Road Through Spring

Prologue: Plan for the Future

The indigo cat sat kicking her legs and humming to herself in front of the party barn. Snow fell from the sky and landed on her orange null signed shirt. She had been waiting for a little over ten minutes now for her friends to finish up work. Gregg, the hyperactive orange fox, had mentioned that they would be doing band practice today.

Mae's hand began to get cold from resting against the sidewalk so she placed them on her lap and let out a bored sigh through closed lips. She began reflecting on recent events. It's been a day since the collapse, missing person posters have begun to spring up just about everywhere. The morning she got out of bed and went outside the power line post had a paper stabled into its side. A beaked man, perhaps in his late 40's, and had deep blue feathers.

In the picture in and of itself, the person in the photo didn't have much effect on her, however, the man in the photo appeared to be carrying a child in his arms and had a girl by his side. Mae let out a shaky sigh and rubbed her arms together, trying to warm herself up.

"Hey, Mae." A familiar crocodile tiredly greeted. "Gregg and Angus not here yet?"

Mae shakily inhaled, both from the cold and the memories. "No, not yet. Gregg went to get Angus a while ago, they shouldn't be too long."

"Well... want to head inside? It's getting pretty cold out here." Bea said and grabbed the door handle and made an attempt to open it. "Huh..."

"It's stiff during the winter. Here let me help." Mae got up and approached the door, Bea moved to the side and allowed Mae to do her thing. The feline grabbed the handle and turned it firmly before shoving her shoulder against the glass door. The door ground against the frame as it was forced open, letting them inside.

"I wonder what metal the frame is made from that would contract so much this early in the winter." Bea pondered aloud.

"Oh yeah, I forgot that's a thing that happens," Mae said whilst kicking the door shut once they managed to get in. The interior was not much warmer than the outdoors, but, there was less wind and no snow.

"I am pretty sure Gregg's shift doesn't end for another hour, or Angus's for that matter."

"Yeah, I'm kind of surprised they both still have jobs, Gregg even more so. A few days after we got back, he and I went out and smashed a bunch of spare lights. They were really cheap, but still."

"Smash them?"

"Yeah, he'd toss some at me and I'd them with a bat."

"Oh my god. Mae, that's like, super dangerous."

"I mean we both did have a bunch of cuts after. Well, I also had a few bruises mixed in there from the occasional random trash he'd toss at me," Mae explained. This didn't seem to comfort Bea knowing how those two like to play dangerously. Despite this, she dismissed it and sought to change the subject.

"So about last night..."

"Yeah..."

"How are you holding up?"

"Good. Kind of. I don't feel super sick anymore. You?"

"Not great... had a dream the world was ending."

"Kind of is."

"Think we'll be alright?"

"No idea."

"Fun."

"Yup." Silence settled between them as Mae searched for something more to say, but Bea beat her to it.

"I am still confused about the whole thing."

"You mean like the cult or the hole?"

"Both," Bea clarified.

"I guess it is like death cult of dads... or was."

"I can't believe they existed, everything seemed pretty normal, but then there was that arm thing, and then all of that happened. I am still trying to figure out what was real or not when it all went down. The way that guy just... appeared! Then started attacking you. There was no way we wouldn't have noticed him in the elevator with us, and the way you knew where to go. It all felt, supernatural."

"Hehe, yeah, not really something I expected to come home to. This place feels like it's falling apart."

"Yeah, sometimes I just want to escape it all." A thought came into Mae's head after what Bea said.

"Well, why don't we?"

"Pardon?"

"How good is your car? Like, can it go far?"

"Yeah, what are you getting at?"

"We should go on a road trip!" Mae suggested enthusiastically.

"Where would we even go?"

"West, where it gets really flat, they have all sorts of weird attractions there. Like the biggest pierogi." The unending enthusiasm and the way would childishly wave her arms around caused a smile to form on Bea's face.

"What about your condition? Isn't that why you had to come home?"

"Eh, your home enough." Mae's throat tightened up slightly after making that statement. "I-I mean like since we're trapped together, why not be trapped out there together too? I mean if the world doesn't decide to swallow us by then. L O L."

"You make doom sound like a lot of fun. You know what, sure, a road trip to nowhere sounds like a nice break. Once spring rolls around we could go."

"Yeah! That gives us plenty of time to all hang out before Gregg and Angus move out." As soon as those words left her mouth, the big smile faded and she slumped against the stage. "Yeah..."

"Mae? You okay?"

"Yeah, I just... I'll miss them. I don't have a particularly strong friendship with Angus, we never hung out much. However, Gregg, we like, became blood siblings back in 4th grade. That was when we had our first knife fight."

"Goddammit, why is everything that has to do with Gregg either something probably illegal, or likely injury-inducing." As soon as she said that there was loud banging near the back of the barn.

"Damn this door!" Shouted the excitable fox of the band from outside as he bashed his way inside.

"Need help Bug?" A more mellow, grizzly voice offered before there was a loud thud and the door sprang open.

"Thanks, Cap'n." Their wet shoes squeaked with each step on the tile surface as they came inside. "Sup nerds!"