All Roads Lead to Ruin

Layla frowned, "I thought I did good... Or okay at least..."

"Everyone starts somewhere, kid. Come on, I'll show you the ropes." He said stepping out of the camper and motioning for her to follow.

Layla pulled her top back on, climbing down out of the camper and trudging along behind him. For someone with a car, they did a lot of walking.

Seth put his hands in his pocket, walking along with Layla in tow. "Whenever someone tells you something, you gotta fact-check. If you don't, you can get sloppy. Miss things, jump to conclusions. That's no good... not for anyone." He said to her. As they neared the funeral home, he shook his head, tsking. "Definitely no crematorium. Look at the roof. There's no vents, or anything. But, I'm gonna make sure. Wait here." He said before casually walking up to the building, then going behind it. A few moments later, he jogged back up to Layla, looking back over his shoulder with his brow furrowed. "Yeah... no body-burners. Or a basement. I don't think they keep many bodies there. It's... creepy, in there. I don't like it." He said, stuffing his hands back into his jacket pockets. His stomach growled, and he frowned a bit as he looked down at his abdomen. "You hungry?"

She nodded, "A little... though if it has anything to do with bodies, I think I'll manage."

He huffed slightly, shaking his head. "I was thinking more like a burger and a milkshake." He said, nodding towards another street and stepping its way.

She nodded along, "That works."

Seth walked wordlessly with her towards a small diner, before he pushed open its door and went to sit at a booth along a window. When she sat across from him, looked up at her. "Order whatever. It's fine." He said, before looking down at the menu. He ordered himself the most caffeinated beverage, and a burger and fries. "So... do you, uh. Do you really plan on just sticking with me from here on out?"

Layla ordered a coke, burger, and fries, and hugged her knees to her chest, "I mean, as far as I've thought, yeah. It doesn't feel like there's anything left for me."

He shrugged. "How far have you thought? And, you could go with foster homes 'til you can look after yourself. I'm not gonna lie, living in a car sucks dick. Its dirty and gross and grimy. I don't eat for shit, barely get any sleep. Probably not the best direction to go. Come on kid; you really shouldn't do all this."

"I've been through enough being shouted at." she shrugged, "It might be sucky, but it's my choice. That's what I want. To be able to choose."

He grimaced a bit. "I can respect that. Just...," He leaned in a little, speaking a little softer. "after a certain point, you can't choose. You... you see what's out there, what's really out there, and you're too afraid to do anything but grab a gun and run or hunker down." He continued. "You don't go back from that... its like PTSD. It messes with your head."

"And you think I'm just gonna recover and be fine after seeing my parents' bodies all dead and mangled like that?" she shook her head, "You might sleep like a rock, but I can't."

He tilted his head back and forth slightly, as if weighing her answer. "All right. Your choice. If you're sticking with it..." He mused, picking up a small gold-painted trinket in the shape of a bull from the windowsill, offering it out to her. "There's too much shit like this around. Bull stuff. It's... weird. And in lieu of crematoriums, have you noticed what else this town doesn't have?" He asked her.

Layla took the bull from his hand and held it up to the light, "No, I haven't."

"Graveyards. Not a single one. Which weirded me out. But, in my pursuit to find a graveyard, I come across another strange fact- there are no graveyards, and no churches. Small town like this? On average at least five churches. They've usually been around for a while, and tend to have family grave plots. But, uh... not here. Nothing." He said, looking up to acknowledge the waitress as she brought them their food. "Except..." He pulled a small tour brochure of the town, sliding it across the table to her. A few miles out of town on the map, there was a small plot labeled "Harrodsburg Historic Cemetery." It was circled in red ink.

"So that's where we're going?" She asked curiosly.

He nodded his head, taking a bite out of his burger. "I figure its the best place to start. We'll check it out tonight." He said, wiping his mouth with the back of his sleeve, before drinking a good quarter of his soda through the straw. He ate like someone would come take his food away.

He paused his binge, looking up at her for a moment before nodding at her food. "Eat up."

She paused a second, then slowly ate.

Hours later...

Seth nudged Layla's arm from where she slept on the bunk, swinging a bag over his shoulder. He whistled once, loudly, then shook her lightly again. "Get up. We gotta get going." He said, nodding his head back at the door.

She grunted nearly falling out of her bunk as she rolled over, brain still not functioning as her body pulled on pants and tossed her hair back. "Where- what- huh?"

"Graceyard, ghosts, c'mon." He said, stepping out of the camper and walking around to the drivers side, closing the door behind him. When Layla made it to the passengers door, he already had a cigarette in his lips, the map in his lap. When she got in, he looked over at her, grabbing a cold, unopened energy drink from the cupholder. "Amp?"

She didn't think twice before popping the top and chugging half of what was in the can, "Thanks..." she muttered.

He watched her chug the drink from the corner of his eye, one side of his lips perking up in a half smile as he cranked the engine and turned the car in reverse, pulling out from the abandoned building's back lot and towards the country road.

Layla still managed to nearly nod off in the rattling car on a few occasions, the frail thinness of her body scarcely enough to keep it running. Her skin and nipples puckered with the cold air from the air conditioning, but it wasn't enough to keep her awake.