Prologue: Road Trip!
Moving to Indiana after returning to this dimension wasn't my idea. In fact, it wasn't anybody's idea. The people of Detroit just told us to leave suddenly, so we didn't argue. Life in Plymouth is pretty calm. It's just your average small town in Northern Indiana. It's good to have a break from fighting thugs once in a while.
Right now, I'm trying to fulfill a promise I made to a girl I met while helping stop a crazed psycho in the other dimension. Yeah. This means that I'm going to New Marais again. At least I'm not alone. I have my twin sister, along with my two best friends Jason and Wes. Well, Wes is using his newest power to literally fuse completely with my truck. It kinda feels like one of those secret agent movies with the talking cars.
Also with us is a conduit named Cassie. She still hasn't shown me her powers, but she did promise to once we return to Indiana. We've been together, it seems, since I arrived in town.
"Cody," she began, "Can you tell me why we're going to New Marais?"
"I promised somebody I'd visit them a year ago." I replied. We've been on the road for almost twelve hours straight. Twelve hours of being stuck driving while being constantly annoyed. Thank God that Wes could take over driving when I get too tired.
We finally arrive in a town that has a few hotels. I rent two rooms in one (using my paycheck) and give Amy the keycard for the second room, "See you in the morning."
"Not that I'd want to!" Jason added. Amy only glared at him before entering her room with Cassie. Thank God there's two beds and a couch in this room! My idiotic friends manage to claim the beds before I have a chance to move, so I guess I'm stuck with the couch. Yay, me!
I wake up at five in the morning, before anybody else even thinks of waking up. I take a quick shower and put on my usual clothes, a black shirt, blue jeans, a gray hooded jacket, and black cowboy boots. I then go down to the lobby, where I wait for everyone else. Soon, Wes joins me. He's wearing a gray and orange pull-over sweatshirt and jeans, along with black-and-orange fingerless gloves. Cassie walks in, closely followed by Jason and Amy. She's wearing nearly the same thing as me, but her shirt is white, her jacket is light blue, and she's wearing actual shoes instead of boots. Her hood hides her shoulder-length, dark brown hair. Jason, who insists on carrying that frickin' machine gin with him everywhere (and I really mean everywhere) he goes, is wearing a white trenchcoat that makes him look like an Ice Soldier without a mask. It seriously looks like I'm traveling with the enemy.
We're on the road again soon after checking out. Wes is, once again, fused with the truck. That, and he's controlling it. I'm too busy trying to stop Jason and Amy's constant arguing while Cassie only laughs. I'm about to activate my fire in a major fit of rage when Wes "solves the problem" (he turned on the CD player, which started playing Rise by Skillet at a pretty high volume). It doesn't seem long until we enter the suburbs of New Marais.
"We have one more stop before we go to Kayce's", I explain, "We need to pick up the motor home from Braxton."
"That short guy who stole the tires from Jason's car?" Amy asks.
"That's the guy," Jason chuckles, "He still owed me for that, so he offered to let us use his camper instead of the planned ass kicking."
"Yeah. He'd kick your ass.". Jason glares daggers at Amy, who, like everybody else (except Jason), is laughing. The rest of the trip is silent. Silent, that is, unless you count Jason's terrible attempts at singing.
About fifteen minutes later, we have the RV and arrive at the house of Joan Grey, the other fire conduit (and the most well-known fire conduit at that, something about saving the world a few times). From what I can tell, Cole and Alec are there as well. How can I tell? Let's just say that the second Kayce saw that giant RV in front of her house, she knew who was here and came running to see everyone. She even drug her entire family (including cousins) out of the house. "Did'ya miss me?" Jason asks. I face palm. He both sounds and looks like a total idiot. Anyways, we're soon back on the road, our three old friends joining us.
Plymouth, Indiana
I walk into work, like I always do, at 4:00. For those who don't know me, my name's Kyle. I, like most of my coworkers, am a conduit. I can control plants, which is pretty useful. About an hour after I arrive, dinner rush begins (as it always does. Everything at Taco Bell happens at the same time every day). Today, however, isn't going to be the usual, boring day.
Three men run in, each one carrying a gun. Two of them make everyone lie on the ground while the third tries to get Jared to give him money. By the clouds of sand surrounding his arms, Jared is about to try to subdue the robber. The thug notices it, though, and pistol-whips him in the face, knocking him unconscious. Suddenly, one of the windows shatter. A second later, the thug at the counter collapses, a poison dart sticking out of the back of his neck. Then, I see who delivered the attack, a guy with brown hair, gray eyes, and a crossbow. The remaining thugs aim their guns at him, but something, or should I say someone, stops them before they can fire. They fall to the ground, revealing the person who took then down. A girl, around nineteen years old, who has a pair of highly modified tazers strapped to her wrists. That's when I recognize who she is. Kayla Cooper. She worked here a while ago, but quit for reasons unknown. The guy with the crossbow is her brother, Adam. He's currently attaching handcuffs to the unconscious criminal's arms and legs. I help Jared, who just regained consciousness, back to his feet. We all clock out early and leave, since this is now a crime scene.