(Octavian 29, 59 / 6:08AM)

A large town slowly grew, letting its morning lights die off as the morning sun started to pinken the early clouds.

Being awake for who knows how long, Jack changed his high beams to low beams, with the view in front of him being more clear. With the gusty wind ceasing in carrying out the bits of sand, dirt, and pebbles, it also disallowed the movement of devil tumbleweeds that sat on the edges of the road.

Noticing a black and blue sign that read “Welcome to Dodgerock”, Jack swiped away a bit of sweat from his right sleeve. As both of his feet started to ache from sitting down for many hours, a small cramp started to settle in onto his left foot.

Clicking his tongue, Jack opened the wide metal sliding hole that allowed him to communicate to the back of the van.

(Jack) Dodgerock is just about in front of us.

Miles, Hope, and Diego all woke up in unison, feeling refreshed since they slept through most of the drive. Noticing that the others were still asleep, Diego tugged Gary’s shoulder with both of his tanned palms.

As for Hope, she shook Benn who slept with his arms folded, his nostrils making a ratchet snore that was semi-load, but not as loud compared to the woman near the back. Miles, who was right next to Luna, decided to…

(Miles’s thoughts) Hell nah, that’s more Luke’s thing.

Stan and everybody else waking up besides Luna, Jack found a crushed-up can of Vampire right below his feet. Like a frisbee, Jack used both his pointer and middle finger to chuck it straight toward Luke’s sleeping face. Shaken up from the throw, Luke turned his head right to left frantically.

(Luke) W-W-What happened?

(Jack) Calm down, I just woke you up. We’re here by the way.

The one-lane road is now being expanded to a two-lane road, the city that lies right in front of them.

Was now a place for rest for the fallen sinners.

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(Octavian 29, 59 / 6:52AM)

The brown van swiftly stopped right in front of an old antique gas station.

Parking the car right alongside the fuel pump, Jack took in the differences between this gas station and the many in Lagefor. For one, unlike Lagefor, there was no gas attendant for them to do the filling for them. Second, the gas station appeared to take the shop of a pet wolf, with the roof of the station having wolf ears.

Opening the driver's door wide open, Jack slammed the door shut as he walked stumbly toward the back of the van. Shaking his right foot and left once to let the blood flow into his feet back again, he came across the lock that bound the rest of The Dark Angels.

Alongside him came Luke, who widened his eyes at the difference in architecture compared to Lagefor.

(Luke) Wow, so this is Dodgerock.

Surrounding the gas station were buildings constructed with white bricks and wood, with the streets wide open for both cars and carriages to be drawn. Windows still being shut, along with businesses seemingly unable to open with the morning sun over the clouds, Luke took a step back.

As he took in a single whiff of the high-elevation desert air, the cold wind and the hot sun created a mix of tribulation.

(Jack) Uh, Terra to Luke?

(Luke) Oh, shoot, my bad.

Rubbing the back of his head, Luke punched in the code for the van’s doors to unhinge its locked doors. With the doors being unlocked, it allowed van walls to finally release the body odor that was trapped within the metal.

And out the doors, a tanned woman stomped her way out the van, her hair seemingly looking as if she had gotten out of bed.

Even though she didn’t even sleep on a bed.

(Luna) I’m hungry.

(Luke) We don’t even know the place well enough…

(Luna) I need food now.

(Luke) Come on Luna, we got to wait for a bit.

Scoffing, Luna folded her arms as she glared at the stumbling men and one woman who littered the white cement with their boots. Tapping her foot on the asphalt, she looked toward none other than Hope herself, who rubbed her eyes repeatedly like a kid waking up from a car ride.

Putting her hands down from her eyes, Hope looked up to see the frowning woman who looked down on her. Since Hope was the last person to get out, everyone set their eyes on the woman with blonde hair, especially the tanned beauty.

(Luna) You’re the last person to get out.

(Hope) We’re not in a rush. Why are you so angry in the mornings?

(Luna) I’m hungry, I’m tired, and you’re holding us up you drooling toad.

(Hope) You look like shit.

(Luna) What did you say?!

(Luke) Not right now out of all times…

Having his hands on his sides, he placed himself right next to Luna, hovering over her right shoulder with a saddened look. His eyes dropped down, and he lifted his left hand onto her shoulder, rubbing it with his thumb as his dark eyelids continued to heal from the lack of rest.

Scrunching up her hand, she made a small fist while turning her head toward the young man.

The others in the back of him let out loud yawns, with low-hanging tears dripping nestling onto their eyelids.

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(Luke) Come on Luna. Just this once, please try to be on your best behavior. We’re not as well-liked as we once were.

(Jack) Honestly, we never got any praise to begin with.

(Miles) I think the most we got was an all-year free pass for one of the bars in Lagefor.

(Stan) Yeah, and Luke won it in a gamble…

Leaving a major bad taste in their mouth, the group looked at the buildings around them that soon began to sprawl with life. As people slowly started to sprout out of their respective apartment buildings, old car models like the Duesenberg and Cord car types that only allowed two to four-seaters soon started up their lead-filled engines.

The rest of the group watched in awe as the scenery that was crawled with crickets and cicadas soon began to busify like the start of a coyote engine.

Letting out a warm smile, the burning rays of the desert sun spread a glowing light on the city and the group. The chilling air in a battle with the sun, Luke put both of his hands into his pockets for them to warm up.

(Luke) Now that we’re here, do you know where Boris, David, and the others went?

(Jack) Now that you mention it, they drove up North of the city. Because they fueled up at the border, they had enough gas to make it to their destination.

(Stan) Hey, I think we should fill up now before people start to get angry at us.

(Jack) Good call.

Jack walked toward the gas pump that wasn’t connected to the fuel tank. Upon seeing the pump, the pump was much longer and slender than that of the short and chubby pumps in Lagefor. Sort of resembling a gumball machine, Jack held the fuel silo as he connected it to the fuel tank that he brought open.

Noticing a display on the dashboard of the pump, the pump served 20 cents to the gallon; which the van held 20 gallons.

Back in Kepputha, most of the pumps served 40 cents to the gallon.

And Ticia served barely a dollar a gallon.

(Jack’s thoughts) Four bucks for gas? Shit, sign me up.

Letting the gasoline flow through the engine, Jack placed his back along the van while crossing his arms. Seeing that everyone had his sights on him, he combed a bit of his somewhat well-groomed hair with just his fingertips.

(Jack) You guys could find any restaurant or bar that serves breakfast at this hour. I’m going to let Boris know that we’re here.

(Luke) Alright, that sounds good to me.

(Stan) Me, Fred, Gary, and Diego will be looking through the inside of the station to see if there are any snacks or water to refuel up on.

(Luke) Got it. Be safe you guys.

As Jack remained near the van, letting the trail of lead gasoline into the poor yet hungry engine, the rest of The Dark Angels set off into the city.

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(Octavian 29, 59 / 7:28AM)

(Stan) Shouldn’t we go right now?

(Jack) Boris told me that we should remain here in the gas station.

(Gary) Out of all the times that he called us.

The five men waited in the front of the gas station, looking through the many old antique cars fuel up and go as they carried on with their day. As Fred and Diego cradled a mountain of snacks like children, both men began to softly sweat under the now-burning sun.

Not only Fred and Diego, but the others swept away a bit of sweat from their foreheads, using their right sleeves to do the job. Unable to put their hands inside of their pockets, Stan of all people let out a dry cough.

(Stan) I guess that’s what happens when you spend six years in Lagefor. The warm summers and cold winters molded us to like the cold.

(Gary) Imagine Miles. He’s raised in the Charon Tundra, right? I heard that place is like an icebox in the winter.

(Stan) That poor dude. He’s going to hate living here.

Folding their arms, Stan noticed that several people were walking away in a hurry.

Like they witnessed something that they weren’t supposed to, the number of pedestrians that walked fast doubled and tripled. Followed by the rest of the other citizens noticing this strange behavior, they also followed suit as they walked in the direction that was away from where everyone went off.

Tapping his foot on the concrete, Stan turned his head toward Gary.

(Stan) Something’s up.

(Gary) Yeah no kidding.

Both men looked toward Jack, who just stared at one of the building’s windows that was on the building to the left of them. Having his hands motionless to his sides, Stan walked over to give Jack a small shove, causing him to disrupt his focus.

Seemingly returning to reality, Jack combed his hair while looking at Stan.

(Jack) Sorry, lost in thought.

(Stan) Luke and the others went in that direction where everybody kept on walking away from.

(Jack) Don’t tell me…

(Stan) We should check out the disturbance.

(Gary) But what if it’s a trap?

Gary folded his arms underneath his chest, looking down onto the smooth and paved concrete. Moving his right leg up and down in a repeating motion, it caused Jack and Stan to glance at the anxiety-ridden Gary.

Stan held his waist with both of his hands, sniffling out as a bit of fluid started to come out from his nose.

(Stan) Unlikely. If they knew where to find us, then they would most likely bomb-rush us.

(Fred) I don’t know. Governments can be shady.

(Diego) Fred has a point.

Letting go of his waist, Stan snapped his fingers along his right hand, raising it high as the clicking sound reverberated through the air. But as soon as he snapped two times, he stopped since an occurring pain started to dwell inside his bones and skin.

As if ten wasps stung him at once, Stan let out a slight hiss while crushing down onto his teeth, grabbing his wrist in the process.

(Stan) Oh! Nevermind! Anyway … I think we should just—

(Phone speaker) Who’s phone is ringing? Mine! Mine! Who’s phone is ringing?

The sounds of a phone ringing can be heard.

All five of the men turned to look at Jack, whose jacket started to vibrate from the weird ringtone that he had saved.

Despite the vast difference in technology, Jack, Luke, and the others managed to create their noise or sound to alert people that they had calls. Instead of the typical phone ringing, sometimes the buzzing can be a song, a saying, or in Jack’s case…

A saying that he decided to put into with his voice.

Pulling the blocky phone out of his jacket, he placed the speaker right onto his ear. Ignoring the swaying nods from the four geeks who began to fold their arms, Jack straightened his back while making a straight face.

(Jack) Hello?

(Boris) Where are all of you?

(Jack) Oh, we’re just eating lucky charms.

(Boris) Wait really?

(Jack) Of course not! We’re waiting for you at the freaking gas station!

Digging his fingers into the large blocky phone that he held, bits of the metal soon began to shriek and yelp. Gritting the ends of his teeth, Jack hunched down while placing both of his hands together to hold the phone, holding the phone down toward his chest.

Like a madman, he didn’t pay any mind to Stan and the others that took a step back. With the others continuing to look at the citizens walking fast out of the direction of supposed danger, it only made their stomachs queasy.

(Boris) Where’s Luke?

(Jack) Probably treating Luna to some cheap breakfast. You know how he is with her, always taming the beast.

(Boris) Did he go to the low-quality diner near the petrol gas station?

(Jack) I don’t know, probably.

(Boris) Then go after him now, or else he’ll run into you know who…