Chapter 2

Just outside the city limits of Vancouver I found a truck stop with several trucks parked. If I wanted a ride, this would be the best place to get one. I was about to go into the restaurant, when I heard a man swearing. I walked on a little and saw a short man looking under the hood of his truck. He was swearing and cursing about his lousy truck.

"Hi mister, what seems to be the trouble?"

The man looked up from beneath the hood. "The damn thing won't start. Maybe the battery is flat. Now I'll have to ask one of the other to come here and help me start it. That is, if he has the power cables to do the job."

The man stepped down the truck towards me. "It'll take me at least an hour more to get under way."

He extended a thick muscled arm, "I'm Farrell Downing."

I shook his large hand. "Gabe Kramer, nice to meet you Mr. Downing."

"Same here, but call me Farrell, Mr. Downing is my father. Well if you'll excuse me, I'll go ask someone to help me start this damn thing."

I quickly interrupted, "Hey, what if I can get it started. Will you give me a ride?"

Farrell turned around, "If you can start it? I'll not only give you a ride, I'll give you a ride to anywhere you want to go in the US."

Obviously he didn't think I could start up the truck just like that.

"Well then Farrell, go sit inside the cab. Try to start it up on my signal."

Farrell looked at me as if I was crazy, but he got into the cabin like I said. I looked under the hood, and looked at the battery. There wasn't much juice left in it all right. I channeled my power through my hands and charged the battery. It needed more than what I put in to start it, so I stuck my head out to Farrell and nodded to him. I kept putting in more power while he started the engine. With a few turns of the starter, the big bio-diesel began to turn over and started up. I took my hands from the battery and checked the current from the alternator. It still seemed to be working ok. I closed the hood and climbed into the cab next to Farrell.

"How in the world did you do that, son?"

"It's easy Farrell, I'm an elemental. I can generate electric currents."

He looked at me like I was crazy. I hope he isn't one of those pures or MORF survivor haters. I wouldn't get my ride then and even had to get away quickly. Then Farrell extended his hand, I shook it, and he said. "Well I'm really glad to have you aboard. I hope the battery holds out this time till I can get it replaced."

I didn't tell him that I could charge it anytime again, but maybe he already guessed. Farrell pulled the truck out of the stop and we were on our way towards the US. The first several miles we just sat there quietly. But then Farrell started talking again. "Eh, Gabe, I know that I said I would take you anywhere you want." He gave me a wry smile. "But I can't go too far out of my route. I'm headed for Butte Montana. From there I have to get back up into Canada. Sorry."

I gave him a reassuring smile back. "That's OK Farrell. I wasn't really planning on asking you to take me all the way to Georgia. Just a ride to where you're going is good enough."

Farrell sighed relieved, "I will treat you to a good meal though. I know just the diner to go for a fantastic meal."

I didn't respond to it. He probably thinks it is the best diner. But I already thought that most things he said should be taken with a grain of salt. He continued chatting away while he pushed the limit on the interstate. A few times I dozed off a bit, till Farrell asked me something that he wanted me to answer.
Our first stop was at the diner that Farrell said was the best on his whole route. It didn't look bad, I had to admit that. The waitress was also quite enjoyable to watch. I think she was the daughter of the proprietor. I was quite hungry, so I ordered a big steak and fries with some vegetables on the side. Farrell shook his head, while the girl smiled a wary smile at me. I didn't get their meaning till the food came. Wow, talk about a big dinner! I didn't think they gave dinners that big anymore. With half of the steak gone, my stomach already felt full, I did finish it, but with difficulty, I was literally stuffed. The steak was so good I asked if I could get the recipe. I'm quite good in the kitchen because I've prepared dinner at home a lot of times. I have been told many times I have a knack for making something special and tasty.

Farrell had his battery replaced at the stop, so my services weren't needed anymore to start it up. We continued on our journey to Butte and made good time going there. At the border there was a slight delay as they checked out my papers and the truck. They were a little suspicious about me traveling alone, but they did let me pass. We didn't encounter any more problems and arrived with out a hitch in Butte. Farrell said, "I've got a layover here for a day. Then I can take you as far as Boulder. Or you can try to get a ride here."

"Thanks Farrell, I'll take my chances here. Have a good trip." I waved to him and walked towards the center at a brisk pace. There weren't many trucks in sight, so I just looked for a diner or something. Instead my eye fell on an open truck which said on the side that it was based in Bozeman. I assumed that it was here on business and would go back there. I didn't want to look for the driver to ask him for a ride, so I just climbed inside the back to wait for him.

I was slumbering a little while waiting and suddenly woke up surprised that we were moving. I couldn't get the attention of the driver from where I was, so I just had to wait till we stopped. A little while later the car stopped at a warehouse on the outskirts of a town, and I climbed out. The driver was surprised to see me and asked, "What are you doing in my truck, boy?"

I raised my hands to show him I didn't mean any trouble and said, "I was waiting for you to come back, but fell asleep. I would like a ride to Bozeman."

The man relaxed and shrugged, "Okay, but you're out of luck, I'm not going there. You must have thought that I would be going there because it's written on the truck right?"

I nodded and he continued, "Well I only bought it there. I'm driving from Butte to Basin and then I'll go home somewhere in between."

"So this here is Basin?" and I pointed to the small town that was visible before me.

He nodded, "Sorry, it's just a small town, not much to do or see here. And I'm not going to a highway or interstate anytime soon."

I cursed inside myself. I took a wrong direction by mistake. "Thanks, I'll try to get a ride somewhere."

"Good luck, I don't think you'll get a ride here very easily."

He went into the warehouse while I grabbed my bag and started walking towards the town. It was still light, though it was getting late in the afternoon. As I reached the center there was a disturbance. Several people were gathered and pushing someone around. Slowly I found my way through the crowd to see what the commotion was all about. Finally I got a look at the person the people were agitated against. He was a Porcupine hybrid MORFS survivor. He was being harassed and pushed around by the people around him.

I was about to say something about it, when there was a flash quite far from the town. Later a shudder ran through the ground and much later, a loud sound like an explosion. Long before the sound reached us I saw the sight everyone fears. It looked like a nuclear bomb had been detonated. The epicenter was quite distant fortunately, but still, the sight of the mushroom cloud was impressive and fearsome. I thought to myself, 'Who in his right mind would want to detonate a nuke here in the middle of nowhere?' It didn't make any sense.

All the people around us were similarly stunned by the fearsome sight of a nuclear explosion and the blast that echoed through the street and. Then a guy took a piece of wood and came at the porcupine hybrid. "You or someone like you did that. I'll show you what we do with people like you. The hybrid wasn't exactly cowering, but he didn't have a defense (or didn't want to use it) against the man swinging a 4 by 4.

I stepped in and used a technique that I had learned a long time ago from a friend. He had been a bit afraid of all the strong MORF guys around him, including me, and joined Aikido training to keep from getting harassed. He was my friend and though at that moment I hadn't needed it, he taught me a few moves as well. Now I used the technique called ShihoNage or four corners throw, and wrestled the swinging man's arm with the wooden beam back to his back and threw him into a side direction. Now another man stepped up and pointed a gun at me.

I reacted without thinking and dropped the man with a move called Rokyo. It is a move where you take the wrist and lower arm locked under your arm like a newspaper and force him to the ground. Then I took the gun from his hand. By the time I had done that, it occurred to me that he was a cop. Another cop pointed his gun at me and said, "Drop that gun boy. You're under arrest, and so is your buddy the animal."

I dropped the gun and put my hands in the air. Soon both the Porcupine hybrid and I were handcuffed and the people started pushing again, shouting that we should be killed. They again blamed us and other MORFS survivors for that explosion. I wasn't that worried. All I had done was defend myself and the unknown hybrid against violence. Well I was wrong, I should have been worried. Soon I was going to find out what was going on here and how. The sheriff did manage to escort the two of us unharmed to the county jail. But there we were left alone in our cell.

They had taken our cuffs off, so I looked at my cellmate and extended my hand to him. "Hi, I'm Gabe Kramer."

He shook my hand, smiled and said, "Darren McCabe, but my friends call me Spike." He laughed, "Bet you can't guess why they call me that can you?"

I smiled, "Nope not a clue. But I am wondering how you can get dressed or undressed with those." And I pointed at his quills.

Spike smiled back, "Very carefully. But seriously, I have full control over them, so I can lay them down enough so they don't get caught."

I looked at the door of the cell block, "Any idea when we get to see our lawyer? I would like to get out of here."

Spike looked weary, "Sorry man, but I don't think you know what trouble you got yourself into. I'm pretty sure that they won't give us a chance to talk to anyone, much less a lawyer. They'll probably leave a door open and let the mob lynch us, much like they already were prepared to do out there before you came to my rescue. By the way, thanks for that. Though I think you only succeeded in delaying the inevitable for me, and got a death sentence for yourself in the process."

I sat down on the dirty bunk. "Why would they do that to me? I don't look like a hybrid, right?"

Spike laughed ironically, "You stuck up for me. That's reason enough for some of them. Why did you do that anyway? And you're right. You don't look like a hybrid to me."

I sighed, "I used to be one, Spike. Now I look like a normal guy."

Spike looked with big open eyes at me. "You were a hybrid? Gee I didn't know you could turn from Hybrid into normal."

"I hadn't heard of it either, but I used to be a dog hybrid, now I'm almost as regular as any non-hybrid."

Spike perked up, "Almost?"

I sighed, "Yeah, I don't want to talk about it."

Spike lay down and stretched, "It'll be some time before they will get the nerve to do something to us in here. Better get some rest before they come. We'll need all our strength to get out of this in one piece."

I lay down as well and tried to think what to do. I didn't want to use my power just like that. I was registered and could get into a lot of trouble if I used it. On the other hand, getting killed wasn't high on my list of things to do as well. I thought about things while my new friend started to snore a little. Oh well better catch some sleep as well.

I woke at some noise. It was morning already. The deputy that I had overpowered was right outside our cell. He was clanging with his nightstick against the bars. He didn't say anything, not even to taunt us. He just looked menacing and paced before our cell. Then the sheriff walked in to the cellblock. "Time for some answers. Who are you, and what are you doing here?"

I looked at Spike, but he just kept quiet. Well I didn't have anything to hide, "My name is Gabe Kramer and I'm a Dutch national on my way to my uncle. I would like to say that I would like to speak to my attorney as soon as possible. I've only defended myself against an attack."

The sheriff interrupted me, "Shut up boy. I asked only for your name and why you were here. You'll be punished just like that filthy animal."

I glared at the SOB, but said nothing more. The deputy did mumble something that sounded like, "Damn foreigner."

The sheriff pointed his attention to Spike. "You. You sorry excuse for a ... something. Who are you and what rock did you crawl out from under?"

Spike just kept silent lying on his back. The sheriff got madder but was not stupid. He didn't do anything that would give us an opportunity. Both the sheriff and the deputy went back out and left us alone. I was getting a little hungry now. But I was even thirstier. Some woman did come in and gave us each a plate with sandwiches and water. But other than that they didn't give us any water or food the whole evening and night. Nobody showed up the next morning as well, till about 10 AM.

That's when the deputy came in with a tray full of food and drinks. He grinned wickedly and sat down across the hall from our cell. He started to eat the food and said, "This is good, you won't need any food anyway. You're going to die soon. Shot while trying to escape."

I shook my head, "Isn't that too cliché? Nobody believes that line anymore. Why don't you come up with something new?"

The deputy laughed his ugly laugh, "Don't you worry, and nobody will question us about it. We've done it before. Well if you don't mind or even if you do mind, I'll just help myself. My lunch break isn't until 1 PM. That is, if I even get a break from the sheriff."

I was kind of furious. I snarled at him, "That food was meant for us then."

He just laughed while nodding his head. I got me even madder. I would have liked to hurl a lightning ball to him. But it wouldn't get me out. I might destroy the lock with a big lightning ball, but I wouldn't bet my money on it. I said to Spike, "Too bad you can't sting him with your quills. He really deserves it."

Spike laughed, "You mean like this?" Then he raised his arm and two quills spat out of his arm and embedded themselves into the thigh of the deputy.

He jumped up from the pain and the surprise. "Why you rotten dirty piece of shit. I'll get you for that. He limped to the bars and stuck the key into the lock to open it.

This was my chance. I was already holding the bars myself and as soon as he held them, I send a quite high electrical charge into the metal. The deputy froze and twitched, dancing to the electrical impulses. I didn't keep the juice on too long, and cut the power soon enough. He fell down unconscious while the key still was in the lock. Spike was stunned. He didn't have a clue as to what had happened. I got up in a hurry, "Spike! Get up! This is our chance. They won't be ready for us to break out yet. Or would you rather take your chances later."

Spike came into action now as well. As I turned the key and opened our cell door, Spike ran out past me and checked the deputy and then looked through the window in the door for other possible problems. The coast was probably clear, as he turned to me and said, "How did you do that?"

I gathered all the bottles and some food in the meantime before answering, "You didn't tell me you could shoot your quills. I am guessing that you didn't even need me defending yourself in that crowd."

Spike looked back at me with a calculated look. "I could have, but I'm registered as a possible dangerous hybrid at the MORFS center. I'm not comfortable with using my quills. Besides, they can cause infection."

I picked up the bag with the supplies and swung it over to Spike. "Well I have the same reason for not using my power. I'm registered as a dangerous elemental. I can destroy or kill with it very easily. Now, were did they put my bag?"

I looked around for a moment until Spike said, "I saw them put your bag into that electronic locker there. It's a digital lock so I don't think you can crack it."

I went over to the locker and looked at the lock. There wasn't much to see on the outside, but I sensed the electric currents inside. There was a circuit feeding power to the coil of the magnet keeping it locked. I sent a spark into the system totally frying the electronics. Then I surged an electric pulse into the coil attracting the magnet locking the door. It clicked and I swung the door open. Inside was my untouched bag. Swiftly I took it out and even quicker checked the contents. Everything was still there, they hadn't been touched. 'So that sheriff didn't even think to look at my bag to see who I was.'

Spike whispered quite loud, "Come on, let's get moving. They could be back anytime."

I didn't say anything, but swung my bag on my shoulder and followed Spike to the backdoor. Soon we stepped outside and tried to stay in the shadows and cover that we could find. We managed that for all of half an hour. Then we were seen and had to run for our lives, as a kid started shouting, "Those animals have escaped! Come here, quick!"

Spike found a quad ready for use and hotwired it with a quill. I sat behind him and we tore out of the town with several people running after us. Some others started up their vehicles and started chasing us as we rode like hell towards the east. Soon we arrived at some forested hills and abandoned the quad. We went up the hill between the trees, and though we could hear our pursuers, we couldn't see them anymore. Good, that meant they couldn't see us as well. I didn't know the area here, so I let Spike do the navigating. He led us higher up the hill, but put in some angles to our original heading, to get our pursuers off our path.

We walked in relative quiet for some time, hearing only the birds and other natural wood things. We even stopped a few times to eat and drink some of the provisions we took with us. Then suddenly we heard barking. Spike swore, "Shit, they got some dogs to hunt us."

We picked up the pace and ran up hill again. The barking got louder sometimes and sometimes just seemed to die away. But I was sure that we hadn't seen the last of our pursuers. It was already getting dark when we ran out of forest. The trees began to stand wider apart and soon we emerged out of the forest onto a rocky hill. There was a storm brewing above us and Spike looked worried at it. "I think we'll get hit by a thunder storm. It isn't safe to be here. Let's move on towards the other side and go on."

I wasn't that worried about the thunderstorm. I knew it would only fuel my power. But I didn't feel the need to tell him that. We started climbing the rocky incline when we heard the dogs again. Very close by in fact. At a ledge I halted a moment and looked back down. Yep there they were, hunting dogs leading a posse towards us. Any minute the men chasing us would see us. We climbed on in a hurry, but barely a few minutes later we heard, "There they are. Get them."

I heard some gunshots and I got hit by some rock splinters as the bullets struck the rock close to us. I urged Spike to hurry up and even passed him on the way up. The bullets kept striking ever closer to us, but none had struck us yet. Then I reached the summit. I looked back at some men that started to climb the hill and others kneeling down to get a steadier shot. I could feel the thunderstorm above me, though it wasn't about to unleash its fury yet. Well I wasn't going to wait. Not when I can help it along a bit. I shot a charge straight up and soon the lightning came down towards me. It struck me with a loud boom, charging me up. I imagined that the people down there would look up in fright at the sight. Spike who was just below the summit stopped climbing and looked at me with awe.