The Beautiful Monster

Elias rubbed his eyes and nodded. He still felt a little tired, but he could feel a pang of hunger in his stomach.

"I'm hungry."

Melina nodded, "Let me ask Tyler if he wants to grab a bite too."

"Ty, are you hungry?" Melina called to him.

"Yeah, I'm going to pull over at a rest stop soon for the rest of the night," Tyler called back.

"Should we wake Scott?" Melina asked.

Elias shook his head.

"I take it that you guys don't really like each other," Melina commented, lifting an eyebrow.

"He's always been competitive with me. He always has to be better. He always has to prove a point against mine,"

Elias muttered as he shook his head. "And he hasn't exactly been the biggest supporter of my relationship."

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"He's not the easiest person to be around, but I do owe him," Melina explained.

Elias sighed and nodded, knowing where she was coming from. He didn't want to argue with her or have tension with her either.

They needed to work together, and that started with them actually liking each other.

He didn't mind her. He thought that she was kind and smart. It was just hard for him to jump the hurdle of her being a stranger to him.

She was his sister, but it would take some time for him to see her as such. Hopefully, he was given that time, and it wouldn't be too late for all of them.

There was no telling how close Alaric was to them. They wouldn't know until he made himself known.

"Just don't trust him completely," Elias said. He had never trusted Scott completely in his life, and it was for good reason.

Someone as narcissistic as Scott could betray him in an instant if there was something in it for Scott.

"The only person I trust completely is Tyler," Melina said as she glanced his way. "He's proven his loyalty to me more times than I can count. I'd be dead without him."

"Well, he definitely loves you enough to put his life on the line for you. I can tell," Elias told her with a hint of a smile on his face.

He had already gotten plenty of hard stares from Tyler when he raised his voice at Melina, so he knew that Tyler would crush anyone that tried to threaten Melina.

Melina smiled warmly and nodded.

"I would do the same for him," she said.

Elias glanced at Alyssa. He would die for her in an instant. No questions asked. He wanted her to live a happy, full life,

whether that was with him or not. Of course, he preferred for them to be together forever, but he knew how harsh life could be at times. They had to make it as far as they could.

"I love you," he whispered to her. He didn't know what was going to happen to them on this trip, but he wanted them to make it out alive.

They had a whole wonderful life awaiting them back in New York that he didn't want them to miss out on.

"I love you," Alyssa whispered back with that glowing smile on her face. He didn't know what he would do if he never saw that smile again.

After another thirty minutes, the RV finally came to a stop in a rest stop off the interstate. Everyone got something to eat and settled for a little while before getting ready for bed.

They had another long day of driving ahead of them tomorrow. With each passing day, the chance of running into Alaric became stronger and stronger.

They had to be ready because danger was coming whether they were prepared or not.

*******

Soft sunlight flooded the inside of the RV through its various windows, coaxing Elias awake slowly.

He stirred on the pullout couch next to Alyssa, who continued to doze soundly.

He had offered the bed to Melina and Tyler last night since Tyler had driven so much. Surprisingly, the pullout couch was pretty comfortable.

Elias quietly slipped off the pullout couch, trying not to wake Alyssa or Scott, who slept in a makeshift bed of the two lounge chairs.

He peered down the hallway toward the bedroom to see that the door to the bedroom was open for some reason.

With a confused expression, he edged closer to the bedroom until he could see the bed. Only Tyler was sleeping.

Where was Melina at? Elias glanced all around the RV, even checking the front seats to see if she had snoozed there for some reason. She was gone.

He felt a jolt of worry as he opened the door to the RV and slipped out, the sun nearly blinding him. He held his hand over his eyes, peering around the rest stop.

Elias saw truckers, lone travelers, and families venturing to and from the rest stop building. He figured that maybe Melina took a walk or got a snack from one of the vending machines. What if she took off, though?

He then shook his head. Melina would never leave Tyler behind like that. She had to be around here somewhere.

He walked around the rest stop, passing by the vending machines and restrooms until he reached a grassy field in the back.

Some people were walking their dogs. Some were lounging on wooden benches. His eyes stopped roaming when he saw someone sitting at the base of a small oak tree in the near distance.

Elias walked over to Melina, seeing that her legs were crossed and her eyes were closed. He tried to quiet his steps, but her eyes popped open.

"Sorry. I couldn't find you for a second," he said. He hadn't meant to disturb whatever she was doing.

An amused look crossed Melina's face.

"What? You thought I ran off or something?" she asked him.

Elias shrugged sheepishly.

"I knew you wouldn't leave Tyler, but you were just gone," he told her. "What are you doing out here?"

"Meditating," Melina replied before patting the ground next to her. "It's important that I stay connected to the Earth."

"For your magic?" Elias questioned as he sat next to her.

"And my soul. It's good for you," Melina told him.

"How did you learn all this stuff?" Elias asked. No one had ever talked to him about the Earth or helping his soul or whatever.

Maybe it was just a witch thing. Demons were seen as parasites to the Earth.. He didn't want to be a parasite, but he couldn't deny his nature.