"Grrrrrr, this’s your early morning wake up call," Hank growled into the phone. Dustin chuckled even if it was early. He appreciated the subtle sense of humor, and it was a tad better than the feeble effort of the joke that Kelvin had made.

"I was up already. I couldn't sleep, I've got too much on my mind."

"Coffee's brewed and mighty strong. You’d better get your gang together before it's all gone. Sun up’s just around the corner, so you’ll wanna head off as soon as."

"Ten minutes and we're there," Dustin replied as he dropped the phone back into its cradle. "Kelvin, shift your ass, we're rockin’ and a-rollin’ today."

Kelvin opened a bleary, blood-red-colored eye and peered at Dustin as if he wanted to kill him. He felt groggy, although he knew he wasn't at the apartments, so an extra two minutes was out of the question. Not that he was a lazy; he just appreciated a little extra time in bed. He swung his legs to the floor and stood. The fresh air flooded into the motel room as Dustin walked to the other rooms and banged on the doors.

"Rise and shine, the sun's almost up."

He walked to the next room and pulled his fist back to knock on the door. Maria opened the door before his fist slammed into the flaked orange paint. "Too slow, OM," she said as she giggled. She dropped her bag outside the room.

"What the hell does ‘OM’ mean?" he asked her.

Maria chuckled as she pulled the door closed behind her. She glanced over her shoulder. "I'm only the messenger so don't shoot me. Old Man."

"I'll swing at Kelvin one of these days, I swear to God. He's the cheekiest fucker I've ever known."

"No time for that, we need to get something in our…” She was interrupted as two backpacks flew from Dustin's room and rolled sluggishly over the walkway, and were quickly followed by Kelvin as he closed the door and twizzled the key ring on his finger. Something in our stomachs, and then we need to get moving," Maria added. The door opened at her side as Gabriel stood drying his hair. Megan stood at the back of the room as the sun poked its head over the top of the motel.

"Are you ready?” Gabriel asked her. Megan saw the sun creeping up across the graveled parking lot. She couldn't use a migraine excuse again, not this soon, especially not after last night. She needed another excuse. "Were having breakfast and then heading off before the traffic builds."

"I'll be there in a couple of minutes. I need to finish packing," she replied as she ruffled a towel over her long strands of hair.

"Hurry up, we don't want to be hanging around too long."

"Off you go, I'll be there before you know it," she replied as she ran the comb through her damp hair.

Megan watched Gabriel and the others cross the gravel and walk inside the Hungry Bear diner doors. She made her way to the door and saw a shadow that ran around the walkway. It began to pass the vending machine and the icebox. Megan slung her backpack over her shoulder and made her way to the door. The doorway was filled with sunlight. She had no time to close and lock the door. Fuck! I'll have to pull it as I run past.

Megan angled herself in the direction she needed to run. She breathed in deeply and lunged forward. Her fingers caught the door as she bolted from the room and made her way to the shadow. She turned and saw the door swing toward the door frame. Click.

The catch locked. Megan sighed as she walked closer to the wall on the cover of the shadow. She pulled open the glass door, and the strong smell of freshly brewed coffee hit her. She walked to the table and slid herself in, next to Gabriel.

"Easy on the coffee. It's strong as hell, but nice," he remarked. Megan kept that thought in the back of her mind for later. Coffee and headaches go together well.

Megan filled her mug from the tin coffee pot that sat on the warmer. Gabriel was right, it was strong and would fit the bill a treat. The steaming hot liquid eased its way down her throat as the caffeine screamed inside her. Her eyes widened, and her senses fell into overdrive.

Jesus… I might not be faking a migraine later. I might have one for real.

Hank walked in with tray after tray of food. He slid a cooked breakfast in front of Gabriel and some juicy steaks that were as rare as, for the others. Gabriel looked at their plates, and his mind flashed back to the last time he ate steak. Edmund… the low-life son-of-a-bitch shafted me, even after death.

"You want some?" Kelvin asked.

"I'm fine. I've got a thing about steak now, I'm not sure I can stomach them like I used to," he replied.

"Oh yeah! I forgot you had that little hiccup with the freezer.” Gabriel frowned and glared at Kelvin. He didn't need to be reminded of his glorious fuck up that involved the raw steaks.

Megan filled another mug full of coffee and felt a dark bolt of electricity flash through her as the caffeine struck another blow into the depth of her mind. She already knew she’d crash later from the caffeine overdose, but fuck it. The coffee was nice and strong and set all her nerve endings on fire.

Dustin sipped from his mug and wiped the slither of juice from his rare steak that oozed down his chin on a checkered red and white napkin.

"We've got between six and seven hundred miles to cover, so we might be there tonight, although not till late. It’s a good nine or ten hours driving and a couple of hours for stops. I don't want to stay in another motel if we can help it, because we'll be really close and it's pointless."

They all agreed to push on and get into New Orleans, regardless of the time they got there. Hank mentioned that because Mardi Gras was on, then they wouldn't be going to sleep this side of midnight, anyway.

Breakfast was finished, and they made their way to the van. Megan saw the door wasn’t on the side closest to her. It was on the far side, and if she walked there, she'd be exposed to the sun and stood a good chance of going up in a puff of smoke. Not the best way to start the day.

"I need the bathroom, spin the van around, and I'll be here by the door," she remarked as she turned and headed to the bathroom.

Gabriel leaned against the door. "Have you got a problem?" he asked. Megan shook her head as she began to vanish down the small corridor.

"Too much coffee, that's all."

The van held steady at sixty-eight miles per hour and all Dustin needed to do was steer. The freeway was pretty much empty outside of the more significant towns and cities they would pass on their way. Not that there were many between Wichita Falls and New Orleans. Dallas was the largest, and they passed right around that without hitting the suburbs. The next largest place was Baton Rouge, which was a little over an hour from their destination.

Megan rested her head back. She closed her eyes and smiled in comfort, knowing that she was going to reach their destination at night, rather than run the risk of being made to move out of the van in daylight.

Sanders received a text from her while she was in the bathroom, and he was tagging along behind. Once they had an idea where they might stop, she’d update him, and then they needed to find the shaman, of course. Megan thought the plan was going well, although she had no idea Dustin and Kelvin had created a plan of their own; one that was way outside of any plan that she might think of.

Dustin and Kelvin talked and had made a plan of going to the cemetery. Not tonight, it’d be tomorrow evening. They needed to look for the name of Marie Laveau. How she could help while she was dead was anyone's guess, and Dustin wasn't sure she was that powerful that she could do her funky stuff from inside of a coffin. Either that or she wasn't dead, and it was a ruse to throw people off her scent. At the moment though, their cards were very close to their chest, and none of the others were going to find out. Not even at the last minute.

"Lunchtime," Dustin yelled after he turned the volume down on the radio. The sound of the golden oldies faded and the van pulled off the turnpike toward Shreveport. "Keep your eyes open. I've never been here."

Maria knelt, and was now leaning on the back of Kelvin’s seat as his head turned back and forth like a chicken. He was trying to spot a good place for lunch. He pointed ahead of him by the intersection. He glanced at the dashboard and saw the gas tank was a little under half full. He brought the gas station and diner to Dustin's attention. Dustin nodded and then he pulled in, getting close to the next gas pump. He started filling the van. Maria, Gabriel and (a relieved) Megan walked to the diner whose door sat in the shade of the pump’s canopy.

Kelvin walked to the road and glanced back and forth as if he’d expected someone to follow this close to them. "All done here," Dustin yelled.

Kelvin yelled across the forecourt. "Park it up around the side, and I'll be there in a minute. Just grab me a burger or something to go."

Dustin parked the van around the side and walked back to the front door. Kelvin watched the vehicles pass for a few minutes and then walked toward the diner. He ducked to the side and walked to the rear of the diner.

"Where's Kelvin?" Gabriel asked Dustin as he walked to the table with his lunch.

"He wasn't so hungry, he said to get him something to go."

Maria looked worried as Kelvin stood outside by himself. "Is he safe out there?" she asked.

"Of course! No one knows we’re here, do they?" he replied.

Maria shrugged her shoulders and shoved a couple of fries in the pile of ketchup that was piled onto her plate. "I suppose. It's just that we never know who’s watching us."

Dustin pulled the gherkin from his burger. He hated gherkins. He took a bite and chewed three or four times, and as he swallowed, he looked to Maria. "We have a day’s head start. The only way anyone could catch up is if they'd been told where we were. There's only five of us, so it's pretty much impossible," he said. Maria tended to agree, it was a little hard to believe anyone could find them in a few hundred miles of traffic, especially after a twelve-hour head start.

Megan sucked on her soda then asked if they knew where they were going to stay in New Orleans. Maria hadn't thought about it much, and Dustin hadn't spoken of it to anyone but Kelvin. That happened to be another part of the plan that no one knew about. The more confusion and the less anyone knew, the better. Kelvin's safety and the shaman for Gabriel were the top priorities. Kelvin walked through the door as sweat poured down his face. Maria looked at him and asked if he felt okay.

"I think I'm hungry now. I need a sugar rush." He tipped his fries on the tray and started dipping them in Maria's pile of ketchup before piling them inside his mouth. Fries hung from his mouth and it looked like he’d swallowed a yellow-colored spider.

"What's the rush?" Maria asked.

Kelvin held up his hand. It shook.

"You’re not diabetic are you?" she asked.

"Not at all. I've just got a fast metabolism. You don't think I have a body built for sin for no reason, do you?"

"I see. Now that Kat's gone you’re focusing your attention back to me."

Kelvin peeled back the greaseproof wrap from his burger and chomped down hard. His razor sharp teeth sliced through the quarter pounder and bun as if it was butter and a hot knife. He chewed and pushed the burger to the side of his mouth as he replied.

"Not wanting to sound forward or anything like that, but you’re just one of those women a man would bend over backward to hold and desire. As they say, you got it going on, girl." He winked and sliced another bit of burger.

He wiped his fingers as he finished. Everyone was ready to leave. They stood and stepped toward the front entrance.

"Not that way," Dustin said as he pointed to the rear fire exit.

There was a guy in an apron and a white hat. A short chubby guy with a mustache gestured to Dustin and the others. He waited till they approached and pushed the door open. He told Dustin the keys were in the ignition. The side door of the van was open. They all looked puzzled as Kelvin ushered them into the back.

"Where's our ride?" Maria asked.

Kelvin grinned at Dustin. He smiled back as he started the engine. "Get in. All the gear’s there, already," Kelvin remarked.

"What sort of van is this?" Megan asked.

Kelvin giggled. "It's one of those vehicles that no one expects you to be in. If anyone has been watching, they’ll be watching for a hell of a long time," he replied.

Maria shook her head as she climbed into the back of the new van. "I'm not sure how you managed it, but at least we’re safer than we might’ve been earlier. Don't you think so, Megan?"

"Hell yeah! Who’s gonna know we’ve swapped vehicles?”

Gabriel slid the door closed. Megan wasn't even sure what type of van, or what color it was. It was impossible to tell because of the exit doors they’d used. They were pushed up hard against the van, like an aircraft tunnel. What the hell am I going to tell Sanders?

"I wonder whose bright idea this was?" Maria asked as Kelvin looked over his shoulder and Dustin peered in the rearview mirror.

"It was pretty ingenious, don't you think?" Kelvin added.

Megan leaned back and pushed her cell phone back into her pocket. She'd realized that if they’d swapped vehicles there was probably another card they had to play.

"I suppose your gonna pull off the freeway and divert now?" she asked.

Kelvin and Dustin laughed. "Who said we were on the freeway in the first place?" Kelvin said.

"Where are we?" Megan asked.

"Need to know basis.” Kelvin turned the radio up and rested his head back on the headrest. “And no one needs to know."

Megan huffed, knowing she’d been caught out, and now Sanders was going to be pissed at her for not keeping him in the loop. She pulled her phone from her pocket and opened the message app. There was only one thing she could do to save herself from being significantly judged by him.

She typed a message. Low battery. We’ve changed vehicle and road, we are in a bl... Megan hit send and turned off her cell.

"So, I'm heading out to the highway with nothing to lose at all. I'm gonna do it my way and take a chance before I fall."