Stone Men In Water Street

[Brian]

Other than a brief start when the radio is first turned on, Rez sleeps soundly, all the way to (after consulting a map and making some course adjustments) Arizona.

[Bjorn]

Bjorn pulls over by the side of the I-10, and wakens Rez, much more gently than he actually feels like doing.  "Your turn,"  he grunts.  "Wake me up in Austin, or whenever you need a break."

And with that, he passes out himself -- as much as he's able with all the constant distractions and awakenings that come when sleeping in a moving car.

[Rezantis]

Rez manages to get himself awake, and gets to driving - after having spent several minutes reading up on the map, so as not to get himself lost.

Then he starts driving.

Stupid Americans and their wrong-side-of-the-road-ness.

[Brian]

You find that this route is eerily familiar.  Almost as though you had driven it before, just in another direction....

...and the landscape is just as boring this time around.

[Rezantis]

Rez starts humming 'Highway to the Danger Zone'. Quietly, so as not to evoke a bitchslap from an irately woken Bjorn.

But apart from that, he keeps driving until he hits Austin, hits something, or has the pressing need for food.

[Brian]

After reaching the edge of Arizona, it's about fourteen hours (and you lose another two thanks to changing time-zones) before you reach the Texas border.  Bjorn is already awake at this time, and you're feeling a mite cramped at the length of the drive.

Also, you missed out on the opportunity to check out the meteor crater again.

[Rezantis]

"Hey Bjorn,how about we get some dinner, or whatever, and thenif it's alright do you mind if I give you the driver's seat?  Otherwise I'm barely going to be able to move once we get to Austin."

[Bjorn]

"We have beef jerky.  What the hell else do you need?  Yeah, fine.  Sounds like a plan.  Stop wherever.  I picked the last time."

[Rezantis]

Rez pulls the car over at the next Burger Joint Looking Place they pass.

[Bjorn]

"Here.  You walk around, stretch out your legs.  Gimme your wallet, I'll go buy something to take out.  We can eat as we go."

And saying such, Bjorn suits actions to words -- buying a couple easy-to-eat burger-and-fry combos, coming back out, hustling Rez into the back seat (so he can nap), and then getting back on the freeway, heading for Austin, adv... well, Austin, anyways.

[Brian]

Thos Burger Joint burgers are starting to sit pretty heavily in your stomachs.  Long hours of uncomfortable sleeping and non-stop driving begin to take their toll ... but towards the evening, about three hours after sunset, you reach it.  Austin.

It's bigger than you were expecting, and yet, at the same time ... less impressive.

After stopping at a gas station for yet another refueling, and a local street map, you manage to find the house that ostensibly belongs to Bjorn (or, more appropriately, his fake ID).

The house is a ramshakle single-story affair with a certain 'lived-in' feel that only comes from properties neglected by their owners for a number of years.  The sign in the yard says, "Sold!" and the door is unlatched.  This place is just as dusty, and a good deal more drafty, than the house in Ripon.

But there is a credit card (and a surprising amount of junk mail) on the floor near the mail-slot, along with the house keys.  At a guess, you were either lucky, or the place was deemed too crappy to be worth breaking into.

There's a letter of contratulations taped to the inside of the door, thanking you for your purchase.  You get the idea that the realtor was afraid to go any deeper into the house, judging by the state of disrepair.

Further searching suggests that while (kind of) furnished, the decor is decidedly, "What was too messed up to steal," as earlier pickings-over would suggest.

Evidently, everything worth taking already was taken.

[Rezantis]

"Well, you . . . own a house again.  I dunno about you, but I think we're better off just hitting a motel somewhere for the evening."

[Bjorn]

Bjorn scoops up the credit card, and surveys the wreckage of Jacob Housner's home.  "Sounds about right to me.  Let's activate this card, get a decent meal first.  Then motel, then airport.  How's that sound?"

[Rezantis]

"Sounds like a plan, yep.  We'll try booking tickets to Mongtomery tonight."

[Bjorn]

"Okay."  Bjorn stretches.  "Actually, minor reschedule.  Let's find the motel first, so I can take a shower and change.  I don't feel fit to face even the dubious civilization of a Chili's."

He leads the way back out to the van, with the intent of finding the nearest Motel 6 or equivalent.