What?! ...T2 Angel with a chapter update this quick?! Huh?! That's right! It's here! It's here! Chapter 2: Dreads is up!

Quick recap: Monkey and Trip are trying to get back out East to Pigsy's old swamp to get Monkey's bike back. Meanwhile, a group known as the Dreads are on the move.

And these two groups are about to be on a collision course.

What will happen when they run into each other?

Chapter 2: Dreads

Monkey and Trip worked to get the truck, even going all through the night, taking parts from the no longer functioning mechs to get it to start up and run decent. With no gasoline and now power cells, Trip's plan was to rig the same power chargers the mechs used to power the truck. While admittedly complicated, she was positive she could make it work. And Monkey believed her. It wasn't like he had a better plan.

It turned out to be a slightly more complicated venture than Trip thought. Some of the more dangerous flaws and endeavors Monkey almost bared the full brunt of.

After a few semi-successful to downright disastrous tries, they finally got the truck running by the following morning.

Monkey, who was standing with his face covered in charcoal dust, was a little less than impressed and not quite as enthused as his girlfriend was. He stood there was his head cocked slightly to the side and an upset face, due to the number of failed attempts. "And you're sure this won't blow up in my face… again?"

Trip wiped a smudge of grease off her cheek. "Pretty sure."

Rolling his eyes, he groaned, "Oh, great…"

"Oh, give me a break."

"I did… then you nearly set me on fire."

"An accident! Trial and error."

"I hope you didn't have this kind of trial and error putting the headband on me."

She shrugged then joked, "Well…"

"Not funny, Trip."

She walked up to him and wiped some charcoal off his lips. She kissed him. "Will you just trust me?"

Fortunately, the rest of the charcoal was hiding the fact that he was starting to blush. He looked away from her. "Fine."

She smiled. "Good." She got inside the truck in the driver side. She started it up. "See? This is the third time we started it up with this configuration and nothing bad happened. It works just fine. Alright?"

He nodded.

"Cool. You ready to go?"

Monkey said nothing. He calmly walked over to the driver side door. He stopped and stared at the red haired girl. "What are you doing?"

"What?" she asked, confused.

"What… are you… doing?"

She looked around perplexed, not sure if it was a trick question. She looked back at him. "Starting the truck?"

"Yeah… and then?"

"I'm gonna drive."

He shook his head, "No."

"No?"

"No." He started to get in, "Move over."

"What are you… Hey!" He gently moved Trip to the passenger side. "Monkey!"

He closed the door and stared at her. "Last time you drove… ya nearly killed us both."

She scoffed. She was almost surprised he remembered that. It did seem a long time ago. "Oh, come on! That was on a crumbling bridge! With mechs shooting at us! I think I deserve the benefit of the doubt there."

"Whatever. You're not driving."

"But…"

"No."

"Monkey!"

"No."

She sighed in disgust. She threw her back against the seat, folding her arms. "One bad experience…"

"Say what ya want. You're not driving."

She huffed.

Monkey revved the truck's engine and drove it out of the junkyard, headed back East. After driving for a few minutes, Trip suddenly giggled.

Monkey looked over at her and asked, "What?"

She looked at him. "First argument as a couple."

He looked back ahead, shaking his head, and, though tried not to… he couldn't help but smile.

A couple of days later, Monkey had driven them about far enough to the point that they were about five days from Pigsy's swamp. They were on a highway that led to a settlement Monkey was familiar with. Trip was asleep on the passenger side, her head tilted back against the chair.

"Hey, Trip," Monkey said.

"Hmm?" She kept her eyes closed.

"Wanna stop somewhere?"

She groaned and moved to get more comfortable. "Up to you."

"Alright."

He drove to the town, called Crater, where they could stop for food and to rest a little. Crater was a walled-off community with metal walls and soldiers all around to guard the place from mech attacks. The streets were wide enough for travelers to drive their vehicles through. Monkey drove the truck into the town, parked, and he and Trip checked out the town. They walked around for a while, trading parts that they took from the junkyard for food and the like. They were walking down a street, Trip carrying a bag of food, when Monkey heard a lot of engines rolling in the street. He looked to see a group of vehicles, consisting of a car and two sand buggies, just pulling into the town.

Monkey couldn't explain it… but he didn't like the looks of this. "Trip… go wait by the truck."

She looked at him confused. "Why?"

"Just do it." He walked off to meet the on-coming roaders.

The roaders parked and exited their vehicles, all looking dirty, messy, and tough. They started harassing and intimidating anyone they saw. No one bothered to stop them as no one wanted to really get in there way or get involved. Even the soldiers who defended the town from mech attacks saw no point in stopping a bunch of rabble rousers. Though they could've easily taken them out, there were more important things that required their attention, they figured.

Monkey had always been of a slightly different breed.

While the ruffians were hassling a food owner in a market about getting free food, which the owner was about to give if for no other reason than self-preservation, Monkey approached.

"Hey!" he shouted, getting their attention. "Leave 'im alone." He stood calm but gave off enough presence to let them know he was ready to fight.

They all looked at each other, surprised someone was stepping up to them, then looked back at Monkey and started laughing.

"Well, lookie, here, boys!" one of the roaders exclaimed. "We got us here a regular hero."

Monkey just looked at them all. "I know guys like you and I know what you're all about. And I don't like ya. Why don't ya just get the hell out of here?"

The first man walked up to Monkey and put his finger in his chest. "Well, big man… why don't you… make us?"

That was all the invitation Monkey needed.

He grabbed the man's wrist, flipped him over, and, coming down with a chop, broke the man's arm. The other five men rushed at Monkey. He wasted no time in deploying his staff and knocking them all away with a swipe. One of them got up and rush at Monkey with a knife. Monkey deflected him with the staff then kicked him in the face, taking out a couple of teeth. The remaining guys got up but backed off. They grabbed hold of their fallen comrades and promptly retreated.

The first man who confronted Monkey, who seemed to be their leader, was still groaning in pain at his broken arm, holding it close to his chest. "Ya think this is over? It ain't over! The Dreads will get ya, big man! You best believe that! The Dreads are gon' get ya!"

Monkey squinted his eyes. 'Dreads…' There was a name he honestly thought he'd never hear again. He was hoping he never would hear it again.

All this time… and it still sent shivers down his spine.

The Dreads got in their vehicles and drove off, leaving the townspeople cheering for Monkey. The Dreads had a habit of making the townspeople do whatever they wanted but they were grateful to have someone stand up to them.

But their cheers went unnoticed by the wastelander.

He was not in as celebratory a mood… not after hearing that name. 'Great… Just great… they're still around. Guess I shouldn't be surprised.' He rubbed his head, only managing to touch his slaver headband. 'How long before I gotta run into them again?'

"Monkey?" Trip walked up. She had never seen him so deep in thought… or clearly bothered by something. "You okay?

He tried to shake off his focus. "Umm… yeah, yeah." He looked at her. "Listen… I don't feel much like driving. Why don't we stay here for tonight?"

She was surprised. He was always one to keep moving. "Are you sure?"

He nodded then quietly walked away.

She could tell something was bothering him. He didn't say it but she could it hear it in his voice and, one of the few times she could remember, she could see it in his eyes.

In Steel that night, Stern and Hammer were just waiting for the first of the Dreads to return with any goods to keep and collect or any news relating to such. Rod, Stern's field leader and second-in-command, third after Hammer, walked in as stoic as face as ever. Standing at 6' 2", Rod had the body and discipline of a military man, complete with a buzz cut and caged aggression which could almost be seen smoldering in his eyes. He also sported a black facial hair that was trimmed down and flesh tone colored tattoos. He stood silently until one of them spoke to him first, as he always did.

Stern looked at him and sighed. "You seldom walk in here with news I wanna hear, so, out with it. What is it, Rod?"

"Some of our boys had some bad luck in Crater," answered Rod. "They had in run-in with someone. The man broke Kraze's arm and Lean's jaw."

"Who?"

Rod paused before going on, trying to form the words he needed. "Someone…" he sighed. "…we know."

Hammer looked up. "What do you mean 'someone we know'?"

"They saw…" His mouth was ajar for a while before he finally spoke, "him."

Hammer rolled her eyes. "Him who, moron?"

He stood silent for second, hoping they would hear the mental hint. Then, he slowly said, "Him."

The tone Rod used and the look his eyes gave Stern and Hammer all of the information the Dread leaders need to the identity of this attacker.

Only one man could make Rod look and sound like that.

Stern's eyes became wide. He sat up. "You mean…"

"Yes."

"Wait!" Hammer stood up. "Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. You mean… him him?"

"Yes."

"Kraze and Lean… saw him."

"Yes."

"How do you know?" Stern asked.

"They described him perfectly. Right down to the tattoos, hair, and face paint. Hard to forget a man who brakes your bones. From the description, his marks were faded but that's to be expected. They were there."

Hammer laughed. "No way!"

Stern was so surprised. "He's still alive…"

"You said he was dead," Hammer said to Rod.

"I thought he was," Rod shrugged. "It was years ago. About ten, I believe. I saw him die, though."

Hammer scoffed. "I guess even you get things wrong."

Rod simply didn't care about her comment. He looked at Stern, "What are your orders, sir?"

Hammer looked at her man, "You want we should gut him, baby?"

Stern thought over all the courses of action, dealing with this particular situation required some thought. "No… no, not yet. Tell our boys that if they see… him again. Just make sure he knows that I want to see him. After all… we have to at least show respect to an old friend. We owe him that much. Right?"

Rod nodded. "Yes, sir." He left the room.

Hammer laughed. "He's still alive. Can you believe it?"

"Barely."

"Even if he survived the last time, I thought the mechs would've got him."

"Me, too. Guess we shouldn't be surprised. He's always been one tough bastard." Stern looked down at the desk. "So… you're still alive. Time to get reacquainted. We do have a lot of catching up to do. Wouldn't you say… Monkey?"

So... the leaders of the Dreads know Monkey. But how? What do they know about Monkey? And vice versa. Stay tuned folks.

Next chapter: Haunted Memories

Monkey reminisces about the Dreads. Meanwhile, Stern, Hammer, and Rod make plans about their next meeting with Monkey.

Be here for it.

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