Falton Grave

Selena:

Cars always suffered the most in a long journey. By the end they would be littered with sweet wrappers and crisp packets, have empty plastic bottles shoved into the netting at the back of the front seats or kicked out of sight. Pillows, blankets and other make shift comforts would be wedged into tight corners, seat belts stretched because they’re itching bare necks and feet would be dangling at all sorts of strange angles to avoid a numb bum, pins and needles or worst of all the dreaded cramp!

Selena was struggling at the current moment to decide what looked worse the car or her. She dragged the sun shield down to eye herself in the small mirror catching how her hair stuck up from the power nap she’d taken. Pulling out her glasses she pushed them on to see a slightly clearer view of her surroundings.
Trees.
Trees and a town.
Stretching she looked over to the drivers seat and glanced behind at the others sitting in the back.
“We there?” she muttered whilst stifling a yawn. Propping her feet up on the dash board and tweaking the air conditioning with a toe so it was more facing her she glanced at her phone and noted the low signal. “We must be there” she murmured under her breath turning her eyes towards the window to take in the slow moving town outside.
Falcon Grave was one of those back water towns situated miles and miles from the city and looking at it now if this was Falcon Grave it certainly showed.
It was one of those small places where everyone was in each others pockets- she could already tell.

Yawning again Selena fidgeted around for a drink and asked someone to pass her a lucozade. Reaching a hand back someone passed her a half drunken one. It was luke warm and had only half the fizz. Nice.

Partially concealing a burp Selena wiggled in her seat some more. Numb bum. Before she turned her body on the side with a grim smile in place. "Not to sound like a kid but are we there yet? The house is close right i mean- i feel stiffer than a guy if you know what i mean and its not a good thing" she joked.

Arya was not a happy camper. At least, not yet. She had been driving since morning and besides the lunch break had not had the freedom to move like the other girls. She shifted a little to the right and tucked her left leg underneath her bottom. Not only that, but someone in the back thought fit to drink all of her Jolts. Those were caffeinated specially so she could pay attention while driving. Or so she told herself. Either way, she was grumpy.

The blond glanced at the map and directions tapped to the dashboard in front of her. The girls originally planned to take a GPS, but Arya had quickly put an end to that discussion by almost breaking it. They had been travelling through open country for the most part, passing the occasional gas station or tiny town. Arya didn’t even want to think about what would happen if someone got hurt. Did they even have hospitals in places with less than 5,000 people?

The town should be just around a corner--- ah, there it was.

It wasn’t impressive by any means. Clean, sure, but small. Very few two-story buildings in sight. They slowed as Arya turned down Main and the girl glanced around as they drove. It was one of those places where everything was family owned. There was the grocery, laundry mat, hardware… was everything on one street? They wouldn’t find a chain store in the entire town. She heard Selena stir beside her and took a peek at the girl, wondering if she was sleep talking again.

After Selena took a sip of her drink, Arya responded. “Close, I think. We have to go through town and through the woods, to grandmothers house we go.” At the last part, she lowered her voice and half sang the words. “I think it’s a straight path from there, but the directions end once it tells us to turn onto the dirt. The road to the house itself might take a while. And,” she sent a sly glance to the younger girl, “you have no idea what a guy’s ‘stiffness’ feels like anyways.”

The delicate prancing of the light dappling down from the woodland canopy, showered the small rock outcrop with a decievingly safe and peaceful glow. It would have been a veritable beauty spot...were it not for a few points of incongruity.

The first was the shredded carcass of a stag, dumped unceremoniously onto a fallen slab of rock. The second was a number of male bodies, similarly crumpled in various positions and locations. And as the rippling light became ever more intrusive, the first of these began to stir.

Dex opened his eyes slowly, not moving a muscle just yet. He way laying on his back, elevated slightly above the others on a naturally hewn rock ledge, with his legs raised further still over another rock. The discomfort of the medium of his repose was nothing compared to the heaviness and lethargy he still felt from the consumption of so much meat.

A stag. Such a rare catch of late. Dex and most of his brothers had a vague awareness that they should excercise caution when hunting an animal like that; not through any sense of danger to themselves, but because it could screw up the mating patterns of the deer and make future hunting more difficult. But, of course, in the heat of the moment caution was not so much cast to the wind as thrown into the abyss.

With a grumble, he rolled sideways and fell a good seven feet, landing on all fours and remaining in a hunched position for a moment before uncurling himself and standing upright. He swung his arms and stretched out his back, working his muscles into a state of readiness. But as much as he could do for his limbs, nothing apart from a steady walk was going to abate the feeling of having half an animal weighing down his stomach.

He tilted his face upwards and sniffed the air. He couldn't be much bothered to look around and account for the other four; whether they were still asleep, awake, or whether they'd wandered off to do something. And he knew they'd feel the same about him. So without a word, and without making any effort to straighten out or smooth down his shirt and jeans, he began a slow amble out into the woodland.

Birds flew about above, never really needing to fear wolves much. They just fluttered around, sometimes making pretty noises, sometimes waking you up at 5 o'clock in the morning- that was when they needed to fear Kirk. Kirk hatred getting up early, a childhood trait that has stayed with him through thick and thin.

A dead rabbit lad along the shore. Twisted and mangled. It was clear and evident that Kirk ate his meal fast. The creature, left with only a few inner organs, stretched along the grass and dirt surrounding the body.
Kirk brought his muzzle to the water in the stream. Water rushed into his noise, immediately he shook his head. meh. He had gotten the major puddle of blood that lay upon his nose, that was all that really disturbed him.

A howl escaped him as he shut his eyes tight.

A naked boy walked to the nearest tree on the banks. Big hands grabbed the scrubby clothes that laid there on a big knotted root, jutting out of the ground. He quickly pulled on the clothes and his butt found a semi-comfy spot on the root. Low to the ground his knees laid close to his chest.
agh. He just couldn't sit still. He paced quickly to the water. Balancing on his two legs, leaning on one hand, cupping water with the other, he sipped the water. He did it on edge, the threat of a brother pushing him in was a nice 'brotherly' jab these guys were likely to take.

Watered, fed. Kirk was filled with his usual energy. He was nearly bouncing up and down. Run- He needed to run!

He shouted "Race!" as loud as he could and headed in the general direction of The Den. He took the dear path that led in the direction until it split in two directions (both away from the wolves' Den.) Then he had to rely on his keen senses to jump and avoid objects in the way. Small twigs and branches hit him, casing light scratch marks on his skin that would disappear quickly. A larger branch about shoulder high took him for surprise and he almost forgot to duck. He reached the small clearing, still running full speed. He grabbed a tree on the opposing side of the clearing, using it to slow and turn quickly, he looked behind him to see if any of the Brothers had bothered to race.

"Hmmmm,"She stretched and continued, "Touche Arya." Margarette commented as the sound of two people conversing in the two front seats woke her from her short nap. Then she let out a small yawn and looked at her wrist watch to see how long they have been driving. "Time check, 3:30." She spoke like a pre-recorded computer as the road caught her attention. Trees everywhere.
She adjusted her body to a more comfortable position and pulled out her recorder from the side pocket of her back pack. She clicked the red button and whispered,
"25th of June, at approximately 3:30 in the afternoon. We are already 6 hours in the road and it looks like we are arriving to our destination in less than half an hour. Tired, cramped and hungry. This- better be- worth it." With a bit of frustration trailing in her voice, she finished her recording and then clicked the stop button before placing it back in her bag.

"Le," She called unto her friend who was busy chugging on a can of energy drink. "Got any of that cracker stuff left? I'm famished." She groaned but her eyes remained glued to the endless troops of greenery.

His eyes scrunched up, then again, and again. Everything was done in a rhythmical beat. He felt something wet on his cheek, and his hand slowly came up to wipe whatever it was away. Coming to his senses, he heard shifting around him and his eyes welcomed a blurry world. It took a couple of seconds for his sight to sharpen before they focused onto the surrounding flora, making note of the morning dew that had dripped onto his face. Having been lying on his side as he slept, his eyes drifted slowly to the half carcass of their left over stag.

The hunt had been successful with no injuries, and his belly was keeping him anchored to the rock. However, he had to get up. He couldn't let the lethargy take over him. Sitting up, he positioned his arms behind him as support while he leaned back. Gazing over his packmates, he cracked his neck and glared up to Dex's rock ledge. Last night there had been another scrimmage amongst the two males over who got to sleep where. The bruises decorated all over Jamie's torso clearly told the story of the loser.

Standing up from his rock ledge he walked over to the stag, putting a foot on one of the antlers. Jos and Amber hadn't woken up, but he saw them stirring from their slumber. Humans boys, he thought. Their laziness was ridiculous. In the distance, he could see Kirk playing in the water-- or something that looked similar. Dex seemed to be doing his own thing, not that he cared.

Hearing the shout, he perked back up to see Kirk running out in the distance. If anything, the other two should learn from him. Moving away from the stag and closer to where Amber was sleeping, he crouched over him and watched. After first joining the pack, Jamie had done something similar before and Amber had given him a humorous response. Feeling a little playful, he stared diligently, waiting for the younger one to wake up; their faces only a couple of inches apart.

"Hey, runt."

Ambrose twitched, his fingers flexed and curled in his sleep. He rolled over, a low growl in his throat. In his dream, the deer barely escaped the snap of his teeth.

”Hey, runt.”

The sound was loud, close; he could feel the breath on his face. He opened his eyes, only to see amber eyes set in a narrow, tanned face. He jerked back and rolled off his side onto his back, blinking up at the sky and Jamie. He bared his teeth, more out of surprise and annoyance than anger.

The smells of the forest hit his nose: the crushed leaves and dirt under him, the already decaying carcass, the unwashed musk of the other boys. He looked around. Jos was a few feet away. He could hear Kirk, but not see him yet. With a grunt he rolled over and levered himself up. He walked sideways, unwilling to turn his back to Jamie. He wasn’t scared the older boy was going to attack, but he never knew when the playful mood struck the others. Being almost half a foot smaller than the next shortest, Ambrose was often the butt of such play and jokes. Compared to Jamie, he really was a runt.

Piper had been asleep pretty much since she stepped into the vehicle, but for last 2hours or so she had been secretly awake. Her eyes were nicely shielded by her hoodie so no one could tell she was conscious from her slumped position. Her long teal and black dreads poked out from the bottom, making her look a little like Davey Jones from Pirates of The Caribbean.

She stared at the inner fabric of her hood and adjusted her self uncomfortably, her legs tucked up behind the front seat. She had been drowning out everyone else's conversation and thinking, mostly about Chris. She gritted her teeth together. It was about missing him, it was more she wished she had introduced his face to the deck of her skateboard and rearranged his teeth.

She sighed and sat up resting her chin on the shoulder of the seat in front of her finding Lele in the seat. "I can't feel my ass" she complained loudly. "Can't we at least pull over for like a potty break or something?" she asked hopefully looking over at the driver, adjusting the studded cuff on her slender left wrist. She could probably wait till they arrived but she was used to her dads directions when they went camping she never learned to trust peoples judgement of time. She always assumed it would be "Just round the corner and down the hill" seven round corners and 12 hills ago or "just another hour and we'll get there no problem" 6 hours ago.

She sat back again, straightening her posture and rummaging through her backpack for some entertainment. She found a pack of crisps and her beloved ipod. She put the head phones around her neck and began to scroll through a list of songs, popping the crisps open and setting them down on the seat in case Magarette was hungry too. She had peeked out of her hood long enough while they had driven through town to figure out there wasnt really much town.

They had driven through town almost as soon as they entered it. Small towns didn't bother Piper, she wasn't going to miss home just because a few familiar shops and chains were missing. If they had a skate and or music store that would be a bonus.

Selena:

Ayra's last remark sparked a grin from Selena who stretched her arms up. "I can imagine."
Pulling at her top as it clung damp to her skin Selena fumbled around inside an ice bag at her feet tugging out a packet of half eaten crackers and cursing when the top ones crumbled into her lap. Twisting up the top to prevent any further spillage she tossed it into the back seat at Mag. "Enjoy" she muttered whilst grilling the side pockets of the ice bag for a lolly pop.

Sitting up straight with a huff Selena dabbed the cherry lolly on her tongue gradually wiping off the sour, sugar coating. Hearing Piper in her ear she shrugged into the front seat some more. "Can't you keep your legs crossed for a few more minutes. We'll be there soon" she murmured dabbing the lolly onto her bottom lip to feel the sugar split it. With a frown she flicked her tongue back and forth over the injury glowering at the cherry flavoured sweet. "Geez" she breathed.

Focusing on the road in front she gestured to a partially secluded turning. "Hey i reckon that's the dirt track we need to turn on." Glancing down to wedge the drink in her hand in a suitable place whilst Ayra prepared for a turn Selena let out a 'gwaf' when the car hit a bump in the road sending all the passengers bumping about in their seats.

"Christ- rugged dirt track!" she exclaimed feeling her heart rate rise and fall within moments at the unexpected jolt. They trundled upon the dirt track for at least quarter of an hour with the seats vibrating violently upon every bump or dip in the road before the car slowed at the first sign of a structure...the house.



Jos:

Jos' body flinched when someone nudged into him sending the boy bolting out of his slumber in surprise. Scuffling away from the unexpected contact and kicking up dirt Jos scowled when he saw Amber and Jamie.

"Geez" he muttered feeling a tight band in his chest loosen in relief, he'd had a very accute belief that for a moment something bad had got him. Glancing up at Amber who hoisted himself up Jos rubbed at his puffy eyes still sleep struck and now aching after such sudden movements.

He could hear Kirk in the background streaming about like some hyperactive hound and after doing a surroundings check- Dex was no where to be seen. Jos pulled himself up on a rock and grimaced when he touched something sticky. The Stag. It stank. Giving his hand a shake and watching putrid meat flinging off Jos hacked and spat to the side in disgust before wiping the remainder of the mess onto his shorts.
"Man i need a wash..." he muttered ruffling his hair up with his clean hand to spy dirt and bits of leaf fall out.

Arya clenched her teeth has they hit the dirt road. She was once again thankful that she was the one driving. Ten minutes on this baby would have her car sick and out with an upset stomach and head for half the day. Instead she slowed the car, trying to make the ride easier for everyone, and rolled down her window. While not much of a camping person, Arya loved cabins and woods and open plains. As long as she could use a toilet and have a bath everyday – or every other day, at least - she wouldn’t mind living in a place like this.

She grinned at the other girls reactions to the road. “Perhaps, if we have free time, we could work on it a bit. Move some of the bigger rocks out of the way, fill in the holes.” She spoke, already knowing what the answer would be. While none of the others minded dirt and a little bit of roughing it, there was no way she was going to get them to help with a mile and a half of road. Oh well – bruised butts for everyone.

When the pulled up in front of the house, Arya slowed even more before she came to a complete stop. It was quaint, with no real driveway to speak of. Instead she did a u-turn in the road and backed up so the trunk was closer to the door. It would make getting stuff in easier and leaving that much less time consuming.

With that, she turned off the car, unbuckled her seat belt, opened the door, and stepped out. Her legs were stiff, but standing felt good. She bent her knees and raised her arms above her head. The air smelt good – clean – so she took a deep breath.

The house itself was small and blue. It was perfect sized for the four of them. The small size would also make it easier to clean, which suited Arya just fine. Looking at it, she wished the trip was scheduled to be longer. She’d love to stay in this place for a year and fix it up.

“Come on children. Stretch your legs, use the restroom, and then its time to clean.”

Piper almost hit the roof from the sudden change in terrain. She grumbled and cussed trying to straighten herself up, the constant rattling bumps proving quite the challenge. With one bump she landed on the middle seat buckle. "Ow! Okay I can feel my ass now. And it HURTS!" She yelped, her voice wavering as if she was talking while getting a massage. She noted how ridiculous sge sounded and began to giggle like a school girl. Maybe she was just in need of a laugh so her brain took her maturity level down a few notches. Her laughing continued until the car stopped, Piper found it the most entertaining part of the trip so far.

Piper opened to passenger door, wiping tears from her eyes. "Arya," she huffed breathlessly almost unable to finish her sentence "you-you turned the car into a vibrator." She chuckled once more letting a breath out in the form of a hoot as she regained her composure "Hooooo- lets go again" she joked with a childish smile. She looked at the house "Ooh shabby chic, I like it" she said approvingly. To many it would have been a dump but so long as it had four walls and a roof Piper would be happy. Plus the place had a weird decrepit charm to it. She went back to the car and hauled her back pack from it, slinging it over one shoulder.

She walked up to the porch, putting a careful amount of pressure on the aging wood. It creaked unhappily but not dangerously so she proceeded with all her body weight. She looked at the boards under her feet, some were marked with little bora trails. They werent fresh but some boards may have needed replacing. She peered in through the dusty window. The inside was a she expected, dirty, dark and most probably musty and bug ridden. Still not totally worth condemnation. First in she opened the door and put her hand to the wall in search of a light switch. Her hand brushed ticklishly through dust and cobwebs but she found a switch. She peered in to get a good look, flicking each switch but with, as she expected, no light flicking on. She doubted they would get any electricity from the house but it was worth a try. She stepped out again.

"No power. I'm going to look for the power box and have a fiddle. I'll shout out for you guys to test the lights again. Don't go shot gunning rooms till we look around more" she asked, she didnt particularly want to be stuck in the grimiest room. "Wish me luck" she said with a lazy salute as she headed round the side of the house.

Margarette's gaze was still fixed outside the window when they hit a bump in the road that made her gasp and groan with pain when her finger got hurt and cut from the door. Blood instantly oozed out from the small wound as she sucked it out and winced in pain. She wasn't even moving a lot yet she managed to get into an accident- again. She pulled a handkerchief from her knap and covered her finger to stop it from bleeding. So much for a good ride.

She was still nursing her finger when she realized that her friend had pulled over and everyone started stepping out of the car. It was actually a bit of struggle going out when she was almost buried under her things as well as she almost couldn't feel her lower body from the numbness caused by the long drive.

"Finally," She huffed and managed to drag herself out of the vehicle. She stretched just like Arya and heard Piper saying something about a switch. Margarette wasn't much of talker but found herself blabbing about food. "Can we at least eat first? I don't mind having it picnic style as long as I get my stomach filled. Please." She eyed her friends and complained.

"We can clean after we eat, right?" She suggested towards Arya then faced Selena before asking for her opinion. "Right?"

Selena:


Easing herself out of the car Selena gave her bum a rub as it tingled unpleasantly. It was warm out here and moist most probably had something to do with the woods or the lake, either way her top was stuck to her back like a second skin. Hooking a finger into the front of her thin top Selena aired it out with a quick shake before slamming the car door closed behind her.
The house was something else, it was bordering on looking like something presentable and then looking like a wreck, it brought a whole new meaning to the idea of a rough and ready home. Selena chewed on her lip as she took in the place and then the woods surrounding. "Well at least we won't get any complaints from neighbours if we make any noise"

Scuffing the sandals as she approached the house with the others Selena peered in after Piper and sneezed like a horse at the dust, or perhaps it was the hay fever. She held a hand under her nose expecting another sneeze as Ayra mentioned cleaning. "Yeah..." she murmured lowly. Needs something doing to it- i.e demolition
When Piper pointed out the electricity was zero Selena checked for herself flicking the switch back and forth feverishly. "Come on! What am i meant to charge my laptop and PsP with!" she exclaimed before glancing up the stairs.
Climbing the stair cautiously wary of every creak the steps made selena investigated the top floor poking her head in a bathroom that appeared to be missing a window and not to mention the bath was laiden with a thick, sludgy layer of leaves. She also discovered that there were only three bedrooms...the fifth door was an airing cupboard that haboured no heater. Great.
"Only three beds guys and guess what- its cold showers all round. There's no central heating!" she called down whilst descending the stairs. Reaching the bottom she heard Mag suggesting eating before cleaning. Selena shrugged. "It's up to you either way this place needs a scrub and someone needs to go back to the town to get some bed sheets and matresses this place is pretty much a shell."

Piper wormed her way through the over grown bushes at the side of the house. She could feel thorns scraping across her bare legs threateningly. The power box was found at the back corner. The thing made any hopes for working electricity grim. She opened the rusted tin shell finding herself trying to remember the last time she got a tetnus shot. "Damn" she cussed with a laugh, the thing was ancient, prehistoric. The fuses were blackened, probably shorted out by a storm long ago. Miraculously no fire had started because of it. She flicked all the switches anyway but the this was dead, not even a flicker of life.

She pried the fuses from their sockets dusting it out. The sockets surprisingly were fine, apart from being a little dirty. She checked the wiring behind it. No wonder the thing was lifeless, the wires were melted and chewed beyond repair. She dislodged them all and dusted it out. If they could replace the fuses and wires there may be hope for a hot shower yet. Though the time and money hardly seemed worth it for the time they were supposed to be spending there. She was happy she had a solar powered ipod charger.

She left the box and reemerged at the back of the house. She smiled. Despite being a little isolated the shack was in a beautiful location. She entered the house and put the wires and fuses down on a dusty surface. "Power us a total no go unless we replace some vital bits and pieces" she called to the others. "We should go into town and stock up on candles" she rubbed her nose from the dusty air and made her way to what looked like the kitchen. She looked at the deep musty basin and put her hand to the tap. "Here goes nothing" she whispered as she turned it. The plumbing shuddered and the faucet choked gushing out dirty old water that eventually cleared to look like perfectly drinkable water. "Heeey it works" she cheered. At least there was one working necessity.

Margarette walked inside after Piper did and found her friend trying to see if the plumbing works. She placed her bag by the dusty stair case and inspected the place further when she heard loud chugging and vibration made by the pipes as water gushed out of the faucet. She couldn't help but wrinkle her nose as the dirty liquid rushed out.
"Heeey it works" Piper cheered.
"But there's no way I'm going to drink that," She pointed at the almost clean water then turned to her bag and pulled out a pad of paper and pen then began writing.
"So aside from candles and potable water, what else should we get?" She waved the pad in the air that served as their grocery list.

Mag walked over the windows and tried to peer through the dusty windows, she used the tip of her pen to shove the curtain aside as the dust started spreading out. It made her cough and wheeze as she gasped for air. She quickly darted away from the dirty panes and tried to breath. "Oh wow! A gallon of Lysol and some scrubbing pads sounds useful, don't you think?" She scribbled down on her pad and sighed.

"Girls!" She called on to the others so they can go and grab some useful things and food as well.

Arya let the other girls rush around. She turned instead to the trunk of the car and pulled out a large paper bag and a collapsible broom. She had brought some cleaning supplies of her own, but she hadn’t expected that it would be as bad as the girls made it sound. She stretched and used a rubber band to tie her hair in a bun, off her neck.

When Margarette started writing down things, rather furiously, Arya nodded and suggested. “Some towels and dish rags too. I think we might have to do our washing by hand if there isn’t any electricity. What we brought won’t be enough.”

When the girls had gathered again she offered Margarette the keys to the car. Out of all of them, Mag was the least likely to do something stupid and crash the car. “You guys go. Buy the supplies and some non-perishable food. Don’t let Piper get distracted by music. Bring home some fast food or whatever. I trust you to pick for me.” She looked up at the small house and smiled. “I’ll get started on cleaning. When you get back we can eat, then really go at it.”

She waited until they had gotten into the car before she went into the house. First things first, the thing really needed to be aired out. Arya went through all the rooms, opening the windows that didn’t stick. She frowned once she got to the bathroom. Hopefully they had something they could use to close up that window so they didn’t have to deal with wind and animals while they showered. After the windows, she turned on all the facets till they ran with clear water. The shower and tub took a while, which worried her, but in the end they seemed fine.

She wasn’t sure how much time she had spent, but she knew the girls wouldn’t be back yet. She took the curtains down and gathered them in her arms to take outside.

"Finally, some good news." Margarette let out a sigh of relief when Arya mentioned food. Somehow her friend preferred to be left behind than to come with them.
She walked out of the cabin and towards Arya's car, opened the driver's door and started the engine as she waited for the others to come with her.

10 minutes from the moment she drove out of the vicinity of the cabin, they were finally able to find the town area. There wasn't much aside from a few boutiques, a diner, a grocery, a handy-man store and few more specialties stores. "We should split up and meet her after half an hour. You guys try to find something that we really need to make the place "live-able" and pleasant," Mag connoted her word with her fingers and made sure the car was locked before heading towards the handy man store.
She instantly pulled out a cart and rounded each aisle to see what could be really useful for them. She also stocked on some bleach and more cleaning materials before heading to get some nails and screws in case they need to fix something, then headed for the counter.

A few minutes after, she found herself in the grocery store and another cart in hand. She made sure to pick the food they can keep for a very long time and got gallons and gallons of drinking water. And soon she was in the check out counter as well.

Mag's stomach started grumbling again so she decided to bring the bags into the car's compartment before heading towards the diner for their food. Not sure where the other girls are she sent them a text message to meet her at the diner instead.

She was welcomed by the wind chime's clinking as she pushed open the heavy glass and metal door. Everything looked like the 60's complete with old records as well.
"Good morning, new in town darling" A woman welcomed her with a strong southern accent as she wiped the counter clean. Mag gave the woman a nod and a smile.
"What can you recommend for four seriously hungry girls who need energy in cleaning a whole house?" She asked in return to keep the mood light.

"Now that's more like it, girls with appetites!" The woman, whose name was Tess according to the pin on her uniform, clapped her hands as if she has heard the greatest news for that day. "Give me a few minutes and I'll be back with your food. Have some of our coffee while you wait." Tess poured her a cup as Mag curiously looked around the diner. "Donnie, give me four of the King's meal and to go!" Tess shouted from where she was and instructed the cook that was peering from the kitchen's window. In which the guy nodded and proceed in cooking her order. She saw Tessa walked over the coffee brewer and poured them coffee into four paper cups, most probably comes with their meal.

"So where are you guys staying?" Tessa asked without looking at her.
"This little cabin in the woods, my friend's family owned it," Mag surveyed her fingernails as she nonchalantly replied.
There was a long pause that made her look at her Tess, she had a look of bewilderment and shock as she stared into Mag.
"Pardon me?" Tess asked her.
"Well, your town calls it Brother's wood right? You must be familiar with that small two storey cabin in the woods," She explained further.
"You're kidding right?" Tess walked up to her and looked at her like she was crazy.
"Huh? No, why should I? Wait- Is there something wrong?" Mag didn't like her tone of voice and wanted some explanation.

"Tess, order up!" Donnie cried from the kitchen and pushed out 4 large paper bags out. Tess jumped from surprise and quickly fixed everything and handed her the order. "That'll be $14.95" So Mag pulled out $15 and told her to keep the change.
As soon as Tess was about to turn her back on her, Mag asked again. "What was it you were trying to say?"
But even before Tess was able to give her an answer, the door clinked again and noise filled the diner as a group of young people stepped in the place. Tess pulled out a pad of order form and walked towards the group, leaving Mag curious.

So she shrugged it off again. Still no sign of the other girls so she exited the diner and went to see what the town brings after texting the girls to reply.