Route 66 - Act 2: Rise of Kevin

Opening

After the fight with Gil, Kate and Moki make their escape from the authorities with help from Kate's mom and Diesel who cover for them.

They rush into a new vine-like opening close to where Skab used to be, and find themselves on Route 66 once again, this time in an empty desert with a small town a short walk away.

The pair head to the town and visit the motel. The place seems somewhat rundown, but not in awful shape. They're greeted by a teenager named Kevin who doesn't seem enthused to be there. Whenever he's asked questions, he seems to either avoid them, not know the answer, or simply respond "I don't know, I just work here."

They pay for a room with what little money they have left. Kate checks her phone to see if she can contact anyone but there's no signal out here. With nothing left to do in the motel, they head out to explore the town. There are only a few buildings, including a diner and scrapyard, and small market.

Posted on lamp-posts around the town are wanted signs for someone known as "The Man on Fire".

The pair head to the diner to look for more information and get a bite to eat. Inside, they find nothing out of the ordinary outside of Kevin, who was working here too. Kate and Moki are seated and grab some food. As they eat, they're asked by an investigator for anything they know about The Man on Fire. They respond they just got on the route and don't know anything. The investigator tells them that he's extremely dangerous, and he should be avoided at all costs. He also advises picking up a couple jobs here and there to survive the route.

Kate and Moki head to the general store. On the way, they meet a man who seems mostly normal, but his face seems to be almost...glitched. Kate indirectly mentions that he has something on his face, which seems to upset him. Moki quickly tries to defuse the situation by tilting her head unnaturally and flashing a too-wide smile. The man seems to calm down, thinking Moki is like him. The two move quickly into the general store and meet Kevin there. They see a bulletin board with job postings and the pair see one for the diner. They opt to take it up to get some extra money.

After leaving the store, Moki heads to the scrapyard to see if she can look into getting a vehicle to keep moving along the route on. Kate follows. Inside, they meet a man named Kevin. She inquires about a car and like before. After many questions, he answers there's a few broken cars out back, and if Moki can fix one, she can keep it.

Moki heads out back and spends the next 38 minutes repairing a blue pickup truck. About half-way through, Moki begins hearing a buzzing. She keeps going, and begins feeling a migraine come on. She pushes through and her migraine only gets worse. She continues to push through, at which point it almost feels like a stabbing pain in her head, combined with the sounds of barking. Moki visually reacts and Kate shows concern. Moki tells her it's okay, but she's breathing heavily and clutching her head. She feels as if her mind was being gnawed at by something. But once she finishes, it all stops.

Moki takes a moment to recover and heads back inside to tell Kevin she recovered the truck, but asks him to hold it for her while she and Kate take a shift at the diner. During their shift, a decent amount of customers come in. By the end, a customer flags them down and asks them to sit with him. Time seems to stop and the man reveals himself as Death. Death reveals that there's a process that needs to be followed and that all deaths need to be paid forward. He also notes that Moki in particular has racked up a significant debt compared to Kate. He gives them death coins, which are to be tossed after each kill.

The pair leave after getting their paycheques for the evening, heading to the scrapyard to pick up the truck. Kevin gives Moki the keys. She takes them and starts the truck. It's not great, the AC is dead and the radio doesn't work, but it'll at least get the pair from A to B. Moki takes the truck and parks in front of the motel they were staying at.

They pay for another night and sleep, preparing to head out in the morning.

The next morning, they stop by a gas station to fill up before driving for a full day through the desert. By evening the scenery changes to a dense forest. They stop at a motel in the forest, illuminated out front by a blue bug lamp.