The Grandfather of the Reunion

Prologue 3-10

Road to Temperance

Starting major memory playback with: memory of certain day

[On the road again, this time, with no awful disturbances and distractions on the way, they make a straight-no-stopping line, towards Temperance. Mephisto's grip around Hosea's stomach is tight, and fortunately his leather jacket prevents himself getting suffocated.]

[Of course, the only one that can slow them down, temporarily, is either admiring the destroyed and crystalised countryside, and a clarity moment.]

Hosea: "Hey, bus?"

Joseph: "This is bus, what do you need?"

Hosea: "Um, I just realised, why ARE we going over to Temperance? Not because it's another town we can live off to, and because of the...military presence there, there's got to be specifics. Also... We already got a few soldiers in our ranks."

Joseph: "I don't know. Sheriff Will is secretive about that, all I know is that Temperance is our best shot of survival."

Hosea: "Hmph. Dead man told less tales, I see. How many miles are there yet?"

Joseph: "Soon, like... I have a hunch that we're near, otherwise we're stalling."

Hosea: "It ain't stalling if it's for survival."

Joseph: "Fair point..."

[The sky is slightly greyer than before, must be from the excess snow, still stuck in the clouds. Mephisto commented about wanting to build a snowman, oh the dangers of kids being themselves. The atmosphere is cold, not to mention humid. Their wheels leave tracks along the snowy trail, and it's fortunate they no longer have snakes on their tail, except for Faust because for humorous reasons.]

[Suddenly, a sign made from an overturned white van, crashed on a large boulder, with large fonts made from black paint. "Temperance Safe Zone Ahead". Temperance Safe Zone huh?]

Hosea: "Woah, would you look at that, we are near."

*From the bus radio, Hosea could hear Talulah butting in to talk to the current bus driver. Her voice is loud enough for the radio to transmit it.*

Talulah: "Are you sure bandits are not expecting us? There is a saying, 'in times of great peril, the military are uniformed bandits.'"

Joseph: "They're our last shot, but it seems we don't have much of a choice at the matter. Just hope they'll be kind to the likes of us. Especially yours, with your atrocities up north too."

Hosea: "She does have a point. What if we're talking to deserters?"

Crownslayer: *She uses her police radio to tap in their frequency.* "Well, whatever it is, whoever it is, we can kick their asses, right?"

Talulah: "I have my doubts, but I'm sure we could suffice. By the way, what is Temperance like?"

Hosea: "I've been there myself, of course, before the world collapsed and such, and changed into a new name. I think it's a typical town, filled with blacks."

Mephisto: "It has no power? It's as expected, I mean."

Hosea: "No... Blacks, like... Joseph or Barry."

Joseph: "On thank goodness! Thought we were the last black men on Terra."

Talulah: "Tell us more."

Hosea: "Well, the town faced a lot of hardships, that includes discrimination and natural causes, but it still stood strong. They judge people by character, not their race, but I'm not sure if that moral code still lives on in this day and age. There's also a rumour about a martial art vigilante gang living there? Wouldn't wanna mess with them."

Talulah: "Would that town still be intact?"

Joseph: "There's a reason why Sheriff Will wants us to go there. Now stop breathing down my neck, it feels weird when you're the one doing it."

Talulah: *Breathes deeply into Joseph's neck.*

Joseph: "Huurgh!"

Fast forwarding time to 5 minutes later >>>

[Approximately five minutes of driving later, and approximately ten litres of gasoline wasted, they made it to the entrance freeway of Temperance. From the other side of the freeway, are a pile up of many cars. It seems Temperance is also evacuating, if only it worked out greater, but it's probably a more effective procurement than what happened at New Seattle. They caravan slowed down so they could view the carnage of a twenty car pile up.]

Mephisto: "What happened there?"

Hosea: "No idea, son. Traffic jam...mass hysteria. Though, it looks to us, Temperance is intact."

Joseph: *Radio click* "It ain't big as New Seattle, so there's a low chance of banditry."

*Crownslayer's inches her bike close to the wall separating the two highways, so she could view the carnage personally. That was a bad idea, for she will grow nightmares of ruined cars, but she said-*

Crownslayer: "I see nobody, literally, no bodies. Guess they took it on foot."

Hosea: "They won't last long though."

Talulah: "I wonder what catastrophe got the townsfolk so riled?"

Joseph: "Other than us, or maybe the ghouls."

Crownslayer: "Oh great, we're gonna fight zombies, amazing."

Mephisto: "Fighting zombies?! That's so cool!"

Hosea: "I like the enthusiasm, but...maybe you should lower your expectations."

[After concluding a quick investigation of the Temperance car pileup, they made it into the entrance of the city itself... The sky is dark, which is odd, as the sky from a few minutes back, it's bright as heck out there. It's like a volcano erupted and spew its ash into the stratosphere, covering the skies in a dark mist of volcanic jizz.]

[The caravan slowed to a halt, trying to take in the scenery of that of Temperance, the town they ought to stay in for...a few months probably. The town itself isn't all that grand, it's mostly urban, with a lot of land and space for farming. It doesn't boast the towering offices, or the big ass apartment buildings New Seattle, or any metropolitan cities have, it's just like a vacation town.]

Hosea: "Huh... Temperance is more...blacker than I remember."

Mephisto: "What's with the dark sky?"

Hosea: "Might be ash, though, I have no idea where it came from. I don't recall there being a volcano near it, unless you count for 'The moon displacing everything'. Joseph, is this the place?"

Joseph: "Definitely the place."

Crownslayer: "Especially when there's a 'Welcome to Temperance, crackers, niggers, even gooks are allowed here.' Sign just in front of us."

Hosea: "Back then you would get beaten up for saying those words. But since everything topsy turvy now, I suppose it doesn't matter. Well, here we go, Temperance."

[The caravan continued into Temperance, prepared to await what kind of encounters they will come across. Something tells Hosea this is probably the beginning of whatever antics they'll do in the future.]

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Finalising memory... Major memory finalised, sending remembrance to Limbic system. Good job, researcher.