"How far is it to the next town, Borgoff?" Kyle asked from beneath the shade of the rover. It was tipped over on its side with a large, gaping hole ripped away from its top. The twisted remains of the metal that used to cover it lay broken and discarded a hundred yards back, every now and then rocked by the wind as it toyed with the metal's mangled body.
"Hell if I know," Borgoff answered casually as he chewed on a piece of wood, his eyes cast forward as he judged the distance between them and the wooded area before them. "I don't think there's one near here, though," he said despondently. "Not within a hundred mile radius at any rate."
"That's--just--great," Carmila said as she slapped at her thigh. "Do you know what kind of horror a place like this can do to this gown?"
"Hey," Borgoff said defensively. "Don't get all angry at me. If you have to point any fingers, then do it at the one who caused all this mess."
"Yeah, Mashira," Caroline said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, her eyes pointing daggers towards the other barbaroi. Mashira took up a defensive posture, his arms crossed and face pointed away from the rest of the group.
"I couldn't stand being kept out anymore," he muttered justifiably. "I hate it when I don't know what's going on."
"But did you have to wreck the rover?" Benge asked incredulously, "while it was still moving?!"
"Yeah!" Grove's voice piped from the rover. He was still inside. "My IV almost got ripped out of my arm!"
"Quit your whining, all of you," Meier broke in, his voice authoritative. Charlotte huddled close to him, her arms wrapped around his waist as she looked around at everyone coming to attention. "The damage's been done and arguing won't get us anywhere. We can do one of two things---one, see what can be done about the rover and get it back on its wheels, or two, hoof it the rest of the way to the resort."
"I'm not walking in these heels," Carmila said defiantly as she lifted the skirt of her gown to show three-inch high pumps.
"Grove can't hoof anything in his condition," Leila said, her head popping out the exposed door of the rover. "Unless some of you guys wouldn't mind carrying his bed . . ."
"I vote for the rover," Kyle said, raising a finger.
"Same goes for me," Benge said, grimacing at the thought of carrying a cry baby like Grove.
"I won't have any trouble with that," Nolt said proudly. He strode over to the rover, giant hammer in hand. Nobody knew where he'd been keeping it. "I'll carry you anywhere you need to go, little bro'," he said confidently as he peered into the doorway, giving a thumbs-up sign for Grove to see as though for reassurance.
"Oh, Nolt," Caroline purred as she joined him, wrapping her arms around one of his. Nolt visibly stiffened at her touch, obviously not knowing how to react. "You're so strong and sensitive . . . I'm with anything he does," she said quickly.
"Borgoff?" Meier said, turning to him.
"I don't want to leave the rover here," Borgoff stated, still turned away from the rest of the group as he stared off into the distance.
"Okay . . . D?"
The vampire hunter stood calm, cool and collected, his face hidden beneath the shadow of his large hat. Everyone turned towards him, waiting to hear his answer.
"This never would have happened," he began placidly, "if we had taken the horses instead."
"Oh, get off it already!" Carmila cried out, exasperated. "We didn't take the damn horses, so what's your damn vote, dhampire?"
"Sun's not looking good," Lefthand spoke up. "I don't want D running around with all this healthy sunshine and heat, if you get what I mean."
"Yeah, it's not like I want to bury you again," Leila said from the rover. "I've got better things to do with my day . . . like finally getting to that resort."
"I second that motion," Kyle said.
"So the rover it is, then," Meier said, nodding his head in approval. "Let's get it turned over again, shall we?"
"Hey!" Mashira interrupted. "How come I don't get a say in all this?"
"Because you're the reason why we have to say anything about it at all," Meier responded somewhat heatedly. Mashira grunted, but he gave in with a little muttering.
"Fine," Leila said as she climbed back out of it. "Just be careful. Remember that Grove's still inside."
"Why don't we just take him out, then?" Left-hand asked dubiously. Leila shrugged which only made the entity sigh in frustration. "Why do women always have to make things so damn difficult?"
"What you just say?" Leila shouted, her eyes suddenly widening with outrage and anger, a battle aura now radiating from her body like red flashes of lethal lightning.
"Nothing!" Left-hand cried out immediately. It moved itself around through the air in a desperate wave. "I didn't say anything! Promise!"
"Coward," D murmured under his breath.
"Hey, I'm the reason why you're still alive today, D," the hand muttered back, defensive. "Don't knack me."
"Are all of you guys just going to stand there and let Nolt do it all by himself?" Caroline asked, her words edged with irritation as she watched her new love-conquest-to-be finding a good place to put his hands on the rover.
"Nolt can take care of the job," Kyle said flippantly as he wrapped his arms behind his head. "He doesn't need any help from the rest of us."
"I don't care!" Caroline shouted, her eyes suddenly flashing. "The rest of you boys had better get your asses over here and help, or I'll make sure that your bed springs have a personal meeting with your winkies tonight!"
Every male in the group grudgingly obliged, each choosing a spot behind the rover and positioning themselves together so that each could lend a helping hand.
"On the count of three," D said, bracing his back. "One . . . two . . . three!"
"The pressure!" Left-hand's muffled cry rang out over the grunts of the other men. It's face was being crushed directly into the edge of the rover's top, pressed down with enough force to flatten its nose. The men heaved to lift the heavy vehicle without disturbing Grove inside too much, raising it slowly as they listened to the metal moan and squeal in protest beneath their hands. In another few seconds, they managed to put the rover back into an upright position without causing the vehicle to move around any more than it needed to.
"Hey, great job, guys!" Grove congratulated from inside. "I barely notice it moved!"
"Good for you," Benge breathed under his breath. Without really thinking about it, Benge reached into his void and pulled out a bottle of Power Ade. "Nothing quenches thirst better!" he said happily before downing the contents.
"Hey, Benge, do you have any more of those?" Kyle asked as he wiped his forehead. "This heat's intense."
"I've got a whole cooler packed away," Benge said as he pulled out a blue plastic tote.
"What the hell!?" Mashira cried, taken aback. "You could've put all our stuff in your void, Benge! Then I wouldn't have been forced to ride out on the top!"
"What do I look like to you?" Benge asked haughtily, his eyes squinting. "A storage closet?"
Standing away from the rest of the group, D and Meier huddled together over the rover's exposed engine. Borgoff was watching them from behind. "How does it look, D?" Meier asked in private as D inspected the rover's engine while the others bickered in the background. "Is there anything damaged?"
After another moment, D sighed and shook his head. "No damage," he said, backing away, "but it looks like a few things are out of place."
"Kyle can take care of it," Borgoff said as he stepped up. "He said it himself that he can fix this thing inside and out . . . maybe I should cut the guy a break."
"Later," Meier said, turning away. "First get the rover running again. Charlotte's beginning to chafe in all this heat."
"Hey, Meier," Lefthand suddenly called out to the vampire before he could get away. It sounded slightly confused. "Why are you able to walk around in the sun with the rest of us?"
No sooner than the words had left the hand's mouth then Meier suddenly burst into flame, becoming a human-like torch burning fiercely in the slight breeze.
"Damn it!" Meier cursed, turning back around to face D again with his burning eyes boring down at the hand. "It was mind over matter, you stupid parasite! As long as I don't remember that I burn in the sun's light, then I don't! You completely ruined it for me, you fool!"
"Geez, sorry," the hand muttered as Meier turned sharply on his foot and marched away, leaving a trail of smoke behind him as he left. In a few moments, they could all hear Charlotte screaming and working to put the flames out.
"Guess the same goes for Carmila," the hand said, it's voice taking on a slightly enthusiastic tone. "Hey, D, take me over to her, will ya'?"
"Hey, guys," Leila said as she approached them. "What's going on? Will the rover be able to run?"
"It's as good as done as soon as we can get Kyle to stop eating the ice chips from Benge's cooler," Borgoff answered as he trailed off in Kyle's direction. Leila shaded her eyes with a hand so that she could get a better look at the sun. It hovered high and fierce, like a burning red globe set against a yellowing sky.
"You feeling alright, D?" she asked nonchalantly, still studying the sky. D crossed his arms and ignored the question, choosing instead to loose himself in a meditative state.
Leila noticed and felt her irritation beginning to get the better of her, but she quickly took rein of it and forced it down in resigned defeat.
"Have it your way," she breathed as she walked back around the vehicle to see how Grove was doing.
~~~~~~~~~a half an hour later~~~~~~~~~
"It's so damn HOT!" Carmila cried out, enraged. "Why the hell was the one thing that got damaged was the air conditioner?!"
The rover was plowing through the last of the desert and was about to enter the forested region that Borgoff had been eyeing earlier.
"Shuddup," Borgoff said over his shoulder. "I'm the only one with a right to be mad as hell . . . that air conditioner was brand new, damn it! Besides . . . we'll be out of the heat in another few minutes. You can enjoy the breeze until then."
"It doesn't help with Mashira's big ass blocking the hole," she retorted, reaching up to jam her fan into Mashira's buttocks.
"Stop it, or I'll bite your hand off!" Mashira shouted from overhead.
Carmila turned her eyes on Meier who had managed to extinguish himself before getting back into the rover. He was seated in the back as he had been before, taking comfort in the shadow it gave. He looked like he normally did, only he was charred almost completely black.
"What the hell happened to you?" Carmila asked in a low voice, more curious than concerned. Charlotte let out a nervous titter.
"Oh, he just had a little accident," she answered for Meier before he could speak. "Nothing that an hour won't cure."
"Hmm." Carmila was about to ask another question, but then thought better of it and turned her attention back to her fan. Across from her, Lefthand coughed.
"You know, Carmila," it started, somewhat amiably. D quickly clenched his hand into a fist, shutting it up instantly. He wasn't in the mood to deal with another torch sitting right across from him.
