Angel and DeGree were making out under the missal toe that Angel had stubbornly left up all week long. The telephone decided that now was a good time to ring.
Angel breaks the kiss, looks at Degree, and says, "Let the machine get it."
After three more rings, the machine clicks, and the message that Fenrir recorded came on: "You have a wrong number. If you don't, give us 5 minutes and you will wish you did. (His voice turns away): F�nix don't touch that! BOOM-beep."
The sound of a cell phone in use while driving down the highway filled the air. It sounded as if there were police sirens in the background. Sender's voice came on: "Okay� No one is picking up, so� ANGEL! DEGREE! Stop making out and listen!"
Angel: "Damn."
DeGree: "Damn."
Angel: "But how�"
Sender: "I know all hon� I think now would be a good time to turn on the TV�"
DeGree sighed, then walked over to the big screen. It buzzes to life, revealing a Teletubbies marathon.
DeGree: "AHHH!!!"
Angel: "AHHH!!!"
Sender: "Change the channel, Fenrir probably rigged it as a practical joke�"
Angel changed the channel, a newscast comes on, revealing an oddly familiar Jeep barreling down the highway at breakneck speeds, being pursued by a bunch of cops.
Angel: "Uh-"
DeGree: "oh."
Sender: "Yeah, I know. It looks bad. Hey Ang? Remember how I went out to KO those evil foster parents of yours?"
Angel nods as Sender continues: "Well someone beat me to it. I think it might have been some other disgruntled foster kid, but unfortunately, the cops found me there with the rifle."
Fenrir walked into the castle. "Hey all!" He notices Angel and DeGree staring at the TV and listening to the answering machine. "Hey, that Jeep looks familiar�"
Sender continues: "Unfortunately I have no way of clearing my name in my present circumstance� So if you all wouldn't mind breaking up the Kodak moment�" Fenrir eyed Angel and DeGree: "Oh�"
Sender doesn't stop: "and try to get something that might help� I'd really appreciate it� I really don't want to be behind bars during the New Year party."
Fenrir shrugged: "Well, we were probably going to get arrested anyway for the party�"
Sender finished up: "Okay, that's all I think� I need to ditch some cops real fast. Angel, DeGree, go on back to doing whatever it is you were doing, I really don't want to know�" They do, "but if y'all find the time� HELP! Later." Click.
The TV shows as Sender suddenly maneuvers the Jeep off-road. It flies over the desert terrain, kicking up a trail of dust. The cop cars behind it fly into the air so much in the style of the Blues Brothers. Many crashes result. A little flash is observed from the driver's side of Sender's Jeep. The helicopter filming it all slowly begins to lose altitude� As it crashes the screen turns to static, then replaced by the news anchor updating the story: "And that was� the report from Yuma, Arizona, as this manhunt that has been going on for the past two days. (Jeffy's disenchanted voice mutters, "so that's where he's been." Angel breaks from DeGree and looks up, "What?!" Jeffy's voice says again, "Nevermind. Go back to kissing." Angel nods and does. Jeffy throws a remote at Fenrir. Fenrir: "Owe." Jeffy: "Hehe.") This young man (Sender's picture comes up on the screen. As usual he is wearing sunglasses, a black overcoat, dark T-shirt and a 5 o'clock shadow that seems to be around at all the time. Not to mention a sort of smirk that he has attained recently) the names we have been given at this time are: Sender, TJ, Dawson, or Razorwire, as our sources indicate; has been evading police, FBI, CIA, the Secret Service, the KGB, AA, Charter, the American Board of Psychology, FCA, YL, UMC, the National Inquirer, the GBI, the UFO anonymous, the board of massage therapists� this list goes on forever. This 18 year old man, supposedly a member of the fabled WAD-R, has been charged with the recent murder of two foster parents: Hugh and Margaret� um er� there is no last name given�"

The melodic pound of Creed played over the Wrangler's souped up sound system. It was the only sound in the night as Sender drove over the Nevada desert, avoiding the roads for obvious reasons. "Can you take me higher? To a place where blind men see� Can you take me higher? To a place with golden streets�" Sender sang along with the CD. The lights illuminated the darkness up ahead. In the distance, Sender saw a glimmer. A metal chain link fence. The Jeep rolled to a stop as it approached the fence, and Sender began to feel an ominous presence of fear that he had thought he had left behind. He wanted to curl up in a ball� like he had years ago, when all the bad would happen. He closed his eyes, and behind the lids a flood of images would rush to greet him, each more horrific than the last. He knew where he was, he didn't need to see the sign posted on the fence.
Area 51. No trespassing. No admittance, Violators will be shot on sight� This was it all right. Sender was home.
He stepped out of the Jeep, cut the lights, and left the engine idle. Somehow the music filled the void, the awful void. If he ever let it get quiet, he could hear them, the screams, cries from the other 'experiments.' He knew and waited for the times when it would be his cry that would be the one to fill the night. He ignored his thoughts, and pulled out a pair of binoculars. The facility looked like it had been abandoned. Sender climbed back into the Jeep, and pointed it towards where the main gate would be.
It was empty, desolate. No one at the post, the wooden barrier still down. Sender floored the Jeep, burning rubber, and smashing through the wood plank, and into the base. He pulled up to the main hangar, and cut the engine. It was all dead, gone. He removed a flashlight, a Desert Eagle semiautomatic handgun and holster, and the old rifle that he used as a standby. He holstered the handgun and taped the flashlight to the nose of the rifle. He then stuffed extra rounds into his pockets, and finally grabbed a canteen. Slinging it over his shoulder, he turned on the flashlight, and returned home.

The place was hollow. Lights were out, and the water pipes had rotten through the roof tiling, and were now collecting as puddles on the floor. It sounded like an old cave. Sender poked his way through, letting old memories guide him. He found himself at the Director's office. He opened the door. Here there had been a fire, the walls were charred and the room smelled of smoke and ash. Curiously, the laptop on the old desk looked unscathed. Sender booted it up and surprisingly it purred it life. The screen glowed enough to light up part of the room, and the rest of the damage could be seen. The cabinets had been melted� The intercom was gone. The PC beeped and prompted for a log in. Sender searched his memory, and came up with the correct insignia. Aries hadn't taught him nothing. He logged on, and noticed that the CD-ROM drive had started to purr. He opened the file manager, and found the CD was a log of records from Sender's escape to a few days after his encounter with WAD-R. He opened it up�
A vidfile window appeared, and the face that gave Sender nightmares came into focus. Her face looked older, more ragged� but her eyes, though, they still burned with that fire that would make a grown man cry�
"Log 61.616.582.99, It is official, head office has decided to shut down '51. It has disavowed any knowledge of Code-G, the multiple projects that have escaped from here in the past couple months (Multiple?! Sender thought. More than two?), or the battle and damage done to the rural providence of outer New York." Sender remembered that day well� "As it is now, we have decided to go underground, and wait for the rogues to surface, so we may eradicate our mistake. Projects Sender, Aries, and Eve will be caught, and will not continue to haunt me and my staff. Out." The screen went blank.
Eve? Sender thought. Eve escaped? Thank God I am not the only one. He closed his eyes, calling his memory back to the only near pleasant memory he had of his childhood. Eve was the only friend he had, younger than him by probably three weeks. Eve's face came to mind, piercing green eyes, a model's face, strawberry blond hair, an athlete's body, and a mind that was sharper than any Sender had ever encountered. He remembered back when he guessed he was around 5, crawling through the ducts to reach her room. He would sit there, hold her, she clutched her doll that somehow she had managed to hang on to for so long, and they would cry and dream for the day when they could fly away.
Sender rose to his feet, grabbed the rifle, and ran to Eve's room. His boots slid on the wet tile as he maneuvered the dark halls. He slid to a stop in front of her room, and opened the door. The flashlight played over the plain white walls, the old cot, and the small hideaway for the bathroom. That was all their rooms were. He moved to the grate in the corner and unscrewed it. He reached in and pulled out that little doll. Tucked away in the dolls little pocket was a piece of paper. Sender pulled it out and read it.
"Dear Sender. You know you caused a lot of trouble up here? One hell of an uproar. Wherever it is, I hope you are safe, experiencing the world. After you broke out, everything went nuts. I am gonna try that plan you gave me, because now I have heard the rumors of some big fight and half of the Code-G getting wiped out. I know it has to be you. There is talk of shutting down the facility and terminating all the projects. So I am gonna make a break for it. I am guessing that home here is deserted, and you came back for some crazy reason, or that this is some guard cleaning out my cell. In the second case: BUGGER OFF!! Leave me to my peace. In the first case, be careful Syn. I'll be looking for you. You know I'll find you, just a matter of time. Take care.
Eve."

Sender nodded, refolded the note, and put it back in the doll. He set the doll in his pocket, and continued to explore. He suddenly found himself facing an all too familiar door. He opened it, and his eyes began to water. The cot was still the same, the walls still the same. Still barren, still like no one had ever lived there. Like he always left it. He sat down on the cot, and had the sudden urge to go to sleep. So he set down the rifle under him, left his hand on the revolver, and curled up on a cot that was still too familiar to leave.

He felt a tug at his gun. A hand brushed over his, trying to pull the gun from its holster. Sender kept his eyes closed, and waited. The tug came again. He shot out. His other hand grabbed a wrist, the intruder giving a gasp of surprise. In one swift motion, Sender pulled the person to face him, sat up, and drew the gun, pointing it at the trespasser's temple. Then Sender noticed she was feminine.
Her gray eyes narrowed behind a face that was smudged with dirt. "Who are you?" She asked.
Sender snarled at her, "I think I'll ask you that question. Why don't you tell me who you are?"
He could feel whatever fight was in her body leaving, she relaxed, becoming oddly submissive. "Name's Alex. You gonna hurt me?" It seemed to be more like a statement of fact than a question.
Sender shook his head, and let her go, still keeping the gun trained on her. "No. Not unless you try anything. Why were you after my gun anyway?"
Alex shrugged. "Everybody needs protection. 'Specially out here in the desert if you are a wanderer."
Sender looked at her. "Wanderer?"
She nodded. "Yeah, a wanderer. We are kind of like nomads. Come and go as we like. Never travel in groups. Always alone. I've been a wanderer all my life, at least as far as I can remember."
Sender asked, "and how long has that been?"
Alex thought for a second. "Maybe 'round 17 years." She sat down against the wall. Sender holstered the gun, and picked up the rifle from under the cot. Alex watched him. "You from around here?"
Sender looked up at her, and nodded.
Alex continued. "You used to work in here? One of the agent people's kids?"
Sender hesitated. "You could say that."
Alex kept going. "Well then what's your name?"
Sender thought for a moment, remembered the serial number tattooed on his shoulder, "call me Sender."
Alex nodded. "That your Jeep out there?" She thumbed outside, "cause I tried to get in it, what with it having a soft top and all, but I couldn't knife it or nothing."
Sender smirked. "You were lucky I didn't turn the alarm on. It would have given you a new tan."
She mocked him. "Sure. So what brings you back out here anyway? This place closed up shop a while back."
Sender nodded. "I know, I was the reason. Actually I don't know why I came back here. Kind of ran across it by accident. So I decided I better face some fears and get it over with. What about you? What business do you have here?"
Alex's eyes looked around the room, she shrugged. "This place has heat and water. And toilets, MRE's in the kitchen. So I can stay here, scavenge during the day, and stay here at the nights and stay safe. Only downside is about now, all the beds and sheets have been ruined cause of the soaking�"
Sender's mind started to work, "Yeah, what about that fire in the Director's Office? What's the deal there?"
Alex looked down; "You must have been here before. That door doesn't have a name on it. I slept in there one night; there was a space heater because it was cold. It got knocked over, but I was able to put it out." Seeing his upcoming question, "I used that laptop to play some games, namely Starcraft, Quake, and stuff. There is this really annoying guy called Fenrir, man he is bad at Starcraft. I keep whipping him, and then he keeps complaining I cheat and stuff. Why are you laughing?"
Sender shook his head, still chuckling, "Nothing, Alex, I think I know the Fenrir you are talking about. Does he scream all the time about pie and worshipping him?"
Alex looked at him in amazement, "Yeah that's the guy."
Sender grinned, "Let's just say he and I are friends of sorts�"
Alex eyed him, "Do you think that you are a deity too?"
Sender laughed, "No, I am not insane. He is a good guy, although don't say I told you, nor would he admit it. So you whipped him good huh?"
Alex nodded, "Yeah, he's decent, but his Zerg forces really aren't up to par� Oh well. Enough about games� You look familiar� Have you been on TV recently?"
Sender turned towards his gun, "I um� er�"
Alex nodded, "that's what I thought. You some kind of star or something? Some kind of big shot that people are on a man hunt for?"
Sender muttered, "you could say that�" He looked up at Alex, "I think I am going to hit the sack, so if you don't mind, please don't try to steal my weapons again. It is impolite."
Alex shrugged. "Fine. You got any money? There is a diner down the road on the freeway. I am hungry, haven't had a meal that didn't come from a plastic pouch for weeks."
Sender dug into his pockets, and pulled out a few dollars.
Alex nodded at him. "Thanks." She took the money and disappeared. Sender sighed as she left, and fell onto the pillow like a stack of bricks.

He awoke to the sounds of sirens. Not again, the voice in his head moaned. He got up and was out the door in a flash. Shit, he thought, they've entered the building� My car's is probably covered. He could hear footsteps marching down the halls, the shout of officers telling him to surrender echoed through the building. Like hell I will, Sender thought to himself as he switched off the safety on the rifle. He killed the flashlight beam, letting his memory be the map. He would have to take the back way out, but that meant crossing over some halls that the cops had probably already come through. Well crap, Sender thought. Here goes nothing. Then he began to think of how they found him� Must have been Alex. Sender was po'ed. Not only did she ruin my sleep, take money from me, try to steal my gun; she got the cops on me. I am going to hurt her. He came to the first intersection. It was lighter here as beams from flashlights shook about. Sender closed his eyes. Sorry about this guys. He spun on his heal and into the beam light, aiming the gun to the ceiling above the cops heads. He fired two rounds, causing them all to fall to the ground. He spun off the other heal and ran down the hall. Cries of "We found him! Found him!" followed suit as they got up and decided to chase. They fired down the hall Sender had run, but he had already taken another turn. He dove through the double doors that led to the garage. It had been hollowed out too, he noted, and probably vandalized. He rushed to the ladder that led to the roof, and climbed up it as fast as he could. He had almost reached the top when the cops burst through the door. Sender slung the rifle over his shoulder and fired some rounds from the Desert Eagle at them. They decided that entry was probably not the proper course of action. Sender climbed up through the hatch and onto the roof. He could see for miles out to the Nevada Desert. Reno's lights could be made out on the horizon. But closer, Sender was interested in the blue and red flash of lights to the side the hangar. The cops had come in all right, apparently all of them. The cars were apparently empty. Sender decided to get devious. He pulled the rifle out and shot out several tires, one for each cop car. Then, hearing someone climbing the ladder behind him, he looked for a way down. Oh� crap. Well, it is only three stories, and if I land on the canvas top of the Jeep, it'll hold, and I shouldn't break too many bones. Oh well, here goes. Sender jumped out into the night�����
And landed with a thud. He rolled off the top of the Jeep and hit the ground. Another, softer thud. His ankle must have been broken or something in the fall, because he couldn't stand on it. He crawled into the Jeep and roared the engine to life. He smashed the accelerator down. "Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow ow!" Leaving the lights off, he flew down the access road to the gate. He saw her at the last second. Alex was waving for him to stop. He debated whether to run her over or stop. "Damnit," he cursed to himself as he stopped the Jeep. She got in and slammed the door shut behind her.
Sender floored it again. "What?"
Alex looked at him like he had three heads. "You didn't tell me you killed somebody."
Sender shrugged, "That's what I thought, you led them to me. And no I didn't kill those people. Someone beat me to it. Besides, you didn't ask. If I may, if you thought I was a killer, why are you in this car now?"
Alex shrugged, "Well, I got to thinking 'you know, he doesn't strike me as the cold-blooded killer type. Maybe a little dangerous, off the wall, even a little not all there, but I don't think you would try to kill me."
Sender got defensive, "Don't be to sure there�"
Alex shook her head. "Don't try the tough guy routine. It doesn't suit you."
Sender looked crestfallen, Alex kept going. "You don't have the threatening appearance of a bad ass. It just ain't you."
Sender was getting annoyed. "Well what should I shoot for?"
Alex shrugged. "I don't know. Not sure on that one. Just be yourself."
Sender grimaced, remembering that his ankle is hurting, and apparently has swollen to fill out the boot. Alex noticed his face and said, "Uh-oh, what did you do?"
Sender shook his head. "Nothing," he said through gritted teeth, "nothing that I can't fix."
Alex placed her hand on his shoulder. "BS. Pull over."
Sender looked at the rear view mirror. "No. We aren't far enough away."
Alex began to squeeze. "There are caves over near that plateau, we'll be safe there."
Sender looked over at her, and decided not to argue. The Jeep pulled off the road and again flew over the desert. It pulled into a cave two minutes later. Sender made sure that anything flying overhead would not notice it, then shut the engine down. He then looked over at Alex with a you-know-this-is-all-your-fault look. "Happy?"
Alex was indignant with a yeah-well-you-should-have-told-me-you've-been-framed-for-murder look, and said "not yet." She got out, walked over to the driver's side door and opened it. "Let me see your ankle."
Sender stared her down, then realized that she could probably beat him up right about now, so he gave up and swiveled in his seat. He placed his ankle into her waiting hands. She proceeded to untie the boot and tug the shoe off the swollen foot. That naturally, did not agree with Sender or his foot. "Ow ow ow ow ow ow ow."
She glanced up at him. "Baby." She said, and went back to work.
"Well, ow, yeah." Sender admitted. "Ow ow ow ow�"
Two minutes, and two million "ow's" later, the boot was off, and Alex was examining Sender's swollen ankle. "Well," she said. "I think it's broken."
Sender nodded. "Yeah, I kind of figured that. Happened before."
Alex looked up at him. "We should get you to a doctor."
Sender shook his head. "No, I just need a couple pieces of wood."
Alex looked up at him. "You are crazy."
Sender again shook his head, "No, just male." He bent over and ran his hands over his ankle, examining it. "Hmm�" He muttered to himself. He then gripped his ankle, and with a soft crack, set it back in place. Sender then passed out.

The whole WAD-R cast was assembled, minus the fleeing Sender. They sat around the war room table, drinking tea and eating cookies and pie. Fenrir decided to speak up. "You know, it's kind of nice around here without Sender. Really� quiet." He trailed off. His eyes began to fill with tears, and then he burst out. "Oh who am I kidding? I miss that guy. Wahhhhh." He blew his nose, and continued to sniff. "And if any of you tell him I said that, I'll kill you." All the recorders clicked off.
F�nix spoke up next. "Well, if you want to know what I think�"
"NO!" Everyone yelled.
F�nix thought it over. "Fair enough."
Angel and DeGree, who had to be separated on the opposite sides of the table, kept playing footsie. Akari kept looking over at Garr (I DON'T CARE IF HE IS IN LIMBO, THE STORY WOULDN'T BE WAD-R WITHOUT HIM!) and blushing because of the gift he had given her for Christmas.
Fenrir spoke up again. "Good cookies Angel."
Angel looked up. "Huh?"
Jeffy's voice came down from the rafters. "Well that is enough help for one night� Anybody for Starcraft?"
Fenrir, F�nix, and DeGree shot up from their seats and disappeared.
Angel and Akari sighed, and began to clean up the war room.
Akari looked up, "you know Angel, I think it might be some disgruntled foster kid like Sender suggested. Those people were evil."
Angel nodded, "You think so? I was having the same idea. After we clean up, we'll figure it all out. It's 12 o'clock now, so I say we can have it all wrapped up and still catch a late movie by� 12:30?"
Akari shrugged. "Sure, that sounds reasonable."
They did.

Sender awoke to find himself wrapped up in a blanket in the driver's seat. He looked over to find Alex asleep on the passenger side. He took off the blanket and covered her with it. He then looked in the back seat for something useful. A couple pieces of lead pipe� That should do it. He pulled them out with some leather strap he had lying around (don't ask why, leather strap has it's uses� ;-) and made sure his ankle was set. He then tied up a brace for it, and gingerly stepped on it. There was some pain, but it was manageable. He then shoved his foot back in his boot, and took a walk outside. The night was clear, the stars were out. Sender shivered slightly as he zipped up his overcoat. He sat down on a large rock, and gazed up at the stars. A soft hand touching his shoulder startled him.
"Sorry," Alex whispered softly in his ear. She pressed down on his shoulder, using him to brace herself as she sat down. She had draped the blanket around her, and now wrapped it tight to get warm. "When did you get up?"
Sender shrugged. "I don't know, kind of got lost gazing out here."
Alex nodded. They sat and just stared up at the stars for a while. Alex spoke up again. "So tell me Sender, what's your deal?" He turned to her, his eyes searching for explanation. "I mean, what's going on here? You evade the police. You give me the impression like '51 is some sort of home for you. You seem like a nice guy, but then you act so dark and secretive. What's going on?"
Sender shrugged. "Long story� Real long story. With allot of gruesome parts that I really don't care to remember. Going back� back� back THERE was hard enough. Then being chased like a fugitive� too many memories that I wish I could forget."
Alex just mouthed an "oh."
Sender kept going. "Sorry you asked right?" She nodded. "Well then Alex, tell me about yourself. Always been a wanderer?"
Alex lips thinned and she nodded. "Yeah. Ever since I can remember. Don't remember a mother or a father. Just remember being raised. The face I can't see, but I know I was raised out here. Sorry you asked right?"
Sender frowned then shook his head. "Nope. Looks like we might be more in common then you might think."
Alex gave him a puzzled stare. He continued. "I don't remember a father or a mother either. Heck, I don't know if I had a single mom or dad." He shrugged. "But that's life� I think."
Silence once again. A cricket chirped somewhere. Flashing blue and red lights drove down the highway in the distance. The wind blew. Somewhere along the line Alex moved closer to Sender, and he put his arm around her. They sat there, huddling from the cold air, fighting the wind.
Alex put her head on his shoulder and asked, "Do you think there is a place for people like us somewhere on this earth?"
Sender shook his head. "I don't know, Alex. But I think there is, and we have to fight for it, fight to get it�" He trailed off. Alex wrapped the blanket around them, trying to keep them both warm.

F�nix ran into the war room screaming "I knew it! I knew it! Disney has been putting subliminal messages into their movies. Look at this!" He slammed an old AOL Instant Messanger text. It read: Riff766: I just love the disney channel *sniff*
"Riff766: it's....umm....that slut & the tramp movie with the dawgs
mrrynlds00: oh....
mrrynlds00: right... that one
Riff766: and the famouse speghetti scene where they had to cut out the sex
mrrynlds00: lol
Riff766: and they keep calling that girl bitch'cause shes a bitch
Riff766: lol
mrrynlds00: i know.. all the subliminal messages with teh spagettii and all
mrrynlds00: hehe
Riff766: lol
Riff766: yea
Riff766: and the friggin ofela's and vulgarity
mrrynlds00: hehe so what you been up to?
mrrynlds00: lol
mrrynlds00: then there are the siamese cats...
mrrynlds00: we dont want to get into that...
Riff766: those lil shits
Riff766: lol"
The voice of Jeffy sighed. "F�nix, dude, check the names."
F�nix looked down at the text. "Wha?"
Fenrir took a look at it. "Yeah dude, I could be mistaken, but I think those are Jeffy's and Sender's insignias."
Angel looked at him and raised her eyebrows. "Yeah F�nix, I really don't think Jeffy and Sender are the experts in that area."
F�nix cursed, and ran back into his room, locking the door behind him.
Jeffy sighed, then threw another remote at Fenny.
"Owe."
"Hehe."

Alex had fallen asleep. Sender realized it when she began to snore softly on his shoulder. He shook his head, and carried her gingerly back to the car. He set her in the passenger seat and lay the seat back. Sender then shut the door, came around to the other side, and turns on the engine to get some heat flowing through the car. He smiles as he watches her sleep, then he turns his head, and decides that's enough excitement for one night. I am outta here�

Fenrir was sitting at the coffee table, drinking a cup of tea and reading a piece of paper. Akari walked down the stairs, still drying her hair. She noticed Fenrir involved in the paper and nodded to him, "What's that?"
Fenrir looked up towards her. "Huh? Oh, just the evidence and stuff that you and Angel found."
Akari said, "Oh," and went to fix her and Garr some breakfast. "You know Fenrir, Garr is real anxious to talk to Jeff. He really wants to try to scare some people like that, you know any way for him to get in touch with him?"
Fenrir just shrugged. "As far as I know, you just talk to him. Ain't that right Jeffy?" A remote control hit him in the head to answer his question.
"Hehe."
Fenrir rubbed the bump on his head. "That's about all there is too it. As far as I know, that is one of Jeffy's ultimate joys in life. Throwing stuff at me, that and beating the crap out of me at computer games, which is really demeaning because he doesn't even have a body to type on the keyboard with."
Jeffy's voice gloated down again. "Hehe, you just suck, hehe."
Akari looked up. "So how 'bout it Jeffy? Interested?"
Jeffy's voice did what could only be described as a shrug. "Sure. I already have fun over at the Catholic Church down the street. Man, I tell you what, those confessional booths are really fun places."
Fenrir looked back down at the piece of paper. "So, Akari, now what do we do now that we have the evidence that Sender didn't do anything?"
Akari sighed. "Well, I guess we could go over to the police station and get them to call off the manhunt and stuff."
Fenrir nodded. "After lunch."
They all went and played Tetrinet. Jeffy won again.

Sender woke up, and instantly regretted it. His ankle hurt like a mother. He looked down to see that the swelling had gone down, but it had changed color. That couldn't be a good sign. He rolled over to see that Alex was still asleep on the passenger side. It was day, probably around noon. Sender needed a shower, and he wasn't sure, but he thought Alex might appreciate one too. He pulled out an old road map of the Nevada area, and looked for a hotel anywhere near him. The closest one was about an hour down the road. Sender sighed, started the Jeep up, and pulled out of the cave. An hour by the highway huh? Well, I don't like highways, he thought with an evil grin. He shoved the Jeep into gear and drove over the desert landscape. He'd make it in 45 minutes. Alex didn't wake up the whole way down.

F�nix woke up around seven that night. He had been thinking about the whole "Lady and the Tramp" conspiracy and had written a whole legal brief on it, including footnotes, a bibliography, color-coded diagrams, and a thank you list involving the Haitian Lipreader's Society, the People for Heroic Awards for Tomatoes, the Secret Clan of Fish Lovers, and to the creator of Jell-o. He picked up the piece of paper that had Sender's sure fire shot at innocence, and looked over at DeGree, who was playing a game of Pong on his laptop. After every point, he would have to wipe the frost off of the screen. F�nix pointed to the paper. "What's this?"
DeGree shrugged. "Must be that thing Angel and Akari did. You know, the thing that lets Sender off the hook. I think Angel was supposed to send it by the police, but then a NSYNC special came on and�" he shrugged again and trailed off.
F�nix nodded, and walked back up to his room. He sat down and began to write: "The Inherent Evils of Boy Bands." He wasn't seen for weeks.
Fenrir walked in, posted two lists on the bulletin board, then left. The lists read:

Women's Guide to Driving Men Crazy
1. Do not say what you mean. Ever.
2. Be ambiguous. Always.
3. Cry. Cry often. Tell them it's their fault.
4. Bring things up that were said, done, or thought years, months, or decades ago...or with other boyfriends.
5. Make them apologize for everything.
6. Stash feminine products in their cars, backpacks and in their books as cute reminders that you were thinking of them.
7. Gossip. Gossip about everything that walks.
8. Play Alanis Morissette's "You Outta Know," loud. Look at them. Smile. (haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa)
9. Look them in the eye and start laughing.
10. Get mad at them for everything.
11. Discuss your period in front of them. Watch them squirm.
12. Hold grudges.
13. Demand to be called or e-mailed. Often. Whine when they don't comply.
14. When complimented, make sure to be paranoid. Take nothing at face value.
15. Use daddy as a weapon. Tell them about his gun collection, his quick trigger finger, and his affection for his "little princess.
16. Be late for everything. Yell if they're late.
17. Talk about your ex-boyfriend 24-7. Compare and contrast.
18. Go everywhere in groups, especially the bathroom. Do nothing alone. Independence is a sign of weakness.
19. Make them guess what you want and then get mad when they're wrong.
20. Plan little relationship anniversaries, i.e. the monthly anniversary of the time you saw each other in the library...for five minutes. Then get mad at them for forgetting. Then cry.
21. Fall for your FAC. (I don't know what this is)
22. Gather many female friends and dance to "I Will Survive" while they are present. Sing all the words. Sing to them. Sing loud.
23. Correct their grammar.
24. Describe back-alley abortions. Then remind them of their mother or little sister.
25. Constantly claim you're fat. Ask them. Then cry, regardless of their answer.
26. Leave out the good parts in stories.
27. Make sure to only be interested in guys in the same friendship group. Make sure to cause trouble.
28. Make them wonder. Confusion is a good thing.
29. Declare that you are not wacko.
30. Criticize the way they dress.
31. Criticize the music they listen to.
32. Criticize their hair.
33. Ignore them. When asked, "What's wrong?" tell them that if they don't know, you're not going to tell them.
34. Try to change them.
35. Try to mold them.
36. Try to get them to dance.
37. Pretend you're interested, lead them on, then feign ignorance when confronted.
38. When they screw up, never let them forget it.
39. Make them stay at religious services until they are close to fainting. Just because.
40. Blame everything on PMS.
41. Blame everything on PMS only after it has been blamed on them.
42. Whenever there is silence ask them, "What are you thinking?"
43. Get mad if they don't notice a haircut. Even if it's only a half inch.
44. Read into everything.
45. Over-analyze everything.
46. Make it your goal to make them cry.

Men's Guide to Driving Women Crazy
1. Don't call, ever.
2. If you don't like a girl, don't tell her. It's more fun to let her figure it out by herself.
3. Lie.
4. Name your penis. Be sure it is something narcissistic and unoriginal, such as "spike"
5. If you loose something that belongs to someone else, tell them you mailed it to them.
6. Here's a good pickup line, "My girlfriend's pregnant, will you go out with me?"
7. Drink Vernors.
8. Play with yourself. Talk about it.
9. Be as ambiguous as possible. If you don't want to answer, a nice grunt will do.
10. Always remember: You are a man. Therefore, no matter what, it isn't your fault.
11. Lie.
12. Girls find it attractive if a man has had more women than baths.
13. Never ask for help. Even if you really, really need help- don't ask. People will think you have no penis.
14. Women like it when you ignore them. It arouses them.
15. Vanity is the most important trait for a man to have. Whenever you pass a reflective surface, check your hair, clothing, etc.
16. If you don't like a girl, but can't think of a good enough reason why, just come up with trite, meaningless explanations like, "I don't know. Just don't like her personality."
17. If, GOD FORBID, you have to talk to a girl on the phone, use only monosyllabic words and noises. Bodily noises are permissible.
18. TWO WORDS: Hack and spit.
19. Everyone finds a man more attractive if he can write his name with urine.
20. One sure way to make a girl like you is to go after her best friend. She will then see what she's missing and love you for not giving up on her.
21. Tell her you will call. Then, refer back to rule #1.
22. Say things like "Wha...?"
23. Don't wear matching clothes. People will think your girlfriend picked it out, and it will cramp your style on picking up chicks.
24. Lie.
25. Deny everything. Everything.
26. Good break up line, "It's not you, it's me."
27. If you like a girl, tell all your female friends about her. Because if any of your female friends like you, they'll really want to know.
28. Don't have a clue.
29. If you get a clue, pretend you didn't and disregard it.
30. No means yes.
31. Yes means no.
32. If you don't get sex whenever you want, your balls will shrivel. Enforce this rule at all times.
33. If anyone asks, you have had sex in all possible positions and locations. Improvise.
34. Much like an orgasm signifies the end of a sexual peak, sex often signifies the end of a relationship.
35. Feelings? What feelings?
36. Tell this to your girl before you have sex, "Don't worry, if you don't have an orgasm, you won't get pregnant."
37. Life is one big competition. If someone is better than you at anything, either pretend it's not true or kick some ass.
38. Lie
39. DO NOT make decisions about relationships. If you are backed into a corner and must make a decision, stall. If you still must come up with an answer, leave yourself a loophole for escape. Example: Question: "Honey, will you take me out for a romantic dinner?" Answer: "Yes if you can guess how many sperm I produce each day."
40. Every sentence that anyone says can be contorted to have sexual meaning.
41. At any given opportunity, point out how things look like various genitalia. If, by chance, you have Play-Doh, make sure you make an exact replica of your penis. Measure to make sure it's right.
42. Lie.
43. "Love" is not in your vocabulary. don't even thing about saying it.
44. A general rule: If whatever you're doing does not satisfy you completely in 5 minutes, it's really not worth it.
45. Diss your girlfriend. Beg and plead until you get her back. Diss her again. Repeat cycle.
46. Lie.
47. ALWAYS apologize. NEVER mean it.
48. If you hurt someone, pretend you care. Don't.
49. Try to have a good memory, but it's okay if you forget trivial things. You know, like your girlfriends b-day and eye color.
50. Ignorance solves problems. If you can't see them, they can't see you.
51. It is never your duty to take responsibility for your actions.
52. Create new words and phrases to describe genitalia, sex, semen,etc.
53. Complain about not getting any mail. When people FINALLY feel sorry for you and send you mail, ignore it and continue complaining.
54. Lie.
55. Play with your food only if you are in a public place with people you don't know.
56. Play with your penis only if you are in a public place with people you don't know.
57. If people express extreme disgust at whatever you are doing, DON'T STOP! This is the desired reaction.
58. You are NOT a virgin. Ever. Males are born without virginity.
59. You are male, therefore you are superior.
60. Agenda for a boring evening: Get beer. Drink beer. Play with yourself. Have sex. Drink more beer. Pass out.
61. Females do not care what you do to them as long as they get to please you.
62. Don't ever notice anything.
63. If you're going out with someone but you love someone else, don't say anything. Wait until the girl you are going out with falls in love with YOU, and then tell her.
64. Basic fundamental rule of dating: Quantity, not quality.
65. Basic fundamental rule of sex: Quantity IS quality.
66. Lie.
67. If you cheat on a girl, but no one finds out, then technically you've done nothing wrong.
68. Crying is not manly. Then again, if you are a man, what do you have to cry about anyway?
69. If the question begins with "why," the answer is "I don't know."
70. Women are your napkins. Use them, and throw them away.
71. Remember, Every virgin girl is saving herself for YOU.
72. If you ever find yourself in a position where you have been proven wrong, blame others. Come up with creative and believable excuses why they are at fault - not you.
73. Don't ever let anyone say "I told you so." If you hear this phrase and it didn't come out of your mouth, go ballistic.
74. If your woman makes you go shopping with her, drive around until a parking spot right near the door opens up. If this takes hours, so be it. You will have the coveted "door spot" and others will worship your skills.
75. Keep track of how many seconds in your life you have thought about sex. Compare with others.
76. Other peoples' pain is strictly for your amusement. Laugh long and loud.
77. Lie.
78. General rule: Different is BAD.
79. If anyone asks you for a favor- a) make a big deal about how hard it is for you to do it, b) remind them of this huge favor you've done for them at least every 5 minutes for the rest of their life.
80. Each penny you save will be worth at least a dollar in the long run.
81. if you do something really mean to a girl, and she doesn't want to talk to you, pretend nothing happened. If she still doesn't talk to you, casually ask, "is something wrong?"
82. Three words: Let's be friends. Translation: I never want to speak to you again, but it's bad for my nice-guy image if you are mad at me so I'll pretend I want to be your friend.
83. Lie.
84. If you're on a date, and there is a lull in the conversation, tell the girl how many different dorms you've been laid in.
85. When you tell a girl about your past, it's good to say, "God, I was such a pimp back then."
86. Here's a good trick. Tell a girl that you're going to leave and when you come back, you want her naked, sprawled on the bed. Leave, and go into her dad's room and tell him he should go check on his daughter. Then drive like hell. (true-story)
87. If a girl breaks up with you because you're in love with someone else, she has no right to be upset. Because, you know, SHE'S the one who wanted to end the relationship.
88. The best sex position is you, lying face up...and twenty girls on top.
89. Practice your blank stare.
90. Spend your spare time thinking of excuses and shove them up your ass. Then, whenever you need one, you can pull it out of your ass.
91. If you are ever forced to show emotion, just pick random emotions like rage and lust and insanity and display them at random, inconvenient times. You won't be asked to do it again.
92. If you are asked to do something you REALLY DON'T want to do, first try your manly best to get out of it. If that doesn't work, go ahead and do what you were asked to do, but complain that you don't know how to do it and continuously ask questions on how to do each little part. If no one rushes to do it for you YET, finish the job in the most half-assed way you possibly can and then say, "SEE?? I TOLD you I couldn't do it." Eventually people will stop asking you to do things.
93. Work out day and night to make your body even more beautiful than it already is. When people ask if you've been working out, say things like,"No baby, I was BORN like this!"
94. Do not listen to "pussy music" such as Erasure, Color Me Badd, or Oldies.
95. Beer. Then more beer.
96. Scratch your balls. See if you can embarrass people.
97. One word: FOOTBALL.
98. Real men beat up other men who are inferior. I mean, we don't want the inferior of the species to get to reproduce ever, do we???
99. Diss you girl friends for an occasional night or 5 out with "The Gang."
100. LIE

The speed gauge was well over 130 miles per hours. Sender looked up in the rear view mirror. Cops. Lots of cops. Crap.

Alex woke up; realizing the phone is ringing. Phone? What phone? Wait. Where is Sender? Where am I? She sat up, and answered the phone.
"Hello?"
It was Sender, and he was panicked. "Turn on the TV."
She did. Sender was being chased again. "But how?" She started to ask, but he cut her off.
"I figured I could use a shower. You might've liked one too. The room is paid off for the end of the week. There is enough money in the drawer for food, for a while. There is also a card with a phone number and address on it. Ignore the answering machine message. Say you are a friend of mine. Explain the situation. There should be a bus ticket there too. Use it if I don't make it out. They'll take care of you. They better."
She asked him, "What are you going to do?"
Sender hesitated. "I don't know yet. I am tired of running."
Alex voice was very soft. "Be careful. Don't leave me alone here."
Sender sighed. "You'll be fine. These people, as scary as it is for me to say, are probably the closest thing to family I got. They'll take good care of you. You might need to call them now�"
Alex nodded. "Okay. Be safe."
Sender was quiet. "I'll try."
Alex hung up, and dialed the number on the card. WAD-R? What an odd name�

Shutat walked down the stairs, practicing with the blades Garr had given him for Christmas. He hears the phone ringing, and decides to answer it. He presses the sword's tip into the ground, and uses it to pole-vault across the kitchen. Fenrir sees him coming and ducks out of the way. Shutat looks down.
"Sorry!" And lands in front of the phone. He picks it up. "G'day?"
He listens for a minute. "I am sorry, did you say� who?" His eyes grow wide, and he yells at Fenrir, "Brother! Turn on the TV! Fast!"
Fenrir nods, and throws the remote at the TV, it hits the 'on' button. It has become the only way it works. The TV comes on, and again, Sender's Jeep is being chased by the cops. "You know," Fenrir says, "I am kinda getting to like this show� Lot of action, no Teletubbies. Can't go wrong there."
Shutat was still on the phone. "Okay. Keep in touch then. We will contact you if it becomes necessary. Good luck. Aviento." He hung up.
Fenrir looked over. "Who was that?"
Shutat shrugged. "Some girl Sender met. Got the impression that she digs him."
Fenrir's mouth dropped. "No way? You serious? You sure it was a girl?"
Shutat nodded.
"Teen age?"
He nodded again.
"Huh. Do me a favor, don't tell F�nix. He and I had a bet. So what'd she say?"
"Only that Sender doesn't think he is going to get out of this one."
Fenrir frowned. "Uh oh. Well, if he doesn't think he is going to make it, then it ain't good. Don't tell him that I told you. I can't have people thinking I respect them now..."
Shutat shrugged. "Fine by me. If he lives."
They sat down and watched. Angel walked in, with DeGree on her arm. When they saw Shutat and Fenrir watching, they blushed and separated. Then Angel saw the TV and smacked herself on the forehead, yelling "Oh, CRAP!" She grabbed the piece of paper, and bolted out the door. DeGree watched her run, shrugged and sat down.

The road was about to end. Stupid construction. They had to end a bridge right in the middle of it. Oh, no, they couldn't maybe finish it, but no, when Sender needed it, it wasn't complete. That made perfect sense. A great end to the day. Well, crap, he said to himself. I've come this far� He floored it past the danger signs.

Lucy made it to the station in record time. She was speaking with the chief of police, and they were trying to get a line to the lead cop car. Time was running out.

Sender could see the end of the bridge. Long way down. Long way across. Well, he wasn't going to make it to the other side� Oh� man is this going to hurt�

The phone rang in the lead pursuer's car. His eyes widened, and he slammed on the brakes. All the cars behind him did around the same instant. Lots of rubber was left on the road.

Sender didn't notice this, and besides, he wouldn't have had time to stop anyway.

All the WAD-R members watched with horror as the Jeep ran out of pavement, and decided to see if it could disobey the laws of physics. It didn't.

Angel's jaw dropped as she watched the Jeep get a good distance across, but not nearly halfway, then drop out of sight into the canyon below. Softly she muttered, "No.. not again."

The Jeep took about 2 seconds to hit the ground. When it did, it created a fireball reaching up past the chasm, showing just how much firepower Sender had hidden in it. The smoke and fumes bellowed up, covering the end of the bridge in a black haze. No one could see past the end.

Fenrir softly spoke. "Damn."
It was echoed by everyone in the room.

Aries pulled away from her game of Starcraft. "Oh. Crap." She said, and went back to it.

Alex watched, sitting on the bed. She began to cry softly.

Yup� That did hurt. Sender thought as he climbed up from the edge of the chasm. He rolled over and looked at the concrete bridge above him. Man� That hurt. Let's see� Owe� Yeah, that's broken� Owe. That too. Owe owe owe. That that that. All broken. He sighed, then grasped for the dirt with his only good arm� man this was going to be hard�

One of the cops pulled up to the end of the bridge and whistled. "Damn, that had to hurt." He looked down, and saw a figure slowly crawling out of sight. "Not a bloody chance in�" He motioned for a couple men to go over and investigate.

Sender saw blue uniforms heading towards him� God, will they ever leave me alone? Fine then, he thought. Reaching down for his gun, he realized it would be too hard to pull it to his head. He did the best he could. I am sick of this. I am outta here.

A shot rang out; even those watching on TV heard it.

What?! No light at the end of the tunnel? What a crock.

Alex walked down the halls of the Nevada hospital. She stepped up timidly to the receptionist and was pointed down the hall. She walked down slowly, not knowing what to say, how to say it. She came across the right room, and knocked. A low moan answered. She stepped in.
"Hey," was all she could get out. Lord he looked terrible. His shoulder had been damaged in the shot; an arm and a leg were broken. His ribs had to be held together by being wrapped around tightly with bandages. Cuts, bruises and gashes lined his face. He looked like he had just gone through Hell. "Sender, why did you leave me at the hotel?"
He spoke softly, breathing really hurt. "Saw cops checking out my car from window. Climbed out back, jumped on roof, and led them away so you'd be safe."
Alex nodded. "Oh. Thank you, Sender. You're probably the first real friend I ever made out here� But I don't think I can handle all this excitement you obviously live with."
Sender thought to himself, where I've been, this would qualify as a good day.
Alex kept going. "Well, here is the bus ticket and the money, I don't need it. I'll be fine." She handed the money to him. Sender shook his head as best he could.
"Owe. No. Keep it. You never know when it might come in handy. Don't worry, I have plenty of money, I'll be fine. You sure about this?"
"Yeah," she nodded. "I'll always remember you though. Goodbye, Sender."
She bent over, kissed him on the cheek, and walked out of his life forever.

The WAD-R group, sans Fenrir and F�nix, walked down to the receptionist desk of the hotel. Taking one look at them, the receptionist pointed down the hall and said the room number. Akari nodded, and led the group to his room. They brushed past a gray-eyed girl walking the other way, tears in her eyes.
Jeffy's voice muttered, "Ohh� someone got burned."
Akari sighed at him, "You know, you get real annoying when we can't elbow you for stuff like that."
"Hehe."
They went into the room without knocking, a WAD-R standard. Shutat shut the door behind him, and moved to the window and stuck his head out. "Hey Fenrir! Over here!"
The Zerg scaled the wall and was inside in a minute, muttering about 'stupid hospital security, won't even let a dog in�' He took one look at Sender and said, "Dang dude. That had to hurt." He got smacked.
Angel asked him, "You all right? When are you going to get out of here?"
Sender shrugged. Owe. Well, physical expression was out of the question. "I'll live, I think. I dunno, hopefully soon. How was the party?"
Akari grinned. "Oh, it was fun, we all got arrested again, but hey, it was worth it."
Somehow, Jeffy found a remote and threw it at Fenrir.
"Owe."
"Hehe."
Sender sighed. "Well, I guess things are back to normal."
Fenrir grinned evilly, "Nope, not yet. Now I can pick on you and you can't do anything about it." Another remote hit him. "Owe."
Angel slapped Fenrir. "Be nice."
"Owe again. Everybody ganging up on Fenny. No fair."
DeGree spoke up, "Oh yeah dude, we got a new member while you were out gallivanting around. Meet AngelsShatter."
AngelsShatter stepped up and nodded.
Sender tried to nod back. "Hi. Two Angels? Man now I am really going to get confused�"

Within weeks, Sender was out of the bandages and back at the castle. Then one day it clicked with him what happened to his Jeep.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

[Thanks to Jeffy, the ex-ex-WAD-R member for the lady and the tramp bit. He said if I didn't add that in he'd hurt me ;-). Oh yeah, and Lucy is a meanie head ;-) Oh yeah, and sorry to any new people who just joined, sorry but that was a last minute addition and I ain't changing this thing again! I is sick of it, so here it is� err� was.]

THE END