bridge it! (kurios) wrote in fableless, @ 2016-11-29 21:29:00 |
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Entry tags: | ! log/thread, bridget kluge, penelope rulli |
WHO: Penelope Rulli and Bridget Kluge
WHAT: Driving through the woods + a hike + a bit of reminiscing on old times
WHEN: Early September.
WHERE: The Woods + Robert Louis Stevenson State Park
WARNING/RATING: Mentions of death. Death of one of the mutated rodents??
As soon as a swathe of trees began to take over her peripheral vision, Bridget felt her insides solidify. Breathe. She’d been warned about the animals that had been roaming the woods: the same ones who had mercilessly killed Poppy Adams. As much as she had been dreading this leg of driving, it was inevitable if she and Penelope were to escape the town, if only for a hike. “Alright,” Bridget announced to Penelope, as if she were piloting a flight about to undergo turbulence. “I’m going to speed up through this stretch, at least until we get past the woods. What do you think?” Nevermind the fact that Bridget was already driving at highway-appropriate speeds. Speeding up even more would put her well into the triple digits of her speedometer. It’s not safe but it’s early in the morning and fuck if we’re going to get impaled by a mutant human-eating deer, read the steeled tone in her voice. “Hm?” A sharp, quick puff of air. One that signified the breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. She peeled her eyes away from the scenery - it looked as peaceful and lovely as ever - and let her eyes fall on her friend. “What do I - Oh! Um, please. Go right ahead.” Penelope thought perhaps, maybe, they should have waited a while longer for this trip. Despite herself, her gaze was dragged back to the sight before her. It was almost hard to picture the current horrors of the forest. The combined restlessness of the two women in the car had briefly trumped the steadying sense of fear. Until this very moment. But they were already packed to go, and they had made it this far. It wasn’t too late to turn back but Penelope needed to feel her muscles burning and ignore the issues plaguing the town. She had the luxury and she was going to bask in it for a few hours. “Alright,” Bridget’s tone grew more resolute, like a soccer mom trying to inject some pep and cheer into her van. “Buckle up.” Narrowing her eyes as a precaution, she gradually strengthened her foothold on the gas pedal. She’d done this once before, on the Autobahn during a trip many years back, but in Woodsbridge? Not … exactly. The speedometer was well into triple digit territory as Bridget, summoning an eerie sort of focus, wove in and out of the left lanes. She’d heard that it was safer (from a driver and passenger perspective) to keep driving and risk hitting the animal than to swerve wildly out of the way to prevent an animal collision. She only hoped that that piece of advice was correct, as they sped past the woods in a dizzying blur. It felt as if Penelope’s heart notched up a level in her chest in time with the amount of pressure Bridget placed on the gas. She forced her eyes to stay open - although, she didn’t knew where to set them. Quickly enough, they settled in part on the grim determination of Bridget and the thrillingly frightening blur of greenbrownbrowngreen. It was for no particular reason other than it didn’t feel right to close her eyes. What was the driving rule? Keep an eye on the driver, for fatigue, and on the road for random mishaps. Like raging deer or stronger than usual bears. It was difficult to really process time between the speed of the car and the ache in her chest. Penelope pretended they were just so close to the all clear. Until she heard a thump. ‘Oh, my GOD!’ She wanted to exclaim. But in all honesty all she did was gasp. The words beyond being stuck in her throat but instead echoing stuttered panic in her mind. Her gaze fully shifted to Bridget. As if she could do anything for Bridget. As if the sudden noise, sudden reality of running over something - some animal?? - had shook the other woman out of her focus. Eyes on the road. Eyes on the road. Eyes on the road. Bridget’s gaze forward was undeterred, and it was only until the blur became less green and more blue did her foot slowly ease up on the gas pedal. Hours could have passed and Bridget would not have noticed, not with the way her hands were clenched white on the steering wheel or how clammy her palms had become. “Oh my god,” she exhaled the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Did they hit anything? “Let’s -- let’s pull over,” she finally said, weaving the car once more across the highway, before slowing (gradually, this time) to a stop in the breakdown lane. Penelope was afraid to give her assent. She felt if they stopped the elephant grinding hard on her chest would remove itself, leaving room for her nerves to fall watery and irritated on the asphalt. She wanted to keep going and -- Penelope didn’t know but she didn’t really want to fully feel and contemplate what they had just gone through. Yet any protest was stilled by the careful realization that Bridget might need it. Reluctantly, she nodded. Not that it mattered as her friend was had begun to pull to the side of the road. And when the car slowed to a halt, thankfully, all she did was let out puffs of breaths as she tried to reorient herself. Calm. Calm. Her entire mouth felt impossibly dry. She gave herself a few minutes before letting her gaze shift away from it’s previous act as sentinel. Penelope cleared her throat, “That was --” It seemed pointless to expand on, yet somewhat necessary. But whatever Penelope had been going to say was stilled, when her focus was caught despite herself. “OhmyGod.” She hesitantly leaned forward but abruptly leaned back against the carseat. There was a dent on the front of the car and a questionable smear. That she could see all of that from inside of the car didn’t leave her wanting to leave the car and see the rest of it. She looked back at Bridget and found Bridget looking toward her too. “So,” Penelope paused. Still not certain what to say. “We’ve had better ideas.” She added after a brief pause. Bridget forced out a nervous laugh. “Understatement of the century,” she had to agree. Penelope reached her hand out toward the other woman. However, her fingers curled against her palm - momentarily - as her eyes searched Bridget’s face. Pale, tired, and probably as shocked as hers was.How are you doing?, was the unspoken yet obvious question. It still hung in the air as Penelope took a silent survey of her friend, before she reached into her bag and pulled out an extra water bottle. “Here.” Was the gentle insistence. Bridget took the water bottle numbly. The autopilot state had yet to taper off completely, but drinking water helped. “Wow,” escaped her. “Wow. Wow. I can safely say that I’ve fulfilled my quota of reckless driving for the year.” She forced out a nervous laugh. “Okay, let me take a quick look at the car. Um, make sure we’re still okay to drive,” Bridget declared, half-speaking, half-forming a to-do list. She sprinted out the car to assess the damage. A small dent on the front, with telltale smears. Just like they had seen from the front. The size was small enough that it had likely been a rabid type of rodent, maybe even a mutated squirrel. They would have noticed something as large as a deer. Bridget slid back in the car and instantly buckled her safety belt. “Thanks, by the way,” she gestured at the bottle Penelope had lent her. She paused to let her own mind regain its edges, before closing the lid shut. “So, I’m ready to rock whenever you are.” Penelope nodded slowly, “Of course.” She blew out another breath in a continued attempted to gather her frayed nerves. A wan smile wavered at the edges, “I’m ready to roll.” Robert Louis Stevenson State Park, in all its barren lands and gravel-strewn roads and lack of clear trailmarkers, had always held a place in Bridget’s childhood memories. “Here!” Bridget exclaimed, pointing to a thinly carved out trail that appeared to lead them further up a cliff. “I think if we keep going, we can get a pretty great view of the Sierra Nevada.” She reached up to her forehead to wipe away the beads of sweat threatening to form on her face, now that they were in clear view of the sun. Penelope had been right. The walk so far had been invigorating. And the adrenaline racked up from the trip through the woods had slowly been eked out through the hours. The fresh air didn’t do much to still her mind, however. It was difficult, after the car ride, not to think of what she and Bridget had experienced. And it was impossible for thoughts of Ms. Carson and the late Ms. Adams not to chase right after them. She didn’t know more details than the general population of Woodsbridge. Yet that didn’t stop her from filling things in. They wouldn’t go away. Once again she found herself briefly distracted while Bridget called for attention. “Yes. Yes! I’m sure it’ll be great.” She stated aimlessly, with an enthusiasm that turned a little hollow. Bridget turned around, pivoted by concern for her friend. The hike wasn’t the easiest -- but neither was the ride getting to the hike. “How are you feeling?” She gave her arms a little stretch. “I …” Penelope hesitated. She didn’t want to insult Bridget’s intelligence by lying to her but she didn’t want to tug at her friend’s concern either. Even when it was being given. “I’m only a little distracted. I’ll be perfectly focused when we get there. I wouldn’t want to miss anything.” Her smile became increasingly less forced the more she spoke. “How about you?” Penelope had been caught up in her inner thoughts. However, she took a moment to look Bridget over for evidence of their car ride now that she had a better chance to do so. “So far the atmosphere seems to be working its magic on you.” She teased. But there was a bit of a question as if she were hoping to receive a better assessment of the situation. “You’re just a little distracted? Wow,” Bridget remarked, surprised at how well Penelope was minimizing whatever she was feeling. “I’m not going to lie, I’m really distracted.” She let out a self-deprecating laugh. “I ran over something.” Bridget’s laughter -- meant to release some of the tension she had forcibly shoved in the back of her mind -- was weak and nervous. “God, I ran over a mutated rodent. It was like this scene in my tale where I was being chased by a tyrant queen who wanted to behead me and a rabbit and caterpillar. I just had this weird tunnel vision, like I hadn’t experienced in this life before.” Realizing she was rambling, she quickly added, “Anyway! Distractions!” She waved her arms in front of the landscape. Penelope reached out and, only after a breath of hesitance, she caught Bridget’s hand. This time she didn’t pull back. She felt badly that her friend had needed support and she had been so wrapped up in her own concerns. Penelope was eager to make up for her lapse of concern - if Bridget would have it. She gave Bridget’s fingers a squeeze. “Why this place?” She asked as she followed Bridget’s cue and, then, let Bridget’s hand go. “Other than the obvious.” Penelope tacked on with a crooked smile. “If you don’t mind sharing.” There had been a strong itch to get out of town. But they could have gone anywhere. And done anything. Penelope hadn’t asked many questions before. She had simply been relieved for the -- well, for the distraction. “I grew up near here!” Bridget answered, her words brighter. She waved an arm in the direction of the scenery below, as if she could easily pinpoint the exact place where she had once lived. “I used to hike some of these trails when I was younger,” she added, realizing that keeping the answer vague wouldn’t do her any favors. “The landscapes were some of my favorite things to draw.” Penelope moved closer to Bridget, moving further forward, to catch an even better look at where Bridget was pointing. Lovely seemed like such a bland, tame word to describe it, the scenery. Yet it was the first thing that entered her mind. “Did you keep them?” She asked as she looked back up at Bridget, her expression encouraging and topped off with a soft smile. Her mood improved with the lightness in Bridget’s words. “Would it be all right to see them when -” Penelope’s breath caught. It was better to think of the trip back when it was actually time. They had barely just arrived and were trying to forget. “Later. I bet they were lovely.” She added determinedly, tone warm. “Yeah, of course!” Bridget grinned. “Just ask me next time. They’re nowhere near Monet or any of the Impressionist stuff, but if you ever feel like taking a walk down my memory lane and revisiting my amateur paintings, just say the word...” “I do.” Penelope insisted, softly and grinning in return. “I’m sure you’re underselling yourself. I bet they’re lovely enough to have their own exhibit.” She was clearly teasing but it was also clear that she would ‘ooo’ and ‘ahh’ with sincere appreciation of whatever Bridget chose to share “And I expect you take me on your favorite trail. I know it wasn’t exactly part of the plan but I won’t take no for an answer.” “Alright, alright,” Bridget held up her hands in mock surrender. “Good thing we picked a good trail, then, huh?” With a somewhat new spring to her step, she led them to the trailhead, where a beaten path awaited the two girls. Letting the new filtration of sunlight fill in any gaps of silence, Bridget let her mind rest in a hum, before she decided to ask Penny: “Didn’t you grow up in California? Socal, right?” Penelope followed Bridget with a gentle, yet still bright, smile. She was pleased with the new atmosphere. As they continued to walk, Penelope kept in step, only occasionally falling behind to appreciate the beautiful crispness of the air or the sun showed off on the horizon. “Um, yeah. Yes, I did for a few years on and off I lived in LA. But I’m a NorCal girl too.” She added with fond amusement. “I was born in Sacramento and lived in Woodsbridge.” Penelope had never thought to tally up the years to compare where she had spent more of her childhood, more of her life. It didn’t matter. She had always considered Woodsbridge home. And after leaving Woodsbridge, she hadn’t chosen LA but Sacramento. “You got the best of both worlds,” Bridget grinned at the other girl. “No offense to the Central Valley,” she laughed as an afterthought. Penelope shook her head. Her amusement was obvious. “You have a preference for either side or were you going anywhere the wind blows?” Of course she couldn’t help but quote Bohemian Rhapsody. Of course. Penelope’s brows puckered together as she pondered what she figured was a reference. Then she laughed softly, after a moment, when it clicked. At least she thinks it did. “That’s Freddie Mercury right?” (“Got it in one,” Bridget remarked, finger guns and all.) “But yes. You’re right, I did. Have you ever lived anywhere else in California? And I love the north better.” She stated fervently, loyally. “I don’t think I’ll ever move anywhere else. Unless it’s to Germany but for no more than a few weeks.” She added in reference to their latest lunch date. “Hey, I still haven’t forgotten about our future trip plans.” A glint sharpened in Bridget’s eyes. “It’s always been Napa and Woodsbridge for me. I never really gave the cities much of a chance,” she grinned sheepishly, as she used her fingers to rake the loose ends of her hair back. “You wouldn’t move anywhere else? Like, outside of Woodsbridge?” “I think they’re lovely for a visit but, -- but, and this may sound silly, they miss something.” There was something comfortable about Woodsbridge, something safe. Or there had been - which is why Penelope held her tongue; but she hoped there would be again. Soon. “But … is there a reason for that? Did it never feel like the right move? And for your question, I thought -- maybe. I really did love Sacramento. I do love it. But I went back recently,” Not too long ago, in fact, she went to tie up loose ends. “It felt like a visit and by the end of it I was wanted to go home. I sound like a Hallmark card.” Penelope laughed at herself. It was mostly in good humor although spiked with her own bout of self-consciousness made obvious by how she reached back and tugged at her ponytail to given it an unnecessary straighten. At Penny’s self-deprecation, Bridget shrugged in acceptance. “There’s always at least some grain of truth in every Hallmark greeting card.” She stared down at the ground, while her foot toyed with a loose pebble. “And if you get that feeling that you already want to go ‘back’ to a place, maybe it’s a sign that it’s the place for you.” Penelope let out a gentle snort, more of a suppressed chuckle, but she considered Bridget the more her friend spoke. “That is very lovely, Bridget.” Her tone soft and earnest. She took another sip from her water bottle before continuing. “Besides, with cities, it’s different. A lot of them feel so soulless, if you think about it.” “They have different personalities.” Penelope stated with careful agreement while simultaneously disagreeing. She couldn’t help a momentary pause as well. Her focus grabbed and dragged away once again on the scenery. The horizon, specifically. “I will say, I’m glad for moments and places like these to give us a change of ambiance.” “A-greed,” Bridget proclaimed, giving her legs a wiggle and a stretch. “Shall we?” she grinned as she nudged in the direction of the hiking trail. “Wouldn’t want to miss the views.” |