Hell Hath No... (Ellen's Intro: Open)
"Ash, if you so much as think about puttin' your lips to that tap I'll blister your lily-white ass." The Roadhouse's Matriarch/Owner warned her live-in customer as she left the bar room to get more pretzels and peanuts from the back. It sounded terrible-harsh, but she was actually in a better mood than usual, considering the post had come that day with something other than bills. Not just a postcard, but a real letter from her Jo. Wasn't the longest thing ever, but it told her more than just simply makin' her aware that her baby girl was still alive. All good things considerin', or at the least, Jo sure's hell knew how to sugar-coat the truth for a scarred & worried heart like her Mama's.
God damn! Outta pretzels... she wouldn't have them boys drinkin' on empty bellies. She let her patrons know she would be back in 10 or 15 minutes tops while she made a run to the store. Leaving Ash in charge, short of serving himself free drinks, that is. Answer the phone, take messages, serve refills only if they got the money to pay for 'em, and if so much as a penny went missing from that register, locked or otherwise, there'd be the devil to pay!
Lucky for her, her regulars respected her enough not to steal more than a mug or two of whatever was on tap. That, she expected. She hadn't had any trouble with the hard stuff running dry quicker than expected, or money bein' gone. Least not yet anyhow, but there was a first time for everything, she supposed.
She left out the back way, screen door swinging in the cool night air, her boots crunching across the gravel on her way to her battered old pick-up truck. Unlocking it, she climbed in and started up the engine and made her way out onto the main road back towards town.
With a slight breeze pulling at her hair from the open window, and 'Creedance' crooning away on the radio, Ellen took a slow inhale and a slower exhale. Drawing out the action to give herself the illusion of loosening the hard knots in her back and shoulders.
"Someone told me long ago/ There's a calm before the storm,/ I know; It's been coming for some time." She sang along, under her breath, letting herself relax and go on auto-pilot as she often did while making these mediocre food runs.
"When it's over,/ so they say, It'll rain a sunny day,/ I know; Shining down like water."
At some point rounding the bend, the scenery changed, despite the growing darkness, it was impossible not to notice because Nebraska didn't cater to a barren landscape.... least not the kind that involved sand and dry, scorched earth...
"God Almighty.." She murmured slowing down her pick-up to take a good look around. Desert.
Did she nod off at the wheel? Collide with a friendly little pine tree at the side of the road and land herself in a morphine induced dream scape on her way to county? This surely wasn't right by any ways or means.
"I want to know, Have you ever seen the rain?"
Ellen didn't bother cutting the engine as she opened the truck door and climbed out in order to get a better look at her hallucination.
"I want to know, Have you ever seen the rain?"
Desert as far as the eye.... 'cept for the lone estate sprawling on the horizon ahead. Windows lit like fireflies in the distant night. Awfully convenient.
"Coming down on a sunny da-"
The woman blinked, whirling as the stereo cut out abruptly. It cut out that abruptly because the truck was gone before she had turned herself around to wonder at the problem. Not driven away by some cleptic-bastard, not stalling out on her, just gone. Blinked out of being.
"Jesus, Joseph, & Mary." She muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose lightly as she took a moment to gather herself, to try and keep from losing it. Christ she just left for some god damn pretzels!
"Please Lord, let it be Morphine." She muttered to the sky as she started walking towards the only sign of civilization.
---
Opening the heavy doors of the expansive, crumbling, tumble-down building, had Ellen wondering if she'd just plain DIED and gotten sent someplace for some manner of after-life. She surely didn't know, only thing she was hoping was it best not be hell, because she sinned, sure, but she was also a good God-fearin' woman that prayed and went to church and if God said no to her? Well.... she and 'Big Guns Upstairs' were gonna have a sit-down. She had a few choice words for 'im if he/she was sending her below! Bill woulda told her she coulda guilted even God into rethinkin' a decision or two.
Quite the deceptive introduction, when comparing the interior to the exterior... she'd be afraid of it all... if she wasn't chalking this up to a hospital's wonder drug or a post-death experience. If she wasn't chalking it up to either/or she might be losing her mind just a touch for this steaming pile of bull...
Since she saw no one immediately around her, least not any folk that looked terribly helpful, she went to the desk and made good use of the bell on the counter. Ringing it repeatedly, much to the annoyance of somebody, she was sure. All the same, she didn't give a good god damn!
"Somebody best get off their lazy ass, get out here, and tell me what the hell is goin' on here!" She called out in a stern disciplinarian's tone, for anyone to hear.
God damn! Outta pretzels... she wouldn't have them boys drinkin' on empty bellies. She let her patrons know she would be back in 10 or 15 minutes tops while she made a run to the store. Leaving Ash in charge, short of serving himself free drinks, that is. Answer the phone, take messages, serve refills only if they got the money to pay for 'em, and if so much as a penny went missing from that register, locked or otherwise, there'd be the devil to pay!
Lucky for her, her regulars respected her enough not to steal more than a mug or two of whatever was on tap. That, she expected. She hadn't had any trouble with the hard stuff running dry quicker than expected, or money bein' gone. Least not yet anyhow, but there was a first time for everything, she supposed.
She left out the back way, screen door swinging in the cool night air, her boots crunching across the gravel on her way to her battered old pick-up truck. Unlocking it, she climbed in and started up the engine and made her way out onto the main road back towards town.
With a slight breeze pulling at her hair from the open window, and 'Creedance' crooning away on the radio, Ellen took a slow inhale and a slower exhale. Drawing out the action to give herself the illusion of loosening the hard knots in her back and shoulders.
"Someone told me long ago/ There's a calm before the storm,/ I know; It's been coming for some time." She sang along, under her breath, letting herself relax and go on auto-pilot as she often did while making these mediocre food runs.
"When it's over,/ so they say, It'll rain a sunny day,/ I know; Shining down like water."
At some point rounding the bend, the scenery changed, despite the growing darkness, it was impossible not to notice because Nebraska didn't cater to a barren landscape.... least not the kind that involved sand and dry, scorched earth...
"God Almighty.." She murmured slowing down her pick-up to take a good look around. Desert.
Did she nod off at the wheel? Collide with a friendly little pine tree at the side of the road and land herself in a morphine induced dream scape on her way to county? This surely wasn't right by any ways or means.
"I want to know, Have you ever seen the rain?"
Ellen didn't bother cutting the engine as she opened the truck door and climbed out in order to get a better look at her hallucination.
"I want to know, Have you ever seen the rain?"
Desert as far as the eye.... 'cept for the lone estate sprawling on the horizon ahead. Windows lit like fireflies in the distant night. Awfully convenient.
"Coming down on a sunny da-"
The woman blinked, whirling as the stereo cut out abruptly. It cut out that abruptly because the truck was gone before she had turned herself around to wonder at the problem. Not driven away by some cleptic-bastard, not stalling out on her, just gone. Blinked out of being.
"Jesus, Joseph, & Mary." She muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose lightly as she took a moment to gather herself, to try and keep from losing it. Christ she just left for some god damn pretzels!
"Please Lord, let it be Morphine." She muttered to the sky as she started walking towards the only sign of civilization.
---
Opening the heavy doors of the expansive, crumbling, tumble-down building, had Ellen wondering if she'd just plain DIED and gotten sent someplace for some manner of after-life. She surely didn't know, only thing she was hoping was it best not be hell, because she sinned, sure, but she was also a good God-fearin' woman that prayed and went to church and if God said no to her? Well.... she and 'Big Guns Upstairs' were gonna have a sit-down. She had a few choice words for 'im if he/she was sending her below! Bill woulda told her she coulda guilted even God into rethinkin' a decision or two.
Quite the deceptive introduction, when comparing the interior to the exterior... she'd be afraid of it all... if she wasn't chalking this up to a hospital's wonder drug or a post-death experience. If she wasn't chalking it up to either/or she might be losing her mind just a touch for this steaming pile of bull...
Since she saw no one immediately around her, least not any folk that looked terribly helpful, she went to the desk and made good use of the bell on the counter. Ringing it repeatedly, much to the annoyance of somebody, she was sure. All the same, she didn't give a good god damn!
"Somebody best get off their lazy ass, get out here, and tell me what the hell is goin' on here!" She called out in a stern disciplinarian's tone, for anyone to hear.