"You're driving so god damn fast! Do you even know how to drive? I hope you know you're going past the speed limit! Also, do you know where you're going?! Do you have some sort of magic navigation in your brain? When have you ever used a car? Do you even have a license?"

"Relax, you little hobbit."

"Hobbit? Hobbit!" Rami turns around to find me at the edge of my seat, hanging onto the grab handle of this dodge viper for my dear life. "Drew, let's throw him out of the car."

Idris laughed loudly, keeping his eyes on the road. It is exactly eight at night and we are on the road to Nevada. After stopping by the wolf cave to prepare for the unknown obstacles we might deal with rescuing the werewolf, Idris did not waste another heartbeat getting on the road. He is the driver and Rami rode shotgun, leaving me in the backseat of this beautiful sports car. Idris permanently borrowed it from one of Ulysses' clan members. I am just as worried as Rami in this situation. Although the vampire drives perfectly fine, we are going way beyond the speed limit and could get pulled over by a cop at any moment. I have never gone this fast in a car, ever. It's like the roller coaster kind of speed, only the ride will lasts for at least ten hours rather than ten seconds. From the end of California to Nevada takes a long time. If we don't go the rate we are going right now, we might not make it in time for Lysander. Though I have a feeling they began experimenting with him the moment they caught him, we can at least get him before they do more, worse things. Or maybe, just maybe, we're too late. But it's worth a try. Whatever I see, experimented or not, I'm going to get Lysander back.

"It's okay, Rami." I ruffled his growing curls. "Hobbits are cute. He is complimenting you."

He only rolled his eyes but slipped out a chuckle. "Me? Compliment humans? I would never." Gasps the other dramatic man. I could imagine a world where Idris and Rami are both theater and drama geeks, they would be rivals, always fighting for the leading role.

"Hmm, I don't know. I think you're warming up to us, Idris." I teased, reaching over to the front of the car to get my phone, connected to the aux cord that plays the music. "Rami especially."

The two of them glared at me, making me sink down to the leather seat with an innocent smile. They both snapped their heads towards me at the same time and almost hit each other. Their glares then moved from me to each other before scoffing at the exact same time.

Giggling quietly, I scrolled through my music library to switch the song. As I did, I noticed we lost all sorts of signal as we entered a deserted highway. Once we reach the other side of this, there will be connections again. We've taken this road before. Once every mile or two, it smells like shit so that should be fun.

***

"It's midnight." I informed my companions. "Idris, do you want to switch seats? I can take over if you want to sleep." I then furrowed my eyebrows at my own words. "Wait. Do you even sleep? Do vampires even sleep?" The books in Lysander's library never really mentioned them.

"If you do, do you sleep in a coffin?" Rami added rather excitedly.

Idris shook his head. "Honestly, humans and their strange myths." He tutted. "Yes, we sleep. No, not in coffins. No we are not afraid of garlic. As a matter of fact, I am craving garlic bread right now." Ugh, me too. "We do not turn into bats." He peeped at Rami, who looked very disappointed. "We are not the 'undead', and no we most definitely do not at all sparkle."

I coughed out a laugh and I did my best not to prolong it, unlike Rami who didn't bother hiding a snicker. Idris narrowed his red eyes at us. I gave him a brief nod before relaxing to my seat. "Alright then."

"We sleep during the day." The vampire elaborated, turning down the music a little lower. "And come out at night. We can come out during the day only if there's no sun or if the sunlight is covered. Sometimes, we can risk running during the day, but only if necessary. The pain of our skin burning is like fire on yours, just lingering everywhere."

"Lysander caught your scent one time when him, Rami and I were at a park one time." I recalled the werewolf running out of nowhere and he wouldn't tell me what happened at first. "When you were stalking me." Idris shrugs his shoulder. "The sun was pretty strong then. But you risked coming out just to spy on me?"

"Well... It was necessary. You are the cure maker and I needed to see what was happening with you. The werewolf suddenly appeared and I was trying to see if he is a threat to you, until I learned that you are his mate. Werewolves treasure their mates, so I figured you'd be in good hands."

"Cure maker. What makes you so sure I could do it?"

"He's like Raven from That's So Raven." Rami answered for him, wearing a goofy grin on his face. "I just realized we never actually told you how we rescued you." That's right. We haven't had time to talk about it. I never asked how Idris just came out of nowhere and is friends with the evil vampires. "Okay. Story time." He cleared his throat. "Once upon a time, there was a handsome, amazing, smart young man named Rami Nazari, who got absentmindedly drunk during an old grumpy ass werewolf's birthday and the next day, he got a hangover so he went out for a walk to get rid of the headache. But it didn't work because he found ten dead hunters scattered all over the woods and everything was gross. An asshole vampire called Ulysses appeared and said he and his friends killed the hunters since a lot of them came to party. He also wanted to eat me but whatever. Rami, the good boy, ran back to see if friends are okay and they went missing so he freaked the fuck out. The asshole vampire followed him and tried to kill him until a creepy, annoying, weird vampire wearing some suit because he thinks he's James Bond, came and fought him."

"Your story's a little flawed, hobbit." Idris interrupted, briefly removing his eyes on the road to smile at Rami. "I think the proper adjectives for that vampire who rescued the silly hobbit human are: amazing, lovely, beautiful, dashing - "

I rolled my eyes at the two.

"Anyway, the lame vampire who can't turn into a bat turned out to be old best buddies with the asshole vampire, which would make sense if you look at them both. Side fact: the posh vampire has the power to see some things that happens in past, present, or future but he's kind of lame and can't control it or tell the difference between the three. But, the asshole vampire said he knows where one of Rami's friends might have been taken so he led the way and ended up dipping as soon as they arrived to the place. Blah blah blah they hiked up the mountain and found the hiding spot and saved the little devil they call Drew."

Aside from the comments on Idris, I can imagine what Rami had gone through. He found dead hunters. He returned to us missing. Ulysses tried to kill him. He had to face the hunters in the base. And yet, he told the story like it was nothing. "Wow."

"Yeah. Wow." Idris narrowed his eyes at Rami. "You're quite the storyteller."

***

After many more miles, we reached the end of the first desert road and arrived in a little resting area. It doesn't have much. Just gasoline stations, fast food restaurants and a couple of motels. Aside from us, there are a few bikers that are also out at this time. 2:45 a.m.

We are at Denny's and Idris said dinner/breakfast is on him. Since he had mentioned garlic bread, I just needed to have one, along with a chocolate milkshake. "It's been so long." I cried happily, taking in the sweet dessert. "Idris, I just want to say you are amazing and I'm not just saying that because you're paying for our food."

"I don't think a chocolate milkshake is good for you at this time of the day." The vampire commented before his eyes traveled to Rami. "Or fries."

"But it's so good!" Rami moaned with a mouthful of fries. "Why are all the good things in the world bad for us?"

Idris smiled while I nodded in agreement. "I've been asking the same question for as long as I live, Nazari."

"How old are you exactly?" I wondered. "You look like you're 19 but let's be honest. Your age is probably divisible by 19. What are you, like 190?"

"Oh, please." The vampire runs a hand through his emo, pompadour hair. "197."

He's even older than Lysander, yet Lysander looks older than him in appearance. "You were born before Einstein introduced the Theory of Relativity. Laws of physics." I smiled widely. "Have you met Einstein? If I was a vampire, I would use my powers to meet as much cool people I could. If I was born the same time as you, I'd try to meet Einstein, J.R.R. Tolkien, Elvis Presley, Leonardo DiCaprio - "

"That man, I believe is still alive."

"Well, yeah but you know. I'd still try to meet him."

"Yeah, ignore her." Rami waves a hand towards me dismissively. "All through 197 years of your life, have you been wearing the same suit?"

"What? No." The vampire ridicules. "I don't wear the same one. I have others that look similar to it."

Rami slapped his forehead while I choked on my milkshake. I put a hand on his shoulder as he looks at us with confusion. "Oh, Idris. You are a precious thing. And so is this garlic bread."

***

After the lovely late dinner, early breakfast, we refilled our gas, bought some snacks, and the three of us got back on the road. Idris wanted to continue driving, so we sat on our previous spots in the car. Because we have signal on the highway we just entered, Rami had decided to ring up our good friend in the east using his phone. I caught a glimpse of his home screen and saw that he has over a hundred messages and calls and a ton of emails. I'm not as popular as Rami, but no doubt I'd have a few from my classmates and friends, and maybe even a message or missed call from my sister. I'll have to return them all once all of this is over.

"Rami Nazari! Andromeda Rojas! Where the hell have you two been! Why haven't you called me! So much things happened! Wait! Idris is there?! Where is Lysander?!" Eva's wonderful angry face appeared on the phone's screen.

"So good to hear from you again, Evandra." The driver greeted casually.

I was just about to reply until a certain redhead popped out of nowhere, her face taking over the entire screen. "Idris! Ah, good. You found them!" Her red wavy hair was all we could see as she turned around. "Woman, calm your thoughts down. They're safe. Well, two out of three are."

"What is Eleanor doing with Eva and Nina?!" I screamed through the phone, making the woman vampire flinch, as well as the vampire in the car with me.

"Babysitting."

"What!?"

"I forgot to mention that on my story." Rami said to me with a small grin. "But yeah. Eleanor is watching over them because a hunter was after Eva and - "

"What?!"

"My ears. My poor ears." Idris cried.

"What do you mean a hunter was after Eva?!"

"Down, girl." Eleanor replies, taking a seat next to Eva. "Idris got a vision that a hunter was coming after this lady and so I came to the rescue. You're welcome."

I put a hand over my chest, just realizing that my heart had raced. "Good."

"Anyway," Rami sighs. "We need your help, Eva. The hunters took Lysander and brought him to a military base to do what they wanted to do in the beginning. Weaponize him. We are going to Nevada. There is a base there around State Route 375. That's where we'll go. Once we arrive, we need you to hack in the system, their cameras, anything to help us get in and save Lysander."

I stared at Rami with disbelief before putting my attention at my friend. I had expected her to scream at us for being crazy and reckless and stupid but instead, she straightened up and gave us a nod and a smirk.

"You got it." She snaps her fingers in front of the camera. "I can do that. This is my Felicity Smoak moment."

In the background, I hear Nina's voice. "Can you believe I'm going to get married with a geek?"

"WAIT YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED?! WHAT THE HELL DID I MISS? EVA IS GETTING MARRIED? HOW? WHAT?! WHEN? "

"It was so beautiful. The proposal." Eleanor clasps her hands with a smile, her fangs peeking out of her lips. "I almost cried."

"You saw the proposal?!" My heart was crying and leaping. "It's not fair! Why did all of this happen just now, when I'm not there?! Eva!"

"My ears." Idris continued to cry, but I really couldn't careless right now. My best friend is engaged. Nina finally proposed to her and I wasn't there to see or hear about it first, but Eleanor was! Someone give me a Tardis right now. "Now is not the best time for this conversation."

"Right." Rami agreed, uncovering his own ears. "But anyway. I will call you again when we're ready. We still have a few hours to go."

"Okay. I'll set everything up. Please, please be careful. I need you all to come back in one piece, with Lysander, so you can attend my wedding." I pouted at her, but she just smiled wider, with worry in her eyes. "Love you Drew!" With that, the video call ended.

I groaned as I lay down on the backseat. "I can't believe Eva and Nina are engaged. They've been together since they were in high school. I have waited for so long for one of them to pop the question and when it finally happened, I wasn't there! But Eleanor was! I'm so jealous! Life is so unfair."

"There, there. Here. Have some M&M's." Rami dropped the yellow chocolate pack in my stomach.

I threw Rami a frown. "Do you think M&M's is going to make me feel better?"

"Yes?"

"You're damn right."

***

I opened my eyes at dawn. We are still on the road. Still surrounded by nothing but dirt and sand. Rami had fallen asleep but Idris is still driving in the same unbelievably fast speed, bopping his head and lip syncing to The Cure. I stayed quiet to let the song finish until I spoke.

"Idris. You've been up and driving for so long. Let me drive."

"Are you sure you can handle this car? It's a lot wilder than your little turtle." He hums, raising his brow as he looked at me through the rear view mirror.

"Oh, just let me drive. I want to drive this cool car and feel like I'm in Fast and the Furious." I grunted.

The vampire finally gave up the driver's seat and took the backseat. He closed his eyes and rested his head against the tainted window. Grinning eagerly, I held on to the steering wheels tightly and scooted the seat closer to the front.

Alright, time to run this bad boy.

***

"Fucking hell, woman." Rami's tired morning voice caused me to slow down the viper. "You were going even faster than Idris."

I might have gotten a little carried away. Just a little. My car doesn't go as fast and this is the first time I've driven a cool car - not that my eco-friendly baby isn't cool. I legitimately felt like I was in a car racing movie. I would have added a bad ass rock song to match the mood, but I didn't want to disturb the two sleeping men with loudness.

"Sorry."

"Where are we anyway?" He took a glance outside his window before browsing the backseat for a good minute, watching the vampire sleep soundlessly.

I recollected the signs that I passed within the past hour I've driven. We are the only car in the road now. We started off stuck in traffic full of Californian drivers and ended up as the last car standing in Tonopah Basin of Nevada. "Tonopah Basin."

The shotgun rider whipped his head towards me. "What!"

"Shh. The vampire is asleep." I nudged my elbow at the backseat. "It's so peaceful when you two aren't bickering. I'd like to keep it that way for a little longer."

Rami rummaged through his backpack to take out a map. "First of all, we don't bicker. We just... talk aggressively to each other. Second of all, DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHERE WE'RE HEADING!" He tried not to scream but ended up hissing loudly.

He showed me his map and pointed at a spot in Nevada, near a blue spot. The map does not give any names of its surroundings, but the blue spot is called Groom Lake. Sounds familiar. "What about it?"

"Drew! Groom Lake. Tonopah Basin. Military base in Nevada's desert." He gulped. "We are on the path to AREA FUCKING 51!"

I slammed on the brakes, causing a loud irritating noise from the tires. "What!" I snatched his map to study the area. The lake is surrounded by nothing but desert. The map says nothing else about it. Rami used my phone to go on the navigation app, revealing nothing but the words 'Navigation error: Blocked' in bold letters. "No way."

"I'm pretty sure after a few more miles, we are going to reach that one checkpoint that will say that we can't go any farther because the area is restricted. I googled this before."

"Shit." I rested my back against the leather seat. "How the hell are we going to break in Area 51? That's like one of the top secret, restricted places ever! What are we going to do?"

Rami and I stared at each other, both clueless. I wonder if Eva figured out first we are heading straight to the restricted military base. We wouldn't know. Right now, we don't have signal. Military bases all have signals, so we won't be able to communicate with her until we arrive at our destination. That is, if we are going to arrive. Area 51! That's supposedly the place where the government hides the aliens!

"I hear human whining." The vampire in the back yawned, opening his eyes. "What's the matter?"

We explained to him our recent findings and how highly secured the base is. Although, it didn't look like he sees our concerns. "They're only humans." He shrugs. "Can't be too difficult." He ran a hand through his dark hair and fixed his tie. "Alright. You two will stay here while I run outside, see where this certain checkpoint is and look around the area, then I will report back to you."

"You're going to run out there. In the desert. Under the sun." Rami observed the environment and shook his head. "You'll burn."

"I can handle it."

Groaning, I picked up my backpack from the backseat's floor and pulled out a water bottle from Voss that contains a pink liquid. "Here." I handed it to the vampire whose eyes once matched the liquid's color: rose-colored. "It might help you not burn for a couple of hours."

His eyes lightened up with excitement. "You've done it! The cure!"

"Well... I don't know yet." I winced with guilt. "I haven't exactly tested it. I didn't have a lab rat. I wasn't going to tell you about it just yet because I don't want to disappoint you if it fails, but right now, it's all we have and I don't want you to come back to us looking like you just crawled out of hell when really you just walked under the sun."

Rami recognized the mixture. "Oh! That!"