Nessa sheepishly tucks her dampened brown curls behind her ears.

Her hazel-colored eyes fixate Johnny's as Nessa tells her brother and friends about what she had overheard.

"Do you remember that sea dragon at the beach?" she asks them. 

Johnny and the others unhurriedly bob their heads.

"While you were in the interrogation room," Nessa continued. "Jason came by and took us inside his limo."

In an instant, Brooke's inquisitive eyes widen. 

"Oh yeah, I remember!" she exclaimed. "He told us we didn't have to worry about the monster anymore."

Johnny frowns in confusion. "How come?"

"Well, according to Jason, he has it 'taken care of'." Brooke tries to pat her afro down, but the humidity made it stand up. 

An awestricken Johnny squints his alarming eyes in Brooke's direction.

"The monster has been taken care of?" he repeats in disbelief. "Did Jason kill it?"

"I don't recall." Brooke wraps her loose curl around her index finger then observes Caleb's bored expression. 

"Did you remember what Jason said?"

"Sorry babe, I guess I slept through the whole thing." Caleb yawned. 

Catching a glimpse of her older brother, a curious Nessa asks: "Hey, Jay. Do you still have the creep's business card?" 

"Yeah, sure." Johnny plucks the slip of white paper from his pocket, then passes it down to his friends until the slip reaches Nessa. 

Grinning, the young girl takes the white slip and scans the title.

"Jason Ezekiel Young," she recited. "Folklore Expert and Paranormal Scientist." 

Her index finger brushed against the scrawled phone number until Caleb gasped, "I had no idea he was into folklore."

"Or an expert in Paranormal Activity," Brooke adds as she leans over Caleb's shoulders to inspect the words. 

"So, since he has already captured the sea dragon, does this mean that we are . . . going back to California?"

Her ex-lover Johnny scratched his head. 

"As much as I find this town repulsive," he begins to say. "I don't think our job is over yet." 

"Why?" Nessa asks curiously. Her vigorous hands shaped the crumpled candy wrapper into a small, silvery ball.

"Because first of all, I don't particularly trust Jason," Johnny responds. "And secondly, his friend Martin pointed his gun at my head."

All of a sudden, Nessa stops playing with the candy wrapper. She—as well as the young couple—dropped their jaws. 

"He did what?!" Brooke screams in anguish. 

Caleb and Nessa were prepared to kill Martin when Johnny tells them that he is okay. 

"No worries," he reassures his friends. "The good news is I scared him off, but the bad news is, he doesn't like me very much." 

His younger sister rolls her eyes. "Wow, no shit."

For his counterattack, Johnny sardonically flips her off. 

Caleb glides his anxious fingers through his knotted dreadlocks. Inspecting his withering facade, a concerned Brooke asks Caleb what was wrong.

"I think there is something is creepy about Jason," he deduces in a frightened voice.

Nessa turns her head to meet Caleb's brown eyes. "What do you mean?"

"Back at the hotel cafeteria, I tried to read Jason's thoughts, but it's like he's immune to telepathy or something."

Brooke scratched her pimpled chin and asked if Jason could be a mutant.  

Nessa frowns; her small mouth devoured the gooey Fruit Gushers and carried them down her empty stomach. 

"He can't be a mutant, Brooke." she declares doubtfully. "Mutants can't be billionaires—let alone become famous scientists."

"Okay then," Caleb positioned his feet on the front chairs. "Maybe he is that deranged cyborg from the movie Terminator 2 ?"

Everyone silently stares at him. 

"What? It's a classic!" Caleb exclaimed. 

Johnny smirks at his friend's absurd remark, but his mind wavered towards Jason. 

"I don't know if Jason is a human," he admits quietly. "For now, we should maintain our distance away from Jason and Martin."

"Okay." his friends proclaimed in unison.

After their meeting was over, the car became as quiet as a mouse.

Nessa plays with her aluminum ball, whereas Johnny, Brooke, and Caleb all sat on their cushioned seats waiting for the two men to enter the black limo. 

In relationship to the automobile, Johnny couldn't help but admire the costly chairs they are sitting on. 

Savory smells of sweet fruit ascend through his sharp nose.

But what enthralled the young telepath is that there are packaged snacks and bottled drinks tucked away in the car's side pockets. 

Mopping the warm sweat off his brow, Caleb plucks two Snapple lemon teas from the side pockets and hands one to Brooke. 

"Thanks," she smirked, unscrewing the metal bottle cap. 

Gripping his glass tea bottle, Caleb was about to speak when Martin and Jason enter the black Cadillac limousine. 

Charcoal-colored seats soften their soaked bottoms as the two men sat in front of the children. 

Seatbelts strapped across their aching stomachs; worn eyes examine the men's faces as the children weren't sure if they should trust them. 

"Are you kids alright?" a worried Jason asked. 

Feeling socially awkward, the young quartet analyzed one another when a brave Brooke spoke up: "We are doing fine, thank you." 

Martin glanced at Johnny, whose facial expression remains dismal as an old cynic's. 

His anxious feet rocked uncomfortably on the black carpet, desperate to get out of this cramped limousine.

Rapping the window with his whitened knuckles, Jason politely asks the driver to start the car. 

In response, the car engine roared; durable wheels begin to churn on the concrete road as the limo took off like a jet. 

Chalk white clouds formed on the ground; the sleek cadaver was covered in every drop of rain. 

But what eased the children's minds is that the motorist switched on the stereo and played relaxing jazz.

Meanwhile, gently tapping Nessa on her left shoulder, Caleb asks his female ally if he can get a brochure.

"Huh?" the girl hunkered her narrowed brows close to her eyelids. "Why do you need a brochure so badly?" 

"I don't know." Caleb shrugs. "I just want to see what Lovecraft Creek is all about."

"Okay, but why?" Nessa inquires as she presents it to her close companion.

Caleb casts her a humorous look. "Haven't you heard of the phrase, 'curiosity fucked the cat'?" 

Everyone was quiet; surprised expressions stare at Caleb until Johnny politely corrects him.

"It's 'curiosity killed the cat'," he said quietly.  

"What?" 

Nessa heaves her backpack from the floor, then drops it between Caleb and herself. 

"The expression is 'curiosity killed the cat'—not fucks the cat." she corrected. "No offense, but what kind of lame-ass fortune cookie did you eat for lunch?"

A dumbfounded Caleb stares at Johnny for a moment before reclining in his chair.

"Well, whatever." he scoffed. "I just wanted to take a look at the brochure."

Nessa waves her hand dismissively.

"Fine," she grumbles. "But I still think there is nothing exciting about this place." 

After taking a sip of her tea, Brooke watches Caleb open the dark pages. 

Her eyes dissect white, elegant cursive, which completes the brochure's bleak tone. 

Photos captured places, small fish markets, beaches, bars, and fancy hotels that Caleb had already seen. 

Annoyed, the boy closes the brochure and tucks it in his backpack. 

"Have you found a place you want to go?" Jason asks hopefully. 

The exhausted boy stretches his arms out and yawned, "Nope. Not really."

Jason chuckled.

"This town isn't so bad, you know," he grins. "In fact, I was born here in 1970. What about you? Where are you guys from?"

Caleb, Nessa, Brooke, and Johnny all trade hesitant glances at each other.

They are grateful for getting out of the police station; but even so, the kids weren't inclined to open up to Jason or Martin. 

Regardless, the compassionate Jason peers at the skeptical kids. 

"Oh, come on," he urged, "at least help me get to know you guys better."

Johnny's arid lips flutter into a dubious smile.  

"You think we're dumb enough to open up to you and your boyfriend?" he sneers.

Martin grew red in the face.

His wrinkled hands clench into meaty fists until Jason's composed demeanor propelled him to hold his tongue.

"I am sorry that I threatened you," he said. 

"Now, can I have my gun back?"

Johnny gives him a fake smile. "Apology not accepted."

Just then, the driver's bad motor skills threw almost everyone out of the expensive limo.

"Jesus Christ!" Martin cried out loud. "What the hell is going on?"

Gripping his seatbelt, Jason peers through the window, but the thick glass is shrouded in a misty haze. 

"HEY!" Martin pounds his fist on the hazy window. "SLOW DOWN, WILL YA?"

The ambiguous driver yelled, "Sorry!" and steers to his right.  

Burning wheels ceased as the aggressive limo transitioned into an unhurried automobile halting in front of red stoplights.

Caleb can barely hold his breath.

Litter scattered like leaves in fall winds; sore hands brushed against bruised shoulders as Jason, Martin, and the kids recovered from the unforeseen casualty.

Johnny checks to see if his comrades were injured.

"Is everyone okay?" he inquires. 

The young couple massaged their sore bodies, whereas Nessa was furious. 

"I am going to strangle that crazy driver." she seethed. "What the hell was that all about!?"

Brooke was caught off guard by Nessa's anger that she accidentally bumped into Caleb.

"Ouch!" he yelled from the discarded floor.

"Sorry," Brooke's flustered cheeks glowed like bright flames. She helps him off the floor and asked if he was alright.

"I'm all good, babe." Caleb winked. "You?"

"Yeah."

As soon as the car slowed down, everyone collected their fallen belongings.

Afterward, Martin peers through the darkened windows and noticed a massive sewer rat lying on the concrete floor. 

It rolled on its back, exposing its bleeding abdomen to the heavy drizzle. Animal roadkill never bothered Martin, but just the look on the rat's beady eyes made his skin crawl. 

"So, where are we going?" Nessa asks Jason, who is massaging his sore knee. 

Smirking, Jason tells her that the journey will be a surprise. 

"What?" Caleb whined. "Why?" 

Martin's withered lips widen into an elusive smile. 

"Because it's a surprise," he repeats in a bitter tone. 

Johnny's eyes glowered. "I think Caleb heard you the first time." 

The old man glares at the boy in contempt.

He is still bitter about Johnny making him look like a fool in front of his employer. Also, Martin didn't know why Jason is so invested in these kids. 

If he were Jason, he would have locked these kids away and discard the key.

Hearing Martin's thoughts, Caleb fixates his spiteful eyes on the old man. 

"If you hate us so much, then why did you bail us out of jail?" he snarled. 

Martin's eyes looked as though they were ready to pop out of its eye sockets. 

"What?" he bluffed. "I don't hate you-"

"You thought about throwing us in jail and tossing away the key." Caleb interrupted. 

Johnny, Nessa, Jason, and Brooke all glared at him.

"What the hell is he talking about, Martin?" Jason asks. 

His words were polite but his murderous tone says otherwise. 

A terrified Martin stammers an apology when Jason calmly places his hand on the old man's left shoulder.

"Don't you dare say those hurtful things to these kids," Jason advises to his employee. 

"Yes, but-"

Jason's hand grips Martin's shoulder tightly, prompting the old man to shut up.

"No excuses, Martin." the cold businessman scolds. "That is the last thing I want to hear."

The scorching color of red drains from Martin's face as he shifts away from his employer. 

"Understand?"

"Yes, sir."

A cheerful smile spread across his lips; Jason finally removes his dominant grip off of Martin's shoulder and notices the terror on the children's faces. 

Johnny sulked like a scared feline; Caleb slithers his hand in his bag for a gun, but Brooke disdainfully shakes her head.

As for Nessa, her trembling hand gripped the silver knob. 

She yearns to leave the limo, but Jason's attentive eyes coaxed her to stay. 

"I am sorry that I scared you all," he says softly. "Truth be told, the reason I bailed you out of prison because I need your help."

Brooke's eyebrows wavered. "What are you talking about?"

"Ever since we met at the Eridanus Hotel," he began. "I wanted to learn more about your kids."

"So, you two followed us?" Nessa guessed. 

That's when Jason's face starts to turn bright red. "Yeah, I guess you can say that."

"Why?"

"As I said before at the hotel," Jason smooths his tie with his left hand. "I was curious as to why you four were interested in a scary sea monster."

His foot crushed against the silver, fruit candy wrapper.

"To be honest, I find you guys quite unusual."

A bitter Johnny lifts his chin and says, "Gee, and why am I not surprised?" in a sarcastic tone.

Brooke wears a tight-lipped smile. 

"What my friend is trying to say is," she says politely. "We still don't know why you need us."

Caleb crushes his empty soda can with his hand, rolls down Nessa's window, and tosses it on the road. 

"Yeah," he agreed. "It's not like we're BFFs."

Jason bows his head and expresses a sad sigh. 

"You're right," he says. "It's not fair that you guys are kept in the dark." 

"My colleagues and I are trying to get rid of the sea monsters in Lovecraft Creek so we can help our community survive."

The children look at him in amazement. 

"For several weeks, we have been trying to keep the monsters contained, "Jason went on. "But my men and I have suffered from casualties—including Martin's son."

Martin's snowy-gray eyes became wet with tears. 

"Jesus Christ." Brooke's face sagged at the emotional old man in front of her. "I'm sorry. I had no idea." 

Wiping the tears with the back of his hand, the old man blinks in her way.

"He had just turned fifteen," Martin trembled.

"My boy wanted to be like me when he grows up, but now he has been in a coma for three months."

"Oh," Johnny mumbled. "How did he wind up in a coma?" 

Martin clenched his right fist and pressed it deep into the black cushion. 

"A fucking Kraken got to him before I did."

"Wow, that's fucking insane." Nessa breathed.

"It is."

The black limousine propels forward. Colorful cars veered up and down; the wretched stench flooding through the cracked window, irritating the children. 

Everyone began coughing until Caleb moves over to Nessa's side and closes the open window. 

"Ugh, finally." Brooke coughs. 

Nessa heaves her backpack on the black car seat, then let out a depleted yawn. 

"So anyway, are we there yet?" she whined. 

A smiling Jason shakes his head. "Not yet, Nessa. But as soon as we get there, I will answer all of your questions."