"A spark mom. I found it; I found a purpose. The sun shone brightly high up in the sky; the highway was full of other vehicles. The interior of the car was clean, and in the cupholder, an empty can of Red Bull and a half-drunk bottle of blue Gatorade sat. This was a newer model of car, so Finn was using the Bluetooth feature to talk with his mother safety and all that.
It was around noon, and apart from his little squabble last night, nothing had happened. He had nearly driven the car to E before filling it back up completely. a luxury he had never indulged in before meeting Tavi; before it would be twenty dollars here, maybe thirty, but he truly felt like a big baller when he filled the tank up to the top. especially with gas prices the way they were recently.
"Honey," there was a pause. His mother's soft voice rang out, and Finn quietly waited for her to continue. "You see where I'm coming from, right? This trip, the one to the Keys, I knew you needed to get out, do some fun things, and all that, but now… Now you're going to Louisiana after meeting some random man. It just seems fishy. Are you sure you're okay?"
In all honesty, Finn hadn't been okay in a while, but he'd never stress his mother out with that information. Perhaps he should've thought of a better excuse before calling, but he was never the best at lying, especially to his own mom. The best lies had some truth in them, though, and he couldn't just play it off now.
"I'm sure, Mom. Listen, I haven't felt this good in a while. If I'm being honest, meeting Tavi was exactly what I needed. It's exactly what I was looking for. I promise I'll be safe; I'll call when I can, and after I get done helping him out, I'll come home, but this is really my big break. Good money and so many opportunities. Isn't this what you wanted from me, Mom?" Any mother wanted their child to succeed, right?
She didn't respond immediately; her sigh came first, and Finn didn't have to be there to know she was shaking her head. "Yes, sweetie, still… Don't downplay a mother's worrying. It doesn't matter if you're fifty; I'll always worry like this."
Finn smiled at that; she was honestly the best mom anyone could ask for—not perfect by any means, but perfect wasn't realistic. He much preferred his amazing, perfectly imperfect mom, which is why he'd keep her updated with his life, minus the whole gods-being-real and how he had to fight monsters part. But that was really just background information, not important at all.
"Anyways," he chuckled at his mother's antics. "I'm basically here now." It took around 12 hours to get from Miami to New Orleans, and he had driven all night when there was virtually no traffic; obviously, he needed to test out his new car, so perhaps it took just a bit less time than the GPS had stated. He was now headed off onto the exit; the signs made it known there were gas stations, lodging, and food places at this exit.
"Tell Dad I said hi; I'll talk to you later." He used his turn signal, checking left and then right before pulling off. "Okay, stay safe and don't do anything I wouldn't. Bye." The last words stretched on, but the disconnecting beep rang out in the car, and his music played once more.
Honestly, Finn had a lot of time to think on this drive; he was by himself, so there wasn't much to do other than drive and think. The further he got away from the ocean and Tavi, the clearer his thoughts got and just how stupid he really was for so easily accepting everything. Was there some sort of mind control going on here? He wasn't sure, but these thoughts manifested later on in the journey, and now here he was, so close to the first stop.
New Orleans. The streets smelled like lemon, and he didn't know if that was some natural thing or another factor entirely. This place was known for partying and food, and Finn had just driven all night and morning to get here. He was going to get some food, and being in a new place meant trying new food—amazing soul food.
After pulling out of the McDonald's drive-thru, Finn could be seen eating his fries as he drove around. What he liked was McDonald's. He needed a plan; all he had to go off of was red hair and a woman. Redheads were rare, but surely there had to be more than just his other chosen in New Orleans. Tavi told him to follow his gut, and his gut was telling him to go grab a hotel room, finish his food, crash for a while, and search later. So that's exactly what he was going to do. He pulled into a shabby-looking motel and went through the motion of getting a room.
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Finn woke up slowly; he was a snorer, and his saliva had dried to his chin. He really did crash after eating his greasy fast food. The TV was on just for ambient sound; Finn wasn't one who could sleep in complete silence. With a groan he sat up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. He grabbed his phone, which was at a nice 63 percent; checking the time, it was 7:42 pm. He had slept for around seven hours. more than he usually got, which was probably why he felt like shit.
It was weird; if he got too little, he felt horrible; same with too much. There was a sweet spot, but while he thought useless thoughts like that, he stood up, stretching and feeling the satisfying pop of his joints. He groaned, grabbing the half-empty cup of Sprite in which the ice had melted; greedily, he drank the rest of the flat soda and closed his eyes.
"Work time," Finn moved to one of the suitcases he had brought into the room. The curtains were shut, so he didn't even bother going to the bathroom to change. He wasn't going to shower; he would when he got back. Now with a fresh mind, important thoughts formed. He could search on foot, but that would take too long; he had to gather information and find people to ask about redheads. Maybe there was somewhere he could find files on people. Jesus, this was fucked.
Now in fresh clothes, he would begin his headhunt. Maybe he should get some dinner first. No, no, stay on task, Finn: business first, food later.
So honestly, finding a single person you didn't know the name of was harder than Finn had thought. A vague physical description got him nothing, and walking up to random people and talking to them really went against his code of not talking to strangers, but he had to figure something out. So after what, an hour or two with no luck, he opted to walk the crowded New Orleans streets. It reminded him of Miami, the way it was so lively and full. Alcohol was a constant smell, even outdoing the lemon smell from earlier, and men and women stumbled from bars or clubs, walking in groups.
Was he weird for never experiencing that? He was twenty-one, but he had never been the type for clubs or bars; if anything, he'd prefer to stay home and drink in the safety of his own company. Lame, right? But he was a homebody. What was with him lately? He usually didn't think of such small, insignificant details in depth like that.
He shook his head, trying to physically reset his train of thought when he felt a pull after walking past an alleyway. Taking three steps back, he looked down to see two figures. a man in a biker jacket with blonde hair and a woman with red hair. Wait, a woman with red hair.
His stomach growled. probably begging for some food or perhaps this is what Tavi meant by trusting his gut. This was the lady, right? Or was it just some random redhead? He watched in silence as the woman passed a small little clear baggie to the blonde man and then the exchange of money before they broke away from each other. The blonde man walked out of the alley on the other side, and the woman approached Finn.
He got a look at her. She had hazel eyes and red hair; it wasn't bright but pretty and mute. a splash of freckles over her nose and cheeks with white porcelain skin. She was about the same height as him, which was pretty tall for a woman. She wore gym shorts and Vans; with a dark blue hoodie, in all honesty, she looked kind of sketchy. and now she was upon him. She had stopped when her eyes met his.
Just feet away, they stared at each other, gauging, waiting for the other to talk. "I was told to find you?" It was supposed to be a statement but came out more as a question. Finn wanted to slap himself for not being as forward as he wanted.
The woman gave him a questioning glance, but her expression turned aloof a moment later. Her shoulders shrugged. "By who? Sorry, I know a lot of people, so like"…
If this wasn't her, then he'd look like a complete psycho. What were the chances he'd actually meet this single woman he needed to in Orleans in some random alley? "The gods." He just had to get it out, and he stood there, and an awkward silence fell between them.
The woman just stared for a second. "Gods. Are you a part of that group of people who go around trying to tell you about God?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. She stepped forward and patted Finn on the shoulder. "That's not my speed personally. Good luck with your journey with God, though."
She smelled like strawberry shortcake. Finn's face went through an array of emotions as she replied. Wrong person? but she felt right This felt right; was his gut feeling wrong? He just stood there, his mouth gaping open as he tried to figure out something to say. He then saw the redhead's expression crack.
She held her stomach and burst out laughing at his stupid expression. "I'm fucking with you, dude. You're related to Sapin in some way, right? You're not one of the other guys, but you just give off the same feeling as them.
So she was the right person? Who was Sapin? and others. He could infer she meant other chosen with that. which meant yes, she was chosen. Day one, he found her. What incredible luck. He breathed out a sigh of relief. "Listen. I'm kind of new to this... well, everything, but I was told to find you and—"
He was cut off by the woman. "Yeah, how about we speak about this over dinner or something? I'm starving; there's a Waffle House up like two blocks. You're buying, right?"
He was buying? "Sure, I guess." Waffle House wasn't expensive, and if all it took to get her to come with him then hell yeah
