The Dillion Storm

[Jace Cartee]

There were things in this world to be grateful for such as the necessities that kept a man alive: air, food, water, and money. As horrible as it sounded to himself there was no denying that money was a necessity in the world that he lived in. So when Jace finally crossed that threshold into the Dillions store to spend what little he had on other necessary things his stomach dropped.

Walking toward the dairy aisle Jace rubbed a hand over the stubble on his chin. He was dressed in his usual blue jeans, black shirt, and jacket. The same clothes he’d worn yesterday, but the day was still early and there was no point in changing until he found some place to take a shower and shave. In a small town like Willowbrook, Kansas it seemed like it would take a while.

Fingering the twenty dollars that he had left to his name, Jace stared at the milk products with a frown on his face. It was early though it was hot as hell and he wanted something cool and sweet, but the milk staring back at him wasn’t as appeasing as it had been in his head. With a sigh he turned his head and his eyes to other prospects for that morning. Something simple and cheap that would sit well on his stomach and last a whole day. He had a feeling it would be his only meal for at least twenty four hours. The gas he had would get him to the next town, but it wouldn’t feed him. A meal came with a job and someone in his shoes, awol from the U.S. government, had slim pickings. Money was going to be scarce and with it so would food and water.

“Gotta pay the man,” Jace muttered to himself walking down the aisles and looking for something.

[Davis Price]

David slams the hood to the black Humvee, cursing to himself in frustration. He pushes the broken truck to the side of the road and throws his m4 into the trunk. With smoke still pouring out from the engine he starts to walk towards the town ahead. Willowbrook, Kansas was the closest so he figured he might as well go there to look for spare parts.

With less than a mile to go it wouldn’t take him long to run into people. They usually stop and stare because of his wings but he plays it off as a cosplay item. He keeps them from noticing his glow by putting on makeup. The town seemed fairly normal so far. The first few stores seem to be grocery stores so not much of a chance in getting the parts he needs there. He heads straight to the first auto shop he sees and walks inside.

"Excuse me sir". A man with black hair, blue eyes, and smells like grease turns around and gives him an odd stare. "Yes sir what can I do you for?” David shakes the man’s hand and tells him his problem. "I’ve got some white smoke coming out of my Humvee. I took a look at it and I have a broken head gasket. Do you know if you have any steel seal?” The man leads David down an aisle and points out a few cans and bottles. "These are all we have. We don’t have steel seal exactly but, we have a few different brands that do the same thing." David buys the cheapest kind to save a little money. “Where are you headed sir?” The man says while bagging the steel seal. “I’m not really headed to anywhere in particular. I’m just roaming around seeing where the road takes me.” David picks up the bag and starts to head out. “You might want to stay here for the night. The weatherman says there’s going to be a terrible storm later today. You might not want to get caught in it.” David turns and says “thank you” then heads out back into the town.

[Kerrigan Knight]

You! You're livin' your life when you're dreamin'!

Her boot tapped along to the music that came blaring from her earbuds. It was so loud, that a passerby could most likely hear which song she was listening to from a few feet away. She hummed along on occasion, and her fingers danced along her thigh as she tapped them to the beat.

Late at night you're hearing my voice in your head. Yeah!

Her head began to nod along and she turned, no longer interested in the CDs that sat on display on the shelves. It's not like she had a CD player, anyway.

But you can't silence your own heavy breathing. Ha!

The chorus was coming up, her favorite part, and she softly whispered the words under her breath as she turned the corner and headed into another isle, eyes closing.

"When you try, you wake up alo-.. Oof!" she exclaimed, colliding right into Jace. Her balance didn't allow her to fall, but she did take a step back.

Kerrigan took a moment to look the man up and down, her lips pulled into a frown, and then she spoke. "Look where you're going, yeah? I could have fallen and cracked my head open." she grumbled, is a very obvious southern accent. The music was still going, and could be heard clearly from the lone earbud that had decided to pop out of her ear when she bumped into the human.

((Sorry for the wait!))