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

Along the way, he took brief periods of rest so that he wouldn't be to the point of exhaustion where he couldn't do anything. Needless to say, those breaks were troublesome, and it often took a good thirty minutes to an hour to fall asleep. His mind would torment him with endless possibilities of what he would find, and most of them ended in negative results, with a few hopeful thoughts here and there. Even when he fell asleep, his dreams often would consist of similar situations, and he comprehended that his mind wouldn't relax until he reached Delain and gained answers. Hopefully, Nick would have answers that he liked, or he would have to ask the human for further help, which he'd rather avoid.

It was hard enough telling himself that he wasn't going to rip the male apart and strangle him after he tortured the human male's companions. Instead, he had to talk to him and be civil. The creature bit his lower lip to keep himself from yelling out in frustration. He reminded himself that he only was going to behave himself for (f/n). She needed him, and he didn't want to lose any more time in searching for her. Two months already was too long, and it pained him thinking that she had been with Callest alone for such an extended timeframe.

When Delain finally came into his view, he slowed down slightly and quieted his steps even more as he used the nearby trees for cover. His feet guided him towards the old road of the town, and it was hard to miss since the crumbling asphalt path stretched past the town before it disappeared underneath the dirt and grasses of the terrain. It was at the back of the one side of the town, and there was a thick forest on the other side, but it still stood out. At least to him, it did.

The creature didn't travel to the subway entrance, however, since he was searching for Nick. He wanted to find the human male first and learn what he could from him before he hopped down into the old tunnel system. Given what he knew about Nick, the creature figured that he would have charts and notes on the place; he might even have a map. That would be perfect, and it would lead to a quicker investigation of the place since he had no idea how huge the subway system was.

There also was the fact that he was dealing with another creature, and Callest could move (f/n) around the tunnel just as quickly as he found her. So if he knew the layout ahead of time, he might be able to cut Callest off even though Callest might've been down there with her for two months and would know the terrain well most likely.

With all of that in mind, the creature debated on where Nick might be in the town. So far, he hadn't seen Nick or that girl that had been with him back in the car in Gracious Falls. What he remembered of Nick's scent wasn't around either. Then again, his last scent wasn't too helpful given that it had been from something far too distinct and awful for it to be a common scent for Nick, especially since it smelled like it had been ancient. It didn't help that his other scent had been of pines and spice. There were pine trees and other plants growing all throughout the area, and even if the cologne had been a more concentrated smell, the creature picked up nothing like that in the air.

Due to smelling being out of the options of locating Nick, the creature focused on where he might stay. It'd be a hotel or some other place that visitors could rest, and it'd probably be close to the main site: the subway entrance. The creature used that line of thinking and leaped atop the nearest building. His optics noticed the other end of the old road leading into a batch of trees before vanishing underneath them, and he pinpointed a hotel nearby. There were no similar establishments nearby from what he could tell, and he decided to check out that place first. Getting into their room might be tricky, though, since he couldn't break through the window, and there was no lock on the outside to lock pick.

Possibly, the hotel might have regular keys, but he had seen on advertisements back before his game with his pink flower that hotels also could have electronic keys. If the hotel had that system, he couldn't even lock pick the door into the room. Crouching on the rooftop so that he wouldn't be seen even if it had become night in the area, he deliberated on what action to take. He could knock on their room door once he figured out their room number, but he suspected that they wouldn't answer. Seeing an unexpected hooded figure outside of one's room usually didn't imply a warm welcome.

Of course, he could break down the door, but he didn't wish to create a scene. Maybe, he could break off the door handle, and it wouldn't make too much noise? But, would he be able to do that quickly enough to not be caught on camera? It would be risky, and he had a feeling that the camera would pick up some of that action, but the hotel might not even have cameras. That hopeful thought seemed unlikely, though.

Annoyed, he figured that he could steal a keycard from behind the front desk, but he most likely would be caught on camera unless he knew the number. Perhaps, he should've thought of that issue first. If all of the curtains were open, he theoretically could peek in through the windows, but that would take too long and draw too much attention to himself. He could stake out the place, but that might consume too much time, though; his present deliberations were doing the same.

He did have the option to ask the front desk, but he doubted that the person there would tell him where Nick was staying. If anything, the individual might call security on him, and bypassing the person to check the computer for information might pose similar issues: time consuming and attention drawing.

Squinting, he did note that there was an air vent entrance on the lower right side of the building. It looked big enough for him to fit through, but he didn't even know if he would be able to get into any of the rooms from the vent system since it might branch off into smaller ones. The vents would give him cover, though, and he could listen for anyone possibly talking about the group of investigators even if that information would be incredibly lucky to overhear.

Or ... A smirk graced his lips. He just had to ask one of the staff, and one of them just so happened to leave the building to take out the trash. The individual also was part of the cleaning crew, and they had access to every room. Perfect. Why didn't he just think of that sooner? Thoughts about cooperating with Nick must've been affecting his usual solutions to issues, but there also was the fact that he was worried about (f/n). His concern most likely was making him over think quite a bit of things.

Pushing himself out of his thoughts, he jumped down from the building and rushed over to the unsuspecting male. In seconds, the creature had grabbed him and raced off into the nearby foliage with him. Before the male could scream, the creature covered his mouth with his right hand as he pressed the man up to a tree. "I need answers about some guests staying here," he whispered as he used the shadows to hide himself more even if his clothes and sunglasses already performed a good job of that. "If you yell when I remove my hand, I'll kill you. You tell anyone about this afterwards, and I'll kill you." The creature smirked a sadistic grin. "And for the second option, it'll be excruciatingly slow so that you feel every cut I administer to that weak body of yours."

Almost instantly, the man nodded his head as best he could. "Good. Then, I need you to tell me about a guest staying at your hotel by the name of Nick Calamiss." There was the chance that Nick and his team were residing at another hotel, but given how the man nodded again, the creature figured that he chose the right place.

Steadily, he removed his hand, and the man took a sharp breath in like it would be his last. His heart continued to pound hard, and he looked to be sweating from fearful nerves. "... R-Right, w-wh..."

"His room number," the creature responded, rolling his eyes before they focused on the man's master keycard.

"S-Sorry," the man stuttered out, much to the irritation of the creature. The creature pressed him up against the tree more as if to signal for him to hurry up with his response. "It's room three hundred and four." That time, it came out fast and without pause, but terror still was evident in the man's voice. About to leave, the creature stopped upon noting that the worker had been ready to disclose more information. Again, the creature pressed him against the tree and motioned for him to continue. "The thing is," he gulped as if his answer would send him a quick visit to his demise, "they left." Tightening his grip, the creature narrowed his eyes and indicated for further explanation. "It looked like they had the original blueprints to the subway. I don't know. It was a quick glance."

While the man began to ramble, the creature ignored him. Nick and his team were in the subway already, then, and the creature was surprised that Nick would venture into such a place at night unless ... Was he stuck in there? If he was trapped, that might mean ... His mind spiraled off into many different answers, but they kept landing back on Callest and (f/n). That possibility might still be a long shot, but his mind couldn't stop concentrating on that result. It would've been nice to have the map, but if Nick and his crew had the original, he doubted that they had copies lying about their room.

Whatever the case, he didn't spare another moment, and he knocked out the man. He didn't grab the keycard in case it had some tracker installed in it, and he didn't want it to guide others to him in the subway, but he did grab the man's car keys to unlock the car before he stuffed him in his driver's seat as though he were taking a nap. The creature did his best to wipe his prints off of things next even if that mattered little since he knew that he would never be connected to them unless he was killed. Captured? No, it wouldn't happen since he already was, and (f/n) wouldn't sell him out like that unless she was a hundred percent sure that it would kill him. That was extremely unlikely, or she would've done so already, especially since she understood how easily he could get away from such a situation. Regardless, he tossed out the bag of trash next so that it wouldn't be lying oddly in the middle of the parking lot. With that done, he sped off towards the subway.