"Hey. Hey buddy wake up," a gruff voice rattled in Seonghwa's ear and he shook slightly from the strong hand shaking him awake on his shoulder.

Seonghwa jerks awake, gasping slightly as he looks around. He half expected to be back at the facility, but no he was on the bus still parked at a small convenience store. He frowns, "Where are we?"

"At the end of the trip," the bus driver huffs, "Come on buddy I got places to be, this is your stop."

Seonghwa stands reluctantly with his bag slung over his shoulders and walks towards the front of the bus where the driver had the door wide open and ready for his departure. Seonghwa stepped off and looked around, noticing there were very few people here in this small town. The bus behind him hisses to life, before the clanking of the door shuts noisily and the tires crunch through the pavement as it departs. He noticed a gas station with a few people there pumping gasoline in their vehicles and the smell of food flooded his nose.

His stomach growled noisily and he placed a hand on it, feeling the slight rumble of his hunger. But he also felt a small curve forming that wasn't there a few days ago...

His heart warms slightly, before his instincts kick in. He needed to feed himself and his baby, best to just find something at this gas station. He walked towards the gas station, his hands gripping the straps of his bag as he ventured further towards the door and eventually opens it to enter the building. Many isles of snacks, travel supplies, and fridges full of drinks viewed themselves to him as he enters.

The bell over the door chimed as it shuts behind him, making him jump slightly. His nose lead him towards the front of the gas station, where what looked to be a small oven containing wrapped sandwiches and boxes contained what smelled enticing to him. His stomach growls again, and he embarrassingly wraps his arms around his midsection to hopefully block the noise.

However, it didn't do much justice.

"You must be hungry," a deep, husky voice behind him chuckles.

Seonghwa turns, facing a man who looked to be about six foot tall and supporting salt and pepper colored hair with a matching beard and mustache. His deep blue eyes were captivating as he smiles, "This place has the best chicken sandwiches in my opinion."

Seonghwa nods, "That does sound pretty good..."

The man chuckles, pointing to the oven contraption, "It's best to order one fresh with Mayo, ketchup, and pickles. The pickles give it that extra tang that the ketchup and Mayo don't provide."

Seonghwa's stomach growls again, and the man laughs, "Well don't be shy, order yourself one. Actually," he steps around the counter and washes his hands quickly before wrapping them in latex gloves. They snap against his wrist, the noise made Seonghwa flinch and gave him a little anxiety. The noise reminded him of the facility when he was in heat, the constant snapping of the gloves against the scientists' and doctors' skin...

"What will it be?" The man asks, grabbing a piece of aluminum foil and placing it on the counter by the oven.

"Uh... I think one of those chicken sandwiches sound pretty good," Seonghwa swallows, nodding, "With Mayo and pickles and ketchup..."

The man smiles once more, grabbing two fresh hamburger buns and putting a generous amount of mayonnaise, ketchup, and a couple slices of pickles before wrapping it expertly. Once he was done, he places the sandwich in a bag then brings it to the register, "Is that it for you sir?"

Seonghwa swallows, noticing his throat is quite dry, "I may grab me a water from the fridge real quick."

"Absolutely," the man smiles, gesturing around the store, "Feel free to look around. When you're done just bring your items up here and I'll ring them up for you."

"Thank you," Seonghwa bows politely, turning towards the fridges and looks over the vast selections of beverages staring back at him. Many different types of sodas and drinks made the choice a little overwhelming to him, he just went with his gut and grabbed a large water bottle from the top shelf. The sudden cold plastic against his skin he palm of his hand made him shiver slightly as he scouted the shelves for other items, seeing a bag of chips that sounded enticing to him.

When he was finished he brought the bag of chips and the bottle of water to the register where the man was waiting patiently for him to finish looking around. He smiles politely once more as he waits until Seonghwa placed his items on the counter, "Did you find everything that you were looking for?"

"I think so," Seonghwa nods, grabbing the wallet from his bag and pulling out the credit card.

Once the man was finished ringing up his items, he nods in satisfaction as he looks at Seonghwa, "Alright sir, your total is $13.24."

Seonghwa hands the man the card, tapping his fingers against the counter as he waited for the card to process the transaction. However, a buzz from the register made his heart stop slightly and the smiling cashier frowns slightly, "Hmm, it declined it for some reason. Want me to try again?"

"If you wouldn't care to please," Seonghwa whispers quietly, looking around and noticing a woman behind him. She had items in her hands as well and huffs slightly as she adjusted them in her arms while she waited. Embarrassment fills his whole body as he turns back to the cashier.

Come on, come on... he thought to himself. The card worked just fine in the store back in the town he left. It should still work, unless the owner he stole the card from figured it out that he had taken it...

Another buzz from the register made Seonghwa's heart shatter once more, and his anxiety spikes again. The man hums, frowning as he looked down at the card, "Hmm, for some reason it's not wanting to take your card sir. Do you have any other form of payment?"

Seonghwa's cheeks grew hot as he shook his head. He only had a little bit of cash left on him, and he needed it for another bus ticket. Or even to rent a motel room for the night. The man smiles sadly, bagging everything up in a plastic baggie and hits a few buttons on the register. It chimes, and the drawer opens before the cashier closes it back and a receipt prints out. He placed the receipt in the bag and hands it over to Seonghwa, "Here."

Seonghwa's eyes widen, "But wait-"

"Don't worry about it, it's on me," the man nods, "You have a good rest of your day now."

Seonghwa's cheeks grew hot as he nods, bowing respectfully once more and thanking the man before leaving quickly. He knew he was in trouble the moment he walked out of the store, the door shuts behind him as he curses silently as he walked to the end of the street, "Fuck fuck fuck!" He whispers, looking around to hopefully find a motel or a place to rest his head for the night.

Without the credit card though, he wouldn't be able to access much more materials for his escape. And he only had so much cash left on him.

He keeps walking down the street, eventually running into a motel strip. He studies it, noticing some of the residents hanging around outside of the small complexes. They watched him as he walked to the main building, a large sign with the name of the motel flashing in neon lights.

He kept his head down as he walked into the building, noticing a young woman sitting at the desk with a computer and notepad. She looks up at the sound of the bell chiming on the door and smiles, "Hi, can I help you?"

"I-I need a room," Seonghwa shyly approaches the desk, not sure what questions to ask or even what to do in this situation.

"Okay, for how long?" The woman asks, grabbing her laptop and typing in information at a rapid pace.

"Just for the night please," Seonghwa pulls out his wallet, counting the cash he has currently, fearing he may not have enough for more than one night, "How much?"

"Just for the night it's going to be $35," the woman smiles, grabbing the notepad and a pen, "I need your name and contact number, as well as a card to put the room on."

"I'd rather pay cash," Seonghwa insisted, holding up the correct amount and laying it on the counter.

The woman nods, "Alright, but I still need a name."

"Mars," Seonghwa responds instantly, coming up with a random name to give to the woman so he can get his room and rest. Possibly color his hair to further disguise himself.

The woman didn't question him, and wrote his name down before handing him a key, "Here's your key for the night. Enjoy your stay sir."

"Thank you," Seonghwa takes the key and leaves quickly, the keychain on his key told him which room he would be staying in and he didn't waste any time waiting around. Once he finds his room, he shuts the door and locks it behind him as well as stuffing a shirt from his bag under the door to further prevent someone from breaking in.

He was finally alone, he could finally think fully and figure out a plan for what he is going to do for him and his unborn baby. But first, he needed to change his features, and stat. He digs around through his bag and finds the hair dye, immediately following instructions to color his once blonde hair to brown.

He applied the first layer of goop, watching as it slowly stained his hair overtime once his entire head is covered. When the time came for him to rinse it out, he watches as the clear water from the shower turned black and brown as the dye washed out. And sure enough, when he looked in the mirror he hardly recognized who he was.

His blue eyes widen as he studies his now dark brown hair, his chin wobbling as he realized just how far he has come to make it this far from the facility.

If he himself was fooled just by the slight change, surely he will have everyone fooled with his new look. No one should be able to recognize him now.

••••