At five, it was already dark. The urges were coming onto him again, and he found himself signing out on the sheet. He was happy when no one questioned what he was up to as he sat it back down on the dresser. Since everyone was in the boy's dorm, playing promiscuous games or talking amongst each other, they had no interest he was about to leave. Fries that had been left out for too long were beginning to make the place smell like an old family car, and the lack of fresh air made it all the worse. He silently laced his way to the bed, hoping Cronus wouldn't pick this same time to take a smoke.
He picked up his jacket, and slinked to the door, twisting the handle and sliding out.

His initial plan was to slip out the window, but when he stumbled to the girl's room, his shaking hands trying to get within the grasps of the small cigarette box, he dropped it. He let out a verbal sigh, and went to pick it up. His hands were just about to touch it when the door behind him began to creep open. His mind began to race. Cigarettes. In front of him. Person at door.
Before he could consider a rational option, he looked at the stairs in front of him and kicked the box as hard as he could. They bounced off the tip of his shoe and a soft clatter was echoed.
He turned around, seeing Aranea stumble out. He let out another sigh, this one to indicate how he was getting fed up with how she seemed to be everywhere. Intervening with everything.

"What do you want?" He asked, crossing his arms. He had read somewhere not to do that in a conversation because it made it look like he didn't want to be part of whatever was happening. In this case, however, he wanted her to go.

"You left the room, the sheet that sat on the dresser stating you had to "use the bathroom" when there was a bathroom three feet from you." She said. "I can see that you are stressed, Kankri. What is it?"

He felt his face heat up, his hands squeezing the nails into the palms of his hands.
"That is none of your business. Now if you excuse me, I am going to go on a walk." He said, turning around.

"Then I'll come with you, I think it will be a great way to sort through our differences." She said.

Kankri raised his head.
"That won't be necessary, I prefer my walks in solitude, unescorted by anyone.

He looked at her as she began to think. Her eyes searched the floor, a shadow casting over her. The orange lights in the hall made her skin look like honey and her hair look like cinnamon.
"You could get us caught, leaving like that. You surely wouldn't want to risk that would you?" She asked.

"I'm not going to get us caught, Aranea. In fact, it's really none of your concern what I chose to do with my spare time. I don't want to engage in your juvenile games, and would instead like to ponder on my thoughts. Don't worry, I'm preparing a nice brief. I guess I could say I think it's nice of you, and that maybe I am a little flattered, you want to talk, but you'll have to wait." He said. She began to rub her temples.

"Yeah, okay." She said. She turned around and entered back into the room, shutting the door quietly behind her. Good. That was over.

He walked over to the stairs to see that his cigarettes had fallen all over the place. He didn't care though, he needed them. Stepping down the steps, he began to pick them up, attempting to stay hidden from the woman up front. He was going to have to sacrifice a few of them, but that didn't matter, he could always come back later. No one ever came into the motel.

The stairs creaked with ever step, and his breaths gave him the impression he was being incredibly loud. It was dark in this area of the building, as there were no lights anywhere near the stairs. He continued to stuff the box, feeling like a child picking flowers. One. After. The other.

Then, like a scream in the night, the phone rang from the front desk. He nearly toppled down the stairs save for the railing on the side. Grasping it, he let out a frustrated breath.

"Yes, thank you for calling me back. They came back around hour ago. They matched the descriptions. Pointy glasses and the other a brunette. I didn't see them with anyone else, but they wanted to stay for a week or two, I can't quite remember. Said their names was Clif and Josh."

The woman talking had paused. That was enough for Kankri to crawl up the stairs, regardless to how loud he was. His knees ricocheted off the wood and his hands slapped the built up dirt. He stuffed the cigarettes back into his pocket and sprinted into the room. He must have made a scene coming in, because everyone looked at him as the door slammed off the wall.

"They know we're here." He said, somehow out of breath.

"What?!" Meenah said, getting to her legs. "How do you know? Where were you Vantas? Did you give us away?"

Kankri shook his head.
"Of course not, Dirk and Jake did when they decided to feed us the overrated fast food they did. And I? I was just walking past the stairs when I heard the woman at the front desk talking about how she had seen a man with pointed glasses who fit the description. Then-"

Meenah growled. "Shut up we don't have time for your mouth. We have to leave, they'll find us." She didn't seem panicked in even the slightest.

"Did you kill somebody or something?" Rufioh asked.

"I'm aboat to." She said. "Forget your stuff we're gonna have to leave."

Dirk looked at the food on the grounds. "Damn chicken-nuggets."

Most of the girls had run into their room to grab whatever it was they needed. Dirk opened the window, propping the chair on it, and jumping out.
"Let's go!" He said. Kankri watched as everyone began to abort the comfortable inn. He had already been shaking from a need of nicotine, but this too?

He was growing impatient. They could be here at any minute. The cops would find them and he would have to stop. His brother may never be found. He would be grounded. No. He would be DEAD. His Dad would murder him. The clock that ticked, completely unphased by the events, made him shake even more. He didn't need to gather anything, he had it all. His jacket, cigarettes, and his shoes.
One by one. Everyone entered, left again, entered once more. They picked up items. They ran. They pulled at their hair. He counted his friends as they went out the window. Nine. Ten. Twelve. Fifteen.

Now it was his turn. He ran to the window when he heard sirens. How come the police never came this fast to the crime scenes that needed it?
He popped out, everyone screaming at him. They were already running towards the woods. He abandoned everything inside and followed them, his legs carrying him as fast as they could go. He nearly threw up, the anxiety matting up in him. He saw his friends disappear into the greenery, their bodies carrying them further away from the one place they thought they could be at peace. The fresh air he craved so badly now seemed to strangle him. He didn't know how to breath the right way when he ran. He just let it go through his mouth, because breathing through his nose was both painful and didn't allow him to intake as much as he needed. His torso wasn't much better. It felt like something was squeezing it with the intent of killing him.

The sirens grew louder. They were probably already at the motel, bursting open the door and finding nothing inside but a box of chicken-nuggets, half eaten.

Kankri was definitely going to pout about this later.

He moved through the mud, ignoring the wetness that was beginning to sink into the fabric. He was close behind everyone as the ran between trees and were smacked by dead weeds. Rain that had just began to fall was already weighing him down like concrete. His legs were growing sore and his chest was in knots. He didn't get why they were running. They could have easily looked for them in the comfort of their own home.
He dodged trees, occasionally letting out a sob when he thought it was slowing him down too much. He pushed past the branches that stuck out in weird angles and nearly slid into the mud on numerous occasions. The sirens didn't sound like they were getting quieter, but louder. The rain didn't feel like it was slowing down, but speeding up. The air didn't smell sweet, but sharp. He looked for Latula, and spotted her towards the front. From what he could see, she appeared safe. And beside Mituna.

When they began to run together, he caught wind of where they were going. The bus had been parked by Dirk not in the parking lot, thank God, but hidden behind a building. When they edged near it, Kankri began to feel warm droplets pile down his face. He slowed down, as did the others, to get in, the sirens still in the background.

"Kanny," Porrim's gentle voice was almost a whisper. "Don't cry." She said, planting a soft palm on his shoulder. Kankri didn't know what to do. He wanted to shove her away, because he was independent. At the same time, it felt like a traumatic event had just happened to him and she was the only one who could comfort him. She walked him to the bus where they both got in. The moment the door was shut, Cronus peeled out, the motor screaming.

"Vwe're going into the vwoods." He said. Kankri rested his head against the window, hoping no one noticed him as his breaths grew quiversome. He began to feel something that didn't feel right. Looking down, he saw that he had a gash on his hand, potentially from a branch. There was so much blood for such a small wound.

"Kanny!" Porrim said, drawing the unwanted attention to him. Cronus shook the bus as he turned the wheel onto a backroad. The vehicle was driving far faster than it was designed to go. Tree branches hit it as he swerved relentlessly.

"Porrim it's fine." He said, his words unintelligible.

"No it's not, your mutation, we need to stop your bleeding, here, hold still." She said, reaching out to grab him. He shot his hand back and glared at her.

"I don't need your constant mothering." He snapped.

"Stop being a moron Kankri and let me help you."

"No."

"Are you really going to do this right now?!"She asked, her voice growing deeper.

"Yes I am. You don't have to nurse me." He said, staring at her straight in the eye.

"Oh my God Kankri, it won't stop, your hand."

He had tried to ignore the feeling of blood swelling around him. This was just like when he got beaten up, the nose had bled for hours. And the car accident?
He finally looked down at it, and nearly choked at the sight. It was completely covered in blood now. Just one little scratch did that much. He began to shake, but tried to look as calm as possible. Nevertheless, tears continued to drip from his jaw. It stung, and looked awful. The blood was warm and was beginning to get all over his nice pants.

"Woah Vantas what happened?" Meenah said. "That's kinda cool actually."

Porrim reached over, this time following his hand when he tried to move it again. She grabbed his wrist, making him clench up from the pain, and started to wrap her fancy hair band around it.

"Let go!" He shouted, trying to take his hand away. She was squeezing the life out of him. At this rate he wouldn't have any fingers left.

"Stop acting like a baby." She said. He let out a whimper when the bus turned violently again and Porrim jerked his hand too far. He continued to cry, trying to get his hand back, and finally succeeding. He hid it under his jacket and looked away from her.

It was silent in the bus after that. There were a few sniffles from some others, and he was happy to see he wasn't the only person triggered by everything that had just went down. He stared out the window, the windshield wipers smacking away the rain. The sirens had tuned down slightly. Cronus turned on the radio, flipping through stations. Most of them were nothing but a playlist of ads. Kankri didn't care though. He just wanted to sit and think for a while.

He felt violated. His poor hand was completely unconsensually attacked by his bothersome friend. And it still hurt. He wasn't going to talk to her, see how she liked that.

When a song finally came on the radio, he dived into it. He curled up to the window, his mind going elsewhere. Cronus had began to go down another road, one that seemed isolated from the rest. The car shook, and the music blocked out any sound the sirens may have still been making.

"What's that?" Meulin asked, interrupting Kankri's thoughts.

"It's a house." Cronus said. He turned the bus towards the roof of the building.

"What are you doing?" Meenah asked.

Cronus let out a breath. "Can't you bunch just givwe me some trust?" He asked.

"Not really." Dirk responded. "You did idiotically park your bus in the driveway of that motel and now their shitty security cameras probably picked up on it."

"Vwhatevwer." Cronus said. "You guys havwe no respect. I vwas born in the vwrong generation I just knovw it."
He pulled the bus into the overgrown path, the wheels bouncing. The path didn't look very well kept, but was noticeable from the way there were no trees in its way and cement was laid out, the rain washing away any mud. The earth wanted to swallow it up though, and that much was evident.

"It's not uncommon to find abandoned houses." He said. "Especially around this area. My Dad buys them and fixes them up."

Meenah groaned.
"We are not stayin' in some spooky rundown house."

"How do you know it's abandoned?" Meulin asked.

"I don't, but from the vway there is no cars, lights, or really any other signs of life, I'm gonna assume it is." He said.
They came crashing through the weeds, and into the front. Kankri got a bad feeling from it. There was nothing to be seen beyond the windows. It was just a complete black void. In some parts of it, where were the occasional white curtains that looked more like rugged bed sheets. The front porch was lopsided, and covered in ivy. The door was slightly open, and the surrounding area hadn't been mowed in what seemed like forever. The house seemed to have its own sound coming from it. Something he had heard on deep-sea documentaries. A kind of low-frequency growling. No one was getting him to go in there, he didn't care what it came to.

Well. Unless that meant sleeping alone in the bus. Just staring at it. In the dark. Like he was now.

He felt like a complete infant.

"We can just make it like our own!" Meulin said. "And stay there for awhile."

Kankri looked at her.
"It might have extreme levels of carbon monoxide or other toxic gases that often occur within these old houses. I wouldn't recommend starting a fire in it either. Rodents and other creatures have likely already claimed this resident as their ow-"

"BOO!"

Kankri jumped, scooting forward in his seat and grabbing his head. When the bus erupted into laughter, his face burned and he turned around to begin slaughtering Meenah with some extreme verbal abuse.

"That, was, COMPLETELY, uncalled for." He barked. She ignored him and continued to laugh.