It’s not that it wasn’t pretty, but now they were on let’s-know-each-other’s-names stage and that was a stage that Axel would much rather stay away from. Especially with civvies, another name for civilians. “Axel.”

[/b] he answered, as soon as she was finished moving her trap.

How dare she think that he was going to take advantage of her!? He knew better, and didn’t treat a woman like a toy that he was just going to use and abuse then toss to the side like she was nothing. No he wasn’t going to do what his father had done to his mother. Axel did everything in his will power to reframe from screaming at her.

“Hn…”[/b] he grunted, rolling his eyes and then gesturing to the large black Dodge Ram truck that was on the other side of her car. “My truck’s right next to your piece of sh—”[/b]

Axel…[/i]

“Next to your car.”[/b] Axel reframed himself from calling her car a piece of shit, and so that he didn’t sound stupid, he turned around and had decided to start again in the middle of the statement. He then walked around her, snapping his fingers for Winry-Ann to follow him. He stood onto the step of the truck and pulled the door open, gesturing his hand up. Winry jumped up and then climbed into the backseats – that were only used when Winry wanted to sleep or Axel needed to pull over and sleep – and then peered out at her master and the young woman.

“Do you need the ride or not Ellia? Because I can leave you here with him.”[/b] He stated, pointing back to the mechanic that did stop to stare at her nicely rounded butt before noticing Axel and quickly getting back to work.
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- - - - - - - - - -

But a fulfilling one at best.
Yet my cross to bear, And I bear it gladly.
Someone has to take a stand against evil.
Why should it not me?

- - - - - - - - - -

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co-starr! ELLIA ST. CLAIRE
word count! 536
picture credit! ME
listening too! Faceless – Red
lyrics! Why Not Me? – Within Temptation
notes! none.

[Ellia St. Claire]

Ellia managed to keep herself from laughing, but she couldn't help the slight smile that crept across her lips.

It was so obvious that this guy was uncomfortable with the idea of helping her. That reflected well on him, though, in Ellia's eyes. After all, if he wanted to take her away and kill her--or worse--he'd probably be happier at the prospect of her going with him. This was the opposite, though: the man looked downright put out to be offering her a ride. He was certainly an odd character, but Ellia had met odder, so she kept her mouth shut and followed him to his truck, casting one last, longing glance at her car.

As soon as she got back to Chicago, she'd see about having someone tow the car back. She didn't particularly trust this mechanic's assessment of the damage, and she wondered if a more reputable garage might be able to get the old girl running again. It was purely sentimental, of course, since her father had gotten her this car before he died, but she'd just feel better if she knew it could be fixed...

Shaking her head to clear, she shot a glare at the slovenly mechanic, who continued to ogle her when he was certain Axel wasn't looking. For a moment she wished that she had some different powers, like telekinesis or something, so she could really screw with the guy, but her own powers were far more complicated than that, and she the idea of bending another person's will and emotions into whatever she wanted made her stomach turn.

Oh well...

Opening the door and climbing up into the passenger seat, Ellia buckled herself in and found her thoughts wandering again. What exactly was she going to do now? She'd have to hitchhike her way back to Chicago, knowing that she couldn't rely on Axel to drive her all the way there, especially since she wouldn't even think about asking him to. She had no money, really, other than a few bucks that she'd been saving for food, and as such she had no way to get a hotel room, even a cheap, hole-in-the-wall place would charge more than she could spare.

Her brow furrowed, she was completely lost in thought and didn't even notice when Axel slid into the driver's seat beside her.

[Axel Maverick]

Oh, some may call it a curse.
A life like mine, but others? A blessing.
It’s certainly a lonely life.

- - - - - - - - - -

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Axel glanced at the woman as he climbed into the driver’s side door, coming to the conclusion that she wasn’t from Arizona. She was much to pale to have come from a state where the sun continuingly beat down on it. Axel wasn’t going to pry though.

“Where are you going?”

[/b] The real way that he wanted to ask was: “Where the hell am I dropping off your sorry ass?” But because of the voice inside of his head that took the sound of his mother had plagued him when he had met the young woman sitting next to him. His piercing blue eyes glanced into the rearview mirror at the dog behind him. She sat there at attention, her jaw slightly open with her tongue sticking out. Her nose was going, moving in a way to show her master that she was working when he didn’t have to give her the command too.

He turned his eyes away and then looked at Ellia as he pulled out onto the road, going into any random direction that he felt necessary. Really, he was finished here in this state. He could go anywhere and pick up a job. Just the question is, did he really want to bring this woman to wherever it was that she was going? He didn’t think so. But he knew that the voice inside of his head that was his mother wasn’t going to let him just drop her off anywhere. Maybe at a bus stop, train station or maybe even a friend’s house that was in the same state? Unlikely. He didn’t know the woman at all, what made him think that she had friends out here? He was being hopeful, and the last time that Axel got hopeful… well, he woke up in the hospital and was told that if he didn’t cut down on his activities he’ll end up in a wheel chair before he’s thirty-five. He has eight more years left.

Eight more long years that he was going to spend hunting; as long as his deadbeat father was out there, and as long as Dante was out there, Axel was never going to give up. He was stubborn like that.

Glancing into his side mirror, he was making sure that there were no other cars coming as he was getting onto the highway. Then his vision glanced sideways to Ellia and he grumbed. “Are you going to answer me or not?”[/b] He asked harshly, to get her attention. Winry-Anne scooted herself closer, Axel taking a glance at her, but she rested her head onto the middle console between the two of them and nudged Ellia’s hand a bit. You bet that the canine wanted some attention from the woman sitting in the spot that usually was occupied by Winry’s fur, and not the rear end of another human.



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- - - - - - - - - -

But a fulfilling one at best.
Yet my cross to bear, And I bear it gladly.
Someone has to take a stand against evil.
Why should it not me?

- - - - - - - - - -

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co-starr! ELLIA ST. CLAIRE
word count! 592
picture credit! ME
listening too! When Heaven’s Not Far Away – Cold
lyrics! Why Not Me? – Within Temptation
notes! none.

[Ellia St. Claire]

Ellia had let her mind wander.

So much had happened lately, and sometimes she was amazed that she was somehow able to stay afloat, rather than be washed away in the overpowering current. Still, she’d always tried to maintain a positive outlook on everything, and though Lily and Sastre’s disappearances, Abbie’s sudden dark moods and depression, and her doomed relationship with Riley had all been nightmarish, she considered them to be a test of some kind. Maybe it was the world trying to see exactly how far she’d bend before she finally broke…

Well, if that was the case, then the world was in for a pretty rude awakening. Ellia was stubborn, after all, and she wouldn’t break, no matter what.

Axel’s words, though, brought her back to the here and now.

“Oh, sorry,” she said, smiling sheepishly. “I wasn’t really paying attention, I guess. Ummm…” She thought for a moment, though she knew that there really wasn’t anywhere to go. She had a little money, enough for a bus ticket probably, but she doubted it was enough to get her all the way back to Chicago.

“I guess you can just drop me off at a bus station somewhere,” she finally said, looking down at Winry-Anne’s head and laughing softly as she scratched the dog lightly behind her ears. “I can probably get on a bus heading east a ways, then just hitchhike my way from there.”

It wasn’t the first time she’d had to travel like that, and she doubted it would be the last. The life of a traveling minstrel certainly wasn’t glamorous, but she couldn’t imagine living any other way. And, truthfully, this little adventure had been good for her, she thought. As much as she loved Abbie and Lillian, and the others at the shop, Ellia had begun to feel claustrophobic there. She was determined to stick around and help out however she could, at least until Lily came back and Brennan went back to being her old self again, but that longing for the open road was always there…

Realizing that her thoughts had wandered again, Ellia smiled and shook her head.

“Yeah, so… A bus station is fine. And if you don’t want to go that far, just take me as far as you’re willing too, and I can take it from there, okay?”

[Axel Maverick]

Oh, some may call it a curse.
A life like mine, but others? A blessing.
It’s certainly a lonely life.

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Her response honestly angered Axel. Of course she wasn’t paying attention to him, if she had been she would have realized that he’s someone she shouldn’t mix herself up with! He was a hunter for crying out loud, and a hunter with a lot of enemies, if anyone were to see her in the truck with him…

You’re not seriously going to let that girl hitchhike are you?

[/i]

Axel grumbled softly to himself at his mother’s voice he heard in his head.

I’m pretty sure that I taught you better than that.[/i]

Gripping the steering wheel for a moment, Axel had decided that he was just about to do something that was completely going to be out of character of him… “I’m not going to let you hitchhike.”[/b] He murmured to her.

That’s my boy.[/i]

Winry-Anne’s mouth opened and her tongue fell out sideways as she leaned her head into Ellia’s hand her tail beginning to wag. Honestly Winry-Anne was a people person, she loved to be around others and she definitely enjoyed the attention that she received from them. Most of all, she really liked the attention of children. This woman here though was a little different. She seemed calmer and didn’t get Winry so excited about being touched. Axel was glad for that, but he had her trained well, with a snap of his fingers, she’d be laying down and shutting up for the rest of the ride.

Axel’s fingers slowly released the steering wheel and returned back to his usual grip. He took a side glance at her. “A ticket from here to Chicago is a lot of money.”[/b] He said with a rough tone to his voice. “Do you have enough money?”[/b]

If not, you’re going to either give her some or drive her to Chicago.[/i]

His eyes rolled to that response. Axel didn’t know if he could handle driving with someone other than his dog. She’s going to want to talk to him, and honestly, Axel wasn’t one for a conversation. He’d rather sit in silence petting Winry casually then be sitting in the truck with another human being and trying to have a conversation. Honestly, Axel didn’t do well with others, only because he had chosen to live a life of a loner. There was a small part of him that regretted doing that to himself, especially after the loss of his mother. Then there was the other part, the bigger part, that knew that it was something that he was going to have handle being alone. Being a hunter and having a family or trying too, was a mistake. In the end they just got hurt. Kaylynn Maverick was a good example of that.

Winry brought herself closer between the two humans and rested her head onto the console in between them. Her deep brown eyes looking at Axel and then reverting to look at Ellia, pleading with her eyes for more attention and love.

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- - - - - - - - - -

But a fulfilling one at best.
Yet my cross to bear, And I bear it gladly.
Someone has to take a stand against evil.
Why should it not me?

- - - - - - - - - -

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co-starr! ELLIA ST. CLAIRE
word count! 496
picture credit! ME
listening too! Completely – Art of Dying
lyrics! Why Not Me? – Within Temptation
notes! none.

[Ellia St. Claire]

Ellia couldn’t help but smile at Winry as she wormed her way between them.

She continued to scratch behind the dog’s ears for a while before changing tactics and simply stroking her back gently. Ellia had never really been a dog person, but she found herself enjoying this, and wondered if maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to get one of her own someday. It’d be nice to have some company when she was out on the road, after all, and if she could get herself a dog and have Abbie train it like she had Boss, then Ellia would also have something of a bodyguard with her too. If that were the case, then she wouldn’t have to worry about the necessity of using her powers for her own defense…

While Ellia was lavishing her attentions on Winry, she’d periodically look over at Axel. The man seemed to be having some sort of inner struggle, though what about, Ellia couldn’t say. Whether he was always this on edge and gruff, or whether it was her presence that had made him so, Ellia didn’t know, but she fervently hoped she wasn’t making him uncomfortable. It was true that she’d only known the man for a very brief time, but Ellia thought he seemed nice enough, and she tended to be a pretty good judge of character. The fact that he’d stood up for her back at the garage, and the fact that he’d offered to go out of his way to give her a ride spoke in Axel’s favor.

When he finally spoke, his words were sharp and his tone a bit harsh, but Ellia didn’t mind. She doubted Axel was really upset with her about something, and she’d come to realize this was just his personality. Besides, she sensed a bit of concern beneath his words, and she smiled warmly at him despite his tone.

“Don’t worry about it, Axel. You’ve done more than enough,” she told him, continuing to pet Winry, and smiling as the dog’s tongue lolled out of her mouth. “Just get me to the bus station, and I’ll figure it out from there, alright?”

True, she didn’t know how she was going to scrape together money enough for a ticket, but Ellia was good at making things up as she went along. She frowned a bit, cursing herself for not having brought her guitar with her. If she’d had it, then she could have played for money at the station, or picked up a gig or two somewhere until she had enough for a bus ticket. Even without her guitar, she could still sing though… Yeah, she’d figure something out.

Hopefully…

[Axel Maverick]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] THIS HATE THAT YOU GAVE TELLS ME THE SAME THING The Words: 573 The Outfit: coming soon Tagged: Ellia St. Claire He grumbled inwardly toward himself at Ellia’s answers. It was a little frustrating that everything that she was saying to him, his mother had a counter reaction and trot for it, honestly it was getting a little old for him and he was tired of hearing it. He knew that if he had dropped her off at the bus station, it would’ve ended badly considering that he was sure that she didn’t have any money with her. Not only that, but the voice in his head that claimed to be his beloved mother was not going to allow him to hear the end of it. Personally, he’d rather not go through that. With his frustration now evident, Axel rubbed at his face and he gripped the wheel a bit with his left hand. “Hn…”

[/b] It was really his only response to her without yelling and throwing a fit and probably making her want to jump out of the moving vehicle. Then again, with Winry-Anne so close to the two of them (more like so close to Ellia) he was pretty sure that the dog wasn’t going to allow her to do that. She’d catch the ejecting human being by her shirt before she got the chance to leap.

Speaking of the four legged creature, Winry-Anne was thoroughly enjoying the attention that she was getting from the stranger in the passenger seat. Axel was sure that if she wasn’t a hunting dog, the five year old German Sheppard would make a wonderful family dog. She was great with kids, didn’t really jump on anyone (unless you were Remy), and was pretty much quiet. Then again, Axel had trained her to be that way.

“I suppose I’m alright with that…”[/b] he said in a low tone, now with both of his hands on the steering wheel.

You’re okay with that?!

Axel winced.

Oh hell no, you’re not going to let that poor young girl travel all the way back to Chicago by herself! She wouldn’t even defend herself against a mechanic, what makes you think that she’s going to last at a bus station? Or even on a bus with a bunch of creeps?

He grumbled inwardly, this time, Winry-Anne’s ears perked up and her eyes turned to their corners to look at her master, who was clearly struggling with himself in his head.

I’ve really had enough of your attitude mister. You’re going to bring her Chicago yourself.

If Axel really had his mother here, he wouldn’t be arguing with her, but because he knew that the voice inside of his head was not his mother, he was fighting back. How was he doing that? He was ignoring it. The necklace and charm burned against his skin when he had made that decision, but he knew that it wasn’t actually happening. It was all in his head. He had to keep telling himself that for the sake of his sanity.

That didn’t last long.

“I’m heading towards Chicago.”[/b] He said with a groan. “I’ll just drive straight through.”[/b] Seriously, Axel shouldn’t even be driving, after all, he was a hunter who one, wasn’t used to people, two, wasn’t used to those people being women in his truck, and three, was clearly having some psychotic breakdown.

Guess no one will have to really worry about that till he starts killing actual people and not monsters that go bump in the night.

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created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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