Here's where I introduce a new character. Enjoy.


Walter

"Come on, Walter," a man's voice said. "It's time to get up."

"Can't I sleep in today," a boy with jet black hair called back. "I worked all day yesterday."

On the other side of the door, a heavyset man with brown hair stood sighing and shaking his head. "Alright, but only because you managed to fix this thing's engine yesterday." He walked away from the door, saying under his breath, "Teenagers. What are ya gonna do with 'em?"

"Finally, I get to sleep in," Walter said, turning over in his bed.

***

Walter walked through the small hallway into the kitchen area. "Well, look who finally woke up," a woman with red hair and a smile on her lips said. "Walter, the mysterious stranger."

"Morning Mrs. Karen," Walter said, sitting down at a table. "I thought you were done calling me the mysterious stranger."

"Nope," she said, putting a plate of eggs and bacon in front of him. "That's what you'll always be, the boy with amnesia. Have you gotten any of your memories back?"

Walter dug into the eggs. "No ma'am. But I have been getting quick flashes recently. Most of them have been about this girl."

"Oh? Old girlfriend perhaps? Or maybe a sister?"

"I dunno. Every time the flashes end, I forget what she looks like."

"Any names?"

"No ma'am. Just images."

"I was wondering when you would wake up," the man from earlier said, walking into the kitchen and taking a seat beside Walter.

"Morning Mr. Chuck."

"Morning boy." Chuck began to eat the eggs and bacon that Karen had just set in front of him. "Now then, what's this I hear about flashes? Are you finally getting some of your memories, boy?"

"Not really. They've just been quick flashes of this girl. No names and as quick as they come, they go. And I never remember what she looks like afterwards. Just that it was a girl. This is really good," Walter said, pointing to the bacon. "Are you trying a new recipe, Mrs. Karen?"

"Nope," she answered. "I'm cooking it the old fashioned way. With a skillet and a fire."

"Mmmm…anyways, is there any other work planned today?"

"Not today," Chuck answered. "But we'll be arriving in Ground City tomorrow morning. Today is a break day, I guess. But tomorrow, I'm going to a restaurant owned by an old friend."

"Who is he?"

"His name's Beamer. Now, in my opinion, he makes some of the best pizza that you will ever taste in this world. Just be sure you don't mess up his restaurant."

"Why not?"

"Well, let's just say he doesn't take it very well. If you mess up his restaurant, you may as well jump off a hundred foot cliff using a hundred and ten foot long rope. Either way, you'll most likely end up going splat."

Ew. Not very appealing."

"Heh, heh. No, I suppose it isn't. Now then, like I said, you basically have the entire day off. How about you work on that leg gear of yours?"

"How do you know about it?"

"Boy, you've been going through every junkyard we've found and you haven't hid the blueprints very well. What exactly does the damn thing do?"

"Well…it kind of allows a person to go faster."

"Oh? How fast are we talking?"

"Well, I have been running a few tests. Last time, I clocked it at close to two hundred miles an hour."

"Damn. That's some speed."

"Yeah. I'm hoping that with some more tweaking, I may even get it up to four hundred. Possibly even more."

"Well, you keep it up and I'm sure you'll make it."

"Ok." Walter stood up, grabbing a silver jacket as he made his way to his room. "I'm going to run another test today, ok?"

"Alright. Hey, how do you manage to keep track of the vehicle if we're always moving?"

"Simple. I just run the opposite way we came or I run ahead of the vehicle. That way, I can run in a straight line and back."

"Huh. Good thinking. Ya know what? How about you go ahead and check out Ground City?"

"Really?"

"Really. Go on and see what there is to see."

"Alright." Walter ran to his room, adjusting the straps of the gear once he got there. "I'll be back later." He went to the door of the vehicle and opened it. He jumped out, his feet running as he hit the ground. He waved to Karen and Chuck and then proceeded to speed up, soon leaving behind a large dust cloud.

"What are we gonna do with that boy," Karen asked, smiling at her husband.

"I suppose that we just watch over him," Chuck answered, walking to the front of the vehicle to watch Walter.

***

Walter took a look at the watch on his wrist as he ran. "Alright. I'm going twenty percent faster than yesterday," he said to himself, looking up. He saw a large city and a sign saying Ground City on it. He ran past it and entered the city. "Wow. This place is huge." He continued to run without decreasing his speed, the wind behind him kicking up dust and causing people's clothes to flutter. He almost knocked over a girl with purple hair carrying bags, but he managed to avoid her. The wind that he kicked up still knocked a majority of the bags out of her hands. He ran back and caught all of the bags, placing them in a pile without decreasing speed. He then ran on, calling back to the girl, "Sorry." He continued to run through the city, only looking at the outside of buildings. An hour later, he ran back out of the city, heading towards the large vehicle that he called home.

***

"Hey Z," J said, still on his crutch, as Z walked into the kitchen that he was currently in. "Anything interesting happen?"

"Yeah," Z answered, putting her bags down. "Some guy, running at like two hundred miles an hour, almost knocked me over. Some of the bags flew up in the air, but he caught them and put them in a pile beside me, all without stopping."

"Wow," Kass said, walking over to the bags and pulling out various food items, placing them in their proper places. "There's something you don't see every day."

"I know. It was really weird."

***

"So, how was the city," Chuck asked as he, Walter, and Karen sat eating dinner.

"It was huge," Walter answered. "Like no other place that I've seen…at least as far as I can remember. I almost knocked over one girl, but I managed to dodge her. And the gear ran twenty percent faster than the last test. Even though it doesn't seem like much, that's still a significant improvement."

"Good for you," Karen said.

"Maybe you should take it with you tomorrow," Chuck said. "We're going to eat at Beamer's for lunch tomorrow."

"Actually, I was kinda wondering if I could skip that, on account of me wanting to check out the mall there."

"Well, I suppose. We will be there for a coupla days. Sure."

"Thanks."


Man, I wish I had that leg gear. It would really come in handy in today's time. Please Review.