Hitchhikers May Be Escaping Owls (Olivia and Cassie)

Episode 1: Hitchhikers May Be Escaping Owls
Summary: A motorist stops for a lone hitchhiker late one night...
Character Sheet: http://pastebin.com/pFMktA4n
Episode 0: http://pastebin.com/cYDQwsMh

The driver almost didn't see the girl standing at the edge of the road. It was late, that time of night just before morning when the lane lines and street signs seemed to blur and no amount of coffee could keep him alert or his hands steady on the wheel. It was cold, he was tired, and he was in a hurry to get home. He hadn't been expecting to see anyone else, and definitely not someone looking for a ride.

Two things made him slow down and pull over anyway. First, the girl looked completely forlorn, shoulders slumped and shielding her eyes with one hand as she stared into the headlights like a lost puppy. Secondly, it was a cold and windy night, and she looked like she was dressed for some kind of costume party with her stained maroon jacket and ankle-length skirt. The driver frowned. Wasn't Halloween next week?

The radio burped static as a rock song started to play.

"Where were you last night?" the speakers crackled. Ignoring the song, he pulled over and rolled down the passenger's side window.

The girl was still standing there hesitantly, blinking as she peered inside. There was a strange, almost desperate look in her eyes. The driver frowned. She looked tired. Nervous. Skittish, even. Up close, she was obviously just a kid, seeming to shrink in on herself even as he watched. Her dress and face were streaked with mud.

...It really was a cold night out.

"Everything okay, kid?" he asked, tone gruff but not unfriendly. The girl didn't reply, and the radio filled the silence.

"Where were you last night? You weren't around me, when they found me..."

The girl started, and seemed to jerk awake. "Um...Yeah, sorry." She blurted quickly, stumbling over her words as she replied. "It's just the car...It...I..." She trails off. "I...I could really use a lift out of here if it's not too much trouble..." she trailed off, looking at him nervously.

The driver considered this.

"Do you need to make a call?" he offered. She wasn't holding a phone. "Your parents might be worried."

The girl stared at him in silent incomprehension. For a moment it looked like she wasn't sure whether to laugh or groan. She did neither, and just shook her head. "Um, no...That's okay, thanks...But can I get in?" She blurted quickly. "Sorry," She added a second later. "I just kind of really need to...to get home, and if you're heading somewhere..." Anywhere but here, she didn't say. She glanced away from the window for a moment, hazel eyes worriedly searching the gloom for something, then quickly looked back when she didn't find it. She'd clearly had a rough night.

"Sure." the driver grunted. "You sure you're okay?" A note of concern entered his voice.

The girl looked at him again, offering a strained, forced smile in response. "Um...Yeah, it's...it's okay. Thanks a lot." Without waiting for a reply, she reached for the door, hesitated, then moved to the back door instead. There was a clunk and soft rustling as she scrambled into the dimly lit back seat. She closed the door and slumped bonelessly against the seat.

"So where'd you need to go?" he asked as the car pulled out. No answer. The song kept playing.

"Where were you last year? You sure as hell weren't here..." the radio crooned.

Irritably, the driver changed the channel, then glanced at his passenger in the rear view mirror when she didn't reply. She was staring out of the window as though looking for answers. There was a quiet rustling noise from the other side of the seat.

"Miss?" he called, more harshly than he'd meant to. The girl jumped again, a worried look in her eyes as her head snapped back around. Something was clearly still bothering her. Probably the lecture she was going to get for being this late.

"Oh. Um...sorry." She stammered.

"Where do you live?" the driver repeated, patiently, biting down a spark of irritation. He wasn't running a taxi service here. The girl hesitated, then rattled off an address. It was in the right direction but still out of the driver's way. Still, he'd already picked her up, so it looked like this was going to be his good deed for the night.

In the back seat, the girl sat back again, eyes half-closed and absently pushing her dirt-stained hairband higher on her forehead. Her embroidered outfit looked like it'd been expensive once, before it'd had an encounter with a mud patch. The sleeves were torn, and she had several red cuts on her forehead and face. She was shaking slightly. The driver's brow furrowed, but he said nothing. He just drove.

Before long, his thoughts had drifted to what he was going to do after he'd dropped her off. His plans for the next day, for the weekend. After a while, he'd almost forgotten she was still there.

That made it all the more surprising when he glanced back and saw a pair of yellow eyes glaring back at him. He blinked in surprise.

"What the-"

There was an owl sitting on the girl's shoulder now. Despite having a beak for a face and almost comically large eyes, it still managed to look vaguely grumpy.

The girl glanced up, and shot upright in alarm. "Ah, um...Yeah. Olivia...she- she's my pet. She's...quite tame-Ow!" The girl babbled, then suddenly cut off with a pained wince as the owl abruptly shifted on her shoulder. Almost as though it'd heard her. "RIGHT, Olivia?" She finished, teeth clenched. It was almost as though she expected it to reply.

The owl stayed silent, but both of them were looking back at him.

The driver was still trying to make sense of things, but he had to watch the road. He looked away.

"Just make sure it doesn't scratch up the seat." he grumbled eventually.

"Right. Got it." The girl nodded. The car went almost silent, broken only by a soft murmuring. Apparently, the girl was talking to her pet. Odd.

The quiet was broken by a thump and a muffled yelp from the backseat. He looked up. The owl had just hit the girl on the head with one wing, and she was glaring at it out of the corner of her eye. The owl was looking back at her. Creepy thing. He cleared his throat and both looked around at almost the same time.

"There a problem?" he asked.

"Um...No..." The girl muttered.

The driver's frown deepened.

"Miss, I get you've had a rough night. I really do. But if you can't keep your pet under control, we're going to have a problem. Okay?" He really didn't want to have to replace his seats over an owl.

The girl nodded, and things in the car quieted down again. The next time he glanced back, she was slumped against the window with her eyes closed. Probably asleep. The owl was still on her shoulder. Head tilted, it met his gaze unblinkingly, watching him.

He came to an abrupt decision. This wasn't really his problem and he didn't want that bird in his car any longer than it had to be. At the next rest stop, he pulled the car off the highway. The parking lot was practically deserted at this time of night, but there was a police car parked there like he'd hoped.

He got out, as quietly as he could, and walked over. The officer looked up from his newspaper as he approached, rolling down the window. The police radio was talking about a car accident with two victims.

"Excuse me, officer. It's just...I picked up a girl hitchhiking earlier. She's just a kid, and she looked like she was in bad shape. Like she'd been in a party gone wrong or something...had an owl with her, of all things. She gave me an address...Wait a second...I...I can't remember what it was, but she's still in the back seat. I'm sure she'll tell you if you wake her up again." The driver quickly explained.

The police officer took all this in, and nodded, getting out of his car.

"Alright, sir, if you'll walk with me, I'll take things from here."

The two of them walked back to his car, the driver standing nearby as the officer played his flashlight over the back seat. After a moment, he straightened, looking around the completely deserted parking lot for another couple of moments, then turning back to the driver.

"You sure about all that?" he asked, baffled. The driver looked past the officer. The back seat was completely empty, without even any mud stains from the girl's costume. The only sign anyone had been there was a single brown feather on the seat.