𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗲𝘀 ~ 𝗞𝗹𝗮𝘂𝘀 𝗛𝗮𝗿𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘃𝗲𝘀

~ Chapter One Hundred Four ~

Dusk's head rolled around in the passenger seat, her eyes slowly fluttering opening as the sun's rays reflected off the car's side mirror. The sun was starting to peek over the land behind them, the lingering clouds intensifying its rays as they continued to shine in her eyes. "I'm up... I'm up!" Dusk yawned, sitting up in her seat. One of the girls must've thrown a blanket over her, as Dusk did not recall falling asleep with one, looking down at her lap. "How long was I out?" She asked, looking over to Victoria. "About nine hours," Victoria answered, glancing over at her briefly before going back to the road.

"We should be reaching New Grumpson soon," Dahlia said as she cleared her throat of the early morning raspiness. "Good, I'm gonna need at least three cups of coffee if we're going to be out here looking for this Jennifer girl all day," Dusk commented. "It doesn't help that Sy didn't bother giving us a description of her," The redhead sighed. "Right? If you're that desperate to look for your daughter, it'd be best to provide one so we can narrow her down!" Dusk nodded. "Feel free to call me crazy, but this whole situation seems kinda shady to me," Dahlia admitted. "Doesn't it to you guys?"

"How so?" Dusk questioned. "The vague description, a town in the middle of nowhere, and not to mention the way Sy managed to track Viktor down and kidnap him? That's a sea of red flags if I've ever seen one!" Dahlia answered. "Fair point, but we've made it this far. We can't just turn around now," Dusk nodded. Victoria adjusted the mirror, noticing the blinding headlights behind them. Against the rising sun, she saw the outline of Diego's van trailing right behind them. We've got to be close now! She glanced at the GPS, and sure enough it announced they were about three minutes away from the town.

Off to the right of the main road was a sign welcoming them to New Grumpson. And while none of them were expecting it to be a large town, it was still rather shocking to see they only had 515 people living there. A stark contrast to the bustling big city they had grown accustomed to. As Diego pulled off to the side of the road, the girls pulled over, meeting up with the group as they exited the van. "Finally, some air!" Klaus sighed with relief as he sprayed himself with sanitizing spray. "Klausy, there's air everywhere!" Dusk placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm talking about air that isn't polluted with my sibling's mouth germs!" Klaus clarified, gagging at the memory. "Still wish you would've let me come with you!"

"Well, how about I make it up to you with some hot cocoa, and maybe a souvenir?" Dusk offered. Klaus tapped his chin in thought, raising a playful brow. "Deal! But I also get to ride with you on the way back home, okay?" Klaus added. "Hmm... I'll have to see if the girls agree to that little arrangement," Dusk smirked. "You little rascal!" Klaus slipped a gloved hand around her waist. "It's only fair," Dusk reasoned. "If you say so, doll," Klaus pressed a kiss to her neck, making her blush. "Ugh, really? Are you trying to make me throw up again?" Ben scoffed as he caught a glimpse of the couple.

"Aw, poor baby! You mad you're missing out on all the action with your girl?" Dusk taunted. "Whatever! At least I'm not sucking someone's neck off in public!" Ben rolled his eyes. As the couple and the Squid boy were going back and forth, Five approached the lone phone booth and searched for any sign of either Jennifer or Sy being listed as a resident. "Nothing. No Sy Grossman listed, no Jennifer Grossman either," He informed the group - another dead end. "Well, we'll have a look around. If she's here, we'll find her," Allison looked off into the distance, towards the town.

"This is why you do recon, assholes," Ben muttered, and everyone turned to stare at him. "Recon? Why are you saying 'recon?' We're not the A-team!" Viktor squinted. "Oh really? Shit, you fooled me!" Ben retorted. "Hey, at least we still have a team!" Diego reasoned. "The hell's that supposed to mean?" the Squid Boy inquired. "Okay, everybody! Look over here and smile!" Luther instructed, pulling out a small camera. "What?" Allison looked confused at first before noticing the object and turning her eyes away from it.