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Soon, dawn comes, its bloody yolk spreading along the cracked asphalt.
Lauren?iu messes with the radio and deftly rushes past any songs that remind him of his childhood and might trigger any melancholy. Eventually, he settles on one song.
Paimon asks with a raised brow, “Kansas?”
Good. He’s definitely awake now. Mr. “I’m too good for an ancient rock band, but I put ketchup on my eggs.” Not that Lauren?iu is judg—yes, yes, he is. Obviously, one with an elevated palette puts hot sauce on eggs.
Lauren?iu defends himself. “It’s a good song, even if it’s a century old.” It might be. A little more or less. Dates start to blur once you’ve been in Hell.
“Oh, darling, I agree, but isn’t it a little cliché?”
“I don’t see how.”
Adrian cuts in: “Sorry to interrupt, lovebirds. What isthat?”
Rolling to a stop in front of a busted stoplight, Lauren?iu raises his gaze and looks slightly to the left, caught off guard by the sight of a giant—gorilla? Yes, gorilla. It clings against the side of a tall building, mouth open in a furious roar, exposing sharp teeth, a plane in one of its massive arms.
Ah. Right, he forgot.
He’d been through Pigeon Forge before, shocked when he found an open arcade, a ferris wheel, and a pirate-themed building. Indeed, he’d even seen this display before them, but he hadn’t ever stopped at anywhere but a Waffle Duke for coffee and eggs.
He never got a chance to stay or even get out to see the sights, even when he had money. All he cared about was finding and killing Anthony, spending hours every day getting on social media and seething over wedding photos.
For every thrill, it felt like he was purposely digging a knife into his diaphragm.
“King Kong,” Lauren?iu says, unsure if someone from Adrian’s generation would know who that is. “That’s a wax museum, I think.”
“Huh,” Paimon says. “A wax museum in...Tennessee?”
“We’re nearing a famous amusement park.”
“Really? Does it have a theme?”
Lauren?iu explains, “It has a little bit of everything, but it’s based on a singer from a long time ago. I read about her online once."
“I see. It’s like a monument. Like those buildings you make for royalty before you make all their servants slit their own throats.”
“It’s a family-friendly place.”
“Do we know if it’s also overrun with zealous militia soldiers? Cannibals? Cannibalistic militia? Zombies?”
“I don’t know.”
Behind them, Adrian says without elaboration, “I hope so.”
Lauren?iu briefly looks at Paimon, since they’re stopped with no traffic. To the right of the highway, deer graze without a care. The image is both peaceful and mournful. He thinks Mamawould like to see this. She liked taking photographs of deer and birds. They could’ve come here, after.
“If you’re so offended by Kansas, how do you know them?”
“One, I’m not offended. Two, doesn’t everyone?” Paimon motions to King Kong. “Daisy seems to think there might be something around here.”
Lauren?iu nods. “I would bet that if any survivors are anywhere, they’re in the Smokies.”
In the distance, the mist-choked mountains loom.
“You know,” Paimon states, “I wouldn’t mind exploring.”
Maybe, during his second death, Lauren?iu can experience life. And with company.
