Dreams of the Quill

Sorry for missing Friday’s update. Having a social life again is kind of crippling.

The LAW1 van’s headlights illuminated the eerily dark streets as Jason steered through downtown San Francisco.

“Really, Dax? Angels?” he asked as he made his way onto the Bay Bridge.

“Hah, I just wanted to sound impressive,” replied the dog, sitting snugly in the passenger seat. “We’re finding those things I told you about, the Angel Stones.”

“Oh!” Jason pulled into the right most lane and cut the engine.

“Why are you stopping, boy?”

“Umm, we need to use the surveillance cameras to find them, right?” Jason pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. “All our gear is back in that Pizza Hut now.”

“Idiot, what good is there in searching for something if you don’t know what it looks like? We’re going to go pick up the Angel Stones that Marin found, and we’re going to bring those back to LAW4 so that they can find the rest. Make sense to you?”

“Yeah, sorry.” Jason started up the engine again and continued along the bridge. The bridge was oddly deserted, but Jason had been expecting it. When the sun had disappeared, normal life had ground to a sudden halt in the San Francisco Bay Area. Normal life included a bustling Bay Bridge. “So… we’re headed for her apartment, then?”

“Yes.”

“Alright then.”

Jason sped toward Berkeley, ignoring speed limits. It took only ten minutes to reach Marin’s apartment with no traffic and no traffic lights. Jason stopped the van, opened his door, and stepped out into the darkness. Dax followed him. They made their way into the pitch-black lobby and ascended the emergency stairs, El casting a faint light on the steps. They came to Marin’s room and entered, and Dax ran over to the desk dominated mostly by Marin’s Apple machine, leapt atop it, and pointed to a pile of red marbles.

“Those marbles are the Angel Stones?” asked Jason.

“Yes,” replied Dax simply. “If you find them all, you’ll be able to unlock Garch’s dungeon. You’ll be one step closer to defeating him, and saving this country.”

“Sounds good,” said Jason, scooping up the five Angel Stones and dropping them into his jeans pocket. “Speaking of which, are you going to explain about the Professor and Code X and all that to the others?”

“They don’t need to know, they just need to fight the demons. You’re El’s chosen one; you will defeat Garch.”

“Umm… I’d like for them to know, I think,” said Jason, hesitating. He was afraid of invoking the dachshund’s wrath after what had happened to Pablo. “I want them to trust me.”

“Then tell them yourself,” growled the dog. “I’m not going to waste my breath on them. They don’t need to know, and they’re all dumb to boot. Sometimes it’s hard to believe that our government employs such useless morons.”

“It’s good that sometimes it finds catches like you, huh,” said Jason as he smiled sardonically. The effect was lost in the dark.

“Don’t even try getting on my good side, boy.”