Dark Terrors and Desperation in Diapers (private)

[Rye]

(Okay , so a private rp between me and R682. So if you're not me or them , no posting in this thread)

Summer , a time of warm weather , thunderstorms , ice cream , and no school. It was in this time that two children , brothers , were sent on their way to their grandmothers ranch for the duration of the summer. It was a hot summer though ,a toasty 27 C, so warm you thought carefully on wither you should sit on leather seats. Her ranch was out in the Midwest , small towns separated by long stretches of black slightly melted tarmac with huge crop fields on either side containing corn , rye , wheat and others along with orchards and other fruits coming into season. The sun was overhead in a sea of blue sky , not a cloud in sight, but the forecast was for storms in the later week to give them some water, the townsfolk were thankful it wasn't anything more severe.

The sun beat in through the window, Luke was half passed out on the seat opposite his brother , he was thankfully not caught in the sun but was covered in swear so much so it drenched his shirt , it had been a long train ride , he wanted to fly but there were no airports out here , at least none that could take commercial airlines. The train compartment was fairly classy , red leather , a sliding door to the main hallway through the cartridge. The window was open as wide as it could be to let the cold air in. Luke was in a plain white t-shirt and grey shorts , his arms laid out limp at his side beside a half empty water bottle. The agreement was to meet their grandma at the station so they were only on their own for the journey. Luke wasn't the best for travelling ,he needed help with a few things and in a shaky environment it made things a little worse. The blond looked at his brother with his on sleepy green eye "how much longer?" he asked for the twenty eighth time. He was only thirteen , just out of childhood, he had liked the idea of exploring somewhere new , until the heat picked up and he was trapped in the makeshift sauna. The two had never really been with their grandmother , she saw them a lot when they were young but stopped when granddad died and she took over the ranch. The train slowed and hissed as it approached the station, giving out a low whistle as it did.

[R682]

"We're there now," his sister Hayley sighed. She may have, in reality, been a girl, but in many respects it would have been easy to mistake her for another boy, beside the first. She wore rough, featureless clothes in a loose kind of way, and tired shapeless trainers. Probably she should have dressed up a little more for this introduction, but there were few things she hated more. "Come on, keep a look out," she jostled him, "see if you can see Grandma on the platform."

She too felt sweltering and trapped in here, though she had so far kept on her enveloping woolen jumper, partly in defense against the eyes of the other passengers around her. Her long brown hair hid her further, covering one eye in the same way her brother's bandage covered his own, though also marking her out as feminine in at least one respect. Grateful at the thought of finally breaking out into the open air, she stood up prematurely as the train began to slow, carefully gathering both her own luggage and that of her brother. She wondered if she had time to nip to the train bathroom one last time before they disembarked, but decided not. Her brother would only make fun of her, going for the zillionth time since they boarded. Still, she should probably be grateful they'd thought to bring enough water to keep drinking. This journey would have been even worse without it.

The luggage collected, she turned back to her brother, and to stare out the window herself as the platform began to roll into view. There wasn't much to it; just a baking strip of dusty concrete and a tiny station office. There was no mistaking they were out in the middle of nowhere already.

"So..." she quietly encouraged Luke again, hoping he was going to come out of his heat-induced daze. "See anything yet?"

[Rye]

Luke sighed and got up as the train came to a stop , he looked through the heat haze onto the platform , not seeing anything he moved to get out , grabbing his own brown satchel bag and headed out. He was amazed Hayley could stand the heat in her jumper , he was melting and he was in the least amount of clothes he was allowed without attracting strange men. He sighed , he needed more water, he was already out of water too , drank it all by the first half of their journey. "God , that's not you going to the bathroom again is it ,you've got a bladder like a sieve" he commented , aware of hypocritical he was , seeing as he wet the bed some nights when he was jumpy from the dark or there was a storm overhead. When they arrived he still couldn't see a thing "no ,but we might when we get out there" he said getting up and heading out onto the platform.

Grandma was waiting for them , she looked old and tanned , her hair tied back and aged grey , she was rather large but everything about her said she worked hard. She wore a apron and a simple flower dress underneath with black Wellington boots "Luke and Hayley?" she asked with a smile.

[R682]

"Pleased to meet you," Hayley bobbed formally, a half curtsey before she realised how ridiculous that would have looked. She'd caught Luke by the elbow and steered him across the platform towards the old lady. There weren't many candidates waiting here on this tiny abandoned little station, and the train was already pulling away by the time they made their greeting.

She quickly studied the grandmother they hadn't met in recent memory, glancing up nervously before letting her eyes fall back to the ground. The woman wasn't quite what she had expected. Age seemed to have no power over her, and she looked capable and a little intimidating.

The open air of the platform was much preferable to the oven of the train, but that wasn't to say it was pleasant. The concrete reflected the heat of the day like a mirror, and the air felt gritty and dry. Her feet itched inside her damp shoes, but Hayley knew it would probably be hours yet before she could take them off. Beside her, Luke looked just as uncomfortable, despite the light clothes that seemed to her the benefits of being a boy. Hayley hoped her grandmother's car would have air conditioning, which would be a major relief to both of them at this point, though she looked like the kind of woman to drive a battered old pickup.

"Very pleased to meet you," she murmured again, in case the woman hadn't heard her the first time, and eager to keep moving now things were finally underway. Her thoughts were not so much on the stranger before her, at this point, as the fantasy of an air-conditioned limousine well stocked with ice-cold coca-cola.

[Rye]

"Oh good. It's been so long since I've seen you both I had to make sure it was you. You probably don't remember me either you were so small "Come on then , you can sit up front with me then" she said cheerily , taking the bags off Hayley. She led the way out to a dark green pick up truck, just as she had predicted , it looked old and well used , dried mud and dust coated the paintwork. She put the bags in the back and went into the drivers seat. The passenger side was double wide for two people to sit in , much like a van seat. The seats were hot leather and did not look comfortable. The inside was surprisingly clean and washed given the state of the outside.

Luke stumbled over , panting from the heat "When we get there I'm having a cold shower and a big drink of water" he said getting into the truck.His clothes stuck to him with a layer of warm sweaat and his hair was damp and sun treated , it was even warm to the touch.

[R682]

Hayley's fantasies evaporated as she caught sight of the vehicle. Still, it was no worse that she had expected, even if it signaled that there was yet more uncomfortable travel to come. At least their Grandma was starting to seem more friendly than she might first have feared.

"Thankyou," she managed weakly, though unprompted conversation still seemed beyond her. She turned to Luke instead and gently touched him to prompt him forward, noting how warm and damp he felt, even to the touch. Had he been drinking enough recently? She'd made her water supply last, but she hadn't paid any attention to him in that respect until now. Could that be why he seemed so floppy and lackluster? She should have made sure, and shared some of hers with him during this last hour. There was nothing for it now, however, but get to their destination as soon as possible. Then Luke could have his shower, and whatever additional water he might need besides...

"You go in the middle," she prompted him kindly, helping him up. Then she scrambled up after him, wincing at the hot leather as she slid onto it. The truck smelt old, like oil and worn metal mixed with aged cushioned padding. There wasn't much space and the interior felt cramped, leaving her pressed in hip to hip with her brother. Normally she would be quite happy to snuggle up, but in this state of sweat and heat it was bound to be uncomfortable.

The truck creaked and leaned slightly as their grandmother climbed aboard on the other side, into the driver's seat. Hayley still hadn't managed any kind of meaningful communication with her. She had no idea where they were going from here, or where this ranch was, or what it was like. Her mind had realistically moved on from visions of ponies and a shimmering swimming lake by now, towards a vision more in keeping with the worn old vehicle and weather-beaten old lady. Still, she'd have to ask something. If nothing else, having missed her chance on the train, she was going to need another bathroom visit before long. She'd be alright as long as this journey wasn't going to take too long. But it would be good to know how long, so she could at least pace herself.

"Excuse me," she finally managed to find her voice, with a gentle cough. "How far is it to your ranch from here, if I may?"

[Rye]

Luke yelped a little as he sat back , his back was wet which helped but it still hurt through his thin clothes. He went into his bag and brought out his water , he did have some left but he had been filling it up in the train bathroom tap , so it was warm and rather bad to drink , not dangerous , just tasted like antibiotics and chlorine. He took a sip and sighed. He looked out the window , the road had fields on all sides and a trail of dirt separating them from the wide tarmac road , it just stretched on to the distance.

"Roll down the window on your side Hayley , keep the air flow going" she said as she got in "How far , some miles , why , something important?" she asked "Not to worry you'll like it well enough , there's not much to do for kids but there's always chores if you're bored enough" she chuckled as she started the truck , it rumbling and spluttering to life and it rocked on it's way on , not smooth in the least but it moved none the less.

[R682]

Hayley did as she was asked, grateful for the breeze as the truck started to move. The bouncing and shuddering motion of the truck unsettled her, however, bringing her present insecurities to the fore as her bladder bumped and jostled inside her.

"How many miles?!" she insisted abruptly over the rumbling sound of the truck, surprising herself at her outspokenness. Then she blushed, realising an explanation was required, "I'm sorry... It's just... I need the toilet, a bit."

She glanced at Luke in embarrassment, unable to look at her grandmother, but knowing he already knew her all too well. So this was to be the first impression she gave of herself to the powerful old lady: one of shameful weakness. Why hadn't she just kept her mouth shut for now? It would almost certainly wait. It was only the fear that it wouldn't that played on her, after only that one time that it hadn't.

At least he had found something to drink. She'd been worrying about nothing in that respect. It was all very well him making fun of her, earlier. Why didn't he ever seem to have these kind of problems? Night-time issues aside, of course...

[Rye]

"Oh in that case it's not that long , you could hold it until then. If it gets too much just say so and I'll pull over and let you out, as long as you keep the seats clean it's fine" she said continuing down the road. Luke put his head in his hand and stared out at the passing landscape. After what seemed like an eternity , certainly more for Hayley they passed a small cluster of shops , opposite a turn off. There was a gas station , some kind of shady gift shop , more likely a pawn shop , the window was a sea green and murky , so dirty you couldn't see inside, and a run down looking diner , hard to say if it was still open. A sign read "NEXT TOWN 2.5 MILE. POP: 100" indicating a small town up ahead but a fair walk on foot. They turned up the turn off , a flat winding road taking them up to a large two storey farm house. The house looked nice , made from blue pained boards complete with veranda.

[R682]

Hayley breathed a sigh of relief as the house came in sight. That hadn't been so bad. She was worrying herself about nothing, apparently. It was a good job, too. The landscape had been almost uniformly open, dusty fields, without anywhere to seek shelter. It was nice of her grandmother to offer to stop, but where would have been the question, up until the recent garage at least. Luke knew only too well about the times they'd had to pull over the family car beside some ignominious clutch of bushes or another; always for her, never him. At least she kept her bed dry at night.

She looked up at the house and smiled. It looked nice. Welcoming; and not as run down and battered as her imagination might now have run to. More kind of homely. It looked like it should offer a pleasant and comfortable stay, at least. It was a good job; it didn't look as though the immediate surroundings had too much to offer.

Almost as soon as the car engine had stopped, she was out; glad once again to at least enjoy the relative comforts of the open air. In actual fact, however, as she stepped down she realised the air here was hot and still, unlike the relief of the flowing wind she'd been exposed to during their drive. The gravel of the driveway crunched underfoot, and she hesitated beside the car, wanting permission before she took her luggage or moved towards the house. Still, they'd made it here at last. That was something, at least.