Author's note: Reviews appreciated. Hopefully somebody is reading this…

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A night can be very long when you don't sleep. Nik was snoring next to me and I was staring at the ceiling. There was a suspicious looking stain in the corner of the wall that I'd been studying for a long time. I couldn't decide if it looked like sheep puking up a radish or a disfigured moose. Could sheep puke?

I pulled my eyes away from the stain and glanced over to my sleeping brother. Then I looked past him to the clock on the bedside table. 5:33 a.m. and if Nik was true to form the man would be waking any minute now. I shut my eyes and begin counting my breath, trying to produce a reasonable facsimile of sleep.

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I didn't mean to, but it had been a long night. Between closing my eyes and counting my breath to try to keep my breathing even I must have drifted off.

A hand on my shoulder was what brought me back. "Cal?" Nik's voice. His scent. Safety. "Wake up, little brother."

Slowly I opened the one eye that wasn't smashed into the flat motel pillow. I let out a grunt of protest as my I crossed the clock. 6:23. In the morning, I'd assume. Nik had always been a morning person and he looked much too cheerful for this hour.

"You slept through the night," he said, explaining his cheery demeanor.

Oh, right. That would be a rational conclusion to draw, I guess. Even if it wasn't an accurate one. I sat up.

"Let's get moving Cal," he said. "If you want we can get pancakes for breakfast."

Wow. He really was happy about this. Ever since I'd returned, Niko's health kick had reached new extremes. Then again, so had his obsession with martial arts training. What had been something he did twice a week, he was now practicing every day, including sword work whenever there was space. There was a wariness to us both that we hadn't had before...and considering we'd grown up with Sophia, that meant something..

I wasn't about to turn down pancakes. So I nodded and managed to pull myself free of the sheets. How had they gotten so twisted around me anyway? I was pretty sure that when I'd fallen asleep I've been on my back.

Niko actually smiled. I hadn't seen that much either since my return. "That's my brother," he said and only a hint of sarcasm tinted his words. "Offer him a little sugar and some trans fats and he's up like a shot."

I nodded again agreeably and Niko picked up the bag that held our clothes.

"All right then, let's go before I have a chance to come to my senses."

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On the way out of town, right before we hit the corn fields, I saw a little mom and pop diner. "There look good Cal?" I asked him. He nodded again. There was a gleam in his eye, I hadn't seen since he returned. If I had known that pancakes would bring that gleam back, I would have offered them a while ago. Then again, Cal had only recently started to have actual interest in food again, rather than just mechanically swallowing whatever I'd put in front of him. It was great to see anyway. Even if it probably meant an end to vegetables in his diet.

We parked and headed into the diner, Cal on my heels so closely that he nearly tripped every few steps. I still counted it as improvement over the days I'd had to lead him by the hand, his body curled against mine like a blind man.

I chose a booth with a view of both the exits and the kitchen, and Cal slid in first and scrunched himself against the wall. I sat on the outside. The place was pretty full, which seemed like a good sign. At least we wouldn't get food poisoning.

A middle-aged woman wearing too much blue mascara plopped a pair of menus in front of us. "What can I grab you boys to drink?" she asked with a friendly smile.

"An orange juice for him, and green tea for me," I said, but next to me Cal vigorously shook his head. He grabbed the menu and pointed emphatically at something.

"You want Mountain Dew?" The lady glanced at me as if to double-check that it was ok. I sighed, not thrilled with the caffeine and sugar, but Cal hadn't asked for anything specific since his return.

"Bring both," I said. "You're drinking the juice first," I told Cal in an aside as she returned to the kitchen.

Cal nodded.

We sat together quietly. The waitress came back carrying all three beverages and put them down in front of us. Cal grabbed the juice and threw it back like a man in the desert, then followed it with most of the Mountain Dew.

"Whoa, kid, slow down!" I said, putting my hand on his wrist. "Do you have diabetes or something?" Wouldn't that just be a kick in the teeth if he did. I knew excessive thirst was a symptom of it. Hey, I do a lot of reading.

Cal shook his head, clinging to the giant glass of soda with both hands.

"Well, you'd better stop chugging that stuff or you're going to get it," I said. That wasn't strictly factual, of course, but he really didn't need all that sugar.

Cal shrugged his shoulders. Of course he wasn't worried about diabetes. He...we...had bigger problems.

He did put the glass down though and managed to unwrap the straw that the waitress had left for him before placidly sucking down the rest of the carbonated drink.

We sat in companionable silence. I looked around at the other diners, wondering what their stories were. Was anyone else running from a crazy improbability like Cal and I? If they were, how would I even guess?

The waitress dropped off a carafe of maple syrup and grabbed Cal's glass to refill faster than I could refuse. "Last one," I warned him. He hadn't had caffeine to speak of since he'd come back, and I was somewhat concerned at his reaction. The kid was already jumpy and excitable. The last thing I needed was to make that any worse.

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I sat in the car, fairly vibrating with energy. Next to me, Nik was humming along with some concerto on the radio, his eyes checking the mirrors every few seconds as usual. We hadn't seen them yet, but neither of us doubted that they were following. The Grendels had wanted me badly enough to steal me. They wouldn't let me go so easily.

"Are you getting tired yet, Cal?" Niko asked.

No. No I wasn't. Helped along by another bottle of Mountain Dew at an earlier rest stop. And at lunch, accompanied by some serious frowning from Nik. And the can I'd stolen and chugged when he'd stopped for gas after supper. Another stolen can was still hidden in the pocket of my hooded sweatshirt. I was not about to fall asleep. I wouldn't. I couldn't. It wasn't safe. If I fell asleep, then Niko couldn't sleep. And who would watch? Someone had to watch. Niko was only human. It had to be me.

I gave a little half-hearted nod though, which was enough for Nik.

"We'll sleep in the car tonight," he said. "It'll save us a little money."

Fine by me. I wasn't going to sleep anyway, so it didn't matter.

Nik pulled into a rest stop and drove the jeep into a small inlet into the woods. It wasn't technically a parking spot or a campground, but it was hidden from the main building, and I knew that was what Niko was looking for. We didn't want the Grendels to see us for sure, but we didn't really want any of the humans to see us either. Grendels weren't the only ones who could cause harm.

I watched Nik practicing with one of his swords for nearly an hour, my eyes scanning the trees around us until it was truly too dark to see. He cleaned the already clean blade before sheathing it and putting it carefully in the backseat. Then he wiped the sweat from his forehead with the hem of his tee shirt. "Let's get ready to sleep," he said.

I followed Niko into the building and stealthily chugged my can of Mountain Dew while hiding in a stall. He was cleaning himself up in the sink. Then, under Niko's watchful eyes, I brushed my teeth and we headed back out to the car.

Niko rolled down the windows about an inch and grabbed a pair of blankets and a couple of sweatshirts from the back. I balled the sweatshirt up to use as a pillow and leaned against the door, then covered myself with the blanket. Nik dropped his seat back and got as comfortable as it is possible to get in a Jeep.

"Goodnight, little brother," he said quietly. "I'm right here if you need me."

I nodded, faking drowsiness even as my heart hammered in my chest. I would keep us safe.

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Nik was snoring deeply at my side, and I stared into the darkness outside my window. The wind rustled the leaves outside, making it more difficult to listen for Grendels.

My eyes felt gritty and filled with sand. Despite the copious amount of Mountain Dew I had drank, I was getting drowsy. But I was much too nervous to close my weary eyes.

Out of the comer of my eye l saw movement. I whipped my head around, lashing myself in the face with my own hair. There was nothing to see. The little hairs on the back of my neck were standing straight up though. I always listened to those little hairs, nowadays.

It was very dark out there. My eyes were wide, watching for anything unusual. Next to me, Nik continued to snore like a chainsaw and I wished he wouldn't. I wouldn't hear them until they were right on top of us at this rate.

Another flash from the corner of my eye made me jerk. Was that them? Were they here?

I glanced over at Nik again, then out the windshield. Nothing. But did that mean nothing was there? Or were they just hiding, waiting for me to become complacent? If they took me again...I couldn't. I wouldn't live through that again.

Suddenly, there was a thump on the windshield. When I looked, it was my worst nightmare. Pale skin and hair glinted in the moonlight. Long, clawed fingers waved at me coyly through the windshield. Those evil red eyes stared into my own.

I screamed, eyes wide open, staring ahead at the creature perched on the windshield. Next to me, Niko jerked straight up, pulling a large knife from God-knows-where. The Grendel disappeared.

"Cal?" Niko held the knife at the ready, his eyes scanning around us. I snapped my mouth shut, cutting off that high, painful scream. We both surveyed the land outside the windows, but there wasn't any hint of the Grendel who had been there only moments before. "What was it? Another dream?" He finally looked over to me.

I shook my head and pointed at the windshield. Niko leaned forward to examine it from the inside. He lowered the knife finally.

"Cal, there's nothing there," he said. I shook my head stubbornly. No, nothing was there now...but there had been. That...thing...had been right there. I'd seen it with my own eyes. I opened my mouth to try to explain, but nothing came out.

Nik sighed. "Do you want me to get out and look?" His voice was soft, and I could tell that he thought I had been dreaming. But I'd been awake. I'd seen the Grendel, and watched it wave those long, savage claws at me. And I absolutely did not want Niko to go out there. It wasn't safe.

I shook my head, grabbing his arm in both my hands as though I was strong enough to keep him in the vehicle if he really wanted to get out. He still had half a foot and over fifty pounds of muscle on me. But Nik didn't try to pull away.

"Okay, okay. I'm not going anywhere. Relax," he said. I hung onto his arm still, not sure if I believed him. We'd been brothers for a long time, and Nik wasn't unwilling to trick me if he thought it was for my own good. Fish sticks came to mind, for some reason. But he settled back into the driver's seat again, sheathing the knife in the space between the side of his seat and the door. Finally, I released his arm. He wouldn't go out there without a weapon, even if he thought it was only in my head.

He turned his head towards me. "Go to sleep, Cal," he said. I shook my head. There was no way I was going to sleep, when that thing could be back any second, ready to drag me to hell. Niko sighed.

"I'll keep watch, little brother. I already got a solid five hours. That's enough for one night."

I shook my head again, but Niko's hand on my chest pushed me back into a reclining position against the seat. He pulled on the lever so his seat was upright again. "Yes. Sleep." The warmth of his hand against my sternum kept me in place, and he left it there until I gave up and let myself relax into the seat. I didn't shut my eyes though.

I couldn't possibly sleep. There was no way.

"Shut your eyes, Cal, unless you want me to go all big brother on you," Niko ordered. "I swear, I will duct tape them closed if I see them again."

He wouldn't, not really. But it was pretty obvious that he was done sleeping for the night. He was sitting bolt upright, and had the keys in the ignition. The Jeep grumbled a little, but it started.

"We might as well get a move on," he explained, pulling out of the little inlet and back onto the road beside it. I watched for flashes of bone-white skin or red eyes outside the window as he left the roadside stop and pulled back onto the highway.

"Go to sleep now," he said firmly, covering my eyes with his free hand.

We were moving. The Grendels hopefully wouldn't be able to find us while we were moving. And my eyes were feeling gritty. And I couldn't see anything through Niko's calloused palm anyway. So, with a deep sigh, I shut my eyes.

Even so, I didn't mean to let the gentle movement of the car send me to sleep.