The Beautiful Monster

"It doesn't look like we ran over something. It's like the tire blew up from the inside," Tyler told us as he looked over at us.

"What does that mean? We had too much air in the tire or something?" Elias questioned him, wondering what he was getting at.

There hadn't been a problem with the tires before, so he didn't know why there was suddenly a problem now.

"No, the tires were fine. Something was done to them," Tyler said as he glanced at Scott warily.

"Like someone used some sort of power on it to make it blow?" Elias asked.

"Yes," Melina suddenly said from behind the guys. She shook her head as she looked around. "I have a bad feeling, Elias."

Elias stood up straight and leaned closer to Scott.

"Can you help Tyler fix up the tire while I talk to her?" he asked quietly.

Scott nodded and crouched near Tyler to help him switch out the tire.

Elias motioned for Melina to follow him to the back of the RV so that they could talk among themselves. He didn't want to alarm the others while they replaced the blown tire.

"What's wrong?" he asked her. He sort of already had an idea, though. The tense feeling hadn't left him.

"They stopped us for a reason. They want to fight tonight," Melina told him. She swallowed hard as she looked up and down the highway. "I'm scared."

Elias frowned and placed his hands on her shoulders, forcing her gaze to focus on his. He couldn't let her panic now. They had to be focused.

They had to be a team. If she wasn't there with him, he would lose. He was powerful, but he was more powerful with her. That was the whole reason for this trip that they spent together.

"It's okay to be scared, but I need you here with me. I can't take him alone," he told her.

Melina nodded, brushing her fingers through her hair to draw the strands back from her face.

"I wasn't ready for this tonight," she said.

Elias gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze before letting go of her. He understood her. He knew all about the fear and uncertainty that she felt.

They could likely die tonight, but at least they went down fighting. It was the biggest comfort that he could give himself. He wouldn't die for nothing.

But he didn't want to leave Alyssa or Melina behind. He wanted to build a life with Alyssa. Maybe they could start a family of their own down the road, but he also wanted to marry her.

They had so many things left to do. With Melina, he wanted to get to know her more, to see her as much as siblings should.

He hadn't gotten the opportunity to appreciate having a sibling in a normal setting. He at least wanted that chance.

He didn't want this fear to be the rest of his life. There was so much more that he wanted to experience before he died, but he couldn't control his timeline.

If Alaric was going to kill them, he was going to do it tonight, whether they were ready to go or not. He just had to be strong until the very end.

"I'll be right there with you the entire time," he reminded her. They wouldn't ever be alone. He couldn't think of anything more frightening than facing his worst fear by himself.

He wasn't sure if he was strong enough to do that, but Melina gave him strength. He gave her courage. They were meant to do this together.

"I know. I'm glad," Melina said with a hint of a smile. "It's been nice getting to know you. I just wish that it was because of another circumstance."

Elias couldn't agree more. They were brought together at the worst time, but it was when they needed each other the most.

He hoped that they got some normalcy after all of this, though. He didn't only want to know his sister through this dangerous time in their lives. He didn't want to always associate Melina with Alaric.

"Me too," he told her as they shared a smile.

Their moment was shattered when they saw headlights approaching them from down the road.

They stared at the lights with wide eyes, freezing in place for a few seconds. It could've been any person heading down the highway, but something seemed off to them. A sense.

"Elias…" Melina murmured. Her voice was so soft that it sounded like a whisper.

She couldn't take her eyes off the lights, which were so bright that they couldn't even see the car.

"I know," Elias said, tightening his fingers into fists. He knew what she was feeling. It was hitting him full force now, and he had the urge to get as far away from the car as he could. "We should tell the others."

Melina nodded, finally tearing her gaze away from the car as it slowed down. It was definitely going to stop behind them. They didn't even have to wait and see if it did or not. They just had a feeling. She led Elias back to the others.

"There's a car coming," she told them.

Scott glanced up at her.

"Like coming to help or coming to kill us?" he asked her with a grim look on his face.

"What do you think?" Melina replied before looking at Tyler. "We ran out of time."

"I'm almost done," Tyler said, turning back to finish putting the extra tire on.

Melina grabbed his shirt sleeve and shook her head.

"Ty. We're out of time," she said. Her voice sounded grave, and everyone knew what she meant. They were too late fixing the RV. They were stranded with the enemy right next to them.

Elias grabbed Alyssa's hand as he turned back toward the rear of the RV, watching the car pull over to the side of the road about ten feet away.

When the lights shut off, he could make out a black car. It was always a black car. No one got out of it right away.

"I think it's him," he told Melina, feeling his chest tighten. He almost felt suffocated as he stared at the car, waiting for one of the doors to fly open.

He didn't get this feeling last time they faced off with their enemies. This was a whole new threat. This was the ultimate threat.

"What do we do?" Alyssa asked in a weak voice. She stared at the dark car with wide eyes, frozen to the spot in a stand-off.

Elias knew that there was only one thing for them to do if they wanted to buy themselves time. He didn't know if it was the best choice, but he had to make a decision now.

"Run."