(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 smmed 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 tribution.

  (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 pce 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 gred 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 st person to get out, everyone set their eyes on the woman with blonde hair, especially the tanned beauty.

  (Luna) You’re the st 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 pced 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 ck 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.

  (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 dispy 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 dolr a gallon.

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

  Letting the gasoline flow through the engine, Jack pced 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.

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  (Octavian 29, 59 / 7:02AM)

  Being the commander, Luke was obligated to be in the front as he took in more of the white buildings that were constructed with stone and wood.

  In the back of him were Miles, Luna, and Hope, with Benn staying inside of the van for his own safety. Walking through the now-growing crowd, the members noticed the number of men who wore bck fabric jackets despite the air turning drier by the second.

  And walking among the men were women with long bck dresses, their knees being covered by the fabric. Carrying small purses, most of them walked in groups of three with long cheering smiles that warmed Luke and Miles’s hearts.

  Which made Luna and Hope smear in jealousy.

  Since the four of them were all wearing the same bck leather jacket and bck pants, along with bck leather boots, it was obvious that there was a clear difference in fashion.

  (Luke) Should we find something better suited to the times here?

  (Miles) Did Jack tell you? We don’t have enough money for clothes. Barely enough for gas and food.

  (Hope) We could probably eat at a low-rate restaurant, to save up money.

  (Luna) Of course, you’ll go for the cheapest option.

  A majority of the people who walked past them stared at their weird and out-of-world clothes, their faces tightened with their right or left brows raised. Not only their clothes, but the smell that radiated out from them also created a little bridge that separated them from the rest of society.

  Pcing his palm right along his neck, sweat began to form on both pieces of his skin, causing his neck to sparkle.

  (Luke) I think we should’ve followed Boris and the others so that we could’ve washed at the pce they were talking about.

  (Miles) Jack should’ve fuelled up with Boris near the border beforehand. Because of that, we don’t know where the pce is except North of here.

  (Luke) Either way, it’s nice to explore once in a while.

  The sun’s rays shined on the fresh white paint that surrounded them from north to south and east to west. Some of the buildings were a few stories high, and many of the windows from said buildings were opened with men and women pouring fresh water onto their house pnt cactuses.

  Tracing their eyes down toward the sidewalk in front of them, the four of them noticed an old diner that wasn’t shrouded in white paint.

  The building had yellow-tinted windows that couldn’t allow the general public to look from within, along the doors were constructed with hardwood. Followed by the building painted in a turquoise color, bricks built up the old diner that it now stands on, a far cry from the stone and wood that the people were accustomed to.

  (Luke) How about that old diner?

  (Luna) Way too cheap for my taste.

  (Hope) Gold-digger.

  (Luna) Shut up! I don’t want to get food poisoning!

  The four of them stopped to take in the unpleasant sight of the brick building with a hideous color.

  Putting his right hand onto his chin, Luke tapped underneath back and forth with his pointer finger, his nail grazing his skin. Nodding his head up and down, he cleared his throat while straightening his back.

  Causing the three of them to perk their ears up.

  (Luke) I know you don’t want this Luna, but if you want to get rid of your hunger, we have to eat here.

  (Luna) There are many restaurants that we could—

  (Luke) We also don’t have that much money…

  (Luna) …

  Luna clenched both of her hands into curled fists, her face reddening like a little kid on the verge of exploding. Puffing up her cheeks, she tightened her body as the exploding force inside of her started to grow evermore with each second she set eyes on it.

  Being the mediator, Luke patted the top of Luna’s head.

  (Luke) I still owe you that stack of donuts, remember?

  Luna immediately let her anger subside for once, closing her eyes as the slow exhale let her body flow like running water.

  Untightening her fists, she continued to breathe in through her nostrils and out her mouth, allowing her morning breath to be seen through the air. Opening her eyes, she only gred, walking toward the wooden door like she forgot who had her in tow.

  And by reaching the door, she used her knuckles to knock hard on the wood.

  (Luna) Hello? Are you guys open—

  Both wooden doors swayed open, but instead of the doors being opened from the outside.

  The doors swung open in the opposite direction of what Luna wanted them to open.

  With Luna being the only one in front of the door, the wooden door smmed right onto her face, causing her to tumble down onto the pebbled stone ground. Smming both of her palms on the ground, she instantly looked up toward the direction of the door despite her nose releasing a multitude of blood.

  (Luke) Oh, shoot! Are you ok?

  (Luna) Who did that?!

  Kneeling beside the fallen woman, Luke also pinned his attention onto the open door that just flew open by pure coincidence. Pressing his palm onto her shoulder, Luke patted her back as Miles and Hope surrounded the nose-bleeding Luna.

  Even though the door was opened from the inside, not a sound or a groan came out from them, keeping them on their toes.

  (Luke) Why isn’t anyone coming out?

  (Miles) Probably just some jo—or maybe it’s automatic.

  (Luke) Yeah yeah … automatic. Right Luna, it’s probably automatic.

  (Luna) I hope you two are right!

  Slowly helping her get back up on her feet, Luke lifted Luna from her elbows as she steadied her heels on the ground. Pulling out a clean tissue from his pocket, Luke pced it right along Luna’s nostrils, scrubbing her nose thoroughly like a clean freak dad.

  Folding the tissue into a small square, Luke pced the now-used tissue back into his pocket. Letting go of Luna’s sides and elbows, goosebumps slowly started to sprout from the ends of his neck but subsided rather quickly.

  (Luke) Let’s just get inside.

  The restaurant interior didn’t even let out a simple grin or smile, as the four of them walked in. Seeing that most of the tables were mostly empty and waiting for them to be taken, the four of them saw a small tavern bar in the front center of the diner.

  And in the tavern, was a young man sleeping head first onto the table counter.

  With the pce resembling that of the rundown bar on the southern part of Lagefor, the four of them continued their way toward a table that could fit four people.

  Noticing the table and seats being surprisingly well kept, along with no trash or food crumbs littering the floor, it sent Luke and the others to let out an exhale. Looking around to find that they were the only ones in except for one man who slept headfirst on the front of the bar, Luke looked at all corners of the restaurant.

  His eyes failed to configure distinctive shapes on the shadows in those four corners.

  (Luke’s thoughts) Why does it feel like someone’s watching me?

  (Hope) You ok Luke?

  (Luke) Oh, it’s nothing. Just my imagination…

  No music pying, no waitresses or waiters seemingly present or in their line of sight, the four of them lean their backs against the metal chairs that their butts sat on. The metal seats made their butts blister, the morning rays started to sweep into the tinted windows.

  Luckily for them, a waitress cd in an all-white skirt and tightened shirt came over toward the four of them. Wearing red lipstick, the woman had in her hands a notebook and pencil, her eyes peering into both Luke and Miles.

  (Waitress) Hey, ya’ll. Ready to order?

  Raining her angelic yet seductive smile on mostly Luke, he scratched the back of his head as his cheeks began to redden. Letting out a wry smile back, he wasn’t able to make eye contact with the waitress as he kept his eyes on the menu.

  (Luke) Y-Yeah. C-C-Can I have some pancakes with white rice, please?

  (Waitress) White rice for breakfast?

  (Luke) Y-yeah…

  (Waitress) What about you three?

  The waitress turned her attention onto the dark-toned man who softly stared into her eyes, his fingers trailing along the menu. Using his pointer finger, he tapped the meal a couple of times on the minated paper.

  (Miles) I’ll get some sausage, bacon, eggs, hash browns, and mashed potatoes.

  (Waitress) Hungry are you?~ Now how about you two?

  Upon seeing the two girls near the window seats, both of them made deadpan gres.

  Hope softly trailed her finger toward just a stack of pancakes, not saying a word as she also trailed her finger onto a batch of eggs and bacon. Even though the waitress connected the pieces to Hope’s order, the waitress let off a simple bead of sweat from her right temple.

  Meanwhile, Luna dispyed the menu right onto her face, her butt off the chair with her other hand holding onto the table.

  (Luna) I want an omelet, two orders of crepes, and a chocote donut.

  (Waitress) Rules say we can’t allow customers to get two desserts—

  (Luna) Now.

  With no choice but to submit to the customer's demand, the waitress leaped back while scurrying away to the back. In an act of possessiveness, Luna wrapped her left arm around Luke’s neck, her eyes gring straight at the door that the waitress ran toward.

  Luke raised his right eyebrow as he turned his head toward the jealous Luna. Unable to break free from her grip around his neck, a heavy deadpan stare locked onto him in front of him; Hope being the one to look at him with soulless eyes.

  (Luke) Come on, be nice to the workers.

  (Luna) I don’t care.

  (Luke) sighs …

  Another waitress came out, but instead of coming out of the same door that Luna gred at, the waitress walked into the tavern bar. With a small white rag, she began to dust some of the counters that started to accumute with dust, her fingers already being covered by it.

  Without looking, the dusty cloth made contact with the sleeping man with ginger hair, and her eyes widened. The fabric brushed against the man’s hands, they instantly twitched as the man slowly carried his face upward halfway.

  (???) What time is it?

  (Waitress #2) You were sleeping here all night?

  (???) What, a man can’t sleep in peace? Besides, I had too much fun st night.

  (Waitress #2) But our policy is that no one should be—

  (???) I know, I know. But how about this; if you could go out with me, then I’ll promise to never sleep here again.

  (Waitress #2) What?

  The four of them looked toward the awakened man who sat on the bck barstool right in front of the bar table. Furrowing their brows, Luke in particur gripped the edge of the table while having his left foot on the edge of the seat.

  Watching the scene unfold, Luke began to notice a familiar voice that was deep inside his mind.

  A voice that started to tighten up his entire body tenfold. Feeling his body begin to churn intensely, Luna let go of her wrap around his neck, followed by Hope letting go of her soulless stare.

  (Hope) Luke?

  Immediately, Luke jumped up out of his seat and walked toward the one who talked with the waitress. Scrunching up both of his fists, his boots began to stomp on the ground beneath him, the floor thumping instead of squeaking.

  Slowly, Luke’s eyes began to form a hellish gre, followed by his head tilted downward with his hair covering his right eye. Reaching toward the man who was only a couple of years older than him, Luke towered over him like a hawk that watched its prey.

  (???) Got anything to say—

  The man in front of him had long; wavy spiked hair, as well as a bit of freckles forming underneath his eyes.

  Having elf ears, the elf that Luke looked down on began to also tighten his body as well, his hands raised up to the level of where his ears were. Already forming a surrender, the man got up from his seat as his face now glowed in the sun’s morning rays.

  Which allowed the three of them to see the familiar face.

  (Miles) No way…

  (Luna) You gotta be kidding me.

  (Hope) Can it be?

  (???) Long time no see …

  The man put both of his hands into his bck leather jacket, the same jacket that Luke and the others were wearing. As the man already had bck pants and bck leather boots, Luke’s left eye that the man saw began to darken.

  As silence fell upon the two rivals.

  (Luke) Sean…

  ______________________________________________________________________________

  (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 pce 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 gnce 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 pced 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 rge 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 pcing 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…