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

"Now once I teach you first gear, you're going to follow the steps for the following gears on the low range setting. I'll teach you the high range once you're through them." Ether nodded, and Vincent took that as a signal to continue. "When you're in ideal rpm range, depress the clutch and switch the splitter back to L. You'll move the shifter into neutral position. Remember where that is?" Once more, the creature nodded, and Vincent didn't move on until Ether showed him what neutral meant. When he confirmed the position, Vincent nodded and moved to the next step. "You'll release the clutch before you push it back in all the way and shift into first. Remember to follow the diagram on the shifter to do this. The reason why you have to do the extra clutch work is because the splitter won't change when you're in neutral, so you have to move it first before you go into neutral, then move the shifter to the proper gear."

Pointing to the gas pedal, Vincent added, "Also, remember to accelerate the car as you're shifting into higher gears. The higher gear the faster you'll need to be going essentially. Just don't go too fast since this is your first time driving this. I know you have somewhere to be, but drive slow if you need time to think through what to do next when shifting." Vincent met the creature's eyes, and it was relieving to see no murderous intent in his gaze. "None of this will matter if you crash and don't get to your destination."

Almost, Ether giggled since he was going to need to crash the truck, and with how complicated driving the vehicle was, it should be easy to have Callest believe that a crash was reasonable. Besides, Ether doubted that Callest knew how to drive a semi, so there was no way for Callest to assume that Ether couldn't drive the vehicle without being taught first. Still, Ether was glad to have the teaching session since he had a feeling the plan would've evaporated into thin air had he just tried to attempt and drive the vehicle on his own. "I understand. I'll take it slow."

"Good. Then, the steps that I just taught you for first apply to 1-H, 2-L, 2-H, 3-L, 3-H, 4-L and 4-H. Also when you're switching between L and H for each of the gears, release the accelerator as you're pushing in the clutch and letting go of it. Do you think that you can manage all of those gears?"

"Yeah." Vincent gave Ether a look, and the creature sighed before he repeated the steps needed for first gear. He proceeded to narrate every step for the following gears. When he met Vincent's gaze again, the human male nodded in approval.

"Now, you'll be going into the higher gears, and you'll need to switch the range switch to high. Before you do that, though, you'll need to depress the clutch and flip the splitter into L. Then, you can move it into high. This way, you don't grind gears when you switch back into first gear, which is the same position as fifth gear." When Ether made the motion to continue, Vincent proceeded to say, "You'll repeat the process that you did when going into first gear. You already have the splitter on L, so you need to put the shifter into neutral, release the clutch, push in again all the way and go into fifth gear."

"And, I repeat that process for the remaining gears in the high range?" Ether questioned, making sure that he got it right.

"Exactly. And when you need to slow down, you'll need to downshift. It's the same process, but just you're moving the shifter back to lower gears." Pointing to the break pedal, he mentioned, "Just remember to hit the break to slow the car down, so that it's in the proper range for the lower gear."

"Okay, that I can manage." Ether, though, wasn't intending to slow down too much. Then again with the mass of the semi, he probably didn't need to be going full speed to make a dent in the building. Besides, he didn't want to bring the structure down. "How fast should I be going for each gear, though?"

"... That's harder to say. While this truck has the same setup as the one I used to drive, it might have different transmission guidelines." Vincent looked around and searched for a guideline book, but he came up empty-handed. A frown formed on his lips before he sighed. "But, a key question is whether you'll be driving through a city or not."

"We'll be on the highway the whole time."

"In that case, you'll be fine going to top gear generally speaking. I'd say practice first and get a feel for the gears, but you don't have that time." Vincent leaned back on the seat he was on. "Just know that ..."

"It's not going to be easy," Ether mentioned, cutting him off. Vincent nodded, and Ether looked over the various items he needed to know again. "I'll go over it one more time with you. Correct me at any point if I'm wrong." Once more, Vincent nodded, and Ether began to list off the various steps from the beginning of the lesson to the end of it. Thankfully, he managed to memorize everything correctly. Admittedly, Vincent was impressed. The older male just hoped that Ether would execute the steps just as well as he memorized them.

"It sounds like you're ready. I'll step back into the diner again."

"I'll follow you and knock you out. I'd say thank you, but this is you paying me back for causing me all of that trouble in the past." Ether grinned a bit. "Just remember to stay clear of my pink flower and me for the future. I might not be so generous the next time we meet."

Needing no further warning, Vincent already was exiting the semi. "I know. I have no intention on doing so. I just want to get back to my life." Ether couldn't help but nod at that statement; he did too. He wanted Callest dead and forever gone. When Vincent's feet hit the floor, his light green eyes met (f/n)'s (e/c) ones. "He's all set."

"Thanks," she muttered, giving him a small smile. "This way, we actually might make it."

"It's not a problem, though; I might be moving away from here soon. I thought that this would be far enough from that area, but I guess that I was wrong." He brushed back some of his dark brown and grey hair. "Take care of yourself, kid." His eyes looked over everyone else who was with her before they went back to her. "And, all of you be careful even if that seems silly to say now."

"We'll try," she answered, giving him another smile. Her smile left her lips within a second, though, as the creature rounded the truck and looked to Vincent expectantly. Vincent gave her a short nod before he turned away from her and headed into the diner. It wasn't long before Ether came back out and joined her by Nick's car. "Okay, we're ready to go. Everyone get into the truck, except Ren and Chris."

Ren moved to the driver's seat of Nick's car while Chris moved to the front passenger's seat. All other doors were closed and locked. "Okay, we'll be following you. Take whatever time you need," Ren remarked to the creature. His suggestion wasn't mocking Ether. Rather, it came from worry and clearly was stating for Ether to keep all of them as safe as he could even if the creature could blow off the recommendation entirely and not be stopped in doing so.

"I have (f/n) with me. I'll take it easy." Ether turned away from him before he looked to the storage unit on the truck. "Time to cut a hole." (F/n), meanwhile, climbed up onto the passenger seat of the semi and closed the door after her. The view from the seat of the truck was impressive, but it also reminded her of how much things could go wrong with Ether driving. Momentarily, she closed her eyes and hoped that Ether had learned the steps well enough before he had sent Vincent off.

As for Ether, he opened the storage unit and glanced over the boxes. Due to the giant orange on the side of the truck, he assumed that they contained citrus. There even was that distinct, overly sweet and rotten smell that citrus produced for his nose. It was vile. Thankfully, he wouldn't be sitting in the back.

Hopping up, he walked across the unit a little bit before he crouched down and stabbed his left nails into the base of the truck. They went through the material easily, and he sliced them through in a large enough circle so that the three humans could make their escape from the vehicle quickly and easily. "Perfect," he muttered to himself before he stood up and jumped down from the unit. He grinned to the three waiting humans, and it became darker when it landed on Nick and even (d/n). "Go on ahead."

Nick resisted the urge to scowl at Ether before he climbed up and seated himself on one of the boxes. (D/n) went in next and seated himself across from Nick. Deidre glanced over to Ether, and his grin dropped into a more serious expression. "Don't worry. I made sure to memorize all of the steps. I'll get us there. Just make sure that you're ready."

"Yeah ... I will." The prospect of possibly dying still churned her stomach horribly, but she had come this far on the trip, and she knew that Ether wouldn't let her turn back. So, she had to steel herself for the future and do her best to make sure that the plan went over smoothly. Once she hopped into the back of the truck, she seated herself close to Nick.

Without another word, Ether closed the back shutter and locked it. He headed towards the front before he pulled himself up and into the vehicle. Once seated, he closed and locked the door. His very pale blue optics shifted over to (f/n), who had her eyes open now and was staring ahead, seemingly lost in thoughts. "Ready?" (F/n) gradually met his stare, and she reluctantly nodded. "We'll make it," he muttered, though; it was loud enough so that she would hear him. Soon enough, however, the keys were in the ignition, the gas tank was full and his mind began to go over the steps for driving the vehicle again while he also recalled all the times he had seen other people driving so that he knew how to operate the wheel and navigate the road ahead.