let's go together!

The bar was quiet, with all but a chosen few graveyard patrons left quietly humming in their groups.

Among them, were Ash and Heather.

Ash was a regular, and had been for practically as long as she’d been able to enter the establishment on her own. Dee, the owner, was a close family friend, after all – so the bar was almost like a second home to her.

Heather… was not. She wasn’t even from around the countryside district itself. Ash wasn’t sure where she was from, with an accent she’d never heard before, but figured Heather was more likely than not some kind of big city girl.

But why a trendy big city individual would come all the way out here… was confusing to Ash. But it wasn’t really any of her business.

Heather had, more or less, been hitting on Ash for the better part of the past 3 hours since she’d arrived. Rather, she was making an attempt.

While not uncomfortable with her attempts at advances, Ash wasn’t really in the mood – not tonight. Yulan had gotten sick again, which was just another source of stress on top of having to deal with the reports of more and more people going missing in an unexplained manner.

Still, Ash tried to humor her as much as she could, with one-word responses and interspersed nods to Heather’s rambling.

Suddenly, though…

“Alright, 30 minutes until closing!” Dee hollered.

“If any of y’all need a ride, it’d be best to call ‘em now! It’s been getting pretty cold out lately, and y’all know how long rideshares take to get all the way out here.”

Ash didn’t mind it. While the others in the bar quickly started shuffling to wrap up what they were doing, Ash knew she could stay around a little longer – because she knew that Dee would probably want her help cleaning up, anyways.

But that Heather woman… she stayed put.

Ash gave her fifteen minutes, but after being caught off guard by Dee’s initial announcement, she just kept on rambling.

“Hey.” Ash said, interrupting Heather with a tap to the shoulder.

“You should probably arrange a ride home.”

That was probably the most Ash had said to Heather the entire night, but Heather seemed puzzled for different reasons.

“Why would I need one? I can just take the bus back, right?” Heather responded, her question seeming to be completely earnest.

“Oh dear…” Dee mumbled. She’d been eavesdropping practically the whole night, but only decided to step in now.

“Uh, hey, sorry to butt in on you two. Young lady, you’re… er… not from around here, I reckon?”

“Hehe, is it that obvious? I thought I was doing an okay job at blending in with the country folk here…” Heather replied with a chuckle.

“Yeah, er, it’s just that… the bus out here doesn’t run this late. And if you’re just visiting, I… wouldn’t want you getting lost in a place like this in the middle of the night.” Dee said, shaking her head.

“I’ll be fine! My phone signal has been pretty on and off this far from home, but I’m sure I can just download the map and use it that way!”

Heather’s words didn’t inspire confidence, as Dee quickly shot a concerned grimace in Ash’s direction. Ash knew Dee well enough that she knew what the bartender was implying… even if Ash wasn’t particularly enthused about it.

Yulan was sick, and Ash told her that she’d be home the usual time. She didn’t want to cause her more stress… but Ash knew it was only right to help the mysterious city slicker out.

Yulan wasn’t a baby, after all. Worst that would happen is her ice pack would thaw out, and she’d use some frozen peas instead.

“My motorcycle is a two-seater.” Ash piped up.

“If you tell me the address of where you’re staying, I can get you there. It’s no trouble.”

Heather’s eyes seemed to light up.

“Ohmigosh, really? That’s so kind of you...” she beamed.

“I’ve only just arrived out in these boonies, and everyone here is so nice!”

These… boonies?

Whatever. Ash had heard worse comparisons.

“Yeah, Ash here is one of a kind! Most reliable person way out here by a longshot.” Dee said with a smile.

“You don’t have to help me clean tonight, Ash. Just make sure this gal gets to her hotel safe, okay?”

“Will do.” Ash said with a nod, followed by a sigh.

Ash and Heather were the last to exit the bar into the night – which was quite bitter in contrast to the warm and cozy temperature Dee kept that bar at. Ash was used to it, but Heather was quick to complain about how chilly it was while Ash led her over to her parked motorcycle.

“I, uh, don’t have an extra helmet. You can just wear mine.” Ash said as she handed off her motorcycle helmet to Heather.

“I’ll… try not to crash.”

While Ash’s statement was more of a deadpan one, Heather still seemed to find it humorous and chuckled a bit – to no reply from Ash.

From then, there was relative silence. Heather did ask if she could hold on to Ash while she drove, though – and though the woman’s tone had been overly flirtatious in the bar, she seemed to have lost that edge to her voice now.

Either way, it wasn’t something Ash found an issue with.

Soon enough, the silent stillness was filled with the sound of Ash’s motorcycle, as the two set off into the night together.

The Burrowgatory countryside, despite its vast emptiness, was a familiar place to Ash. When Heather told her where she was staying, Ash new exactly where to go.

It wasn’t actually very far from Dee’s bar, in fact – but Ash felt that with how unfamiliar Heather seemed with the area, it was for the best she didn’t try and make it back herself in any case.

Ash skidded to a stop in front of the hotel’s lobby entrance, and retrieved her helmet from Heather – who seemed to have a huge grin on her face.

“That’s the first time I’ve ever been on one of these, you know!” she smiled.

“What a rush! Maybe I should see if I can find motorcycle clubs in the city...”

“I’m sure you can.” Ash replied with a nod.

“Well, I’ll be off. Try and stay cautious out there, okay?”

“I’ll try my best, hehe!” Heather said with a… semi-reassuring look.

“Ooh, but before you go…”

“Yeah?”

“Could I get your number? You know, just in case anything, happens that I, like… need help with.”

Ash sighed. She sort of expected this to happen.

But…

“Well, I don’t see why not.” Ash replied, putting on a weak smile for the first time that night.