Abandoned by Time

His reaction to the voice of his friend was instant, he opened the door and went inside, on the back seat,
right behind the driver's seat, a place he'd usually pick in any case... he hugged himself and brought his
knees to his chest after fixing the seatbelt and checking four more times, just staying like that, the rain
was only making him more nervous, what if there was an accident...
 
Matthew carefully kept his driving very controlled and gentle, much unlike how he normally goes about. He glanced at Cloud from the rearview mirror and said, "Wanna pick a song? Got CD's and flash drives in a box there. I keep it 'cause I love a good jam when I drive!"

Nope, he collected everything so Cloudy might feel more relaxed.

"Oh I've pillows and blankets there for naps, too." Yup, still for Cloud.
 
Cloud noticed everything in short notice but he didn't actually mind, he was very focused on Matthew's
back neck from his seatment, his eyes tiredly staring at him, he was far too nervous to have used any
of them, but when he finally calmed down, and noticed the box, he stared and began to notice a constant
pattern that ran a strange chill through his spine for a second. Why was all this music, the kind he himself
would pick ...? He didn't have the courage to ask anymore, being too aware of the road to ask Matthew.
He couldn't afford to loose his last friend ... after loosing him. "You're driving... slow" he commented
suddenly "...This is not like you" he mustered himself to comment once more, shrugging and putting down
one of the disks, deciding it would be a bad idea.
 
"Oh, y'know." Matthew shrugged, glancing again at Cloud and noticing he had put a CD down. "For variety! Life's about variety for me." He let out a short but unintentionally humorless laugh, obviously meant to fill the silence that got more and more awkward as the rain got harder too. "And maybe we'll see something on the road that's pretty cool. We'll never know~"

He hummed a few notes for a moment then said, "Want me to play that CD you just picked?"
 
"No!" he instantly responded, "N-no..." he then went softly quiet, shrugging, he looked back at his
friend. It was dark, very dark and the rain only got louder, it felt like the static of the signal-less
television. "...T-That's... what got him ... you know? That night." he looked away. Obviously talking
about that man. " 'S all my..." he didn't finish, he said that so lowly that Matthew couldn't have heard
a single word he had just said, after responding to his question, but it wasn't impossible to see he
had moved his frail lips. "It doesn't matter, just don't play music!" he decided to yell with his usual
demeanor, he was suppressing how terrified he was, so much, that it hurt him.
 
"I'm a great driver." Matthew said, again peeking at Cloud. "I've driven everywhere and in worse conditions, so chillax and eat. It'll calm you."

What is it with the rain? I was sure the weather forecast said it'll be okay or something, Matthew thought, but then realized: Okay, I don't really remember what was said. But this much rain should be broadcasted for days.

"Are you cold?" He asked Cloud, partly oblivious to the inner turmoil the latter was going through.
 
He looked up a him and blinked then looking down "Just stick your eyes to the road" he replied,
looking down and sighing bitterly, shrugging cold and looking away from him to curl up stronger
onto himself. He was obviously cold but he didn't want to admit it and eventually he turned his
weary eyes to the road, not wanting to fall asleep, but it was deadly quiet outside. "...It's so dark"
he mumbled to himself, moving closer to the window to lay on it, "I hate this all..." he mumbled,
closing his eyes. But then he darted them open. He wasn't supposed to fall asleep!

He moved in closer to the driver seat then "Did you bring the psp or something?" he asked Matthew,
"I don't want to fall asleep" he continued "Just tell me I'll look for it."
 
"Hm, well if you keep making yourself look cold, I'll keep worrying and glancing, you know." Matthew said, trying to add a touch of jest to his tone. His attempt to lighten the mood obviously went nowhere.

"It's there in the bag." Matthew said. "Fully charged and good to go."
 
He only searched on the bag and pulled out the console to turn it on again, but again he noticed the pattern
that had been creeping him out. He looked at the mirror on the middle of the top part of the car, the one
usually used to look back to the road. He felt unnerved, all the games were the kind only Cloud liked, it was
obviously had been intended for him from before and he looked again at him. "... Matthew?" he called then,
he couldn't stand how much everything was bothering him, being already naturally paranoid.
 
"Yup?" Matthew replied quickly, glad that Cloud was speaking again. He was a little surprised when Cloud glanced at the rear view mirror, as if trying to see his eye maybe? "Something up?"

Something didn't seem right with Cloud again. So he did seem uneasy, sure. But now, he seemed as terrified as they first got out. But that was in Matthew's eyes.
 
"..." he kept quiet at first and then averted his eyes from the mirror, noticing that Matthew was looking
back at him again, he shrugged and laid back "... I know you planned this .... but for how long...?" he
asked, shrugging a bit further "...Why does it feel like this whole thing has a particular meaning?" he
asked and leaned further "The music ... is only the kind I'd pick, and the games too. But the rain is very
unexpected... you know I hate to travel in cars while it's raining and you know why. But ... I don't understand
how is everything ... so perfect looking, as if ... just for me" he looked down and his eyes lowered as well
as his voice. He was even scared now. No, that wasn't it, not of Matthew, he was ... He was scared of ...

He couldn't voice it out.
 
Matthew looked alarmed. "Well, I just thought I'd help you feel comfortable. I swear I checked and double checked the weather forecasts. There was absolutely no rain mentioned. " He shrugged, switching highways before continuing. "Been planning every careful detail for a month of two."

He checked his meters, the car was fine. He also checked and rechecked the condition of his car before.
 
He looked at his friend and then looked down, a month or two? And why did he look so alarmed?
How far where they going? And why hadn't he asked from the start? Was there going to be any
other people at all? Were they going to be completely alone ...? He looked at his friend again from
the back of the car. Alright he was starting to panic himself, but he pushed it all back and away,
how could he feel even close to scared? Matthew was his best friend and was always happy and
bright, he would never hurt him!

... He looked back and noticed a lot of vegetation through the car's lighting "... Where are we?" he
asked, looking at the PSP's clock, it was already 3 am.
 
"Oh! Well, I kinda wanted something different. We're passing through a shortcut here." Matthew said, unable to hide the excitement in his voice. "I already planned the route and budgeted our time and resources accordingly. Don't sweat it." He managed to tone himself down again for Cloud's sake, who obviously looked on edge.

"But hey, I'm flexible. Wanna change routes? There's a map in the bag. The one that had the PSP." Matthew added in an effort to show Cloud consideration.
 
He looked away, it wasn't necessary, besides he didn't know where they were even going so there
wasn't any point in seeking "another route". He laid back on his seat and began playing some game
to keep himself awake and alert, noticing suddenly that the jungle had turned into concrete. Oh no.
"...Matthew." he called again, now not just terrified, also angry.
 
"What?" Matthew was completely taken by surprise at the sudden...growl?-of Cloud's voice. "What's up?"

Running on a fairly better road, he switched gears and sped up slightly, following the old and somehow cracked concrete. It looked as if it aged without anyone much using it.

In all honesty, Matthew had checked out this place before. When he was still planning, he went on a road trip by himself, letting fate decide where he'd go. Later needing a toilet break, he pulled over and discovered this route. Needless to say, he followed it and discovered something interesting. He had to go home afterwards and planned on taking Cloud with him then.
 
"Are we going where I think we're going?" he asked angrily once more, staring
directly into the mirror with his darkened eyes glaring at him through it. His
suspicion was about to be made true, the one place he had avoided since he was
little was precisely the place that Matthew had picked... "You know, that abandoned
resort of sorts...?"
 
"Yeah..." Matthew trailed off uncertainly. He glanced at Cloud's eyes in the mirror and felt chills from Cloud's gaze. "It's a one day adventure. Just a day." Matthew's eyes stayed on the road.

He slowed down again, the rain was too hard. He heard the anger in Cloud's voice, having been his roommate for a year now, he knew Cloud's moods quite well and this spelled some trouble. He thought for a moment and said, "Why?"
 
He only looked down and out the window, it was hard to tell anything apart
but it also wasn't impossible thanks to the lights of the car. The atmosphere
within itself was quiet and opressing of sorts, it send a shiver down his spine.
"... Just a day" he repeated, not wanting to word out the real reason of his
feelings of frustration. Unlike Matthew he had found once this place on purpose
...with him. And for a bad reason. He looked up at the mirror once more and
just relaxed. "It doesn't matter.." he just mumbled.
 
Matthew kept his eyes on the road even if he wanted to look at Cloud again. They were nearing that strange place now, for sure. He recognized the plants and the broken signboard with the arrow and the km on it. It could have been handy if the number was visible as well, but it seemed chipped off. In rain this hard, it was hard to see anything at all.

"Just a day, yeah." He also repeated. "Is there a problem...?"
 
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