A Bizarre New World, Chapter One: Cat’s In The Cradle

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Sandra knew.... whoever wasn't talking to her, but fuck it. She was starving and a mountain of eggs was going to go very nicely with that sandwich she ordered earlier.

She took a plate, offering a muttered, "Cunt," before retreating to the booth she had originally been sitting in.

A cigarette butt lodging itself in her hair was the only response.

Obviously, he was cautious considering he was talking to someone either behind the eggs or within. Before he could answer, however, there appeared to be another arrival as a large transport bus came to a stop, it's air brakes hissing.

"Huh, a bit early ain't it?" Lenny said, taking a look at the time.

"Naw, that ain't the public bus, take a look at the sign," Carla replied, pointing to the large lettering on the bus' side.

「Volbeat Touring」

"Can't say I've ever heard of that company," The old man said before shrugging.

The bus' doors opened and despite its size, only a handful of people stepped out; of note were three of them, a large man with tribal tattoos, a young woman with long hair, and the bus driver, a man with a cowboy hat. The trio, along with the other few, stepped inside with most of them heading to the bathrooms.

Nancy, who at this point had finished with everyone's orders, once again slipped out for a smoke, dreading any further potential customers.

"They're going fast, Fleetwood Zack." Said the voice.

[The Dog]

"Want some eggs?" Came an almost shouted ask, from behind a veritable mountain of them. "Truth sounds like fun. I've got some to dish."

"If you don't mind, mysterious egg lover." Jamie said with a nod before carefully taking a plate so as to not cause the tower to fall.

With her plate of eggs in hand, Jamie moved away to enjoy them.

Obviously, he was cautious considering he was talking to someone either behind the eggs or within. Before he could answer, however, there appeared to be another arrival as a large transport bus came to a stop, it's air brakes hissing.

"Huh, a bit early ain't it?" Lenny said, taking a look at the time.

"Naw, that ain't the public bus, take a look at the sign," Carla replied, pointing to the large lettering on the bus' side.

「Volbeat Touring」

"Can't say I've ever heard of that company," The old man said before shrugging.

The bus' doors opened and despite its size, only a handful of people stepped out; of note were three of them, a large man with tribal tattoos, a young woman with long hair, and the bus driver, a man with a cowboy hat. The trio, along with the other few, stepped inside with most of them heading to the bathrooms.

Nancy, who at this point had finished with everyone's orders, once again slipped out for a smoke, dreading any further potential customers.

"Hopefully they're friendly. Don't really wish to ride with more unpleasant people." Jamie muttered before taking a bite of egg.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

"If you don't mind, mysterious egg lover." Jamie said with a nod before carefully taking a plate so as to not cause the tower to fall.

With her plate of eggs in hand, Jamie moved away to enjoy them.

"Hopefully they're friendly. Don't really wish to ride with more unpleasant people." Jamie muttered before taking a bite of egg.

"Not even going to wait for an answer before you take someone's food? I mean... weren't you just balking about rude people?"

[Noldere]

It seemed keeping a low profile was more difficult then initially planned....why were so many people getting so upset over her diet.

"Accepting Charity when you are capable of earning it yourself is bad." Lucy suddenly responded. "If I am to be indebted to others it should be my choice to be so. I was trained to operate on minimal rations....In Canada..." Lucy Quickly added. "The Girl Scouts"

Her eyes flashed around the room, any more questioning would be bad....she needed a diversion. Or at least something to distract all the people offering her food....

...

Some excuses are so bad that only an absolute idiot would fall for them.

An absolute idiot, Gula was not.

What she was, however, was a hardcore fan of Girl Scout cookies- and thus, upon hearing that one was right in front her, became something not too dissimilar from the type of idiot that would fall for that excuse.

"You're a Scout?!" Gula spoke, her face became half-crazed as she got even closer to Lucy- inadvertently narrowing the number of possible escape routes for the girl. "I've always admired the scouts and the work they do, which is why I make a point of helping members and the organization itself out whenever I can. Please, let me buy you something to eat- or, if you're absolutely adamant about not accepting anything, at least tell me which troop you're from so I can send some donations their way, or buy some cookies. You wouldn't happen to have any cookies on you, would you?"

By this point, Gula was actually close enough that getting away from her without some amount of physical contact would be... somewhat difficult.

[The Dog]

"Not even going to wait for an answer before you take someone's food? I mean... weren't you just balking about rude people?"

"Oh... You weren't offering?" Jamie asked in surprise, the beginning of an embarrassed blush crossing her face.

[Sub-Zero MKA]

A cigarette butt lodging itself in her hair was the only response.

Sandra didn't notice the cigarette butt in her hair as she dug into the piping hot eggs and sandwich that had been prepared with about as little care as possible. "Damn good job, Nan- Where'd she go?" The cook disappeared again. A flock of people herded inside, so Nancy was probably outside lamenting how much fate hated her, blah blah blah.

Obviously, he was cautious considering he was talking to someone either behind the eggs or within. Before he could answer, however, there appeared to be another arrival as a large transport bus came to a stop, it's air brakes hissing.

"Huh, a bit early ain't it?" Lenny said, taking a look at the time.

"Naw, that ain't the public bus, take a look at the sign," Carla replied, pointing to the large lettering on the bus' side.

「Volbeat Touring」

"Can't say I've ever heard of that company," The old man said before shrugging.

The bus' doors opened and despite its size, only a handful of people stepped out; of note were three of them, a large man with tribal tattoos, a young woman with long hair, and the bus driver, a man with a cowboy hat. The trio, along with the other few, stepped inside with most of them heading to the bathrooms.

Nancy, who at this point had finished with everyone's orders, once again slipped out for a smoke, dreading any further potential customers.

As she ate, Sandra scanned the people who flocked inside. She sized them up, and two stood out: the man with the shitty tribal tattoos and the woman with long hair. She regarded them for a moment longer before returning to her food. Whatever; they were probably just tourists or whatever. Shit. Probably no room on that bus to get me the rest of the way. Fuck. Public transit it is. Wooo.

She sighed and took a swig of her drink.

[Tami]

Obviously, he was cautious considering he was talking to someone either behind the eggs or within. Before he could answer, however, there appeared to be another arrival as a large transport bus came to a stop, it's air brakes hissing.

"Huh, a bit early ain't it?" Lenny said, taking a look at the time.

"Naw, that ain't the public bus, take a look at the sign," Carla replied, pointing to the large lettering on the bus' side.

「Volbeat Touring」

"Can't say I've ever heard of that company," The old man said before shrugging.

The bus' doors opened and despite its size, only a handful of people stepped out; of note were three of them, a large man with tribal tattoos, a young woman with long hair, and the bus driver, a man with a cowboy hat. The trio, along with the other few, stepped inside with most of them heading to the bathrooms.

Nancy, who at this point had finished with everyone's orders, once again slipped out for a smoke, dreading any further potential customers.

Checking her wrist watch, Jinny confirmed that it was still too early for their next bus. She then looked up at the new arrivals, and decided that conversation time was about over. Without saying a word, she returned to her seat and debated pulling out her book while waiting for the actual bus to arrive.

[MrSandman]

...

Some excuses are so bad that only an absolute idiot would fall for them.

An absolute idiot, Gula was not.

What she was, however, was a hardcore fan of Girl Scout cookies- and thus, upon hearing that one was right in front her, became something not too dissimilar from the type of idiot that would fall for that excuse.

"You're a Scout?!" Gula spoke, her face became half-crazed as she got even closer to Lucy- inadvertently narrowing the number of possible escape routes for the girl. "I've always admired the scouts and the work they do, which is why I make a point of helping members and the organization itself out whenever I can. Please, let me buy you something to eat- or, if you're absolutely adamant about not accepting anything, at least tell me which troop you're from so I can send some donations their way, or buy some cookies. You wouldn't happen to have any cookies on you, would you?"

By this point, Gula was actually close enough that getting away from her without some amount of physical contact would be... somewhat difficult.

"N..No....I do not.....my troop was not involved in cookie making." Lucy retreated into her seat, using her guitar case for cover as the crazed food lady moved in. "...I....was more...g-garbage cleanup....So....please....."

She was now slowly being cornered, and in desperation she glanced once more around the room before....

The bus' doors opened and despite its size, only a handful of people stepped out; of note were three of them, a large man with tribal tattoos, a young woman with long hair, and the bus driver, a man with a cowboy hat. The trio, along with the other few, stepped inside with most of them heading to the bathrooms.

Nancy, who at this point had finished with everyone's orders, once again slipped out for a smoke, dreading any further potential customers.

Perhaps it was more the cultivated sense of danger from her past then any visible sign of trouble, though the group coming in was certainly giving off a visible sign of strangeness, but Lucy tensed the moment she saw the new faces shuffle their way inside and off to the bathrooms.

Of course there were a lot of strange people in the stop....some much louder in fact, but still....

"...w...would you excuse me.....I need to use the washroom..." Lucy gave the food woman as friendly a smile as she could produce, and despite all paths seemingly denied her....managed to worm her body in such a way that she slipped out without so much as brushing her clothes...snatching her lockec guitar case quickly made her way to the bathroom area.

[Noldere]

"N..No....I do not.....my troop was not involved in cookie making." Lucy retreated into her seat, using her guitar case for cover as the crazed food lady moved in. "...I....was more...g-garbage cleanup....So....please....."

She was now slowly being cornered, and in desperation she glanced once more around the room before....

Were the cookies in the guitar case? No, she just said she wasn't involv- wait.

It wasn't the fact that- technically speaking- literally zero girl scout troops were involved in actual cookie making (well, cookie marking as far as the official Girl Scout Cookie Program cookies were concerned) that gave her pause, but the combination of the sight and sound Lucy backing away / retreating while stuttering and the quick confirmation that she did not, after all, have any cookies on her person- mostly the latter, given the immediately shift from crazed to crestfallen once the last fact finally registered. Regardless of why she paused, pause she did-

Perhaps it was more the cultivated sense of danger from her past then any visible sign of trouble, though the group coming in was certainly giving off a visible sign of strangeness, but Lucy tensed the moment she saw the new faces shuffle their way inside and off to the bathrooms.

Of course there were a lot of strange people in the stop....some much louder in fact, but still....

"...w...would you excuse me.....I need to use the washroom..." Lucy gave the food woman as friendly a smile as she could produce, and despite all paths seemingly denied her....managed to worm her body in such a way that she slipped out without so much as brushing her clothes...snatching her lockec guitar case quickly made her way to the bathroom area.

-long enough that the apology for blocking her way (something she hadn't even noticed she was doing until it was already somehow no longer an issue), didn't come until she was already almost in the bathrooms.

"Sorry about that! I didn't mean to hold you up." I just wanted to get some cookies... especially some of weirder regional flavors they've been testing out ever since I bought and merged both their suppliers. "Do let me know which troop you're from when you come back, so I can give them a little extra this year."

By now, it was almost certain Lucy was out of earshot, and simply waiting at her seat would be odd (perhaps even unwelcome), so, remembering that she had another stack of pancakes waiting on her, she started to head back to her seat.

Pancakes were great too, after all- especially with the combination mango and maple syrup they have- well, had- here.

In fact, she was almost tempted to skip the will reading entirely and just hang around here until they restocked the syrup, the chili pepper gummy worms, and the good bacon.

OOC: And so Lucy manages to survive... for now.

[KingofPie]

He shrugged, "Dunno. The Speedwagon Foundation has been oddly quiet when it comes to this matter. Judging by my sources, it might have been related to his latest research into Night Fever."

"You can't even research Night Fever without inviting something bad into your life," Miguel shook his head. "Shit seems more like a curse than a disease sometimes."

Obviously, he was cautious considering he was talking to someone either behind the eggs or within. Before he could answer, however, there appeared to be another arrival as a large transport bus came to a stop, it's air brakes hissing.

"Huh, a bit early ain't it?" Lenny said, taking a look at the time.

"Naw, that ain't the public bus, take a look at the sign," Carla replied, pointing to the large lettering on the bus' side.

「Volbeat Touring」

"Can't say I've ever heard of that company," The old man said before shrugging.

The bus' doors opened and despite its size, only a handful of people stepped out; of note were three of them, a large man with tribal tattoos, a young woman with long hair, and the bus driver, a man with a cowboy hat. The trio, along with the other few, stepped inside with most of them heading to the bathrooms.

Nancy, who at this point had finished with everyone's orders, once again slipped out for a smoke, dreading any further potential customers.

"A tour bus?" Miguel raised an eyebrow. "Out here? Seems kinda out of the way. Shame it isn't our bus, though."

[grampagen]

He shrugged, "Dunno. The Speedwagon Foundation has been oddly quiet when it comes to this matter. Judging by my sources, it might have been related to his latest research into Night Fever."

Leaned forward, he eyes flit over the day-old rolls and tarts in the case, set upon greasy wrappers like some objet d'arts in a strange museum.

...Speedwagon?

Now, where had Suzie heard that name before? Certainly she'd heard the name a few times, but always in a manner that was decidedly lateral from her usual lot in life; so ubiquitous in its branding and diffused everywhere, you hardly notice where it's planted itself as it blended in.

Big corporate national venture, just what was Joestar into?

And if they hadn't made this current predicament public, disappearances and all, could that mean they, too were persons of interest?

She felt her lips tighten.

Obviously, he was cautious considering he was talking to someone either behind the eggs or within. Before he could answer, however, there appeared to be another arrival as a large transport bus came to a stop, it's air brakes hissing.

"Huh, a bit early ain't it?" Lenny said, taking a look at the time.

"Naw, that ain't the public bus, take a look at the sign," Carla replied, pointing to the large lettering on the bus' side.

「Volbeat Touring」

"Can't say I've ever heard of that company," The old man said before shrugging.

The bus' doors opened and despite its size, only a handful of people stepped out; of note were three of them, a large man with tribal tattoos, a young woman with long hair, and the bus driver, a man with a cowboy hat. The trio, along with the other few, stepped inside with most of them heading to the bathrooms.

Nancy, who at this point had finished with everyone's orders, once again slipped out for a smoke, dreading any further potential customers.

"...might I get one of those turnovers-"

Too late, she was gone again, leaving her there with the owners as Suzie watched this new trio roll in to the stop. By now Lenny and Carla had become a mite familiar, and with that her voice became just a slight braver.

"Concert on tour? There a venue down the road, perhaps?"

Leaning forward, she inspected the side of the vehicle to glean anything else she could form it.

[Yun Lao]

Stepping out of the bathroom, the cowboy-adorned man practically doubletaked at the size of Vivian's abomination of eggs, "What in the hell?" The man's voice was an odd mix of gravelly yet nasally with a thick southern drawl. Shaking his head, either in shame of what he had seen or to dislodge the horrible sight from his mind, he would then turn to address the occupants of the truck stop.

"Any of y'all happen to be Joestars?" He began, "I'm Toby Keith, sent by the Speedwagon Foundation to scoop up the remainin' few of ya headin' to Mr. Joestar's readin'."

[Tami]

Stepping out of the bathroom, the cowboy-adorned man practically doubletaked at the size of Vivian's abomination of eggs, "What in the hell?" The man's voice was an odd mix of gravelly yet nasally with a thick southern drawl. Shaking his head, either in shame of what he had seen or to dislodge the horrible sight from his mind, he would then turn to address the occupants of the truck stop.

"Any of y'all happen to be Joestars?" He began, "I'm Toby Keith, sent by the Speedwagon Foundation to scoop up the remainin' few of ya headin' to Mr. Joestar's readin'."

"You're a bit early." Jinny responded, "I don't suppose you have identification or other proof that you are who you say you are?"

[grampagen]

Stepping out of the bathroom, the cowboy-adorned man practically doubletaked at the size of Vivian's abomination of eggs, "What in the hell?" The man's voice was an odd mix of gravelly yet nasally with a thick southern drawl. Shaking his head, either in shame of what he had seen or to dislodge the horrible sight from his mind, he would then turn to address the occupants of the truck stop.

"Any of y'all happen to be Joestars?" He began, "I'm Toby Keith, sent by the Speedwagon Foundation to scoop up the remainin' few of ya headin' to Mr. Joestar's readin'."

Suzie crouched over the counter, plucking out the letter she'd sequestered, and studied it for a second.

After a long moment, and a deep breath, she gathered the nerve to ask.

"...don't suppose you've got the address, like?"

[KingofPie]

Stepping out of the bathroom, the cowboy-adorned man practically doubletaked at the size of Vivian's abomination of eggs, "What in the hell?" The man's voice was an odd mix of gravelly yet nasally with a thick southern drawl. Shaking his head, either in shame of what he had seen or to dislodge the horrible sight from his mind, he would then turn to address the occupants of the truck stop.

"Any of y'all happen to be Joestars?" He began, "I'm Toby Keith, sent by the Speedwagon Foundation to scoop up the remainin' few of ya headin' to Mr. Joestar's readin'."

"Few..." Miguel glanced around at the rest of the group. "I'd say there are more of us than a few at this point. Either way, I'm glad to have a change of scenery."