"What the hell was that?" Wilbur sighed. The drive back to the motel was bumpy as they drove down the roads.
"The weird egg thing?" Tommy questioned.
"No, the weird goat man attempting to exile us," Wilbur huffed sarcastically, not too pleased with being forced into the back seat, "of course the egg."
"Some weird 1800s trend?" Tommy suggested.
"Doubt it," Techno said, "the thing felt off, also Tommy, what's with the book?"
"I found it," the teen answered. "It was tangled in the vines and it looked strange, so I grabbed it."
"Let me see it," Wilbur ordered and Tommy willingly handed the book to Wilbur. The cover was old and dusty. It had a picture that looked familiar to the middle child, but he couldn't remember why. Another interesting thing was the smiley face located on the spine. This Wilbur could remember from multiple books the sign for Dream, a very dangerous demon known for his manipulation and ability to always be one step ahead of hunters. Any hunter knows about him, but not many who have gone up against have lived to tell the tale. Those who did walked away with some pretty bad injuries. Wilbur opened the book to see a language, standard galactic, if he had to guess. He didn't know how to read it though. The old pages were worn out from years upon years of use, but still in a decent condition.
"Thoughts?" Techno asked as he risked a glance into the back seat.
"It's old and probably powerful," Wilbur answered, "I'll see if Phil can take a look at it when we get home."
Tommy nodded, if anyone would know anything about an old book or language it would be him, the boy's adopted father. The siblings' parent's left when Tommy was about one year old and Techno and Wilbur were around six. Phil, a family friend who works in the town's library, was kind enough to take them in. He was also the one to introduce the boys due to their constant asking. A poor decision really because he trusted Wilbur with fire, Techno with sharp objects and Tommy, well he let Tommy's older brothers be the people the teen looked up to.
Wilbur shut the book, put his headphones on and shut his eyes while Techno turned on his podcast. Tommy just looked out the window to watch the scenery as it passed by, secretly listening to what his eldest brother was listening to. He'd never admit that he was intrigued by it even if he was held at gunpoint.
However intriguing the podcast was, the exhausted teen was asleep thirty minutes into the drive.
Phil was standing outside the library when the trio pulled up after the three hour drive. Techno turned off the car and got a mischievous look on his face. He opened the door that Tommy had fallen asleep leaning against. It woke the younger up pretty quickly.
"What- are we here yet?" the blond murmured, still half asleep.
"Yup," Techno replied.
"Poggers, just gimme five more minutes."
Wilbur, who had taken his headphones off, decided to kick Tommy's leg which despite him just waking up, managed to make him mad in a playful way.
"The hell Wilby?" he exclaimed.
"Wilby?" the brunette laughed, "That's the best you could come up with?"
"Shut up."
Phil stood, listening to his kids arguing and he smiled. He was glad that they were home, but he just had a bad feeling that he couldn't seem to shake. Something bad is on it's way and it's going to get here before he knows it.
"Phil, we need your help," Techno stated once they were inside the library.
"What's up?" The older man asked.
"Tommy found this," Wilbur answered as he handed Phil the book.
The older hunter looked at it and his face went pale, his eyes wide with fear. "Where did you find that?" he asked.
Techno elbowed Tommy, signaling that it was the younger's turn to answer a question.
"At the mansion," Tommy answered. Had he done something wrong? Was Phil mad at him?
"I see," Phil answered, already deep in thought. He scanned over the book, his eyes widening at points and narrowing at others. He appeared unsure of what to feel about the boy's discovery. "You boys head on home, I'll need to study this and you have a habit of being incredibly loud." Tommy could've sworn he felt Phil look directly at him when he had said this.
"Fine," the blond huffed, "but I'm driving."
"No," Techno commanded, "You are not driving."
"But I have my license."
"That doesn't make you a good driver."
"Phil, can you tell Techno to let me drive?" Tommy asked.
Phil glanced at Wilbur who just shrugged and turned his attention to his phone. "As I was saying," the older man mumbled under his breath.
"You know what, screw it. If you two are gonna argue then I'm driving," Wilbur announced, snatching the vehicle's keys out of his pink-haired brother's hand.