Chapter Two (Edit Two)

     Xephyr found himself in an odd stupor, not saying a word and listening to the hum of the engine in the car he wound up in. Damian decided it would be best if they had all split up and gotten to Alexandria in their own way. He decided he would hitchhike. Normal people would advise against doing such a thing, both going out to hitchhike and picking up one, but Xephyr was not a normal person and the man who had picked him up must have been different in his own way as well. Perhaps too trusting? Naive? The words pondered back and forth in Xephyr's mind.
     The man had tried starting conversation, trying to make Xephyr feel comfortable, or maybe it was just for the man's own need for companionship with those around him. Xephyr being lost in his own thoughts about taking down Revenant only nodded and said a couple words when they seemed necessary. He felt bad, cause he knew that this man was nice enough to pick up a stranger, especially as suspicious as he looked.
     Xephyr had walked down highways, thumb up towards the morning skies. Xephyr donned a white tank-top and black jeans along with his two usual items, a special black trench coat and his signature indigo sunglasses. Sometimes, he wished that the trench coat wasn't so necessary, but it had saved him almost every time in the few battles he had been in after escaping Revenant. It carried four firearms along with sixteen magazines; four for each. Various snacks and water packs. A zippo lighter. Two medium length Katanas, his prized Kodachis, were amazingly enough sowed into the hip. It hid a cache of goods that would scare almost anyone if they found out, especially on a hitchhiker of all people.
      "...Catacombs?", the voice broke Xephyr's deep zone.
     "Sorry, what'd you say?", trying to sound like he had just misheard that one question instead of never listening to him at all.
      "Why do ya wanna see the catacombs? 'Scuse me if I'm wrong, but you don' look like the type who just packs up ta go see da sights on a whim", the man chuckled a bit. Xephyr chucked himself at the irony of it. That pretty much hit the nail on the head-except for the part where he'd be part of destroying the sights too.
     "Actually, I have my history major and Egypt always piqued my interest. So I decided to fly down and decided to check it out. I had a rental car, but it broke down. "
      "So ya just left'er there on the side of the road?"
     "Yeah, I really didn't have an option.", Xephyr smiled his genuine smile. Perfected over the years.
     "Odd...I don't remember seeing a car on the side of the road...but maybe someone took it 'ey?", he winked at that last statement. This was a very peculiar man, very perceptive to things.
      Xephyr stayed silent for a few more moments, staring out into the shimmering horizon of the waters as the afternoon sun glistened upon it. He rolled down the window a bit and felt the wind whip his hair about. This was one of the few times he was grateful his memories remained intact from his first life. Xephyr was still able to appreciate all the little things; like air dancing between his follicles and twirling on his scalp, massaging his face. He meant to close his eyes for a moment but became an unexpected victim to sleep.
     Roughly an hour and a half later, he was awoken by the gentle nudging of his driver.
     "Hey buddy...You awake?", Xephyr's eyes snapped open and his hands immediately shot towards his weaponry. His left hand flicked off the safety on his gun and right hand on the hilt of his kodachi and both of them were almost drawn until in the next instant he remembered where he was.
     "Yeah...I'm sorry, I just don't like to be woken up by other people", he forced a natural laugh like it was a natural mistake, which it was.
      "'Ey, no worries. I just thought ya might like to know  that we've arrived", and indeed, Xephyr had found himself at the Catacombs.
     "Oh, thanks man. Here, let me give you some cash for gas", He had begun to go into his pockets for some cash, but the man had waived it away.
     "Nah, keep it. I was goin' this way anyway. 'Sides, I can tell you got somethin' serious to do. You just got this look in yer eyes. Just try not to hurt anyone capiche?", Xephyr was kinda flabbergasted that a normal human was able to see so much out of him. It almost hurt as he stepped outta the vehicle.
     "Oh, yeah, and even though it's underground, it can get pretty hot down there. Be careful and get some water when you can. Nobody wants to get heat stroke'"
     "Thank you sir", Xephyr waved with sincerity and walked towards the entrance looking for anyone who have may had already shown up.

 
     Skylar was in an unsettled state of mind. She was on her way to the catacombs coming from the North on a bus. Cars was already on the list of dislikes and having to share the vehicle with noisy, obnoxious passengers just annoyed her even more. She couldn't stand the naturally obtrusive public, and she let out a small groan in dissatisfaction as she saw a mother of two noisy, probably bratty, children walk onto the bus and right past her. One of the children looked barely old enough to walk, but was still enough just old enough to irritate her. As the child ambled on by, it reached up and tried to touch her, but with a sharp glare, the mother ushered the child away. However, to Skylar's dismay, to sit right behind her.
     Skylar shrugged it off as much as she could. It could have been worse. It could have been some old men, or even young men for that matter, oggling her. That was what she had a problem with. When she was looked over with lust. She was a pretty specimen, but she always tried to dull her appearance, especially in this case to blend in with the crowd. Skylar had worn her hair up in a messy pony tail, no need to do anything elaborate. She sported a tanned button up with short sleeves to if anything be able to blend in with the various sand and stones a bit. A pair of loose fitting khakis was just thrown onto match with some white tennis shoes. The thing that she made sure to be particularly careful of was the large backpack she had.
     It looked normal enough, just a pack that any high school or college student or even a tourist would sling across their back. The inside however was anything but. There was only two contents in the bag, but what they were were the most vital of the mission. Stowed away were explosives, enough to take out a city block at the least and the laptop that would detonate it. She made sure to keep that away especially from the two kids that decided to take residency in her vicinity.
      As the bus slowed to a halt at the next stop, a man across the seat got out freeing it. The woman as well as her two children moved over to the next seat with the smaller of the two children sitting on the mother's lap by the window and the older closer to the aisle. Skylar didn't have to look at the kid or even acknowledge him to feel the pushy gaze that the kid bored into her face. It obstructed everything in her peripherals and took up her concentration.
     Skylar took an icy breath through clenched teeth, closed her eyes, and let it out. She tried to ignore the kid and dully focused a bit more on the white noise all around. A woman talking on her cell phone towards the back. A man snoring unusually loud somewhere. The voices of a few teenagers roaring in laughter over some asinine joke no doubt. Yet, Skylar had learned that those were the times they lived in and that there was no escaping it. She tried to dampen the noise with her own thoughts and tried to meditate on her own goals at hand for a moment when something poked her cheek.
     Eyes snapping open, she saw the staring kids finger still lingering in the air, pointing at her, eyes accompanied by a blank expression. Any older, and Skylar would've broken it right then and there. Even so, she was still contemplating it, although she knew she couldn't draw any attention to herself whatsoever.
      "Missus...Whasin the bag?"
     Skylar opened her mouth to mouth off at the kid, something cliche about how the kid shouldn't be talking to strangers or something trite and cliche, but the mother quickly sensed the disturbance and drew her kid in with her hand, clasping it over the kids gaping hole. At least the mother was smart enough to know when someone ought not to be bugged.
     "Michael! What have I told you about keeping your hands to yourself?! I'm terribly sorry Miss"
     "Oh, no, don't worry about it. I don't  mind it with inattentive mothers let their kids poke me in the face and stick their noses in my business. It doesn't bother me one bit", the mother seemed apologetic enough, but that wasn't going to prevent her from being bit into.
      Luckily, Skylar didn't have to wait for a response. She saw the catacombs looming ahead and pulled the string to get off the bus, but not before giving the little boy another dagger tipped glance.  As she stepped out into the noon Egyptian heat, she regretted not bringing a hat, already feeling the intense heat bearing down on her long blonde hair. Draping the backpack over her shoulder carefully, she set off towards the catacombs.
     Skylar passed by a couple places to sit, and her lazy tendencies were a great temptation. She decided against it when she looked down at her watch and saw the time creeping by when they were all supposed to meet near the entrance. Skylar didn't want to be late and be seen in anyway similar as The Voice, so she walked on.
     Speak of the devil... She thought to herself seeing Xephyr in his 'signature' black trench coat and his purple hair. Sighing, already knowing that the captain was going to say something about how he specifically told us all to blend in well and thus was going to have to chastise Xephyr was something that Skylar was getting annoyed with just thinking about.



    
    


(Edit One: Just a short edit, like you suggested, I changed up the wording. I agree with what you said. Still going to add in more characters. Also, good catch on the 'dawned' 'donned' thing.)

(Edit Two: Added in the perspective of Skylar, The Explosive Soul. Going to add in Anya The Firebreather then Jack the Innocent, then lastly, Damian. Haven't slept in a couple days so excuse how this edit turned out, can't think straight, but I need to keep up on this.  Also, if I should just add in each new character as a separate blag post and just connect them all through title to make things easier, just let me know.

As always, criticisms, concerns, comments, and suggestions are welcome. Thanks for taking the time to read)