“Sam, where are you hurt!?” Sebastian hurried to find what Sam was covering with her hands, finding the area around her right ear smeared in blood. “Sam…” He then saw a chunk of the top of her ear lobe missing.

Sam was slow to calm down through it all. Shit! Whatever that was, it burns like hell! But she did realize how much calmer the truck’s motion was all of the sudden.

“Are they gone?” She first asked before noticing the throbbing pain starting to kick in.

Sebastian looked around for something to apply pressure with, unable to do much in the dark. [Renzo! Any cloth or something? A bullet tagged her!]

[Dig under where you pulled out that bag! I should have a change of shirts and shit there.] He then noticed a new set of headlights roar into view in his rearview mirror as his eyes too lit up. [Heads up! More company!]

[Damn it!] Sebastian seethed, finally grabbing onto what felt like a shirt and tossed it to Sam. “Push this on your ear! And stay down!”

Rgh! I can’t be going through this again! Sam wanted to shout out through the pain, but instead used the frustration and fear to keep the cloth firmly against her head.

[I’ll take us around the block one more time! Can you lose them?!] Renzo barked, keeping his eyes trained on the road through the thoroughly crack-laden windshield and the nonstop pelting of hot raindrops.

[You got any spare mags?] Sebastian called back, awaiting the truck’s turn to finish out before starting to take aim out of the window.

“Take what’s left of mine!” Sam offered, using her free left hand to toss her rifle towards his end of the cabin. She couldn’t see his face well, but she could read the desperation in the air. Her hand then wandered back into the bag, feeling around for either extra magazines or anything else that might be of help.

[Make that two incoming!] Renzo added to the despair, noting a second pair of headlights rush into view. [Sorry, that’s all I have!] His hands gripped the wheel harder as he too started succumbing to the mood. Nowhere to stop, nowhere to find help, and now the rain was nothing more than a mockery of their attempt. [Shit! Come on!] He roared out futility, speeding beyond the scope of sanity. [Bas! Headed for the highway! Save your ammo for when they pull up!]

Sebastian took the moment to think of anything else possible to stave off the oncoming assault, wiping his rain-soaked hands dry before taking a firm grip once more.

Sam remembered the pistol she kept stowed in her bag, now reaching for it. And then came the sounds that had her reeling in panic once more:

***THOCK-THOCK-CRACK-CRACK!!***

“Augh!” Screamed out Sebastian as his grip including his trigger finger tightened painfully.

***BDA-BDA-BDA-BDA-BDAH!!!***

Fired the rifle almost haplessly toward the truck in chase before he instinctively released it, letting it drop to the seat below as Renzo swerved upon the bullet narrowly missing his hand, hitting the windshield just in front of him.

Shit! Fuck!

Sam opened her eyes and took her hands off of her ears, recognizing that voice. “Sebastian!” She darted for him while trying to stay down as low as she could, eyeing for where he was hurt.

[Shit- Bas! Tell me you’re okay, brother!] Renzo added in as he stepped on the accelerator, knowing they were defenseless now.

Sam saw Sebastian grabbing for his left upper arm where a passing set of street lights lit up an opened hole that seeped blood seemingly from both sides.

No, no, Sebastian…!!!

And as her face flashed white from memories of seeing something similar- the time she watched Taneesha Sur take a bullet to the neck and fall to the floor while trying to do something in the same vein as Sebastian- his continued groaning in pain shook her from it.

***THOCK-THOCK-THOCK!!!***

Continued the onslaught in spaces.

Taking the cloth he handed her earlier while keeping her head down, she quickly stretched it out and started to wrap it, instead focusing on a memory that would serve as useful. “I got you! Hang in there!”

No way we go down like this… come on, hurry up Sam and get back in the fight!

Renzo seemingly joined in on her thoughts in deepened despair, punching the accelerator to the floor as he saw the last intersection leading to the onramp. [Argh, come on! We are NOT going out like this! Gonna have to earn this one, motherfuckers!]

The raw emotions of her own now mixed with Sebastian’s and Renzo’s as she too cried out amidst the roar of the engine and the beating down of the rain on her neck: “Please! Somebody make them stop!”

***BANG!!***

Sam instinctively let go of her knot work and squeezed Sebastian tight, letting out a yelp as the headlights that illuminated the cabin suddenly went dark. Her heart stopped as if Renzo just hit a pole or something worse, but the car’s momentum didn’t change over the next passing eternal second.

***CRACK!!*** – ***BAM!!!***

It wasn’t them that took the hit in timing with the deafening ruckus, but she immediately felt the brakes kick in as the truck began to skid.

Renzo had just noticed the same thing and followed his gut instinct, slamming the brake pedal and trying his hardest to keep the truck tracking straight.

***BAM-CLANG-BAM!!!***

Sam didn’t let go of Sebastian and he didn’t let go of her until the truck came to a safe but unnerving stop. Her head however refused to lift up, still unsure of her surroundings.

What in the world just… “Renzo! What the hell was that?!”

But the instant she asked that, she heard his door opened and could tell he took off running toward the incident. “Hey! Wait!”

[Renzo!] Sebastian yanked the handle open and ignored the pain in his left arm, sliding out, and almost collapsing from the combination of the slippery road surface and his inability to keep balance from the panic.

“Careful!” It was Sam’s hand that helped keep him upright as she jumped down with him. “Wait!” She pulled with one arm as she reached for her pistol she tried to get earlier. Feeling at least safe enough to run out after Renzo, she kept it at the ready as the two jogged behind, noting Renzo also had his pistol out in one hand but with a flashlight in the other. It was one thing to keep pace while not slipping on the asphalt, but it was another for the two of them to do it while trying to push through the pain.

They ran up on an overturned truck and another buried into the side of the highway offramp’s concrete wall. And as Renzo’s light illuminated two unconscious passengers in the one truck, something about the overturned truck’s monstrous, oddly decorated brush-guard had him shaken.

And Sebastian quickly noticed it as well as the two both yelled out in unison: [Dani!!]

[No, I’ll check her! You two check the other truck!] Renzo waved Sebastian off before tearing off for the driver side of the flipped truck.

He’s right, Sam tried to think on her feet, grabbing Sebastian by his right arm and giving it a tug. If there’s still a threat, we have to quash it this instant while we have a chance or we could all die! “Sebastian! Hurry!” She finally felt him give way, letting go of his arm to take a proper hold of her pistol with both hands, coming to a slow, careful pace once she neared the shattered side windows of the other truck. She noted the paint was newer, and so was the appearance of the model. This is no television terrorist getup. Who the hell was this? No signs of activity allowed her closer, peering in to see both heads slumped over the dash.

Sebastian crept up beside her to check for the rise and fall of their shoulders. “They’re alive,” he spoke up quietly. He turned to see no one alarmed by the incident to check on the scene, either because of the storm or because it wasn’t near enough for anyone to think much of it. Turning back to Sam, he motioned her to give him the pistol.

“Why?” She asked back quietly but conveyed with obvious confusion.

Ignoring her question, he took it and proceeded to place a single shot through each of their heads as she painfully swallowed her scream and shock, once again with her hands up near her head. “Sebastian! What the fuck!?”

“They wanted to kill us.” He slowly let his arm down, shaking his head. “Why should I let them live? After you… me… my brother and sister were going to die first?”

Sam couldn’t react, frozen by both the cold act of murder but also by his point. She also saw how much emotion he must have been holding back just now, electing to let him do what he needed to without triggering anything unnecessary. I guess… I guess if the shoe was on my foot, I would’ve felt the same…

He then reached through the broken window to unlock the door, opening it as one arm fell limp to the side. He passed the pistol back to her, reaching over to the man’s wrist and picked it up as he glanced across both sides of his arm. He dropped it, now pushing the man’s head back and looked for something around his neck.

This time, Sam really couldn’t tell what was going on. “What are you…”

[Look for the left wrist,] Renzo spoke out from behind the two. Sam and Sebastian both turned to see him holding Dani up, seeming fully conscious but unable to tell her condition. [Kaylen said if we ever come across shit like this, check for the left wrist.]

He then reached in farther to take a hold of the left hand that still clutched the foregrip of a short rifle, gently prying it free before pulling it toward him. He inspected both sides, noting mostly tattoos of typical fashion but then spotted one that didn’t seem to fit. [I see a Bishop’s piece marked on him.]

“Bishop…” Renzo spat, using the English wording for it emphatically. [That’s who Kaylen said to look out for these days. Shit,] he seethed, kicking the pavement below him.

Sebastian tossed the arm back in disgust, still holding back stronger emotions he felt were about to take the better of him and turned to see Dani was already tended to not only by Renzo’s supporting shoulder but Sam already giving her a thorough look-over.

[Let’s get in the truck,] Renzo ordered as he got his thoughts together, passing his sister to Sebastian so they could exchange a semblance of a greeting despite the horrible situation. [We’re no good sitting out here in the open. We gotta keep moving.]

“Thank you, Cruella,” Dani weakly replied with a smile to Sam as she shook her head. “I will be okay. It’s a big problem I see,” she then added with a wince and a laugh. “A big problem. I saw Renzo’s message, says… I should run, but I came to chase after, and now I hear ‘Bishop’…”

Sam gave a pat on her shoulder in return but couldn’t help but ask to the group: “So, wait, what is- er, who’s Bishop?”

“A… it’s a… Very new group,” Renzo struggled to answer but strongly felt he couldn’t leave her in the dark as they all limbered back to the truck. “We ah… hate the Rocha, but… this Bishop is ah… maybe…”

“I hear stories while you gone, Bas, and Cruella,” Dani added wearily. “Argentina is coming for to take the SAU. Bishop is their power, and Renzo hears Reaper is a new leader.”

Sam’s heart had already started beating faster the moment Renzo had such a serious point to convey to her he put forth the effort to do it in her language, but now her heart nearly stopped.

That name.

There it was again coming at the heels of near losses of those close to her.