Ain't that just the way [OPEN]

[Travis Brooks]

Tank filled up and back on the road.  Travis was starting to get used to this city life, driving out and hanging in Pilot Ridge.  It was sort of nice being in town, not that Pilot Ridge was much of a city, but compared to the world he knew it was.  It was nothing like back home.  Still, he was always glad to get back to the farm.  As much as he wanted to escape the farm life, there was something nice about the quiet stillness of the fields.  The stars twinkled a little brighter, the air was just a titch fresher, and Travis felt at home with the smell of fresh cut grass and manure.

He'd had a nice evening and now he was heading back to the farm he called his temporary home.  It wasn't forever.  He hoped to have a better plan once he knew what Glads was doing with his life after high school, not that he would base his life plans around the younger boy.  His mind was still a whirlwind of confusing thoughts as far as that was all concerned, but for now he was content with his lifestyle choice, so he'd stick with it.  It was all he knew.  Like driving a truck; it was all he knew to do.  Especially the old beat up one he sat in now.

There was a sudden banging noise and then a jolt.  Finally the undeniable sound of metal scraping and a harsh burnt rubber and metallic odor that filled his nostrils.  Travis pulled over immediately and got out of the truck to check out what happened.  The left side of his bumper had completely come off and the right was now sagging.  The whole thing was still on, but barely.  He could fix it himself if he had the right tools, but of course he didn't.  "Well, shit.." His brows furrowed as hands popped onto his hips as he surveyed the damage.  

With a sigh Travis went to the back of his old pickup and grabbed his toolbox.  He brought it out front to see if he could at least tighten the bolts enough to get himself back home, but the hardware was completely missing on the one side and bent and rusted on the other.  The rust was probably what got him in the end.  Another sigh and a hand through his hair.  Better call for a tow, only.. his phone was dead.  "God da-" He cut himself off, groaning instead as he slid a hand down his face.  

Now what?!

[Axelle Flint]

Axelle was coming back from a garage errand. A box in her passenger seat was filled with new shiny parts and there was a towel over the backseat with some used but still serviceable longer parts. Her windows were down after a ridiculous winter of having to keep them rolled up, and "Sweet Home Alabama" blared from her stereo. Ever a vigilant driver since she couldn't put her leg through the floor of her car, she immediately noted signs of what might have been an accident and decreased her speed in time to see a truck pulled over with a mostly detached bumper on the side of the road. She slowed past him and pulled off the road just a little ways in front of him, stepping out and grabbing her phone off the dashboard in the process.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked as she shoved the phone into the back pocket of her shorts, keeping a respectable distance from the stranger she had pulled over to help. She was strong enough to wiggle out of any potential dangerous situation but that didn't mean she was looking forward to it. "Did you hit something?" she asked, looking at the bumper. She noticed his tool box down on the ground and wondered if he'd be able to fix it himself. "Mind if I take a look? If we can take the bumper off all the way you can probably be on your way...unless there's other damage?" she asked curiously and then realized that it must be really strange for this guy to suddenly be confronted with her giving car advice. "I'm a mechanic," she added quickly.