014

— do i scare you? —

THE SMALL TRAIN WINDOW LET THE LIGHTS FLASH BY AS THE TRAIN SPED DOWN THE TRACKS. Hazel looked out the window, resting her head on her arm. Gar tapped her leg softly and she looked up, shuffling closer to him. "No sugar added, vegan vanilla pudding. Designed to appeal to those seeking a gluten-free, low-calorie dessert," Gar read aloud from the menu.

"Sounds healthy," Hazel hummed, leaning to look over Gar's shoulder at the menu.

"Sounds disgusting," Kory countered. Hazel leant back in her seat, resting her head against the train window again, sliding the charm on her necklace back and forth. "I'll be right back," Kory announced, standing and walking to the train's bar.

Hazel watched her walk away for a moment before sighing, curling her arms under her chin. Hazel's phone buzzed in her pocket, and she slid it out, flipping it over in her hand. "Who was that?" Kory asked, setting three shots on the small train table between them.

"Rachel," Hazel answered, quickly reading the text. "She and Angela got seats up front." She sighed and slid the phone back into her pocket. "As much as I wanna join her, I think they need some alone time."

Gar nodded and set the menu down. "You wanna play a game? I got chess," Gar asked, pulling his phone out.

"Not right now, but I'll watch," Hazel said shifting so she could rest her head against Gar's shoulder.

A little under an hour later, Kory stood, making her way back to the small train bar again. Hazel lifted her head from the back of the seat and spun to face Gar. "Hey, Gar?" Hazel called softly. Gar hummed and clicked his phone off, turning to Hazel. "Do I scare you?"

Gar furrowed his eyebrows and tossed his phone on the small table, "Why would you scare me?"

"At the Asylum, when I stopped those guards," Hazel said in a low voice, scraping under her nails as if the blood was still there. "And the doctors, the blood... I've never done that before. You flinched. I just... I don't want you to be scared of me."

Gar smiled and slid his hand over Hazel's, stopping the constant scraping. "Hazel, you don't scare me," Gar said in a soft voice. "I don't think you can." Hazel smiled and looked down at their hands, focussing on the way Gar's thumb traced her knuckles.

"You kids alright?" Kory asked, setting another round of drinks down.

The train brakes screeched, and Hazel winced slightly. "Yeah," Hazel nodded. "Uh, I need a sec. I'll be right back." Hazel squeezed past Kory and walked to the small bathroom.

Kory watched her walk away before turning back to Gar. "Is she okay?" Kory asked, tilting her head slightly as she settled into her seat again.

Gar looked away from the hall Haze disappeared down and turned his attention to Kory. "She thinks she scared me, because of what she did at the asylum, to the doctors," Gar slumped back in his seat. "But I think I scared her."

"Why would you scare her?" Kory questioned.

Gar shrugged softly, his foot bouncing. "At the asylum, when I attacked that guy, maybe I... freaked her out," Gar confessed, nervously toying with his hands.

Kory furrowed her eyebrows. "Does she even know you bit him?"

"Well, no-"

"Then maybe it freaked you out," Kory pointed out. "How did it feel?"

Gar took a breath. "Weird. I didn't hate it."

"Good. You shouldn't. It's a part of who you are."

"I killed him," Gar snapped slightly, the words feeling bitter on his tongue.

"He could've killed you," Kory countered. "Those doctors could have killed her. Don't ever be ashamed of defending yourself. Either of you."

"When I'm the tiger, it's not completely me. It's like I'm inside something controlling it, but it has control, too," Gar explained.

Kory twirled her hair and hummed. "You should talk to Hazel more. She has the best control of her abilities, out of all of us. She could teach you and create a connection between you two." Gar sat straighter, a warm buzzing feeling swelling in his stomach. Kory smiled to herself. "You wanna make out with her, don't you?"

"What? No," Gar said, chuckling nervously.

"It's perfectly natural, kissing."

"I'm not comfortable talking about this."

"You're getting agitated," Kory noticed.

"Yeah. You think?" Gar scoffed making Kory laugh. "Can I have that?" Gar asked looking down at the shot of bourbon.

Kory shrugged. "Sure. Apparently, it helps." Gar skulled the drink and gagged as the taste hit his throat. "Or not." Gar coughed trying to rid the taste from his mouth. "Stay here," Kory ordered, standing and walking off.

Hazel pressed her hands to her stomach, her cheeks burning, and the painful shocks returned as she coughed chunks of blood into the small porcelain sink of the train bathroom. The deafening, high-pitched ringing in her ears grew stronger, like an incessant symphony of shrieking violins that sent shockwaves of agony through her skull. She winced in excruciating discomfort, her temples pounding with a relentless, pulsating ache that seemed to echo at each tiny sound the train made.

Hazel coughed again, thick sticky blood catching to her lips as chunks of something golden splattered on the sink. One caught in her throat causing a coughing fit. Hazel spat out everything that she could, the more she coughed the blacker her blood became.

Hazle wipped her mouth with the back of her hand, trying to steady her breathing. Hazel looked at herself in the mirror, black blood smeared on her skin, caught in her teeth and her eyes glowed a bright yellow, golden like the sun. Hazel let her eyes trail over her skin, her veins having the same, but faint, golden glow.

Hazel brushed her fingers over her arm where the needle had broken through her skin, but nothing was there. No marks, raised skin, or discolouring.

Hazel dropped her head against the small mirror as the intense ringing grew harder to ignore. "Stop," Hazel whispered, pressing her hand to her ears. "Stop!" The mirror cracked with her yell and the lights through the train flashed for a few moments.

Hazel's gaze rose to meet her reflection in the fragmented mirror, the fractured glass pieces distorting her image into a surreal mosaic of her own face. With shaking hands, she turned on the faucet and began to scrub her hands vigorously. She carefully worked to remove every trace of blood, paying close attention to the nooks and crannies of her fingers and under her nails.

She splashed cool water into her mouth, swishing it around her teeth, removing any black marks before spitting it into the sink. Her eyes narrowed, wiping her lips clean of the remaining blood. She rinsed the sink out and wiped it down with a hand towel before taking a second to dry her hands and face.

She sucked a deep breath through her nose, before quickly sliding out of the small bathroom and racing back to Kory and Gar. Hazel stepped over Kory and fell back into her seat, rubbing her eyes. "You good?" Kory asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

Hazel reached forward and downed one of Kory's remaining shots. "Hazel?" Gar questioned, trying to meet her eyes.

"I don't know..." Hazel muttered, dropping her head into her hands. "I think I'm train sick." Gar glanced up at Kory, her eyes watching Hazel in worry.

"I'm gonna get you a water," Kory said, squeezing Hazel's shoulder.

"And a Midory," Hazel called after her.

The train taking them to Ohio seemed to take forever, the hours pilling on. Kory sat back down after standing to walk around the train for the fourth time, Hazel sipping on another brightly coloured green drink. "How many of those have you had?" Kory asked.

"Three," Hazel said unsurely, her voice quiet.

"How do you even get them; didn't they ID you?" Hazel held up her phone, the back of her phone showing her licence and her fake ID showing through the semi-see-through case.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have an obstruction on the track about a mile ahead. Once we get that cleared, we'll be back on our way. Sorry about the inconvenience," The P.A. announced.

Kory looked over her shoulder, around at the dark parts of the train. "What's wrong?" Gar asked.

"Probably just being paranoid," Kory answered turning back. "Tired?" Kory asked Hazel as she watched the girl's eyes keep fluttering shut.

"I normally get tired when I drink but..." Hazel closed her eyes and set her drink down. "I normally drink more than this."

"Well, you've had a long week," Kory reminded. Hazel shrugged softly, humming. "Try and get some rest."

"Wanna lean against me?" Gar asked, resting his hand on Hazel's knee. She hummed and Gar slid closer, opening his arm so Hazel could lean against his chest and shoulder. Gar wrapped his arm around Hazel, holding her in place as her eyes closed.

❁

A HARSH JAB JOLTED HAZEL FROM HER SLEEP. Her sudden movement stirred Gar awake and he lifted his head that was resting on top of hers. "Wake up," Kory ordered, slapping Gar's leg. "We have to find Angela and Rachel. Come on!"

Hazel scrambled up, fixing her jacket onto her shoulders properly. She and Gar raced after Kory who was speed walking down the train walkway. "Wanna tell us what's going on?" Gar asked in a quiet voice, fixing his jacket properly.

"Just keep moving," Kory snapped. They reached the front of the train with the lounging seats and Kory rushed ahead to Angela. "Where's Rachel?" Kory asked Angela and her head snapped up.

"She went to the bathroom. Why?" Angela asked, looking up at Kory.

Kory turned back to Hazel and Gar, leaning down to talk to them quietly. "I need you to find Rachel and get them out of the train," Kory ordered Gar.

"The conductor-"

"Just do it. Hazel keep them safe," Kory spoke up, interrupting Gar.

"What're you gonna do?" Hazel asked.

"I'm fine. Just go," Kory demanded, walking away.

Hazel glanced at Gar. "Uhh," Hazel looked around, spotting the small train bathroom. "Get her out the front entrance, I'll meet you out there." Gar nodded, grabbing Rachel's bag and leading Angela off. Hazel walked to the bathroom, knocking lightly on the door.

"Occupied, sorry," Rachel called.

"It's Hazel, we have to go," Hazel called back, her voice coming out as a demand. A few seconds later, Rachel emerged looking up at Hazel confused. "Gar has Angela, Kory's handling... whatever." Rachel nodded and followed behind Hazel as they rushed to the front entrance of the train. Gar waved her down and the girls rushed towards him and Angela.

"There's police everywhere," Rachel assessed, looking over the dozens of police cars. An explosion rattled from the train and people slowly exiting the train, screamed and ran into the lines of police.

Hazel's phone buzzed and she read over the message from Kory. "Come on, Kory said to meet down the road," Hazel read aloud, walking in front of the group.

"We can't just leave her," Rachel argued, following closely behind Hazel.

"She said go, so we go," Gar countered. "Pretty sure she can handle herself. Come on. There's our ride." Gar nodded ahead to a truck with its worker standing by.

"I got it," Hazel called. She twisted her hands and vines grew around his feet, small pink flowers spouting and releasing a puff of light smoke. It floated up to his head and he breathed it in. He stumbled and sneezed for a moment before collapsing. "He's just unconscious," Hazel mumbled.

The others clambered in the back seat as Hazel knelt next to the man, taking the keys from his pocket. She stepped over the man and jumped in the front seat. Hazel twisted the keys and AC/DC blasted from the stereo. "Good taste," Angela mumbled and Hazel smiled. Hazel reversed and the car skidded slightly as Hazel swung around to drive down the dirt road.

Hazel drove down the road until the headlights reflected off of Kory's shiny dress. Hazel skidded to a stop and Kory looked at Hazel through the window. "When did you get your licence?" Kory questioned.

"Fifteen, but I've been driving since I was thirteen," Hazel answered. "Wanna swap?"

"If you don't mind," Kory said with a smile. Hazel jumped over into the passenger seat and Kory hauled herself into the driver's seat. "What exactly is this music?"

"AC/DC," Hazel answered.

"Not bad," Kory nodded.

— gods —