justprompts photo prompt [rp with heroslayer]

[its_notluck]

(Photo Prompt and x-posted)

They didn't talk about it.

She knew that he was itching to, she could tell that the comments were right there on the tip of his tongue but he seemed to be holding back. That was just fine with her because she didn't know how to explain what was going on, it didn't make sense to her. It was Sylar! She shouldn't have the urges that she did when she was around him and it annoyed her because he knew.

So she didn't look at him as she sat on the hood of the car in the parking lot of some small diner, carefully looking elsewhere as she bit into a hot dog that he had brought her. She still had no idea where they were going and she was beginning to think that he didn't either.

Where she was avoiding looking at him, however, he hadn't taken his eyes off of her, though probably not for the reasons she thought. Knowing her, she was likely waiting for some kind of lewd statement--he'd been on the verge of one, since they'd crossed state lines in Indiana, if only because her knew it would get under her skin, if he was being honest--but at the moment it was the furthest thing from his mind. Instead, he was somewhere else as he picked at his own hamburger. Where somewhere else was, he couldn't say, but it had nothing to do with the million and one comments he could have made about her eating that hot dog.

Claire paused in her eating, the tip of her tongue peeking out to lick at a little bit of ketchup at the corner of her mouth and then she used a finger to wipe it away. Finally she dared a glance at him as she sucked the ketchup from the tip of her finger, finding his eyes on her just like they had been for awhile now. She was about to snap in annoyance but she could tell, by the look in his eyes, he was somewhere else at the moment. So she arched a brow, tilting her head, "Sylar?" She asked softly.

He made a soft noise, acknowledging the fact that he'd heard her call his name, but other than that, he said nothing.

She looked at him for a moment and then shrugged because she wasn't going to push him to talk to her. So she took another bite of the hot dog, trying to ignore the fact that he was staring at her. She looked away from him, watching the road as she chewed silently.

The killer lapsed back into complete silence, still studying her. Then, after a moment more and at great lengths, he sighed, looked away, and ventured, "Why?" Not exactly the most thorough of questions, but well, there was a shortage of things that could have prompted that single word, so it wouldn't have taken a rocket scientist.

Claire wasn't really surprised at the question but rather that it had taken him a few days to ask her. She had been asking herself the same question every day and always when she woke up trapped under one of his limbs. But still, she tilted her head, "Why what?" She asked casually.

He sighed, narrowly resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "Take a stab in the dark."

She sighed a little bit, lowering her eyes to the ground for a moment before shrugging a little. "I don't know." She wasn't sure she was comfortable looking too closely at the reasons or talking to him about it. Which was amusing considering the situation.

"Good answer." Clearly, he didn't honestly think it was.

"Fine." She shot him an annoyed look, "Why?" She was directing the question right back at him.

"I asked you, first," he shot back, shifting a little, so that he lean against the side of the car.

She clenched her jaw and she wanted to tell him anything but the reason why but he wasn't going to let her drop it. "I wanted to."

Sylar was silent, content to simply watch her again, it seemed. He shuffled a bit more, glancing away from her briefly as he settled against the car, and then returned his eyes to her, still staring as if he had never stopped in the first place. Maybe he was trying to spook a better answer out of her, just by eyeing her from under his eyebrows, maybe he simply had nothing to say in response to that. Who knew?

Claire hated it when he stared, he did it more than she liked and she figured he did it because he knew that she hated it. She shifted her weight, squirming just a little, "What?" She quickly touched the corner of her mouth again, as though she thought that maybe there was ketchup there still. She dropped her hand back to her side as she stared at him then, "Are you going to tell me why?"

"Because I wanted to," he answered, near-mocking. Truth be told, there were a hundred different reasons that were closer to the truth than that one, but hell if those were any of her business.

She rolled her eyes then, "Fine. Great, glad we established that." Her tone was cold as she slid off of the hood of the car, moving towards the garbage cans to toss the little bit of her hot dog away.

"You started it." Childish, maybe, but well, it was true.

"Are you serious? That's your sharp come back?" She turned back to him with a little scoff, moving back towards the car. "Real mature, Sylar."

"It was either that, or I threw you against a wall and made you tell me," he answered, flashing her a tight smile that never reached his eyes.

She stopped on the other side of the car, the hood between them as she turned to face him, "And what do you think the answer is?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I knew."

"Maybe there isn't a reason." Okay, that was a lie.

Sylar shuddered slightly, and then scowled. He didn't think he needed to tell her he knew she was lying--she'd done enough of it around him to have, hopefully, picked up the signs that he knew.

Yes, she knew that he would tell it was a lie but she was ignoring it at the moment as she walked to the passenger side. Opening the door, she slid down into the seat and shut the door.

He followed her into the car, slipping into the driver's side and slamming the door behind him, before shoving the keys in the ignition. "You really need to stop lying to me," he pointed out, his tone the only thing about him that seemed even remotely calm.

She sighed a little bit as she could recognize the tone and what was behind it; he wasn't nearly as calm as he was putting on. "I'm trying. That's the only lie I've told you in days." She was honest about it, "Why are you asking?"

"Call me curious," he answered, chancing a quick, pointed glance at her, before pulling away from the rest stop and back onto the highway.

"Then why don't you tell me a reason?" She shrugged a bit.

He huffed out a long-suffering sigh. "You don't get it, do you? I ask something, you tell me." The alternatives were often somewhat messy, as he thought she'd learned by now. "You ask me something, I tell you if I think you deserve it. Quid pro quo."

"And you can shove that idea." She replied calmly, "I'll tell you a reason and then you can tell me one, especially if you want to know another reason." Yes, the alternatives were often somewhat messy and she's one that doesn't back down even with that threat.

"So tell me a reason," he all but demanded, shooting another look in her direction.

Claire clenched her jaw, looking away as she focused on the road ahead of them as she picked through the reasons and then settled on one. "Because I feel something."

"Where you can't feel pain." Sylar nodded, supposing that made sense, although he doubted it was the heart of the matter. Still, though, it had been a reason, and as promised he searched for one of his own. "You're not the only one who feels something," he decided on, finally.

It was more than attraction, whatever it was, but it wasn't love, nor was it simple obsession. He didn't know what, exactly, it was--couldn't place it--but it was there, regardless. There was something between them, something that made him feel in a way he thought he'd forgotten, since his heart had long since grown cold, even for Suresh. And that was saying something.

It stopped being simple awhile ago. She wasn’t sure what it was either but she knew that she was feeling more than a simple attraction but it wasn’t love. She knew there wasn’t as much hate as there used to be but they still walked a fine line at times. She hadn’t felt anything for a long time, something that she hadn’t felt since West and even still, it was very different.

“You treat me differently than the others do.” She told him after a moment.

"The others?" he echoed, shooting her a glance. She could have meant anyone, after all, and he wanted to clarify.

"Everyone." She brushed some hair back from her face. "My dad, Nathan ... any of them." Her mother was really the only one who didn't treat her like she was either a monster, a burden, an excuse or a child.

"I'd say that sounds familiar, too, but you still think I'm a monster, don't you?" Sylar didn't seem too upset by the idea that she might; it was just a fact of life, like how the sky was blue.

She shrugged a little bit, "Sometimes, when it suits you to be." She answered seriously.

"It keeps people from using me," he admitted after a lengthy pause. He wasn't sure that he liked the idea of telling the cheerleader so much about his motivations, but since she seemed to be playing his game well enough, thus far, he figured it was only fair. Sometimes he hated his personal moral code. "The last time I forgot, the Petrellis played games with my head."

"Join the club." She replied bitterly, her eyes shifting away as she looked out the window beside her and her brows pulled closer together as she was a little tense. Peter was the only reason she didn't cut ties with them fully. Peter, who she hadn't seen in ... she didn't even know how long. Then she looked over at him, "Do you think I'm using you?"

"Everyone uses other people." He shrugged, casting her a glance. "I make you feel something. I'm the only one that's going to live long enough for you to even remotely manage any sense of connection with. I'm useful." And when she felt that he'd outlived that usefulness, he had no doubts that she'd stop making it so easy for him to find her and continue their little game.

She hadn't tried to tell him that she wasn't using him on some level, she knew that she was. "Is that a reason for you? Because I'm immortal as well?" She knew it wasn't really about feeling, not on the same level as her. Or so she thought, she could never be sure with him.

"Maybe." It wasn't a lie; he honestly wasn't sure. Not that he considered himself less selfish than the rest of the general population--no, he knew that he was just as self-centered, if not moreso, than everyone else--it was more he didn't know what he wanted from her. What demands he had that motivated him to keep her around. It wasn't that he needed to feel, like she did, nor was it a case of a need to have someone else around constantly, seeing as how he'd done just fine alone for so long. It just was. And so he shrugged. "I honestly couldn't tell you."

"I don't know either." She shook her head, somewhat relieved that he didn't really know what to say about the situation either. "I've asked myself why but it ... " She shrugged a little bit because she didn't know how to explain it. She glanced out the window again with a little frown, her head tilting just a little.

"It what?" he prompted.

She glanced back at him, "I think it's just complicated." She wondered if that would sate him for a little while.

He made a soft, amused noise. "I guess it is." Then, just like that, he fell silent again, focusing himself on the drive, rather than her and what remained of their conversation. He wasn't particularly satisfied with the answers he'd been given, but truthfully, he didn't feel possessed to pursue it anymore, right now. He'd find better answers, later.

Claire was silent as she watched out the window but she seemed focused on something. She shifted her weight a bit as she slid down a little and then twisted to peek over the edge of her seat, her eyes narrowing, "Sylar, have you noticed that black van?"

Frowning, he shot a glance at the rear view mirror. He hadn't been paying attention, honestly, but now that she'd pointed it out, it wasn't hard to note that they were being followed. "How long have they been there?"

"I noticed the van go by the diner before but now it's behind us." She frowned a little bit, glancing sideways at him as she tried to figure out which one of them was the target. "You stole this from my apartment in Vegas, right?" She meant the car.

"I did." And he hadn't thought to change cars, simply because Vegas was known for random carjackings. Anyone could have stolen the car, rather than the theft leading specifically back to him, and he hadn't seen Nathan's Hunter in months, so he'd thought nothing of it. Clearly, the lull in attacks from the government had made him sloppy.

Then maybe it was her. "Wouldn't have been that hard to find me if they checked the casinos at all." All the cameras. She frowned a little bit, maybe she had gotten sloppy too. She looked over at him now, "What are we going to do?"

Offering her a small smile that made him seem more monster than man, he spun the wheel sharply, with no further warning. The tires shrieked loudly in protest, car fishtailing across the highway and over the median--which was, thankfully, simply grass rather than concrete--before Sylar managed to regain control over the vehicle. And then, in spite of the signs that warned that they were headed in the wrong direction and the oncoming traffic, he raced the car down the opposite side of the highway.

However unfortunately, the van followed, ignoring the wail of car horns from terrified motorist just the same as he was. "Damn it."

Claire caught the small smile and she barely blinked, she merely reached out to grab onto something just as he wrenched the wheel to send the car spinning about. She heard the squeal of the tires against the pavement and the blaring of the horns around them as he managed to gain enough control to send them flying the opposite way.

She looked back as he did, clenching her jaw as she glanced over at him, "There's a turn coming up, I saw it. You need to cut across then." She pointed to the side of the road they had been, "They might not be able to follow but if they do ... " She trailed off, knowing he would understand even if she didn't say it out loud.

"Guess we'll just have to find out."

Taking care to avoid the oncoming cars, not wanting to see their car destroyed nor either of them dead however temporarily, he rode down the wrong side of the highway for a few more seconds, before cutting back across the grass that divided it. The van followed, though at a slower pace, held up by the damage he'd done to the natural flow of traffic, albeit only marginally, but he ignored it. He simply didn't have the time to pay attention right now, instead focused solely on zipping across three lanes of traffic to get off on the exit Claire had pointed out. And he didn't bother slowing down, once they were off the highway, the car howling against the pavement again as they sped around the curve of the exit ramp.

Claire held onto her seat as she watched over the back of her seat, trying to keep track of the van as he continued to drive to get them away from the van but it seemed they weren't going to shake it that easily. She pressed her foot to the floor, bracing herself a little as he steered the car down the exit ramp. "I don't think we're going to shake them."

He ground his teeth together, furious, though clearly not at her assessment of the situation. "We need to stop." If they stopped, he could stop them.

She looked at him and then she looked ahead, "There, there's another turn." She was sure the sign that was near the little road was to warn them against turning down that way but desperate times called for desperate measures. They didn't need to be exposed.

He took it, without question, barreling down the road, ignoring the warnings the street signs had been trying to provide. "When I stop, get out."

Claire nodded her head as she looked at him, "Okay."

A few more seconds were spent speeding down the road, the car rapidly running out of pavement to tread as, apparently, the sign had been one warning them of a dead end, and then he was throwing them into a spin. He waited until they were facing the way they'd come, before jamming a foot down on the breaks, the car coming to a shaky halt in the middle of the road. And once they'd stopped, not even bothering to see if Claire had done as he'd ordered, he was getting out of the car himself, hands held out at his sides at the ready.

The van that had followed them wheeled into view a second later.

Claire held on as he wrenched the wheel again, glad that she wasn't the type to have a weak stomach. She remembered what Sylar had said, bracing herself to get out as soon as the car jerked to a shaky stop. She kept her eyes on the van as she pulled on the handle, pushing open the door before ducking her head and stepping out of the car. The sun flashed over her blonde hair as she straightened, her features expressionless as she stood there and waited. She glanced at Sylar out of the corner of her eye and then looked back at the van.

Men in black lept from the car in a flurry of flashing guns and shouted orders. A spray of bullets followed, but they never hit home, Sylar throwing up a hand to stop them mid-air. A wave of his hand, and they were headed back towards the shooters, though it did them little good--clearly, they had been expecting this and had come prepared with bullet proof armor. Unsurprising in hindsight, as he watched them stumble back but not fall, but still annoying, and he steeled his jaw, lowering his head before marching forward into their ranks.

Claire watched as they came pouring out of the van and, idly, she had to wonder how many they could cram into one of those things. It was kind of like a clown car. When the bullets started to fly, she tensed but she didn't try to hide because she wasn't surprised when Sylar stopped them in mid-air. Her lips pursed, her jaw tensing as she watched them stumble back but none of them fell. Then he started forward into their ranks and she bit back the urge to cry out to him as she took a step around the door, unsure of what to do since she didn't have the powers that he did but she wasn't going to let anyone hurt him if they got an opening.

Two of the men fell to flashes of electricity. Two more hit the pavement, as the air burned around them, patches of angry red blossoming at their throats, their blood boiling to the surface of their skin. That didn't take care of all of them, though, and they were too close now, practically on top of him with restraints that had seemingly appeared out of no where.

In a flash, one closed around his wrist, dragging his hand down; another closed around his other arm and another around his neck. He snarled, struggling, throwing his head to one side, and the van behind them rocked ominously. Not exactly what he'd been going for--he'd hoped to flip it--but at least it gave his attackers pause.

It was all she needed, they seemed to forget her for a moment as they focused on what they saw as the main threat. A single crack like a clap of thunder as the one holding his wrist suddenly fell. Sure, they were wearing bullet proof armor but there were gaps. Claire held one gun, her eyes narrowed as she turned it on another man in armor to fire off a couple more rounds. She didn't like taking anyone's life but these people weren't innocent, they were trying to capture and trap them. She was fighting for her survival and it had been proven before that she would do whatever it took.

Sylar grinned wolfishly at one of the men still holding his other arm in place. "Not your lucky day, is it?" Then he was throwing them off like a dog with a bad case of fleas. The rest of the men were dead within seconds, the smell of ozone and blood so thick in the air it was nearly choking. And after a moment's pause, of leering down at the corpses he'd made, he turned to face Claire, slowly.

Claire watched as he took over once more, throwing the men off and she barely had a chance to look away before the rest laid dead at his feet. She could smell it, the scent of blood and dead, surrounding her as she lowered the gun at her side. She was barely breathing as she lifted her gaze to his face, watching him as he turned slowly to face her.

"Nice shot," he commented, tone far too pleasant for the death all around them.

She shrugged a little bit, too casual. "Just another hidden talent, I guess."

"You could have let them have me. I would have found a way out, eventually, but you could have run. They were more interested in me than you." There was something he wasn't saying here, though--an unspoken question. She could have gotten away from him, and he would have been fine, as promised, only to track her down again, when he did, but she hadn't. She'd saved him, or at very least helped him save himself, and he wanted to know why.

Claire could hear the silent question underneath the statement that she could have gotten away and she tilted her head as she thought about it. As she did, she reached inside the passenger side to pop the trunk and then she stepped back to drop the gun into it. Then she moved forward, ignoring the dead bodies as she started to search for their guns and whatever other weapons they might have. "Wasn't interested in letting them capture you." She stated as she straightened, standing closer to him among the bodies.

He watched her for a moment, silent, frowning, and then, "Because we're sleeping together?"

She blinked at him and now it was her turn to frown, "You really think the only reason I don't want them to catch you is because we had sex?"

Honestly, no, he didn't, and so he shook his head. "No."

"Good." She seemed annoyed now, her eyes hard as she stepped over a body and moved towards the van. She was muttering something under her breath as she glanced back at him and then moved to look into the back of the van to see what she could find. "We should get out of here and switch cars."

"We'll take their van," he suggested, following her to over to it. He didn't stop there, however, moving past her and around the vehicle to head for the driver's side. "We won't be able to keep it long--Petrelli isn't stupid; he'll realize everything didn't go according to plan when they don't check in--but it'll get us back to the highway. We can pick up a new car there."

"That's if they don't already know." She then pointed at one of the guys who had a little earbud in his one ear. It was hard to make out in the blood but it was there. She looked over at him then, a shadowed expression on her face because there was a chance that Nathan and the Hunter did know that something had gone wrong. There was a chance now that they knew Claire was with Sylar.

"Then we'll have to move fast." The killer seemed unconcerned with the idea that they might already be in danger. Again. "Get in the van."

"My purse." She rushed back to the bag, grabbing her purse from the first seat and then her bag from the back. Running, she moved back to the van to crawl into the passenger side as she shut the door.

He muttered something condescending about women and their purses, though his heart wasn't behind the quip, otherwise occupied with planning their next steps. Still a million miles away, he got into the van, waiting for her to join him, before throwing it sharply in to reverse so he could turn around to go back they way they'd come. He was silent until they found the highway again, and then he was shooting her a sideways glance. "You drive, right?"

She was silent as well since, in her mind, things had just gotten more complicated. And he had asked if it was because they were sleeping together! She made a silent scoffing noise even though she wasn't looking at the reason why. As he asked if she could drive, she glanced at him and then nodded, "Yes."

A soft, thoughtful noise, and then he was sighing. "Whether or not they know you're with me, they're going to be expecting me to steal a car. They know that I know I won't be able to hold onto this van forever."

"So what do you want to do?" She asked, tilting her head.

"I'm thinking hitchhiking." Not the best plan, he knew--there was a chance that no one would stop for them, and standing on the side of the road, they'd be sitting ducks--but he'd done it once before, an age ago, and it had worked well enough. The FBI hadn't expected him to do that, and so, hopefully, neither would Nathan. "Unless you have a better idea?"

Claire arched a brow at him as he suggested hitchhiking but it was a good idea, she would have to agree. She had done it once or twice before. "Works for me." She nodded her head a little bit, not entirely comfortable with standing on the side of the road just waiting for a ride just in case there was another van out there but it would be better than stealing a car so close to the scene they just left. "Truckers are our best bet." She seemed fairly sure of that.

Funny, the one time he'd gone hitchhiking, it had been with a trucker. He'd even learned to drive the 18-wheeler he'd been a passenger in, after he'd gotten bored with the driver and killed him, so that was a bonus. Maybe it would come in handy later, maybe it wouldn't. Who knew?

"We're going to have to ditch the van. Walk for awhile," he told her after a moment.

She had found that truckers were more apt to pick people up or maybe it had been because of the fact that she had been a tiny blonde walking on the side of the road. Just another time that she had to get out of town fast after Sylar found her somewhere. Now she was on the run with him. Amusing little twist.

"Probably should ditch it just over here." She nodded her head as they were close to the highway. She glanced at him, watching him for a moment like she was going to say something but then she didn't.

Making an accepting noise at the back of his throat, he pulled them off to the side of the road, and then leaned back across the seat to consider the set-up back there. There was a laptop he could make out from where he was sitting, and while taking it might have been immediately useful, allowing to see how they were being tracked and if they were close to being attacked again, but there were risks. This was the government--who knew whether or not they had GPS tracking on their gear or if he could get rid of it if they did? And so he shook his head a little, deciding against taking it, and turned back to get out of the car.

"Let's go."

Claire watched him for a moment as he considered something and she glanced back before sliding the gun she had grabbed into her purse. She slid out of the car, slamming the door shut before moving around to the front of the van to start back on the road. The wind tugged at her blond curls as she shifted her bag onto her back, glancing over at the sign that they had passed and then she looked back at him as she waited for him to start walking. After a moment, she finally asked, "Would you have let them take me?"

He fell into step beside her, and cast her a glance that seemed to suggest she was the insane one here, not him. "No."

Claire nodded her head, then she had to smirk just a bit as she tilted her head almost innocently, "Because we're sleeping together?"

Sylar rolled his eyes, amused. "You really think the only reason I don't want them to catch you is because we had sex?"

Claire had to chuckle as she shook her head, "Yes. After all, you hate porn." She teased, all while thinking it was probably wrong to be joking around considering they had just left a bunch of bodies behind them.

"I'm not that desperate, Claire."

"I'm teasing you." She replied as she looked over at him, growing serious. "After all, I've figured out why you wouldn't let them take me."

He raised an eyebrow, somewhere between curious and dubious. "Really. Why, then?"

She shrugged a little as she continued towards the road, "For some reason that is beyond me, you've decided I'm yours." And he didn't seem to like to share.

"How very perceptive." A pause. "But you're right."

"Not perceptive when you've pretty much told me outright." She shook her head before glancing at him, "So I figure you're not going to risk letting them have me in case you can't find me again."

"Oh, I'd find you," he assured her, calmly. "It might take me a little while, but I'd find you. Ask -- " He stopped short, storm clouds rolling over his face, darkening his expression. "Never mind."

Claire watched as a storm raced over his features and she wanted to ask but she didn't, she recognized that it was one of those things he didn't want to talk about. She knew what that could be like. "But it's not really a question of that. It'd be more that someone else dared to ... " She paused for a moment, "Get involved." She shrugged.

"It's none of their business what we're doing. They need to stay out of it." He popped one shoulder in a shrug in turn, and then picked up his pace a little, leading them out onto the shoulder of the highway. "Keep your eyes open."

"I agree with you." She murmured as they moved out to the highway and she glanced along the road to make sure that she didn't spot a black van anywhere nearby. As she came to stand beside him, she glanced sideways at him and then smirked a bit, "Try not to look so scary."

"I'll give it a shot." Not that the suggestion kept him from looking sour--or at least not immediately. After a moment, however, it seemed he managed to cage whatever train of thought had cast his face in shadows, and while it didn't make him look particularly pleasant, at least he appeared calm enough. Almost normal.

Claire chuckled as she shrugged her pack from her back, dropping it to the ground before she started running her fingers through her blond curls to start pulling them into a ponytail. She watched as he attempted to look a little normal and she was a little amused. "Nice."

Then she nodded past him, "Truck coming."

He shot a glance in the direction she'd nodded, before returning his eyes to her. "Since I'm so scary, you can be the bait that'll get us a ride."

She smirked at him a bit as she reached up to unzip her jacket, nodding, "Step back a bit." She tilted her head as she smiled then, a light and easy smile that had her eyes dancing. It was a cute look really as she turned on the charm just through her features and her movements, her hips cocking to the side a bit as she held out a hand to thumb for a ride. As she watched the truck start to slow, her smile grew a little more even as she glanced Sylar quickly and then back to the truck. "Do we want this one?" She asked him.

As ordered, the killer stepped away a bit, alternating between watching her, trying his best not to frown, and watching the truck's approach. "Might as well. We don't have time to wait for another truck to come along."

Claire didn't seem to notice that he was trying not to frown and she nodded her head as she turned her attention back to the truck. She stepped back with a little light step, almost like a bounce as the truck pulled over and slowed to a stop just a few feet ahead. She hurried quickly to its side and as she spoke, she shielded her eyes while smiling brilliantly at the driver. After another minute, she laughed before turning to look at Sylar, motioning for him, "Come on, slow poke." She called out, "We have a ride."

She slipped around to the passenger side, minding cars that whizzed by as she opened the door and crawled up onto the first big step. She was half leaning in, talking brightly to the driver as she waited for Sylar to join them.

Sylar shook his head, caught in a precarious place between annoyed and amused, and meandered over to the truck. "Hello," he called to the driver, forcing a smile that never met his eyes.

Claire twisted, enjoying the fact that she now stood a head taller than Sylar as she looked at him, "This is Vince, he's going to take as us far as the next city. That's sweet of him, isn't it?" Her tone was bright and warm but she didn't look so enthused as she looked at Sylar but that quick look was gone once she looked back at the driver.

The driver nodded, giving Sylar a wary look but he seemed to be willing to risk having the man along if it meant getting Claire in the truck. So he nodded his hello before looking to Claire, "You can sit in the bunk, your friend can sit in the passenger seat." There seemed to be a slight question to the friend part. Not that Claire clarified, she merely crawled over the passenger seat before sliding to sit back on the bed in the bunk.

"It's very nice of him," Sylar agreed, calmly. Then, to the driver--Vince--he offered a quiet thank you before climbing up into the truck after Claire. Another smile was offered to the driver, as he closed the door behind him, and then he was leaning his head on the glass of the window so that he could look out on the outside world.

As soon as the questions started, Claire gave vague answers but basically that they were coming from Las Vegas and heading cross country on an impromptu road trip. When it seemed the driver was going to continue to press for answers, Claire claimed that she needed to sleep. Not that she did, she merely curled up on the bed, ignoring the strange scent as she watched Sylar through tiny slits as she had her eyes mostly closed, pretending to be asleep.

Deciding that seemed to be the best course of action for him as well, so that their savior didn't start peppering him with questions where Claire had stopped giving answers, he closed his eyes. Slowly, he let his breathing even out, imitating sleep even if he was no where near it, and let his thoughts wander once again to what their next move would be, when they stopped.

The game was on, now, and he'd be damned if he was going to lose.

Claire still had no idea where they were heading or what was next for them. As she shifted over onto her other side, curling up a little more with her back to the men, she thought of the bodies they had left back in a small clearing. Perhaps no one would find them for a bit or maybe they had already been found, she wasn't sure. She thought briefly of the sign, the warning that they were heading the wrong way when they were leading the men into a situation where they wouldn't walk out alive.

She wondered if she was still heading the wrong way but it was the last one she had left. She had made her decision and no doubt the others would know it soon; she had made a stand beside Sylar. Her once enemy and now, strangely enough, her lover. No, she had no idea where she was heading but she had a distinct feeling that there was no coming back.