S1, E6 | Runaways

Silent, almost intentionally trying to refrain from speaking about the events of just under an hour ago, the girls running away from their prior life simply wait for the other to make the first move. Operating on instinct alone, Victoria aims to drive until the can no longer run on fumes, and Scarlett sits in the passengers seat, seated in silence, as if this were the realm beyond and she was just waiting to wake up.

After a few minutes, Victoria notices the truck beginning to feel the effects of an empty gas tank, and pulls into a random gas station to refuel. Coming to a rolling stop, Victoria unclasps her seatbelt and turns to Scarlett, aiming to speak, only to be unable to find the words, and instead opting to simply exit the vehicle and fill the tank like they came here to do. Now alone, no longer able to fixate on Victoria’s heavy breathing to escape the silence, Scarlett closes her eyes.

Entering the gas station to the cheery sounds of an automatic bell, Victoria walks up to the counter and requests fifty dollars worth of gas on the third pump. Instructing the teller to keep the change, Scarlett returns to her vehicle, takes the pump and begins to refill as if this was identical to the prior one-thousand times she had pumped gas before. Looking towards the top of her pump, Victoria notices a small screen displaying the news, which immediately commands her attention.

No mention of the murder of an on-patrol officer, as crooked as he may truly have been, Victoria stands completely clueless to her surroundings as she just waits for the inevitable to dash across the screen, accompanied by a bright-red “Breaking News” banner. As the pump begins to click, the special edition of breaking news never comes, but Victoria remains standing there, just waiting.

The truck no longer needing any additional gas, and the pump no longer pumping gasoline into it, Victoria remains stood there, watching the television with her finger squeezing the latch. “That is all for us this morning, we’ll see you once again at ten” the anchor proudly spouts, closing the show and allowing a random infomercial to begin. Swallowing the ball of spit in her mouth, Victoria notices the pump having done its job and returns it to the pump.

Climbing back into the driver’s seat, Victoria looks to Scarlett, who stares at the roof of the truck above her, and turns the key in the ignition. Before pulling out of the gas station, Victoria looks to Scarlett and attempts to say something, literally anything, to no avail. Putting the car in drive, Victoria drives forward and makes for official city line to exit Baton Rouge, and enter Lafayette.

= Dream Sequence is created by Zachary Serra, all rights to the series belong to Zachary Serra and the entity of Pacer1 Media from the start of Season 1 onwards =

Pulling off the road and onto a dirt track leading down to a little campground in the forest, Victoria puts the truck in park, making sure to hide it behind the tall trees, and out of sight from any direct pathways. Finally, after nearly three hours of silence, Victoria speaks up, telling Scarlett that it is time for them to get back in the realm beyond.

“Have you lost it more than I have?” Scarlett asks, “What if someone finds us and calls us in while we’re asleep?” Shaking her head, Victoria tells Scarlett that they’ll set an alarm for a half an hour and return when the alarm goes off. “It might cut it close, but we have to go back at some point” Victoria argues, suggesting advice from Esotera would help them get their plans straightened out.

Struggling to fully commit to this plan, Scarlett folds and gives in, telling Victoria that they’ll need to find some place completely out of sight if they’re going to keep heading into the realm beyond for these answers. “When the alarm goes off, we get what we need to make a camp and we ditch the truck” Scarlett says, immediately watching the disgust come across Victoria’s face. “What?” Scarlett asks, watching Victoria caress the steering wheel.

“The one thing you don’t tell people that drive a truck is that they have to give up their truck” Victoria replies, watching Scarlett look at her with the most judgmental eyes one could sport. “As I said. We get the shit we need, we ditch the truck, we make a camp. Nothing more, and strictly nothing less.” Nodding, Victoria begins to set her alarm and lays back, ready to leave behind the chaos of the realm of reality in favor of the realm beyond.

After a few minutes, the girls both fall asleep, finally beginning to have a more firm control over when they do and don’t doze off. Emerging back into the crowd of party people in downtown Baton Rouge, Scarlett and Vic elbow their way through the horde whilst calling out for Esotera’s name. After a few moments, the touch of synthetic skin grabs both girls by the arm and teleports from the center of the crowd and into a quiet, danty, colorless warehouse.

“What happened?” Esotera asks, “You’re trembling and your skin feels tight.” Looking at the woman for clarification, Esotera informs the girls that any stressful or fear-inducing situation the girls fall asleep suffering from is represented in a tight, restricted sensation when touched by synthetic skin. “Something’s off” Esotera suggests, “much more off than usual.”

Looking to each other before they outright say it, Vic looks to Scarlett to break the ice, hearing her outright admit that they had killed an officer a few hours prior. “In the realm of reality?” Esotera asks, placing her hand to her forehead once her concerns had been clarified in Scarlett’s words. “He was trying to force Vic into his car, it- it felt so- so off” Scarlett says, with Vic concluding her statement by acknowledging that he was most likely looking to have his way with her.

“Okay, he should have had a bodycam, so just-” Esotera begins, looking for hopeful suggestions before Scarlett informs her that Baton Rouge does not have a law requiring law enforcement to wear body cams. “Someone like him wouldn’t wear one if he didn’t have to” Vic concludes, watching Esotera’s head drop like a disappointed mother. “We don’t know what to do now” Scarlett admits, watching Esotera look up to her, before she places her hand on Scarlett’s cheek.

“You did the right thing, it just has some pretty awful repercussions” Esotera states, telling the girls that without footage, their claim of self-defense is practically already dead in the water. Their heads hung in disappointment, neither girl can truly be upset at the response, having previously assumed it to rest along the lines of improbable to impossible. “What the hell do we do now?” Scarlett asks, the panic in her voice beginning to appear through the cracks within it.

“You can hide away” Esotea suggests, having to think outside the box for a solution. “Hide out somewhere and lay low, other than that, I have nothing” Esotera concludes, apologizing once more for lacking the help and advice the girls were looking for. “So that’s it, huh?” Scarlett asks, the question tearing the hopes of all three figures in the room as it leaves her lips. “It’s just over? Just like that?” Scarlett asks, the anger beginning to build up.

“We come here to stop the world from five tragedies, and with another one yet to come, we’ve failed to make any difference after fucking two?” Scarlett shouts, looking to Esotera, who looks at her with an eyebrow raised. “What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Scarlett asks, the question being aimed at Esotera takes a detour to be answered by Vic. “Three tragedies” Vic says, capturing Scarlett’s wandering eyes as if the two words were a beacon for Scarlett’s attention.

“The murder of that officer and the succeeding manhunt for the two women responsible serve as the third tragedy” Esotera admits, watching Scarlett’ heart sink into the dark trenches of her chest. “But that tragedy wasn’t one we had to stop. It was-” Scarlett starts, stopped in her tracks when Vic effortlessly ends her sentence for her. “-It was one we caused” Vic says, looking to Esotera with pain-filled eyes.

“We’re not the one’s stopping the disasters from happening, are we?” Vic asks, standing from her seat as Scarlett looks at their represented subconscious. Stepping up to Esotera, Scarlett begins to tear up as she forces herself to answer the question that Esotera can’t, or perhaps, won’t. “We’re the ones that are starting them” Scarlett declares, Esotera’s look at her out of the corner of her eye giving her all the confirmation that she needed.

“Just by being here” Vic begins, “Just by knowing what’s going to happen, we already set out the motions for them to play out, don’t we?” Esotera, looking towards the girls, knowing just as much as their subconscious does, simply nods as Scarlett and Vic stand in shock. With her hands on her hips, Scarlett says the whole point of stopping the tragedies is over now that they’re fugitives. “Not exactly” Esotera states, the eyes of Scarlett and Vic cementing their focus on her.

“Just because you’re fugitives, doesn’t mean you can’t still try to stop the tragedies from happening” Esotera admits, reminding the girls that they’re still part of the realm of reality. “If you can figure out what the disaster is and when it happens, you can put a stop to it.” With the declaration that the fight is only over if Scarlett and Vic choose to abandon it, the will to live long enough to make up for their wrong doings give them a sudden second wind.

“Not getting caught is just another obstacle thrown into the mix” Vic says, turning to Scarlett, who is quick to point out all the other obstacles they overcame prior. Suddenly, the girls throw aside the loose fugitives concern and ask Esotera to insert them back into the bar when they return. Esotera states that she’ll do her best before watching Vic and Scarlett prepare to blow their brains back into the realm of reality.

“One more thing!” Esotera shouts, pausing the return to the realm of reality for another moment and walking closer to the girls. “I know I said it before, but I think with these new ‘obstacles’ in your way, it’s worth reminding you that if you die in the realm of reality, you don’t die permanently.” Looking to each other with a scared, broken smile knowing that actual death is a card to possibly have to deal, Vic and Scarlett nod, thanking Esotera.

“You die in the realm beyond and you no longer exist, but if you need to play the card up there…” Esotera starts, pausing for a second to take in what she’s about to say, knowing what she knows about the girls. “...Ending it up there is the last ditch resort, alright?” Esotera asks, hugging the two girls she’s grown rather close to as they disembark the realm beyond.

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“Sweetheart, I want you to get some rest” Al says taking a seat beside Nora on the couch, watching the news in case they can get a glimpse at where their daughter is. “I can’t sleep, Al. Not while Scarlett is missing” Nora replies, taking a cup of coffee Al wished he wouldn’t have to give to her. “Alright” Al replies, sinking into his seat as he and his wife silently watch the news, hoping for a miracle.

Suddenly, the eerily peaceful sights of infomercials is interrupted when a knock at the door strips Nora’s sights, bringing her to her feet in an instant. Opening the door, Nora’s disappointment shows when she finds Rachel, asking to come in. Opening the door, Nora asks Rachel if something is wrong, only for Rachel to admit to not going home when she left the home earlier in the morning.

“I remembered Scarlett saying that she knew of a motel that she would go to if she needed to stay somewhere out of sight, so I went there” Rachel says, putting a speed into Nora’s steps as she asks what she found. “The manager said she and Victoria were there last night, but they left for no apparent reason before the sun came up” Rachel says, giving Nora newfound hope. “Where did they go?” Nora asks, the hope still intact, but coming to a sudden stop when Rachel admits having no response.

“He said they were in a gray Chevy Silverado when they pulled up, and that was what they left in” Rachel says, the hope she afforded Nora with immediately dashed when Al calls them both into the living room. “What is it Al?” Nora asks, Rachel and herself turning to the breaking news report, showing the picture of Scarlett and Victoria behind the exact Chevy Silverado plastered on the screen.

‘Two Fugitives Wanted for Killing Officer’ is the chosen branding on the bottom ticker, the faces of Scarlett and Victoria as clear as anything representing the alleged killers. Standing in her living room, completely engulfed in horror at the combination on her television screen, Nora collapses into her husband’s arms as Rachel looks on, stunned into silence.

Running over the names, ages, make and model of the vehicle in addition to its license plate number, as well as the girls being declared missing persons, the anchor pulls no punches. Calling the girls ‘wanted murderers’ on more than one occasion, the anchor unknowingly puts the Bensen family and Rachel into a full state of shock. Before they can have a moment to comprehend the sights they’re bearing witness to, the three are interrupted with a second knock on the door.

Opening it on the family’s behalf, Rachel comes to look at the officer staring at her from the other side of a glass door. Opening it, Rachel asks the tall officer if this is in relation to the two girls, which he doesn’t answer at first, until he spots a distraught Nora and Al just inside. Understanding that they’ve more than likely already become aware of their reasoning of stopping at the house, the officer gives a simple nod to Rachel, who opens the door, and allows the officer entry.

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With a similar bell to that of the gas station they had just departed hours earlier, Victoria and Scarlett enter a store near a forest on the outskirts on Lafayette, careful not to step on any toes. Walking in without an issue, the girls cautiously roam the mart in search of everything they’d need to survive within the boundaries that nature chooses to offer them.

Scanning through shelves of outdoors gear and taking whatever they deem to be worth the purchase, the girls end up with a few arms full of equipment and little chance at being able to pay the hefty price of it. “We’re already wanted for murder, right?” Scarlett whispers, shrugging her shoulders and placing everything they need by a door near the back of the building.

“When you hear me giggle, start shoveling everything out the back door, alright?” Scarlett says, telling Victoria to be ready before walking back to the front of the store. “Hey, my friend and I are looking for directions. Do you know how to get to the beach from here?” Scarlett asks, making sure to get the young nerdy teenager with heavy acne eating out of her hands before swooping in for the kill.

Walking behind the counter in a very convincingly seductive manner, Scarlett takes the cashier’s attention and lets out a playful laugh, serving as Victoria’s cue. Taking a handful of things and propping the backdoor open with a rock, Scarlett covers for her, welcoming a non-existent customer through the front door as the automatic bell goes off. Hurrying back and forth in hopes of making Scarlett’s encounter brief, Victoria hurries back into the store and shuts the door behind her.

“Sky, do you know where we’re going yet?” Victoria asks, unable to come up with a better code name, but making up for it in her hurry. “That’s right, I almost forgot!” Scarlett says, looking back to the teen as he gives them precise, detailed directions. Selling the encounter the rest of the way, Scarlett whispers something in the teen’s ears as she taps the inside of his thigh, thanking him for his help.

Returning to Victoria, the pair walk through the front doors cleanly, Scarlett thanking Victoria for not being long. “Why’d you grab his junk?” Victoria asks, watching Scarlett’ mouth playfully drop as they reach the truck. “I didn’t grab his junk, I tapped his thigh” Scarlett replies, Victoria repeating the question with the correct phrasing.

“Well we know he won’t be looking at the news when he goes on his next break, won’t we?” Scarlett replies, having made sure to cover any secondary ground, buying them time they otherwise wouldn’t have had. “You’re an evil genius” Victoria responds, watching Scarlett shrug, wishing she could just ‘ball-tap’ her way out of being a wanted murderer. “We’ll make it through this” Victoria replies, assuring Scarlett that they’ll clean their names soon enough.

When the night sky consumes Lafayette, Louisiana, Scarlett and Victoria sit on rocks in front of their tents as Victoria gets a small campfire going. “Where’d you learn to do that?” Scarlett asks, watching Victoria’s technique hold the appearance of someone who’s done this thousands of times. “I’ve lived on my own for a long time, Scar” Victoria says, keeping the fire low enough to avoid detection.

“I’ve picked up a thing or two about surviving out here when I have to” Victoria replies, watching the smile on Scarlett’s face tell the story. “You wanna learn how to keep a fire going?” Victoria asks, watching Scarlett nod before handing her a few loose pieces of moss. “When they’re dry enough, you’ll want to get it under the stick and around the fire. You don’t want the stuff to put it out” Victoria warns, pulling it into smaller pieces.

Within seconds, Scarlett is lining the sides of the fire with moss, watching it burn whilst the smoke remains at a minimum. “Veery good” Victoria says, humorously pleased with Scarlett’s progress, suggesting she could get pretty used to living with nature. “When we find somewhere more permanent, I’ll teach you how to make a Dakota” Victoria says, leaving an explanation for later.

Looking at each other in silence, Victoria smiles, telling Scarlett they could evade the law for years if they find somewhere out of the way. “It’s not like we’ll be struggling to get by out here, it’ll just be something we’ll have to get used to” Victoria continues, watching Scarlett look towards her and smile, the pain of not being able to go back to the way life used to be hiding away behind a relatively comforting though of a decent life still being possible.

“I know” Victoria says, Scarlett not needing to say anything for Victoria to realize that she’s scared. “I’ve haven’t known you for half of a month, but it feels like I’ve known you forever” Victoria says, putting her hand on Scarlett’s back and rubbing her shoulder, easing her concerns where they rest. “We used to think a ton of things weren’t possible… But we know more now than we did back then” Victoria says, locking eyes with Scarlett.

“We’re not just going to get through this, we’re going to thrive in this” Victoria concludes, watching the pain of Scarlett’s smile disappear the second time around. Patting her on the back a few times, Victoria returns to tending to the fire, assuring Scarlett that now would be a great time to get some rest and start putting together a plan when the sun comes up. Nodding her head, Scarlett watches Victoria walk into the tent and seal it behind herself, leaving Scarlett to stare at the flames.

Pulling her legs up and resting her chin on her kneecaps, Scarlett wraps her arms around her shins as if to keep her legs tied up. As the picture of the bright flames reflect in her eyes, she begins to take in a few deep breaths, eventually losing it as the tears squeeze through her eyelids and roll down her face.

One after another, the tears land on the ground beside the fire, and Scarlett lets out the build up of hurt, worry, concern and fear that she’s hidden well over the last number of hours. Inside the tent, Victoria watches Scarlett let out what she had been keeping inside, refusing to interrupt her, allowing Scarlett her chance to grieve for the life she once knew being buried where she sits, long dead and gone.

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“Mrs. Bensen, my name is Sheriff Joe West and I work with the BRPD, the Baton Rouge Police Department, and it’s come to my understanding that your missing daughter has been video taped killing an on-duty police officer in cold blood.” The introduction not taking emotions into account, West makes it clear that he is sorry about their daughter currently being on the run from home, but his business belongs with the deceased officer killed at Scarlett’s hands.

“I know this is all a lot to take in, so if you need a moment, please say so. But right now, we’re working against the clock, so I’d like to touch as many bases I can, alright?” Sheriff West asks, watching Al nod his head as his wife stares blankly at the front door. “Ma’am?” West asks, watching her snap out of her tunnel vision to stare at him, quickly dropping her head once she remembers why he’s here.

“I’d like our attorney to be present” Nora replies, refusing to speak despite West informing her that she’s not under arrest. “Ma’am, you don’t have to speak with us, but we’d really appreciate your help” West says, the first half of his response serving enough for Nora to walk away, leaving Al alone on the couch.

“I’d like to know what proof you have of my daughter being guilty of this crime” Al asks, watching Sheriff West informing him that an encounter was documented in a police cruiser’s dash cam that featured an officer being shot and killed. “After a few seconds, your daughter and another woman, I assume this Victoria Shea you mentioned in your police report, were found staring at the officers body and leaving the scene of the crime.

“I’d like to see the video proof you have, Sheriff” Al requests, informed by West himself that he cannot share that footage with him. “Well if it happened the way you suggested that it had, then there is no footage of my daughter pulling the trigger that resulted in the death of your officer” Al says, playing hardball with Sheriff West, who begins getting frustrated.

“Sheriff, if I may?” Rachel suddenly calls out, West informing her than he is not allowed to speak with her unless a parent or guardian allows him to. “Well you don’t have to talk, you just have to listen” Rachel says, the warm demeanor from her original request to be entered into the conversation being thrown aside in favor of a direct approach. “What the news footage happened to leave out was why Scarlett was left in the vehicle while Victoria was at the cruiser.”

“I don’t see why that’s so-” West begins, his attempt at interjecting being silenced when Rachel reminds him that he is not allowed under law to speak to her without a guardian present, suggesting he ‘pipe down’. “If Scarlett was alone in the front seat and Victoria was at the back of the cruiser, the only way that’d be possible would be if Victoria was handcuffed before Scarlett exited the vehicle.”

With a smile on her face, Rachel takes a seat beside Al and stares down West, who is helpless to add anything into the conversation. “If this was a wellfare check, there’d be no reason to handcuff Victoria, therefor no reason for her to be at the back of the cruiser unless something beyond legal limitations was taking place… Which only means that your officer was doing something he had no legal right to do.”

Catching Rachel’s drift, Al looks towards West with wide eyes, finding a flaw in West’s story of his own. “Your dash cam footage never showed Victoria being removed from the vehicle Sheriff” Al says, watching West’s eyes lock onto him with a stare designed to be intimidating. “You’re hiding something” Al exclaims, turning towards Rachel, who comes to the conclusion that Victoria was unlawfully removed from her vehicle.

“I believe we’re done here” West says, attempting to get up and leave, only to be stopped by Al, who tells him that he isn’t going anywhere. Brushing past West and standing between the Sheriff and the front door, Al expresses that he is well within his legal right to do so, with this being his property. “Sheriff, I’ll give yout his ultimatum right now… Either you release the full dash cam footage, or I’ll make sure the public gives you no other option.”

The conversation having taken a drastically different turn than it originally looked, Al steps aside, extending his arm to greet West on his way out of the home. “Your daughter is in danger, Mr. Bensen” Sheriff West calls out, walking to the door of his vehicle before turning around, facing the Bensen family patriarch before climbing in. “Don’t make my job difficult if you want her to have a fair shot in court” West threatens, angering Bensen, who takes the petty attack personally.

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“Where do we go when this is all over?” Scarlett asks, looking at the different patrons of the bar, whilst trying to focus on Vic’s words as they fight for supremacy over the roars of the crowd. “Somewhere without an extradition process, so they don’t fly us out if they ever catch us” Vic suggests, throwing the Maldives out as her personal choice, much to the wonder of Scarlett.

“How the hell would we afford to live in the Maldives?” Scarlett asks, sifting through napkins and glass cups in search of any indication of what the date is. “My grandparents passed their belongings down to me when they passed” Vic admits, “They didn’t trust my parents with the sudden influx of cash… And it seems like they were right to.”

“I’m sorry, Vic” Scarlett says, watching Scarlett turn around with a smile on her face. “Don’t be. The only reason I don’t spend a lot of money is because I can’t make the purchases I want yet!” The idea of owning property, buying stock, making investments in real estate aren’t possible if you’re not an adult. “In the Maldives, I’m equal to everyone that can breath” Vic says proudly, “We’ll make it work.”

After a few more minutes of searching through cabinets, Scarlett stumbles upon a receit printer, with its most recent print out being the margarita of one of the women at the counter. “It’s four days from now” Scarlett says, watching the crowd part and the explosive van roll to a stop as he did the day prior. Hopping over the counter with her service weapon drawn, Scarlett kills the two men in the front of the van, only to watch another two hurry from the back of it.

Chasing after them, the girls are forced to split up when the two terrorists head into opposite directions, taking their own routes. Scarlett being led into a collapsed construction sight, she eventually crosses paths with Vic once more, who was taken through a busy city. “How did you get here?” Scarlett asks, watching Vic look around, having noticed the terrorists they were chasing having vanished.

Almost immediately after the question is raised, the girls notice the sight of the shooting star above as the sky begins to grow dark. “Good to know I’ve got my own personal bullshit to remind me it still exists!” Scarlett aggravatedly shouts, attempting to walk away until the touch of Vic tapping her on the arm pulls her right back in. “It’s getting bigger” Vic says, pointing to the star falling at a rapid speed, and growing closer to the ground with every second.

“It’s not getting bigger” Scarlett says, taking a few seconds to assess the star, coming to the conclusion that it’s falling. Watching the star take a nosedive, the girls follow it until it disappears behind the line of buildings, with a massive eruption occurring, sending a plume of smoke and fire into the sky, blocking out the sunlight.

“What was-” Vic says, stopped when the sky goes black and an explosion of bright white light appears out of nowhere. Suddenly, the girls find themselves back in the office space of the faceless figures. “Esotera!?” Scarlett calls out, her request for their embodied subconscious nowhere to be found. Tapping her friend on the arm, Vic points out the double doors in the back having returned, wide open and awaiting their company.

“Now or never?” Scarlett asks, looking to Vic and slowly walking towards the doors, making sure not to interrupt the faceless figures. As they come within feet of the doors, the white lights of the room turn into a sudden shade of bright red, and the beast from the stairwell bursts through the office doors. “Run!” Vic shouts, making a belign for the double doors, only for their only escape to slam closed in their face.

“Shit!” Scarlett exclaims, throwing a shield up and allowing the beast to crash into it, only to be sent flying backwards as the shield is thrown directly at him. Reaching for a desk, Vic aims for the beast, ready to let it fly until the pulsating heat of a burst of fire drops her to her knees. Without even noticing until it was too late, the double doors had exploded from the inside, spitting the girls back into the realm of reality on a sour note.

Waking up in a daze, sweating from the heat residue of the realm beyond being present when they returned, Scarlett and Vic look to each other, as if to ask what more they can do. Silently laying back down, the girls notice the dawn of a new day begin to show, ending their slumber for the night, and returning them to the awful hand they’ve been dealt.