1 Chapter One:

*I don't understand… What did I do wrong?*

The young girl asked herself as she curled into herself. The loud voices of her parents echoed through the vents into her room. Suddenly, she could hear the sounds of footsteps within her room. Her dark brown eyes scanned her nearly pitch black room, she could see nothing out of the ordinary. She wiped the tears from her eyes before laying back down, covering herself with her fluffy dragon blanket. Just as soon as the blanket covered her head, the sound of music could be heard, she quickly pulled the blanket back down. Her head slowly turned toward the direction of her shelf, whereupon the top was her old music box, given to her by her grandmother. The lid that was once closed was now open and the little star in the center was spinning, playing the haunting melody that she was so familiar with.

The air began to grow colder within the room, causing her to pull the blanket tighter around her small body. Her eyes widened in fear as a large shadow began to take form at the foot of her bed. It began to take form, it grew taller and taller nearly reaching the ceiling of her room. She could tell it was the form of a tall man, but what frightened her the most was where a face was supposed to be was that of an owl.

"Hello little one," A deep voice rasped out, as he approached her.

She quickly closed her eyes and threw the blanket over head, curling herself into a ball, as the sound of his heavy footfalls echoed through the room until it suddenly went quiet. Despite the silence she kept still underneath the blanket, until the sound on alarm blared through the room-

Eyes snapped open as she sat up in her bed, sheets and blankets pooled around her waist.

"Memory or nightmare this time, Little One?"

"Memory," she responded groggily, reaching over to her small nightstand that sat to the right of her king sized bed.

As soon as she was able to see clearly, she focused on the tall figure at the foot of her bed. A barn owl mask stared back at her, but unlike the memory, he did not provoke fear from her.

"What troubles you, Thomas? You are never out and about," Nawa asked him with concern, as she shifted so she could sit up more so on the bed.

He didn't reply, only turned his head so the dark sockets were gazing upon the newspaper that was placed upon her desk. The desk was a simple one that was made out of sturdy dark oak. It was situated between the two large windows within her room. She removed the blankets from her legs before shifting her body so her legs dangled over her bed allowed her feet to touch the cold wooden floor. She winced in pain as she began to feel her right knee begin to throb badly, using her left hand she reached for her hand crafted walking cane. As soon as it was safely tucked into her hand, she slowly got up and began to slowly limp her way to her desk.

Nawa picked up the newspaper, her eyes instantly went to the front headline and read what it said:

Brutal Killings Leave Police Baffled

Nawa narrowed her eyes before letting out a sigh, glancing up at Thomas and then back at the newspaper. Tossing it back onto the desk with a thump as she glanced back up at Thomas. Nawa's thumb ran across the top of the sculpted barn owl that sat upon the top of her cane. It was a habit she formed when she first bought the cane, and had been doing it when she was lost in deep thought.

*They are connected, little one. You and I know they are,* Thomas spoke gravely, his deep almost demonic toned voice.

"Is this case truly what troubles you, my friend? I honestly don't want to get involved with these things anymore… Especially after what happened the last time we tried to help," Nawa muttered softly, a small frown gracing her tired features.

Thomas's silence spoke volumes to her, however, deep in her heart she knew that she would wind up becoming involved. She allows a small sigh to escape her lips as she limps around Thomas with her cane taking some of the weight off her knee. She went toward her closet, opened the door, and began to go through her clothes. Eventually, Nawa settled on a simple white long sleeve button up shirt with black dress pants. Afterwards she went to the dresser that sat next to the closet and pulled out her underclothes. She then headed toward the bathroom that was connected to her bedroom, not bothering to close the door for if Thomas wanted in he could easily just walk through the door. She placed her clothes upon the counter and had her can leaning against the wall opposite of the sink.

Outside she could hear the familiar sounds of boots walking around, signaling that Thomas was walking along the wooden floors. As she started to up the shower she heard the sound of his boots suddenly stopped. She didn't need to turn to look behind her to know that he stopped in the doorway.

*It seems we have two visitors approaching our lovely home,* He growled out causing Nawa to quickly turn off the shower and reached for her cane again.

"Visitors? How strange… I am expecting no one today," Nawa replied back tiredly and quickly began to limp back toward her clothes.

Forgoing her shower, Nawa quickly changed into her new clothes as Thomas spoke once with a tinge of disgust coating his tone, *Old Friends*

Nawa frowned instantly, letting out a tired sigh as she managed to shimmy on her pants and get them buttoned up. Once she was dressed she limped over to her sink counter and leaned her cane against it. Quickly, she brushed her dark brown hair and adjusted her black glasses back over her dark brown eyes. As soon as she finished getting dressed, she could hear the doorbell begin to ring. Nawa quickly reached for her cane, keeping it within her grasp, she began to limp toward the front door. When Nawa walked past Thomas, he vanished into her shadow, and when she was close to her front door the bell rang again.

As Nawa stood in front of the door, opening it up a crack to reveal a face she had not wanted to see at all. Christina Carson, a woman she thought was a friend. During her high school day's, Christina was regarded as the top athlete; it was obvious as she stood in front of her now that it didn't change. The mocha-colored woman seemed tired, the bags under her eyes seemed more pronounced than normal and her black hair was tied in a messy bun. Which was unusual given the fact that she always seemed to be dressed nicely. Nothing would have been out of place. Next to her stood Mrs. Melody Carson, her mother.

Which was a greater surprise given how her mother rarely would traverse around town without the company of her late husband. With his passing, she had become almost a recluse, her greying hair was pulled back into a loose ponytail. Nawa could see the fear within her aged hazel eyes.

"Mrs. Carson… Christina… What a surprise. It has been a long time. What can I help you ladies with?" Nawa asked civilly, as she opened her door a bit more, allowing herself to view the two women more through the large crack.

Christina had opened her mouth to speak, however, her mother was quick to cut her off as she spoke softly,

"May we come inside, Nawa?"

Nawa shifted, opening the door wider to her home allowing the two women to enter. As they walked past her, Nawa instantly took to scanning the road outside her home. It was then she could feel Thomas speak darkly into her mind,

*Keep wary. They appear to have eyes upon them.*

When Thomas had finished speaking, she instantly noticed an unfamiliar vehicle parked at the very end of the street. Slowly, she retreated back into the house, making sure to close the door and lock it before turning to head into the large sized family room. Signaling for the two women to follow her as she walked past them. As they entered the family room, she signaled for the two of them to take a seat on the couch that faced her fireplace while she decided to take a seat upon her favorite lazy boy chair.

Once everyone was seated Nawa asked with a blank tone," It has been a very long time. What do I owe the honor of your visit?"

Nawa shifted in her seat as she placed her cane in between her legs, leaning forward to slowly rub her right knee as the pain was becoming bad.

"Still suffering from Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome? Shouldn't the cartilage under your kneecap have healed by now?" Christina asked with a hint of agitation in her tone, after a few moments of silence.

Nawa, stopped rubbing her knee as she slowly turned her head to focus on the woman in front of her and spoke up with a dark tone,

"Since when do you care what happens to me? I believe your past actions told much of how you feel for me."

Just as Chrstina went to make her reply, however, she was quickly cut off when Mrs. Carson spoke up with a biting tone that gave no room for any back talk,

"Do not start, Christina. We did not come here for you to start any arguments. You know full well she could have turned us away. Forgive us, Nawa. Do you remember the man, Mike Sinclair?"

Nawa could feel anger pulse through her veins like liquid fire at the name. Leaning back against the couch she allowed her face to remain blank as she grasped her cane in her right hand, rubbing the head of the owl with her thumb. The room, suddenly, became much colder as if something was taking the heat from the room. Both women noticed that their breath was now visible with each breath they took and Mrs. Carson quickly pleaded,

"Nawa, please calm Bates down. We aren't here to start trouble."

Upon her plea the room became warmer allowing Mrs. Carson to continue speaking," We were informed about a week ago that he got out of prison on good behavior, but… I am sure you probably noticed I believe we are being followed."

Nawa's eyes narrowed after she was informed of that bit of information, within the corner of the room, Christina instantly had snapped her head to the corner of the room where there was only shadow and there she could see a large shadow with the familiar silhouette. Nawa was taking calming breaths trying to calm herself as the influx of emotions, some were hers and the others were not. However, she did not have the time to completely cool the overwhelming emotions as there was the sound of someone banging against her door.

*It seems we have an unwanted guest. Allow me to take care of this insect.* Thomas growled out angrily within her mind.

Nawa didn't say anything as she slowly took a back seat within her mind allowing Thomas to take over. As soon as Thomas was in full control, Christina and Mrs. Carson noticed the change instantly. Nawa no longer sat as she normally, instead she shifted to where she was sitting up straighter and seemed to be more regal. It was then the banging became more loud and more aggressive. Slowly, Thomas, now in control, stood up from the place he once sat and made his way toward the door. A few more bangs followed suit, which was then followed by an angry male voice,

"Christina! Christina! I know you are in there, bitch! Come out here! You owe me!"

It was then that Thomas opened the door, face calm, as the familiar figure from days in the past was revealed. Mike Sinclair had once been described as handsome and charismatic, however, since the 'incident' he was no longer that. Standing at roughly 6'4, he headed over in Nawa's body, and based upon his body language it was obvious that he was on something. His dark green eyes were bloodshot red and Thomas could see that upon his right arm was showing a lot of bruising as well as small pin pricks. However, it seemed he recognized who he was now standing in front of as his face went extremely pale.

A sinister grin slowly made its way onto his face, as he spoke, cold eyes glaring at the sorry excuse of a man. However, the voice that exited was not the voice of Nawa, instead it was the voice of Thomas,

"Well. Well... If it isn't a familiar face that has shown upon my doorstep. Still trying to sell old female classmates into the sex slave industry?"

Despite his obvious fear of Thomas, rage seemingly engulfed him as he yelled back," You! You are the reason I was in prison!"

His hands were clenched into fist before he swung his right fist at Thomas's face. The grin never left his face as he leaned backward causing his fist to miss Thomas's face completely. Thomas, who still held the barn owl cane in his right hand, quickly threw the cane up, grabbing near the bottom and slammed it into Mike's stomach. Thomas watched as he sank to his knees gripping his stomach. Thomas simply tilted his head as he swung his cane against Mike's head with enough force to cause him to hit the wooden patio with a sickening thud. Blood poured from his nose, Thomas allowed the bottom of his cane to return to the ground near his face, which caused Mike to flinch upwards.

Just as his head went upward, Thomas slammed his left foot down onto his head, which caused him to hit the patio once again with a sickening thud. Thomas's back was toward the door, however, he glanced over his shoulder at the two women that were now huddled by the door and spoke with a mocking kindness,

"My dear ladies, please do call our favorite agent for me, please?"

Thomas watched with cold amusement as Christina quickly rushed back into the house. As she did so, Thomas could feel Mike trying to get up and out from underneath his foot.

"Please, do try and get up, you little roach. Do try so I can crush your head like a melon," Thomas said darkly.

Mike instantly went limp at the threat, faint whimpering could be heard from his broken lips, Thomas wanted to crush this disgusting excuse of a man. However, he held himself back as he heard Christina return and speak with a hurried tone,

"He's already on his way - Na - Thomas-"

Thomas was quick to narrow his eyes further at Christina as she cold demonic tone," How presumptuous of you to think you have earned the right to speak my first name as if we are friends. You have not earned that right, especially, since you abandoned Nawa when she needed you the most."

Christina looked at Thomas with a sense of shame and anger, it had become obvious she wanted to argue, however, she stopped when her mother put a hand upon her arm.

"Don't start. Don't you start with that now. As much as it hurts, you know he speaks the truth," Mrs. Carson spoke softly to her daughter before turning to Thomas and nodding her head his way.

Thomas simply nodded his head in turn before the sound of tires screeching to a stop caught his attention. He watched as a familiar black SUV was now stopped in front of the house and the familiar figure of Markus Jamerson emerged from the driver's side. Thomas simply watched with amusement as he quickly ran up with stairs to the house, his hand placed upon his holstered gun.

"Well if it isn't Agent Jamerson. I am not surprised that you were so quick to respond," Thomas watched as the dirty blonde man approached him cautiously.

"Bates… I can take it from here," Markus spoke, trying to obviously make sure that Thomas wasn't going to do anything that he would regret.

Thomas smile widened slightly as he took his foot off of Mike's face as he spoke again the atmosphere, suddenly turned cold as he spoke,

"Of course you can have this roach. Though I am curious why the police didn't feel the need to inform us about this roach's release?"

"I'll look into it myself, Bates. Just let me take him from you," Markus said as reached down to gripping his upper arm of Mike and jerked him up.

Thomas watched as Markus placed Mike in cuff's and began to read him the Miranda Rights. Thomas narrowed his eyes in anger, however, Nawa instantly spoke softly to Thomas,

*Thomas… It's fine now. Please allow me to have control again.*

Thomas didn't reply as he slowly allowed Nawa to return to retake control of her body. As Nawa returned to her body, she instantly noticed another patrol car pulling up and Markus putting Mike into the back of the new patrol car. However, she was instantly hit with excruciating pain within her right knee. It was always after Thomas returned to her mind and after using her body that she was grateful for her cane. Nawa closed her eyes, slowly as she switched her cane into her left hand as the pain became crippling, causing her to lean against it. Before Nawa could comprehend what was happening she felt herself being scooped up into a pair of strong arms.

Her eyes snapped open, meeting the blue eyes of Markus as he took her into her own home and toward the family room where he placed her onto the couch.

"Apologies, Agent Jamerson," Nawa spoke calmly despite her pain.

"I thought we were on familiar terms again, Nawa," He replied gruffly as he stood back up, fixing his dark blue dress jacket.

Nawa felt the urge to roll her eyes at him as she heard Thomas let out a condescending laugh from within her mind. She simply gave Markus a blank look as she replied coldly,

"I believe you are here on business. No time for… pleasantries, Agent Jamerson. Shouldn't you be taking that man back to prison?"

"I had another officer take him down to the precinct, while I am taking your statements on what happened -" Markus began before he was cut off with Nawa let out an aggravated sigh,

"I know the drill. Go speak with Mrs. Carson and Christina. I'll give my statement last as I am sure you wish to get this done and over with."

Markus looked at Nawa with a hint of annoyance, as rubbed his hand over his stubbled covered face. He allowed it to fall to his side as he growled out,

"You aren't making this easy, Nawa."

Nawa simply glanced at him, waving him off toward where Mrs. Carson and Christina were standing, near the front door. She watched as he gave her a look, and left her alone, much to her relief.

*Don't forget to call Alastor, Little One.* Thomas spoke quietly into her mind.

Nawa could feel him trying to sooth her anger at what had just transpired today. Knowing that she had but a few minutes, she quickly reached for the cordless phone that was sitting on the small table that sat next to her chair and began to punch in the number to the restaurant she owned. After a few rings, she could hear the familiar voice of Alastor Reed,

"Hello. Thank you for calling Ramos's café. This is Alastor. How can I help you?"

Nawa felt her lips twitch slightly as she spoke tiredly into the phone," Alastor. This is Nawa -"

"Where are you at!? Did something happen? You should have been here about twenty minutes ago!" Alastor stated as he cut her off with a worried tone.

"Something did come up, so I won't be able to make it in. Think you can run the place for today?" Nawa asked with a hint of amusement.

"Girl. I got this. By the way, does this thing involve the agent asshole?" Alastor spoke with a hint of a scoff in his voice.

Nawa blandly replied back," You should know that I don't come in when it's involving him…"

"Need me to come over later to beat his ass?" Alastor asked with seriousness.

"No. The last thing I need is for me to have to bail my business partner out of jail because he decided to punch a FBI agent in the face," Nawa replied back as she lightly shook her head.

However before there could be any more banter she noticed that Markus was done and hurriedly spoke," I gotta go. I'll call you later."

"Alright. You better tell him to go suck a dick if he tries to pull you into another case," Alastor replied back with seriousness.

"Will do, but you know who will probably force me to go." Nawa said humorlessly as she hung up the phone and returned it to its place on the table beside her.

She then returned her gaze back to Markus as he walked over toward her and sat on the couch that Mrs. Carson and Christina once occupied and spoke, exhaustion entering his voice as he spoke,

"Alright Nawa. I need you to tell me what happened."

Nawa shifted her body slightly, moving her cane to once again rest between her legs as she spoke blankly,

"Mrs. Carson and Christina had come by to chat at about eight O'clock. There was a banging upon my door, which was odd since I was not expecting any other visitors this early in the morning. As I went to answer it, I could hear Mike Sinclair yelling and cussing for Christina to exit my house. When I opened the door, Mike attempted to assault me in anger and so I fought him in my defense as he was trying to do me harm."

Out of the corner of her eye she could see that Markus's broad shoulders were slumped slightly as he wrote down her statement within his notepad. The dark bags underneath his eyes seemed more prominent indicating that he obviously hadn't been sleeping well. She quickly removed her eyes from him and turned her attention to the portrait that was hanging upon her wall. It was an oil painting that she had commissioned nearly two years ago. It was a portrait of White Chapel, England in the eighteen hundreds. It was wonderfully crafted, the colors blended beautifully, giving the picture of the true nature of White Chapel, a beautiful place in the day, but underneath the mask was a darkness lurking through the streets.

"Alright, I have your statement. I'll have -" Markus began, causing Nawa to snap her attention back to the agent.

"Why don't you escort Mrs. Carson and Christina home. I am sure you both have a lot of catching up to do," Nawa spoke with a huff as she leaned back against the cushiony chair.

"Nawa -" Markus spoke her name with a hint of anger, however, he cut himself off slamming his notepad shut and stuffing it into the pocket of his dress jacket. He stood up and walked over to the two women and led them outside without saying anything else.

*How rude. Not even a goodbye.* Thomas spoke with a dark amused tone.

"I care not that they didn't say goodbye. This has caused me to lose the ability to go into work today," Nawa scoffed out as she leaned forward and began to rub her right knee that was still throbbing in pain.

From the shadows nearest to the painting, she could make out Thomas's outline and watched as it began to move across the wall toward the kitchen. Nawa watched as Thomas disappeared out of her sight. Within a few moments, she could hear the heavy thumping of his boots followed by the sound of a pill bottle hitting the counter. Suddenly, Thomas gilded out from the kitchen, cloak following him like a dark cloud and he placed her pill bottle onto the table where the phone was before disappearing once again into the shadows.

"Thank you, Thomas." Nawa gratefully said as she opened her medication and took two of the white pills that were inside.

*No need to thank me, Little One. It is my fault your body is damaged.* Thomas said with a hint of guilt.

"Eh. My body will eventually get used to it once my knee fully heals." Nawa replied nonchalantly as she closed the pills and leaned back against the chair once again, letting out a small sigh of relief.

Nawa began to drift off into a light slumber, however, she was soon awoken to the sound of someone knocking once more on her door. She opened her tired eyes, before looking around the room for a clock.

*You have been asleep for only thirty minutes, Little One. It's now nine in the morning.* Thomas answered for her as she slowly made her way to her feet.

Despite the medicine her knee was only slightly throbbing as she made her way back toward the door, not bothering to check who it was, she swung the door open to reveal Markus. Nawa narrowed her eyes at him, reaching up she adjusted her glasses as she spoke again,

"Agent Jamerson. I wasn't expecting you to return. Was there something you needed? I believe I have given you my statement."

"May I come in, Nawa?" Markus asked as looked at her with tired blue eyes.

Nawa narrowed her eyes at him, about to deny him when she heard Thomas speak, * Let us listen to what he has to say.*

Nawa didn't say anything as she slowly stood off to the side allowing him re-entry into her home. After he entered, she closed the door, locking it behind her as she followed him back into the family room. She took a seat back into the seat she occupied earlier before leaning back and allowing her cane to sit in between her legs. She then returned her attention to Markus, who took a seat back onto the couch across from her.

"I will not ask Agent Jamerson again, why are you here?" Nawa demanded a small bit as she shifted slightly.

"Nawa… How long are you going to keep this up?" Markus asked with anger, slowly becoming a bit more prominent.

"How long- How dare you sit there and ask me how long am I going to keep this up. You have no clue the hell I have had to go through. The vandalization, the destruction of my mentality, and my life. Don't you dare sit there and ask me how long." Nawa angrily replied as she quickly sat forward ready to tear into Markus more.

She watched as guilt plagued his eyes, but she did not care. Nawa never forgot the abandonment she felt when she was left alone to deal with the aftermath of the 'incident'.

*Little One, calm down. You will cause yourself to develop a headache.* Thomas spoke with a hint of a growl in warning.

Nawa took a deep breath as she tried to calm herself. It was then that Markus spoke softly, "I am not here to cause any problems, Nawa. I just… want to reconnect."

Nawa opened her eyes, giving him a blank stare as she replied back," Reconnect? Reconnect!?"

Before anymore could be said, the room grew cold and from the same shadow as before Thomas emerged. His heavy footsteps echoed through the room, causing Markus to slowly grow pale, it was then Thomas turned his empty gaze onto Markus and chuckled darkly.

"Is something the matter, Agent Jamerson? You are looking a little pale," Thomas spoke as his head tilted slightly, giving off an unsettling feeling since the slits of the owl mask were empty.

"No. Nothing is wrong," Markus replied as he did his best to keep himself calm.

Nawa leaned back against the back of the couch once again and decided to turn her attention to Thomas as he walked toward the painting looking upon it. As the silence began to stretch onward, it was soon interrupted by the sound of a phone ringing. Nawa raised an eyebrow at the ringing phone and watched as Markus dug for his cellphone. She watched as he answered it, placing it up to his ear and began to speak,

"This is Agent Jamerson."

Nawa watched as his facial features went from tired and guilty to anger and disbelief as he stood up from the couch. She simply rolled her eyes and quietly muttered,

"May he be gone from our home soon."

*Now, now, Little One, you shouldn't make too much of an enemy of him. He will have good resources for the future.* Thomas playfully chided through her mind.

Once more Nawa simply rolled her eyes, and waited for Markus to return from his standing point near the front door. It was then she heard him angrily say,

"She isn't a fucking agent, Damien!"

This caused Nawa to raise an eyebrow and she instantly felt her blood boil in anticipation and excitement. She instantly knew that these feelings weren't her, but Thomas's feelings. Nawa rubbed her hand over her face knowing that she may wind up being dragged onto another case. It was inevitable and she didn't understand if she had bad luck or good luck. She wasn't able to dwell on it as she heard Markus once more speak with anger,

"You did what!? When the -"

She watched as Markus pulled the phone away from his ear, cursing under his breath as pocketed his phone and returned to the family room.

"Trouble I take it?" Nawa asked with a small hint of amusement at his irritation.

Markus looked in her direction with a look of reluctance before he spoke with a professional tone," We are in need of your….special… assistance with this case that we are working on regarding several murders across several states."

It was then that Thomas appeared behind Nawa as she leaned forward upon her cane and her eyes stared at Markus with a dark look.

"It seems you are at an impasse on how to proceed… Very well. I'll help you and your agents. After all, Thomas has been growing bored as of late." Nawa responded as she slowly got to her feet.

"Thank you, Nawa. Our destination is the Angelina National Forest. We will need to head out now." Markus replied with a calm voice.

Though Nawa knew it was forced, glancing over her shoulder, she watched as Thomas slowly merged with her shadow. She returned her attention back toward Markus, before glancing down at her flats that she had put on earlier before Christina and her mother appeared at her home. Her eyes returned to Markus and she simply said,

"Lead on, agent."

Nawa followed behind as Markus turned and headed to the front door. As they were about to leave, she quickly grabbed her keys and wallet that was on the small table to the left of the front door. Once they two exited the front door, she turned and locked up her home before following Markus to his large SUV. Nawa wanted to roll her eyes as he unlocked the doors and opened the door for her.

"I am not invalid. I could have opened the door myself…" Nawa muttered with a hit of agitation as she walked over and managed to get herself into the large vehicle without putting too much strain on her right knee.

However, Markus was still determined to help her into the vehicle, gently gripping her upper arm, he provided her something to lean on. Once she was inside and the passenger shut, Nawa placed her cane in between her legs and began to buckle up as she muttered under her breath,

"Stupid man -"

*You should let the man be a gentleman. After all he seemingly is trying to win some form of friendship back. Though that should be done at a later date. We have a pigeon - livered slag to hunt.* Thomas purred darkly within her mind.

"It will take him years to earn anything from me…" Nawa replied quietly as she finished buckling up.

*You two will be the death of me. * Thomas muttered with playful annoyance.

This caused Nawa to quickly snap her attention to the rear - view mirror, in the reflection she could see Thomas's farm owl mask returning her gaze back at her.

"You are already dead," Nawa blankly replied back as she heard the driver's door open and Markus entering the vehicle.

*So I am. So I am.* Thomas replied with a crackle which caused Markus to stiffen in his seat after he closed the door.

"I don't want to know," Markus muttered under his breath as he buckled himself up and started up the SUV.

Nawa rolled her eyes as they pulled off from her home and began to make their way toward their destination. Which caused Thomas's cackling to become louder echoing throughout the SUV. Nawa rubbed her forehead as she thought to herself,

*This is going to be a long four and a half drive*