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We drove through the night not saying much to each other. Trine put on her headphones and was listening to music, though I wondered how they stay on her head since her head is 2d. She had her eye closed and she looked almost like an angel, calm and peaceful. Maw borrowed Trine's extra earbuds and was listening to something so loud and crazy I could hear it through them. The earbuds stuck to the corners of his mouth like cherries stuck on two sides of a saw. It looked very odd and almost funny, making me snort. He patted his lap and nodded his head to the beat, he took the McDonald's toy he had out of his pocket a few times, admiring it. I have to admit, it was nice seeing him happy too. I didn't do much, just focused on the road. There are a lot of things to focus on when you're driving in the middle of the night. You can see the big, glowing eyes of owls in the trees, you can see the street lights blurring in and out as your eyes become weary, you can see the stars connecting like friends creating an art piece together, you can see the lakes reflecting the light of the moon, the moon reflecting off of everything, like a god sending it's light across the universe. The moon somehow pulled you into its divinity with its luminescence. It was unsettling. At night everything became unsettling to me. I have paranoia more frequently when it's late, and as a result, I'm always very alert. My eye makes me think things are there when they're not, especially in the dark. Sometimes the road moves. Sometimes a shadow appears in the distance, but when I blink it's not there anymore. Sometimes the lights shine in a way that's not possible. I try to ignore it because I know it's not real, but sometimes... I don't know. How funny the world is, for not telling us so many things we wish to know.

It was daytime and we were pulling into a clothing store. I wanted to buy some new clothes and get a hotel room for a day. We did pack clothes but it wouldn't hurt to get some new ones and I felt beat from driving all night, so a hotel was much needed. I wanted to plop on a bed and sleep for hours. We walked into the store and looked around. I found a long-sleeved dark blue shirt and a capelet with a light blue angel wing design that went around the neck collar, along with dark blue, velvet loose pants. Trine found a red tank top with a heart with stars and a Saturn ring around it and she found denim shorts. Maw found a brown vest with fur on the bottom, a bright black and yellow striped shirt, brown cargo shorts, and knee-high, brown fur-lined combat boots. He said he wanted to change his whole look to fit his personality better, but I know it's because he doesn't want to wear anything connected to Ryder. We bought a few more things like a cartoon graphic t-shirt, bracelets, and cheap watches, and then we left the store and headed to a hotel. We saw a hotel on the side of the road that was named "The Cozy Dozy".

"What a name," Maw said, snickering. "Sounds like a drunkie wrote it."

I elbowed him and then we went inside. We got a room, which was eh... 3 stars. It had the standard things, two beds, a bathroom with a shower, a television, and a small kitchen. The walls were light orange and it smelled like those craft stores that smell of cinnamon. We set our bags down and unpacked a bit of things like our pillows. Maw rummaged through the almost empty fridge. Only a pack of restocked coca-colas was sitting in there. Maw opened a can and glugged it double quick, spilling some on the cold, checker-patterned kitchen floor. 

"This tastes like 10/10 piss!" He announced, licking his teeth and grinning with irony. 

I let out a chortle. Trine switched through the channels on the TV and I checked the beds. Surprisingly the beds were in good shape and didn't have any bugs or stains. I sat on it and smiled, wiping off some of the dust on it. Maw said he was going to take a shower and he left us alone.

"How are you feeling, Trine?" I asked.

"Fine, I guess." She said, rubbing her eye. "I'm starting to doubt things though."

"Doubt what?"

"Paradise. I think maybe we're just going to be driving forever, and then somehow arrive home from where we started, looping forever."

"Hey, don't think that," I reassured her. "We just started! Besides, remember what we said, even if we don't find it, we'll have a good adventure."

"... Yeah." She said, starting to cheer up. "You're right."

I patted her on the back. I was pleased to finally have a friend that I can care for and who cares for me back. 

"YIPE! THAT'S HOT AS CRAP!" Maw yelped from the bathroom, scrabbling to turn the shower valve.

And... well... There's that guy too. 

Trine and I tried to stifle our laughing. We then went downstairs and bought some snacks from the diner. There were mostly cheap desserts and sandwiches. Trine grabbed 2 grilled cheese sandwiches and 2 bologna sandwiches and some chips as well. We stayed in the diner for a bit chatting about different shows we liked and our favorite actors. There were a few people in the diner as well, the cashier was a cat-human hybrid, their boss was a lizard man, and there was a woman and a child sitting behind us. They must have died at the same time, because there were never children born in Nexternity. Everyone was the age they were when they died. It's troubling thinking about what could have killed a child. So free and happy, until... boom. 

I turned my attention to something else and I looked back and saw Trine staring off into space with despair. I wanted to cheer her up. "You're a great buddy." I said. "We should go on adventures all the time!"

"I'd like that too!" She suddenly became sad. "But we can't. Not forever."

"Why not?"

"I don't want you to get hurt." She put down her sandwich. "I can't run endlessly. And someday, he'll come for me, and we won't be able to escape."

"What? Hey, hey, he won't come for you! I won't let him. Where's the Trine I knew before? Let's just focus on the positives."

"I know that!" She retorted. "I.. he's never going to wake up again. I'm sure of it." She closed her eyes, trying to keep her tears from falling down her face.

"That's the spirit! Now, repeat to yourself everything you love." I held her hand again.

"Chocolate, stars, hugs, bunnies, pop bands, rainbows!" She mumbled to herself.

"There." I said, letting go. "Now I'll give you one of your favorite things."

I hugged her and she hugged me back. We are all strong together. 

We stayed for 15 more minutes and then we went back up to our room. We opened the door and on the first bed Maw was laying there, in only his underpants, with his belly out, watching television like he was the only one there. He noticed us and made a childlike smile.

"Hey, you guys are back! I found some good toons on the TV." He said, scratching his back and pointing to the television.

I tried to avert my eye from his body, feeling my eye turn hot.

"MAW, PUT YOUR NEW CLOTHES ON!" I yelled, reddening.

Trine just did a miffed sigh and walked out of the room while covering her eyes, muttering to herself.

"Y'know, I'm proud of my body." He declared. "I shouldn't be shut down like this! I should-"

"Glad to hear it! Save your reputation, Nutso!" I uttered, facepalming.

"That's what everyone calls me in Illinois!" He replied, getting off the bed.

Trine stocked the kitchen with the food we got from the diner and I was looking out the window in the bedroom watching the cars go by. There was a big, yellow school bus, a red SUV, a black sedan, a white coupe, and then a green Volkswagen beetle. I heard someone come up behind me when I saw it. 

"Slug bug!" I heard someone say as I felt a blow to my shoulder. Maw.

"Ow, what the heck dude! I hate that..." I trailed off, looking at him. He finally had his new clothes on we bought for him at the store. As much as I didn't want to admit it, he looked amazing. Like a weird biker guy mixed with a bee. I was too busy staring to figure out a better analogy.

"-game." I finished, rubbing my shoulder. 

"How do you like meh new look?" He grinned, gesturing to his body.

"Looks good on you." I said, looking back at the cars, trying not to give him too much attention. I glanced back at him to see his reaction. I thought he would give another one of those vain smiles or annoying throaty chuckles, but he just blushed and sat next to me. For once he didn't plop down like he usually does, he sat neatly, curling his arms around his knees, similar to a little kid looking around for something to do. I felt his gaze on me and I looked at him again. He smiled warmly, it was the first time I saw him do that. I smiled back. Trine came out of the kitchen and gave her opinion on Maw's clothes as well. She said he looked better in stripes than polka-dot, which I agreed with. It was still in the middle of the day but I started feeling really tired. For the next hour, Maw and Trine ate some of the sandwiches and I kept watching TV. I heard the others chuckling and making conversations with each other. I was happy they were getting along as well. I slowly fell asleep. 

I had another dream. I was swimming in the stars, looking at all the planets, and then I was by Earth. The moon shone bright on it, the light reflecting off the Earth like a silver sheen. I then heard a quiet laugh behind me. 

"Who's there?" I asked, shielding my eyes from the light.

"The one who controls the tides." Something whispers.

I try to locate the voice. I start flailing around trying to float steady in space. Then something turns me around with a bony hand to make me look at them. It was a glowing sphere. It glowed so bright it started to blind me, but I couldn't look away. It then places both of its fingers on my arms, and ripped me in half. I woke up after that, only half feeling the pain. It was in the middle of the day and I woke up with cold sweats. For some reason I always wake up sweating and having a headache when I take naps during the day. I combed my eyelashes up with my fingers and rubbed my eye. Trine was sleeping in the bed next to me, holding onto her pillow cutely. I didn't see Maw anywhere in the room and I assumed he went down to get more snacks. I turned on a reading light and read a book for a few minutes, until I heard a noise. It sounded like crying. I set down my book and looked around, alarmed. It was coming from the bathroom. I didn't care to knock, I just wanted to know what it was. I opened the door and Maw was sitting on the floor, spit coming from his mouth. The collar of his shirt was all ripped up like he anxiously chewed through it. He was the one who was sobbing. This gives me deja vu. 

He wiped away his spit and looked at me with fear. He didn't want me to see him like this.

"What's wrong?" I sat down. 

"Heh, just.. thinking about my life. You do that, don't you?" He breathed weakly.

"You can tell me about it if you want. I'm all ears- well, eyes."

He chortled, trying to stop himself from crying.

"Sometimes I hate myself for working for criminals." He said. "It's easier to get passed down from one to another instead of finding a new job. There's so much evil in the world, I thought, it doesn't matter what I do."

"You worked for other people besides Ryder?"

"Well.. he's the main knob, but I've worked for about 5. Never killed anyone but seen plenty of murders. I was the family slave."

"How did you become their slave?" I felt my chest become tight.

"... lost a bet. I've always had moxy, but I lost at a stupid auction and lost my freedom."

"What did you auction for?"

"Some information." He cleared his throat. "Anything about who I am."

I felt tears forming in my eye. I wanted to hug him too. I put my arms around him, he felt warm and soft, the complete opposite of his personality. I just wanted all of my friends to be okay. He looked at me confused.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Hugging you."

He smiled, some more spit coming from his mouth, like tears.

"Thanks, ...Exe." He made another one of his grunts and then he curled up into my arms. He hasn't said my name until now. I saw his cheeks become flushed when he put his head on me, it looked like he was trying to fight his redness. 

"I'll keep you and Trine safe. I promise." I assured. He smiled slightly.

"Welp, that's enough hugging." He let go of me quickly and cleared his throat again, his blushing stopped. He did another one of his laughs, more happy this time. I was starting to like it. 

"What's up with your laugh?" I asked.

"What about it?"

"It's like: hee-heh-haw..." I mimicked badly.

"It does not sound like that! It's like this: haw-haw-haw.."

I mimicked it again and he giggled and playfully punched me in the shoulder.

"Hey, there's no Volkswagen!" I shout.

"I know." He replied, giving a mischievous grin.

I giggled and we left the bathroom.

"Wanna go see the diner downstairs? Trine and I went down there when you were in the shower! It's pretty nice!" I whispered, trying not to wake up Trine.

"Alright. Better put a leash on me to keep me from eating everything." He chuckled.

Yeah, that laugh. It was growing on me.