A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

Under the overhang, Krista grinned to her passenger. She held up a small bottle of the polish. Due to the distance between them, (f/n) squinted her eyes and noted that there was no brand name on it. Maybe, there had been a sticker on it, and it had fallen off. Or, Krista had removed it herself, but it was questionable. It only made it more likely that the woman had tampered with the contents of the bottle.

There was the possibility that Krista only had entered the bathroom to add more blood to the polish. The teen peered closer. Was that a thin trail of red coming out from under the lid? Or, were her eyes deceiving her?

"I think that it's blood." His voice came from the right of her. "But, that would suit someone like you." He chuckled, and she heard a loud bang. She couldn't help but jump and shift her eyes to the vending machine. Brent had struck it, and he was chuckling. "That had been so worth it." A sadistic gleam coated his orbs before it disappeared. Disappointment overtook it. "Too bad that there weren't any of these in the tunnels. They would've helped, though; that thing probably would've filled them with body parts as a sick joke."

The image almost made her drop her tea. "Are you sure that you really want to travel to a ghost town?" (F/n) paused at the question. That voice didn't sound like Brent, and he hadn't moved his mouth. All he did was chuckle and vanish. Nearly, she fell off of the bench. Krista was standing in front of the vending machine. For how long had she been there?

She bent down and retrieved a bottle of water. Had that bang actually been her? (F/n)'s eyes widened slightly, and she bent over as she set her tea on the bench. Her hands held her head. For once, she needed to listen to the creature's advice. Brent had to go somehow. He was messing up her mind too much, and it didn't help that Krista gave her a horrible gut feeling.

Footsteps hit her ears. Items were placed down next to her before hands were placed over hers. Her hands were pulled back. Maybe, it was only her mind again, but the action was rather rough. It wasn't gentle like ... well, like ... She pushed the thought away. The creature was going to earn no points from her. No matter how gentle he was with her at times, that didn't excuse his monstrous actions.

Hands tightened around hers. Almost, she thought that she had heard you're so lucky. The faint words snapped her head up. Her eyes locked onto Krista's. A smile was on her lips. Whether it was reassuring or hateful, (f/n) couldn't tell. "Well, are you going to be okay?"

Recalling the woman's past question, (f/n) nodded her head. "Yeah ... I'll be fine. Exhaustion just must be getting to me." She moved her hands away from the woman's. Krista's hands remained hanging in the air for a couple of seconds as though she was frozen in time. When she popped straight up, (f/n) scooted back on the bench.

"Then, you need to sleep for some of the way there. Otherwise, we won't be able to explore the ghost town or deal with any ghosts." She grinned. "You need to keep up your health, (f/n). It's very important."

To someone else, it may have sounded like the woman was being kind, but to (f/n)'s ears it was far from that. (F/n) felt like a pig being prepped for slaughter. Maybe, the red nails were a signal to the creature that an individual wanted to be his. If that was the case, she really didn't desire for them.

Moving aside her things, Krista took a seat beside the teen and twisted off the polish lid. "Let's start with your left hand."

Reluctantly, she moved her left hand towards the woman. "Don't you need to put a base coat on first?"

Shaking her head, Krista applied the red to her thumb. "No." She continued before she moved onto (f/n)'s index finger. "Okay, you do," she chirped out as a giggle almost escaped her. "But, we don't have time for that. We have Dunnuuna to reach."

"... Right." Krista paid her answer no mind, and she ignored the questioning look in her passenger's eyes. (F/n) only found that as a reason to be more cautious around the woman. The teen did agree that they shouldn't sit around in one area for too long because of the creature, but Krista shouldn't know that the creature possibly was on their tail.

Back at the station, Krista had indicated that she might know about her escape from the tunnels and disappearance with the creature, but she had brushed it aside. Her admittance now, though, that they don't have time pointed towards the fact that Krista really did know that information. The woman finished her left hand and didn't even ask for her right. She simply grabbed it and went to work. (F/n) felt the pit in her stomach turn into a black hole of dread.

Once Krista was done with her right hand, (f/n) moved her hands back to herself and grabbed her tea. Standing up, she headed over to the car and didn't bother to thank the woman. "You really should get some rest!" Krista called out from behind her as she gathered her things up. A light nod was the teen's response. That wasn't going to happen. (F/n) entered the car and pressed herself close to the car door like before, and her plan to jump out remained in the back of her mind.

~~~~~~~~~~

Entering Nick's room again, the creature seated himself down on the bed. The navy blue sheets had been thrown off in his search, and they lied haphazardly on the ground. His nails dug into the bare mattress, and his right hand clenched the edge.

His eyes scanned over the area again, but he saw nothing. They stopped on the desk. That was probably where he carried out his paranormal research, but the human had been thorough and emptied it of everything. "D*mn," he muttered to himself.

Averting his attention down, his orbs met the trashcan. That was empty too, though; something looked off about the wall behind it. He hadn't noticed it before in his rush. The creature stood and advanced towards the section. His right foot kicked the can aside.

A grin tugged at the corners of his lips, and his eyes gleamed. Finally, he had found something. Bending over, he picked it up in his right hand. It was only a single sheet of paper. There was nothing on the back of it. He flipped it over and saw notes scribbled across the page.

Reading over the contents, his grin fell. The page slipped from his fingers and swayed back and forth until it hit the ground. How much time had that human male spent on research? He had found the connecting points even though they weren't supposed to be obvious at all. Rather, no one was supposed to ever draw the line back to that town.

Stepping back some, he collapsed onto the bed. He hunched over and covered his face with his hands. His nails brushed against his scalp, but that didn't bother him. (F/n)'s location was known to him now, but he didn't want her to find that part of him.

That was forever to remain buried, though; he doubted that she would find the actual horror of that place. Then again, all of it wasn't awful. No, the birth of freedom existed there too, but she wouldn't understand that unless he explained things to her. Never did he want that. He didn't desire to relive those memories. They slowed him down, and some of the objects in that place weakened him too much.

No doubt, she was already on her way there if she hadn't reached it already. Confronting her there would be a risk, but he needed her back. Things were in place for their future together, and that future would make him happier than the tunnels ever had.

Still, he had to admit that she played her cards right. By some luck, she had escaped and had contacted Nick in time to find out the location of Dunnuuna. It was possible that he would die in that wretched place and next to that ... to that poor excuse for a man. A chill ran through his bloodstream, and he pierced his bottom lip to focus on that instead.

On his legs again, he snatched up the piece of paper and shoved it in one of his pants' pockets. No one else needed to learn about the town or find their way there. He didn't want anyone to disturb his reunion with his pink flower. There was only one of her, and he wasn't planning on sharing her.

Even with his running ability, though, he would need a snack along the way. He heard a door open outside, but he resisted the urge to attack that individual. No, he would find a meal further out so that no attention would be brought to Nick's apartment. His location couldn't be learned of. Right now, he was under the radar, and he wanted to keep it that way. Otherwise, his future with his little helper might be compromised.

Leaving the bedroom, he stuffed his hands in his hoodie pockets and headed towards the front door. He waited for the sound of the other individual to grow faint and vanish completely before he opened the door and shut it behind him. It had been left open a crack beforehand, but a closed door looked less suspicious.

Snow fell from the sky at a greater quantity, but that wouldn't affect him at all. Loose strands of nearly white hair poked out from under his hood. He swiftly pulled his hood down more before his hand returned to its pocket, and he darted off towards his love.