Day had quickly turned to night as John searched through the streets on the back of Shirley's Indian Scout 500. The roar of its engine echoed through the now empty streets as the moon hung high above him. He scanned the large industrial buildings for a truck with a white star on its sides but had yet again turned up with nothing. He knew if he couldn't track it down that his window of finding the orange haired pilot was quickly fading away. He pulled the motorcycle to a stop dropped his boots to the ground to support himself. John had been driving all night and needed to take a break for a second.
Reaching into a pouch on the back of the bike he found the radio that he had been using to communicate with Francesca. Looking to the sky he saw the witch fly in the light of the moon. The lights on her wings illuminated with a blink of red and green. Pulling up the antenna to gain a connection with the pilot, John put the box of a radio against his ear and held the switch.
"Can you hear me Lucchini?" John asked as he removed the dusty goggles from his eyes and attempted to wipe his face clean.
"I read you loud and clear John. Did you find anything on your end yet?" She asked holding her ear piece.
"No… I was hoping you had come across something. It's getting late and I'm starting to worry a lot more" John said leaning back on the bike.
"I'll do another sweep down this district. Don't worry John… we'll find her eventually" Lucchini said trying to reassure her team mate.
"I know we are going to find her… but with the people were dealing with… I'm more worried about the condition she will be in when we do" John said as he tossed the radio back into the bag and sat back on the bike. He let out a sigh and pressed his face into the palms of his hands, trying to pull some energy out of himself and shake off the bad thoughts of what his friend could be going through. He sits up quickly and shakes his face to try and put it all out of his mind. Pulling the goggles back on he starts the bike up again and heads of towards where Francesca is searching.
The smell of brick and brimstone filled the air as Shirley slowly regained consciousness. Her eyes cracked open lightly to see orange hair in her vision. She quickly realized it was her own and attempted to move her hand to get it out of the way. When she tried to move her arms she couldn't though. Feeling them in her lap she felt heavy chains wrapped around her wrists. Shirley quickly blew the hair away from her face and looked around the building she was being held in. it was an old stone building, judging from the height of the view through windows and the large bell above her it was obviously a tower. The windows that weren't broken were made of stain glass. Shirley then looked down at the rotted wood floors that surrounded her. There were many holes in the wood but she couldn't see how far the drop would be.
"Am I in a church or something?" She asked herself as she tried to stand up. A sweeping pain ran through her legs and she fell back down.
"crap… that hurt" She said thinking back to why she was in such pain.
"Yeah… Right… now I remember" She said with half a smile, thinking of how easily she was tricked, it was almost embarrassing.
The truck had pulled up to the base as Shirley was looking over the blueprints. Most of the others had left the hanger in a fuss and she didn't think it would be best to go after them. She saw the truck and went to go ask why they were there. There were a few guys waiting by the canopy covered bed, they weren't talking or moving anything. They were just waiting there. This should have been a sign for Shirley to find suspicious but instead of wondering why they were there she thought she would just ask them. The back of the truck was obscured from the vision of anyone in the hanger, which at the time only housed the unaware Lucchini.
"Do you boys need help with something, or are you all just going to stand around doing nothing?" She asked as the men gave her a strange look. One of them leaped from the back of the truck and approached her.
"Do you live here?" the man asked.
"You mean the hanger? No but you would think" She said being smart with the man.
"I mean this base. Are you part of the 501st Joint fighter wing" he said not breaking from his emotionless trance.
"Uh… Yeah. Why" She said as an evil grin came over their faces.
"No reason" he said pulling a baton from his side and hitting her in the thigh with it. Shirley screamed as she fell to the ground. The man behind the wheel of the truck revved the engine so her shouts couldn't be heard by anyone close by. Another baton hit her in the leg and finally one clocked her over the head putting her out.
"Put her in the truck! Let's get out of here!" the man said jumping into the truck. They quickly sped off with their hostage before anyone could ask another question. Lucchini watched the truck back away but couldn't see into the back because the canvas sheet was blocking it.
"Huh… I guess Shirley took off with them for something. Oh well" Lucchini said to herself as she walked off to go find where the others had gone.
"Ha!... great. What have you gotten yourself into this time Yeager" She said to herself as she tried to get her arms out of the chains.
"That is kind of a loaded question" Shirley heard from a hole in the far side of the room. Then vibrations started to come up as it sounded like a statue was walking up stairs. The hole ended up being a staircase that led lower down into the church. Shirley froze as she waited for what was coming up the staircase. Each step became louder and heavier until her captor finally showed himself.
Lurking up from the ground like a monster from the depths of the ocean rose a man clad in armor. The armor looked like some sort of suit used for diving beneath the ocean. It had a black dome for the helmet that the man could see out but Shirley couldn't see through. As he continued to rise she saw he had a backpack with something similar to the jet striker attached. The suit was completely white except for some wires and gold panels attached. On his boots and gloves were smaller jets. As he walked towards her she felt the wood creak beneath them. She felt like at any moment the weight of the suited man would bring the whole floor down.
He continued to approach until he stood over her. Bending down on one knee he came face to face with her as it seemed like he was examining her but all she could see was her reflection in his dark helmet.
"Hello there my beautiful girl, Did my men treat you badly. I only wished for them to bring you to me. I did not want them to harm you" He said taking her trembling hand in his thick glove and gently brushing her hair out of the way to see a large bump on her forehead.
"*tisk tisk* I will have to dock their pay for bringing harm to such a delicate orange rose such as yourself." The man said as Shirley grinded her teeth in anger. The man's voice was muffled from beneath the helmet but she knew it was obvious who he was, another member of the former Hound unit. She could see that his chest was glowing with an orange light that could only be the magical generator, similar to the one John used to keep himself alive. It was also made obvious he was part of the former Hound unit because he still had a burnt patch on his suit with the units name on it.
"Fuck off! Who are you what do you want with me?!" Shirley shouted as she pulled her hand away from the man.
"Isn't it obvious from the stories John has told you. You already know who I am" He said.
"well seeing as you don't look like the way John described the general I guess you are the explosive expert from his old unit. Burn, was it?" She said
"I'm flattered that you remembered me. But now I have gone from explosives expert-"he said as flames began to spit from his gauntlets. "To pyrotechnical expert!" The flames came close to burning Shirley as she attempted to move away from him.
"More like pyro maniac if you ask me" Shirley said under her breath as the flames cooled and burnt away.
"So, Burn, Why did you kidnap me?" she asked trying to hold back the fear in her voice. He could lose it at any moment even if on the outside Burn put on exterior of sanity he was clearly as crazy as the others John had already faced.
"You do not have to fear your own safety. Once my mission is accomplished you will be set free… you have my word" he said calmly.
"and what would that mission be?" she asked.
"We will wait until John comes to get you and then I will burn him alive" He said.
"You're crazy! If you think I'm going to sit by and watch as you use me as bait you have another thing coming!" Shirley shouted at him.
"Alright then. If you don't want to sit by… then why don't you stand!" he shouted as he grabbed a chain from the wall and gave it a tug. Shirley's arms suddenly were hoisted up and she was ripped from the ground. The pain was immense as she hung by her wrists from the rafters.
"AHH! You bastard" Shirley shouted as her body dangled from its chins. Her feet barely touched the ground but even if they did they would be of no help because she couldn't support herself on them. Burn grabbed her by her tie and pulled her up to him.
"If you had only held your tongue, you would have made a perfect bride for when the Hounds take over." He said looking over her body.
"Who knows… you may still have a chance" Burn said as began to unbutton her shirt to get a better looked at her buxom breasts. Before he could do that she spit on his helmet and he stopped.
"You're lucky my legs are broken or I would kick your nuts into your brain" She said angrily before he smacked her across the face.
"Just for that once John is dead… I'm going to burn you alive as well" He said trying to get the spit off his helmet. He then grabbed another chain and gave it a large tug. On the other end the bell above them began to ring as it shook from side to side. The sound was deafening as Shirley felt herself shaken to the bone. She wanted to cover her ears but knew that wasn't going to happen.
High above the Britannian skyline Francesca soared looking through a pair of binoculars trying to spot the green truck she had seen that morning. Scanning from house to house she found no such luck in finding the captors of her best friend.
"Ugh! I'm never going to find them!" she said to herself in sadness. Putting her hand to her ear she decided to check up on John. It had been a while since they last reached each other and she wanted to know if he had picked up any leads in his travels on the ground.
"John? Come on pick up!" she said frustrated that he may not have the radio close by.
"Yeah? Did you find anything?" John asked quickly grabbing the radio.
"No. I was hoping you had come upon something." She sighed.
"Sorry. I haven't found a trace all night. We're just going to have to broaden our search." He said.
"Alright… I'll call you if I find… wait a second. Do you hear that?" Francesca asked looking off into the distance.
"What?" John asked.
"Bells… But why would they be sounding at this time of night?" She asked looking for the source of the sound. Through the binoculars she saw a church that still had its lights on. It looked like it would be vacant because of all the broken windows and overgrown vines on its walls.
"Hey John. It's coming from a church. It's pretty out of the way of where we have been searching. We should check it out" Francesca said into the radio.
"Alright. Just point the way." John said speeding up down the road. Francesca gave him directions to the church and in no time he had pulled up outside the rusted iron gates. He picks back up the radio and held it to his ear as he turned off the bike.
"Francesca, this is definitely the place. I can see the truck from down here. They covered it in the bushes so you couldn't spot it from the sky." He said looking over the place to make sure there wasn't anyone waiting on the other side of the fence for him.
"What's the plan?" Francesca asked him as she waited high above in the clouds.
"Do you think you can stay up there and cover me from the sky in case anything goes wrong? If you don't have the energy for it I understand… you haven't taken a break for a few hours and I don't want to push you past your limit" He said looking up trying to spot her but could only see the little flashes of her lights.
"Don't worry about me John. I can last a little longer" she said pulling her machine gun from her back and chambering a round. She then looked down the sights and made sure she was lined up.
"Thanks Lucchini. I'll try to make this fast." He said putting down the radio. Looking in the bag at the back of the motorcycle John found Shirley's M1911 and a few mags. He loaded the gun and put the extra ammunition in his pocket. At the bottom of the bag he found an ear piece similar to the one Francesca was using.
"Well at least I won't have to carry around that big radio anymore." He said putting it in and walking up to the fence. He tried to push it open but it wouldn't budge so he simply climbed up and over it. Landing on his boots in the dirt with a thud he slowly walked towards the large wooden doors that led inside.
"Be careful John. Once you head inside I won't be able to see you. Don't get mad if I accidently hit you" she said jokingly.
"That had never occurred to me as a possibility until now… thanks" John said now a bit more worried than before. He approached the doors and slowly pushed one open. The light of the church flooded out as he stepped cautiously inside and shut the door behind him. He now stood at the far end of the church. Pews lined the long building as torches illuminated the room. It was damp and cold inside of the church, it was clear that no one had worshiped there in years.
On the far end of the room a man stood with his back to John. The man was wearing robes that only a priest would wear; John was confused because he was sure no one would be practicing religion in this old church.
"Excuse me… Father? I'm sorry to intrude but I'm looking for my friend. Have you seen her?" John said lowering his gun as he began to walk down the aisle. The man turned around, it struck John that this man was a bit young to be a priest. He didn't let his guard down as he approached.
"My son. This is a place of god. Why have you come with that weapon?" The man said walking down the steps before him.
"I have come for my friends. You must know where they are. Please tell me Father." John said.
"Put your gun down and I will tell you" The priest said.
"Alright" John said as he began to place his gun down on the pew next to him. But he stopped before it reached the seat. He flicked it back around into his palm and quickly aimed it at the priest. The man raised his hands and smiled at John.
"My son. Why would you turn a gun on a man of God. Just put it down and I will forgive you" The priest said.
"I have met a few men of god in my time on earth but never one that wears combat boots" John said pointing at the priests choice in footwear with his gun. The black boots had a knife strapped to the side of one and a pistol on the other. They had reveled themselves when the man began to walk down the steps.
"Good observation. But I don't think you caught this on your walk over." The man said snapping his finger. Suddenly four men with Thompson machine guns stood up from the pews that hid them. John looked around the room and knew there was no where he could hide from them.
"This looks like the end, Walker!" the man said grabbing his pistol from his boot.
"Drop your gun and put your hands on your head" one of the men said.
"Alright, alright. I know when I have no chance" John said putting the gun on the ground.
"Wait!" the man dressed like a priest said walking over to John. He grabbed him by the jacket and reached in. John had kept his revolver beneath his jacket in case he needed it.
"Thought you could pull a fast one on us did ya" he said holding up the gun.
"No. that's not as flashy as what I'm really going to use to pull one over on all of you. Francesca! Open fire on the main room!" he said and then hit the ground. Nothing happened for a few seconds as the men all looked at John on the ground covering his ears.
"Looks like your plan has failed you, Walker" The man said when suddenly bullets begin to rip through the wooden roof of the church. The men all scatter in all directions. The priest drops the revolver and runs back to the alter to get some cover. A man to Johns left gets ripped apart by the bullets as he tried to run. John dives below a metal table to try and avoid the fire. Another two men get hit by the spray from above. Before long all of the men that were waiting for him were dead and their blood filled the floor.
John gets up from below the table and looks around at Francesca's work. A bullet had grazed his left arm and left a big gash. He held it closed as he tried to find something to use as a bandage. Suddenly a bullet rips through the ceiling and breaks through the table he was recently under. It would have taken his head off a few seconds ago.
"That was lucky" He said tying a piece of cloth around his arm. John then walked over to the alter that the last man was hiding under and poked his revolver in the cowering man's face.
"I wouldn't try to run, I've got six friends that I'm sure can run faster than you." John said with a smile on his face as the man panicked in the corner.
"You alright down there John? I didn't hit you did I?" Francesca asked over the radio.
"I'm fine, Just a little scratch. That's all. Good job though" He said back.
"She's up in the bell tower!" the man cried. John still had the gun in his face.
"I'll stay in touch Francesca." John said ending his communication and looking back at the man. "What did you say?"
"He took her into the tower! I don't know what he was doing to her but he is all fucked up. You can't blame me for what happened to her. He paid us well to bring her here." He said
"But you didn't have to take the money. You could have walked away!" John said grabbing the man and pushing him against the wall.
"Alright! I broke her leg! I broke her leg and knocked her out! She is up there with broken legs and a fucking psycho! Just let me go and get her!" he said as he began to cry. John looks at the man angrily.
"There are probably a hundred reasons why I should let you go. Why I shouldn't blow you away right now and repaint the wall behind you" John said with a grim expression on his face. The man he was holding began to choke back his tears and smile.
"So you're going to let me go?" he asked.
"There are a hundred reasons why I shouldn't blow you away… Right now I can't think of one." John said pulling the trigger and blasting a hole into the man's head. His blood is thrown onto the wall as his body falls limp in Johns grip.
"John… are you alright" Francesca asked after hearing him say that over the radio.
"Yeah… I'm sorry you had to listen to that" He said clenching his eyes shut. Francesca fell silent.
"I'm going to go find Shirley." He said walking through the back door towards the stares. He comes across a Thompson machine gun that was dropped by one of the men and kicked it up into his hands. Draping it over his shoulder he continues towards the tower.
Shirley hears someone climbing the steps once again and fears the worst after hearing the gunfire. She was afraid someone was about to bring Johns mangled corps up to her. She clenched her tearing eyes shut as the footsteps grew closer. The steps stopped when they were in front of her and she could not hear a thing other than someone breathing. Suddenly she felt hands wrap around her and someone embrace her in a hug.
"I was so worried about you" She heard a familiar voice say in her ear as she opened her eyes. She opened her eyes to be met by johns black hair against her cheek. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw him.
"I was more worried about you" She said.
"Ha! I think I can handle a few thugs. Besides, Francesca had my back" He said.
"Where is she now" Shirley asked as John tried to get the chains of her arms.
"Air support, she has been overseeing the whole place." John said not having any luck.
"So you killed Burn?" She asked. John's eyes shot open and Shirley gave him a scared look.
"Burns here?" John said in a scared voice.
"I thought you had already taken care of him! What the Hell!" Shirley panicked.
"Well where did he go!" John shouted. Soon He felt a rumbling below his feet and the sound of an engine starting. Suddenly the ground became burning hot and a ball of fire came crashing through the floor. John jumped as the ground left him and grabbed on to Shirley. The two war suspended above a tall drop as the ball of fire ripped through the ceiling. John held on tight to Shirley as they swung side to side.
"Are you alright?"John asked hugging tighter to the girl.
"Yeah! Don't worry about me. I can hang here all day." She said
"wow. Your pretty strong" john said as she gives him a stern look.
"right, right! Got to focus. I'll get us down somehow." John shouted over the roar of the fire. Suddenly Burn came down from the sky. He was the fire ball that had lit up the room. He landed in the hole in his burning suit and looked down at the two.
"Still alive? Let's see you survive this" He shouted and flew back into the sky. John watched as he flew far off and began to turn back around. The ball of flame was going to charge through the top of the tower.
"Fuck! He's going to kill us!" Shirley shouted. John seemed less than impressed as he sleepily rested his head against Shirley's chest.
"Do something!" She shouted as the fire ball got closer.
"But you always seemed like you wanted to be closer to me. This seems like the perfect opportunity." John laughed.
"You're as crazy as they are! If he doesn't kill you I will!" She shouted.
"I'm not crazy!" John shouted over the approaching rockets. Pulling his revolver from his side he aims up at the cracking wood holding them up.
"I'm just waiting for it to be too late for him to turn" he said firing the gun and breaking to wood. The two fall seconds before the ball of fire rips apart the room they were just in. the two fall into a pile of hay that was stored below luckily. Shirley opened her eyes to see that they were unharmed. John lay below her on his back smothered by her large breasts in the hay.
"John are you alright?" she asked him.
"I can't breathe…" he said.
"Sorry" she said getting off of him.
"alright, you stay here where it's safe. Ill lead him away" John said working his way out of the thick hay.
"Wait John… uh… you be careful out there… I'm sure Sanya would want you home in one piece." She said fumbling with her hands in the awkward situation.
"Sanya and I are just team mates now… it got a bit rough when I walked out." He said sadly.
"oh… then I guess she wouldn't mind me giving you this for luck." She said grabbing him by his jacket and pulling him in for a kiss. She presses his lips against hers and closes her eyes as she passionately takes him out of the situation and into a less stressful world. He closes his eyes slowly and returns the kiss as he drags his hand down her back. They part and John smiles at the girl as she brushes some hay from his hair.
"Now you have someone else to come back for. I still have to kill you when this is all over" she winked at him. John smiled even more and turned around.
Running through the door John was now outside the church. Behind the church a long field stretched on to the countryside. John spotted the ball of flames as it flew past overhead. Grabbing the Thompson from his back he opened fire on Burn. A bullet caught the large jet on his leg and he began to lose control of his flight. John watched as the ball of fire went down in the distance.
It didn't take him long to find where Burn had dropped. The grass around it was burnt and smelled of gas. Burn was on his feet once again and leaking fuel. The two caught eyes as burn readied himself for a fight.
"You don't have to do this burn" John said.
"Ha! You can't just talk your way out of this! One of us is leaving here and the other is dyeing here!" he said running towards John. Raising his fist ready to take the first strike Burn flails a fist at John but is avoided. John grabs burn by the helmet and pulls him down to his knee. The attack hurts John more than Burn. There was a large crack in his helmet but Johns leg hurt much more. Burn delivers a punch to John's chest sending him flying back. Another punch came at him as he lay on the ground but this one he was ready for. Rolling out of the way John was back on his feet before Burn was. John shocked him with a kick to the chest and another to his lower leg. Burn knew he couldn't win this fight in his bulky suit so he would have to think of another way. Burns power core began to shine as he rose up once again.
"Give up burn! It's over!" John said rising his gun. He had originally wanted to take burn alive but that option was fading.
"It's only just begun, Frost!" Burn shouted as he fired a ball of fire from his hands. It blasted into johns chest knocking him back a few feet. John quickly removed his burning jacket and got back to his feet.
"Fire manipulation. Obviously" John said to himself getting on his feet.
"take this!" burn said sending another hail of fire at him. John ducked behind a tree as the fire burnt around him. Another swing from Burn sent more fire his way. Burn was laughing maniacally as he shot at John. John could not move without exposing himself to the fire. He still smelt the gas as he looked over at the fallen rocket engine close by burn. It was leaking fuel all around him.
"worth a shot" John said waiting for the backlash of Burns strikes. When an opening came John leapt from his cover and shot at the jet. It exploded knocking Burn to the ground and stopping him. John walked over his old partner and looked at him. A large chunk of metal had made its way into his magical core.
"John…" Burn coughed. John readied his gun at his chest once again.
"John… I'm sorry… I was out of control. These things… they do something to us… the general. You have to stop him." Burn said.
"I'm sorry I had to do this to you… We can help you though" John said helping burn up.
"No… I'm beyond help. Behind this mask is not the man you knew. I couldn't live with myself even if you could get this thing out of me… * sigh* but without it I would die… and with it I am a Psychopath." Burn said sadly.
"I'm sorry burn… I wish I could set it all right" John said.
"You can John…" Burn said looking up at the moon. "You have to stop him… you have to stop the General… for us"
"I will… you have my word… Friend" John said.
"Thank you… And don't blame the others… The Hounds… They had no control… And they don't blame you" He said.
"Thanks… It feels good hearing that from you" John said smiling to his friend.
"When you remember us… Remember what we did not what we have done… And no more code names… I want my grave to have Tom written on it." Burn said finally.
"I'm sure we can help you. We just need time. Come back to base with me Burn and-" John started but was cut off when Burn raised his hand to stop him.
"I told you. We want to be remembered for who we were… not who we have become… *sigh* the moon looks beautiful tonight… huh John" Burn said
"It sure does Tom… It sure does." John said backing away.
"Goodbye John… I'm going to end it where no man has gone before." Burn said as his jets started to roar below him. They quickly leaked fuel as he began to lift off. He shot off the ground and quickly hurtled towards the skies. He rocketed past Lucchini on the way up through the clouds.
"John! What was that! Should I go after It" Lucchini shouted into the radio.
"No… leave him be…" John said softly as he watched the smoke trail follow the orange dot into the sky and then burst into a ball of flames high above the earth. John clenched his eyes and looked down at the ground. Falling to his knees in the wet grass a tear rolled down his cheek.
"John… Your circuit went dead. Is there something wrong? Can you hear me John?" Francesca asked over the radio.
"No… I'm fine. Head back to base… were done here." John said looking up once again.
John walked back through the door to see Shirley still waiting for him. He took a seat next to her and let out a sigh of relief. Falling back onto the hay he didn't want to do anything anymore.
"I was so scared. I'm glad it's over" she said holing him tight to her as she kissed him once again.
"It's not over yet. The General has so much to pay for. And I will not let him get away with any of his crimes. I won't stop until he is dead." John said as Shirley left his lips.
"So… how do you feel" she asked him as they sat up.
"Bad… I feel bad. I just killed my friend once again." He said.
"But he tried to kill me… he tried to kill you" she said hugging him trying to comfort him as these emotions swept over him like a wave that he could not break free from no matter how hard he fought.
"He couldn't think for himself. And he died for that." John said as the tears came back.
Shirley wiped them from his cheeks. John looked at her surprised by this gesture of kindness. She was smiling to him. He saw how close of a friend she was to him. She was there when things were tough and always had his back. And now he needed her more than ever and she was right there. Though he had lost a friend that day, he had gained something much greater.
"Can you forgive him?" She asked breaking his train of thought.
"Yes… I can..." John said looking up at the cross on the wall.
"But I guess forgiveness has always been between them and god… it's just my luck that I arrange the meetings." He smiled at her.
"Stop being so melodramatic" she said.
"Alright. I can do other things… how about romantic." He said and she blushed. John suddenly kissed her on the lips.
"What's this all of a sudden? You are hitting on me now?" She asked as he stood up from the hay.
"I just realized… you are the greatest woman in my life… and if you wouldn't mind. Next time we can get off base I would like to take you out to dinner." He said lifting her bridal style and escorting her out of the destroyed room.
"John... that's the nicest thing anyone has ever told me... " she said raising her hands around his neck and giving him a hug.
"I would love to go out on a date with you John Walker." She said kissing him on the cheek.
"Great. Now let's get you home. Minna is probably going to rip me a new one when she sees you." John said sitting her down on the bike.
don't worry about her. Ill defend my boyfriend from her anger." Shirley winked at the boy and gave him a kiss on the cheek.
"thanks Shirley. I really appreciate it" he smiled at her as he helped position her legs on the bike.
"Crap that hurts." She said rubbing her leg.
"Sorry. Yoshika will have you fixed up in no time when we get back… and ill drive slow." He said sitting in front of her.
"Thanks for saving me John." She said wrapping her arms around him as he started the bike up one again. "I knew I could count on you." She said closing her eyes and leaning her head on his back.
"Don't worry about it. I always come to the aid of a damsel in distress. Besides, I don't think Sanya wants me in her room anymore… Speaking of which… can I bunk with you?"
"We'll talk about it at dinner" She said not lifting her head from his back. John kicks up the bike and the two ride off into the darkness of the nights. The hum of the motorcycle fills the air as the crackle of fire still sweeps around the burning old church.