03 The Road to Conifer Village / A Stranger

Previously, on Usagi Days: Ruby takes the ramen shop owner for a joyride. Afterwards, the girls say farewell and give their thanks for a good meal.

- 3.1 - Ivy Spots Somebody Down the Road -

Ivy: "Look! Look. I'm telling you. There's somebody there."

Violet: "Where? I don't see anyone."

Ivy pushed Violet's face up to the glass of the car's side window (Violet: "Hey! Ow!") and pointed at a spot in the distance. "There!"

Anemone, in the passenger seat: "Ivy's right. I see them too."

Violet: "What should we do?"

Anemone: "Why do anything? Just leave them be."

Ruby: "Doesn't look like a bandit, at least. We outnumber them."

Anemone: "Yeah, that we can see. Could be a trap."

Violet: "You think everything's a trap, Annie."

Ivy: "(It's true, Annie. You do do that.)"

Anemone: "Just saying. There could be others."

Ruby: "It's flat for miles. Where would they be hiding, underground? Okay, look. If anything happens"—she tapped the steering wheel—"we've got sixty-four horses at our fingertips. And they don't. So if they wanna try something funny? Let's see them try to keep up with us first."

- 3.2 - The Stranger is Wary -

The stranger had moved away from the cracked asphalt road. She had drawn her bow, ready to loose the arrow at the car and the people inside.

At this range, she was more than confident in her own shot. But she hadn't eaten in days, and her arms were beginning to shake at the effort. She had to focus, and gather every bit of her strength to steady herself. She didn't have the luxury to wonder about how a working vehicle was even possible, let alone how they had access to viable fuel.

The vehicle crawled to a stop by the side of the road. The driver side window rolled down, and a voice called out from inside.

"Hey! Hey, relax! Put the bow down. We're not going to hurt you."

Yeah, sure. Like she hadn't heard that one before.

She could see more clearly into the car now. She counted four heads. Maybe one more hiding somewhere. She thought maybe she could shoot and draw three times before they could rush her.

With her bow still drawn, her arms nearly giving out, she called back. "What do you want!? I don't got no food on me."

The door opened. An arm raised in a gesture of peace. "Yeah, but we do."

- 3.3 - The Stranger Assesses the Girls - A Peace Offering -

All four girls were standing around the car now, facing the stranger.

The stranger studied each one carefully. The driver was a redhead. She had short, messy hair, roughly chin-length. She wore parka hoodie jacket, and she continued to hold her hands out in front of her, palms outward.

The one next to her, the tallest of the bunch, had long, black hair. She wore a red scarf around her neck. This one looked tough—she was the only one the stranger was truly afraid to take on. But fortunately she was unarmed. (Actually, they all seemed to be.)

The two remaining ones stood close together, and seemed more anxious than the other two. They were about the same height and build. One of them was holding a box in her arms, the one with the white-grey bob cut, and seemed unsure of what to do, looking between her friends for some kind of direction.

And finally the blonde, in the yellow down vest, her hair tied up in a ponytail. The stranger overheard her friend with the box calling her 'Ivy'.

The driver slowly walked to her friend with the box, and took it. Then she called out to the stranger, "Hey, I'm going to leave this box right here. It's for you, okay? There's salt bites. Some dried fruit. When's the last time you ate? Look, you can barely hold that thing without shaking."

The stranger thought for a bit. And then said, "Okay, fine. Leave it. And then be off."

Driver: "Sure, we can do that. If that's what you want. What's your name? Mine's Ruby."

The stranger stayed silent. She watched the other girls carefully, in case the driver was simply trying to distract her.

Ruby: "We can leave, if you want. But it's about time for us to set up camp, anyway. Our friend Violet over there, she's a pretty good cook. We were thinking about making some gritwheat stew for supper. Why don't you join us?"

The stranger hesitated. She wanted them to leave the box and leave. But it was as if her stomach had a mind of its own, because it was now doing somersaults inside of her, as if it had somehow understood Ruby's words. She hoped they couldn't hear the noises it was making.

A hot meal sounded too good to be true.

And that was just it, right? Too good to be true.

No. No, don't fall for it. The box is enough. Don't get too greedy. Tell them to go away. It's safer to be alone. That's the right move.

The stranger had made up her mind.

But it turned out to be a meaningless decision, because that's when her body decided to fail her.

Her strength finally gave out.

The stranger collapsed to the ground.

- 3.4 - Conversations Around the Cookfire -

Ruby, laughing: "You don't have to lick the bowl. There's plenty more in the pot."

Violet, smugly: "Good, right? It's Violet Tachibana's special family recipe! There's nothing like it in the world!"

Ivy: "Oh, yeah? It's pretty impressive your family has been using leftover ramen broth for generations."

Violet shot Ivy a look. "Well, regardless, it's still my cooking that tamed our new guest. So I win. Bleh!" she said, sticking out her tongue.

Ivy: "'Tame'? Violet, she's not a cat."

The stranger stared a bit at the two, and then burst out in laughter. The other girls laughed too. It felt nice. She didn't remember the last time she laughed like this.

Ruby: "So, do you have a name?"

The stranger shrunk into her jacket and blushed. She muttered softly, "… Sandra."

Ruby smiled warmly. "Okay, Sandra. How about seconds? Give me your bowl."

- 3.5 - Sandra and Usagis Discuss Past, Future, Ramifications - An Invitation -

After eating, they talked some more around the campfire. They shared stories about their separate journies. Sandra learned about the gang's adventures over in the West.

Sandra: "Life on the road is tough. Bandits. Wild animals. Wondering where my next meal will come from." She was sharpening an arrow as she talked. "You understand, I can't just blindly trust a bunch of strangers that pull up in a … a car."

She had avoided the topic so far, but they had to talk about it at some point.

Sandra was no stranger to vehicles. The sight of one wasn't very rare. After all, they were strewn all over the land. Abandoned, rusty hunks of metal. Most of the glass usually shattered or missing. Seats ripped out and repurposed elsewhere. Tires missing. She had rummaged through enough of these abandoned vehicles in her days, hoping to find something worthwhile in them, to know how to, quote-unquote, "work" with them.

Cars in fair condition were less common, but Sandra had still seen plenty of them among the various nomadic communities she seemed to move from. Usually used primarily for shelter, or to store valuables, or even just by hobbyists. (Intact cars meant, of course, it was actively cared for by someone—all the more possibility that there might be something valuable locked inside.)

To see a car in actual working condition, the engine and internals functioning as though the SDF weren't in place … Well, that was something else entirely.

Sandra: "How the heck does this thing even work? A-and what about fuel? Repairs? Maintenance?"

The girls looked at each other. And then they all looked at Ruby, who finally shrugged and said, "We have our ways."

Sandra: "I mean, the implications of the car are … mind-boggling. Is it immune to the SDF, or what? If you can figure out what makes it safe from the SDF, we might be able to get other things to work again. Computers. Machinery. Factories! Manufacturing! Okay, well, maybe that's thinking too big for now. Let's talk smaller. The Usagi. Working engine. Generating electricity. You could hook it up to other systems, power them that way. You could even—"

Sandra began working herself into a frenzy, thinking of all the ways the Usagi could be used. As she continued talking, the four friends looked around at one another.

After all, it wasn't the first time they had heard these sorts of ideas.

It wasn't even the hundredth time.

Sandra: "… I mean, it's wild you're just going around as couriers. Your car, this … this might be the most valuable thing in the entire planet right now. You could control entire territories with this. This is power. We could—you could start to rebuild the world with this."

Ruby sighed, somewhat sadly. "Yeah. You could." Then, she clapped her hands together, as if to dispel the gloom. "So! We're headed for Conifer Village. You're welcome to come with us. We still have room in the backseat."

(Violet, Ivy, simultaneously: "Not middle!"

Violet: "I said it first."

Ivy: "No, you didn't.")

Sandra looked around at everyone, and then retreated in her jacket again. Her face was bright red. "I mean … if th-that's okay with everyone …"

Violet moved closer and put an arm around her: "Alright, it's settled! You're riding with us! First thing in the morning!"

- 3.6 - Time for Sleep -

Ruby Hanasaki lay awake in her sleeping bag. She could hear the shallow breathing of Sandra and Ivy nearby. The three of them were arranged around the campire, which was burning down to embers now, the faint crackling of the dying fire the only sound in that cold, dark nothing.

Inside the Usagi, Anemone was in the driver's seat, reclined all the way back, her rifle lying across her lap. Violet slept in the passenger seat, also reclined back.

She closed her eyes and tried to get some sleep. On the ground all around her, snow that was not quite snow. Neither cold nor wet. Something more like dust, or ash. It fell from the sky, sometimes. It hardly ever rained anymore.

Slowly, Ruby drifted off.

She managed to sleep only a few hours before being woken up by the sounds of a scuffle in the dark, and the roar of the Usagi starting.