Stealing is an unforgivable crime.

On the one hand, you will serve time in prison. But on the other hand, stealing a car from a perverted socialite is better than walking. 

Thanks to Brooke, the children were resting comfortably on their brand-new seats. The air conditioner miraculously cooled the sweat on their sweaty faces. 

"I gotta hand it to the sleaze," Nessa giggled. 

"This baby can go 3,000 miles per hour."

Caleb grinned, slinging his arm comfortably around Brooke's right shoulder.

"Hell yeah," he hollered. "And it's all thanks to this beautiful badass right here!" 

Brooke did a cute giggle while Johnny trade high-fives with his best friend Caleb. 

"Way to go, Brooke!" Johnny cheered.

Toying with the loose brown lock with her fingers, Brooke smiles at her friends' compliments. 

"Thanks, guys," she mumbled shyly. 

Soon Spin Doctors were replaced by the Phoenix siblings' favorite band, Metallica as Johnny cruised on the pale gray highway. 

Together, they sang "Master of Puppets" while drumming their fingers against the dashboard. 

It was the first time Johnny had ever smiled.

Bobbing his head in tune, he laughs at his little sister playing air guitar. 

But even so, Johnny turned the volume down and slowed the vehicle in case if there are any police cars lurking in the area.

"Hey, after this, can we listen to Pearl Jam?" asked Nessa.

"Why?" Johnny frowns in contempt."I thought you loved Metallica." 

"I do, but Eddie Vedder has the voice of a beautiful angel." 

Sitting in the back seat, a doubtful Caleb frowned, "Didn't you say you had a huge crush on David Grohl from Nirvana?" 

"I also remember you told me that you liked that bassist player from Red Hot Chili Peppers," Brooke added. 

"Was his name Flint or Flynn?" 

"Flea." Johnny politely corrects Brooke. "His name is Flea." 

Brooke blushes even more. "Oh, sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Johnny replies as he adjusts the mirror above his head. 

"One day, Eddie Vedder and I are going to get married," Nessa vowed. 

"I seriously doubt that, sis." Johnny snorts. 

That's when Nessa's face became bright red. 

"Shut up!" she grunted. "Eddie Vedder is like the secret love child of Kurt Cobain and River Phoenix."

"Nessa's right," Caleb claims in agreement. "I mean, I have seen his photos."

Brooke gawked at this. "You think Eddie is attractive?"

"He is the second attractive person in the world," Caleb smirked.

"Oh really?" Brooke asked, smiling. "So, who's the first?"

"You."

Laughing, Brooke wraps her arms around Caleb's neck and passionately kisses him on the upper lip.

"Sweetie." she murmured. 

"Beautiful." Caleb rubs his nose against hers, earning an irritated groan from Nessa. 

"Seriously!" she grumbles to Johnny, whose eyes were glued to the road. "Can't Bonnie and Clyde stop ogling each other for two minutes?"

Johnny steered the car across the light gray pavement. His posture is steady but the smell of cherry blossoms clouded his thoughts. 

"What can I say?" he smirked. "They deserve each other."

Nessa blinked in his brother's direction. 

"They do," she started to say. "But I don't understand why you and Brooke broke up." 

That's when Johnny froze. "What do you mean by that?" 

His little sister casually shrugs her shoulders.

"Well, I like Caleb and all," she started to say. 

"But I just want to know why you two split up. I mean, did you cheat on Brooke?"

"No, of course not!" Johnny blurts in a soft voice. 

A skeptical Nessa glowered at him.

"Brooke and I never cheated on each other. It's just that we were. .never happy." 

The animosity on Nessa's face vanished.

I have been told by my partner that the Phoenix siblings are. .complicated, but they are not arrogant like some students in the academy.

Nessa and Johnny both enjoy the excitement, but they never mistreated the innocent.  

Sure, they massacred demons, witches, and warlocks. But whenever the mission is over, the siblings would sit down, examine their bloody weapons, and contemplate their brutal actions.  

Their parents taught them many things, but showing emotion isn't one of them. 

"The reason why I broke up with her is that she deserves to be with someone who makes her laugh." Johnny stopped near a red light and takes a quick peek at Nessa. 

"Someone who doesn't treat her like shit, you know?"

Nessa watched him drive past a battered SUV and replied: "Yeah, but you never treated Brooke like shit."

"Being sentimental isn't my thing." 

"So?" 

Johnny takes a deep breath. 

"So, that's why I have decided to call it off." he sighed. "I focused on my studies while Brooke started seeing Caleb."

"Oh, yeah. I remember." Nessa murmured, rubbing her bottom chin. 

On the first day of school, Caleb and Johnny never got along with each other. 

Now, Johnny is a serious and composed student. Not only he is a deadly warrior, but an intelligent boy destined to be like his father. 

But in the meantime, Caleb is a laid-back, free-spirit. In fact, you might call the boy a slacker: he makes stupid jokes in class, doesn't do his homework, and never pays attention to the teachers.

However, this kid manages to get good grades in every school subject-including AP Chemistry. 

Because of their differences, Johnny and Caleb never spoke to each other until Headmaster Prometheus sent them on a mission to apprehend nasty goblins from terrorizing Los Angeles. 

At first, they ignored one another like water and oil. But when Johnny was nearly torn apart by goblins, Caleb risked his life saving his classmate. 

After the mission was over, the boys became close friends. 

Nessa smiled until she caught a glimpse of something sitting in one of the cupholders. It was a leather wallet dipped in the color of dark chocolate. 

"Hey!" she picks up the wallet and opens it to discover an enormous roll of cash. "Guess what I found!"  

The children craned their necks to see a happy Nessa fanning the dollar bills at her face. 

"Whoa!" Caleb cried. "Where the hell did you get the cash?" 

Nessa gathered the bills and hands them over to Brooke. "This guy has at least six-million dollars in his wallet!"

Brooke counted the money, then shakes her head.  

"No," she sighed, handing the money back to Nessa. "It's five-hundred dollars." 

"And it's ours."Johnny grinned. "Let's split it between the four of us, but leave the credit card."

Nessa's smile instantly went away. "Why?" 

"Because it's not ours."  

As soon as the lights switched green, the light gray Toyota accelerates. 

Johnny's hands fastened the steering wheel, praying that he wouldn't get pulled over by the cops. Meanwhile, Nessa tries to convince her friends to use the money. 

"Come on, Johnny!" she moaned. "You can use the credit card to fix up that broken car of yours. We could even buy more food!"

Caleb grimaced at her argument. 

"I don't know Nessa," he begins wearily. "I think it's stupid, stealing from that sleazy guy."

"Look, it's my fault that we're broke," Johnny confessed. "I was trying to fix that damn car engine, but-" 

Nessa placed her hand on Johnny's right shoulder. 

"Don't beat yourself up," she says softly. "It was my fault. Maybe I should have stopped complaining about that stupid engine."

"But with a credit card—"

"Nessa!"  

Throwing up her hands in frustration, she shares the money with her friends and shoves the card back inside the man's wallet. 

"Okay, but we have been driving for six hours." she sighed. "Can't we at least get a bite to eat?" 

Caleb's stomach rumbled, but it sounded like it was passing gas. 

"Oh my God, Caleb." Brooke stifled a moan. 

"What?" 

"Can you tell your stomach to stop farting?"

"Don't blame me," he grunts. "Blame my stomach!" 

To quench his hunger, Caleb unzips his backpack, picks up a bag of cheesy Doritos, and devoured the chips in seconds.

He passed the bag around his friends until the cheese-powdered chips were gone.

*  *  *  * *
Stationing the car on the driveway, the children entered the Hamburger Inn.

Backpacks weakened their tired shoulders as Brooke King, Caleb Wolfe, and the Phoenix siblings wandered into an affluent diner where they sat on very comfortable chairs. 

Johnny and Nessa sat in the front of the couple who got themselves settled in their seats. 

Leaning her head on Caleb's shoulder, Brooke looks at him. "This place seems pretty cozy. It reminds me of that restaurant we went to last month." 

Maple brown tiles smoothed their feet; empty red chairs and sleek brown tables filled the massive room as lights showered the children's worn faces.  

Sitting on the red chairs were Marilyn Monroe, James Dean, Lucille Ball, Frank Sinatra, and other deceased idols drinking martinis and smoking cigars. 

Smoothing her vibrant red locks, Lucille Ball looked up from the yellow menu, then waved at the children.

Nessa waved back while Johnny was a little uncomfortable hanging around the mirages of former celebrities. 

Their eyes stroll past old silhouettes hanging on bricked walls. 

While the children presented their passports to the waitress, Brooke showed the drawing to the customers, asking them if they had recognized this little girl.  

But much to her disappointment, everyone shook their heads. 

"God, this is hopeless." Brooke tucked her notebook in her bag, then held Caleb's strong hand. 

"We'll never find her." 

Johnny gives his ex-girlfriend a reassuring smile. "Don't give up, I am sure the kid is in California somewhere."

Brooke did a sigh. She tries to be positive, but the thought of the girl's body abandoned on the road made her sick.

"Hey, don't worry, Brooke." Caleb held her hand tightly. "We'll find the kid. And besides—"

He reaches into his pocket and pulled out four tickets to a Wu-Tang Clan concert.

"—Wu-Tang is playing tonight in Los Angeles!" Caleb squealed. "After we find the girl, we HAVE to go there!" 

Nessa inspects the slips of paper then asked: "Where did you get the tickets, Caleb? They must be really expensive."

Caleb smirked, "Oh, a telepath has his ways."

Just then, a waitress in her early twenties walked up to the children.

"Hi, my name is Caitlin Holmes." she kindly introduced. "How may I take your order?"

The four friends stopped talking then looked up at her. 

She has blond hair, curious blue eyes, rosy cheeks, and a beautiful smile. And like many waitresses, she had on a lemon yellow dress, a white apron, light brown stockings, and black shoes.

Embarrassed by their curious stares, Caitlin asked if they needed some time. 

A nervous Johnny quickly shakes his head. 

"No, sorry." he stuttered. 

Caitlin blushed.

Her eyes were mesmerized by Johnny's black clothes and messy hair that she nearly dropped her notebook.

Quickly, Johnny stooped over to pick it up when the flustered waitress snatched the book from the floor and dusted her gown.

"Sorry about that," she says nervously. "So what would you like to eat?" 

"Okay," Brooke says, peering at the menu. "I will have a bowl of veggie chili." 

After writing in her notebook, the waitress glances at Nessa who was finished reading her menu. 

"I would like a gluten-free sandwich," Nessa asked. 

"Gluten?" Caleb repeated. 

His right hand was tired of holding Brooke's so he takes the concert tickets and slides them inside his pocket. 

"What the hell is that?" 

"It's a chemical in bread products," Nessa scowled. 

"I don't think gluten is a chemical." he pointed out. 

Nessa threw up her frustrated hands in the air. "Okay, so what is it then?" 

"I don't know, but it is not a chemical," he stated as a matter of fact. "As for me, I will have the kelp salad."

The girls and Johnny stared at Caleb in complete shock.

"What?" he cried. "I put veggies first."

"Is that why you were eyeing that fried steak, two seconds ago?" retorted Brooke.  

The couple bicker when Johnny patiently interrupts them, "Hey guys, you are keeping the lady waiting." 

"Nessa would have a gluten-free sub sandwich, Caleb would like a sausage pizza, Brooke would like veggie chili, and I would like some fries and chicken nuggets." 

"French fries and chicken nuggets?" Nessa sniggered. "What are you, seven?" 

Johnny ignores her. "Can we also get a Coke, please?"

"Okay," Caitlin smiled sweetly, documenting their orders. "I will be right back with your meals." 

As soon as she left, Caleb grinned. "That waitress thinks you're cute." 

Johnny scrunches his thin eyebrows. "First of all, can you stop reading people's private thoughts? It's fucking creepy."

"And second, the waitress was not hitting on me."

"Easy for you to say, Prince Charming." Brooke laughed. "You were staring at her too."

"Yeah," Johnny snorts. "but-"

"You love her," Caleb teased, poking his reddened cheeks. "You totally love her." 

"Shut up," Johnny sighs again. "Anyway, let's talk about the missing girl. What's her story, anyway. ." 

Walking across the brown tiles, Caitlin rips the piece of paper off her small journal and hands it to the overweight chef. 

His white uniform is caked in grease and flour.

Beefy hands clenched the wet washcloth in his massive, hairy fist. Blue eyes gazed down at the soapy trail, as Morty wipes the bacon grease on his across his bleach white chest.

"Here you go." she beams proudly. 

The culinarian stared at the white lunch counter, refusing to examine the sheet of paper.

"I am not cooking shit for those freaks," he grunted.  

Lowering the sheet of paper, Caitlin frowned.

"Come on, Morty," she muttered. "Can't you at least show some decency towards these kids?" 

Morty glanced up from the wet lunch counter. 

"Tell these kids we can't serve them." he barked. 

"But Morty—"

"If those kids are so innocent, why the hell is that Keanu Reeves kid carrying a sword?" 

Caitlin stares at Johnny, whose polished black katana hung on his strong back. 

"I don't know," she grimaces. "But they showed their passports. And besides, these kids aren't causing any trouble."  

Morty stares at the children who were talking amongst themselves, then back at Caitlin, who hands him back the list of orders she had written down. 

"Now, are you going to serve them or not?"

The chef stares at the paper reluctantly and snatches it from her hand. 

"Fine," he grunts. "I'll get cooking."

As time went on, thunder boomed like an explosion as rain spilled onto the thick concrete.

Trails of water drizzled on the cool glass; the music from the boom box transformed from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer to a sullen melody. 

The abrupt commotion disturbs the clients as they set down their forks and burgers. Seeing this, Brooke unties the sleeves of her navy jacket and puts it on. 

"Did anyone bring their jackets?" she asked. 

Caleb, Johnny, and Nessa bob their heads.

Light puddles accumulated into thick, murky ponds. Cars ran over them, shooting pale specks of water at the foggy windows.

But just when everything was safe, an old man burst through the glass doors, clinging onto his bleeding stomach.

His hair is cleanly shaven.

The man's skin is the color of black coffee, and his sodden garments looked as though they had been torn apart by lions.

Abandoning her seat, Nessa hurries over to the dying civilian and applied pressure to his wound.

But much to her disappointment, the man was losing too much blood.

"Oh, man." groaned Nessa. "This guy needs a doctor and quick!"