The desert was almost endless as the small red frame of a jeep hopped up and down the vast sun drenched dunes. Following slowly behind it was a large snail looking truck. It's dark gray frame had a spiral etched design on the side of its rear compartment that cased the sand in a stretching shadow as it slowly took over. The metal was worn and warped and littered with bullet holes that had tried to penetrate its tough frame. The dust rose from the tires and into the air to form a ominous dust cloud that could be seen from beyond the horizon. The sun beamed down onto the small caravan heating the drivers compartment in the truck and creating an insulated oven.
"Well,I've decided this will be the best place to die don't you think?" Bryce's voice was heard on Lissa's side of the radio. The heat inside had caused her to be on edge for the entire ride. But it was even more accentuated by the clothing she wore. She was covered all the way down to her knees in a tattered brown cloak. Her legs were wrapped in tight black jeans that squeezed on her skin. Her feet wore brown boots that were normally used for snow travel but had brought them cause they would help her walk across the desert if need be. The callous tone of Bryce's voice went into Lissa's ears sparking instant irritation.
"Well,at least you guys got the jeep I'm stuck in this rust bucket with an even bigger rust bucket in the back seat! so quit your complainin and keep a look out for that damn truck were lookin for so we can get out of this god forsaken hellhole" she spoke so quickly and brashly that it sounded more like a bark.
Zero sat in the passenger seat next to her, his arms crossed and his legs folded. He wore a dark red suit that went down all the way down to his waist and separated to create a open kilt that showed his dark red jeans. He stared out the window searching for the target they needed, his long blond hair shined in the sunlight. A rapier was in a sling on his side and clanked against his seat from the constant bumps.
"Your just mad cause theirs too much sun for you" he stated as a small teasing smile went across his face.
"Oh can it pretty boy,maybe I should bite you and you can join me in this curse,would you like that?" she smiled wickedly her fangs reveling themselves ans she danced her tongue around them "To taste your blood is definitely in my top things to do before I die" she licked her lips slowly and stared at him enjoying the look of his perfectly sculpted face and trying to see a hint of fear in his stone exterior.
"Sorry to disappoint you but the instant you try is the day you die" he stared back at her into her dark red crystals with his own blue gems,two perfect killers playing mind games with their eyes trying to strike fear into the other. An invisible electric current could be felt between their gazes. This was not a spark of attraction but more a spark of rivalry a feud that would last on forever.
"You know Lissa, maybe you should be like those vampires in that one book,they glitter when their in the sun instead of burn" Ryuni added. This comment broke Lissa's concentration and she whipped her head around causing her raven black hair to whip around as well the long strands flowing effortlessly through the musty air that filled the compartment. Her eyebrow twitched and her teeth started scarping against one another.
"Glitter?" her voice got really high pitched as though she was a tea kettle reaching its boiling point.
"I would kill any vampire that sparkled!" she shouted angrily at the radio to anyone who was listening. She now had the image in her head and continued scarping her teeth as the idea clawed at the back of her mind "Vampires that sparkle, talk about an insult to my kind" she mumbled to herself and hunched over letting her athletic frame drape over the steering wheel.
Bryce groaned sitting in the back of jeep. His head was covered in a red white bandanna while his face bore welding goggles. His chest was protected by a white tank top and his legs were fitted with loose blue jeans. He yawned and stretched his boot covered foot over the empty passenger seat.
"Arg, all this boring talk about sparkling vampires is annoying me, lets put in somthin that's more interesting" he reached into the black duffel bag that rested next to him in the back.. As he opened it the sunlight shined on the contents revealing them to be a massive pile of unsorted CD's. The sun beamed onto the cases reflecting a rainbow luster that could be seen in the lenses of Bryce's goggles. He stopped and a proud grin slid across his face. He pulled out a case with the label reading "Family Jewels" on it. He started scrambling over the seats to get to the front,tripping and falling over and then finally was able to put it in.
Ryuni peered down at his scrambling friend with a small smile. He was probably the only one dressed somewhat normal. He wore sunglasses and a black plain t-shirt with black jeans. He relished in the the sun and the heat. The jeep kicking up dirt and sand into their faces along with hot air was a relaxing experience. This was probably the easiest job Ryuni and his crew had ever done and he could not figure out why they were complaining. He swiveled looking for that target they were sent to find as explained in the job pamphlet. He sighed seeing nothing and went back to looking at the Cd player.
"What did you put in?"He asked as they tried to climb a massive dune.
"Oh just somthin that goes with what were doing right now" he smiled at Ryuni as a familiar opening started playing. Ryuni start tapping his hands on the steering wheel matching the beat. Bryce started bobbing his head lightly looking more like a nod. Back in the musty truck,Zero tapped his foot and moved his head similar to what Bryce was doing. Lissa started humming to the tune since her voice was tired from yelling. Way in the back a guy with spiky brown hair and his face clad with piercings. He had a boxers body and was dressed in a blue t shirt with blue jeans and the same brown boots that Lissa had. He smoked a fine cigar puffing the smoke out in circles. He was the last member of their team, Dreamer.
"It ain't easy,livin free" Ryuni started.
"Season ticket on a one way ride" Bryce continued. They all started to sing along cause this song was second nature to them.
"My friends are going to be there too" Lissa rocked to the music.
"Were on the highway to hell!" they joined in on the chorus and it was now a road trip in every essence. Ryuni hammered on the gas and made it go to 100 MPH,this was possible cause Dreamer had outfitted all their vehicles to do a lot more then before. The new tires held traction even in the soft desert sand as it climbed and they were not losing any speed. Bryce held on tight laughing out loud, fully knowing what Ryuni was going to do. The jeep launched off a 10 foot dune, its small frame enabling it to hang in the air. Even though he was so high and in such a small vehicle and there was no fear on Ryuni's eyes only a keen stare ahead to the horizon.
"I'm heading straight to the promised land!"The radio blared as all Bryce and Ryuni could see was clear blue sky, a peace fell about them as time seemed to slow down just for this moment. The red paint gave it a nice luster as the sun shined on the small truck. The jeep landed with a heavy thud and almost sent Bryce rocketing out the back of it. They skidded to a halt kicking up sand from the screeching tires as Ryuni slammed down on the brakes. They stood there in park waiting for Lissa and her snail to catch up.
Bryce laughed out loud again and patted the side of his door.
"That was fun" he stated simply. He looked at Ryuni who was putting a crumpled cigarette in his mouth and lit it with the car lighter then laid back in his chair sitting calmly as blew the smoke out one side of his mouth while the cig stuck out the other. Bryce sighed and looked back out to the endless desert.
"You know Ryuni I'm starting to realize you don't give a damn about your life do you?" it was obviously rhetorical.
"Life is only full of complications, the quicker its over the less we have to think about those complications in our final moments" he said this with a lazy tone as he pulled out a beer from the cooler that sat in the passenger seat.
"Well that's a little dark don't you think? I mean if that's the way you feel about it then why don't you just kill yourself?" he leaned over from behind the seat and grabbed himself a beer.
Ryuni chuckled and took a long gulp and finished with a refreshed sigh.
"Because that's a pathetic way out" he smirked "If I'm goin down its gonna be one hell of a death" he laughed loudly, miraculously not dropping the cig from his mouth. He looked back at Bryce.
"What about you, how are you gonna go down?"
"When I exhaust myself screwing 10 women at once that's how" he grinned proudly. Lissa's snail truck came over the dune.
"Oh my god its a giant snail run everyone run" Ryuni said his voice dripping in sarcasm.
"shut up ya jackass,I've had enough from the peanut gallery already" Lissa snapped again still sounding like a bark. She sighed from the sheer frustration of working with this crew and put the snail in park next to the jeep.
"OK I'm annoyed of this" she stood up and headed to the back where Dreamer sat next to a large tarp covered object
"Hay" she said waving at him "Do me a favor and turn the radar on that thing" she said pointing to the tarp.
"Maybe well get lucky by some god ordained miracle" she went over to the cot in the corner of the room pr truck compartment, and collapsed on it "I'm taking a break" It was the last words that came out of her mouth and she was out cold.
"OK fine" he sighed quietly to himself as his boss dropped dead on the cot. He went over and pulled off the tarp revealing a mechanized behemoth that at full height would be about 14 feet high, although right now it was folded to fit the space it was in. He pulled out the remote for it that had been resting in his pocket for the entire trip and used it to open the back door of the snail. The door was designed like a garage door so it folded up into the ceiling of the space. He clicked on the remote and the mecha started to beep and blink on different lights both inside and outside.
"Well this might be a bit" Dreamer said to himself switching on the sonar like radar. The head emitted a green blinking light and inside, the robot would scan the surround area for sign of moment. Dreamer yawned going back to where he sat to finish his cigar. The mecha's blinking green light started to hasten between beeps indicating that something was near. The louder and less time between beeps meant how close it was. He looked over at the contraption hearing the noise
"Guess not" was all he he said in a dull tone, not really caring that their search was over.
Lissa shot up out of the cot and was up on her feet in a second.
"FINALY!" she squealed while jumping up and down. She ran over and checked the signal
"Good,its who were lookin for" she rushed to the radio up front, tripping but not losing her balance
"Ryuni i need you in the Hellhound now! we found them!" she laughed wickedly to herself and rubbed her hands together her hands together.
"This reward will get me that dress I've been wanting" she spun around randomly as she started dreaming of dancing in a new velvet black dress.
Ryuni was already in the back and climbing into the cockpit of the machine.
"So this is one of those new Hellhounds right?" he asked gripping the controls to get a feel for it's control system which wasn't too different from his own model. This broke her dreaming and snapped back onto the task at hand.
"Yep it might be a different then what your used to but I know you can adapt or do I need to hold your hand?"she teased him,batting her eyelashes.
"Nah I'm good" he stated abruptly closing the hatch and sat waiting and watching for everything to turn on. It lit up like a Christmas tree and the Heads-Up-Display was clear and everything was in proper green color showing it was ready to go.
"Make sure to compensate the system for the sand or you'l just sink into the it and then I'll be really pissed"she warned as she ran over and pulled out a laptop out from under the driver's chair and started to get it up and running.
"Whatever,launching"Ryuni stated plainly,he was already going to do that, he didn't need her to tell him what to do all it did was annoy him. the Hellhound's legs and feet locked onto separate platforms for each foot that. These were attached to crevices that served as guiding rails for the platforms. They were there only to keep the Hellhound straight as it blasted out of the truck. The booster were small but powerful enough to cause thrust to move it out. He gunned it and the thing launched out the back of the truck and slid through the sand to a halt. Almost immediately the mecha started sinking Ryuni quickly read the calculations and the Hellhound was stabilized without any hassle. It stood towering above everything else except the vast dunes that surrounded them. The machine was almost human looking mocking the look of an armored solider. Its chrome steel shined brilliantly from the sun reflecting on its small frame. The head was a small shelled dome with one bright red light in the middle that swung from side to side. He started to move it a little and it walked across the sand perfectly. He went over to a dune and stopped crouched behind it. Which surprisingly was tall enough to hide it.
Bryce got out and went over to the snail truck with Dreamer while Lissa hid in the drivers part. They had already planned out how to get the truck to stop and get what they wanted. They made it look like they had broken down and everyone got ready to ambush the new arrivals as a truck came over the other dune and came up to them. It stopped and two boys hopped out, one had blue spiky hair and wore glasses and kept working on a laptop he held in his arms as the screen reflected in the lenses. The other had spiky black hair and seemed better built compared to his lanky companion.
"You guys look like you need some help" the one with black hair spoke with a light touch to his voice. Dreamer pretended to be busy under the hood of the snail truck but he was actually looking at the file of the mission details and the boy's pictures were there. they matched and he gave a slight nod to Bryce signaling it was them. Bryce gave him a thumbs up and went over to the two new guys
"Yes we could, you see we came out to this desert in hopes of finding some friends of ours but we don't need your help cause it seems we found them" he smirked,pulling out a colt 45. He tilted his head and smiled tauntingly
"Alex and Felex I take it?" He spoke with a tone that matched his expression.
Alex who was listed as the black haired one quickly pulled out his own gun.
"Who are you?" he demanded. Felex,the blue haired one, eyes widened and he quickly put the laptop away as it folded into a cellphone and he quickly put it in his pocket then took off to the truck
"Good luck Alex!" he called over his shoulder waving to his friend. "YOU BASTARD!" Alex shouted at him taking his eye away from Bryce.
Ryuni had been listening on his radio and heard the boy's yelling. He knew it was time and hopped over the dune, the chrome glinted in the sunlight while he was in the air and then he landed on the ground kicking up a dust cloud. He pointed a large gun that looked close to the model of a rifle at the truck Felex had taken refuge in.
"Don't even try it" he said through the megaphone that was attached built into the machine. "This guns bullet is big enough to blow up both the truck and you without any trouble" he warned. His voice was full of pride and enjoyment even from such a threatening remark.
Bryce smirked as their pray had fallin into their hands.
"Bingo" was all he said.