deadliner

Deadliner 1

Deadli er n Vexsys Neospare Creative Commons Copyright © 2021 by Gate Zero Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0). First Edition: April 2021 Designed and published by Gate Zero. GATE ZERO CTHELLL

To all Deadliners, whether they know it or not. Salt I terlude New Kid n 1890 7 24 33

6 Deadication & Table DEADLINER 7 Salt Xed checked vis watch. It was 3:33AM. Ve had been waiting for an hour, gaze shooting back and forth between the entrance and the bartender, a strange looking thing that ve didn’t think was human anymore (if it ever had been). It wasn’t Xed’s first time in Deadlines, but ve still hadn’t gotten used to the vibe. Xed checked the watch again. 3:34AM. Xed wasn’t sure when Deadlines closed, though ve had never seen an “Open” sign. As ve scanned the wall for hours of operation, vis friend finally walked through the door with an arm around someone Xed had never seen before.

8 Salt “Hey, Xed. Sorry I’m late. Crazy shit out in the Gulf. This is Vsd! I just met them. Vsd, this is Xed.” “Nice to meet you!” Vsd held out their hand and Xed shook it softly. “Nice to meet you too... Why call me here if you’re gonna be an hour late, Jald?” Jald laughed. “I honestly didn’t see it coming, Xed. If I had known, you know I would have been more conscientious. You get a drink already?” He motioned towards the empty glass on the table. “Yeah. Just whiskey.” “Bartender! Three whiskeys!” Vsd groaned. “Why do you always drink whiskey? I want something better.” “Sorry, make that two whiskeys and a gin & tonic!” Jald yelled again. “That’s better.” “Classy…” Xed joked. “Vsd loves their little drinks. When we Deadliner 9 met, they were drinking a margarita I think. I almost made fun of them for it until I saw the worm wriggling around in the ice.” “The worm’s the best part~” Vsd said. Xed imagined a worm sliding down their throat. Ve was turned on and disgusted by it and tried to change the subject. “So what are we up to tonight?” The bartender came by the table, grunted, and put the drinks down on the table. It held out its hand for money and Jald shooed it away. “Put it on my tab.” The bartender scoffed and walked off. Xed dropped a few dollars on the bar. “For mine,” ve said taking too big of a sip. “What an obedient one you are,” Vsd said. Xed looked at them with an eyebrow raised. “I know, right? Perfect for our plan. Okay, so we’ve got a job out in the gulf,

10 Salt Xed, and we need your help. See, we were hired to get this guy to pay up, you know. And it would be fine, except he knows what we look like and he’s got scouts all down the street. Basically, we need you to be the diversion slash bait. You’re a pretty unassuming dude, but you’re not really an idiot. So you’re perfect. We’ll direct you to the place, and then you just pretend like you wanna buy some amphetamines…” Xed cut him off. “What the fuck? I’m not gonna get involved in some bullshit rivalry.” Jald rolled his eyes. “You’re not! It’s strictly business, and this guy knows it. C’mon dude, we can’t do it without you. And besides, you’ll get thirty percent if you do it.” “Thirty percent of what? My body cut off and put in a grave?” Vsd laughed at that. Deadliner 11 “No way man, this guy is never carrying. In fact, he’s a sworn pacifist. That’s why he runs.” “You’re full of shit.” Vsd finished their drink and motioned to Xed’s. For some reason, ve passed it to them and they downed it in one gulp. “Thanks,” they said. “Yeah, sure.” “So, are you in or not, Xed? We can go get it done in like twenty minutes and be back here before the sun’s up.” “Okay, fine. But you’re driving.” “All right, all right.” Jald finished his drink and waved a card at the bartender. [PAYMENT RECEIVED] flashed on the screen behind it. Xed hadn’t noticed it before. The road leading to the mark’s house was to the south and utterly abandoned. Vsd rode shotgun in Jald's Corvette,

12 Salt forcing Xed to sit in the backseat. It seemed cramped to vim, and ve wanted to get out as soon as possible and go home. Ve looked out the window and saw something walking along the road. It looked like a tiger. The house was only ten minutes away. “That’s the mark, on the porch. His name’s Frank. Just go up to him and be like, hey, dude, can I uh get some 204 from you?” Jald explained. Xed shrugged. “All right, I guess. I really don’t see why you couldn’t have just paid someone else to do it.” “Don’t worry about it. Now go get ‘em, tiger!” Xed got out of the car and approached the porch. “Who the fuck are you?” Frank yelled at vim. “A customer, I hope,” Xed answered. “Oh, yeah? Cool, what can I do for ya?” Deadliner 13 “Do you have any 204 right now?” Frank shook his head. “Sorry mate, just sold the last we had in stock to someone else. Anything else I can get ya?” “No… wait, what do you have?” “Well, you could try some 333, or some 54. I’ve got about an ounce of 60 left, but if it’s your first time I wouldn’t go that far.” Xed liked the sound of 60. “Yeah, gimme some 60.” “Okay. But if you aren’t ready for it, don’t say I didn’t warn ya.” Frank went into his house. Xed turned to the car, shrugged, and waited. After a few minutes, Frank returned. “Here ya go. First one’s on the house.” Frank handed vim a little baggie with black crystals in it. “Uh… not to sound square but… How do I use this?” “Crush it up and sprinkle it in your ear. Trust me, that’s the best way to do it.”

14 Salt Xed shook his head. “Okay, man, thank you. You’re a lifesaver.” “No, you are!” Frank sat back down on the porch and popped the tab on a beer. Xed walked back to the car. Getting in the back again, ve waved the baggie at Jald and Vsd. “What the fuck was that?” “Congrats dude, you totally got played!” Jald laughed. “What the fuck are you talking about man?” Xed replied. “Frank’s a friend of ours. We just wanted to help you have a good night. We know you’ve been having a rough run of it the past few weeks.” Vsd said. “God, you fucker. I can’t believe this was a set-up just to make me have some fun.” “Well, what’d he give you?” Jald asked. “60.” “Oh shit, I want it. I’ll give you three Deadliner 15 thousand dollars for it!” Jald said. “No. Fuck off. It’s mine. Besides, this is worth three grand? What the fuck is it?” “It’s an ounce of salt, Xed. Rarest as they fucking get. You wouldn’t believe what people would do for that stuff.” “What would you do for it?” “Not that much. I mean, I’d pay for it, but I’m not gonna bend over for ya. Vsd though, they might.” “Nah, ve really isn’t my type.” “I didn’t realize you had a type.” “Everyone’s got a type, except you Jald,” Vsd teased. “So how do I take this... salt?” Xed interrupted. “Just put it under your tongue. Let it dissolve. Sit back, relax, and enjoy it!” Jald said, putting the car into motion. “What should I expect?” “It’s like daddy loves you,” Vsd

16 Salt answered. “Yeah, that’s exactly it. But deeper. From inside your skull. Or like the distance between your cells.” “That sounds kinda weird.” “Everything Frank has is weird, that’s his thing. He’s constantly running little numerological experiments on his product to see what they can make someone do. He’s got pretty extensive research in that house of his, but he never lets anyone see it,” Jald explained. “Why not?” Xed asked. “He’s just fucking crazy. But his drugs are good, that’s what matters.” Vsd answered. Xed opened the baggy, put the rocks under vis tongue, and waited. Jald and Vsd joked in the front seat. Xed saw the tiger again as they turned the road back towards Deadlines. Xed couldn’t tell how

18 Salt long it had been, whether five minutes or five hours. The sun hadn’t come up yet. It hadn’t been very long, Xed figured. Xed walked into Deadlines. The inside was different, the bartender was a woman about his age, hair in a ponytail with a few strands artfully disobeying her ordering. She wore a crop-top that said DDLNR across it. “Sup, Xed?” she asked vim as ve sat down on a stool. “Have we met before?” ve asked. “Yeah. C’mon dude, are you loaded?” Vsd nodded at her. “Ve’s on salt, Erika. Don’t bother trying to communicate with vim.” “Is it true what they say about you when you’re on salt? You can change the world?” Erika asked. “I wouldn’t know, I’ve never tried it. I’ve got all the change I need right here!” Jald Deadliner 19 cupped his crotch. “Now let’s get us a round. You want one, Xed?” “Yeah.” Xed wasn’t sure where ve was. Ve felt something wet against vis cheek. A tongue. Ve opened vis eyes and saw the tiger’s jaw wide open, embracing vis head. “Awww, I think she likes you!” Vsd said, patting Xed on the head.” “What the fuck’s going on?” “You’re coming up, dude. Relax. Everything will be fine. Just let go and watch it happen. Nobody has a bad trip on salt.” Xed almost took that as a challenge, but couldn’t speak up about it. Ve felt light, like ve was floating away. “You think ve’ll be all right?” Vsd asked. “Yeah, Xed’s a trooper. Let’s get outta here. I think Al’s throwing a private party.” Xed’s head rested on the bar. Vis eyes

20 Salt were open and ve could see Erika waving at him. “Hello? You still with us buddy?” “Yeah. What the fuck’s going on?” “Your friends left. You’ve been out for about an hour. You remember anything that happened?” Erika put a glass of water down in front of vim. “My memory's a black hole.” “Salt can do that sometimes. You should be returning to normal soon. You should text someone to pick you up. You’re gonna crash hard real soon, and if you’re driving it might be dangerous.” “My friends just left…” Xed looked at the door and then back at Erika. “Do you have other friends?” “Yeah. My partner.” “You should call them.” “Yeah, you’re right. Thanks.” Xed took a sip of water and took out vis phone. Ve texted vis partner to see if Deadliner 21 they were still awake. They responded quickly and Xed immediately called them. “Hey. Jald abandoned me at Deadlines. Can you come pick me up?” Tok nodded even though Xed couldn’t see. “Uh, yeah. Sure. Is your car there?” Xed looked out the window. “No. It’s not.” “Cool, I’ll be there in ten. You good?” “I’ll tell you when you get here.” Xed hung up and finished the glass of water. Vis head felt like it was going to explode. “Why the fuck does salt hurt so bad?” ve asked Erika. “It’s either the best thing ever or the worst. There’s no in-between. 0 or 100.” “That’s too extreme for me.” “Well, you took it,” she shrugged and tried to go back to work. “Nobody really told me what I was in for.”

22 Salt “Did you ask?” “Yeah, they said it was good. Like daddy’s love.” “Well. Did your dad love you?” She asked. “No.” “Sorry, then. They should have known, if they were your friends.” “Does that somehow affect the outcome?” “Yeah. It goes through your brain and puts things in order a certain way. If the proper things don’t exist, you have a bad fucking time.” “How does it know?” Xed asked. “I dunno. It just knows. It’s smarter than us. Can order us how it sees fit, however it needs to.” “That sounds fucking terrible.” “Hey, it’s better than doing nothing. A bad trip ends all the same in the end. You Deadliner 23 come down either way.” “I’ve never liked doing drugs…” Xed rested vis head on the counter again. Tok pulled up. “Finally. Thanks for chattin’, Erika. Seeya around.” Tok kissed vim on the cheek when ve got into the car. “You out with Jald again?” “Yeah. Fucking Deadliners. Every day it’s the same shit." “What'd he make you do this time?” “Got me tripping on some fucking research chemical. It fucked me up. Feel like there’s a gaping hole inside of me.” “Well, it didn’t last very long. You’d only been gone about an hour when you called.” “What? What time is it?” Xed asked. “It’s three thirty three.” Xed got a text from Jald: U OK? Xed responded: YEA... C U TMRW

Interlude

Deadliner 33 New Kid Melisa Noir walked into Deadlines for the first time wearing her coolest leather jacket, ripped black jeans, and designer combat boots. Erika, the bartender, immediately made eye contact with her. “Hey new kid. Can I see your ID?” “Sure, yeah.” Melisa tried to hide her anxiety as she fished out proof of the legality of her existence. Erika looked it over quickly, then nodded. “Cool. Welcome to Deadlines. What can I get ya?” Melisa looked at the menu that hung over the bar. “What’s the strongest drink

34 New Kid you got?” “One of those days, huh? I’ve got you covered. One Abrahadabra coming right up.” Erika mixed it right in front of Melisa. Ice. A shot of fireball. A shot of rum. Topped off with Pepsi. Erika split a chili pepper in half and dropped a piece into the drink. She took out a dropper bottle and piped a few dribbles into it. She added a straw and stirred. “Hope you enjoy.” Melisa took a sip. It was spicy as fuck. Erika must have added capsaicin extract. Melisa, wanting to keep up her cool facade, kept drinking. “You like it?” Erika asked. “It’s not what I expected, but it’s not so bad.” Erika laughed and turned her attention to another customer. Deadliner 3

36 New Kid Melisa took out her phone and scrolled through her timeline. The drink scratched an itch somewhere she couldn’t place. She actually felt kind of good. A group of weirdos entered the bar. They looked like something out of a movie, or like they had all come from different movies of separate genres and they were all one of the main characters. One of them had horns implanted in their head. Melisa thought that was awesome. The horned one walked up to the bar. They wore a tank top with the word FUCK on it, camo cargo pants. Their boots had chains hanging from them. “Hey Erika,” they said. “Sup Brim. You guys gettin’ the regular?" "Yeah. Can I get a shot of tequila too?" "Of course, babe." Brim looked over at Melisa and smiled Deadliner 37 at her. "Howdy," they nodded. "H-hi." Brim chuckled. "I've never seen you in here before." "It's my first time." "Welcome! What are you drinking?" Brim asked. "An Abrahadabra..." Melisa said, stumbling over the pronunciation. "Oh my god. Erika, you gave this kid one of those? God, what the fuck is wrong with you?" Erika laughed. "She asked me to fuck her up. What else was I supposed to do?" "What about the under-shelf drinks? The ones that actually fuck you up?" "I can't give those to someone unsuspecting! God Brim, it's like you're trying to get this place shut down." "Just trying to show the new kid a good time," Brim said.

38 New Kid "What would you suggest instead?" Melisa asked. "A shot of tequila and a Doddy." "What's a Doddy?" she asked. "Hallucinogenic cactus milk." "I'm sorry, milk?" "Yeah. Milk. Well, it is closest to milk. It's obviously not actual milk." Erika finished Brim's order. She helped them carry the drinks to the table. As she walked away, Brim told her to fix Melisa up a Doddy. "On me!" they yelled. The group at the table toasted to each other and drank. Melisa realized they were the only other people in the bar, save an older guy who was passed out at his table. She finished her Abrahadabra as Erika put the Doddy down on the table in front of her. "This one's a doozy. You don't have to drink it, Brim will pay either way." Deadliner 39 "No, I will." "Okay, but I warned ya." Unlike the assault of the Abrahadabra's heat, the Doddy was seductive and sweetly warm, like putting on a blanket. She finished it much faster. Her body lit up. Brim yelled over to her. "Hey, new kid! You like it?" "Yeah!" Brim got up from their seat and walked over to her. "Hey, come join us. Make some friends, if you want." She nodded, got up and followed Brim to the table. "Hey guys, this is Melisa. Be nice. That's Xed, ve/vim. She's Riise, she/her. He's Jald, he/him. And they're Vsd, they/them. And I'm Brim, they/them obviously." Xed wore a plain button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, unbuttoned just

40 New Kid enough to show vis cleavage and dress slacks. Riise had a puffy fur jacket on over a gold dress and heels that made her taller than Melisa. Jald wore a silk suit, his huge watch banging against the table every time he took a drink. Vsd wore a red form-fitting latex body suit and a veil over their face. "Welcome, Melisa. You she/her, yeah?" Xed asked. "Yeah." Brim pulled up a chair for her. "So, Melisa, what brings you to Deadlines?" "I read about it online. A review on places to check out near me. It was farther away than I expected, though. But it seems cool so far," she explained. "Yeah, we come here pretty much every night." Riise said. "Have been for a while. Since it opened." Vsd added. Deadliner 41 "Hard not to. It's much better than what used to be here." Jald said. "What used to be here?" Melisa asked. "An open field. We still came here to drink, but this is way better!" Jald answered. "Yeah, glad I was never around for the field days." Xed said. "We had some good trips in this field. Of course, we still do all kinds of crazy shit!" Jald continued. "Maybe those stories should wait. We don't want to freak out the new kid," Xed suggested. "No, I wanna know. What do you do?" "Well, most of us work out in the Chaotic Gulfs. We're mostly freelance. I know Vsd gives tours now." Melisa didn't really know what the Chaotic Gulfs were, but she nodded along as if she understood. She went to take a

42 New Kid sip of her drink and realized it was empty. "Hey Erika, can we get the new kid a proper Doddy chaser?" Brim asked. Erika yelled back, "You got it!" She poured a tequila shot and brought it over to Melisa, who downed it in one. "Now you're properly prepared. When you start to feel it, give us a sign and we'll switch gears in a Doddier direction." Melisa nodded. "Okay, I guess. What should I watch out for?" "Falling. Or, really like sinking. Maybe like, flushing down the cosmic toilet," Brim answered. "Cosmic toilet?" she asked. "Yeah, cosmic toilet." Jald made a flushing motion. "I don't really get it." Melisa admitted. "You don't have to, but once it hits you will." Brim sat back in their chair. "I feel it..." Deadliner 43 They closed their eyes and zoned out. Everyone else at the table laughed. Riise turned to Melisa. "So, what do you do?" "I work at a cafe," she answered. "Sure. But like, what do you do for fun? What are you about?" Riise prodded. "I dunno. I like techno. I mostly go online and fuck around. Play video games..." "You ever been out in the Gulfs?" Jald asked. "I've gotta admit, I don't really know what that means." Melisa said. "How the hell did you even find this place?" Jald shook his head. "Guess it was kind of an accident. Just thought it looked cool. And it seemed like a fun place to hang out. But it's kind of dead." "People come and go. But there's always someone around. Even if it's just

44 New Kid Zeke over there. I'm not sure that fucker ever leaves." Xed said. "So, you wanna go on an adventure into the Gulfs?" Jald asked. "Dude, come on. She might not even be here for that." Riise said. "So what? She said this place seemed cool, and only people who are going to or coming back from the Gulfs come here. We might as well help her out." "She's about to come up on Doddy, though." Xed reminded him. "Brim can help her through it. They're the Doddy-sorcerer." "Okay, but like, what exactly are the Gulfs?" Melisa put the word into quotation marks with her hands. "It's your turn to explain, Vsd." "The Gulfs are like. You know when shit gets weird? Something impossible or miraculous or just strange happens, and Deadliner 45 there doesn't seem to be an explanation for it? That's a sign of the Gulfs crossing over. It's not really a specific place, it's more like an invasion..." Vsd trailed off. "Or a virus!" Jald added. "Yeah, but it isn't like the flu. It seeps into the laws of nature." Riise corrected. "Yeah, sure." Jald rolled his eyes. "You've really lost me." Melisa shrugged. "Look. Okay. You know when you have a nightmare, and you wake up in a cold sweat, and your room has suddenly gained a horrific quality even though nothing in it is meaningfully different? That's the Gulfs crossing over. Well, it's really just residue of it. As it manifests on this side of the curtain. People who come to Deadlines are usually chasing that feeling or experience." Riise explained.

46 New Kid "Deadlines is always on the brink of the Gulfs. It's like the last refuge before you set out. And once you've been out there, it's pretty much the only place where people will understand what you've been through." Xed added. "Plenty of people come and check it out and then go back to what they were doing. They collect the vibe, some inspiration for their next poem, and then fuck off." Jald said. "There's nothing wrong with that, of course. The Gulfs aren't for everyone." Vsd tried to guide Jald to chill out. "Fuck that! Fuck those people. Just because you go to Deadlines doesn't make you a Deadliner." Everyone at the table rolled their eyes at Jald except Brim, who was still preoccupied with the Doddy. "Don't listen to him." Vsd told Melisa. Deadliner 47 "Why not? You know I'm right. Just because you've seen it doesn't mean you do what we do. The experience is totally different." Jald was visibly angry. "So, not everyone can survive out there for long." Xed argued. "So fucking what? Then this isn't for them. There's nothing wrong with that, but they shouldn't act like they're one of us. We can see right through that." "It's not like it's stolen valor. We're not an exclusive fucking club, dude. Nobody normal really gives a fuck." Vsd said. Jald looked visibly defeated. "I guess you're right. I just think it's stupid. Why lie about what you're about? If nobody cares, except us, I guess. But we can see right through people like that anyway." "You can't control other people, man." Brim broke their vow of silence. "Even if you try. It just gets fucked." Xed

48 New Kid agreed. "So, what, you all spend all your time in the Gulfs?" Melisa asked, changing the subject. "More or less. Mostly, it's just our jobs. We don't all work together, of course," Vsd explained. "We collaborate every once in a while, though. Like that installation a year ago." Brim reminisced. "That was pretty awesome..." Xed said. Melisa felt her eyes close. Warmth enveloped her and colors swirled in her vision. "Hey, she finally flushed!" Vsd pointed out. Melisa opened her eyes. "So, that's what you meant by cosmic toilet... Okay, it makes sense now." "See? Told ya so!" Brim spoke a little too loudly, laughing. "Sooo... Doddy time. What's on the Deadliner 49 Doddy docket?" Vsd asked. "More Doddy!!" Brim yelled. "No, but like, really, what should we get up to?" Xed asked. "Let's head out to the Gulfs~" Brim suggested. "You sure that's a good idea?" Riise asked. "The new kid's doddied. She'll be fine! Nothing bad can happen to you when you're doddied. It's like a security blanket." Jald explained. Melisa gave a thumbs-up. "That does sound like fun. I'd like to see what it's like." "Being doddied is the best way to experience the Gulfs," Brim shared. So the group of weirdos finished their drinks, paid their tabs, and left the bar. "You take care of the new kid, all right? If anything happens to her, I'll skin you alive!" Erika warned them as they left.

50 New Kid Brim threw her a peace sign with their fingers. "I'll keep an eye on her!" They all piled into Jald's Escalade. Melisa sat in the middle with Brim, while Xed and Riise sat in back and Vsd rode shotgun. "Where are we going?" Melisa asked. "The Gulfs. There's a permanent spillover about fifteen minutes south of Deadlines. Huge abandoned factory complex that nobody ever uses. Squatters took over the place for a while but they had to abandon it themselves because it was too fucking spooky," Brim explained the history of the place. "So you're all like, ghost hunters?" Melisa wondered. They all laughed. "No, not really. The closest description to that you might be able to come up with is chaos seeker, or maybe entropy enjoyer," Brim corrected. Deadliner 51 "We're just Deadliners." Xed said. "Well that's an apt description, I think!" Melisa laughed. They arrived at the factory, exited the vehicle, and gathered in a circle to smoke cigarettes. "It's safer not to smoke inside. Sometimes the things there don't like it," Jald said. "So you are ghost hunters!" Melisa accused. "Ghost actually has a very particular definition that doesn't apply to the vast majority of our work. We're lemur wranglers," Vsd corrected. "We're time-sorcerers." Brim said between drags of their cigarette. "Time-sorcerers?" Melisa raised her eyebrow comically high. "Yeah. But that's just us. Not every Deadliner is a time-sorcerer, and you don't have to be either. So don't go begging

52 New Kid Zeke to teach you sorcery, he's just an alcoholic." Jald explained, finishing his cigarette and stomping it out. "Not that there's anything wrong with that," Riise injected just to make sure Melisa didn't think they were dicks. Jald watched Brim finish their cigarette and took a deep breath. "So, y'all ready?" Everyone said yes and they headed towards the entrance. It was blocked and Jald made a joke about giving up. Instead, he led everyone to a window on the side of the building. Thirty minutes later, the crew came out the front door. Melisa led the way. Brim was already fishing a cigarette out of their pocket. Vsd and Jald held hands. Xed scratched vis head and pulled out vis phone, quickly typing up a note. Brim offered the pack of cigs to Melisa, who Deadliner 53 declined. "So, that what you expected?" "Not really... Though I get what you mean now. I didn't really expect it to be so trippy in there..." Melisa was lost in her memory. "How long do you think we were in there for?" Jald asked. "Probably like two hours." Melisa responded. "Nope. Try thirty minutes!" Jald revealed. "How the hell does that work?" she asked. "It's the Gulfs, new kid. They make everything go wonky, even time. As you can guess, it can be very disorienting," Vsd explained, rubbing their eyes underneath their veil. "And what were those things, anyway?" Melisa asked, scratching her head.

54 New Kid "Denizens of the Gulfs. Kind of like demons, but not exactly. We still aren't exactly sure how it all works. We just know it's there." Xed answered her. "And it's spreading. Somehow. Or it seems to be. Maybe it's been leaking out everywhere this whole time and we're only just now noticing, who knows..." Brim said. "And you all do this kind of stuff all the time?" "Yeah. So, Melisa, you gonna come back to Deadlines tomorrow?" Xed asked. "Wait, you do this every day?" Melisa asked. "Yeah, more or less! Not much else to do. And once you've been in the Gulfs, if it doesn't eat you up, it gets pretty hard to resist." Riise yawned in the middle of her answer. "Well, take me back to Deadlines. I have to get home soon." Deadliner 55 "We can just give you a ride home, you know. Pick your bike up too." Jald offered. "Yeah, that'd be nice!" Melisa accepted. They got back into the Escalade and drove to pick up the bike. Jald hoisted it into the back on his own. Melisa gave him directions as he drove to her house, and then they stopped in front of it. Melisa got out, got her bike, and walked up to the porch. She turned around to wave at them. "Seeya tomorrow!" Brim yelled from the middle window. "Seeya!" Melisa yelled back.

DEADLINERS WANTED FOR EXPLORING THE CHAOTIC GULFS LOOKING FOR THE FOLLOWING QUALITIES: • ON A COLLISION COURSE WITH REALITY • DESIRES THE CUTTING EDGE • WILLING TO TEST AND EXPLORE THE UNPROVEN • MUST BE AT LEAST A PART TIME RESIDENT OF THE OUTSIDE WARNING CAREER IS PERMANENT // DEATH IS CONSTANT CALL: 189018901890189018901890189018901890189018901890