Ricky, Krause, and Boney got to town in no time with the help of the Friendly Skating Gang. They were checked into Einesville Sunset Inn and they slept like bricks. Krause, however, had troubling dreams. He usually never had them, but tonight was different. He dreamt that he was standing at the crash site of the strange object and Uncle Flint was staring up at the night sky with his grim face, clutching his baseball bat tightly. It seemed that he was waiting for something-or-another. Suddenly, there was a strong gust of wind. He crossed his arms and braced himself, gritting his teeth. The smoke from the wreckage blew into his face and then covered the rest of his body until he couldn’t be seen. There was a quick flash of pale white light, then he was gone.

"That sounds pretty weird," Ricky said. Krause had a strange feeling that he must tell his brother about his dream. It seemed so vivid and real, that he was still chilled from the cold light. It was around noon and they were well rested. The sun was shining and the birds were all singing. Boney was up wandering around, obviously looking for something to eat. Krause fed him half of his peanut cheese bar and ate the other half.

"I wonder if Dad, whoops, Uncle Flint is okay…" Krause said out loud, munching on his tasty peanut cheese bar. Ricky raised an eyebrow.

"I’m sure he is. He probably just left to…kill the pigs," he said with a gulp.

"Exactly. He might be dead."

"Of course he isn’t dead! Didn’t you ever listen to his stories about how he was the warrior who saved everything west of Cactus Desert from the bandits?"

"Oh yeah…I bet he’s off trying to do something big. I’m still worried."

There was a knock at their door. Ricky got up and answered it. He saw that it was the maid, holding an envelope in her hand.

"Hello sir," she said with a smile, "You have a letter from someone named…Flint. I know it’s not time for the mail, but it seems urgent."

"Thank you, ma’m!" Ricky said quickly, grabbing it from her hand. She gave him a look of mild disgust and left. He ran over to the little table with Krause and Boney right behind him. They all crowded around the table.

"Oh my gosh! That’s kind of ironic, don’t you think?" Krause said anxiously.

"Argh! Now that’s song’s gonna be stuck in my head!" Ricky said, tearing open the envelope. With trembling hands, he held up the letter. It looked like it was written in a hurry, because it was written on notebook paper and had many inkblots and scratches. They all quietly read it.

Ricky’s paintball gun was still in the wreckage of the truck and Krause broke his slingshot when he landed on it. Their combined money was about $43. Einesville itself was a little hamlet in Kraut Valley, representing the only lodging for miles. It was a modest place, full of quirky antique brick buildings built by German settlers a couple hundred years ago. The local sheriff and clergy ran it and everybody there was relatively happy about it. Despite what Flint had said, they knew that they couldn’t find anyone in the town with what they needed. Being observant, Krause noticed there was also writing on the back of the letter.

Feeling very relieved that Skate Punk Mike had paid their bill, Boney and the twins hurried across the street to the drugstore that they hung out in when they got bored and happened to be in town. It was a little place, like the rest of the town. The shelves were packed with all kinds of goods that you’d expect in a small town store. Buddy, the friendly manager and only employee greeted them with a smile.

"Hi, kids! What are you needing today?"

Ricky stepped up and gulped. Though there was nobody else in the room, he spoke in a hushed voice.

"Hi…we’re associated with Mr. Flint and we’re looking for some…specialized goods."

Buddy’s smile vanished and was replaced by a more serious expression, then he leaned down and said:

"I trust you guys. I’ve seen you before and you’re only kids, but if you know about Flint…well…you must be trustworthy. I don’t want to ask anything more."

Buddy typed in something on the cash register, then whispered something. A mechanical voice responded by saying "Accepted." There was the sound of a click, then something slowly sliding, then a thud. Boney perked his ears up. The twins saw that a shelf in the corner had slipped away, revealing what appeared to be a secret door.

"Cool…" said Ricky.

"Hurry, now!" Buddy told them. They went through the opening and into a small, well-lit room full of crates marked with such things as DANGER and PANDORA’S BOX. Sitting at an office desk in a leather chair was a well-dressed, half-bald black man. He stood up, tapped the side of his sunglasses, and cocked his head a bit.

"Well, I usually have many interesting folk come here, but never in the history of Pandora inc. have we had any patrons so…young. Anyway, the customer’s always right."

He snapped his fingers and the shelf slowly closed, falling back into it’s normal position.

"Though you should be aware that our company’s slogan is Cavis Emptor, I assure you’ll enjoy our…products. Enough talk. What do you want?"

"We’re…looking for something to…defend ourselves with," Krause began.

"But we’ve got a tight budget!" Ricky added.

"Well, I can offer you the latest hand-held incendiary weapons, or maybe a good old silenced Moonraker laser? Oh, what the hey! Come and look for yourself!"

They hesitantly stepped forward, but Boney was already scratching on the shelf that led back into the drugstore. With a broad grin, the black guy tapped the bottom of the desk and the desktop totally flipped, revealing very cool-looking guns, including one that looked like something out of a high-budget science fiction movie.

"How tight is your budget?" he asked.

"Uh…$43."

The black guy raised an eyebrow.

"You also carry less money than anybody in the history of my business. I’ve got some stuff over here that you might be able to buy."

He walked over to a corner that looked quite neglected. He blew the dust off of a cardboard box and opened it.

"Come here!"

They looked at each other and walked over to him.

"I’ve got bottle rockets filled with traces of nitroglycerin (be careful), some ranged 50-volt tasers, a military-grade titanium baseball bat, and some other stuff you can’t find anywhere else."

Ricky was fond of the titanium baseball bat, though it was very heavy. It was best if you aim for the middle of the torso, he was told, because then it cracks ribs and knocks you opponent down more effectively. Krause was pickier. He dug through the big box and finally found a frying pan balanced for combat and stealth attacks. He would have picked a taser, but he knew that they needed to conserve at least a little bit of their money. The grand total was $34.21, but it would’ve normally been much higher. The dealer claimed that he let them off easy because they were both his youngest customers and they carried the least amount of money. The twins were told to leave via the inconspicuous door in the left corner and to come back soon with more cash and/or cool things to sell. They called Boney over and left, remembering to do so very quickly, as to not arouse suspicion.

About twenty minutes later, the twins and their dog were waiting at the little train station. There seemed to be only one other person waiting, and she appeared to be a very average middle-aged lady. It was a good sign that nobody was trying to pursue them. But Krause had a nagging worry inside of him that didn’t seem to go away. He was probably just imagining things…

"I wish this bat wasn’t so darn heavy," Ricky said, pacing back and forth in an attempt to get used to the weight.

"I’m not the one who bought it," Krause reminded him. He looked down at Boney, who looked very bored. Was he the only one who felt nervous? He sat back and sighed deeply. Suddenly, they heard a distant rattling. The train was coming. The conductors came out and started to get the goods ready. In about a minute, a silver streak flashed through the tunnel and began to slow down. In moments, the super-fast bullet train pulled up to the station and opened it’s doors. The conductors quickly began loading the boxes on board as the twins hurried on, Ricky dragging Boney on board. It wasn’t the first time they had been on a train, but they still had to get used to the immense speed of them. There were several others on board as well, but nobody in their coach looked too suspicious. (Except maybe for a Mr. T-looking fellow in the back) They found a comfortable seat for themselves with a nice table and luggage rack. Pretty soon, the shout of "All aboard!" rang out and the doors slid shut. The engineer welcomed the new people on and thanked them for choosing Supersonic Express. Then without further warning, the train jerked forward, accelerating from about 0 to 100 mph in nearly a second. Hills flew by as the train grew increasingly faster, then finally averaged out. The twins decided that they should discuss their plans quietly. They both agreed that they should expect the unexpected, but they never came to a conclusion on where they would stay. Coal Town was slightly larger than Einesville, by about two hundred people. Maybe someone there might be generous enough to help out two kids and their dog… It was getting towards two o’ clock when the hills started getting rougher and plants got more scarce, but it wasn’t very recognizable at 240 mph. They decided that they needed something to eat, so they headed off towards the dining coach. Ricky ordered a hamburger and Krause ordered two hot dogs, one of which he shared with a very happy Boney. As they sat down to eat, however, a strange, plump figure walked in from the other coach. It was wearing a clean black business suit and a large, matching hat. He spoke to the lady at the counter in a low, rough voice that Krause’s prying ears could only hear faintly. She handed him a big bowl of salad and he walked over to sit in the booth right behind the twins. Boney gave a long look at him, then growled a bit.

"Quiet, boy," Ricky told Boney softly. The man - or thing – began eating, and they could tell by the sound it was making. Krause lip-synched the word ‘Pig’ and Ricky nodded nervously. They ate swiftly and in silence. Ricky carefully walked up to pay the bill. As he handed the money to the woman, he glanced back towards the obvious pig and saw the white of one of his eyes from underneath the shadow of his hat. It was watching him. He gritted his teeth and turned to Krause. With that, they promptly exited the coach and back to their own. They sat down and began talking in hushed tones.

"The pigs are following us…" Krause whispered in a panicked tone.

"Brilliant, Einstein!" Ricky said. He reached for his baseball bat and in a low, grim tone said, "I’m sure ready!"

Krause reached for his frying pan apprehensively. He seriously doubted that the pigs would attempt to do anything to them while on the train, but their uncle warned them to expect the unexpected. After a very long minute of worried silence, the intercom came on and told passengers that they would be arriving in Coal town in approximately three minutes and to prepare likewise. The train began to slow down, and the twins could clearly see that they were in a vast desert, with red bluffs and mesas far in the background. Though it seemed a bit later, Ricky’s watch read 2:14. They had covered about two hundred miles in a little less than an hour. In no time at all, the mighty bullet train screeched to a halt. They were in Coal Town.