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

Conversation was dead between them. The ride was silent, and (f/n) found her eyes glancing to the car clock several times. She was counting down the hours of the ride. Due to her hike down the mountain, she probably had cut some hours off of the trip, but it definitely was going to take a long while still.

Already, the two hours that had gone by had felt like ten. If it had been a regular trip, that would've been because she had grown bored; however, that wasn't the present case at all. No, she merely wanted to dash out of the car as soon as she could. Krista hadn't become any less unnerving, and the pit in her stomach hadn't vanished. The air in the car reeked of potential danger, and she could easily picture Krista raising a knife on her.

A chill ran up her spine, but she forced herself not to rub her arms. Then again, Krista might not even respond to the action. After all, the woman hadn't replied to a single one of her comments or questions. Krista completely had ignored her. It was like she was driving all by herself.

At first, (f/n) had thought that she had earphones in since she had started to hum to herself. There had been no such things in her ears, and the tune had been less than pleasant. Even currently, she still was humming it. It reminded (f/n) of music that was played in jack-in-the-boxes.

It didn't help that Krista was rocking her head side to side like a toy out of a horror movie. (F/n) scooted subtly over to the car door more. Quietly, she reached over to the cup holder to retrieve her coffee, which only had a few sips left; however, at the same time, Krista moved her right hand.

Not being to help herself, (f/n) speedily retracted her hand and held it to her chest. Krista glanced over to her passenger and chuckled. "You're so funny, (f/n)." Before (f/n) could answer, Krista looked back to the road and opened the divider. The woman removed a can of ... a can of ... tomato juice.

(F/n)'s eyes widened. She supposed that she should be thankful that it wasn't cranberry juice, but it still gave her pause. The teen really hoped that Krista was going to open the window and chuck it out even though that was highly unlikely.

Unfortunately, she snapped open the lid after she closed the divider. (F/n) stared out ahead, but she could view Krista out of the corners of her eyes. Krista's remark rang in her head, and she imagined Krista breaking out into a laughing fit. The teen did, however, hear laughter behind her. Almost, she adjusted her seat to lean all the way back and slam against the male.

Tipping the can to her lips, she drank a large gulp of the vile fluid. A trail of red trickled down the right corner of her mouth and chin. (F/n) inaudibly gulped. Her stomach tightened. She thought that she was going to vomit. Both of her arms gripped her midsection. Nearly, she begged Krista to stop.

"Ahh!" Krista smiled satisfied. She set down the can in the cup holder. "That really hit the spot." Did she not notice the blood ... the tomato juice on her? Her tongue slipped out of her mouth and licked away the sides. It only made (f/n)'s stomach turn more. Why the h*ll was the woman tormenting her so much? Were her actions truly unintentional? (F/n) had a hard time believing that.

Some of the juice remained on her skin, and a drop of it slid off, but it didn't hit her clothes. No, Krista held her palm under it and caught it. The action was nowhere near as quick as the creature's movements, but it was alarmingly swift. She had to have planned that. Either that or she had stunning reflexes. (F/n) didn't know which was the more troubling, and she hoped that it didn't happen to be both.

As if things couldn't become worse, (f/n) sighted a rest stop in the near distance. Krista grinned and looked over to her passenger. (F/n) about lost it. Her breath caught in her throat, and she envisioned the creature in Krista's place. Or, maybe ... Just maybe, Krista was more troubling. At least, she knew that the creature wouldn't kill her. The woman's intentions were unknown.

Teeth stained red, Krista bore a horrendous smile. Her lips fell, though, into puzzlement. She blinked her eyes and looked up to her rear view mirror. A few laughs escaped her. "Ah, you should've told me." Krista dragged her tongue over her teeth, but some of the red remained. "Well, I didn't bring any water with me."

Shrugging, she grabbed the can. "Looks like I'll just have to rinse with this." She chuckled again. "Though, that wouldn't be very helpful." Her eyes stared back to the teen, and she shook her head in amusement. "You really must not like tomato juice." The woman took a sip of it regardless.

Laughing nervously, the teen nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I don't like the taste, texture or look of it." (F/n) averted her eyes to the rest stop. Maybe, there'll be a vending machine there with water. You could rinse your mouth with that."

Eyes widening, she set down the can and focused on the stop too. "You're right! Good thinking!" Her voice's excitement sounded fake to the teen's ears, but she didn't comment on it. "Before that, though, we need to paint your nails." Ill intent seemed to light the woman's orbs. "They'll look so pretty with red on them." (F/n) couldn't help but think that Krista was preparing her for a sacrifice. Another chill slithered up her spine.

"Krista, it really isn't ..."

"Shh, shh." Krista placed her right index finger over her lips. She dragged it down and rested it back on the steering wheel. "Nonsense. You'll love them." That didn't reassure the teen at all. If anything, it gave her the desire to steal the keys and drive off on her own, but she didn't know the exact roads to take to the town. All she knew was to head northwest. Mentally, she sighed and scolded herself again for not asking Nick for specific directions.

They pulled into the parking lot of the stop. (F/n) opened her car door first and shut it behind her. The cold gripped at her, and she hugged the jacket closer. It didn't even bother her that it had belonged to Haley. No, she was more focused on the pressing issue of her driver. Krista remained in the car. Her brown eyes met (f/n)'s, and she smiled before she signaled the teen to go on ahead of her.

Slowly, she nodded. (F/n) was tempted, however, to walk backwards so that she could keep her eyes on the woman, but she figured that would be too suspicious. Based off of Krista's past reactions, though, the woman might not mind at all, or she would be internally laughing. Thankfully, the creature didn't have his own cell phone. Otherwise, she could easily imagine Krista calling him and informing him about her whereabouts.

Reluctantly, she faced away from the woman and headed to the bathroom. On the way there, she did spot a vending machine. It looked old, but everything inside appeared to be new. Her coffee was almost finished, so she would require a new drink. Maybe, she would purchase the water or one of the iced teas. She hadn't had tea in awhile due to her previous living arrangements.

For now, she walked past it and into the restroom. The state of the place wasn't surprisingly too bad. The tiles on the floor and walls were cracked, but there were no dead bugs in the place. There weren't too many living ones either. There was a spider in the farthest right corner of the ceiling, and there were a few moths around the dull, dusty lights.

After she relieved herself and washed her hands, she heard footsteps outside the door. Almost, she hid in one of the stalls to avoid the woman. The door swung open, and Krista strolled in. "Oh, you're finished already, (f/n)?" Nodding, (f/n) received a questioning look from the woman. She checked her phone, however, and her mouth formed an o-shape. "Ah! My bad! I hadn't meant to stay in the car for so long. Why don't you wait outside for me?"

Maybe, she was reading too much into Krista's tone, but it certainly sounded more like a demand rather than a suggestion. (F/n)'s eyes drifted over to the woman's bag, and she wondered what was in there besides the nail polish. Perhaps, the polish wasn't even in the bag. There could very well be a knife inside, and her own blood would be the polish for her nails.

Tilting her head to the left, Krista narrowed her eyes in curiosity. "Is something the matter? Are you feeling unwell?" That would be quite the understatement for the teen's current health. Krista stepped forward, and (f/n) maneuvered around her to the door.

"I'll see you outside." She opened the door and let it close behind her. Her ears picked up, however, what she thought was a giggle. All of her froze. Hesitantly, she stared behind her. The door remained shut. Both her eyes scanned over the rest of the scenery. Nowhere could she spot the creature.

Shifting her gaze back to the bathroom door, she felt her heartbeat increase. That had to have been Krista, then. (F/n) gulped and headed over to the vending machine. Her eyes avoided anything that was red while she tried to rid her memory of that giggle. Eventually, she decided on an unsweetened, peach green tea. She allowed the machine to suck up the two dollars, and her tea hit the bottom noisily.

Breaking the seal on the lid, she seated herself on the cement bench by it. It was hard to remain still, but she focused her eyes on the bathroom door while her ears trained themselves to the sounds around her. She wouldn't be caught off by surprise. (F/n) sipped at her drink, and the bathroom door soon reopened.