Fates Must Be Kidding

On the run

We decided against staying in Salt Lake City for one more day. Instead we pick up Teddy's things, collect ours and hit the road once again. This time headed to Buffalo, Wyoming. That's where we left the girls, and I really hope they are still there. This drive is much longer than I remembered, so we have to spend the night at a little roadside motel, nothing special but serves its purpose. After a quick breakfast we head out, just a bit more... The closer we get to Buffalo the more uneasy I feel. I don't sense immediate danger, but something is wrong. I have my guard up, but don't say anything to the others, for now there is no need to worry them too. Once we enter the town, we park the car close to the downtown area. Since we have absolutely no idea where Rose and Knox ended up staying we decide to split up and talk to locals. After walking around for an hour I am still empty-handed, there are way too many tourists here. Obviously they are of no use to me! I call the guys, but they have nothing either. However, the Beta might be on the right track.

"Nothing so far, but I was pointed to a diner popular amongst the locals, it might be worth checking out!" I agree, sure, it might be a bust, but we will stop by every house, shop and eatery if we have to.

The diner looks very welcoming and homey. Ricky is the last one to join us, once he shows up we sit at one of the booths near the windows and wait for the waitress to approach us. A friendly older looking lady doesn't keep us waiting for long.

"Hi, guys! Welcome to Mrs Maisy's Diner! Can I offer you something to drink while you are looking through the menus?"

"Actually, we've heard so much about your burgers that we are ready you make our order!" The Beta places our order for us while exchanging pleasantries with the waitress. In about fifteen minutes she is back with our food, and it looks amazing!

"Is there anything else I can get for you?" she asks.

"Actually, maybe you will be able to help us out. We are looking for my daughter's friends, two sisters, Rose and Knox. They moved here about six months ago. Unfortunately the girls lost touch after that, so we are trying to located them, quite unsuccessfully so far..." the Beta slumps his shoulders in defeat. What an actor!

"They are sometimes mistaken for twins, blond hair, blue eyes, very pretty!" I chime in and make my best puppy face. In the corner of my eye I can see that Ricky is struggling to keep his laughter in, I guess he finds my acting skills. I kick his shin under the table, so that he doesn't ruin this for us. Luckily, the waitress doesn't notice anything.

"Six months ago you said?" she asks deep in thought. "Yes, I think I know who you are talking about. But they are not here anymore, they left about a month after arriving." s**t, how are we supposed to find them now? And why the hell did they leave???

"Do you by any chance know where they were headed to?" 

"No, honey. They left rather abruptly, like they were running away from those men..."

"What men?!" we all ask at the same time.

"One day these five men showed up and started asking around about some kids that ran away from an orphanage. They said they were worried about those kids and wanted to take them back somewhere where they are safe. However they didn't look trustworthy to me, something about them just creeped me out! I hope those girls are fine and you are able to find them. Sorry I couldn't be more helpful," she says.  

"Thank you for the information, we really appreciate it!" the Beta responds. 

When she leaves, we exchange glances and start eating without a single word said. All of us need time to think and regroup. And we really shouldn't discuss this matter out in the open, who knows, maybe those guys are still lurking nearby. Actually it's highly unlikely, but better safe than sorry! We finish our meal in no time and make our way to a bed and breakfast our waitress recommended. After a quick shower and change of clothes we get together in the Beta's room to try and come up with a new plan.

"We are assuming that they were able to get away, right?" Ricky asks, and I nod in response. Call me optimistic, but I honestly like their chances against five guards, even if they had to fight their way out. We study the map the Beta placed on the table.

"Why didn't they come find me or Ricky? We weren't that far away," Teddy breaks the tense silence. 

"You know why, they wouldn't want to risk endangering you too," I point out, of that I'm one hundred percent confident. But where did they go?

"So they wouldn't go to the same states we did, which rules out Utah, Nevada and Arizona," I think out loud. "But they would want to stay somewhere close, to be able to reach out to one of us when the time comes. And Rose always talked about wanting to live close to the beach. I think their destination was California," I conclude. 

"We need to narrow it down, we can't possibly search the whole state. We can reach out to the local packs," the Beta suggests.

"Not yet, I don't want to spook them. California is a pretty safe bet, but if they flee from there, I wouldn't know where to look for them... Teddy, do you think you can work some tech magic?" I turn to him filled with hope.

"I think so, I've been working on a search algorithm. It's not really legal and I haven't had a chance to test it out, but it might work."

"Do it, how much time do you need?" I ask.

"Not sure, it could take a couple of days. I'll launch it right away, all we have to do is wait," he shrugs his shoulders. Well, that sucks! Ricky and I decide to go for a run, while Teddy is busy. We are of no use to him right now, and I don't want to distract him. After a very long run and a quick sparring session, we come back sweaty and tired, but quite a bit less on edge. Since there is no news, we head out again to get some food. This is how the next two days go, however on the third one our routine is interrupted by a call from Teddy, "I have something!"

Ricky and I rush to his room, and see that the Beta is already there. "What have you found?" I ask as soon as I close the door behind us.

"I got a glimpse of them on the social media, and then used surveillance cameras to track them to a shelter in San Diego." When he says that I give him a huge hug, he totally deserves it!

 "They moved around a lot though, before they settled there. Right now I can't tell if they are being watched, but I'll keep checking," he assures me.

"Maybe it's just a precaution," Ricky suggests. "You know how careful Rose is".

"Whatever it is, we need to get to them as soon as possible," I turn to the Beta to see what he is thinking.

"Sounds good to me! Pack your things, we have a family reunion to get to," he chuckles. We don't need to be told twice, fifteen minutes later we are standing near the car, waiting for him to finish the checkout. 

"He is pretty cool," Ricky says looking attentively at the front door.

"Um-hum. They all are, I can't wait for you guys to meet everyone!" I respond excitedly.

"It would be nice to have a normal life for a while," Teddy joins the conversation. "As normal as it can be for us," I warn. "Even though we can't go after the Facility right away, we will still have things to do, to be ready when the time comes."

"What if the Council takes care of it for us?" Ricky asks.

"If they do, I will be shocked. They have been investigating it for some time now, but have nothing to show for it. So my bet is on us," I reply truthfully. I wish I had more faith in the Council, they are just not as motivated to see this through as we are. Or maybe they are just not taking the matter at hand seriously.

"Let's go, guys! We have a long road ahead!" The Beta breaks us out of our thoughts. California, here we come!