Dewm Dies: The Return (Part One)

Before we begin this new chapter, there are two very important things to note. Firstly, if you were tagged here, it's for the credits or someone in the comments tagged you, idk. Secondly, this chapter of Dewm Dies is very different from the others. Although it contains some comedy, it does not focus on it, this chapter is darker and more adventure-focused than the others, most notably. Try to take it with a grain of salt, please.

Dewm sat on a couch, snoring loudly, before he fell off of it. He groaned a little, and looked around. He notably wasn’t wearing his armor, and the edges of his hair greyed, and he had a full, mostly untrimmed beard. He entered the one other room he had in his almost empty apartment, the kitchen. He pulled out from the cupboards a half-empty bottle of whisky and downed it, before going back into the only other room, the living room, and sat down on the couch. He yawned a little, and looked across the room at a window where the sun’s almost completely blocked light shined through. He spotted a cowboy hat lying on the floor, and he put it on. He heard some minor knocking at the door, before he got up to answer it. “Rent day.” A man who had a bit more weight than desirable said. “I’ve only got thirteen bucks. I’ll give it to you if you want it anyway.” Dewm said. The man looked around Dewm’s apartment, seeing that he only had a couch and an acoustic guitar in his living room. ”Keep it… I, it looks like you’re going through some rough times.” His landlord said. “I’ve been going through some rough times.” Dewm said. His landlord nodded a little, and the two were silent. “Well… good luck.” His landlord said as he walked away, and Dewm shut the door. He walked over to pick up his guitar, and strummed it a little. He sighed, threw the guitar around onto his back and walked out of the door and up to a bus stop. He walked onto the bus, and handed the driver a fiver. He rode the bus to the next stop, before getting out and sitting against a brick wall that was loaded with graffiti. He put down his cowboy hat and pulled out his guitar and started playing. “Lord I was born a ramblin’ man... Trying to make a living and doing the best I can...” He started singing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzqDyPT9gI4

DEWM DIES: THE RETURN
Dewm walked back into his house late at night and looked around, still nothing looked different. He set his guitar down, and looked down at his hat he kept at his side, revealing five dollars and ten cents. Hardly anything gained. He groaned, and he pulled the money out, placing it into his worn wallet. He put the cowboy hat back on, and sat in his couch, before he stretched out and laid on it, closing his eyes. His eyes shot open as he heard more furious knocking at the door than he expected. Clearly not his landlord. He walked up to the door, and saw a double barrel shotgun resting in the corner next to him. He grabbed it, though it wasn’t loaded. He held it close as he opened the door, revealing a young man probably no older than eighteen, sporting long, brown hair and a light beard. “Yeah?” Dewm asked. “Are you… Dewm?” The man asked. “Mhm.” Dewm said, not confident in his statement. The man smiled. “I’m your son!” The man said. “What?!” Dewm asked, as he backed away, the sudden movement tied with the statement caused a pain in his chest. “Yeah, I’m… are you alright?” The man asked. Dewm’s eyes widened. “Ugh… god… no.” He said as his vision got blurry. The man looked shocked, and ran farther into the house to comfort him. “Dad? Dad?! Can you hear me?!” Dewm heard faintly, as he closed his eyes.

He woke up, coughing, finding himself to have been in a hospital room. He looked over, where the man, supposedly his son, sat. “Take it easy, old man.” Dewm’s son said. “Ugh, you… what the hell-” Dewm was interrupted. “It’s OK, look, you had a heart attack. I didn’t think my news would be that big.” Dewm’s son said. “There’s no way you’re my kid.” Dewm said. “There is. I tracked down all the details, I did all the research. I just wanted to finally meet you. If you want me to leave, I can...” Dewm’s son said. “What’s your name? Who’s your mother?” Dewm asked. “My name’s Jason. And mom? Well, I’m not sure myself. She died during childbirth. I just left the in search of my only living parent.” Jason said. “Ugh, shit...” Dewm said, as he covered his face with his hands. “I can tell you’re not doing good.” Jason said. “No shit! I live in an apartment so cheap my landlord practically lets me live there for free, I have a couch, a guitar, two different sets of clothes and I make ten cents a day by playing guitar on the street!” Dewm yelled. “Look, the doctor said you had to take it easy.” Jason said. “Fuck the doctor. I don’t care if I die. None of this is real.” Dewm said. “You hear me Spook? You bastard!” Dewm yelled into the air. Jason was simply shocked. “I’m going to go get the doctor.” Jason said. “No, no, fuck the doctor. I don’t care. I just want to get out of here.” Dewm said, as he pulled cords and wires from one place and another until he no longer looked like a science experiment. “Where’s my clothes?” Dewm asked Jason. “I’m not sure. Doctor got rid of them I think. They were beyond repair and dirty.” Jason said. “Fuck. Great. What a brilliant thought process this doctor must have.” Dewm said. Suddenly the doctor entered the room. “Hey, you’re not supposed to be unhooked from-” The doctor was interrupted. “Shut up, I don’t need your medical support. I’ve gotten by this far no problem.” Dewm said. “Fine, but if you’ll at least fill out this paperwork about your insurance...” The doctor said. “Insurance… right… alright. Yeah.” Dewm walked over to the doctor, taking some papers and a pen, before Dewm threw the papers at the doctor and stabbed him with the pen, and grabbing him by the throat, choking him. Jason watched in horror until Dewm was done choking the doctor, who was unconscious. “Oh my god! Is he going to be alright?!” Jason asked. “He’s a doctor, fuckers might as well live forever.” Dewm said. He began to strip the doctor of his scrubs and put them on. “Now, I’m leaving. If you want to follow me, fine. I don’t care.” Dewm said. “I… might as well.” Jason said. “Fine. Let’s go.” Dewm said. The two walked out of the hospital.

Dewm walked back into his apartment. “I’ve got no clothes, fine, see if I care. I guess I’ll dress up like the megalomaniac I used to be.” Dewm said, as he pulled a part of the living room’s rug up, revealing a foot locker in the floor. He unlocked it with a single key, and opened it to reveal his old armor. Jason stood behind him. “So… what’s your deal?” He asked. “Besides the fact I’m an old drunken man with a completely regretful past and I live in a two room apartment in the Las Vegas slums? Not much.” Dewm said. “No, like… What’s with the armor? And you showed no remorse to that doctor.” Jason said. “I come from a really fucking strange place, alright? Ever heard of Google+ Island in New York?” Dewm asked. “Uh… yeah… That place they blocked off from the rest of New York because a bunch of crazies live there, right? It’s like a complete wasteland.” Jason said. “Used to be fine back in ‘84. But this is 2003, now. Shit changes. I got out of there before the Blockade, same with my old group of friends. But we all went our separate ways.” Dewm said. “Uh-huh...” Jason said. “I’m gonna go somewhere. Anywhere but here. Today was the last straw of my life as I know it. I’m gonna get a car, maybe, just drive it around the states until the wheels fall off.” Dewm said, as he grabbed his unloaded shotgun and his guitar and walked out the front door, Jason following behind. “That sounds kind of… pointless.” Jason said. “I don’t have a point. Not no more, anyways.” Dewm said. “Why not try to get your friends back together?” Jason asked. Dewm stopped in his tracks and turned to face him. “Are you out of your goddamn mind? We split up for a reason. I have no clue where they went, I have no reason to meet them again, hell half of them would try to outright kill me.” Dewm said. “Well I was just throwing it out there.” Jason said. Dewm sighed. “... I do miss the good old days.” Dewm said. “At least check up on them. I mean jeez, you’ve got these health problems and you do nothing to fix them, who knows how much time you’ve got left?” Jason asked. “Goddamnit, fuck you for getting your sly and convincing skills from me.” Dewm said. Jason smiled, and the two moved on.

Dewm and Jason ended up under a bridge, where several homeless people sat together huddled around a fire. “What the hell are we doing here?” Jason asked. “This is where I hid my car. The US cracked down on everyone from Google+ island, us escapees had to hide all our stuff.” Dewm said. “Tough break.” Jason said. Dewm walked further until he saw a car almost completely covered in rust and one of the doors ripped off completely, with its bright yellow paint job barely shining through the consequences of its abandonment. Dewm entered the driver’s seat, and pulled out a key. He put it into the car and tried starting it up, but the battery was dead. “Fuck! Goddammit!” Dewm yelled as he smashed his fist into the steering wheel. “That thing is done for.” Jason said. “This thing was probably the primary drive towards your conception.” Dewm said, as he got out. “What a damn shame. May the Pussy Wagon rust in pieces, in a better place.” Dewm said. “That’s what you named the car?” Jason asked. “As I said, things are different at the island.” Dewm said. “Well we’ve gotta find something else.” Jason said. “No shit.” Dewm said, before he turned to see an RV, a little worn, but serviceable. “Jackpot.” Dewm said. He entered the vehicle and looked for keys, to no avail. “You know how to hotwire a car?” Dewm asked. “No.” Jason responded. Dewm broke off the steering column and pulled out some wires, before connecting two green wires together, then put closely together another green wire and a red one, the two of them sparked, which turned the car on. He revved the engine, and then broke the steering column off, and jammed a screwdriver into it as a replacement. “Done. Let’s go.” Dewm said. He drove the RV out from under the bridge and onto the street. Dewm messed with the radio a little. “Can’t listen to metal anymore, which fucking sucks. Because all the stations play Shrimp Bizkit. So I guess we have to turn on the next best thing...” Dewm said, before turning on a country radio.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yt381NteNZM
“Really? I think I’d rather listen to Limp Bizkit.” Jason said. “Did you hardwire this RV? No? Well good, because that means I’m controlling the radio.” Dewm said, as he continued to drive off.

Two men wearing heavily worn riot armor that was repainted green stood side-by-side, one of them had a target on their helmet, specifically the part protecting their forehead, and a tatoo on their neck depicting a dotted line that said “cut here”, while written on the front of their armor in red was “Brix”. The other one wore a dozen different dog tag necklaces around their neck, each of these dog tags sporting a different tally number carved into them. On the side of his helmet was a sticker that said “Hello, my name is GOD”, god being written poorly and in blue marker. “When do you think this shitty party’s gonna be over?” God asked, his voice being somewhat rough but light at the same time, like sandpaper scratching against a toothpick. “Not sure what yo ass is confused about. This party is poppin’.” Brix said in somewhat broken english. Despite the manner of which he spoke, he didn’t have the right skin tone for it. “This party totally blows. I mean, they can’t even dance. White people can’t dance.” God said. “You ARE white.” Brix replied. The two of them looked through a skylight window on the roof of a building down into a nightclub. “You’re whiter than me.” God said. “Don’t ever tell a nigga like me that I’m white. I’ll brake you over my mathafuckin’ knee, bitch.” Brix responded. “Whatever. When are we going to hit this place?” God asked. A figure walked between the two, wearing similar armor but not as “graffiti’d” as theirs, and wearing a different, horribly worn helmet with an almost completely cracked gold visor, revealing menacing eyes. “When the people leave. We may be gangsters. But we’re not gangstas. There’s a difference. We are classy.” The one between them said. “Classy my ass. If you want a mafia so bad, go join it. I just wanna pop caps.” Brix said. “I don’t have the time to join a mafia and rise the ranks. I’m a leader, damnit.” The one between them said. On the back of his helmet was simply the number 3 carved in roman numerals. The three of them sat on the rooftop, waiting until the nightclub was practically empty. “Do you have the-” 3 was cut off as God held a couple of EMP grenades in his hand. “Good. On your go...” 3 said.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UWHFdEkOm4
God threw the EMPs down the skylight, and the lights went out. The three of them suspended themselves downwards using rope, and the three readied their weapons, with strobe lights activated. Brix fired a riot shotgun at two guards, blasting them back. God held two MP5Ks with tasers mounted underneath like bayonets, firing upon one of the the guards, before shocking another one with the tasers at maximum voltage until their eyes bursted out of their head. 3 fired a rifle in burst mode at three guards, each three of the bullets from a single burst hitting them all in the head. Eventually, the power restarted, revealing a cleared room of corpses. “You two find the manager. I’ll deal with anymore guards.” 3 said. The two of them nodded and ran off, as 3 turned to face two more guards that rushed in to investigate. 3 fired two bursts into both of their heads. “Six shots, two guards… still works with three, at least.” 3 said to himself, as he moved forwards, walking directly into another guard, though his unusual strength knocked the guard down by a simple bump. Three stepped onto the guard’s stomach, causing them to lose their breath instantly, and they couldn’t breath in. He took his next step straight into the guard’s head, caving their skull in effortlessly.
God hit one of the guards upside the head, in the process tasing the bottom of their nose, sending a sudden shock through the guard’s head under his skin, making a sensation of burning inside of his head, causing the guard to fall over in tremendous pain. He aimed both smgs outwards, shooting two guards coming at him from both directions. Brix dodged one swing after the other from three guards, before doing a combat roll through a break between the three, after recovering, he blasting two of the guards back with his shotgun, the third put their hands up. “Tell the nigga that rules the underworld that a real mothafucka is comin’ after his everything he may be pimpin’.” Brix said as he shot the guard in the head. Brix looked over at God, and the two nodded as they looked forwards at a door marked as “manager’s office”. Brix kicked the door in and combat rolled over to the manager’s flank as God kept himself at a longer range inside the doorway, only to see someone wearing similar riot armor as the other three uppercutting the manager, splattering their brains about the place in a single punch. They turned to see God and Brix slowly place their weapons back at their sides. “Goddammit, Incisor, we told you to wait in the van.” God said. Incisor wore the same riot armor as the others, though similarly to the others he modified it to some degree. For starters the gloves had brass knuckles implemented into them, and on the chest place of his armor was an illustration of an opened set of teeth with large fangs. He also had the sleeves of his armor removed, revealing his arm’s physique that could rival that of a body builder’s. “It was boring in there. You really walk me to sit in there all day and talk to Chains? No thanks.” Incisor said. “You could’ve jeopardized the mission!” God said. “So what? It seems like everything went to plan.” Incisor said. “What if 3 wanted to have a talk with the Man? Now you ruined that opportunity. Better hope he don’t ruin you.” Brix said. “Relax. Why would 3 kill me? I’m one of the five top dogs of the Ares Gang! He might be angry. Maybe that’s all.” Incisor said. “Maybe that is all.” 3 said as he entered. “Oh snap, here he co-” Brix started. “Learn to shut up for once, Brix!” 3 barked at him. Brix was silent. “No one is getting punished. I wanted the manager dead, that is for sure. But this is a warning. Don’t make such a big choice next time, Incisor. Or else maybe it truly will cost you something.” 3 said. “Got it, sir.” Incisor said. “Alright. Let’s go. We’ll get some of our guys in here to enforce the place, hook one of our supporters up with it, and keep it protected. Another piece of territory for the Ares gang.” 3 said.

A man sat in an empty classroom, behind the teacher’s desk specifically, clearly waiting for someone. The room’s lights were off, but a projector was on and aimed at a sheet over the chalkboard, a bell rang, and a variety of students walked into the room, all of them looking to be high school seniors. The man behind the desk was clearly positioned in the darkness to hide his face, though no one seemed confused by it. “Welcome, we’re watching another movie. Same rules apply, don’t tell the principal.” The teacher said. As he picked up a remote and pressed some buttons on it, the projector began to play. He pressed a few buttons on a computer at his desk, which lit up his face, though the monitor hid his face from the class, although his face was covered in bandaging, and he wore sunglasses. He began typing on the computer, searching for nothing in particular, before he looked over to a window with the blinds mostly closed, and barely saw through the blinds and RV barely driving into a spot in the parking lot, as though it was trying to cause a scene. Two people walked out of it, though one in particular truly caught his eye. Dewm. He frantically looked around, finally setting his eyes on the digital clock on his computer. The class was only five minutes in. The intercom kicked on, “Professor Aleksander to the conference room, you have emergency visitors.” The teacher sighed. “Keep watching the movie, if anyone asks, I only turned it on because the class was interrupted.” The teacher said, as he walked out. The hallway’s lights revealed his bandaged face, which urged him to take more empty halls over the direct path, before he entered a room where two people were printing out papers. “Ah, Aleks. What’s up? How’s the face injury going?” One of them asked. “Not well. It’s expected to be fully healed two weeks from now, but even then, you know my doctor. Everything’s always delayed.” The teacher, Aleks, said. “Alright. Conference Room C, that’s where your… visitors are.” The man said. “Thanks.” Aleks said in a lack of confidence. He entered the third door to the far back of the room, where Dewm sat. “You son of a bitch.” Aleks said. “What? Did you miss me? What’s with the bandages?” Dewm asked. “Of course I didn’t miss you, and the bandages? Are you stupid? I’d get caught in an instant if I didn’t wear them!” Aleks said. “How did you even find me here? I changed my name to Aleksander!” Aleks continued. “You always changed your name to Aleks. It was always your fallback name. Should’ve picked a better one.” Dewm said. “Whatever. What do you want?” Aleks asked. “We’re getting the band back together.” Dewm said. “Pfft. Right. Might as well just shoot yourself now.” Aleks said. “Dude c’mon, it’s been nineteen years. I’m not in good health, so I thought I’d at least visit some old friends. Put it all behind me before I bite the dust. The least you could do is join me in this journey.” Dewm said. Aleks took a deep breath. “I’m going to use all my vacation days. We have a week and two days to get everyone rounded up and back here to drop me off, or else I’m going to lose my job.” Aleks said. “Alright, sweet, and loose the bandages while you’re at it.” Dewm said. “I’m going to keep them nearby, and I’m going to put them on in specific situations.” Aleks said. “Whatever. I’m wearing my old getup and I’ve been fine so far. All we’re gonna get is some confused faces.” Dewm said. “That’s what you might get.” Aleks said. “Oh stop being a pussy. Just take it off at some point, you look like a criminal otherwise” Dewm said. Aleks sighed. “Fine. Whatever.” Dewm and Aleks got up, on their way out, Aleks turned to look at the man from before. “Use all my vacation days. Something’s come up.” Aleks said. “You do you.” The man replied. The two went outside and entered the RV, where Jason was sitting at the Driver’s wheel. “Who’s this?” Aleks asked. Jason turned to look at him. “Hey! I’m Dewm’s son. Name’s Jason.” Jason said. “Yeah, that’s a thing. He motivated me to getting everyone together.” Dewm said. “Right. At least I know who to blame when things start to go to shit.” Aleks said as he began taking the bandages off, finally revealing himself to not have a face at all, but instead, a star going supernova. “Who’s next?” Nova asked. “I’m not sure. We were barely able to track you down. I remember when we all left the Island, we agreed to go far away from it. I came from Vegas, and here we are now in Denver. So basically I have no fucking clue.” Dewm said. “Well all we’ve got left is Shadow, Magnus and John, I don’t really know the last two very well, but if I were to guess, Shadow’s probably doing something that helps vent anger.” Nova said. “Why’s that?” Dewm asked. “Well I feel like she’d be a pretty good police officer. Or maybe even in the military.” Nova said. “I hope not. That makes it all the more difficult for us to get to her.” Dewm said. “Regardless, if she’s anywhere, I would assume you already searched the states in your path, so then I’d suggest going straight south from here, and then eastwards as we search.” Nova said. “Straight south is Texas. Which would be the state to take the longest to search.” Dewm said. “Then let’s get searching.” Nova said.

A table full of four people sat, laughing, save for one odd one out. Not only was she not laughing, but she was the only woman at the table. They sat at a bar, wearing light clothing, before a someone drunkenly stumbled up to her. “Hey, b-baby, you look like you could use some more… personal company.” The man said, clearly heavily intoxicated. The woman looked up to him, angrily. The other men at the table laughed at the scene. “Well, you gonna kick his ass or what, ma’am?” One of the men said. She sighed, got up, and punched him once, sending him back a good distance, and knocking him out instantly. The men at the table cheered, and she took a bow, before sitting back down again. “You sure showed him, commander.” Another man said. “Hey, it’s what I do.” She said, before she took a light sip of whatever hard liquor was in her glass. The men laughed a little. “When’s our break ending?” One of the men asked. The girl looked at a wrist watch, displaying the time to be 2:06 am. “Right about now. C’mon. Let’s get back to the barracks, we need to be up early tomorrow.” The woman said, as she got up, a name tag on her fatigues showed the rank of Staff Sergeant, alongside the name “S. Wolfe”. The group of ten left the bar, and all got into a single truck, with Wolfe sitting in the passenger seat. The landscape before them was a desert-like one, with cacti dotting the area occasionally. Wolfe’s hand loosely sat outside the window, feeling the wind against her hand, before yawning, and lighting a cigar. She looked over at the driver. “Tom, remind me again, we got anything to do tomorrow other than guarding the base?” Wolfe asked. “Ditto, we’re patrolling the perimeter.” Tom replied. “Ugh… I sign up for the Army, and this is what I get.” Wolfe said. “I think the entire squad is in a similar mood. It’s boring work. The commander keeps telling us that if the US gets invaded we get to see some action, but no one is that stupid to invade the US. All it is now is just terrorist attacks.” Tom said. “Got any ideas for what to do when our shift is up tomorrow?” Wolfe asked. “Do the same thing we do every night. Just go to the bar. There’s nothing else around, we’re in a damn desert.” Tom said. “There’s got to be a town somewhere nearby, we’ll check out the map tomorrow, sound good?” Wolfe asked. “Fine, but I think we’re all just going to end up at the bar regardless.” Tom said. The truck traversing the road ahead was incredibly peaceful in some way to Wolfe, and sighed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKSRm2G1t-c
Four people sat at a bar in their claimed nightclub, sitting as they watched their new crowd roll in. Incisor scoffed, “Man, this party sucks. I fucking hate these people.” Brix looked over at him in a confused fashion. “What’s with y’all hatin’ on this club. I bet it’s because y’all don’t have my game, huh?” Brix asked. “Hng… shut up!” A fourth one said, they bore shackles on their wrists with very short broken chains hanging off of them. Sets of chainsaw teeth were wrapped around their body like two bandoliers. Several teeth from a chainsaw belt were dug into their helmet, which loosely spelled “Chains” on their helmet. Unlike the other three, Chains was female. “Where’s 3 at? It’s about time we see some action.” God said. 3 approached the two, with two woman by his side. “Doing what I do best. Besides, we’re not doing it tonight. I have plans.” 3 said, as he motioned for the women to leave the vicinity. “You’ve been hyping it up all week! It’d be plain cruel to not do it now!” Incisor said. “I said we’re not doing it. I know they’re our enemy, but we aren’t suicidal. The more we take over their turf, the more defensive they’re going to get. Once they send some of their boys out, we’ll strike. But that’s not today.” 3 said. Chains growled. “Know your place.” 3 said, angrily, before walking away. “Screw 3. I say we do it anyway.” Incisor said. “Not a wise choice...” God replied. “I just wanna kill someone.” Chains said. Brix turned to face God. “If we don’t join ‘em, then they’re just gonna go on and get themselves killed. Might as well join ‘em.” Brix said. God shook his head. “If 3 gets angry with us, I take the least blame.” God said. “That’s up to 3.” Incisor said. The four got up and made their way to the exit. They all piled into a large truck, and started it up. The vehicle almost made a roaring sound as it drove down an empty highway at top speed due to its unkempt engine. Chains leaned out of her backseat window to get a better view of the oddly empty road ahead. She sat back down at her seat to look over at Incisor sitting next to her. “I know, right? I-95 is never this empty.” Incisor said. “Whatever, that means we can go full speed!” Chains yelled. “The last thing we need now is getting pulled over for speeding and then the cops finding an array of unregistered firearms in the car.” God, who was at the wheel, said. “Pussy!” Chains said. “Nigga makes a good point, though, Chains.” Brix said. “I am not your “nigga”. Stop speaking like that.” God said. “Whatever.” Brix said. They stopped the truck outside of an aged apartment building that almost looked abandoned. “Remember: No reckless shooting.” God said. “You’re not the boss.” Incisor said. “Just keep it in mind.” God replied. The four prepared their weapons, Chains revved up a chainsaw, and Incisor simply cracked his knuckles. The four busted through the front door, Brix and God unloaded into several people that bore similar grey and purple colored suits. Chains and Incisor took the lead as the walked up to two corner turns, as more guards flooded in, Incisor and Chains tore through them with ease. When there were no more guards, God and Brix walked forwards into a hallway before them, while Chains and Incisor went the opposite ways from one another in hallways located to their left and right.
God and Brix eventually split up towards the end of the hallway, Brix took the left path, and God took the right. He walked into the next room he saw, which was empty, but heard footsteps through a doorway to his right, he aimed his SMGs through the doorway and fired it at two men who were holding melee weapons. He walked into the next room, which was like a wide hallway, though was very short with a dead end. In the middle of it was a path that broke of the the left, God turned to look down the path, which was a similarly shaped hallway, where four guards aimed guns at the end of the hall. God pulled himself back into cover, at the perfect time as the four guards fired their weapons in short bursts. One of them continued firing as suppressive fire, which kept God in cover. He placed one of his SMGs down onto the floor, and reached into his pocket, pulling out a phone. He pressed a few buttons on it, before it pulled up several images of security cameras. After studying it for a while, God pocketed the phone and picked up his other SMG, pulling back into the room where he started from, taking a door that went straight with a label that said “Dispenser Room”. He opened the door and spotted two guards with guns immediately, and shot at them, killing both of them. The room was lined with Ice machines and drink dispensers, most of which were powered off, further supported the abandonment of the building. God walked forwards before the room had a slight right turn, which he took to see that the room was simply expanded. He spotted a guard leaning out of a door, and shot him down. Outside the door and across the way was another guard leaning out of a door, which he shot as well. He leaned out of the door in the opposite direction, spotting two more guards that were leaning out, he gunned them down, to their surprise, effectively clearing out the hallway. He walked down the end of the hall and took a door to the right, finding himself to be in a dark hotel room. From within the shadows he heard growling, before he spotted a dog running at him. He shot the dog, killing it, and flicked on the lights. He stepped into the room, which appeared clear. He walked out, and entered another hotel room, finding it to be empty. He entered the last hotel room in the hall, where he found two guards with melee weapons. He attempted to shoot them, but was surprised when he noticed his guns produced a clicking sound, empty. One of the guards ran at him and swung a baseball bat, which God narrowly dodged. He jabbed both of his SMGs’ tasers into the guard’s chest, stunning him, before he turned to the other guard who jabbed a knife at God’s chest, though his riot armor protected him. God smashed both of his tazer’s into the target’s eyes, knocking him unconscious. God reloaded his SMGs, and simultaneously aimed and fired both SMGs into the guards’ heads.
Brix walked out of an elevator and straight into a room where two guards with knives rushed him, he blasted one back, and combat rolled away from the incoming one, after recovering, he immediately fired a shell into the guard’s head, turning it into a decapitated pulp. He bursted through the next door he spotted, where he immediately shot a guard with a rifle at the end of the room. Another, very fat guard began to rush him without a weapon, though Brix shot him in the stomach, causing the guard to be stopped in his tracks, though after a couple of seconds, began running towards Brix once again. Brix began stepping backwards, attempting to distance himself from the guard. He fired another shell into the guard’s head, finally killing him. Brix continued into the cleared room, where he found himself in a small hallway. He took a door going left, where he spotted three guards with guns, who all began firing at Brix, who rolled into cover. He heard two of the guards running at him, and swiftly jumped out of cover, knocking them both back with one shell each to the gut. The third guard fired a bullet into Brix’s shoulder, though his shoulder pad blocked the bullet, and Brix responded by shooting the guard in the head. Brix unloaded the drum mag in his shotgun and refilled it with shells. He walked forwards into a room where two more guards took cover behind tilted wooden desks, and unloaded their rifles at Brix, who once again narrowly escaped the gunfire by rolling into cover of his own. By the time the guard’s stopped their suppressive fire, Brix rolled out of cover and to a flanking position next to one of the guards, who he shot twice. The other guard noticed his new position and loaded a new magazine into his rifle, though Brix fired three shots, enough pellets penetrated his cover, and killed him. Brix looked around for more doors, though found none. He walked back into the hallway and took a different path, where two guards stood with shotguns on each side of the doorway. As Brix entered, he reacted by rolling out of the way as the two guards fired just too late, and instead shot each other dead. Brix looked over at the scene, one of the guards were crawling around on the floor, in shock. Brix mounted the surviving guard, and twisted their neck until it snapped. He got back up, and continued through the next door, where he found himself in a mostly empty hallway, save for two guards, one with a gun and one with a crowbar, as well as a dog. Brix shot the guard with the gun, knocking him back. He turned to shoot the crowbar-wielding guard, shattering his kneecaps with a devastating blow, but was too late to catch the dog. The mongrel tackled Brix, and bit at his neck, which was protected with leather. He hit the dog in the side of the head twice, to no avail, he reached over to grab his riot shotgun, successfully grabbing it with one hand and putting its barrel into the dog’s ear, splattering its brains across the wall. He pushed the dog’s body off of him to get up. One of the guards attempted to crawl away, with their legs in a twisted, broken position. Brix walked up to the retreating guard, stepping on his back, before he smashed the stock of his gun into his neck several times, until it snapped. At the end of the hall, he saw an elevator, which he got into.
Incisor stepped out of his elevator to find himself in a hallway. There was a path straight down to follow, though Incisor instead walked into a doorway on his right flank, upon entering, at least ten guards spotted him and began rushing him, all with melee weapons. Incisor initially hit one across the face with a left hook, before hitting the next with an uppercut. He punched one in the gut, causing them to throw up, before Incisor grabbed the back of their head, and smashed them face-first down into the floor. He grabbed another one by the neck and pulled them in, before hitting them on both sides of their head at once, then kicked them away. He grabbed the next one, and threw them into the doorway as they were hit in the face by the corner of the doorway. He kicked another in the groin, and then headbutted them. He grabbed the next one by the throat and quickly squeezed his grip until their neck snapped, and threw his body into another guard. Three guards rushed him at once, one hit Incisor across the face with a bat, though he easily recovered from it, and responded by punching the guard across the face. The last two guards attempted to retreat, though Incisor grabbed them by the back of their suits and pulled them back, before smashing their heads together in a single blow, spilling a small showed of blood onto the floor. He looked at all the corpses in the room, though spotted one of the guards still alive, tackled by the corpse of another guard. Incisor walked up to the guard, and hit him in the face, cracking his skull open and killing him. He went to collect all the weapons on the floor, and threw them in a nearby trashcan. There was nowhere to go from here, so he walked back into the hallway and straight, before he spotted a guard at the end, who began firing a kalashnikov at Incisor, who reacted by hiding behind the doorway. The guard charged through the doorway, though Incisor quickly grabbed him and threw him down the hallway. On his way over to the guard, he picked up the kalash, and ejected its magazine and the bullet still in the chamber, before throwing the gun aside. The guard began to crawl away from Incisor, but he smashed his foot down onto the guard’s abdomen, stopping him. Incisor fell to his knees on top of the guard, and hit him twice in the face, killing him. He picked some of the brains off of his knuckles, before moving down the hall, and taking its single right turn where two armed guards spotted him. He took cover behind a pillar, where one of the guards attempted to rush him, though he grabbed the guard as a body shield, and pushed forwards as the other guard fired into the guard, attempting to hit Incisor behind him, to no avail. When he reached the range, Incisor threw the guard’s dying body at the other, knocking them down. While they were down, Incisor picked them up by the back of the throat, and then smashed his face back down into the floor. He repeated the process a couple more times until the guard no longer twitched. He walked up to the guard’s rifle, unloading it, and then up to the other guard’s shotgun, he pumped the shotgun eight times, and from there no more shells were ejected. He dropped the shotgun, and continued on to an empty conference room. Though behind one last door he heard a toilet flushing. He walked up to the door, before a guard opened the door. Incisor grabbed the guard by the head and smashed him face first into the toilet bowl. To add insult to injury, he flushed to toilet afterwards.
Chains walked out of her elevator, rushing into an immediate left turn to find two guards wielding melee weapons. She immediately bisected one of them with one swing of her chainsaw, and jabbed the chainsaw into the next guard’s face. She ripped the chainsaw out of the guard, and continued forwards into another room, where there were two men armed with rifles. She rushed into one of the guards and impaled them with the chainsaw’s blade, keeping the guard on the blade as she pushed forwards to the next guard, using the impaled one as a shield. She reached her next targets and swung the chainsaw to release her shield, and swung it again to decapitate the other guard. She moved onto the next room where she walked directly into another guard, she took the opportunity of confusion to swing her chainsaw vertically, almost splitting the guard in half. From the corner of her vision, she saw a guard with a knife rushing her, she swung her chainsaw into his groin, and brought it upwards until he was completely split into two pieces. There was no further path to take, so she walked back to the elevator, and walked up to the next door to take. She kicked it open, revealing a hallways stock full of guards. One of them, the only one with a gun, was knocked down by the door. A swarm of guards ran at her. She immediately swung her chainsaw, decapitating two of the guards, and swung it again at a lower angle to split open and gut another two. The other guard she knocked down began to get up, though she impaled him in the process and brought him upwards until gravity caused the guard to slide downwards from the chainsaw, causing everything directly above his abdomen to be fully separated. At the end of the hallway, she noticed a guard dog chasing after her. She placed her chainsaw into position, which caused the dog to run head-first into the chainsaw. After the room was clear, she noticed on her left was a door in which five guards bursted out of. One of them slipped over a loose intestine on the floor, and landed into one of the disemboweled corpses of his allies, wiched causing him to scream in horror, traumatized, he simply cowered in the corner. Chains rushed to fight the remaining adversaries, initially cutting one’s legs off, and them moving to stab another multiple times. The last two began to back away, though Chains pursued them back into the room they came from, which showed no exits. They split up, showing that if she went to kill one, the other would escape. She let out an agitated grunt, before someone approached chains from behind, and fired a pistol twice and both of them, she looked back to see God aiming the pistol, with Brix behind spectating, and Incisor finishing off a legless guard. “We cleared all the floors. Let’s get back to 3 and tell him we did the job.” God said. “Wait, what if we don’t tell 3 we did it, and when he comes to take the place over, we’ll act surprised like him?” Brix asked. “That’s stupid, it couldn’t be anymore obvious, look at the chainsaw massacre here. Name one other person in Florida that can kill people with his bare hands. We may as well take the responsibility, even if it costs us.” God said. “Fine. But I’m staying behind you guys when we confront him.” Incisor said. The four walked back into an elevator, which they rode down the ground floor. Upon reaching the exit to the building, 3 stood there waiting for them, arms crossed. “Woah, how the hell did you get here?” God asked. “Because you guys are buffoons. The bartender heard your conversation, so he thought he’d tell me to get on my good side. He’s smart. As for you idiots, I was hoping one of you would get killed so the others could learn their lessons, but I suppose you’re the Ares’ top four for a reason.” 3 said. “So, what’s gonna happen to us?” Brix asked. “You’re getting off easy. Again. But next time, I guarantee you, one of you are getting off’d. And that doesn’t include casualties during the mission.” 3 said. “Noted.” God said. “Alright. Let’s get out of here then. I’m sure Chains made quite a mess, so we’ll have the cleaners here tomorrow, and we’ll have the place refurbished afterwards.” 3 said, as he and his men walked out of the building, with 3 getting onto a motorcycle and the other four getting into the truck.

The RV pulled up to a fast food window, and Dewm leaned out of the window with his helmet off. A man in his very early twenties was there to hand a bag to Dewm, who took the bag. “Enjoy your meal.” The man said. Dewm drove out of the drive through and into one of the restaurant's’ parking spaces. He walked to the back of the RV with the bag in hand and placed it on a small table, where Nova and Jason were sitting. “So... Any idea on where to look for Shadow now that we’ve hit Texas?” Dewm asked. “I could try looking up police departments and military bases nearby like we did in Oklahoma.” Nova said. “Better than nothing.” Dewm said as he pulled out a burger from the bag and took a bite out of it. “It’s gonna be a long process.” Nova said. “It’s always gonna be a long process, obviously. We just have to find her.” Dewm said. “I do have a question, though.” Nova said. “Shoot.” Dewm said. “Well, when we do actually get everyone… what are we going to do?” Nova asked. “Not sure. Maybe they’ll have their own goals, but frankly the main thing here is getting everyone together… Maybe we’ll even break the Blockade.” Dewm said. “Woah, alright, hold your horses. The Blockade is one hell of a stronghold… and even then it’d take a lot. I don’t even know if you, me and the rest could take that on.” Nova said. “Well, I’m going to try one day, regardless of what happens. The Island deserves freedom.” Dewm said. “You’re suicidal.” Nova said. “And you’re uninspirational.” Dewm said. “I’m not even going to continue with this conversation… but I gave you my warning.” Nova said.

“Ma’am! We’ve got something.” Tom yelled over at Wolfe, who was loading rifles. She put down what she was holding and walked up to Tom, who handed her his sniper rifle. She kept her finger off the trigger and looked through the scope, to see in the far distance the RV. “Probably tourists on the wrong direction. Once they get here we’ll tell ‘em to beat it.” Wolfe said. A recruit ran up to the two, fairly young. “Lemme see!” The recruit said. Wolfe looked at him angrily. “I mean… can I see, ma’am?” The recruit asked. She handed him the rifle somewhat effortlessly, before the recruit took it and aimed down the sight. “Huh. I thought we were gonna get to shoot something… Well he-” The recruit was cut off as a bullet was fired out of the rifle. “Jesus recruit!” Wolfe shouted at the top of her lungs. “Oh god, I’m sorry, I didn’t even know it was loaded!” The recruit said. “Of course it’s loaded, moron, gimme that!” Tom said as he ripped the rifle from the recruit’s hand and aimed back down the sight. “They’re hit but we only flattened their tire. Wait… hold on, they’re getting out. One of them is waving their h-... He’s waving a white flag with his sock and a straw.” Tom said, before letting his arms rest as he dug the sniper’s barrel into the ground and leaned on the stock. “Well… let’s go. Don’t want them to think we’re trying to kill them.” Wolfe said, as she began walking with Tom and the recruit following her, before she stopped the recruit. “You stay here. And don’t touch anything.” Wolfe said. “Yes, ma’am.” The recruit responded. Wolfe and Tom began walking towards the RV.
“I think they get it!” Nova yelled from within the RV, sitting at the driver’s wheel. Jason looked at Nova from outside, and dismantled his flag, putting his sock back on. “We’re driving on a gravel road, I doubt we were shot. It’s probably just your shitty driving.” Dewm said to Nova. “It sounded like a bullet, I saw the sun reflection from a figure, meaning it was a scope, and also, that last part is just hurtful. Plus we’re also conspicuously driving straight at a military base. Regardless we have a flat tire.” Nova said. “Fine. Whatever.” Dewm said. “Yeah, there’s some people approaching, it looks like.” Jason said. “Let’s go meet them.” Nova said. “You sure you want to do that without your bandages and-” Dewm was cut off. “It’s 2003, dude, if I walk out at a military base with my face covered with bandages, they’re going to think I’m a terrorist.” Nova said. “Fine, fine.” Dewm replied. The two got out to see two figures wearing military fatigues approaching them, though Wolfe stopped as soon as she saw Nova and Dewm. “No, no! Goddamnit, no!” Wolfe yelled. “Woah, woah, Wolfe, you alright?” Tom asked. “These are those assholes I was telling you about! Fuck!” Wolfe yelled. “... I think we found her.” Nova said. “Hey, Shadow! Calm down, I just wanted to come and say hi!” Dewm said, as he slowly approached her. “How did you even find me?” Shadow asked. “We’ve been going to every police station and military base looking for you.” Dewm said. “Ugh… OK, hi, then. Can you leave?” Shadow asked. “Uh… no. I wanted to ask you if you’d like to roll with us again, we’re getting everyone back together, just this one last time, while we can.” Dewm said. “Are you serious? I’m employed as a member of the army! I can’t just leave!” Shadow said. “Well… what if this convinced you?” Dewm asked as he took off his helmet, embraced Shadow and kissed her. After finally letting go, her eyes lit up, and she looked at him for a couple of seconds, before punching him with a brutal right hook that knocked him down. “Oooh. Well… you tried.” Nova said. “Now I remember why I used to hang out with you guys, you made a pretty effective punching bag!” Shadow said, as she licked the blood off of her knuckles. “Let’s get rolling!” Shadow said as she ripped her hat off and threw it aside to be blown away in the wind. “Wait, what?!” Tom asked. “You heard me, I’m outta here.” Shadow said. “You can’t just do that, I need you, you’re the love of my life!” Tom yelled. “Jeez, when are any of you guys going to learn? I’m not a conquest for men!” Shadow yelled. “I kinda… realized that for a while now.” Nova said. Shadow took off the pin to her uniform, and handed it to Tom. “On the bright side, you’re promoted. Besides they don’t pay me that much for such a shitty job.” Shadow said. “I figured the army was gonna get boring.” Dewm said as he recovered, brushing sand off of his armor. “Anyway, beat it, Tom, we’re gonna tear up this road, so it’s gonna get pretty dusty.” Shadow said, as she got into the RV with Dewm, Nova and Jason, and it attempted to drive away, before the tire ended up stopping them about 10 feet away. Shadow got out and looked over at Tom. “Hey! Wanna help us real quick?!” Shadow yelled.

“You guys better have gotten me a burger.” Shadow said as she rummaged through the bag of fast food they got earlier. “There’s still mine in there, they didn’t take the pickles off.” Nova said from the front seat. “How do you eat?” Shadow asked. “It just kinda gets absorbed by the explosion, but pickles upset my nebulae.” Nova said. “Right.” Shadow said. She looked over at Jason. “Who’s this?” Shadow asked. “He’s my son.” Dewm said. Jason offered to shake her hand. “Daniel?” Shadow asked, not accepting the handshake yet. “No, Jason.” Dewm said. “I don’t think I heard of that one.” Shadow said. “Neither did I, until he came knocking on my door about a couple weeks ago.” Dewm said. “Hm. Alright.” Shadow said, as she took a bite into the burger, still not accepting Jason’s handshake. “So, who’s next?” Shadow asked, with her mouth full. “No one knows exactly yet, but we’re cutting eastwards towards Florida. We think we might run into Magnus next.” Dewm said. “Magnus? I bet he formed his own badass gang. It kinda sounds like something he’d do.” Shadow said. “He’d probably name it something stupid, though.” Nova said.

“Ares gang! Are we ready to rumble?!” 3 yelled into a small stadium of men wearing green-colored outfits, who all confidently yelled back in pride of their gang. “Then let’s get to it! Bring on, the main event!” 3 yelled, as he threw a microphone out of the wrestling ring he was standing in, and afterwards, jumped out of the ring. The lights all moved to the entrance of stadium, where two men in green riot armor pushed out a man wearing a black suit with a purple shirt underneath. As he walked to the ring, the many gang members in the audience booed as they threw anything they could find at the entrant. He entered the ring, and stood in shame, before the lights shifted back to the entrance, where Brix stepped out, only wearing the pants and boots to his riot armor. He raised his fists in the air, and the audience cheered. He ran into the ring and slid in, where the first entrant stood, watching him. “Any last words, bitch?!” Brix yelled at his opponent. “Nope, because these won’t be my last.” Brix’s opponent said. A bell ringed, and Brix immediately punched his adversary in the throat, causing him to fall over, with difficulty breathing. While his opponent was down, Brix took off the cover to one of the turnbuckles, before grabbing his adversary by the throat and smashing him into the turnbuckle, over and over until brains decorated the corner of the ring. 3 watched, slightly unimpressed, though proud regardless. He picked up the mic, and blew into it to see if it was still on. “In my professional opinion… I think we have a winner!” 3 yelled into the mic, causing the audience to erupt in cheer. Brix and 3 walked away behind the entrance, and two more men, not sporting the Ares colors were thrown into the ring, to fight each other to the death. 3 and Brix arrived in the locker room, where Incisor, God and Chains all sat, wiping off sweat from their bodies. “Excellent performances. I am proud of you all.” 3 said. “No problem. If anything, there actually was a problem, my guy was too easy.” Incisor said. “Says the man who spends his criminal career killing people with his fists.” God said. “My point... is that you all did well. I think you guys have more than earned a week off… but I need you for one last mission tomorrow, and afterwards, you’re on break. You can also have the night off now to give you a taste of this long awaited break.” 3 said. “Well, in that case, I’m gonna go get wasted, probably get a pizza… Anyone wanna join?” Incisor asked. “Me!” Chains yelled, enthusiastically. “No time. I’ve gotta brush up on my hacking skills. Maybe this time I’ll target MySpace, that’s a new website.” God said. “Shit, I’ve got nothing to do, might as well join you guys.” Brix said. “Remember: Be vigilant. You never know when I might need you again, even on break. I’ll try not to interrupt your breaks, but if something comes up… I’ll need you all ready.” 3 said. “Sure thing.” God said.

“So what’s wrong with Starbucks?” Nova asked, as the four walked into a local coffee shop. “It’s too damn expensive. And the crowd they get… Ugh.” Shadow replied. “Look I don’t give a shit, let’s just get our coffee and get out of here. The last time I was in New Orleans it didn’t go well.” Dewm said. “I’m kind of interested what you mean by that.” Nova said. The two walked up to the counter, which was devoid of a cashier, and Dewm rang the bell. “I’ll tell you in the RV.” Dewm said. They sat for a moment, before Dewm rang the bell again. A voice from under the counter spoke to them. “Hold on, cleaning up a spill, I’ll get with you in a second!” A man said in a british accent. “Don’t worry, we’re not in a hurry.” Dewm said, which caused Shadow to look at him confused. The man got up from behind the counter to face them, he wasn’t wearing a uniform but instead, much fancier clothes. “Sorry about that, so what’ll it be?” The man asked, before he looked at the four in disbelief. “Holy shit!” The man said. “Holy shit!” Dewm said, in response. “Magnus! What are you doing working at a coffee shop?!” Nova said in amazement. “Alright hold on, before we continue, I own this place. My employee walked out on me about an hour ago, I’ve got no one working here but me. I’m not a fucking cashier, that job is below me.” Magnus said. “Kind of… dodging the question.” Nova said. “You mean what am I doing here? I dunno. I just happen to run a cafe in New Orleans… nigga’s gotta eat.” Magnus said. “Hm. Well… We were just looking for you, actually.” Dewm said. “Is that so? Why?” Magnus asked. “We’re getting everyone back together, for the final ride, may as well spend a little time together instead of keeping our distance like we’ve been doing.” Dewm said. “Say no more, I’m on board.” Magnus said. “Alright… well… that was easy.” Dewm said. “You think I like running a cafe in this shitty harbor town? I should be running a cafe next to the Queen’s mansion back in London. Unfortunately plane tickets cost a bit more than a couple quid.” Magnus said. “Tone down the British man, it’s overwhelming.” Nova said. “I will backhand you so hard you’ll lose your orbits.” Magnus said. “Woah, alright, let’s calm down here, I meant no disrespect.” Nova said. “My country is better than yours… Remember that.” Magnus said. “Whatever, man, you comin’ with?” Dewm asked. “Shit yeah I’m coming with.” Magnus said. “Alright, sweet.” Dewm said. “So… who else are we getting?” Magnus asked, as the five began to walk out. “Just John, that’s the group we left the Island with.” Dewm said. “Woah woah… So if we haven’t gotten John yet… who the hell’s that?” Magnus asked as he pointed at Jason. “That’s my son, why would you have expected him to be John?” Dewm asked. “Well I’ve never seen him with his helmet off… was good a question as any.” Magnus said. “Alright… well, does anyone have any good idea on where to look for John other than the plan we have?” Dewm asked, as the four got into the car. “None here, if the current plan is what I think it is.” Magnus said. Everyone was silent for a moment. “The current plan is to go eastwards since we started looking for everyone from the West, and we can only go North and East, so we might as well continue East and once we hit Florida, we go North.” Dewm said. “We are going to search Florida, right?” Magnus asked. “Well, yeah, obviously. We’re not passing any state up until we find John.” Dewm said. “And when we find him, what do we do then?” Magnus asked. “We’re going to find something to do… I’m thinking we hit the Blockade and set the Island free again.” Dewm said. “Damn. Big task, if you ask me.” Magnus said. “I don’t doubt our skill, we could probably take that fucker down by looking at it hard enough.” Shadow said. “Have you seen what the Blockade even looks like? It’s like a goddamned fortress.” Nova said. “We’ve taken on tougher tasks. Remember that one time with that german dude?” Shadow said. “Yeah, but we had twice as many people that time.” Magnus said. “And the Blockade is half as dangerous. All’s we need is John, and some confidence.” Shadow said. “Amen to that.” Dewm said. “Well we’re not going to find him sitting here, talking. Let’s go.” Jason said. “Alright.” Nova said, as he turned on the car and started driving.

The RV shook slightly, causing Dewm to wake up from his slumber. He looked around to see Nova driving. He walked up behind him, and sat down in the passenger’s seat. Nova didn’t say anything. “Wher-” Dewm was cut off by Nova, hushing him. “The Miami Mutilator seems to have struck again, where he killed two teenage kids, who were both identified as Matthew Sanders and Owen Sullivan. When asked about what how they feel about the situation, each boys’ families declined an interview. Police are standing by on informing the public of a lead they may have as not to alert the Miami Mutilator into hiding. More on this story at four.” The radio said. It continued, but Nova turned to look at Dewm. “I’ve been listening to the news. Miami’s in chaos right now. Murderers, crime scenes, they’ve got a huge three-way gang war going on, too.” Nova said. “Sounds like bad business, but we’re still going to look for John.” Dewm said. “Of course… But I thought we should start with one of the gangs, specifically the Ares Gang. They’re the top dog right now, and they’ve got a shitload of members. So maybe we get on their good side real quick, ask them if they have anything on John, and we instantly clear at least Miami, if not then all of Florida.” Nova said. “I don’t feel like getting wrapped up in a gang war… is there a way we can get to the boss, covertly or through their numbers, and shake it out of him?” Dewm asked. “Maybe. Not completely sure, though. We’ll see. For now my goal is to get us to Miami, by then it should be around six and everyone else should be up.” Nova said. “Oh, that reminds me… do you… need sleep?” Dewm asked. “Hm? No. Not really. I can get exhausted sometimes but everything slowly kinda gets… refilled, y’know?” Nova said. “Uh, I guess.” Dewm replied. “Don’t worry about it. Short answer is no.” Nova said.

The RV stopped outside of a hotel that was under refurbishment, yet still open. As Dewm and Magnus entered, Nova, Shadow and Jason stood around the RV, investigating the engine. Dewm looked around and noticed a strange amount of men wearing green outfits. The two approached the desk, where a man looked at the two. “Hello, gentlemen. Excuse the crowd, they’re only here to protect us.” The man said. “Right. Got any rooms with five beds?” Dewm asked. “We’ve got a room with two queens and four bunks. Or do you have some that will be sharing beds?” The man asked. “We’ll be taking the sixer.” Magnus said. “Alright, how long’s the stay?” The man asked. Dewm and Magnus looked at each other for a few seconds. “Two nights, three days. Expect us to increase the stay.” Dewm said. “Alright, that’ll be 424 dollars.” The man said. Dewm handed him a credit card. “Where’d you get the money for all that?” Magnus asked. “Y’know. The usual work.” Dewm said, as he made a gesture of a finger gun being fired. “Hm, right.” Magnus said. “You’re checked in. I’d offer someone to take your luggage up to your room, but, we’re too fresh into business for that. Apologies.” The man said. “It’s fine, we don’t need that.” Dewm said, as he took the credit card back, and pocketed it. The two walked outside to see Nova putting the RV’s hood down. “We’re checked in, let’s get to work.” Dewm said. “Alright, just letting you know now, this thing’s running on cylinder two. So I can’t guarantee she’ll be stable.” Nova said. “As long as it drives, I don’t care.” Dewm said. Nova nodded, before the group got into the RV, and Nova started the car up. “So, Nova, you get anything from the radio?” Shadow asked. “I did. Our main target is the Ares gang. They’ve got Miami in their grip and they know about the rest of Florida pretty well. Hitting their HQ is the main task, supposedly their HQ is at an abandoned steel mill, but it’s a cover-up.” Nova said. “How’d you learn that?” Shadow asked. “I’m very perceptive. The Ares gang having Maimi in their grip isn’t exactly a fortunate thing. We drove past the steel mill on our way here, that’s why we took the scenic route. What is supposed to be their HQ was empty. No lights, no guards, nothing. After observing them on the sidewalk, they’re not your average gold chain-wearing drive by shooters. They’re organized. They have training. I’ve also seen their population getting thicker every time we passed a police station.” Nova said. “You think they’re working with crooked cops?” Dewm asked. “Maybe, but here’s my theory: Maybe they don’t have an HQ, but instead they have multiple HQs. The police stations.” Nova said. “Well, there’s one way to find out. Let’s get going.” Dewm said. Nova shifted the RV into gear, and took off onto the road.