WINTER IS COMING

[Gifted]

"Cars would be good for temporary travel, but the longer we use it, the easier we're tracked. Still, we could rent one to get away from the city." Stephanie suggested.

[Doom]

"Yeah, they could track us if they know about the car," Monique mumbled. She bit her lip, then said, "I have an uncle who lives alone in the woods. He's gifted, too, so he'd probably take us in and let us stay. Small problem, though. He's a little... cagey. Not a very stable guy. But he's family, and I'm pretty sure he likes me." She stared at the floor. "It's hard to tell, actually. His communication skills are... lacking." She smiled up at her friends, quickly adding, "But hey, it's something!"

[Gifted]

"It's a place to start." Stephanie agreed. This guy sounded crazy to her, but in this case that might actually be a good thing. A crazy guy living alone in the forest sounded like there was good odds of him being a doomsday prepper who had a years worth of food and medical supplies stashed somewhere in case of nuclear bomb or alien invasion or whatever. They could really use a stash like that - might even be able to wait it out there a while if he had that stuff and they could stay on his good side.

[Raven]

"Are we sure he won't shoot us for stepping onto his property with things going on?" Kailen asked uncertainly.

[Doom]

Monique grimaced. "I'm not sure, honestly. I mean, we don't look like police or anything. Doesn't guarantee he won't shoot us on sight, but I'm sure he'd let us stay if he knew we were gifted." She glanced at the pie tin, frowning. "It'll be dangerous either way, but I'd rather go to him than take our chances in the wilderness."

[Gifted]

"Okay, but you go in first. We'll hang back while you talk to him so there aren't strange people coming up to his door." Stephanie decided.

[Doom]

"Good idea," said Monique. "It's a bit of a drive, so we should leave as soon as possible."

[Gifted]

"e should leave as soon as possible regardless. The quicker we're out of the city, the better. You two ready to go?"

[Doom]

"Yeah." Monique picked up her suitcase. "I'm glad you suggested we rent a car. I was gonna suggest we steal one. I know we probably won't be returning the rental car, but it won't feel as bad as just blatantly stealing one."

[Raven]

"I think the more important bit is that we won't immediately have a BOLO on our shit," Kailen pointed out. "I'm ready."

[Gifted]

"Alright, let's go. I'll look up car rental places on the way. Oh, also, we should ditch the phones."

[Raven]

Kailen hesitated. This could be the only way he would be able to get in contact with his dad. "Can we hold onto them a bit longer, you think?" he asked.

[Doom]

Monique frowned. "I figured we couldn't take them. I guess... It was so expensive, though." She pulled out her phone and stared at it. With a sigh, she dropped it on the floor and delivered a swift stomp. "Okay. Let's get going."

[Gifted]

Stephanie understood. "A bit longer, I guess. The problem is phones have GPS in them and that can be used to track you."

[Raven]

Kailen turned off the location tracker on the phone, though he figured it could probably be tracked anyway. "Yeah, I know, I just..." He sighed, then stuffed the phone back in his pocket. "Let's just go."