King Spike Rules here and here is the next chapter of Lonely War. Here we have one of the last battles before they get to California as they have only four more states until they get there.

Chapter 21: Hunting Stalker Part one.

After driving a few hours on the road, the group was at a truck stop, enjoying a nice meal of burgers and fries. The location was also another dead drop for Mary, and for the first time, Mary had solid info to return to the Speedwagon Foundation. Doc, Keith, Kite, and Franky all sat at the booth they had ordered while the other two stood outside.

"No, not fear-it's clear. Clearwater. Thank you." Mary said, hanging up the phone and turned to look at John with a tired smile on her face. "We might have a huge lead, but we should probably get the others before we talk about it."

He nodded and they headed into the place, finding their group at a booth. The two took their seats on the left side with Franky, who was enjoying his double burger when Mary started, "Okay, I talked to my connections and they might have a lead for us, but..."

"We don't want to announce over the phone in case someone could overhear it. No way to tell if one of them has a Stand like American Pie," Kite cut in.

Mary rolled her eyes at the interruption, but nodded and continued. "Exactly. That would be why I set up a secret place for us to meet in." With that declaration, she removed a map from her bag. Mary carefully placed it on an empty spot in the middle of the table. She pointed to one spot, making sure everyone could see her as she spoke. "It's a cabin up the road. In the next two hours, the Foundation will send someone with the info we need."

The group generally offered their agreement, before Kite looked up at the wall clock and said, "We should finish our meal and head out. Got to make sure we're there early."

Some frantic eating and a good tip later, the group headed out of the restaurant with upbeat smiles. Kite opened the back door to the van, letting them all step in while Franky and Mary took their places in the front. As John climbed in, Kite heard a metallic screech. His head spun around, eyes stopping on the only metal in sight; the van.

"What is it?" Keith asked him, holding his revolvers. Overhearing him, the others all turned to look at Kite, who looked at them confused and held his head out of the confusion.

"I...guess I just imagined it," Kite said before climbing up into the van. As he did, he shot one last look around, his eyes quickly falling on a nearby footprint in the dirt. 'We all just got into the car. It's probably just John's. There's no other explanation.' Still, Kite looked at it for a few more moments until he slowly decided to close the door. Franky shrugged, and they began the drive to the cabin.


After an hour-and-a-half of traveling, they arrived at the cabin, located in the middle of a national park. While the others looked at the building, Kite checked around the van, seemingly searching every nook and cranny of their vehicle.

"Is everything alright?" John asked him, turning to Kite with a worried look.

After a few more seconds of searching, Kite haltingly said, "Yeah, I guess so." His eyes scanned the empty van one last time before turning back to John. "I just feel...uneasy. Must be the constant attacks messing with my head." Kite headed around the cabin to check the area while John watched him, confused as to what he was doing until he looked down, his eyes widening when he saw a footprint near the van.

"What is that?" he wondered, his eyes moving from the footprint to their surroundings. Yet he saw nothing else around the van. No signs of life; there was just an empty driveway. After a few moments, he got up and headed inside with Kite to see everyone relaxing on the couches.

"Okay, Keith, I want you on lookout for the car the Speedwagon Foundation will be driving. Doc, listen around for any sign of activity," Kite said with them nodding and getting in place, Keith with his back to a wall and looking out the window with the only drive path that led to the cabin. Meanwhile, Doc summoned American Pie and listened to him closely as he searched for any sound that could be heard through the speaker.

"Kite, is everything alright?" John said tapping his shoulder and looking at him worried with Kite only shrugging his hand off of his shoulder.

"Yeah, just making sure we're not caught off guard. You know, like the last few times we stopped," Kite said matter-of-factly. John could only accept this, stepping aside as Kite sat down at the couch and unfolded the map to look over what it could take them for this short detour. A half hour later, a nice black car drove up to and parked near the van.

"They're here," Keith announced. His revolver was in hand, and his eyes were fixed on the pair of men in expensive suits stepping out of the car. The driver fixed his tie and nodded to his cohort, who was carrying a briefcase. Kite arrived at the door and watched with Keith as they began to head towards the cabin. John took hold of the door and opened it, Kite turning to look at him.

"Wait," Kite said, reaching for John's arm. "We can't open the door until we're sure the coast is-"

"AHHHHHHHHHHH!" the driver shrieked. All three turned to see him holding his neck, blood pouring out from a wound on his neck. His eyes were wide with horror as a hole suddenly appeared over his heart. Blood sprayed out of his chest, to the horror of both his friend and the group in the cabin.

"Get in here now!" John yelled out to the other guy, who panicked and ran towards the cabin at full speed, only to be tripped on the way. He staggered to his feet and looked up at them desperately. Suddenly, his eyes dulled, a hole forming from the back of his neck to his front. He fell forward, blood pouring into the dirt around him.

"John, the door!" Kite yelled out loud to a stunned John, who quickly slammed the door shut and stepped away from it. The others were even more confused as to what just happened. "Doc, why didn't you tell me about this sooner?" Kite shouted, looking at him with a furious look on his face.

"There was no sound except the Speedwagon Foundation car," Doc said defensively, using his Stand and letting them all listen to the sounds American Pie had collected over the last few minutes. Kite listened closely and noted that Doc was right. No other sounds could be heard except the guys from the Foundation and their screams of fear.

"B-but how could that be?" Kite asked out loud, confused while listening to him and then he added, "I mean, we're talking about something completely invisible. There was no visual indication, not even a sound." He thought over what could it possibly be out there and was racking his brain to try to figure it out.

"What if it's a Stand?" John asked, having them all look at him and Kite slowly turned to look at him, soaking in what he had said and what they all had seen.

"No, that makes no sense. All Stand users can see Stands and none of us have seen anything out of the norm," Kite said, starting to pace around the room and thinking to himself.

"But what if that's its power?" Franky cut in and they all turned to him, waiting for him to continue which he did, "Look, we had fought a lot of weird powers since we started this trip. What's it to say that kind of Stand doesn't exist; one that acts to Stand users like our Stands act to everyone else?"

Everyone looked at him for a few seconds while Kite thought over what he had said. Slowly, he nodded, saying, "Yeah. Yeah, I think you're right about this one, Franky." He walked back to their side of the room with a worried look on his face. "But that makes this even worse. We have a Stand user out there we can't see, we can't hear, AND he has the briefcase, which is the only reason we're out here in the first place."

"But that's a good thing," John asserted, causing everyone to look at him with varying levels of confusion. Except for Kite, who snorted and sent John an incredulous smile.

"And exactly how do you consider that to be a good thing?" Kite asked slowly. The others waited for John to answer as he glared fiercely back at Kite.

The look only lasted a few moments before he turned to the others. "Think of the wounds they got. Those were knife wounds. If he needed that, he must not have any fighting powers. All he can do is sneak around," John explained. Most of the group nodded, and after a few seconds, so did Kite, who was pleasantly surprised by the logical explanation.

"So, we have to figure out how to beat him. Assuming he hasn't already destroyed the contents of the briefcase," Kite said, beginning to pace around the room once again. He was carefully thinking over the information when John stood up from his chair.

"The solution is simply; me, Keith, and Franky will head out to stop him. You two stay back with Mary, to make sure the invisible man didn't use the briefcase as a diversion," John declared. He sent a confident look around the group, who were all caught off guard by the outburst.

"John, what have I told you?" Kite asked him, walking towards him and grabbing him by his collar. He moved his face closer to John's, glaring at him with anger and perhaps something else. "I'm in charge. You don't have the authority to order around a single man or woman in this group."

"But it would be best for you to guard her. Your Stand is made of metal. If I was right about the Stand user, he probably wouldn't be able to get through that. It's the best plan we've got," John spoke quietly, but his voice remained level.

Kite locked eyes with him for a moment. All at once, the fire in his eyes went out, replaced by exhaustion and annoyance. "Fine. Just...watch each other's backs, okay? That's all I'm gonna ask," he said resignedly. John nodded at him while Franky cracked his knuckles in his own form of agreement. Keith spun his revolvers around in his hand, taking aim with them with a massive grin.

"Alright, let's get going," Franky said. The three of them walked out of the cabin slowly, with Keith aiming his revolvers out the door. He studied their surroundings, as though he could somehow catch sight of their target. When he was satisfied, he stepped out of the cabin with Rhinestone Cowboy, who had his own guns ready. Franky and John followed behind him, each summoning their Stands as they prepared for the conflict.

Kite closed the door behind them and walked to the couch, where Doc was seated with Mary. "Alright Doc, I want you to keep an ear out for the three of them. We can't risk getting caught unprepared if something happens," Kite said. Doc nodded, having American Pie out with its speakers ready to listen to them from around the cabin.

Outside, the trio walked around slowly, each trying not to make any sudden movements. John looked around when he was suddenly pushed from behind. He staggered for a few moments before catching his balance. "Hey, watch where you're going," John muttered.

The two looked back at him inquisitively. Neither of them had their arms up. In that moment, John's eyes widened, and he jumped forward just as a cut appeared on his chest. Franky and Keith let out shocked cries as John clutched part of his shirt to the wound. The trio looked around, searching for any sign of the enemy that they knew was here.

"You're faster than I thought," an unfamiliar voice called out. Rhinestone Cowboy shot at where he thought the voice came from, but only managed to hit the tree fifty feet away. The three huddled together, quickly realizing the danger of this new foe. "But you see, you've ended up in the land of the Streak. And we will have our prize."

TBC.


That is it for this chapter and I hoped you enjoyed reading it. Please leave a review to the story and I hope to see you next time.