A steady cloud of dust followed the lifted red pickup truck as it fairly flew over the regular rise and fall of the desert floor. All four windows of its crew cab were down, and strains of Metallica's "Unforgiven" drifted out onto the still desert air. Logan, the driver, was a tanned surfer kid in his mid twenties. His shaggy blonde hair drifted across his face as he took a drag of a cigarette.

"Hey fukcer, hand me a beer"

Derrick, the guy riding shotgun, was a bit shorter and mildly Italian. His straight black long hair was pulled back into a ponytail and his lip sported several piercings. He scratched at one of his newer tattoos as he reached between his legs and pulled a dripping Budweiser out of a little cooler.

"Can we put in something else? We've been listing to Metallica for the whole fukcing trip!"

Logan turned to glance at the ladies in the back seat. His girlfriend, Shana, made a kissy face and giggled. Jen, the other passenger, rolled her eyes. She and Derrick had been together for quite some time and jokingly mocked Logan and Shana's fresh relationship.

"Could one of you lovely creatures hand me a new CD? Captain Grouch over here has had enough Metallica"

Logan grabbed the CD and passed it to Derrick, who grunted his approval and fed it into the CD player. The harsh sounds of Gwar drowned out the truck's exhaust as Logan reached over and cranked up the volume.

It was a good day for some fun in the dirt with good friends. Logan and Derrick had known each other for several years, and quickly became good friends because of their fascination with amateur radio and off-roading. The desert was familiar territory for the two guys. Any time they needed a break to blow off some steam they took some vacation time, stocked up on beer and junk food, and headed out to the vast nothingness of California's southern deserts. Shooting, rock collecting, exploring, and camping were all on this trip's agenda.

"Um... Guys"

This was Shana. She had a cute voice and striking teal eyes framed by soft blonde hair, and was currently tapping her foot rapidly.

"Can we stop? I have to pee."

Logan laughed as he turned to Derrick.

"Whaddaya say? Pit stop?"

"Aye! I could drain the lizard myself."

Logan backed off the throttle and the truck rolled to a stop/