Earth, 20XX

The Sound of the four wheeled, custom made car was prevalent through what appeared to be a dried out, desert road. Within lied four passengers of varied appearance. The first was the driver, blond haired, looking relaxed with his open window, and one hand on the steering wheel, as he navigated through. by his side to the right was a fellow in dark blue, with a red t-shirt visible due to his sleeveless jacket being unzipped to unintentionally show off most of his chest. His arms, whose wrists were clothed in terry cloth wristbands, were folded, as he stoically looked out his own open window.

In the back seat were two others: A young lady oddly enough, in a school uniform. However, only the top remained, as the skirt seemed to be missing, in its place the gym shorts (bloomers) for some high school from a foreign land, as she slouched on her seat, likely playing around somehow. Next to her was a girl of golden hair, brighter than that of the driver's, presently pouting at previous events which had occurred. The four seemed like a very unlikely questing group if anything, but never the less, they had been put together by some divine force from the heavens for some purpose. However, whatever purpose it was that they had was unknown. This group of young people were looking to be no older than 16 or up, likely students before the ultimate fire of the end, which had consumed the earth destructively, killing much of the greenery and turning entire cities to ruin. People could only wander the Earth now and hope to find a place of safety and harmony, one which was often disturbed by that of the various plagues faced today: disease, starvation, murder, rape, poor gambling choices, the endless possibilities. There was no central unified government, no law enforcement at all, making it pointless to even bother with seeking help. This left most to depend on the kindness of a stranger…

-

Jack stared out into the wastelands to the right, turning his head back forward, behind, and to the sides sometimes, whether it be to look for any special sights, recall something he may have noticed just out the corner of his eye, or perhaps merely to stretch his neck. Regardless the reason, Jack himself was far quieter than the others, speaking few words, rarely to be social, more for the businesses of this chaotic world: primarily survival. He came off mostly at the moment as a no-nonsense type of guy, reinforcing it with his feared martial arts practices with the techniques of several styles, including the 'borrowing' of techniques he spots in battle, instantaneously analyzing them and bringing them into his own use to create his own, super effective style. Otherwise though, he names his fighting as Jeet Kune Do.

"…"

The young female looked up, her hands covering her mouth, trying desperately to hold back another fit of laughter. Of course a few spurts escaped through and she closed her eyes tightly, nearly bursting from trying to hold in her laughter. Opening her right ember eye she grinned under her hands at Jack. "Why so...serious Jack?" She said, in a halfhearted attempt to imitate the Joker. She pretended to cut his mouth into a face that always smiled.

The events that had happened prior had certainly affected the teenager, so strongly that she forgot her current task, which was of course tinkering with her laptop. Someone swore a long time ago that one day Zoe would break it, and yet it still stood, an advanced Apple computer, what seemed like a light clipped to the top so she could see the keyboard even in the dark. Trying to come up with a code to hack into the government’s network, or the old government’s network was her main goal at the time being. It was something that had helped her pass the time. Typing another word or two she looked up again, pushing back her mauve colored glasses. The frames brought out the green in her eyes, which was why her parents bought them for her.

Tightening up her school tie she finally asked the question that had been burning at the tip of her tongue for a few hours now. “Where are we supposed to be going?”

(Computer glitched and made me double post. Ignore this)

Odessa stared at the person in the passenger seat. "What are you gawking at?" she asked him, curling a lip in digust. He was probaly a nice guy, he looked nice, but still, she wasn't in a mood to be gawked at if it wasn't in the way people used to look at her before all of the attacks on civilization. She was in mood to put up with people's shit. After all, she had just been picked up by random strangers.

They had a nice car, though, she'd give them that much. Odessa had never been a car junkie, but this one looked nice. She was suprised it survived all of the madness. Usually, the vehicles she saw were big trucks or jeeps, even semi-trucks and likewise things.

Jack was first confronted by Zoe, who tried to do an impression of Heath Ledger's Joker from the 2007 film, 'The Dark Knight.' Good film. Now, if they could just fix the laptop, or perhaps discover a portable television of some sort, maybe discover something built into the car, etc, they could watch the film again, granted they could find the DVD with some trader in a town off elsewhere. Jack looked to the left, not turning his eyes, but faintly smiling at the enthusiasm that Zoe kept. Such bright joy had kept him enjoying her company, no matter how overly-active she tended to be. It also amused him how she was brave enough to do battle with road outlaws with merely a knife and a one time use harpoon they'd found, but easily afraid of mice, snakes, and other little creatures…

Then he was confronted by the girl who they'd recently 'adopted' into their little 'family.' The one who had required their presence and might to rescue. And she asked him in a tone that he most certainly did not like. Too rude for no reason, and ready to spark something. But Jack was smarter than that, and he kept his silent nature about him, looking down at the radio. For a moment he thought about the device, and wished it could work again, stations off in the capital of 'wherever-the-hell-this-was' playing some decent tunes. He put his finger to the machine, and played with the buttons, knobs, everything. It was a case of what we'll come to know as 'The Old World Blues.' The device came to life despite the small static coming on, as Jack flipped through stations.

Strangely enough though, he could faintly hear music! Jack turned up the volume, and grabbed a random pen and scrap of paper that was formerly a chinese take-out menu, and recorded the station for future use. For now, there was a calming instrumental to play as they were driving on the dreary road…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3GUNkDf ... plpp_video

Zoe looked up, glancing at the new comer for a second. "Looks like someone woke up on the wrong day for a mass world destruction.." She said softly, in a sing song voice. Odessa's attitude was starting to wear at her. No one should have to be that cranky. The least she could feel was some gratitude. Tapping at the screen Zoe took out a pencil, scribbling down some numbers before again trying to make the laptop work with no wi-fi. Jutting out her tongue as she worked Zoe looked much like a lab rat, taken far out of her zone of normalcy.

Hearing the music Zoe put her laptop down, moving forward so that she could look at the radio in astonishment and happiness. She was gonna have to improve the quality of it later. There was still a little fuzz coming through. Easily fixed with the turn of a wrench and a little oil... Learning back again Zoe giggled softly to herself.

"I'm sorry," Odessa said, looking out the window. She had no reason to be anything but nice to these people. She had to constantly remind herself to be nice, that it wasn't their fault the world was coming to an end and that everyone she ever trusted were gone. Not that it mattered. They were better gone. All of them dead, while Odessa still thrived.

She looked at the endless destruction and emptiness while listening to the music. That really cheered her up. Music had always been good to her, all throughout her life. A small smile formed on her lips as she listened. The one thing she had missed most was back. Maybe now she could be happy and not make these people feel bad, not be so scrappy and willing to fight.

Maybe, she'd go back to acting like she loved life.

To anyone else, it probably looked like Sora was asleep. He had only one hand on the steering wheel, one hand resting on the window, and his eyes half closed. In all fairness, he probably wasn't that far off sleep, but he knew that he was driving, and even after driving for 32 hours, even with a life-threatening injury, Sora would keep driving until his body gave out. He would easily die doing the only thing that kept him alive...

He was glad that he had the car. Without it he would have been an early casualty in the new world, just another person who wandered out into the wastes and was chewed up and spat out. Not behind the wheel. There he was a semi-functioning person, capable of feats that only a few people could in this dusty landscape.

He risked a glance round to his 'family'. Thanks to the car he had found, they had found him. And he had a purpose.

When the radio sputtered to life, Sora jumped a little. He hadn't expect anything other than fairly quiet talk to echo round the car, but music? That was new. Someone had probably found a working radio tower and brought it back to life. That fairly far from simple act probably brought hope, and peace, and other good words to people. Sora already had all those things.

"Sooo...Jack, where the hell are we going? I just drive where you tell me to go...I need at least a general direction." He looked to the quiet boy, Can never tell what he's thinking...

"We're stopping soon." Answered Jack, his head still towards the land outside, but his eyes looking over to Sora whenever he spoke, and back to the charred and burnt landscape, seeing a flame of strange green color nearby burning some mechanical parts and chemicals, Jack just trying to decide whether or not the destination(s) he had in mind were worth the gamble, imagining the potential sights to be seen, supplies to be found, people to be met… Whatever else would come. The upcoming area they could explore, a former police safe house just near a town could have offered supplies. However, rumors persisted that a clan of 'freaks' were set up not far in a swamp-like shanty town complex, perhaps even using the safe house as a lure for weary travelers.

Then again, a fortified Motel wasn't far, and they could figure out a deal to get some supplies. With a quick decision, the safe house was worth a shot. Plus, stopping at the Safe House first guaranteed they had supplies, and trade items. But it'd have to be quick, and it'd have to be clean. No wasting time at all, all business. Go in, go out, get stuff from the motel after some hardcore bartering.

"Go a little farther up, turn left off the road, and look for a building. Turn off the headlights, and turn down the radio…"

Odessa sat in silence, staring out the window, wondering what kind of people she was with and how long she'd be with them. It didn't matter. These people were better than being alone. They had, undoubtedly, saved her. She would have been dead earlier that day if it hadn't been for them.

She glanced at Sora, who looked like...a stoner. Odessa had seen them, lots of them. Hell, some of her friends had been stoners. It was a bit comforting to know some were still alive. With all of the death she'd seen, it was good to know that anyone was alive. It was suprising.

Then she looked at Jay, who looked like the average guy. Before all of this, she wouldn't have even gave him a second glance, but now she was in a car with him. She owed her life to him. Not him alone, obviously, to all of them, but still, it was a lot to take in.

Finally, she looked at the girl next to her, who looked like the standard nerd. What did I miss all of these years with my steroetypes? she wondered, feeling somewhat bad.

Zoe tinkered with her laptop for a few more minutes, finally sighing and closing it, pushing her glasses up in the process. "Stupid thing." She muttered, shoving it back into her book bag, pulling out her knife. Cleaning under her fingernails the proclaimed nerd stared out the window at the singed life. It was sad, because she couldn't say that she missed any of her family. Would you if the only thing they wanted you for was to be a shiny gold award on a bookshelf of accomplishes?

It was strange, not having to be the one that everyone wanted her to be. Still Zoe felt like she still had to fit the mold. A happy go lucky spazzy teenager, good with technology and even better at crunching numbers and building an engine. It was who she was of course, but she didn't want them to look at her like she was some sort of freak. They didn't, but sometimes, only sometimes did she feel like she was back in kindergarten. Zoe! Zoe! Look at you! Why don't you go back to the zoo! You speak like a snake so slither back home! It had been so many years since she had fixed that speech problem, but they continued to sing it through middle. It finally stopped at high school, replaced with shoving into lockers and the knocking down of books.

Humming the tune to that old song she fiddled with her hair.

Sora nodded to Jack's instructions, and followed them. A little sad when turning the radio down, he did it anyway. The headlights didn't have the same effect, and faded with a click.

With a sigh and hand ran through his hair, he followed the route that he was told to. He approached the building that he assumed Jack meant. As the car came to a stop, Sora felt a small sense of dread. Something felt...off. He had gotten good at telling a bad deal when he saw one, even before the Earth was scorched. This deal felt bad. However, he didn't say anything, because he felt it wasn't his place. Instead, he killed the engine and got the handgun, slipping it into the back of his belt. Getting out he then moved to the trunk and got his baseball bat, which he propped on his shoulder, "Okay...Any plan?" He said, looking to the building that stood over them. He couldn't shake his bad feeling...

Odessa sat there and stared at the building, silently. Before the Earth had become this vast wasteland, she would have been talking away, but now she decided silence was the best thing to do. She wondered what Jack planned on doing at the building, but didn't ask. Sora had an odd look on his face, as if he didn't want to do this.

She sighed and waited for Jack to answer. She cringed a bit watching Zoe clean her fingernails with a knife. Hadn't she ever heard of a manicure? Then, snapping back into reality, she relizied that was no longer an option. She looked at her own dirty fingernails and bit her lip.

Zoe glanced up, watching as Odessa flinched in response to her fingernail cleaning and then proceeded to look at her own nails. "Do you want to do the same?" Holding the knife to the new comer, Zoe smiled. Looking out the window for a second she looked at the two men, What where they up too? Shrugging she fixed her blouse and turned back to Odessa. "You were very important in your school weren't you? Straight A's? Everyone loved you, right?"

"No thank you. And...yeah. How did you know?" Odessa asked, giving her full attention to the girl. She looked at her with sincere interest. Odessa wanted to make new friends, but...this girl wasn't what she had in mind. And she had a feeling the conversation would not be a friendly one. Still...

"Because people like you would make fun of me. I had to start going to a private school, and even then It followed me. I ad a speech impediment when I was younger, pronounced my S's like Th's. They always laughed and teased me because of it. I always wanted, I always hoped maybe someday someone like you would step in and stop it, but why didn't you? I bet there were rumors about you too, but at least people would listen to you. If I spoke the first thing out of their mouth was 'What? I can't understand you, can you maybe speak normal next time?' But you, you seem like a strong independent girl that people looked up to and respected, so why didn't you stop it?" She looked down bakc at her bag, putting her knife away.

She was angry, not at Odessa, but people like her in general. Those 'I'm so perfect and your not, and my life is so horrible because my boyfriend can't take me to the prom on Saturday! OMG!' type people. The real people, who deserved respect were shoved, kicked and then kicked again. They were kicked so many times that they forgot how to stand up. Now, Zoe wanted to know why and then maybe that last little piece could be solved. She smiled though, crossing her legs and turning herself to face Odessa. "And if you don't mind, can you help me style my hair? I don't like it long."

Jack climbed out of the car, and hopped over the vehicle to lead the way. He gestured for Sora to pull out his piece, safety off as usual, and then towards Zoe, to just do whatever, preferably to stay in the shadows, or scout just slightly ahead, as they marched to 'invade' the building ahead for its supplies. He could overhear the bits of chatter between Odessa and Zoe, and turned his head in Sora's direction to see if anything was up with him again. He looked back towards the building, and gently tried to open the door…That failed. Immediately after hearing the confirming click that nothing in fact had happened, he hopped back, and side kicked the door down, gesturing to the others.

"Grab Whatever's worth grabbing." He instructed simply. "Move as quickly, yet as precisely as possible. Safety is currently not among our elements at the moment."

Jack began to dig around for weaponry and tech, gesturing to Zoe to join him incase she was to find anything useful. Or at least, something she could interpret as useful with her major knowhow of these things. Tech was best to sell rather than use in this group, and firepower was always good business. Even though they had to sell all the good stuff just to get dinner every night.

"…Cockroaches." Grumbled Jack, flicking one that had crawled onto his hand, and off into the wall, where he smashed it with a finger strike, and began to wipe his hands with a nearby rag.