Dariüse crosses the finish line and meets up with the guy who was on the monitor. 

The announcer yells with excitement, "THAT WAS A HELLUVA RACE!"

The crowd is cheering so loud it’s hard to hear the guy from the monitor even with him yelling, but he continues, "HERE IS YOUR PASS TO THE OTHER SIDE, IT LAST FOR ONE YEAR. I HOPE TO SEE YOU AGAIN NOW!"

The guy says it with an evil smirk. Dariüse takes the pass. They are a kinda sick reminder of the pre-war days. They look like a credit card in every way. Serial number’s, expiration dates, barcodes that swipe on the back. No silly pictures, pop culture references, or bank logos though. Just a dumb, shitty reminder that there’s them and than everyone else. And maybe with this shitty card you too can become one of them. Dariüse catches up to Stan and Quiet at the eatery they stopped at the day before.

Stan looks at Dariüse with a smug grin, "So how was it?"

Dariüse answers, "Ah… nothing big, just some nigga tried to kill me. Oh, this building almost fell on me, and these fucking fire hydrants shot fire out at me. Crazy really, but you know I won so no big thing." 

Dariüse tries not to look proud of himself as he talks.

Stan laughs and says, "Well, good for you. I think we are all set to take off then."

Dariüse looks a little shocked, "Wait, Where? What did you find out while I was racing?"

Stan looks calm but disappointed, then responds with, "Nothing."

Dariüse took a deep breath but was still confused. So he said, "Ok… So what am I missing here?"

"I was sent a Victim to hunt a couple weeks ago. She’s gotta have something to do with this. Plus it’s all I have. I was sent a Victim. I turned it down and now my wife’s dead."

Dariüse understood, so he responded with, "Just wanted to know the plan going forward is all. You know I’m here for you... Wait, so why did I just run that race?"

Stan looks pretty amused when he says, "Well, you wanted a ticket to the other side right?"

Dariüse exclaims, "No, I said it could come in HAN-DY."

Stan is now wearing a sly smile, "Well, now you will know if it does." Quiet and Stan burst into laughter.

Dariüse's eyebrows furrowed and he shouted over their hysterical laughter, "Oh, ha, ha, ha, ha, jokes on me? That’s cool." It was most definitely not cool in his book.

Quiet mocks, "I think you hurt his feelings."

Dariüse grumbles to himself then snaps, "What would give you that thought?  So, where are we going?"

Stan, who is still laughing, answers, "A penthouse in California. When I was researching The Victim, I found some rumors saying her husband might be hiding out in a penthouse in California somewhere."

Dariüse asks, "Okay, but which one? And Where? Cali is kinda, you know, big.

Stan answers, "San Francisco. Best I got."

"How do we get there? We don’t have the plane." 

Quiet interjects, "We would have needed more fuel before we made it there, anyway."

Stan suggests, "Maybe we can take a train. Chicago used to be known for its trains. Gotta be one they use for people wanting to cross The Line."

Just then, a group of girls walk over to the three of them.

One of the girls, seemingly the only one confident enough to walk up and start a conversation, faces Dariüse and asks, "Excuse me, but you are the one that just won the race, right?"

Dariüse looks back at Stan and Quiet and grins. He looks back at the girls.

Dariüse, "Why, yes, it is me. Pretty crazy race, huh, girls?" All the girls giggle shyly. Stan rolls his eyes.

A girl with wavy blonde hair says, "Yeah, that roll trick was pretty cool. Can’t lie, we all thought you were gonna burn alive."

"Yeah, for sure, but then you were okay," adds a girl with short black hair"

The last girl was clearly swooning, "I have never seen anyone run faster than The Champ."

Dariüse clears his throat and begins to boast, "Well you see it’s all in…"

"I hate to break up this beautiful connection between you guys," Stan interrupts, "but we kinda have places to be. You girls wouldn’t happen to know where the nearest train station is, would you?"

The blonde blushes and answers, "Yeah, but it’s kinda far."

Stan shrugs and responds, "We aren’t really in the position to be picky."

The most confident girl of the bunch answers, "Well, it's about eight miles northwest of here."

Stan gives a polite smile and says, "Thanks ladies. Nice clothes."

All four girls' smiles beam and together they say, "Thanks!"

Dariüse looks a little disappointed and says, "You ladies take care."

It takes them about an hour to find the train station. When they enter they see about a dozen G.B.P. Peace Agents guarding the place. A voice comes over the intercom, "All those seeking passage across The Line need to report to the ticket area, and then proceed to board the train. Train will depart in 5 minutes."

The trio walk over to the ticket area and swipe their cards. Stan and Dariüse buzz in just fine. Quiet’s card gets rejected with a loud beep and Quiet says, "Fuck."

A Peace Agent walks over and says, "We’re gonna need to see some identification, buddy. Your card is not working."

Quiet doesn’t respond as the agent draws closer.

Peace Agent raises his voice louder, "You hear me talking to you. Identify yourself. And take that hood off."

Quiet slowly pulls his hood back revealing his face. The Peace Agent quickly grabs his gun and points it at Quiet, yelling "IT’S HIM! IT’S THE FREEDOM FIGHTER!"

Quiet punches the agent in the head knocking him out cold. He then jumps over the ticket barrier and the three of them take off. The Peace Agents race over and begin shooting after the three of them.

Stan exclaims, "We just gotta make it on the train and then we’re good."

They are able to catch up to the train and hop on. Stan takes a deep breath and says with a sign, "Well, now we won’t be able to take the train the whole way. We’ll need to get off soon to avoid the Peace Agents."

Quiet, exasperated, says, "Yeah, cause I planned for that to happen."

Stan sternly says, "I’m just saying our best bet is to get off soon."

They get off the train somewhere in Arizona.

Dariüse looks at Stan and asks, "Alright, how do you suggest we get to San Francisco from here?"

"I’m thinking," Stan wears a look that is clearly pensive. 

Quiet suggests, "I mean we could always just steal a car."

Dariüse shrugs, "Works for me."

Stan says, "Whoa, hold up this ain't the Freelands; We can’t just go stealing cars. There are laws and rules over here."

Quiet clearly indifferent, lays on the thick sarcasm, "Oh my bad, I didn’t realize I was supposed to give a fuck about the G.B.P, and all their 'Laws'."

Dariüse agreed with Quiet, "I mean as far as we know, they killed your wife, and are now trying to kill us. So that’s fair, why should we care?"

Stan can't help but think of the families who have nothing to do with the G.B.P. -- like the family he was supposed to have. He can't bring himself to fuck them over. "Let’s at least steal a G.B.P vehicle then."

Quiet nods, "Whatever floats your boat, buddy."

They walk until they come across G.B.P. Peace Agent station. Stan lays out the plan quietly, "Okay, so we sneak into the garage, hotwire one of their vehicles, and be on our way right?"

Quiet gives a bored "I guess."

"Sounds like a plan," Dariüse agrees.

They sneak around the back and find a car sitting by itself. Stan picks the lock and they all hop in. As Stan is trying to hotwire the car he accidentally sets off the alarm on the car.

Quiet says, "Nice."

Dariüse hisses "Yeah, no one heard that at all" sarcastically with an eye roll.

Stan whisper shouts, "Okay, everyone fuck off for a sec-- I got this."

Just then a bunch of Peace Agents come running out the back of the station. Dariüse looks their way and says, "I hope so cause we need to go, and quick."

Shots start ringing out overhead. They all duck as Stan finally gets the car going and pulls off.

Dariüse gives a sigh of relief, "That was close." But before they can get away, two G.B.P. vehicles pull up beside them as they drive. 

Quiet looks back and shakes his head, "We ain’t done yet."

"Fuck!" Stan exclaims, visibly pissed off now.

Stan slams on the brakes as the two cars go to slam into them. Instead, with the trio's car slightly behind them, the two cars smack each other and bounce off. Stan does a 180 degree turn and goes the other way. The two cars turn and chase them, with the Peace Agents leaning out the cars shooting their way.

Stan orders, "Just shoot back whenever guys."

Dariüse growls back, "You gave me a tiny pistol."

Quiet also countered, "And me a shotgun."

Stan pulls out his two pistols one by one and hands them over and says, "Now shoot, please," through his teeth.

One of the vehicles pulls up next to them. Quiet shoots the tire but it has no effect. Quiet looks and sees four people in the car and the person behind the driver is shooting. Right as the agent goes to shoot, Quiet shoots him in the shoulder causing him to shoot the driver in the head. The car swerves and smacks into the car Stan is driving. Stan hits the breaks. The G.B.P. vehicle hits a pole. L

The other vehicle smacks into the back of Stan. As they go to ram the car again, Dariüse shoots the driver in the head. Quiet gets out and rolls a grenade under the car, effectively blowing it up. 

Quiet says with a smirk, "I knew that last one would come in handy," as they drive off and head towards San Francisco. 

       END OF THE SEVENTH ISSUE