The Wicked Generation (Part 2)

The taxi halted outside what looked like an abandoned garage in an alleyway, and the Highwayman stopped his chopper just behind the taxi. The four members walked up to the garage doors. “So… do we knock or...” The Highwayman started, but when his eyes caught a security camera pointed right at them, he was silent. The garage doors opened up to reveal a neon sign that read “Sparkplug City”, though the G and the T were both faded out. The Highwayman immediately spotted someone leaning against a nearby wall holding an aluminum bat, their eyes colored black. He felt out of place, everyone amongst them was a vampire aside from his own crew. A woman walked up to them, her hands completely black from her job. “You’re the Highwaymen, right? Here to pick up 3 motorcycles and a truck?” The girl asked. “They’re choppers, but yeah, you got it right otherwise.” Dave said. “Right. Well, follow me.” The woman said, as she took the group through a set of double doors into another room. As they left the “lobby”, the vampire holding the bat loosely followed them, as well as two other vampires that both loaded SMGs. The Highwaymen entered the next room, and walked down a set of stairs to see their vehicles waiting for them. All of the choppers looked identical, except on the front wheel covers were the names of each of the highwaymen written vertically, excluding the Highwayman, the Truck was a normal black, but it was clearly designed for off-roading, and it contained four seats. “Now, I trust you’ll be paying us. It’s gonna be two thousand dollars. But since it’s a big price, if you pay us we’ll give you half off on repairs for the vehicles. Sound like a deal?” The woman asked. “Yeah, lemme just get my wallet...” Tindalos said, as he reached into his leather jacket and pulled out the sawed-off shotgun, pointing it into the woman’s face and completely decapitating her by firing both barrels. Liz took out an uzi, unloaded into other nearby mechanics, Dave equipped himself with a full rifle, with a silver bayonet at the end, and stabbed it into the vampire with the aluminum bat, who he knew was behind the group the entire time. He kicked the vampire off the bayonet, but the creature was still squirming, holding his burning wound. Dave fired a single round into his head, finally putting an end to him. The two vampires equipped with SMGs rushed down the stairs, unloading their SMGs blindly as they occupied themselves with too much to pay attention to. The Highwayman pulled out his eagle and shot both of them in the head. The garage was clear. “But wait, there’s more!” Dave said, he ran back up the stairs and stopped at the double doors to the lobby. “Everyone ready?” Dave asked, as everyone reloaded their weapons. “Ready.” Tindalos said. “Ready.” The Highwayman said. “Ready, but first, there’s going to be four vampires behind a desk, blind firing their weapons at the doors, so kick the doors open, and I’ll toss ‘em a surprise.” Lizz said as she pulled out a grenade. Dave nodded. “On the count of three, one… two… three!” Dave said, as he kicked the doors open and Liz quickly tossed the grenade, it rolled behind the desk, and by the time the vampires were a couple shots in, they noticed the grenade. “Take cover!” One of them yelled as they leaped over the desks and out of cover. The Highwaymen entered and gunned them down. “Lucky it was a dud!” Lizz said. “At least tell us if it’s going to be a dud next time.” Tindalos said. “There’s another section to the building, it’s got a symmetrical layout, so there’s just one more room to clear.” Dave said. “Right. Let’s get to it.” The Highwayman said. The kicked open the next set of doors, but were shocked to see the room was clear, and a car was darting out of the room and onto the street. “Son of a bitch, we can’t lose ‘em!” Liz yelled. “We’ve got five vehicles, so someone has to load one of the choppers onto the truck and use the truck instead, but there won’t be enough time.” Tindalos said. “You three go after them, I’ll get the truck and my chopper. Godspeed!” The Highwayman said, as he ran outside to get his chopper, and the other three raced to their choppers. Each of them started the vehicles up and drove them out onto the streets, and were easily able to tell from the disrupted cars along the street where their targets were going.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FukQ6WVw7tE
Liz took the lead in front of the other two, with Dave and Tindalos behind her, respectively. They were able to catch up quickly, and the car’s completely tinted windows didn’t give Liz a good look at the crew in the car. One of the back windows rolled down and one of the vampires, wearing a fully zipped-up jacket with the hood up and a bandana on to protect themselves from the sun, fired a pistol at Liz, though missed all of the shots. As soon as the road had split into four lanes, Tindalos and Dave both caught up with Liz and matched her speed. As the same vampire leaned out of the window and started firing, Tindalos pulled out his shotgun and fired one of the shots at the vampire, one of the pellets piercing his skull and killed him instantly, the rest cracked the glass of the back windshield and the driver’s window, though the car remained stable, which meant the driver was still fine. Liz pulled out her Uzi and fired more rounds through the back windshield, which revealed some of the interior to the car. As the car took a left turn, a second vampire dressed in similar attire, leaned out of the same window, using the corpse of his ally as a bodyshield, and fired more bullets. Liz fired back some more, but ran out of ammo, and didn’t hit her target. One of the bullets from the attacking vampire hit Dave’s front tire, which caused his to lose control. He hit the breaks and pressed his feet against the ground. “Keep going!” Dave yelled to Liz and Tindalos. As the bike reached a stop, he got off of it, and let it fall over on its side. “Dammit.” Dave said. A truck rolled up to Dave, and the Highwayman leaned out of the window. “Need a ride?” The Highwayman asked. “Nice of you to show up.” Dave said, he struggled to lift his chopper off the ground, but he managed, and sloppily placed it in the bed of the truck next to the Highwayman’s chopper. Dave jumped into the passenger seat, and the Highwayman took off. Farther down the road, Tindalos aimed his shotgun again, and fired through the back windshield of the car, hitting the last guy in the backseat, who screamed in agony for a while before going limp. “Damn shame we’re out of ammo!” Liz yelled. “Got any other ideas?!” Tindalos shouted back to her. “Yeah, just keep following them and wait for it!” Liz yelled. The passenger of the car pulled the pin out of a stun grenade, and dropped it out of his window. “Shit! Look out!” Liz yelled. The grenade exploded, Liz was able to shield her eyes, but Tindalos wasn’t as lucky, and he lost control. Liz kept going, she took a deep breath, and went top speed, slowly inching towards the car. As she reached the side of the car, police sirens wailed and the two vehicles were being chased by the police. The passenger of the car cocked a pistol and aimed it at Liz’s head, but the driver noticed Liz as well, instead of letting the passenger shoot her, he steered the car quickly to the right to try and knock her off balance. Liz pulled out a silver machete and let the driver force the car rightwards, which caused the passenger to be forced onto the blade, killing him. With her chopper relying on the car for speed, she held onto the machete, and pulled out her uzi, releasing the magazine onto the street, and looked at a second filled magazine strapped to her belt. She thought about how she could get the magazine and load it into the Uzi, but she was caught off guard when she noticed the truck charging the car from the other side at top speed. She pulled her machete out of the passenger’s head, and let the car continue forwards, where the truck slammed into it, pushing it into a clothing store, until the car was flattened between the truck and the wall, the driver was completely crushed, and definitely dead. The Highwayman looked at Dave. “Y’know, I didn’t really think you meant what you were saying about the front of the truck was designed for ramming, but damn. The thing is unscathed!” The Highwayman said. Tindalos was in the backseat, and leaned into the front. “We’ve got cops coming. We need to act now.” Tindalos said. Liz rolled up on her chopper, executing a wheelie until the front of the chopper was mounted on the truck bed. She jumped off the chopper, picking up the back half of the chopper, and rolling it onto the bed, with the other three choppers. She closed the bed’s door, and entered the backseat. “Sup?” Liz said. “Nothing, help me out with this, though.” Tindalos said, as he pulled out a container filled with smoke canisters, all of them green. “Just take two, pull out the pins, and hold them out the back window. I’ve had this planned for a while now.” Tindalos said. The truck took off, with the police not far behind them, following the green smoke trail. The truck was completely invisible from behind with all the smoke, but the police continued pursuit. At an upcoming intersection, the smoke trail flew left, and the police cars all pursued the smoke, until they saw the four canisters on the ground. The Highwayman instead took a right turn, and Tindalos and Liz threw the canisters in the opposite direction. By the time the police realized it, the truck was in the jungle of buildings that was Los Angeles. “That’s step one. But there’s still another part to it. Park us in the next alleyway.” Tindalos said. The Highwayman obliged, and stopped the truck. Tindalos jumped out, and Dave pulled out a sheet from the glove compartment, folded up to make it more compact. Dave jumped out, and the two hooked down the sheet on the truck to hide their cargo. Dave went back to the truck, opened the console, and pulled out a completely different license plate, which Tindalos placed onto the back of the truck. The two got back into the truck. “That should make us stand out less. I can’t guarantee we won’t get caught, but it’s worth a try.” Tindalos said. “I gotta admit, it’s a smart plan.” Liz said. “There’s more license plates, and they’re all registered, too. It wasn’t easy, but I’ve had my fair share of car chases. I know my stuff.” Tindalos said. The Highwayman pulled out of the alleyway, and drove normally the rest of the way home.

Hours later, directly after the sun had gone down, the Highwaymen were back in the truck, driving down a dirt road in a remote area of the Anza-Borrego Desert. The truck grinded to a halt as it reached a cliff, and on this cliff, a desolate graveyard, with only a few graves scattered around. The four jumped out of their truck, and grouped up as they walked forwards. “You sure we’ve got the right place?” The Highwayman asked. “Yes. He should be arriving shortly. Though it wouldn’t surprise me if the truck scares him away when he gets here, we should drive it a farther distance aw-” Tindalos was cut off as a robed figure got up from his hiding spot behind a gravestone, and pointed his finger at the group. “Intruders! Leave at once!” The Vampire yelled. The Highwaymen prepared their weapons, aiming at him. “Do not aim your pathetic weaponry at me, or I will slaughter you all!” The Vampire yelled at the Highwaymen. Dave simply aimed his rifle and fired, though the Vampire held out his hand and blocked the bullet with some sort of magical shield. “So that’s how you want to play it? Fine!” The Vampire yelled back. He pushed out his hands and sent forth lightning that electrocuted the Highwaymen for a short while. As they recovered, they noticed undead thralls rising from the graves around the Highwaymen. The regrouped, and all equipped themselves, firing upon the undead creatures. In the meantime, the Vampire rubbed his hands together, as they sparked with energy. Liz smashed a crowbar across one of the creature’s faces, completely shattering their skeletal head. Tindalos fired both barrels from his shotgun, fully bisecting one of the creatures, and the glowing red eyes faded away as they laid there, dying. Dave stabbed his bayonet into one of the corpse's eye sockets, and snapped their spine by twisting the weapon, before kicking them off the bayonet. The Highwayman fired his pistol three times, downing three of the corpses, before he approached the Vampire, who reached out his hands, and fired embers into the Highwayman, blasting him backwards onto the ground. As the others finished mopping up the remaining corpses, they rushed forwards towards the Vampire, with The Highwayman getting back up and taking the lead. The Vampire looked intimidated, though stomped his foot down, cracking the end of the cliff they were all on. “Is it truly worth it? Don’t take one more step, or we all die.” The Vampire said. “Try this for a step.” Liz said, as she fired her Uzi at the Vampire, who blocked the bullets. “I have you in checkmate. You’d best just leave. It’s not like I’ve ever done anything to yo-” The Vampire was cut off as one of his thralls grabbed him from behind, and ripped its teeth through the Vampire’s throat, fully ripping it out, and leaving him there, dying as the thrall walked up to The Highwaymen, growling. The four fired their weapons shortly at the thrall until it fell over, dead. “Hm. Nice.” Dave said. “Let’s get out of here.” The Highwaymen said, as they all walked back to their truck.

The Truck pulled up into the driveway of the Highwayman’s house, and the group jumped out. “I can’t believe you said you wished you had that power! Come on, did you see what happened to him?” Dave said. “I can’t believe you wanted to sit in the back of the truck.” Liz said. “Oh come on, just for fun, to try it out. It’s hardly a step up to having magic abilities.” Dave said. Tindalos walked through the door first, with the Highwayman directly behind Tindalos, and Dave and Liz, continuing their bickering, behind the Highwayman, before their argument ceased as the four were silent. The four of them looked at three figures in their living room, each of them were wearing black hoodies with their hoods up, and black ski masks covering their faces, with backpacks clearly filled with stuff. The three figures froze, and the two groups looked at each other, all of them silent, without any of them moving an inch. One of the hoodie’d men held the Highwayman’s machete, and another held Liz’s guitar. One of them outstretched their arms in a friendly manner and slowly started walking forwards towards the Highwaymen. “Guys-” the man started, before all four of the Highwayman unloaded their weapons into the man. The Highwayman fired his pistol directly into the one holding his machete, dropping him to the ground instantly. Liz looked at the one holding her guitar. “I’d put that down if I were you.” The figure instantly let go of the guitar, letting it clash against the ground. “Motherfucker!” Liz yelled, as she loaded the rest of her magazine into the man. Blood leaked from their corpses, indicating they weren’t vampires, or at least, they each had feasted fairly recently. ”There are others here.” Liz said. “Alright, well… Tindalos, Dave, haul the bodies out of here, Liz, check the upstairs for any more, I’ll search downstairs and the backyard.” The Highwayman said. “You got it.” Dave said. Liz reloaded her uzi and ran upstairs. The Highwayman walked into the Kitchen as Dave and Tindalos dragged one of the corpses directly out. Upon entering, he saw another man wearing similar attire in the Kitchen, with his arms up. “I surrender… I’m done fighting. There’s no point anyway.” The man said. The Highwayman aimed his pistol at the man. “You know there’s no way you’re leaving alive.” The Highwayman said. “Why’s that?” The man asked. “We just capped your friends, and you’re robbing the house of some very dangerous people.” The Highwayman said. “I guess so. Well… I hope you don’t mind if I go out smoking.” The man said, as he slowly pulled his hood down and his mask off, and reached into his pocket, pulling out a roll of marijuana and lighting it. “So… Why are you done fighting?” The Highwayman asked. The man breathed in a little of his pot, before letting it out with a sigh. “I’ve killed so many people for greed. I’ve told myself for 15 years that I stole from people because that’s how you survive in today’s world. Taking from other people. But I could’ve gotten a job. I could’ve started a career. I didn’t have to kill one person. If anything I deserve this.” The man said, as he smoked his marijuana further. The Highwayman looked deep into the man’s eyes, they were human. The man finished the roll, and looked at the Highwayman. “Well… what are you waiting for?” The man asked. He smashed the roll into the ashtray to put it out, and as it touched the ashtray, the Highwayman fired a bullet through the man’s head. The Highwayman let his arm drop to his side, and he sighed. Dave and Tindalos stood behind The Highwayman. “Damn.” Dave said. The Highwayman spun around. “How long have you guys been there?” The Highwayman asked. “We came back in for the next body and heard your conversation, we just now stepped out, though.” Tindalos said. The two of them walked back out into the living room to grab another corpse, while the Highwayman walked out of the back door. Dave walked over one that was laying face-down, and flipped them over, to see them squirming a little. “H-h… el. M...” The man said. Tindalos looked over to the scene, and approached the dying man. He lifted up his foot, and smashed it down into the dying man’s head, completely caving it in. Liz dragged a body towards the head of the stairs. “House is clear!” Liz said, as she kicked the body down the stairs. The Highwayman walked back into the living room, “No one’s in the yard.” “I already said the house was clear.” Liz said. “You only said the house is clear.” The Highwayman said. “Whatever.” Liz responded. The Highwayman looked at the living room carpet, which was covered in blood. “So, what are we gonna do with the bodies?” Dave asked. “We’ll bury them. In the backyard of Dave’s old house.” The Highwayman said. “Seems fine with me.” Tindalos said. “Wait, why my backyard?” Dave asked. “Simple. If the police search the house that’s actually being used thoroughly enough, they’ll find the bodies. But they wouldn’t think to search the backyard of a house that’s already gone. Besides, you’ll probably move into a new house at some point in the future.” The Highwayman said. “Eh. Fine.” Dave said.

“It’s funny though, right? Why our house of any?” Dave asked Tindalos, the next day. “A day where nothing extraordinary happens, is truly an extraordinary day. Simply because of the amount of rare things that could happen to you, at least one of such things must happen, right?” Tindalos said. “I guess that makes sense.” Dave said. The Highwayman walked down the stairs, cracking his knuckles. “Alright, Tindalos, we went and killed that Vampire out in the desert, and we took care of some thieves as well. What’s that target you mentioned, New Maltereos? Let’s figure out how we’re getting in there.” The Highwayman said. “Right. Well… As we figured out earlier, I’m slipping into New Maltereos. While I’m there, I’ll find a way to get you all in.” Tindalos said. “But where do we go to get in?” Dave asked. Tindalos was silent for a moment. “Well, New Maltereos is under an oil rig off of the shore. Apparently you get there by boarding a ship run by vampires, an oil tanker. I’ll go there, alone, and I’ll return here when I’m finished investigating the place.” Tindalos said. “Smart. Well, keep us posted.” The Highwayman said. “Of course. But I’m not taking my motorcycle, or my traditional outfit. I may as well wave a flag that says ‘spy’. So don’t let it all collect dust while I’m gone.” Tindalos said. “No promises.” Dave said. Tindalos grunted. He walked upstairs to collect his old clothes, which he put on, before walking back downstairs, and out the door.

A taxi stopped outside of a dock on the LA shore, and Tindalos stepped out. He walked a short distance before reaching an Oil Tanker, The Drowning Sailor, where a lone figure stood guarding the bridge onto the ship. Tindalos approached the figure, a man, clearly a vampire, and greeted him. “This is the ship that takes vampires to New Maltereos, is it not?” Tindalos asked. The vampire looked deep into Tindalos’ eyes. “Try to keep it down a little, we don’t want to draw any suspicions.” The vampire said, as he stepped aside. Tindalos entered the Tanker, and looked around, before being greeted by its captain. “Hm. Our first visitor. Traction to the rig has been a little slow as of late, so if you don’t mind, we’ll be taking off now.” The captain said. “By all means, do so. I am eager to see New Maltereos.” Tindalos said. “Very well.” The captain said, as he turned around and walked off. Tindalos sat in a large, empty area, in a sea of at least hundreds of chairs, he sat alone. It was almost eerie. The boat’s horn roared as it began to take off.

About half an hour later, the oil tanker stopped outside of the rig, and docked. Tindalos got up from his seat, before walking out from where he entered an hour ago. He took a look around once outside, noting that they were far out to sea. Tindalos couldn’t see land in any direction, which meant New Maltereos was a much bigger project than he ever imagined. He walked further until he reached the door to the center of the rig, which he knocked on. Two armed men opened the door, and eyed Tindalos. “New one, eh? Alright, come in.” One of the guards said, as they stepped aside and let Tindalos through. “Alright, well, you want the tour?” The guard asked. “I’ll pass. I just want in, to see how good of an operation you’ve got going.” Tindalos said. “It’s majestic. Best damn sanctuary on the face of the Earth. But the rig itself isn’t the real sanctuary. This is just the entryway, if anything. If you want to really get in, you just have to navigate your way to the central room, stand in the circle, and let it do its thing. There’s a map of the rig, here take mine.” The guard said as he reached into his back pocket and pulled out a small map. The guard pointed to a spot on the map. “We’re here right now, it’s just a couple turns and you’ll be there in no time.” The Guard said. Tindalos nodded, and took the map from the guard. He followed the path to the central room. It was kind of small, closer to an intersection, but it still contained the circle as mentioned. Tindalos stepped onto it, and it immediately reacted to him as it began to glow yellow. It stayed like that for a minute, before the light turned green, and the circle was soon revealed to be an elevator, and went downwards. Tindalos stood still, though took note of the circle turning back to yellow, and humming, before turning to green again. It repeated this again twice, before it reached the ground floor. Before Tindalos stood two figures, one of them was a man dressed in a business suit, with glasses. Next to him stood a woman wearing a tank top with a green jacket tied around her waist, though Tindalos’ eyes widened as they spotted her. He remembers her. The man outstretched his arm. “Good day, my name is Barratt, Hank Barratt to be specific. I am the manager of New Maltereos. You could say that the reason this place stands in the first place, and still stands, is because of me. But I do not mean to gloat. This here is my security chief, Taipan. If there are any security breaches, she deals with them, immediately. Regardless, if you have any questions, let me know. And you need not bother telling me my name, I’ll know what I need to know after you go through registration.” Barratt said, and the two began to walk away, though Taipan turned around and looked at Tindalos. “What’s with the bandages?” Taipan asked. “A bit of… sunburn. If you know what I mean. A group of vampire hunters were hunting me down, I had to take a stroll through broad daylight to escape.” Tindalos said. “Really? Where these vampire hunter the infamous Highwaymen?” Taipan asked. “Indeed. Ruthless hunters. Efficient. Though not smart, they walk around with their logo stamped on the back of their jackets.” Tindalos said. “Right. Well, I would very much like a word with you then, because I have yet to meet anyone who managed to evade the Highwaymen.” Taipan said. “Right. Well. I may see you soon.” Tindalos said. Taipan nodded, before walking away. Once she was out of view, Tindalos clenched his fists.

Agonizing screams echoed through the halls as Taipan laughed menacingly. She watched as two of her guards held another vampire down, pressing their face against glass, outside of it was sunlight. “This is what traitors receive Tindalos. Never forget that!” Taipan said, before walking away, written on the back of her shirt was a logo of opened fangs, and within them, “Maltereos Security”.

The memory echoed within Tindalos’ mind. He collected himself, and moved onwards, into a somewhat empty room with one man sitting behind a desk. Above the man was a sign that said “registration”. Tindalos approached him. “So uh, is there a form?” He asked. The man pulled out several papers and clipped them onto a clipboard, handing it, and a pencil, to Tindalos. “Alright, I’ll fill this out for you.” Tindalos said, before he sat down and eyed the first paper. At the very top, on a line that said “name”, he wrote “Vince”.

Four days later, the Highwayman sat in the kitchen, drinking scotch straight out of the bottle. Liz was leaning into the fridge, looking around for something to eat. Dave leaned against the countertop in the kitchen, drinking coffee. “You think Tindalos is dead?” Dave asked. “I can’t say. Unfortunately I’m not psychic.” The Highwayman said. “Jeez, alright, fine, let me tell you your damned fortunes!” Liz said as she closed the fridge and sat down at the kitchen table. It was silent for a moment. “So-” Dave started. “Sh, I’m concentrating.” Liz said. It was silent for a little while. “He’s gonna come back, pretty soon actually. He’s fine. I don’t feel anything troubling will happen to us from him. But I can’t see his future. Only our future with his association. So I’m not sure what will happen to him. But he’ll be here. Soon.” Liz said. Tindalos walked into the kitchen. “Want some eggs?” Tindalos asked. “Well, that was fast.” Dave said. “I didn’t even hear you walk through the door.” The Highwayman said. “Really? I guess I must be sneakier than I thought. Yeah, it was locked, I had to pick it just to get in. Lucky I’ve got some lockpicks for that.” Tindalos said. “Huh. Alright. Well, got any updates for us?” The Highwayman asked. “Yeah, who thought of this plan again? Because explain to me how we’re supposed to get into an underwater facility without drawing attention to ourselves?” Tindalos asked. Dave took a sip of his coffee, before he lowered it from his jaw, eyes widened. “Oh boy, it’s idea time.” Liz said as she looked at Dave. Dave looked at the others. “We’ll have to sneak through the front door.” Dave said. “That’s preposterous! That security system they have will kill us before we get in!” Tindalos said. “Well, how do you get through a locked door?” Dave asked. “We’re going to have to pick that machine they have. With something a little… sharper, than your average lockpick.” The Highwayman said.

The truck stopped outside of the docks, and the four Highwaymen stepped out. Tindalos, alone, approached the guard that stood there during his last visit. “Back already?” The guard asked. “Yep.” Tindalos said. “Alright.” The guard turned around, before his brains were blown out by Dave, who stood a good distance away, holding his rifle that now had a silencer on it. The Highwaymen grouped back up and entered the oil tanker. “Anyone here know how to drive this damn thing?” Liz asked. No one spoke up. “Alright, then obviously we can’t kill the driver. We’re going to have to keep him at gunpoint.” Liz said. “Fair point. But we can’t keep him alive afterwards, but at the same time we need a way to escape, too. Was there anything else we could use to escape besides the tanker?” The Highwayman asked. “There was a submarine owned by the manager, one Hank Barratt, and he had an assistant who would drive it. But it’ll be a little tricky to get to it. I’m sure we’ll manage.” Tindalos said. “Alright, everybody, silencers on. I’m assuming they’ll have security cameras, right?” The Highwayman asked. “They do, but the guy managing it is on mall cop levels of security skill. As long as we DON’T shoot out the cameras and we move swiftly enough, we should be alright.” Tindalos said. “Noted. When we get in that facility, we act stealthily, we’ll split up, and keep the radio chatter to a minimum, for emergencies. Now, let’s hijack this thing and get to the rig.” The Highwayman said. The others nodded, and followed the Highwayman towards the front of the ship, until they entered the bridge, where the captain sat drinking coffee, and two men were chatting while sitting down in front of computers. The Captain turned to look at the Highwayman, who immediately fired his pistol into the Captain’s stomach three times. The other two men screamed as they got out of their chairs. The Highwayman fired one last bullet into the captain’s head. “I’m in charge now. Which one of you drives the boat?” The Highwayman asked. One of the men raised their hands. Dave shot the other one until he fell to the floor. “Alright, take us to the rig. ASAP.” The Highwayman said to the surviving man, who immediately pressed several buttons, and the tanker began to take off into the sea.

The Tanker docked, and Tindalos walked out with the Highwayman. Tindalos knocked on the door, and the two guards that were there days ago were there once again, and greeted Tindalos. “I brought a friend this time.” Tindalos said. The Highwayman outstretched his hand. “Pleased to meet you.” The Highwayman said. The guard was a little confused but returned the handshake. “Uh, hi. I’m just a gu-” The guard was interrupted as the Highwayman pulled the guard inwards and stabbed his machete into the guard’s stomach. Tindalos pulled out his shotgun and fired it into the other guard. Tindalos looted their corpses for copies of the map pamphlets, taking out from his pocket four copies. The two Highwaymen pulled their corpses away, and tossed them into the ocean. Tindalos looked up to the bridge in the Tanker, where Dave oversaw it all. Tindalos gave a thumbs up, and Dave returned the gesture, before turning to the tanker’s driver. “Let’s go, we’re moving.” Dave said. “But, wait, you do know you can’t get into-” Dave hit the driver with the butt of his gun. “I said we’re moving.” Dave said. Dave, Liz and the driver walked out onto the platform. “This is your stop.” Liz said, as she fired her uzi into the driver, which was enough to knock him off the edge of the platform and drift down into the ocean. The four met back up. “Here, take these. They’re maps of the rig and the actual sanctuary below.” Tindalos said as he handed out the maps. “Alright. Well, Tindalos, lead the way for now. We’ve got nothing to do with the rig.” The Highwayman said. Tindalos nodded, and led the others to the elevator. “Alright. Let’s do this.” The Highwayman said. He pulled out his machete, while Dave pulled out his dagger, Tindalos pulled out a spiked sledgehammer, and Liz pulled out a fireaxe. The four of them slammed their weapons into the elevator, until the glass protecting the scanning device gave away. Tindalos stepped onto the platform, which still glowed and flickered slightly, before turning to green. He smashed his sledgehammer into the platform one last time, and the light turned off completely. The rest of them gathered around onto the elevator, and it began to descend, a bit more shakily than Tindalos remembered. “Keep your weapons out. There are more scanners built into the wall we need to smash. Stay alert. Watch all angles.” Tindalos said. A glowing yellow light showed up on Tindalos’ side, and he smashed his sledgehammer down into it, completely removing it from the wall. Another appeared on the Highwayman’s side, and he jabbed his machete into it, cracking it open and causing the light to expire. Another one appeared on Liz’s side, and she swung her fireaxe onto it, bisecting it. One more appeared on Dave’s side, and he ripped his hand into it and pulled out its battery as well as a few wires, dropped the mess onto the floor. The elevator reached its destination, and the four each cautiously walked down the hall before entering the registration room. Dave peeked around the corner, and spotted just the man at the desk. “One behind a desk, tricky location.” Dave whispered to the group. “I’ve got this.” Tindalos said. He walked casually into the room. “Hey, it’s me, do I need to do anything here real quick or...” Tindalos said as he walked up to the desk. “Nah, just go right in.” The man said. “Thanks.” Tindalos said, before picking up his sledgehammer and smashing it against the side of the man’s head. He swiftly navigated around the desk and pulled the body behind the desk. Tindalos hid behind the desk before he whistled. There were two paths from here, the Highwayman and Liz took one path, while Dave and Tindalos took the other one.

The Highwayman and Liz took cover just behind a hallway corner. They heard footsteps approaching them. The Highwayman turned to look at Liz. He pulled out his machete and nodded. As the vampire turned the corner, the Highwayman grabbed them and dug his machete into their chest, piercing their lung. He pulled them back and tossed them to the floor, where Liz swung her fireaxe down into the vampire’s face. The Highwayman looked at the corpse, it was a man wearing a sort of police uniform, though it was modified to say “NMSF”, which he guessed stood for New Maltereos Security Force. He opened up a nearby closet, and tossed the corpse into it. He locked the inside of the door and shut it. “I feel like we could’ve used the uniform.” Liz whispered. “It wouldn’t have fit you, and I’m not into disguises, besides I have nowhere to put my old clothes.” The Highwayman whispered back. Liz shrugged. The Highwayman looked down the hallway, where there was a security camera. “One cam, about 4 feet of a walk to the next blind spot. I’ll go first.” The Highwayman said. He remained stationary for a couple seconds, before rushing to the next blind spot, and getting into cover again successfully. He looked back over to where Liz was peeking around the corner. He nodded, and she rushed as well, getting to the spot faster than it took the Highwayman. The two stayed still for a few seconds, investigating the hall, before the Liz tapped the Highwayman’s shoulder, and pointed to a door with a sign that said “break room”. The two took cover on either side of the door and Liz signaled to the Highwayman. “There are six in there. Four on the left, two on the right. We’ll easily get the drop on them.” Liz said. The Highwayman nodded, before he stepped in front of the door. He opened it casually, before the two stepped in, and fired their weapons at the vampires. The six of them all dropped to the floor. Liz and the Highwayman stepped out, with the Highwayman locking the inside of the door before closing it. The two of them nodded to each other again, before continuing down the hall. The path split once again. Liz went to the left, while the Highwayman went right.

Dave and Tindalos rushed down a long hallway before realizing there was nowhere to take cover and a camera was point directly at them. “Fuck!” Dave exclaimed at the lowest volume. “Sh!” Tindalos said. Dave quickly pulled out his rifle and fired a shot at the camera. “There was absolutely no way we didn’t just get caught.” Dave said. The two continued further down the hallway before both of their walkie talkies went off. “I took out the guy monitoring the cameras, no need to take cover all the time now. You’re welcome.” Liz said. “Thank god. We were almost certain we just got caught.” Dave said. “Yeah, I saw you idiots on the TV. Real smooth. Don’t get caught next time.” Liz said. “We’ll try.” Tindalos said. The two heard voices from one of the corner turns at the hall. “Hey! Is someone there?” They heard a voice say. They began to hear footsteps approaching, and the two took cover against the wall. Dave pulled out his rifle and extended the bayonet. As the vampire turned the corner, Dave pushed the bayonet into his throat. This guard also wore a uniform that said NMSF. Tindalos looked down the hallway from where the security officer came from, and he saw a guard enter a room. Tindalos looked towards Dave, and signaled for him to follow, to which Dave complied. The two took cover outside of the door. “So do we… uh...” Dave was interrupted as the door opened, with Tindalos on the exposing side. A guard looked at Tindalos. “Ah, jeez, you scared me. You know this place is supposed to be on lockdown? We found a body.” The Guard said to Tindalos, before Dave stabbed his bayonet through the door and into the back of the guard’s head, immediately dropping him to the ground. Tindalos pushed the body back into the room and shut the door. “Genius idea, just break the door, it’s not like anyone would notice.” Tindalos said. “Relax, they found bodies, they know we’re here.” Dave said. “That makes me relax less!” Tindalos said. “Listen, dude-” Dave was cut off by Tindalos. “We’re burning up time here! Look, down the hall, there’s a fork in the path. You go one way, I’ll go the other.” Tindalos said. “Why don’t we stick together?” Dave asked. “Because we’ll cover more ground that way, besides, we’ll all meet back up at the submarine.” Tindalos said. “Alright fine. I call left.” Dave said. “What? Ah fuck you, I was gonna take left. Well… maybe right will have less guys to take out than left.” Tindalos said. The two went their separate ways.

The Highwayman rushed down a hallway before sliding into cover, with his pistol out. The hallway continued forwards, but had a right turn, of which he was keeping cover from. He peeked down the rightwards hallway, spotting a camera, though the hall ended after one room. The Highwayman rushed down towards the end of the right hall until he was located directly under the camera, and right next to the door. He read the sign next to the door that read “Dormitory”, behind the door he heard laughter from several people. He heard footsteps nearing the door, before hearing a farther voice saying “Ah c’mon! Don’t go, it was only a joke!”. From directly behind the door, he heard a woman saying “You don’t joke about that kind of stuff. But with the reports of downed units we should get out there!” The woman said. The Highwayman’s walkie talkie buzzed on. “I took out the guy monitoring the cameras, no need to take cover all the time now. You’re welcome.” The Highwayman reached into his jacket to turn it off. “Well-” one of the voices started. “Sh, wait… I think I heard something...” The female voice said. The Highwayman grabbed onto the walkie talkie, and it buzzed on again. “Thank god. We w-” The Highwayman silenced Dave’s voice from the talkie, and pocketed it. He stepped in front of the door, knowing he’s been detected. He kicked it inwards, knocking the woman behind it back, and unloading his pistol into four men who were situated next to one another. The woman got back up in that time, shotgun in hand and blasting it at the Highwayman, who managed to take cover, barely avoiding most of the pellets, though he was hit in the lower right abdomen. He shrugged off the pain a little, and blind fired his pistol at the woman until he heard he screams, and her dropping to the floor. He looked into the room to see the woman in a sitting position. Leaning against the wall. She shakingly lifted her shotgun up with one hand, but the Highwayman fired a single round into her head before she could do anything. He reloaded his weapon, and grabbed his talkie, about to shout into it, before he decided against it to try not to get the others in a similar situation with a less fortunate outcome. He took off his jacket, and then his shirt, and dug his finger into his wound. He clenched his teeth in pain, but he managed to pull the pellet out. He dropped it to the ground, and took his shirt, tying it around his abdomen to specifically cover the wound. He put his jacket back over it and collected himself. He moved on down the hall, until the path moved left, which he followed.

Dave walked down his hall fairly casually with his rifle in-hand. He saw two security officers, fully arms, rush down the hallway before stopping upon seeing Dave. “Freeze or we w-” the guard was interrupted as Dave fired a round straight through his head, and another two into the knees of the other one, dropping them to the floor. The guard screamed in agony, as Dave walked up to him. Dave fired a single round into the Guard’s head, before continuing onwards. Three more guards appeared, following the screams, before Dave shot one of the guards directly in the head, and another through their throat. The last one took the safety off his pistol and aimed, though Dave managed to fire a bullet into his arm, causing his aim to drop, and the pistol fired, missing Dave by a mile. Dave fired another shot into the guard’s head, finishing him off, then approached one the guards lying down, grasping at their throat. Dave stabbed his bayonet into their head, and finally moved on further. One final guard showed up, fully equipped with riot gear and a shield. The guard turned on a shock baton, and got into a stance. Dave fired three shots at the shield. They pierced through, barely, though the riot armor managed to stop the bullets. The guard charged forwards, where Dave sidestepped around the guard, and fired into their back. The bullets still didn’t go through, but they managed to make him scream in pain, indicating that it hurt. The guard turned back around, and rushed Dave, much more cautiously. The guard swung their baton at Dave, which Dave blocked with his rifle. The Guard broke off and swung at Dave’s chest, which Dave parried. The swung his bayonet into the Guard’s chest, piercing through. The guard screamed, but kicked Dave away. Dave cracked his neck, and the Guard got back into his stance. Dave rushed the guard, kicking the shield out of the guard’s hand, but the guard reacted quickly, and swung his baton at Dave, who barely blocked it with his rifle. Though his rifle flew out of his hands. The Guard swung the baton at Dave’s face, but Dave grabbed the guard’s arm, stopping him. Dave pulled out his dagger, and dug it into the guard’s eye, the Guard collapsed to the ground, and Dave pulled out his dagger. Dave pushed onwards, with the Hallway turning to the right.

Liz carefully walked onwards, until she heard voices. She hid behind cover, with her uzi in hand. She spotted three guards, chatting amongst themselves. She pulled out of cover, moving forwards at the guards while firing her uzi, downing the three of them. She looked around, and noticed that there was a collection of TVs beyond a window to the next room. She got an idea, and entered the room, fire axe in hand. She silently approached a still office chair in the middle of the room behind a desk. When she reached it, and brought the axe back, kicked the chair around to face her, and swung the fire axe through the neck of the guard, fully decapitating him. She looked at the guard’s corpse, and Tindalos wasn’t wrong. Liz looked at the TVs, and spotted Dave and Tindalos on one of them, before Dave shot the camera. Liz pulled out her talkie. “I took out the guy monitoring the cameras, no need to take cover all the time now. You’re welcome.” Liz said into the talkie. “Thank god. We were almost certain we just got caught.” Dave said. “Yeah, I saw you idiots on the TV. Real smooth. Don’t get caught next time.” Liz said. “We’ll try.” Tindalos said. Liz shook her head. “‘We’ll try’. God. Why not say, “nah I think I’d prefer to get caught”.” Liz looked at the security setup. She ducked under the desk, and pulled out a power strip, turning it all off. She brought her fire axe down into the power strip, slicing it in half. She walked out of the room, and continued onwards, where her path made her descend down a set of stairs.

Tindalos walked down the hallway, somewhat casually. With him being registered to the place, he had a chance of not having to use his shotgun. His eyes darted everywhere, before they locked onto one person coming his way. Taipan. “Hey! Vince!” Taipan yelled towards Tindalos. He took a deep breath, and waved back. Taipan approached him. “The place is on lockdown, you shouldn’t be out here.” Taipan said. “Shit, it is?! You got anywhere safe for us?” Tindalos asked. “Well, you’ve yet to give me that interview yet, and my office is always safe, I’d suggest we go there. It’s not far, it’s just down the hall.” Taipan said. “Alright, lead the way.” Tindalos said. The two walked together, though Tindalos tried to stay behind her to keep from his Highwaymen jacket exposing him. “So, you got any friends? Any family?” Taipan asked. “No, at least, none that are vampires.” Tindalos said. “Shame. You should just turn them. It’s not a big deal. It helps you, it helps them understand your secret. I feel like it’d be like saving your family if anything.” Taipan said. “I guess.” Tindalos said. The two reached her office, and Tindalos sat down in front of her desk. Her office was decorated with hunting trophies. Taipan locked the door, then sat at her desk, and relaxed in her chair. “This office is impenetrable when locked. And even if anyone managed to get in here, they’d have to deal with me.” Taipan said. “Well, good.” Tindalos said. “You seem nervous. Are you… OK?” Taipan asked. Tindalos nodded. “Yeah, I guess… I mean c’mon, we’re on lockdown, and-” Tindalos was interrupted. “Is it, because of me?” Taipan asked, as she smiled seductively. “Oh uh...” Tindalos looked around the room, especially the locked door. “Oh. Fuck.” Tindalos said. Taipan laughed a little. “It’s alright. If it makes you feel better, it’s just to pass the time. And it’ll help you relax.” Taipan said. “I just think, that it’s not in the books for us, because...” Tindalos sighed. “Fine, alright. Let’s get this over with.” Tindalos said. Taipan approached him, and took off his jacket first, before she looked over at her desk, where a radio was going off. “Taipan! This is a red level security lockdown! We need everyone available immediately!” A voice said. “Aw, I’m sorry. Maybe one day another lockdown will happen.” Taipan said, as she walked back to the radio, with the jacket still in hand. She pressed a button. “Yeah, yeah. I’m on it.” Taipan said. She walked over towards the door, before Tindalos stopped her. “Hey, can I have the jacket back?” Tindalos asked. “Oh, of course. It is the perfect fit for your type, huh?” Taipan asked, as she threw the jacket on the ground between them, with the Highwaymen logo facing up. Taipan looked at Tindalos with a crooked smile. “Fuck you.” Tindalos said, angrily. “You almost did.” Taipan said, before pulling out a revolver and shooting Tindalos six times, causing him to fall back in the chair. She walked over to the body, and looked at it closely. Tindalos’ eyes were faced straight up, almost rolled into the back of his head. Taipan walked out of the office.

The Highwayman followed the Hallway left until he saw a figure running at him. He aimed his pistol, but dropped it back down as he noticed the figure was Dave. The two stopped next to each other. “Oh shit! Wow. This place is smaller than Tindalos described it.” Dave said. “My thoughts exactly.” The Highwayman said. The two looked at a door they mutually reached before them, and the sign next to it read “Main Office”. “Alright. Let’s do this.” The Highwayman said. The two drew their weapons, and Dave kicked in the door. The Manager sat at his desk, with his arms up. Dave and the Highwayman fired their weapons into him, until he fell back, dead. The two reloaded, and entered the room, looking around. “Holy smokes.” The Highwayman said as he looked through a viewing window. Dave walked up next to him. “Holy fuck. That’s how you say it. Why’d you say smokes?“ Dave asked. “Why does it fucking matter? Let’s just get down there.” The Highwayman said. The two of them walked down a set of stair into a large room containing a moonpool, and floating above the water, a full-sized submarine. The Highwayman pulled out his radio. “Me and Dave are here next to the escape plan, are you guys en route?” The Highwayman said. Liz arrived directly behind them from a service tunnel. “You could say that.” Liz said. The three of them were silent for a moment. “Tindalos, are you reading me? Hello?” The Highwayman asked. “Where the hell is he?” Dave asked. “Uh… I...” Liz started. The two of them looked at her. “If Tindalos was dead, would you leave his body? Because I see you holding him in your arms.” Liz asked. The three of them were silent. “I guess I wouldn’t. I’m not sure. Just… tell me where to find him.” The Highwayman asked. “Where you and Dave met, follow Dave’s path back until you see a fork in the path. Don’t follow the corpses, take the path clear of them, down the hall, and to the right.” Liz said. “Alright. You two stay here and guard the sub. If I’m not back in 15 minutes, leave without me.” The Highwayman said, as he looked at his watch, reading “1:42”. “You got it.” Dave said. The Highwayman turned back and ran up the stairs, following Liz’s instructions. The Highwayman ran at top speed, stopping for nothing and nobody, until he found the fork in the path. Though there was one obstacle he didn’t expect. Taipan walked up to him. “Ah, one of the Highwaymen. As a matter of fact, the Highwayman, hm? I’ve heard much about your grou-” Taipan was interrupted. “Shut up, bitch! Where’s Tindalos?!” The Highwayman asked. “Such a fire in your heart for one dead man. A vampire no less. Why bother risking your life for a person who's a vampire, a creature of which you hate so much?” Taipan asked. “He’s a helluva lot more human than any of you.” The Highwayman said. “Is that so? I’m sure I can satisfy your desires better than that human you have in your organization, or not act like a smartass all the time like the other human.” Taipan said. “This is just stupid, you’re trying to convince me to go against morals I’ve upheld since I was eleven?” The Highwayman asked. “Pfft. No! I’m trying to convince you that you’re a hypocrite. There’s no reason vampires can’t exist in society. Sure we need blood to survive, but you can’t make compromises? You can’t even at least just leave us be in our sanctuaries?” Taipan said. “No, you can’t, you’re beasts, creatures, there’s not enough words to describe how scum such as your kind shouldn’t exist. But there are enough bullets.” The Highwayman said as he pulled out his pistol and emptied the clip, though Taipan managed to dodge all the bullets. “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.” The Highwayman said. Taipan the Highwayman, knocking him back by a couple feet, before she got on top of him, smashing her fist into his helmet rapidly until the visor cracked, at which point, the Highwayman growled. He smashed his knee into her crotch, and headbutted her off of him. He got up and grabbed her, throwing her against the wall, and afterwards kicking her in the face. She coughed a little, before the Highwayman pulled out his Machete. “No, wait!” Taipan said, holding her hands up to cover her face. The Highwayman sliced her hands off, causing her to scream in agonizing pain. “I’m going to savor you.” The Highwayman said. He grabbed her arm, and sliced off her forearm, before cutting her whole arm off. “I thought you were supposed to be the noble vampire hunter! Not a savage murderer!” Taipan said, shrieking all the while. “There’s nothing good about me. I just happen to do go things on accident.” The Highwayman said. He grabbed her leg, and began sawing through her straight down the middle. Her banshee-like screams filled the corridors. Guards arrived, though they stood in horror, watching it all happen. Organs split in two before he stopped at her upper abdomen. He threw her to the ground, pressing his foot against her back and grabbing the bottom of her chin, ripping upwards until her head was ripped fully off. He took his machete and stabbed it into her forehead, nailing her decapitated head against the wall. The guards all stood, one of them getting sick and throwing up. “We’re not the goddamned good guys! I don’t know who thought we were, but there isn’t nothing noble about vampire hunting! We’re just sick of you assholes. Now if your guns are loaded with silver, then you’ve received a goddamn blessing. If they’re not, then make it easy for me, and step up!” The Highwayman yelled. Most of the guards scattered, though a couple of them actually committed suicide. The Highwayman sighed. He continued down the hall to the door, though it was locked. He kicked the door in and saw Tindalos lying there. “Hey! Tindalos! C’mon man! Stay with me!” The Highwayman said as he walked over to Tindalos’ body. He picked Tindalos up, and saw a clock on the desk that read “1:51”, and carried him out of the room into the hall, before the guards returned, rifles prepared. “Fuck me.” The Highwayman ran straight past them as their weapons fired. The Highwayman continued to run at top speed. More and more guards appeared, firing upon the Highwayman. He felt a few bullets hit him in the back, though he pushed on. A bullet entered his thigh and went straight through, which almost knocked the Highwayman off balance. He continued to push on, until he reached the door to the main office. “Dave! Liz! Let’s go!” The Highwayman said, as he dropped Tindalos and fell to his knees. The Highwayman turned to the guards, firing his pistol at them. Another couple bullets hit him in his arm and his chest respectively. He continued to gun down guards, before he took what felt like his last few breaths. The cracks in his visor were too much to bear, he ripped his helmet off and tossed it aside, before more gunfire erupted behind him. He turned to see Liz and Dave covering his escape. “Go! Go! Get Tindalos out of here!” Dave said. The two fired on the guards before a couple of riot guards appeared. Dave and Liz began to back up, continuously firing at the riot guards to buy them more time. The Highwayman lifted Tindalos back up, barely mustering the strength. He limped towards the submarine. Two men leaned out of the submarine, likely the drivers. They took note of the Highwayman’s condition. “Move, c’mon!” The Highwayman said. The two drivers, looked at each other, before one of them pulled out a switchblade. “Goddammit!” The Highwayman yelled, as he dropped Tindalos again and shot the driver with the switchblade. The other driver lifted up his hands, while The Highwayman lifted Tindalos back up, and brought him aboard the submarine. “Get this thing ready to go!” The Highwayman yelled. The Highwayman found a nearby table and set Tindalos on it, before the Highwayman turned, and fell to his knees, coughing up blood. He collapsed, and then passed out. Dave and Liz backed into the submarine, with Dave closing and locking the door behind him, banging erupted from the other side as the guards tried to get in. “Where are the drivers?” Dave asked. “Shit, he needs help!” Liz said as she rushed to the Highwayman. “You help him, I’m gonna try and find out how we get the hell out of here!” Dave said. “Fine, alright, OK, do that!” Liz said, as she dragged the Highwayman towards another table, and lifted him onto it. She pulled off his jacket, revealing his makeshift bandage. She pulled that off, and began to dig through his wounds with tweezers to pull the bullets out. Dave ran into the bridge, to find the lone driver operating the submarine. “Were you trying to leave us behind?!” Dave asked. “What? No! Your other one, carrying the guy, he told me to get this thing ready. He killed the navigator, so I need your help with this.” The driver said. “Goddammit. Fine.” Dave said. Dave reached into his pocket, and pulled out a detonator. He pressed the button.

Back at the surface outside the oil rig, several bombs were planted on the tanker. Each one beeped before they all exploded, causing the tanker to fill with water. It began to sink, and slowly drifted towards the elevator leading to New Maltereos. The Tanker crashed into the elevator, causing New Maltereos to fill with water, and to become separated from the anchored oil rig.

The Submarine resurfaced at the docks in place of the tanker, and Liz stepped out, helping a limping Highwayman. Dave walked out as well, holding Tindalos’ body and carried a backpack. And behind them all was the driver. “Jesus. Is Tindalos going to be alright?” The Highwayman asked Dave and Liz. “We’re not sure. I dug all of those bullets out of him, but, there’s no heartbeat. Not that there likely is one anyway. It’s a tough call. Maybe he’ll revitalize. Maybe not. But, hey, they do come back as long as they remain mostly intact, like you said. Tindalos has to come back eventually. Just, we’re not sure when.” Liz said. “Alright. Well. Just one last thing.” The Highwayman said, as he grabbed his pistol, and put it in the driver’s face. “No! Wait! I did everything I could to help you guys!” The driver said. The Highwayman let it sit in the driver’s face a few seconds more, before he put it away. “We may not be the good guys, but I guess we can be good once in awhile. You’re free. But take a page out of ‘ol Tindalos’ book, and don’t go about sucking any blood.” The Highwayman said. “Oh man, thank you.” The Driver said as he ran away. The Highwaymen gathered into the truck, with Tindalos and the Highwayman laying in the back, and Dave driving.

The four arrived back at the house. “Tindalos is gonna take the guest’s bed.” Dave said. “Fine by us.” The Highwayman said. Dave ran upstairs with Tindalos, before returning back downstairs, with the Highwayman and Liz sitting on the couch. Dave joined them. “Fuck… I forgot about my helmet. I’ve had that thing for ten years.” The Highwayman said. Dave reached into the backpack he carried into the house, and pulled out the Highwayman’s helmet. “You think I was going to let you leave this behind?” Dave asked. The Highwayman grabbed the helmet and smiled. “Damn. I… thanks.” The Highwayman said as he inspected the helmet. The visor was fully broken, and the helmet had many dents in it from bullets. He put the helmet down onto the coffee table, and yawned. “I hope you’re not planning on stealing the couch from me.” Dave said. “Ah, you foiled my evil plans. Alright, fine. I guess I could use the rest anyway, I’m heading upstairs. Try not to attack anymore vampire sanctuaries while I’m asleep.” The Highwayman said. He got up, flinching from one of his wounds during the process, and walked away.

A week later, Tindalos opened his eyes, and coughed. He looked around to see himself in the guest bedroom. He got up, groaning. He looked around, and eventually walked downstairs into the kitchen where the other three were. “Ugh, you guys, I had the craziest dream.” Tindalos said. “You son of a bitch.” Dave said, as he smiled. “So, anymore work in store for the Highwaymen?” Tindalos asked. “Not just yet. But I guess we should go find what’s still out there for us, eh?” The Highwayman said. “You bet.” Liz said. The four got geared up, and started their motorcycles, and drove out, dodging the LA traffic to get to their next destination.

THE WICKED GENERATION
Written by Joshua “DEWM NINJA” Jones
In badass memory of Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister