Kingdom Gone

NIGHTCRAWLER

We bought the cheapest motel room we could find.

The sink and shower were one and the same, and half the lights didn't work, but it was secluded, located just south of El Refugio De Piedra, the largest city in the Seventh Kingdom.

But it only had one bed.

This bothered Circe, unsure of how they were going to do this, until Jason stepped out of the bathroom, toilet flushing.

"It's time you met someone."

They sat together on the edge of the squeaky bed, Jason's phone ringing, trying to connect. Eventually it did, a girl appearing on the screen.

"Hey, Cyborg Sam."

"Jason! Hey, how are you!" She squealed, bubbling with energy. She looked about 17, coffee colored skin and big brown frizzy hair. She appeared to be in a garage, large machinery visible behind her. "Who's your girlfriend?"

Circe's face flushed. "No, no, we're not-"

"Ha! Don't sweat it, I'm just messin' with you. I know Jason isn't the type to get tied down." She said, grinning.

This fact actually made Circe sad a bit.

"Anyway," Jason said, rubbing his face. "This is Circe, and I'm smuggling her somewhere, and to do that, I need you-know-who's help."

Sam chuckled. "You haven't talked to her in years, Jason."

"But I know you have." Jason countered.

Her smiled vanished. "Whaaaaaaat? Nah."

"There's no way she could've been operating for so long in this city by herself, so you must be supplying her tech, info, etc."

Sam played with something out of frame. "She's still our friend Jason. Even though she hates every fiber of your being, she's still been keeping tabs on you."

"Yeah, because I'm the only person who's ever gone up against her and won."

Circe looked at Jason. "Didn't all three of you escape that nun orphanage together? What happened that caused you all to split up?"

"You haven't told her, have you."

Jason shook his head. "It's not important right now." He looked at Circe. "Sam found her calling as an engineer and got a job at Tricorp headquarters in the Fourth Kingdom. Nijah went north, back to the city she was born in, saw how corrupt it became, and decided to become some vigilante. And you already know my story."

"Jason stops by every once and awhile, and yeah, I aid Nijah in her little superhero hobby, but all three of us haven't talked face to face since the Zombie outbreak three years ago." Sam said.

"For the last time, they weren't zombies. Dr. Lambosta was using a combination of hallucinogens and hypnotics to turn his patients into mindless, well...zombies." Jason sighed.

"Exactly." She looked at Circe. "This was in the Seventh Kingdom, so you know Nijah was all over it. Tricorp sent me over there to upgrade their military security protocols, and well, ya know Jason loves a good mystery."

"So I've noticed." Circe smirks, looking at Jason.

"Oh?" Sam grinned slyly. "How many murders have you two solved yet?"

"Okay! Enough talk. Will you tell me where Nijah is?"

"I tried putting a tracker in her quiver once, but you know she...sensed them pretty quick. I don't know where she is."