I closed my laptop, leaned back against my seat, and sighed. I put my arm atop my eyes to block the lights from the ceiling. It's over. Finally. I groaned and stretched my arms. A saleslady from the tourist chocolate stand looked at me strangely. I gave her a tired smile. Damn, I was sleepy.

My butt was sore from hours of sitting on a plane and my neck felt like it could break from my shoulders any time soon. I spent the whole 24-hour flight cooped up on my laptop, typing like hell in order to finish transcribing this last journal.

While waiting for connecting flights from other cities, I caught a few hours of sleep and then I'm back on transcribing again on the plane. I landed in Auckland, New Zealand a couple of hours ago and using Jaq's gifted credit card, bought myself a single ticket back to the Philippines.

Guilt and shame curled at the base of my stomach. I must have owed Jaq a million dollars already and here I was, adding some more. How would Jaq even pay for all of that? Why was she even giving out credit cards? Denny sure scored a goal.

Anyway, free wi-fi ran out two hours ago and all that's left was to wait for my flight. I should go and take a bath. I stank. I glanced at the journals piled at the table beside my turned off laptop.

The contents of the journals were all in my cloud storage so I don't need these buggers anymore. I stretched my neck left and right and relished the cracking sound that came with it. Ah. This has been a long day.

It's another sixteen hours to NAIA so I should catch up on sleep on the way. Right now, food, a bath, and getting rid of the journals. I stood up and packed my laptop into my meager suitcase. The trolley gave a satisfying shiiik as I yanked the handle up. I hooked my finger on my hair tie and pulled. Black hair fell in straight waves.

It's like I'm in a teen fiction book with this get up. It's a shame I couldn't wear shades because of my glasses.

I shook my head and gripped the journals underneath my arm. Yanking my suitcase with me, I strolled towards the comfort room to freshen up. I passed all sorts of people on my way. Some talked on their phones, others were with their families. Casual clothes, formal attires, all of us have something in common—baggage. Whether it's physical or not, I knew everyone has it. Especially in an airport.

I passed hubs filled with tables and chairs. Staff flitted around, wearing their uniforms and smiling at passing tourists. Guards patrolled their areas. The lights made my head pound. Ugh. I needed coffee.

I passed a group of different colored trash bins pressed against a wall. They waved at me like tiny devils waiting to be fed. I looked at the journals in my hands then at the bins. Were these journals recyclables?

Well, whatever. I strode towards the bins and shoved the journals into the middle bin without looking at what kind of trash was supposed to go into there. Farewell. It's been a journey. I would have whistled as I walked away. Good riddance.

I left the bins and entered the nearest restroom. I marveled at its apparent modern design as I turned on a faucet. Bearing down, I splashed water into my face and looked at myself in the mirrors. I definitely looked older. My hair was a mess and my skin had never been this dry. Bloodshot brown eyes stared back at me. The circles below them were heavier than my suitcase and my weight combined.

I tugged my jacket close and sighed. I would be back home soon and it would be like before. The journals were gone. Surely the creatures would stop chasing me around. I gasped, startling the people coming out of the cubicles.

Would they chase whoever got those accidentally? Oh no. I contemplated going back there. Oh, God...why was I even worrying about that? I shrugged and snickered to myself. Not my problem anymore. I was free and should act like it.

I rubbed my face dry using the paper towels offered by the dispensers. Next up—food. I'm sick of the airport meals I've eaten after coming to the US with just my savings. I checked my watch. Two hours to spare before my flight. I could work with that.

I stepped out of the comfort room and strolled my way to the nearest coffee shop. I found one after getting lost three times.

Groaning, I settled myself on a high, orange stool and ordered a random drink. Espresso. One shot of whatever they're shooting coffee with. I nodded along at the cashier's questions. Just give me my coffee.

"Are you sure you want Greek yogurt on that?" a girl asked next to me.

I blinked. "What?"

The girl jerked her chin at the waiting cashier. "He's asking you."

What the hell was a Greek yogurt anyway and who puts that in their coffee? I shook my head at the cashier and he tapped his screen a few times before asking for my payment. I gave him Jaq's credit card.

As he processed my order, I stared at the girl beside me. She was dressed in a typical teen attire composed of a black cotton hoodie, black shorts cut to her thighs, and black knee-length boots. Long, straight, dark hair fell to her waist.

Her face was round with her skin deathly pale. She was sucking on a lollipop. She looked like a normal teenager if not for the dangerous glint in her blue eyes and for the strange pin clipped to the chest of her hoodie.

I squinted my eyes and noted the creepy black rose etched on a white crest. It was small enough to be sidelined. Weirdly enough, I kept staring at the pin. There were words etched but the letters were too small for my impaired eyes to read.

"Finished?" the girl licked her lips as she plucked the candy off her mouth.

I averted my eyes. When would my coffee arrive? I must get out of here.

"Though, for the record, you're quite interesting, too," the girl shoved the lollipop back into her mouth. "You've been to many places, no?"

I shook my head. The cashier passed me my order. I smiled at him, retrieved my card, and opened the cup. It was freaking cold which defeats the whole purpose of having coffee. But, it's this or none. I downed the whole thing in one swig. "Just for vacation, really," I gave the girl a sideways glance as I wiped my mouth on the sleeves of my jacket.

"Well, that's the beauty of airports, isn't it?" she inclined her head at the ceiling. "Most of the time you'll never meet the people you meet here."

I laughed. That's true. I looked at my watch. Oh, only forty minutes left. I edged off my seat and gripped the handle to my suitcase. "Well, the same goes for you," I said.

The girl turned fully to me only to give me a glimpse of her pin. On it was a word etched in dark letters. Pergamum. What in the world was that? I shook my head and smiled. "Well, I should go," I stepped backward and angled my body away. I blinked the hell out of the lights blinding me. "Yeah."

"Yeah, okay," the girl said.

I sighed and went on my way. Pergamum, huh? I retrieved my phone from my pocket and ran a quick Google search. An ancient island in Turkey. The Seat of Satan, if we're going with religious references. That didn't make sense. The girl looked nothing like a demon. She didn't look like she lived during 300 BCE.

Guess I'd never know.

Why would I even bother with that? I just got out of a major headache. I didn't need to bring myself another.

So, I walked to my flight. People jostled and passed by me but it didn't matter. It's time to go home. If there was still a home to go back to. My parents would flay me alive if they realized what I've done. It's a good thing I never told them. They probably think I was stuck at uni and couldn't go home because of the amount of school work.

I laughed to myself. School work, my ass.

But hey, I finished my work. The story was done. Everybody won. It wouldn't matter what happened to me. I didn't even know what that coming evil was. The whole story didn't tell me. Was trouble still not over for them? I hope not.

If, by some wild circumstance, it's still not over, please. Do not include me. I'm out. I've done enough.

I walked forward with my suitcase rolling along behind me. There's no looking back. Not anymore.