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

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Jinny might have turned away from it, but there was no denying that those outbursts from the rear had opened up a pandora's box.

As the others began introductions, Boris attempting his best to set up an account on a phone with no signal, and Vivian contributing to the decline of air quality in the bus, the menacing dread was growing ever more palpable.

**** was about to go down, Sandra could feel it in the air. The tension coming from the back of the bus was thicker than a bowl of cold oatmeal. She sighed and reached into her jacket.

"The ****'s going on back there?" she muttered. She glanced back to where the menacing aura was coming from, eyes narrowed.

[Tami]

**** was about to go down, Sandra could feel it in the air. The tension coming from the back of the bus was thicker than a bowl of cold oatmeal. She sighed and reached into her jacket.

"The ****'s going on back there?" she muttered. She glanced back to where the menacing aura was coming from, eyes narrowed.

This is getting out of hand, Jinny thought to herself. Standing up, she also made her way to the front of the bus, looking for Toby or Debra. As she walked forward, she glanced out of a window and saw what looked like an open field, yet she kept moving forward. Someone has some explaining to do, and she's not going to take no for an answer.

[Yun Lao]

Leaning against the window and attempting to force himself to nod off, Miguel did a double take, glancing out the window. A field? Is this...

"Is this like a short cut or something?" Miguel asked the bus driver, speaking his thoughts aloud. For whatever reason after he spoke, his head turned towards the back of the bus where those two ornery dudes was sitting. What exactly was their deal anyway, were they also related to the family. Either way, it began to make him a bit unnerved. "Yo, Toby Keith, is there an ETA for how long we've got 'til we arrive?" he asked, getting out of his seat and approaching the bus driver.

This is getting out of hand, Jinny thought to herself. Standing up, she also made her way to the front of the bus, looking for Toby or Debra. As she walked forward, she glanced out of a window and saw what looked like an open field, yet she kept moving forward. Someone has some explaining to do, and she's not going to take no for an answer.

Clad in a neck pillow, eye mask, ear muffs, and clutching a bottle of motion sickness pills, Jinny would find that Debra had long since checked out mentally, leaving her bodyguard to watch over her. As for Toby, she would find the privacy door was locked and impossible to get through.

"This is yer capt'n speakin'," From the intercom came Toby's voice, calm and collected despite their current location, "It is my extreme pleasure to inform y'all than you won't be makin' it to the readin'. Nothin' personal, but my employer doesn't need a bunch of runts messin' up their carefully laid plans."

"About time, old man," Came that same voice from the rear seat. This time, however, they could identify the speaker as the scrawny hoodie-wearing one of the two and more importantly, while his left hand was holding the punkish man's hand, his right held aloft a pistol.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Vivian's eyes widened slightly at the gun, only for her to ever so carefully reach up and... light the cigarette hanging from her mouth.

Guess they didn't care.

[Yun Lao]

Vivian's eyes widened slightly at the gun, only for her to ever so carefully reach up and... light the cigarette hanging from her mouth.

Guess they didn't care.

A gunshot rang out and the cigarette was torn in half, a nearby window cracked by the bullet which barely seemed to penetrate the glass.

"Jesus, woman!" Flors called out, "George has asthma for fucks sake!"

[Sub-Zero MKA]

Clad in a neck pillow, eye mask, ear muffs, and clutching a bottle of motion sickness pills, Jinny would find that Debra had long since checked out mentally, leaving her bodyguard to watch over her. As for Toby, she would find the privacy door was locked and impossible to get through.

"This is yer capt'n speakin'," From the intercom came Toby's voice, calm and collected despite their current location, "It is my extreme pleasure to inform y'all than you won't be makin' it to the readin'. Nothin' personal, but my employer doesn't need a bunch of runts messin' up their carefully laid plans."

"About time, old man," Came that same voice from the rear seat. This time, however, they could identify the speaker as the scrawny hoodie-wearing one of the two and more importantly, while his left hand was holding the punkish man's hand, his right held aloft a pistol.

"For ****'s sake," she spat. "The fucking prick is getting his dick cut off." She noticed the pistol and cursed under her breath.

She pulled one of her bowie knives from its sheath in the inner lining of her jacket, but kept the second one concealed. "You fuckers are making a big mistake!" She glanced back again to determine when one was holding the pistol.

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

A gunshot rang out and the cigarette was torn in half, a nearby window cracked by the bullet which barely seemed to penetrate the glass.

"Jesus, woman!" Flors called out, "George has asthma for fucks sake!"

"Tough ****," Vivian mutterered, before replacing the ruined cigarette with the fresh one. "You're going to kill us or whatever, so I'm going to smoke."

[Tami]

Clad in a neck pillow, eye mask, ear muffs, and clutching a bottle of motion sickness pills, Jinny would find that Debra had long since checked out mentally, leaving her bodyguard to watch over her. As for Toby, she would find the privacy door was locked and impossible to get through.

"This is yer capt'n speakin'," From the intercom came Toby's voice, calm and collected despite their current location, "It is my extreme pleasure to inform y'all than you won't be makin' it to the readin'. Nothin' personal, but my employer doesn't need a bunch of runts messin' up their carefully laid plans."

"About time, old man," Came that same voice from the rear seat. This time, however, they could identify the speaker as the scrawny hoodie-wearing one of the two and more importantly, while his left hand was holding the punkish man's hand, his right held aloft a pistol.

Turning around just enough to see a pistol aimed at them, she tensed up at first, then let her body relax as her feet slowly slid into a combat stance.

A gunshot rang out and the cigarette was torn in half, a nearby window cracked by the bullet which barely seemed to penetrate the glass.

"Jesus, woman!" Flors called out, "George has asthma for fucks sake!"

"Nice aim, but do you really think you can take us all out just with that one tiny weapon?" As she spoke, Jinny carefully took a step forward, then a second but stops there.

[Jcogginsa]

Clad in a neck pillow, eye mask, ear muffs, and clutching a bottle of motion sickness pills, Jinny would find that Debra had long since checked out mentally, leaving her bodyguard to watch over her. As for Toby, she would find the privacy door was locked and impossible to get through.

"This is yer capt'n speakin'," From the intercom came Toby's voice, calm and collected despite their current location, "It is my extreme pleasure to inform y'all than you won't be makin' it to the readin'. Nothin' personal, but my employer doesn't need a bunch of runts messin' up their carefully laid plans."

"About time, old man," Came that same voice from the rear seat. This time, however, they could identify the speaker as the scrawny hoodie-wearing one of the two and more importantly, while his left hand was holding the punkish man's hand, his right held aloft a pistol.

John ducked bent down in his seat, hoping to hide himself from the gun man's line of sight. Once he had as much cover as he could get, he scanned the ground for a screw within his reach, or loose change. Any small piece of metal would do, really.

[The Dog]

A gunshot rang out and the cigarette was torn in half, a nearby window cracked by the bullet which barely seemed to penetrate the glass.

"Jesus, woman!" Flors called out, "George has asthma for fucks sake!"

Jamie screamed in terror, ducking down in her seat, covering her head with her arms at the sound of gunfire and Toby's words.

"Why are you doing this?! Who is this employer and why do they care so much about a man's will reading?!" she yelled out from her spot trying to hide from any further gunfire, tears already welling in her eyes from fear.

[Tami]

Jamie screamed in terror, ducking down in her seat, covering her head with her arms at the sound of gunfire and Toby's words.

"Why are you doing this?! Who is this employer and why do they care so much about a man's will reading?!" she yelled out from her spot trying to hide from any further gunfire, tears already welling in her eyes from fear.

Her facial expression hardened in frustration after hearing Jamie's scream. Jinny then glanced back to the sleeping Debra and her bodyguard. None of this makes any sense, yet someone has to know what the heck is going on, she thought to herself.

Glancing back at Domo, she wondered if he is in on this. Heck, she wondered if Debra was in on this.

Speaking again to the two punks, "I assume that your plan isn't to get rid of us in the bus. Does that mean we're going someplace out of the way?"

[Cthulhu_of_R'lyeh]

Vivian nodded at the weird woman who decided walking toward the kid with the gun was the smart play. "Thanks for body blocking while I smoke."

[grampagen]

"Ppfffftt...hehahahaha..." For one otherworldly moment Lucy burst into a childish giggles, having to slap a hand over her mouth to muffle it. It took her a couple seconds, but the moment she regained composure she immediate went back to her neutral apathetic expression without missing a beat.

"Sorry......" The seat went back to being quiet, Lucy unsure how to continue....

The rosy heat played upon Suzie's features, her heavily shaded eyes frozen and mortified as she bowed her head and pursed her lips. As the girl with the guitar broke out into laughter though, it gradually brought her out of her cringer's shell; any further and she'd might have disappeared beneath an upturned collar.

Oh, bother...

Unsure just how to take it, a faded smile crossed her drowsy face as she ambled, straightening up in her seat with some effort.

"Perhaps I'd gotten myself a mite too comfortable-like," she simpered, "but it's a nice view, and I've rather been on the go all day."

Lucy felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise in retaliation to some hostile aura directly behind her....

Her hand fell upon the handle to her case. Earlier she had taken the two for common thugs, not worth the attention....but the aura they were giving off too...pronounced.

As Lucy seemed to draw back, Suzi's mood dipped. Oh, have I put her off? It was just a minor thing, but the space in her mind seemed to zone further out.

Moreover, it was around this time that the atmosphere in the bus had grown rather claustrophobic. Thick, slimy like the worse of 1am gigs, pronounced with a nagging feeling as her heart pushed into her throat.

"....." Lucy glanced out the window....aware for the first time that they were no longer on the road. A transport of this size shouldn't have left the road without some indication...that, and the dimming lights, and the slowly building pressure...were more then enough to set all her honed danger senses off.

"Excuse me....what was your name...." Lucy asked Suzie, without making any noticeable outward gesture of realization. "...I'm sorry to impose...but do you think I could take the window seat? I'm feeling a bit nauseous and the scenery may clear my head a little...."

Indistinctly, Suzie would barely hear the click of something before Lucy got up from the seat and stepped out to the center, seemingly intending to let the woman out.

"S-Susan..." came the reply. Following the track of her view, she caught part of the view outside the window and...

...just how long had they gone off road?!

"...the minger'd said he'd done well without a map, but this~!"

And so, when she'd been asked to offer the window seat, Suzie nodded silently, and dipped into the aisle. It was starting to get difficult to breathe, besides, as if her heart were drumming on the inside of her ribcage.

[Noldere]

"This is yer capt'n speakin'," From the intercom came Toby's voice, calm and collected despite their current location, "It is my extreme pleasure to inform y'all than you won't be makin' it to the readin'. Nothin' personal, but my employer doesn't need a bunch of runts messin' up their carefully laid plans."

"Wait, what?"

"About time, old man," Came that same voice from the rear seat. This time, however, they could identify the speaker as the scrawny hoodie-wearing one of the two and more importantly, while his left hand was holding the punkish man's hand, his right held aloft a pistol.

"No seriously, what?"

Of all the things she was expecting, an attempt to eliminate fellow inheritors directly... really should have been on the list, considering.

Well, if she lived, she'd hopefully learn.

"Guys-" Gula began with her hands raised to show she didn't have anything in them, before-

A gunshot rang out and the cigarette was torn in half, a nearby window cracked by the bullet which barely seemed to penetrate the glass.

"Jesus, woman!" Flors called out, "George has asthma for fucks sake!"

-a shot rang out, and she immediately went full hysterical-

"The **** was that for?! The smoke wouldn't even have reached the two of you in the back, and even if it would have, is it really so damn hard for George to, I dunno, speak up when people were asking if it was fine to smoke?! And the what the hell could possibly be worth enough that you feel you have to kill people over it?! Money? Property? A private fucking island? Dear old dad's secretly a king or something, and only one of stands to inherit? What?"

-and then incoherent.

[grampagen]

Through the fog of her own head, she could hear something of a row kicking up at the front of the bus, adjacent to the driver's cab, and intensely the sensations hit her all at once. The faint scent of liquor, engine oil...cigarette smoke?

The vehicle wheeled out further into the Big Texan fields, and she blinked hard twice.

...it's okay. Mrs. Joestar ensured us he'd get us to where we need to be.

With that, Suzie turned her attention elsewhere to take her mind off of the rather wild turn this day was taking, peeking her head out into the aisle between seats, and checking behind herself to the end of the bus where she and Lucy sat.

Clad in a neck pillow, eye mask, ear muffs, and clutching a bottle of motion sickness pills, Jinny would find that Debra had long since checked out mentally, leaving her bodyguard to watch over her. As for Toby, she would find the privacy door was locked and impossible to get through.

"This is yer capt'n speakin'," From the intercom came Toby's voice, calm and collected despite their current location, "It is my extreme pleasure to inform y'all than you won't be makin' it to the readin'. Nothin' personal, but my employer doesn't need a bunch of runts messin' up their carefully laid plans."

"About time, old man," Came that same voice from the rear seat. This time, however, they could identify the speaker as the scrawny hoodie-wearing one of the two and more importantly, while his left hand was holding the punkish man's hand, his right held aloft a pistol.

The moment after she wheeled her head around just so happened to be when one of the blokes right behind them drew his gun, and Toby Keith all but confirmed the absolute worst case scenario Suzie could have possibly imagined. The hoodied fellow picked himself up.

...why did I get on this bus? Mac was right, was this the story he was chasing--?

Immediately she swiveled back and glued her head to the backrest, drawing her feet up and falling into her knees as she clammed up.

--what are we going to do we're in the middle of nowhere on a bus driven by a psychotic tosser why am I here what do they want what was it Joestar got himself into I'll just say they're mistaken it's not like he was really my father but the letter they already know where I lived which means they were in on this the whole time for how long since before the course of fever why did I book this flight I'm going to die for no bloody reason for a scam I should have never left Dover--!!

Her eyelids stretched around the edge of her sockets, and her black nails dug into the armrests as she tensed up and froze, her heart trying to beat its way out of her chest as she strained to dart her eyes around at the cab for...something, at complete odds with trying to stay stock still, as a strange, deflated whimper escaped her.