A line was forming at the bathrooms, so we couldn't change clothes at the restaurant. Beatrice gave our payment at the counter, took Millard's packed dinner out of Philip's bag and did a head count as we got onto the van again. I could hear her and Millard speaking, but I don't think it was anything to be suspicious about. They weren't even trying to hide it, but we all had a right to hear anyway.

"Do you think more people would be on the roads at this time? Seven in the evening?"

"Well, there's a fair amount of restaurants around here so there might be moderate traffic when we leave, but if you mean the highway—"

"Yes, the highway. Where's our map?"

"It's in the cup holder in the front, I think. Thank you, Laurence. Quezon province, you say?"

"Yes. Er, Ophelia called. The lab's there, and it's best we set off now."

"Here? It does seem close to a beach."

"Yes. You can switch out for me at about a third of the way, right?"

"Of course. Let's stop at a gas station so we can change into new clothes as well."

Millard, back in his cargo shorts and polo shirt again, folded up our cheap plastic map of the Philippines and tapped a finger on Sandra's sliding door. "Is everyone ready?"

We all said yes. Aerron sighed behind me. I texted my mom goodnight so she wouldn't get suspicious. Then I went to poke RenRen's shoulder. "I'm bored."

"Hm? Do you want to play Truth or Dare then?"

"Sure. Are you gonna say something, or...?"

"Huh? No, you first."

"Okay, truth or dare."

"Truth."

"What is a food you hate?"

"Anything sour. Truth or dare?"

"Truth."

"What's your battery number right now?"

"Percentage?" We were driving out of the parking lot now. Goodbye, Bulacan. I opened my phone. "63. That's a boring question."

RenRen yawned. "Okay. I dare you to touch Aerron. Like, any way. At least for a second."

I recoiled. "What? Hell no."

He shrugged. "It's a dare!"

"Aerron hates my guts!"

"I wouldn't say that."

"Wha—" That caught me off guard. I'm pretty sure he did. He would probably bite me if I tried getting close. "I'm not doing it."

"Okay. You lose."

"You can't lose in Truth or Dare!"

"You can if you don't answer properly or accept a dare!"

I scoffed. "Watch me, Laurence." I kneeled on my seat and hooked my elbows onto the backrest, facing Aerron and Philip. The latter gave me a warning expression, and the former was reading something on his phone with headphones over his ears.

Making sure RenRen was watching, I put my left hand on Aerron's hair and then whipped it away right as he realized what was happening. "Don't...Just don't," He snapped, glaring at me after trying to swat my hand away.

I sat back down. "Ha! See?" I said proudly as we left the city. Soon we'd be on another stretch of road.

"Yeah, I saw."

"Diana, wake up. Diana."

"Gising na." That was followed by a rough poke to my head with two fingers.

I jerked awake and blindly punched in the direction where the feeling came from. "The fuck?"

Aerron hopped out of the van. "Get your fucking ass up. We're at a gas station so change into your pangtulog."

"You are so mean!"

Instead of snapping back, he ignored me and made his way towards the restroom. I followed what everyone else was doing and pulled my soap, a shirt, a pair of shorts, and underwear out from my bag. I decided I'd return for my toothbrush later.

As I tied up my hair to wash my face, Mia crept up behind me. She yawned, leaning on the bathroom wall with her eyes half-closed. Just now I found out how much of a sleepy person she was. Much less rough in that state too.

Quezon province...I still didn't know how far that was. And I didn't know how much longer either. My watch read 7 in the afternoon. We had gotten to the restaurant earlier at about 4, and spent almost an hour eating, so that means 7 minus 5...2 hours...ugh. Another four hours until we get to Quezon. And even then, it would be pretty late.

Wait, the lab was in Quezon. We...were about to save the world? Or slow some bad guy's plans. Either way, we would be doing something important for everyone—just 7 kids with supervision—tomorrow. What would we do? Would there be more Creatures? It would just be us and our blades against anything that came in our way. Did me in December ever think she'd get here? I remember being in denial for a while, acting like the disintegrated carcass wasn't real. Now I was here, on the same road trip I was hesitant to join, with my own sword that my hand had seemed to form an invisible, unbreakable rope with, and I was travelling across Luzon with people I used to think were merely fictional characters.

On top of that, their strange, peculiar world was just as real as ours was, and my friends and I were treading the thinning line that separated—or maybe even connected—the two. I was okay with what I was currently doing, no matter how crazy it would have seemed a few months ago. I realized how far we'd come and the shock hit me like cold faucet water splashing onto my face.

RenRen was outside, facing the convenience store while brushing his teeth with glossed-over eyes. I could feel the sleepiness return to my body too. It seemed like the perpetual car ride was fucking up all our sleep schedules.

I wanted to say hello to him but I had already had enough of dry conversations. Instead of saying something, I just clapped a hand on his shoulder as I went back to the van. Aerron and Philip were still in the bathrooms, talking. They sounded happy.

After buying a few more snacks and bottles of water at the convenience store we were back on the road again, some falling asleep and some doing their own thing. Millard drove the van while Beatrice slept in the passenger's seat with his blanket draped over her.

Arden and I were watching videos she downloaded on YouTube. We stayed entertained for about a dozen videos until I started to zone out, and then her. The current video played as her phone sat in her hand, but we were both staring out the window or straight ahead. I let out a sigh, feeling my eyelids grow heavy. I rested my cheek on my cousin's shoulder, joining her in staring out her window.

Running on the rough strip of road that we zipped along on was a dark figure, barely seen due to the lack of road lamps. Our only light on this portion of the expressway was the van's headlights and the moon, but right now the moon was hidden behind thick clouds.

The figure had hooves; I saw some things glinting every half second and it was galloping along beside our car. There was a faint outline of something about the size of a horse, its head bowed. Other than that, I couldn't make out anything else.

I blinked and realized what I was staring at. My eyes widened and I sat up straight, patting Arden's shoulder. "Is that a Creature?"

She gasped. "I think so."

The rest of it I couldn't see properly since the surrounding land was just unattended rice fields and little houses with their lights turned off for as far as I could see, save a tiny horizontal cluster of lights in the far distance which I assumed was a town. "Millard?" I called out. "We have a problem!"

"What is it?"

"I think there's something following us," I said nervously. Behind me, I heard Aerron curse.

"Anak ng putsa. There are two more behind us." He had unbuckled his seatbelt and removed a bag from the pile in the back to see properly. Philip followed and reported those were the only others. "What are those? They don't look like any animals."

After he said that, a silence fell over us and if I listened hard enough I could hear their hooves thumping on asphalt.

"What is it?" RenRen whispered. I saw his phone flashlight turn on and he held it up to his window, trying to get a clear look at our new opponent. "We'll have to kill it anyway. I want to see," He said. It was uncomfortably silent as he panned the flashlight around, trying to see its head.

We screamed; Arden, RenRen, and I as the Creature, attention caught by the light, lunged at the window and left a palm-sized moist nose print on the glass. I got a glimpse of a rectangular face, beady eyes that glowed with the reflection of RenRen's flashlight, and brown leathery skin.

Millard pressed the gas and I felt the van go faster. "Alright, calm down now! Everybody sit down."

"Can we park somewhere?" Philip asked. "We can't just keep having them chase after us." I heard the clatter of his sword and assumed he was preparing for a fight.

He was right. We would run out of gas or join another vehicle at some point, and we couldn't afford to have either happen to us. Our close-range weapons were an immediate no, so fighting through an open window was out of the question. We had to get out and kill them as soon as possible, as it was better to deal with the problem here and now than to have them on television news attacking civilians. Or worse, end up in a car crash.

However, we were also alone on a dark road, with no other vehicles in sight and our safest place to be was in the van. We couldn't put Sandra in danger, so Millard had to drive carefully and pull over somewhere safe.

"Just a bit longer. I think I see light up ahead."

Biting down on my cheek I knotted my shoelaces, then went to get my sword. Fighting at night made me nervous. Then a horrible thought crept over me: what if it was too dark and I accidentally hurt one of my friends? I would never forgive myself, especially if it was an injury by blade and not by a miscalculated kick or whatever.

Up ahead, I could see street lamps forming. Then further into the distance, a city. But before that, to the side, was a billboard, a small lone hill and a line of transmission towers. Maybe we could use ourselves as bait and drive the Creatures into electrocuting themselves in the towers? No, that might start a fire. How did those even work? Would it ever work? My mind raced, creating ridiculous ideas.

"Children, we're going to stop near the mound over there," Beatrice said. "Get ready. Once we stop, get out of the van as quickly as possible and do what you usually do."

"Kill as soon as possible?" I asked.

"Yes, and survive," Millard said.

Aerron made a noise behind me that said, what the fuck!? Apparently Bee got the message as well, so she said, "We've got your backs, though, no need to fuss over it!"

We stopped before the hill, lump of earth on our right and billboard on our left. When Millard stepped on the brakes, we were all thrown forward a bit. Then RenRen hauled the van door open, rushing out first. Then me, then Elize, then Arden, then the rest. We braced ourselves for the large enemies approaching us.

I could see them clearly now with the help of the billboard's lights. The Creatures looked like a toddler's drawing of a horse, if the toddler was told to make a horse monster.

I estimated them to be about 8 feet tall, with the brown skin and deformed head shape I saw earlier. Their hooves were as big as my face and their necks were abnormally long so they looked out of proportion. I expected teeth, but I couldn't tell. Their legs were unusually muscly, to the point that I felt like stepping back a bit. I could see veins ripple and shift under their leathery skin, muscles bulging as they galloped. Though the weird part was the hexagonal shapes sloppily scattered on their backs up to halfway up their necks. Were they supposed to be like armor? Scales? Clearly the mad scientist we were chasing was experimenting.

RenRen went first once again, driving his sword into one's neck. It released a guttural growl of discomfort and tried to toss him to the side, but he hung on.

Another threw Mia to the side. Then it raised a hoof at me and tried to stomp, but I dodged it, ducking out of reach. It tried to get me again but I stepped back, randomly swinging my sword. It left a gash on its chest.

The Creature bellowed, and then it opened its maw to reveal a slimy, writhing black tongue. It looked too large for its mouth, filling its entire mouth cavity uncomfortably. I recoiled, then raised my sword as high as I could to wound its face. "Fucker!"

My jump was pathetic.

I stabbed the front leg that tried to push me, then I crawled under the Creature's belly. I guessed it had blind spots, being tall with eyes on either sides of its head.

"Careful with the hooves!" Someone yelled. It clicked in my mind that those were supposed to be their strongest part, their hooves, and that's why their legs were so buff. I couldn't reach the head, so chopping that off was impossible. I had to dodge hoof attacks too...the neck it is, I thought to myself. That or the body, but the necks were easier to go for.

I raised my sword over my right shoulder with two hands, ready to cut as deep as I could into the Creature's neck. So far, my blade was cutting into their skin like butter. I was sure I'd succeed. But when I charged, I had only managed to graze the Creature's skin when I was pushed down to the ground, itak knocked out of my hand.

My chin scratched the grass and the center of my back hurt like hell. I groaned and rubbed my elbow, trying to roll over. Someone grabbed my shirt, hauling me up.

"Diana! You're alright, come now." That was Beatrice's voice. Then that same voice grunted and the hold on my shirt was released, and I stumbled to the ground again. Another push; this time I was facing the Creature and it hit my head. The hoof was cold at first, then for a split second all I could feel was the pressure against my forehead.

The next thing I knew, I was on the ground, aching in several places, warm blood running down my temple and a dull, hot ache over my left eyebrow. My hands were empty. The third Creature was above me, trapping me under it. It nudged me with a knee so I lay down flat, energy still recovering.

I mumbled an insult before letting out a howl of frustration. The Creature eyed me hungrily, then it slowly raised a hoof to crush my face into the soil. Someone called my name. Arden? Beatrice?

With the little strength I had regained I used my hands to shove the raised hoof away. That angered the Creature though, so before I could get up it lowered its huge face at me and bellowed again, opening its mouth and giving me a great view of its great black tongue.

I screamed, half scared and half in response to the Creature. The stench was horrible, like a rotting basement with something fouler. The tongue darted out to reach me. However it wasn't long enough, and that bought me time.

I felt for my sword, and once I had it in my grasp I held it tight and slashed at the Creature's face, making a cut on each cheek, Joker style. Its noises were cut short as it registered what happened.

Above me, I saw arms—a pair of arms forcing a rather large rock into its open mouth. I shakily got up as quickly as I could and did the first thing that came to mind—I swung at its lowered exposed neck, past where the supposed armor disappeared. My blade stopped once it reached bone.

Elize appeared from the other side of the Creature, and she gave me a look. I understood, and she picked up where I left off on its neck, finishing it off with a heavy swing of her katana.

The Creature was about to make another noise, but then it was cut short when Elize killed it. Once the panic in my head had died down I realized one of the Creatures was still alive.

I heard Millard ask Philip to give him a boost, and Arden ducked down as the last beast charged at her. A floating sword and clothes launched themselves up from Philip's locked palms and landed on the Creature's back. The last Creature's head came clean off of the top of its neck as it met the blade.

Millard hopped off before its legs gave way. "Beatrice? Hello, yes. Laurence?"

I knitted my brows together hearing his concerned tone. I spun around, looking for my best friend. He was sitting down at the foot of the hill, sword hanging loosely from one hand, the other at his nape. He saw us and took his hand away. "I'm fine."

I glanced back at the dead Creatures. Soon they would turn into dust, and the strange blood trickling down their bodies would become puddles.

Millard did a head count and made us enter the van again. We were all complete in terms of limbs, with only minor injuries. There was a lot of wincing as we dressed our wounds though, and even more wincing when the road got rough. My back ached and my forehead stung. I had to try and sleep with my head resting back on the seat, but that made my neck hurt. And I was still thirsty.

We hit a bump in the road and my head slipped off the seat. I heard Philip say "careful" and felt his hand support my head. I shook the giddiness away. No time to get kilig right now!

Up front, I saw Beatrice's silhouette lean over to Millard's. Her side profile looked worried.

"They've got to be bloody joking. We're more than halfway there!"

"Miss P's getting ticked off now, too. Says we need proper directions or they'll call the mission off."

I heard Millard sigh. "The kids will be furious. I don't think they'd want to stop at this point. They might even be homesick."

"Obviously. But Miss P hasn't said anything else, so we shouldn't have to worry."

"About the trip. But they're hurt and tired."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Let them rest. I'll drive until you recover. I'll even find new routes so we don't get caught in traffic."

"But we're better off resting at the same time. We've had our second attack so far and they had to fight against hoof! Oversized ones, mind you. So don't turn around now. We'll need gas and a proper place to sleep."

"There?"

"Where else?"

I felt like I was 8 years old again, in the backseat of my parents' car while my dad drove us home. I remember how I'd wake up to them talking about family drama or work issues, but I'd never catch any words. My mind had always been hazy with sleep, the rocking of the car lulling me to back to bed. I would see red lights up ahead of us, distorted by water if it was raining.

Whatever they said after that, I didn't hear. My ass was starting to feel numb and RenRen moaned in his sleep. "Mom said stop, Celeste," he mumbled.

Out of nowhere, a loud, speeding car from behind us revved its engine as if to show off. It overtook us at a surprising speed—at least, surprising to me. That shook half of us awake.

Millard slowed the car down a bit. Then he announced to us in a sullen tone that we'd been given wrong directions again. We would stop at the city, he said, and find somewhere to sleep. Whether it be in an isolated parking space camouflaged by Beatrice or a rented inn room, we would rest for at least 8 hours. Our car ride would have to be put on hold.

My heart sank. We were so far along the trip at this point, and in total the ride was, what, 5 hours? More than that? I felt like we were going in circles, aimlessly driving around. But then I shook that thought away. We had a goal. We just had unreliable sources, that was all. 

Behind me, Mia groaned. "This city better have nice beds."