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

Beams of light shone across the road, and a bump was heard in the back but not a struggle. A left arm rested on the side of the door, and the hand supported a chin. Brown, almost black, optics stared out at the road ahead, and Leon sighed as he continued to look at the same scenery. Tall pines on either side of the road, and there had been no town yet between Castle Lake and their destination. To say the drive was boring would be an understatement. Thankfully, their destination held the prospect of immense excitement. "How much longer until we see this place?" he asked, letting out a yawn shortly after.

"Actually, we shouldn't see it," Gretchen remarked, resting her hands behind her head and stretching her legs out on the back seat. "Let's stop before the town."

"Shouldn't we find the gas station first?" Terry asked, watching the GPS on her phone out of present boredom. Her purple optics did sparkle with anticipation, however, at the prospect of finally having the creature as hers.

"No. If someone gets a close view of Leon driving, someone might start asking questions." She glanced to him using the rear view mirror. "You don't exactly look sixteen."

He shrugged and nodded. "I know." A grin hit his lips. "Good thing it's dark out, then."

"So, why should we worry about someone seeing him, then," Terry pointed out, staring back to her friend.

"Just to be cautious. We don't want interference." Gretchen moved her arms and rested them across her chest. "Besides, we know to head east from the gas station. So when Gracious Falls gets closer, we look east of it and go into those woods. Simple." With her head, she indicated to the trunk. "And if those sleeping pills wear off, we don't want Mae to draw attention to us."

"She shouldn't. She did take three of them." Leon chuckled. "And, I only offered her one for her headache. Must've been some headache she had." His optics remained on the road. "But, I do see your point. She might wake up while we're gone, and if we're parked in the woods, no one will hear her."

Giggling, Terry positioned herself on her seat to face Leon and grinned. "I still can't believe it all went so smoothly. You convincing her to lie in the back and take a nap while we waited for Oliver." Another giggle parted from her. "Then, all of us managing to move her into the trunk in the middle of the road when no one was around." A too cute sigh left her. "We're such a good team."

Suddenly, she sat up. "Oh! That reminds me!" Her purple eyes met Gretchen's dark brown ones. "Are we going to replace little Ol if we sacrifice him?"

"Not immediately. Maybe, not ever." Gretchen shrugged. "Let's see how things go, and let's enjoy having the creature to ourselves." She winked to her younger friend. "You especially." Terry giggled in response as her light purple curls bounced in the process. The older female averted her attention to out the front window. "Anyway, how much longer?"

Diverting her optics to her phone, Terry immediately beamed and giggled once more. "If we continued to the town, another ten minutes. But since we're not ..." She grinned to Leon. "You should make a left turn into the woods now when you see an opening in the trees."

Before Leon could make the turn, however, Gretchen rested a hand on his right shoulder. "Wait, we won't make it far if we just drive into the snow." Quickly, she looked out the windows of the car for anything they could use to help. She didn't find anything at first before noted a few rock structures up ahead. Extending out her left index finger, she pointed. "There. Get ready to make that turn and launch us."

"Won't we get stuck in the snow, then?" Leon asked, starting to slow down a bit so that they could debate on their next move more.

"... Right, but we need to worry about someone seeing the car or finding Terry." She stared out to the rocks. Due to the shape of them, there wasn't as much snow around the base of them, and the trees were far enough away from each other for them to drive between the rocks and trees. "Let's hide behind them. Drive as close to the rocks as you can so that the car can make it through the snow."

Nodding in response, Leon drove the car closer until he made the left turn. With the snow not too high, he was able to get the vehicle to go through the snow. At one point, however, the car almost got stuck due to the snow being higher on the left side. He kept his foot on the gas, though, and managed to drive the car around the rocks. When he reached the back of them, they just were tall enough to hide the car from a street view.

"Okay, perfect." Gretchen patted Leon on the shoulder roughly. "You get the stuff." Facing Terry, Gretchen continued, "Turn off your phone and help me cover the car tracks." The older female hopped out of the car and made her way over to the edge of the road. Terry hurried after her and made sure to shut off her phone in the process. Both of them began to move the dirt and snow around the tracks around so that they were ruined. They even threw some of the surrounding snow over it, and both of them moved swiftly in case a car came by.

By the time they were done, they were exhausted, and Leon was waiting for them by the car. He tossed them each a water bottle. Gretchen took a huge swig, and Terry drank several large sips. They passed the items back to Leon, who put the bottles back in his supply bag. "So, we keep heading east until we hear the stream, right?" Leon questioned, and he received a nod from Gretchen.

Switching on his flashlight, he started to walk through the woods with them. Leon passed them each their flashlights too, but they left them off to converse battery power, and Leon had his flashlight on one of the dimmer settings. "I wonder how Oli's doing," he mentioned as a brief chuckle escaped him. "And if he's managed to hide himself from the creature so far."

"Well if the creature found him, that gives us a nice distraction." Gretchen smirked. "I wonder what condition he's in." She sighed soon after, though. "But, I doubt he's dead if he knows about Nick's partners and what they know about Nick and (f/n)."

"So, (f/n) probably isn't with the creature, right?" Terry asked, hopefulness and glee in her optics. Gretchen shook her head. A grin spread across the younger's lips, and she clung to Leon's right arm in the process. She nuzzled her face into his arm. "Oooh, that'll be so great. I won't have to deal with convincing her then to give it to me."

"We should be careful if it actually cares for (f/n)." Terry lifted her face up and frowned. "I know." Gretchen shook her head and smirked. "But, you can't love it if it's dead ... Well, you can, but that's ..." The younger girl's frown deepened, and Gretchen chuckled. "Again, I won't take it from you. But, you need to approach it in a persuasive manner and don't bring up (f/n) if you don't have to." The red-headed girl shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe, it moved on from her, and that's why it's out here."

"I hope so." A pout now formed on Terry's lips. "She tried to escape from it. I haven't. I'm trying to find it. So, it should pick me." Leon patted her on top of her head. She looked up to him. "Right, Leon?"

"Right, Terry." He moved his right arm around her waist and held her close. "Of course, it will."

"But ... But, what if it doesn't?" Terry asked, widening her eyes and pouting all the more.

"We're capturing it. If it doesn't choose you, make it choose you." He winked to her. "I even packed the dolls you bought in my supply bag. Give it the princess one. It might like that." She seemed to think on that before she grinned and nodded her head excitedly. Happy again, she tucked her head into the side of Leon and hummed a cheery song mentally.

Gretchen, now ahead of both of them, paused and motioned for them to stop too. "I hear water." She started walking once more, and the sound grew louder. Soon enough, the three of them saw the stream. It didn't look like it would be too hard to jump across it, and they definitely didn't want to fall in given the biting chill in the air. None of them were shivering too much at the moment, however, since their minds were focused on reaching the cave and claiming the creature for themselves.

Once they were right by the flowing water, Gretchen backed up a little and took a running jump. She landed perfectly on the other side and smirked back to her friends. Terry performed the same as Gretchen, except her landing was a little clumsy, but she managed to maintain her balance and remain standing. Leon landed perfectly too, and his feet hit the ground at a farther point than his two friends.

All of them proceeded forward a bit before they turned east again and headed for the cave. Terry practically was bouncing on her feet by that point. Gretchen had her hands tucked away in her jacket's pockets, and Leon allowed Terry to drag him along, not minding the attention as usual.

None of them were even unsettled by the fact that it was deadly quiet in the area except for them. No animals made a sound, and there wasn't even a nighttime breeze. When they saw the cave, none of them drew back in fear or even were concerned that Oliver wasn't at the entrance. Instead, Terry giggled quietly while her eyes portrayed a dreamy state. Leon and Gretchen were smirking, each for their own reasons. Taking the lead, Gretchen waved the other two to follow her in. Leon shone the flashlight ahead to guide their path, but its light remained dim until they encountered the creature.