Conor watches her pace, a frown etched on his features. She appeared to be on the verge of hyperventilating, and her face was red with panic. Ashton opens his own door and comes around to stand by the tailgate, silent for once. It was clear he didn’t know what to do in this situation, and to be honest, Conor wasn’t sure he knew either. So, he lets her walk, waiting patiently for her to calm down.

As she sinks to the ground, Conor glances at Ashton, who shrugs his shoulders. His eyes flash back down to her when she apologizes, not surprised to hear the fear in her voice. Slick, the ever obedient one, hops down from the cab of the truck and makes his way over to her. Conor lets go of the door and takes a step towards her, slowly. The last thing he wants is to make her anxiety flare up again.

The wind has picked up quite a bit during the evening, and chills shimmer down his spine. Its strong enough to tousle his hair and sweater, and he knows that the other two must be cold as well, even if Ariadne doesn’t seem to notice it yet. So, he knows that he better diffuse the situation and get them back in the truck before it gets any colder, risking illness. Even worse, before someone drives by and spots two men standing over a disheveled girl at the side of the highway, and gets the wrong idea.

Conor crouches next to her, one knee pressed against the ground. He’s close, but with enough space to not crowd her. “Ariadne,” he says, his tone one of patience and calmness. “Take deep breaths. I know you’re scared, but I need you to relax.”

He waits a few minutes to see if she can calm her racing heart. “Just listen to me, and focus on Ashton and me. You’re not in any danger with those men. It was a bad dream, that’s all. Take a few minutes to get your thoughts together, and then I need you to get back in the truck, okay? I’ll find us a hotel for the night, so you won’t be cooped up much longer. Can you do that for me?”

Air, she needed air. The same area seemed a lot tighter than it had been when she fell asleep. She needed to get out the car. She didn't answer Conor as he pulled car over and got out. She slid out of the car and started to walk away from the truck.

Her body was still shaking and she couldn't stay still because that seemed to make it worse. After a few minutes of pacing by the truck, she sat in the floor and sighed. "I'm sorry," she said softly as she buried her face into her hands.

"I had a nightmare. It was horrible, it felt so real." She grabbed one of her wrist, she could still feel the pressure of the restraints. She didn't want to go into the details. She didn't want to have to relive it as she told them what had happened.

Slick came by her and started to rub his head against her leg. She picked him up, holding him to her chest as she started up Conor and Ashton.

The late hour results in the highway traffic thinning out. Now only the occasional headlights gleamed from the opposite side of the road, and the darkened road stretched out, almost empty, in front of them. Ashton had woken up the hour before and was now quizzing Conor on random trivia, trying to keep himself entertained. “Come on, one more!” he urges the blonde male, leaning forward in his seat to see past Ariadne’s still sleeping form.

Conor sighs and rubs his temple. “It’s really too late for this. I’m trying to think!”

“Well, stop thinking for five minutes and just relax. As far as we know, we’re not on the Mogs’ radar yet, so stop worrying,” Ashton sticks another strip of beef jerky in his mouth, finishing one of the bags that Conor had bought at the gas station.

“That kind of mentality is what’s going to get us on their radar,” Conor mutters under his breath.

“Yeah, yeah. Anyways, next question! In the movie X-Men, what is Mystique doing when she sneaks in to the Xavier Institute?” Ashton props his feet back up on the dashboard.

Suddenly feeling movement next to him, Conor frowns. “Is she shaking?” he asks.

“Damn you’re bad at this game! Why would she be shaking as she’s breaking in?” Ashton says around a mouthful of food.

“No jackass! Ariadne is shaking!” Conor snaps, taking his eyes off the road to glance at their female companion, who has begun to shudder and whimper in her seat.

“Oh shit, she is! What do we do?” Ashton drops his feet and turns in her direction.

“Try waking her up,” Conor commands, trying to keep the truck in the middle of the lane while shooting concerned looks towards her.

“Hey! Come on, open your eyes! Ariadne, you’re safe!” Ashton places a hand on her shoulder, giving her a shake.

“Try something else,” Conor suggests when it does nothing.

Ashton thinks for a second before reaching out and slapping her face. “Let’s not hurt her, shall we?” Conor glares at Ashton, his voice rising.

“What? It works in movies!”

“This isn’t a movie, Ashton!”

While the boys bicker, her moans of distress get worse. As Ashton opens his mouth to suggest they take her to a hospital, she shoots forward with a shout, her eyes wide and panicked. “Are you alright?” Conor asks, his voice soft so as not to startle her.

For a moment, she doesn’t appear to hear him. When she begs him to pull over, Conor doesn’t hesitate. He eases the car to the shoulder, feeling the truck wheels shudder as they go from smooth pavement to gravel. He leaves the truck running but opens his door and gets out, thinking she may need air and space. “What happened?” he asks, standing with his hand on top of the door, holding it open.

<<179 days later! XD>>

Ariadne could feel her body be moved but didn't bother opening her eyes. She was so comfortable and she didn't want to ruin her comfort by opening her eyes to see who had moved her. But her peaceful sleep didn't last long as she opened her eyes and saw bright lights above her. She squinted her eyes due to the harshness of the light and tried to lift her hand up to cover them but her hand didn't move. She looked down to see not only were her hands restrained but so were her feet.

She started to squirm around trying to get free, trying to break lose but they wouldn't budge. "You've been a bad girl, Ariadne." A voice said, she turned her head to see one of the head doctors from the lab. "No, you aren't real. I escaped!" She yelled at him, fear turning her body to ice as she struggled even more to get free. "Yes, you were but than we brought you back. As well as your friends." He motioned to two tables on the other side of the room.

There were white clothes over the two and she could see blood seeping through. "They no longer served a purpose for us. Neither do you." Her eyes went wide as he placed his hand over her mouth and nose. Everything started going black. "No!" Ariadne flew forward, gasping for air. She looked around, taking in her surroundings. She was back in the truck with both Conor and Ashton giving her weird looks. "Please, pull over," she begged, looking at Conor now.

Conor glances down when her head lands on his shoulder. She looked exhausted already and they had not even started their training yet. His eyes go back to the road, watching carefully as he merges on to the highway and picks up speed. “So where exactly are you planning to take us?” Ashton asks, propping his feet up on the dashboard.

“We just need to go to a neutral location where they won’t think to find us. Small towns are too risky right now, especially with what’s been on the news about that place in Ohio. The Mogs are going to think that we’re going to try and hide in the middle of nowhere. I think it’ll be easier to hit a big city where there are more people. Although we’re going to need some place with a basement in order to train,” That might make things more challenging, Conor adds in his head.

Ashton seems to take a lesson from Ariadne and leans his head against the window, closing his eyes. Soon the cab of the truck is filled with his snoring. Conor is thankful for the time to himself so he can think. They need to find the others, but they need time to train as well. If they were to be found by the Mogs, they need to be prepared to fight. If Ariadne couldn’t remember much of their lives as Lorien survivors, then they would need to work twice as hard to make sure she can take care of herself.

For six hours Conor drives with only himself for company. Ashton proves to be a fitful sleeper and constantly fidgets to try and get comfortable. However, despite his movements, Ariadne remains fast asleep. Slick is Conor’s only source of entertainment, especially when the cat jumps up to sit on the dashboard in order to watch their surroundings.

About an hour outside of South Carolina, Conor notices the gas gage is low. He pulls off the highway to find a gas station so they don’t become stranded. The sun is beginning to set above them, and the temperature outside begins to drop. Conor pulls the truck up to one of the pumps and shuts it off. He places his hands on Ariadne’s shoulder and gently moves her to the side so that she rests against Ashton.

He is alert as he fills the truck, making sure to observe everyone that is near. With the other two asleep, he didn’t want to walk away and leave them vulnerable. By the time he climbs back in to the truck, Slick has retreated to lie across the top of their seats. “Good job watching them,” Conor scratches the cat’s head before starting the truck and turning back on to the street.

Adriadne looked at him then down at the pedals. Which one was the brakes? She thought to herself before he told her. Making it easier for her to avoid something terrible. She looked down at the pedal he was talking about before nodding to him. She started to step on the gas than would get scared and slammed on the brakes. She ended up doing this a few times and Conor's laughing wasn't helping her. They came to a dead end so she made a large turn to go down a new road. The movement almost caused her to let go of the steering wheel.

She looked over at Conor to see his grimace in the window's relfection. "I saw that!" She exclaimed, now glaring at him. She was glad once the lesson was over, she never wanted to do it again. Ever! She sat in the passenger seat with her arms crossed across her chest, staring out the window. She got out of the car and scooped Slick up in her arms. She got back into the truck and scooted to the middle, slick in her lap. She stayed quiet as they headed off.

She wasn't sure when it happened but during sometime in the middle of the ride, she drifted off to sleep. She was so uncomfortable in her sleep that she tried to squirm free from the middle of the boys but in the process her head fell onto Conor's shoulder. It was comfortable, so she decided to stay like that, sleeping peacefully now.

Grinning, Conor gets in to the seat that she previously occupied, sitting slightly turned towards her so he can teach her what to do. "Put your foot on the break and pull the gear shift in to drive. The break is on the left," he adds.

Once she does that, he points to the other pedal. "Okay, now lightly step on the gas and steer back on to the road."

It starts off rocky, with the truck moving in jerky, sharp motions. "Just relax and take a breath, it's not as difficult as it seems," he laughs.

He grabs the handle above his head as the truck makes a big swerve. "You'll get the hang of it eventually," he looks the other way as a grimace passes his face.

When the lesson is over and she doesn't want to drive any more, he takes over and brings them back to the hotel where Ashtyn is waiting out front with their things, Slick at his feet. "Check out time came and I didn't have cash to pay for another night. Now what are we going to do?" Ashtyn asks, eating a bag of chips while he talks to them.

Conor sighs and runs a hand through his hair. "I guess we get going then. Come on, lets put this stuff in the back and hit the road."

As the boys load the luggage and bags in to the bed of the truck, Ashtyn scrunches his face up. "They didn't have anything from this century?" he asks sarcastically.

Conor points at him as he pauses by the driver side door. "Do not start with me, or you'll be sitting in the back!"

It's a tight fit but they manage to make it work- the boys on the outside with Ariadne between them. As Conor pulls away from the curb, he sticks one arm out the window and takes a deep breath to relax his nerves.

<<Night, sweet dreams.>>
Ariadne had been so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even realize that they were at the car lot. She was so busy freaking out that she was surprised she had been able to follow Conor without going her own way. She glanced at him as he cleared his throat and kept silent as he spoke. She was still very terrified to drive a car, she was actually begging that they didn't find a car or that the man wouldn't go down on his prices.

But, unluckily for her, he went down and they were leaving in a Ford truck. She sat in the passenger seat, willing Conor to go back to the hotel. To bad her power wasn't mind control because her pulled onto and old, empty street and got out of the car. She slowly slide to the passenger seat, "Are you sure about this?" She looked at the car as if it would blow up on her before she did anything. "I'm sure this is a really bad idea. Slick is probably a better driver then me!" She exclaimed, she looked out at Conor.

He was probably going to make her do this anyways and she hated him for it. She took a deep breath as she glanced at everything in the car, having no idea what did what. It was like a freakin spaceship to her. "Are you going to get in and help me here?"

<<Lol, I'm gonna head to bed, it's late. Night!>>