TRIGGERFINGER SEASON TWO - THE PROSPECT TRIALS

S02E01 An Unfortunate Ordeal! Journey to Spade City!

Ash had been walking for miles without food or water, the sun was blistering hot even for him who relished in the heat. He had his sleeveless checkered vest wrapped around his head to shield himself from the burning sun that was starting to blister his face. The Dome Sanctuary was long behind him now but there was still an endless desert before him as far as the eye could see. Then as he traversed a steep hill, he caught a glimpse of something in the distance, palm trees, a giant pool of water beneath them. His mouth dry, he started running towards it, only for it to vanish the closer he got. If only there had been someone with him to tell him it was just a mirage.

"Oh man," he complained. "Where did that pool of water go? I'm so thirsty."

He looked at his hands, his palms sweaty, knees growing weaker the more he walked. It was at this point he was finding himself missing Marianne, his caretaker, the woman who spent 10 years taking good care of him. He salivated at the thought of one of her home cooked meals, a squirrel omelet sounded especially good with horse milk to wash it down.

As Ash continued walking, he spotted a figure out in the distance. He rubbed his eyes, another mirage? If it was, this one appeared to be moving. Someone who could help him? Maybe. With swift footing, he sprinted forwards as fast as he could go and as he got closer the figure got clearer. He could make out what looked to be a motorcycle, somebody working on it. He kept running, and stopped with a grin when he realized who it was.

"Hey!" He called out, waving his arms. "Shade! It's me, Ash!"

Shade turned his head and his eyes widened before quickly going back to working on his motorcycle. He hopped on and tried to start it but it was no use, it wouldn't work. He got off and started kicking it, cussing it out.

"Come on, you damned thing!" He shouted.

Ash's run turned into a walk, slowing down as he reached Shade and his motorcycle.

"What happened?" He asked.

"I don't know," Shade replied. "It just stopped working. And now I'm stuck here with you. This day couldn't get any worse."

"I crashed my bike way back at The Dome Sanctuary, been walking ever since."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?"

"Well, it doesn't look like you're doing much better!" Ash pointed and laughed.

Shade unsheathed his shadow bokken and in a pure fit of rage, started attacking his motorcycle. The handlebars proceeded to fall off as the engine exploded, leaving Shade's face blackened with soot. Ash dropped to the ground rolling around in laughter, kicking up sand and dust. Shade told him to shut up but he wouldn't listen as he pointed and giggled. Then, as if to interrupt them, there was a sound from behind, the sound of... an engine. Along came a pick up truck over the horizon and as it got close, it pulled over. There was a man wearing a red trucker cap inside, and he rolled down the window.

"You boys okay?" the man asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Not really," Ash responded. "Do you know how to get to Spade City?"

"Spade City? That's a long journey from here. Tell you what, I can drop you off as far as Red Town but that's as far as I can go."

Ash looked at Shade with a grin.

***

Shade sat in the back of the truck while Ash sat up front with the driver. Ash had been trying to make conversation but the driver wasn't much of the talkative type. He responded mostly in nods and shrugs. Shade couldn't blame him though, Ash was getting quite annoying with all of his questions. Have you ever been to Spade City? Do you know much about the Aces of Spades? Who's your favorite Spade? Have you ever met any of them before? We have. We're going to be Prospects. Yada, yada, yada. He just wouldn't quit.