As soon as the speeder took off, we went from zero to 150 miles per hour in a matter of seconds. In an instant, the city streets of Rolland became nothing more than a blur. Even with my seatbelt on, I was constantly being tossed around and I could feel my skin flapping all over my face. It was one of the most exhilarating moments of my life.

Freddie seemed unaffected, however. He had somehow wrapped his arms around the back of the seat and tied them in a knot. The girls clung onto the door handles as if their lives depended on it but their faces were expressionless. Rys, on the other hand, was looking more green than pale.

“Take some deep breaths, buddy,” I reassured my friend.

“I don’t think I’m gonna make it,” he breathed. Suddenly we came to a screeching halt and we were both propelled forward.

“We’re here,” announced Brutuch. He opened the door of the speeder and I quickly removed my vest and holster. Freddie and Rys stepped out as he continued to look nauseous. My best friend continued to tend to Rys as I walked up to the police station with a pocket full of blank disguisers.

As I walked inside, a few of the officers gave me some strange looks. The looks seemed to stop once they realized that I wasn’t a Protector. Everyone seemed to be convinced that I was just a normal teenager. I pulled a disguiser out of my pocket and walked up to the policeman at the front desk.

“Please state your name, son,” muttered the bored officer.

“Patrick Robinson,” I immediately answered out of habit. The officer instantly laughed at me.

“You’re telling me that you’re Patrick Robinson?” he chuckled. “We both know that he was buried almost a millennium ago! Who are you really?”

“Alright,” I smiled, feeling somewhat disturbed after hearing about my own death, “my name is… Ash Robinson Nesswood. I’m a student at Rolland High School and I wanna do an article about the attack on Dannel’s Diner for the school newspaper.”

“Well then, Mr. Nesswood,” said the officer, suddenly becoming very friendly, “you’ve come to the right place. How can we help you?”

“I need to interview and take some pictures of the Red Mune agents,” I answered.

“Are you gonna interview anyone who was a witness at the attack?”

“I already have, sir. I interviewed Dan and a few of his customers, but I want to take it to the next level and interview the actual attackers.”

“Mmm, right. Well, currently the agents are all in solitary, but they’re all secured so tightly that you could go inside their cells and talk to them. I’m gonna have to supervise you, though.”

“Works for me,” I shrugged. The officer led me to the jail cells and stopped at the solitary confinement hall. We stood in front of a solid steel door that the officer opened by scanning his implant. The two of us carefully walked inside to find the female agent suspended two feet above the ground with her feet and hands bound. Her mechanical limbs were still attached, but it looked like they had been temporarily disabled.

“It’s you,” she hissed at me. “Once I’m out of this dump, I’ll skin you alive, cut you in half, and present your body to Master Skavenge on a platter.” The officer gave me a look of confusion.

“I was at the diner during the attack,” I said to the officer. “That’s where I interviewed Dan.”

“I see,” said the officer. He nodded and I turned back to the agent.

“Look, ma’am, I just need to get your picture for the school paper,” I said innocently, holding my disguiser in front of her.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“I know you’re up to something, boy,” she growled as I took her picture. I put the used disguiser in my other pocket and started to interview her to keep up pretenses in front of the officer.

“So why did you join the Red Mune in the first place?” I asked.

“Put a sock in it, fossil boy,” she muttered. “The Red Mune has been working to purge the timeline of its sins so that we may start anew under the leadership of Master Skavenge!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you wanna kill everyone,” I said, writing that down in my iPhone’s “notes” application. Once I finished writing, I turned back to the officer. “Let’s move on, sir,” I said.

“Where’d you get that relic?” asked the officer as I put my iPhone 7 back in my pocket.

“I’m obsessed with studying ancient technology,” I answered, technically telling the truth. “You should see my room; it’s filled with old computers, cell phones and gaming consoles. I built this iPhone myself and it’s worked pretty well so far.” The officer stopped at the next cell and unlocked it.

The next agent had two mechanical arms and one mechanical foot. His armor had stains from the PotBots’ stew and he seemed to be even angrier than the last agent.

“Boy,” he seethed, “boy, you can’t hide from Master Skavenge forever!”

“Say ‘Robinson Tech!’” I hollered, capturing his image onto the disguiser.

“Get out!” he snarled. The officer walked out carefully while I simply trotted out and stood by cell three. As soon as the officer unlocked the cell, I whipped out another disguiser and took a picture of the agent. All four of his mechanical limbs were disconnected and he looked too defeated to insult me.

“Why did you and the others ambush the restaurant?” I asked.

“Why do you wanna know?” he sighed.

“The kid wants an interview,” said the officer.

“Fine,” he huffed, “but only if we can talk in private.”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” said the officer.

“It’s alright,” I assured him. The officer left the cell and kept it unlocked, overseeing the conversation between me and the agent.

“I know what you’re trying to do,” he said. “If you and your friends even step foot on Mars, the Red Mune will ensure that you and your party never see the light of day again. I don’t know why you’re taking my picture, but let it be known that you will never make it to Master Skavenge. Once they get ahold of that traitor Rys, they’ll tear him limb from limb. You’re too important to kill, but it won’t end well for you either, I can assure you. As for Fryscus, Master Skavenge will be the one to decide his fate. Consider this your final warning, Patrick James Robinson.”

“I don’t care what you say,” I snapped back. “I’m going to Mars and I’m going to save my sister.” I promptly walked out and the chief locked the cell door. The two of us went inside the fourth cell and approached the agent. Only his arms were disconnected and I quickly took his picture. No matter how much I tried, he refused to talk to either of us. So I gave up and moved on to the final agent. Once we entered the cell, I pulled out my final disguiser and took his picture.

“Oh, it’s you,” he sighed. “What do you want?”

“I just want an interview,” I said calmly. “What motivated you to come to Rolland in the first place?”

“Alright, so the six of us were in Mexico when your Director Ravenstone’s daughter stole the virus,” the agent answered. “So we tracked her down to your time to kill her and somehow you got involved, Patrick!” I started to laugh nervously.

“What are you talking about?!” asked the confused officer. “This boy’s a reporter for the high school.”

“No, he’s not,” hissed the agent. “That’s Patrick Robinson and the Protectors brought him back from the past to help overthrow Master Skavenge!” The officer looked at me sternly and I blushed.

“So you really are the real Patrick Robinson?” he asked.

“Yes,” I sighed. “And I’m working with Protectors.”

“Alright,” said the officer. “I don’t know what you’re trying to do, but it’s okay. We police don’t like Protectors, but we’re willing to make an exception for one of the most important people in history.”

“Thank you, sir,” I replied. “I think I’m about done. Just don’t tell any of the other officers about my identity. Deal?”

“Deal,” he smiled. “It’ll be our secret, son.”

“Sounds good,” I told him, giving him the “lock your lips” signal.

After the officer escorted me out, I got back in the speeder to find Rys doing much better. Once the officer went back inside I handed the disguisers back to Y’takka and we were finally back on the road. Our cross country trip to Texas had finally begun.

“Hey, Freddie,” I asked, “have you ever met Skavenge?”

The moment I asked the question, Freddie just stared blankly at me. After an uncomfortably long silence, he said, “Yes. But I don’t like to talk about it.”

“I see,” I muttered, putting my back against my seat.