The Adventures of Billy, Bree, and Dom Part 1

[stonesnotsticks]

Breeze: *She glares at the taller boy standing sitting in the dust a few feet away from her* What did you do?

Dominic: *He flinches under his sister's glare before standing and dusting off his pants. Oh he knew what he had done and it wasn't spmething he cared to admit* I don't know what you're talking about.

Breeze: *she continues to glare for a moment before looking around at their surroundings. Desert, a whole lot of desert and an odd changing sky. Whatever dimension this was it seemed to be a little out of whack, but at least they could breath here* You messed with the dimension key without telling me and we wound up here, that is what you did. Come on *she starts walking in the direction of what she hopes will be some civilization* You cna carry the bags for screwing up.

Dominic: *Begins to grumble under his breath as he hauls their supplies onto his shoulders and starts following after his twin*

Billy: *He drops to the ground, no where else to take cover in the flat plain the portal had opened in, hoping that the sparse shrubbery is enough to hide him from whatever that thing is. He reaches over and wraps his fingers around a stone to protect himself should something nasty appear. The fact that it's two people appearing is only a little less worrying than if it were, say, aliens or something. After listening to them shout (or, listening to that girl shout, at least), the suspicion is laced with curiosity. Dimension key? That does sound interesting. He stays on the ground, considering whether following them is worth his while, or if he should let it be and focus on his own survival, like he has for the past 5 months. If either of the siblings were to look hard enough, they might spot a dusty blue or dark brown that doesn't match the landscape.*

Breeze: *Sighs a little to herself and stops walking for a moment, glancing down at the odd shaped metal device in her hands. Seemed ever since their uncle had given them the key everything had indeed been turned upside down. Her and Dominic had travels to so many dimensions, establishing several homes in a few to return to should they ever need to just rest. Glancing back up to her surroundings, Breeze whirled around and looked at Dominic* The key says we are still in the US just in a very odd dimension. I’m guessing whatever is causing the sky to look like that is causing the interference with the information the key is supposed to show us.

Dominic: *Shrugs his shoulders a bit and sets the bags down for the moment.* I wouldn’t know anything about the key. I only know how to hop, not read the damn thing. Uncle taught you how to use it not me as I believe his words went a long the lines of. “I will break the damn thing” *The male twin nodded his head and dug out a bottle of water, the heat from the desert already getting to him*

Breeze: Once we find a suitable place we can try another hop. Right now the key isn’t responding so I am guessing we will have to tough it out for a while *She looks around the desert once more before narrowing her eyes and tilting her head to the side. A stray patch of blue in the sea of sand caught her attention.* Hey Dom, what’s that? *Her head nodded in the direction where Billy lay hidden*

Dominic: *Glances over in the direction and just shrugs his shoulders* Don’t know and I don’t care *sits down and leans his back on a rock*

Breeze: *Rolls her eyes and starts walking towards the patch of blue* Lazy ass *She grins and shakes her head as her boots crunch over the sand and various debris*

Billy: *he tenses when the girl looks his way. Maybe she just happens to be looking in his general direction-- no, now she's coming his way. He shoves himself up, getting ready to run if they start to chase. He knows there's nowhere to run to, but damn if he won't try. He'll be more than willing to use the stones around him to slow down any threats, but for now, the fist wrapped around the rock stays at his side. He's not going to throw it unless he's sure this girl is out to get him.*

Dominic: Breeze whatever it is, leave it be. *He lets out a long whine that honestly should be coming from a boy his age. Nevertheless after everything his twin sister has put him through, he believes he has a right to whine just a little.*

Breeze: *She rolls her eyes and turns around, now walking backwards towards Billy’s hiding place* Aww come on Dominic, where is your sense of adventure?

Dominic: *He flinches as a memory surfaces in his mind and quickly shakes his head side to side* No way, my sense of adventure was gone the moment we wound up on that island with all those damn dinosaurs. I am staying put this time*

Breeze: Leave it to me to have not only a lazy brother but a scaredy cat one as well *She lets out another slight sigh before continuing closure to where she spotted the oddly placed patch of blue. As she neared where Billy was, Breeze squinted her eyes a little, shocked at what she was seeing or at least what she thought she was seeing. A boy, not much younger then her and Dominic, perched and seemingly ready to make a break for it* Well looks like this place isn’t so desolate after all. *She mutters out loud before taking a few steps closer and stopping* Hey now, calm down. We aren’t going to hurt you *Breeze held both of her hands up, the only thing clutched in them was the key*

Billy: *For every step forward the girl makes, BIlly takes two back. The only thing preventing Billy from throwing the stone in his hand is the fact that she's a girl, and Billy was raised not to go hitting girls. He still says nothing, waiting for the twins to distinguish themselves as friend or foe.*

Breeze: *As she notices the closer she gets Billy moves even further away, she stops walking and stays put for the time being. Her eyes land on the rock in his hand and she wonders why he hasn’t thrown it yet, even though she has yet to do anything that may or may not provoke the boy. Though she does keep her hands where Billy can see them. With the way the boy looks, it doesn’t seem like he has eaten much nor does it look, at least in the desert now, that he has had anything to drink* Look, we are just a little lost *With that statement a glare is thrown in her brother’s direction.* We don’t mean you any harm. I’m Breeze, that’s my brother Dominic. We’re both a bit new to these parts.

Dominic: *He has yet to get up from his spot on the ground and casually throws a look over to where Breeze is standing, catching a glimpse of her and the boy* Leave it to Breeze to find the only living person in this desert *Grabs the bags as he stands up and slowly starts walking towards the two of them* Hey kid, what are you doing way out here?

Breeze: *Rolls her eyes and shakes her head a bit. Her brother obviously had no tact what so ever* Don’t mind him, he isn’t the brightest crayon in the box. You look a little hungry, thirsty maybe? *If she thought anything could win over this boy, food or water would be the best trick. She and Dominic needed information and this kid was their best bet*

Billy: *For encountering strangers that came out of a portal, this is actually a pretty relaxed reception from Billy. It becomes more threatening when the boy starts making his way over, his fist pulling back, ready to send the rock flying at whichever of them makes a go first. The offer of food and water, on the other hand, invokes surprise and a good bit of interest. Sharing supplies is an excellent way to show friendliness.*

Dominic: *Seeing Billy pull his fist back nearly send him to the ground to avoid being hit by the large stone*

Breeze: *That reaction earns a grin and a slight bit of laughter from her and she walks over to the nearly crouching Dominic* Give me the bag Dominic *She holds her hand out, waiting for her brother to relinquish his hold on it*

Dominic: *He looks back and forth between Billy and Breeze before shaking his head* No way. We have to save these supplies since we don’t know when the key will start working again.

Breeze: *Glares before shaking her head* Okay see here is the thing. You either give me the bag or I let him *She points over to Billy* Hit you with that big rock. You’ve got your choice.

Dominic: *Glances at Billy again, wondering just how much pain that rock could bring. Deciding against the whole pain issue, he hands Breeze one of the bags*

Breeze: Thank you *She takes the bag and walks back over to the place she had been standing and pulls out a water bottle* Now let say you put down the rock and come over here. We won’t hurt you and more or less I think my brother is more afraid of you hurting him at this point *She grins again and holds out the water bottle for him to take*

Billy: *The boy's reaction certainly helped ease Billy's paranoia. As long as he's armed, he doesn't think he'll be overcome and killed for whatever supplies he has. The stone drops back to his side, still a latent threat, but not an immediate one. He makes his way slowly over to the girl, still cautious. He comes close enough to hesitantly take the water bottle, then moves away a foot or so. He doesn't open the bottle, just holds onto it. Finally, he says something.* Where'd you come from?

Breeze: *She takes a seat on the ground and digs further into the bag, pulling out a few bags of what look like to be potato chips. Along with those is a box of granola bars and a bag of beef jerky* Depends on which where you are asking about. *A more serious look overtakes her face as she toys with her own bottle of water* Well to put it more bluntly, we’re from a very harsh dimension.

Dominic: *Slowly eases his way over towards the two and takes a seat next to Breeze, planting the other few bags near him* The place we were from is no longer really livable at least for humans anyway. Machines, computers, and various machines took over our world and humans are basically nothing but objects to shoot at. *As odd as it seems, he feels better having to talk about it to someone other then his sister, being able to explain things*

Breeze: *Takes a small sip from her water and glances around the desert once more* We escaped our world, going to new ones in search of a place that’s livable. *She let out a small sigh and glances up at the sky, seeing the various colors clash and flash almost like lightening* What about you, what brings you out into the desert like this? Doesn’t seem the safest place around.

Billy: *He sits down after the twins do, listening to their description of their "home". Sounds like something you'd see in the cinema. You'd think this would be harder to believe, but he did just see them warp in. And he's seen some pretty crazy things since everything went to hell 2 years ago.* Got nowhere else to go.

Dominic: *Grabs a bag of chips and a granola bar and tosses them to Billy before opening a bar for himself* Sounds a bit like us. Our uncle built this key *he nods over to the machine still clutched in Breeze’s hand* We weren’t sure how he did it but it can warp dimensions, create a passage way to different places. We were all supposed to leave together but we got attacked before we left. Our uncle shoved us through and the portal closed.

Breeze: We tried to go back but he programmed the key to refuse to return to our home. So we’ve been on our own for a while now, going to different worlds to try and find a place. Found a few places suitable and even have a home in some of them but they just don’t feel right. *She shrugged and looked over the device for a moment* I take it this world isn’t very friendly either then? *Her attention fell back onto Billy and she smile softly* So do you have a name or a home around here. You can’t possibly stay out in the open like this all the time?

Billy: *He catches the packaged food, setting them aside without opening them. Kind of sounds like his situation. He and Pa had to leave Ma behind when they first fled their home in Gracemont, Oklahoma, and they traveled and survived together. Well, until 5 months ago, that is. Then it was just Billy.* Ain’t many folks left to be friendly. Nothin’ left back home, an’ there’s no point stickin’ around in one place for long. *After a short pause:* M’name’s Billy.

Breeze: *She smiled softly and brushes a stray piece of black hair from her face.* It’s nice to meet you Billy. I know I’ve already introduced us but I’m Breeze and this is Dominic. Thank you by the way, for not beaming us earlier *Breeze nods towards the rock still in his hand. It seems understandable he would still be a bit wary around them. After all dimension hoppers aren’t exactly normal in any sort of place.* So you have been by yourself, living in the desert. Isn’t there some sort of shelter you live in, it’s dangerous just being out in the sun like this.

Dominic: *Nods in agreement with his sister, as nosey as she might be, she does have a bit of a point* What exactly happened here Billy, to this place? *With the way Billy talked something had to have happened to this world to cause it to be so desolate, so empty. Looking at Billy, he had to be no more the 16, a year or so younger then both he and Breeze. He looks over at Breeze and knows she is thinking the same as he but doesn’t say anything yet. They barely know this boy but it seems that they were brought to this dimension for a good reason*

Billy: *Though he is very brown, you would think the sun would have done more damage to him. Come to think of it, he probably should be dead from radiation poisoning thanks to those nukes. But he’s not, so nuts to science.* I get by. *He shifts into a different position.* The commies hit us with nukes. *How blunt.* After the alarms went of, me’n my ma and pa barely had time to get into the shelter. We came out a couple’a weeks later, and everythin’ was like this.

Dominic: *Just about chokes on his granola bar at Billy’s bluntness, not exactly expecting such an answer from the boy. He quickly takes a drink of his water and aided with a slap on the back from Breeze is able to once again breath.* Well not the kind of answer I was expecting but does seem to fit the bill *Looks up at the sky and around the area once again. Most of what would be growing was dead and it seemed that Billy was truly the only thing living in the area*

Breeze: Probably did something to mess up the Earth in a way or create a field blocking the actual sky *She is obviously just guessing as she honestly doesn’t know how to explain the whole nuke thing. Pulling up her knee Breeze placed her chin on it and looks over to Billy* It may seem a bit out of the blue, but you’re welcome to come with us Billy. This obviously isn’t a place for anyone to live anymore but we won’t force you to come a long with us. It’s your choice, we can’t guarantee it will always be safe but we can assure you that it’s safer in numbers then by yourself out here.

Billy: *That’s what you get with the 70’s. That is an interesting offer, he has to admit. He’s mostly fine on his own, but he doesn’t know how long it’ll last, or if there’s anything to last for. Going with these two... he’d have something more than a hope that the nukes missed something, somewhere.* What’s it like, when you go someplace else? Usin’ that dimension thing? *Consider this his acceptance.*

Breeze: *Laughs softly and hold up the dimension key, it honestly looks like a very skinny pyramid with various small buttons and a few knobs on it. The color is a soft silver and glints in the odd sunlight the sky gives off* Well the first few times you go through a portal may make you sick. Though in your case, with what your used to you may not get sick, it’s all according to the person. *She thinks for a moment about what it’s like going to a new place that is completely different from the one you once lived* It’s a chance really. Some places the key takes us is wonderful, full of life, love, and people who are just willing to help you.

Dominic: But then you have the other places, places that can be your worst nightmare. We make it a habit to scan the area before the hop there. Negative energy gives off a different signal, now every where has some negative energy but some more then others. We try to avoid those places as sometimes we are very much not welcomed. *A seemingly noticeable shudder goes down his back just thinking of the various places they had gone and were very violently thrown out of*

Breeze: What we will do is go to one of the dimensions where we have an actual home set up. There we rest, gather supplies and hop to another place, searching for the one true place we can call home and stop running. We came here on accident, Dom was messing with the key and we ended up hopping here by mistake. *There was a soft expression on her face as she looked at Billy, glancing over at Dominic once again* I’m glad we came here and I assure you that you will never be bored when you go with us. There is always something odd to do or see.

Billy: *He listens to their proposition, seemingly unfazed by the mentions of good and bad places. The twins may have noticed that Billy doesn’t smile much, or at all. On the flip side, he shows no fear either.* How long til we can go?

Breeze: *Having guessing Billy would want to leave as soon as possible she had started working on the device. Ever since they had came to this area the key had been acting fun and she was guessing it was due to the interference in the sky* As soon as I key the key programmed to go to our one home base we can leave. There we can rest and eat food that doesn’t come out of a bag. I assume a goodnights rest in an actual bed might be good for you.

Dominic: *Nods in agreement and starts gathering the food and putting it back in the bags* We have an actual home we return to. It’s rather nice, little cabin near a lake, rather peaceful compared to some of the places we have lived. I suggest not eating Breeze’s cooking thou..ow *He rubs the side of his head and looks at the half empty water bottle on the ground near him*

Breeze: not nice to spread tales Dominic, my cooking is just fine *She says that while not even looking up as she continues to work on the key* We may have to walk around a bit until I find a place where the interference is a bit weak. *Looks over at Billy and smiles* After that we can leave here *stands up and looks in a few different directions* Any certain way we should go Billy?

Billy: *There’s a hint of a grin on his face as he watches the twin’s antics.* Dunno anything ‘bout interference, but I was headed that way. *he nods to indicate the direction he means.* Reckon it’s ‘bout as good as any other way to go.

Breeze: *Don’t think she didn’t notice the small twitch of a grin on Billy’s face, her eyes settling on his tanned face* Ah so he can smile, if only a little *She comments before looking in the direction where Billy has pointed* Might as well head in that direction then. Once the key is working we can hop then. *She nods before start to walk in the direction*

Dominic: *Is still a little offended by his sister’s thrown water bottle and has seriously considered throwing it back at her. He knows better though and just chooses to make a face behind her* So how long have you been on your own Billy? *He gathers the things and tosses the bags onto his shoulders before starting to follow Breeze*

Billy: *He packs away the things he didn’t open into his own bag and gets up to follow along. He thinks about the question before answering.* Near 4 months, I guess. I was with my Pa until then.

Dominic: *Nods slightly and falls into step with Billy behind Breeze* We’ve been on our own for a few years now. It’s hard, being young and on your own, we get by though *Shrugs his shoulders, knowing if he hadn’t been with Breeze he would have never made it by himself* You’ll like the home though, once we hop. Got a lake you can go swimming, running water, everything. I’m sure a decent nights rest will do you some good.

Breeze: *Continues to work with the device, a few beeping noises sounding out every now and then. A small growl comes from her lips and she glares at the key* Damn it, every time I get a signal it goes out. This dimension really bites. *Looks at Dominic and Billy* We may have to camp out here if I don't get a signal anytime soon.

Billy: *He shrugs. Even with the other two to account for, he’s better supplied than he was before, so it’s no big deal.* We might hit a town or somethin’ if we keep following the road. *Road? Oh, did they notice the dirt road a bit away from them? It’s what Billy was following. He never walks on the roads, but no point straying from a good way of finding new supply stops.*

Breeze&Dominic: Road? *Both look at the dust road and both tilt their head at the same time. It’s the first time they showed the true twinness they had*

Breeze: Well that is pretty cool. Okay then let’s follow the road *starts walking along the side of the road*

Dominic: Man for some reason I feel like this is the Wizard of Oz *grins over at Billy and nudges him just a bit with his elbow, trying to get the boy to lighten up*

Breeze: *Rolls her eyes and chuckles to herself* Yeah and you’re the scarecrow searching for a brain.

Billy: The last town was a couple’a days ago, so there might be another one pretty close by. *Of course, that might be a town overrun with radioactive bugs. Gotta watch out for those. One town was covered in webs from a horde of mutated spiders, and he’d given it a wide berth. Other than that, he doesn’t offer any banter of his own. It’s nice to hear other people talking for a change.*

Breeze: If so we can stay there for maybe the night, that is if the key doesn’t start working *Continues walking along the road a few steps ahead of both Billy and Dominic. It feels good to have someone other then her brother to talk to and since Billy is close to their age it makes it even better*

Dominic: *He cringes and looks over at Billy, adjusting one of his bags* Believe me you do not want to see Breeze in the morning. I swear unless she gets some sort of caffeine she is a terror to be around.

Breeze: I can hear you you know Dominic and you are really asking for it *Tilts her head to the side to send a glance back at the two boys behind her*

Billy: *Yeah, good luck with that, unless they packed some themselves. The sentiment shows a little as a corner of his mouth pulls back a bit. Billy tries to look around Breeze to the instrument in her hand, and eventually tries to catch up a bit.* Is that dimension key real complicated?

Breeze: *Glances over at Billy as he joins by her side and shows him the key a bit more* Not really, it sounds a lot more complicated then it really is. I just don’t let Dominic mess with it because he is terrible with electronics and it was a rule our Uncle made that I tend to uphold. *tilts it a bit so Billy can see the buttons, the metal gleaming in the odd sky lights* See I basically make a scan of several dimensions around us. There are so many to choose from so we end up scanning them to make sure it won’t kill us the moment we hop there. *Thinks for a moment before smiling a little bit* Once we get out of here and back to our home base I can show you in more detail if you want. It honestly isn’t very hard and is something should happen it would be a good thing for someone else to know how to use it.

Dominic: *Feels a little put out that he isn’t getting to use the key, though he did almost break the things while they were hopping here* Hey guys, I think I see something *Up ahead are several spiking roofs, seemingly moving due to the heat of the desert* Could be a town or some sort of shelter.

Billy: *He looks over at the key and watches as she explains it.* Alright. *He looks up when Dominic points out the town in the distance. It looks to be in pretty good shape from what he can see from this far away. Well, what a stroke of luck. The promise of getting out of this eternal desert, and they might get to stay somewhere out of the air. It's been a pretty good day, he'd say.*

Breeze: *She squints her eyes to try and see anything else but with the sun and the gleaming sand, she doesn’t see much* It looks promising but we still need to be careful. We don’t know who or what is in that town.

Dominic: As long as we can get out of the sun I don’t care. Besides when is the last time you turned down a good fight anyway *He knows Breeze and she had never been one to settle things calmly, especially when someone threatened her*

Breeze: I’m just trying to be cautious. We don’t need for something to happen to the key and we end up stuck here forever *She brushes some of her damp hair from her face as she continues walking in a normal pace. Her eyes glance up at the sky and she sees it’s starting to get dark* We should probably pick up the pace. Deserts get cold at night from what I understand

Billy: *He looks up at the sun too, guaging how much time they had before it got dark. The haze of radiation in the sky makes it seem like its getting dark, but they actually have a bit longer than one would guess.* We’d better hurry. We don’t wanna try checkin’ it out when it’s dark.

Dominic: Yeah because that’s all we need is to come across something that might eat us…again *He shoots a glare at Breeze, a hint that they had gotten into a situation where they had indeed almost gotten eaten. Several times in fact. He does this as he falls into step next to Billy*

Breeze: *Sighs out loud and looks at Dominic* Are you really going to bring that little mistake up again?

Dominic: *A shocked look over takes his face and he looks at Billy before pointing at Breeze* She calls nearly getting eaten by a freaking T-Rex a little mistake?

Breeze: *Grins to herself and shrugs her shoulders* I wasn’t the one who chose the island in the first place. Next time you’ll listen to me when I say no, that doesn’t look safe.

Dominic: She is going to be the death of me one day, just wait and see Billy *Continues walking in the faster pace, so they could make the town before nightfall*

Billy: *T-rex, eh? That is pretty interesting.* I ain’t seen anything that big around here. Y’still gotta be careful, though. There might be bad folks or some kinda bug crawlin’ about.

Breeze: The bad folks I’m pretty sure I can handle, had my fair share of fights. What about these bugs? Obviously not your common variety butterflies. *A shudder travels down her spine. She hates bugs, not any particular one just really doesn’t like most of them and with the way Billy talks the ones he mentioned aren’t very nice.

Dominic: *Doesn’t say anything as he knows Breeze has a thing against bugs but at least they had Billy talking more. A lot more progress then when they started out* You won’t have to worry about that once we leave here Billy, not anymore.

Billy: Nah. I guess the nukes did somethin’ to ‘em, like the sky. I saw a place all covered in cobwebs once. I didn’t go lookin’ to see what kinda spiders could wrap stuff up like that. An’ there was these beetles that would burn right through anything, saw those a long time ago. *Good thing the bugs are considerably rare.*

Dominic: Well pray we don’t run into any of those because then you will see Breeze scream like a girl. Ow, knock it off *He ducks his head as Breeze reached behind Billy and smacks the taller sibling in the back of his head*

Breeze: I will not scream like a girl you big jerk *Glares at her brother before huffing up slightly* Just don’t like bugs is all.

Dominic: Says the girl who nearly tore down the shower curtain over a spider in the bathtub *This time he is prepared and skitters to the side, avoiding the smack from his sister. His laugh fills the small area around them and he looks toward the town which is much closer to them down*

Breeze: *Also looks at the town, taking in the deserted streets and various house fronts, all seeming run down and abandoned. It looks promising, at least for shelter for the night and shade from the hot sun* Be on your guard, just in case. You know how to use a knife or anything like that Billy, or are rocks your specialty?

Billy: *Once again, he just watches the back and forth between the twins without joining in. He doesn’t really know them well enough for that.* I’ve never used a knife in a fight, but I’m a pretty good shot.

Breeze: *Stops walking for a moment and reaches down to her boot, pulling a small sheathed knife from the inside of it* Here *Hands it to him* Just in case we run into trouble. *Oh she doesn’t want to think about anything bad, but she knows she can’t do everything and bad things can happen*

Dominic: *Returns to walking next to Billy’s side* If you can’t take someone out with that arm of yours, the knife will come in handy. *The town is still drawing nearer and it seems there are no bugs or webs of any kind insight which is a relief to Dominic*

Billy: *He takes the knife, pulls it out of the sheath and takes a look at it. He can’t do much more than look at this pace, so it quickly slides back into its sheath and is tucked away into a pocket.* Thanks.

Breeze: Your welcome. I make it a point to carry more then one weapon. Can never be to careful with some of the places we have been *With the pace they had been walking the town finally is before them and Breeze stops, glancing around* So far so good *Glances at the key and glares* Damn, still nothing.

Dominic: *Walks further into the town, glancing into windows of a shop that is facing them* Seems deserted enough. Where do you think the best place to stay would be Billy. This is all new to us *Continues to walk carefully around the street, just incase something were to pop out*

Billy: *Seems deserted isn’t good enough for Billy. He keeps going, determined to make sure nothings going to sneak up on them during the night. As for somewhere to settle for the night...* How bout there? *It’s a diner.* Lot’sa ways to get out, probably something soft to sleep on, and it’ll be easy enough to stay hid.

Breeze: *The diner looks perfect actually, with the windows they could see anyone coming and there was bound to be something to sleep on, if not they could improvise. Either way it was a good choice and she nods in agreement* Nice choice * She pats him on the shoulder and looks over at Dominic*

Dominic: *Soon joins them near the diner and looks it over as well* Guarantee there is plenty of things to throw I there if anything should happen. Ladies first *He waves towards the door and smiles and Breeze*

Breeze: Chicken shit *chuckles and walks towards the door, using her shoulder to pop it open. The inside is dusting and smells of mold but it is cooler inside then it is in the sun and that seems to be all that matters*

Billy: *He seems to go with the ‘ladies first’ thing as well, though without the joking. There’s a look of surprise at the vulgar language, and from a girl nonetheless. What, he was raised in the 60’s and 70’s in a small town. He makes his way around the inside of the building, making sure there are no unexpected surprises anywhere. After a minute, he returns to the front.* Nothing here far as I can tell.

Breeze: *Takes note of the surprised look on Billy’s face due to her language and she blushes a bit* Sorry, guess I need to watch my mouth. Forget sometimes that different dimensions have different morals *Laughs a little* Nothing seems to have been here for a long time *Stands next to Billy as Dominic walks in the door, glancing over at him. Leave it to her brother to be the one who lets them do all the scouting* Oh don’t worry Dom, the real man of the group already checked everything out

Dominic: *He only grins and shrugs. Why do the work when his sister and Billy were already on it* You know me, not exactly one for confrontations.

Breeze: No you’re a lazy a…butt *Looks at Billy as she changes her phrase before walking down the aisle and looking at the plush booths* These may be comfortable, given the right position.

Billy: *Looks out the window. It is pretty dark to go check the rest of the town, but he’s pretty sure that they’d have seen signs of trouble before then if there was any to be had... well, besides the inexplicable lack of corpses, or skeletons, considering how many people were left alive after the nukes. But that seemed to be a common occurance, so he didn’t even think to be bothered by it.* Any luck with that dimension key?

Breeze: *She glances down at the key, walking around the diner for a moment but sadly shakes her head* I t seems to be going in and out so whatever is blocking it is slowly breaking up. It should be up and running anytime now, maybe 10 minutes maybe an hour just depends I suppose.

Dominic: *drops the bags on one of the dusty tables and brings out his water bottle, taking a sip out of it* Gets dark fast here doesn’t it. *he looks out side noticing just how dark it really is and yet the sky is still seemingly lighting up at times* Reminds me of the aurora borealis a bit.

Billy: *Lets it go at that. He knows how long the desert can storm for. He takes out the granola bar and water bottle he didn’t open earlier and goes at them now.* What’s an aurora borilis?

Dominic: You’ve never heard of the Northern or Southern Lights? *He is honestly shocked as he thinks most people know about them but then again they were in a different dimension and they might not have them here*

Breeze: Basically the lights you see in the sky now, caused by the nukes, they are somewhat like that. The only difference is they are caused by nature and not man made. They are also much gentler then what you see now. *Smiles softly at the memory of a hop where they landed in Alaska and were able to see the northern lights* They are truly beautiful, maybe on one of our hops you will be able to see them.

Billy: *He doesn’t even know what the earth’s axis is. He hasn’t set foot in a school for years.* Yeah, maybe. *He turns back to the window, letting the twins keep the conversation going-- wait* Hey, somethin’s moving out there!

Breeze: *Her head jerks to look out the window for the moment before reaching into her other boot and pulling out another knife.* Get down *She hisses at both Billy and Dominic, moving to the ground herself as she makes her way over to Billy. She grabs something out of one of the bags and hands it to Billy. They appear to be a pair of goggles but with a small press of the button they can make it easier to see out into the dark town streets* Use these Billy and tell me what you see, ease up and try not to be seen.

Dominic: *Also is now wielding a weapon of his, a knife adorns each of his hands but they are much longer then Breeze’s. He is no stranger to having to fend off bandits or anything of that nature so protecting his sister and Billy comes first.*

Billy: *He didn’t need to be told to get down. He takes the googles, and after a second of fiddling, puts them on and tries to get into a good position where he can see without being seen. Wow, these goggles are pretty awesome. He can see the man with a rifle nearly as well as he could in the day.* There’s only one guy so far, and he’s got a gun. *With that, unless one or both of the twins tries to stop him, Billy starts easing his way over to the back door of the diner.*

Dominic: Just one guy? Has to be more hiding somewhere out there. *Looks over at Breeze and gives a her little grin*

Breeze: *She catches the look on her twin’s face and glares at him* I am not play damsel in distress nor playing the bait. Last time you nearly left me with those idiots *Her hand reaches out pretty darn fast and grabs the back of Billy’s shirt* And where do you think you are going?

Billy: *Perhaps. Maybe there’s more out of sight, or maybe it is just the one guy settled here as long as there was something to stay for. In either case, Billy doesn’t respond well to having his shirt grabbed.* I can’t do nothin’ in here. *It’s true. He’s still operating in “Do it yourself” mode. His strategy consisted of going outside and eliminating the threat, whether the guy was friendly or not. He could figure that part out later. Of course, this plan would be a lot easier to carry out if he gets to keep the goggles. Does he have to give them back?*

Breeze: *She narrows her eyes at Billy, not really wanting him to go out there. But what could she do, she wasn’t his boss and really couldn’t stop him from doing anything. Sighing out of frustration she lets him go and nods* Just don’t get yourself shot.

Dominic: You’re just going to let him go? *He is shocked at Breeze’s attitude, not knowing what to say as it seemed his sister’s mind was made up*

Breeze: He knows this place, this dimension better then us. We can’t tell him what to do so just be ready to get out there if something goes wrong *Looks at Billy and nods, keeping her body to the ground and her knife close to her*

Billy: *He waits just a second to make sure there’s no more arguments before continuing out the back. Checking around the corner of the diner to make sure the gunman hadn’t come within range yet, Billy starts moving to another building closer to where the gunman would appear, stopping to pick up a rock along the way. Easing up to the side of the building, he moves slowly to the corner. He takes off the goggles for a second to guage how dark it is, and decides that he probably won’t be seen if he were to glance around the corner. Using the goggles, he watches the gunman slowly making his way towards the diner. It seems to take weeks, but Billy doesn’t want to waste his one shot. He needs the guy to be close enough that Billy can be sure of at least knocking him down in one throw. If he misses, he’ll still have the advantage, thanks to these goggles, but why take the risk if the alternative is a bit of waiting.*

Billy: *Finally, the guy is within feet of Billy. Just a little longer, and the back of his head is in range. Billy pulls his fist back and sends the stone flying at the man’s head. He wasn’t kidding when he said he was a good shot. The rock collides solidly with the gunman’s head, and he falls to the ground, out cold. Billy waits a second to make sure he’s really down, then heads over to collect the gun. The gun could be for protecting some family hidden away elsewhere or for killing travelers for their supplies, but Billy doesn’t care about that right now. If it turns out this guy had cleaner intentions than they thought, then he could feel bad about it later. He starts back to the diner before any other people, if there are any, show up.*

Dominic: *Before Billy had thrown the rock he had dug out his own goggles and places them over his eyes. He nearly lets out a whoop as he see a rock come soaring out of no where, nailing the guy in the head. So maybe Breeze was right letting Billy take the matter into his own hands. Seems like they had found a very useful ally* Man that boy is one good shot.

Breeze:: *She nods anyway, even though she missed the shot. The sound of something beeping catches her attention and she glances down to her hand, a smile spreading over her lips* Thank you god, grab the bags and lets meet Billy at the back *Starts towards the back to wait for Billy at the door* Guess what is up and running finally?

Dominic: *Is soon seen coming towards the back with their bags along with Billy’s as well* It’s about time, I am way over the desert!

Billy: *When he’s ambushed and told the good news, Billy manages to crack a real smile.* It is? *He sets the gun down next to the door. If the twins wanted guns, he figured they’d have gotten them from some other dimension. Besides, if the guy he’d beamed wasn’t actually a bad guy, then Billy wouldn’t want to leave him defenseless. It’s a tough world here. He grabs his own bag from Dom. He doesn’t know how long the jumping thing takes or how far they’ll have to go after jumping, but he’ll carry his own stuff for the trip.*

Breeze: *The smile on Billy’s face is a pleasant surprise and she turns around. She points the key towards the diner wall and moves her fingers over a few buttons* The portal should jump us straight into our living room that way no one will see us if the lake is occupied at whatever time it is at home *She presses the larger of the teal buttons and the key begins to glow, a slow swirling circular portal opening up on the wall*

Dominic: *He grins and adjusts the bags on his shoulders before walking towards the portal* See you on the other side then *A bright light flashes as Dominic enters the portal, disappearing from both Breeze and Billy’s view*

Breeze: *Smiles over at Billy and offers him her hand* Ready to go? *Takes a step towards the portal*

Billy: *He watches the button pressing throught the goggles, but when the portal appears, he takes them off to see what it looks like with his own eyes. He flinches at the bright flash when Dom goes through, then turns to Bree when she offers a hand. He doesn’t need to, but he takes the offered hand anyway and follows her into the portal.*

Forward to Part 2