Car Crash (Hal) (INACTIVE)

[evan2]

It was cold. Of course the wind chill didn't help anything. But Smythe did what he had to do, he pulled his coat tighter around him and looked for shelter.
He breathed in and regretted it as he started to cough.

After his coughing fit was over he looked up and saw a bunch of cars behind a chainlink fence. He smiled as he recognised the chance for shelter as an opportunity to good to pass up.

Smythe easily scaled the fence and started to find and unlocked car he could clamber into.

Soon his search was ended with the discovery that a red VW bug happened to be unlocked. It would be a tight fit, but that would make it warmer in the long run.

Smiling, Smythe clambered in and drifted off to sleep.
**************

Morning

Smythe slept on, unaware of the already risen sun and the increased sounds of traffic outside.

[hal]

The nights were getting colder and that meant that Hal's leg was getting stiffer every day. Prosthetics didn't take well to the cold. Hal had slept in the garage office when his knee stove up so much that walking became nearly impossible.

Hal dragged the woolen blanket he kept in a locker out and snuggled onto the couch he kept. Of course, he would never admit the snuggling but any passerby would have disagreed. Hal had clutched the pillow to his chest much like little kids did teddy bears. But, like we said, he would never admit that.

Hal was the manliest sleeper out there.

In the morning, Hal woke up feeling warm and not as stiff as the night before. Opening shop and setting up the books was easy enough and done quickly. And since he didn't have anybody scheduled for a couple of hours, Hal went out back to check the 'graveyard' as he called it. Works in progress were kept back there. Systematically, Hal checked through them until he came upon a quirky red VW bug that he had picked up on a whim.

There was a man sleeping in the car. Hal sighed. This was the third homeless guy he had found in one of his cars.

Tapping on the window "Hey buddy, rise an' shine,"

[evan2]

Smythe nearly jumped out of his skin when he woke up and saw someone looking in on him.

He scrambled out of the car, kicking up dust and setting off his cough. "We're so sorry mister *cough* Please don't *cough* take me to HIM *cough* He'll do horrible things to me. Horrible Painful things."

He had been having a nightmare about the tortures he endured when The Dark Lord had taken him to New York. Not to mention he hadn't had a fix since the day before yesterday and was going through a period of withdrawel. His outlook on life was never cheery then. And the nightmare only compiled his woes, turning him into the nervous wreck hacking his lungs out in the car lot.

[hal]

"Chill out dude," Hal held up his hands. Something was wrong with this guy. He had met enough homeless people to know when one wasn't quite right in the head. This guy was a perfect example. "I'm not gonna hurt you," The guy was hurting, the guy was insane.

What was Hal to do?

"Want to come in and have some coffee?" Hal pointed over his shoulder at the shop. It was the least he could do before he kicked the guy outa his shop. Hal figured he could probably wrangled together some cash too. It wsn't in his nature to let some poor dude wander the streets. Hal was a kind heart.

[evan2]

Something about the man's voice calmed him down. The man didn't sound evil, and he definitely didn't sound like a servant of the Dark Lord.

It took a couple minutes but Smythe finally stopped coughing. "Yes Coffee sounds good." It wouldn't help his cravings, but it would help shake off the nightmare he had been having.

"We're sorry, but you can never know. The Dark one sees all and knows all he has spies everywhere. And we only have ourselves."

He broke into another coughing fit. and started in the direction The kind man had pointed out.

[hal]

"I hear ya. Big Brother is always watching," Hal nodded sagely. He honestly had no idea what the dude was talking about but it was best to pretend like he did. "The coffee's already made, help yourself,"

The dude was hurting too. Hal could sense it. When somebody hurts most of their life they know when someone else is. "You get yourself some coffee and I'll get some Asprin for ya. But, if I find out that anything's missing..." Hal left the threat hanging. He didn't need his generosity to be betrayed by some depserate crack head.

[evan2]

"Thank you." Smythe poured himself a cup of coffee and sipped at it. The hot liquid helped diminish his need to cough. He looked around and noted some things he could pinch and then sell to Mr. Fagin. It was sitting right there he could just take it.

"No. Mr. Cars is nice to us he gives us coffee we can't do it to him."

"He would never miss it. He doesn't need. Not like us. Gollum" He coughed a couple times.

"He is good, we should be nice."

"He is calling the cops. And then they'll turn us over to the Dark One."

"No. He understands us he said so."

"He is a filthy liar and he will get was he deserves."

"NO I WON'T!"

Smythe rushed out to take a deep breath of air, and do something he never did before. He purposely set off a coughing fit. That way the voices couldn't make him betray Mr. Cars. Mr. Cars was nice. Mr. Cars understood his pain.

He made his way back into the office still coughing. No he would not betray Mr. Cars.

[hal]

Hal watched with a sort of morbid fascination as the dude battled with whatever demons were inside him. Even when the dude was hacking up a fit and sitting down again, Hal didn't move. "You okay there buddy?" Hal leaned forward. Concern. But not enough concern to reach out and touch him. If the dude was unstable, Hal didn't want to risk setting him off.

"Do you need to go to a doctor or something? There's a free clinic near here, I can give you a lift, if ya need," Add the fact that the dude could be sick, could have the flu or worse, to the whole mess and Hal was out of his depths. He had no idea what to do if someone who was dangerous got a fever. Would that make the voices or whatever louder? More violent? Would the unicorn the guy saw start charging things and freak him out. Whatever the guy's issues...Hal didn't not want to see them aplified by a fever.

[evan2]

Smythe nodded his head. He could tell that Mr. Cars was concerned about him

Finally Smythe got a hold of himself and sipped at his coffee. "No. No clinics, He will find us." Smythe glanced around before sipping his coffee again.

"They keep records and he has eyes everywhere. He will know and he will find us and hurt us." Smythe began hyperventilating and coughed a bit. "They won't help anyways."

His condition was a mere symptom of years of drug use. But he wouldn't tell Mr. Cars that. Mr. Cars may be nice but Smythe knew that even the nicest people had there limits and drug users tended to be beyond the limits of the nicest of them.

[hal]

Hal held up his hands. "Sure dude. You don't want to go to a clinic, we don't have to go to a clinic," Hal leaned back and rubbed his thigh firmly. He could feel it knotting up from holding his leg so stiffly. Last night had been rough on the shortened limb and the day wasn't going to be much better.

Hal grabbed the bottle of painkillers he had got for the dude and popped four quickly, swallowing them dry. After years of pills, he got used to not always having a handy-dandy glass of water to wash them down with.

"I'm with you on the last one. After my leg went bye-bye, hospitals have done shit for me. Usually they're like "Well Mr. Cooper, we can't do anything to help. Here are some mild painkillers, sedatives, and muscle relaxants; have a nice day and do try to forget that you're screwed for life,"