Hey! Teacher! Leave Those Kids Alone!

[Bjorn]

"Eh, alright.  The food in the Workshop was goddamn awful, so I have to admit, stopping for groceries sounds damn good for me.  We can talk about what to do after that later."

Trying to grab everyone's eyes, Bjorn taps an ear, and points at the ceiling of the car, before making a "shhh" gesture.

[Dracos]

Dracos nods, and idly continues chittering about meaningless hogwash with rez to keep out the sound effects and driving around looking for a small bathhouse, portapotty, or anything rez can go change in.

Dracos

[Brian]

You know the exact time that it happens, because Rez happens to be looking at the dashboard clock, wondering if too much gold shows through the slashes in his gloves.  It's at 8:53 PM when San Francisco lurches unsteadily, the car skidding to a bouncing halt mid-intersection as a column of fire that seems to fill the horizon rises from the remains of the Wrkshop.

Almost as if a spiteful reminder that life is not going to go back to normal, the pillar reaches to the heavens, lighting up the night sky and forcing back the thick layer of clouds.  When the light fades, the first of the earthquakes begin to set in.

A good five minutes pass before the land is steady enough for anyone to feel comfortable driving, and a wall of dust is sweeping towards you from the old skyline, as the majority of the few standing skyscrapers give up the ghost, and collapse entirely.

[Rezantis]

"Well.  That puts paid to renting a car.  But it sorta negates the need to clean up before we go get groceries, at the same time."

[Bjorn]

"It also makes finding an open grocery store in this city a bit of a long shot, too," Bjorn points out, absently.

Ashnod... The emotions won't quite settle out, and Bjorn stares back at the inferno, lost in thought.

[Dracos]

"Okay Guys, we were all in Canada.  Got it?"

Dracos shakes his head, "And you know what?  San Francisco votes drive right to Ripon right now.  And it makes a convincing case.  So unless you guys got some real protest, I'm burning rubber that-a-ways.  We can order a pizza in or something."

Dracos

[Rezantis]

"To Ripon?  It's not happening.  Let's see if we can hit a convenience store -right now-, seriously.  Nobody will care what I or Drac look like."

[Bjorn]

"We're pretty close to the outskirts of the city," Bjorn argues.  "And if we don't get out now, we won't be getting out for a long time.  Let's go now,  before the city shuts down entirely."

[Dracos]

"I hear logic and no sound protest.  We're driving.  Tighten your damn belts."

Dracos gets a hustling to Ripon, moving borderline speedlimit.

Dracos

[Rezantis]

"Fine, fine.  But if we don't hit a convenience store between here and there, you and Drac are going to go and find us some food."

[Brian]

The sirens are all headed the opposite direction.  Going slowly to navigate the areas where the street has buckled awkwardly and become bumpy thanks to seizmic disturbances, you quickly find your way to a (thankfully) intact highway.  You're now on 101 eastbound, towards San Jose, or, as the graffifiti indicates, 'The Glow'.

[Rezantis]

"Guys, we should pull over and check for any -obvious- tracking devices.  It can't hurt to try."

[Bjorn]

"I used to know a guy who lived in San Jose," Bjorn says absently, apropros of nothing.  "He was a grade-A whacko."

He shakes his head, violently.  Jesus, idiot.  Don't ramble.  Keep a grip.  "Sounds like a plan.  Nobody's going to pay any attention to people pulled over by the side of the freeway right now."

[Dracos]

"Works for me."

Dracos looks for the closest pull off spot.  When he finds it, he pulls off.

He then proceeds to lead the crew in hunting for any odd looking electrical devices on the car (Inside, outside, bottom, engine, and trunk).

Dracos

[Brian]

You find a car alarm.  A horn.  A power brake control (you think).

You do not find anything immediately screaming, "I'm a GPS tracking device!" with with a helpful audible radar 'ping!' and blinking LED.