CHAPTER 5. newbie

It's early morning, the RV still humming along the highway, its interior bathed in gentle sunbeams that dance through the windows. Kyle stirs in his sleep until the blaring alarm jolts him awake. With a groggy hand, he fumbles to silence it, heart racing. Just as he begins to calm down, a sudden loud noise startles him again—the RV bathroom door swings open abruptly.

"What the fuck," Kyle mutters, wide-eyed as he peers towards the bathroom door. There stands Rhirhi, toothbrush in hand, looking equally startled. "Oh, sorry, did I wake you up?" she asks innocently, flashing a sheepish grin before making her way towards the front of the vehicle to join Jason, who's focused on the road.

"Oh hey, you two finally awake," Jason greets casually, his eyes briefly leaving the road to acknowledge them in the rearview mirror. Moments later, he skillfully maneuvers the RV into a workshop on the side of the road.

"Why are we at a workshop? Is something wrong with the RV?" Rhirhi queries, her brow furrowing slightly as she gazes out at the mechanics bustling around the workshop.

Jason turns off the engine and turns to face them, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Just a precautionary check," he explains calmly, "I noticed a slight vibration earlier. Figured it's better to get it looked at now than risk a breakdown later."

Kyle and Rhirhi exchange concerned glances, realizing the gravity of Jason's words. They nod in understanding, grateful for Jason's foresight in keeping their journey safe and uninterrupted. As the mechanics begin their inspection, the trio settles in, bracing themselves for a brief pit stop in their adventure-packed journey.

Sometime at night, the three were talking with a young girl named Becca. She had black hair with orange highlights and wore the outfit of an engineer. "So you guys are traveling, why now?" she asked, waiting for an answer.

RhiRhi soon spoke up, "Well, we are kinda being chased by gorgons," she said, expecting Becca to laugh at this.

Becca didn't laugh but looked more surprised. "Wait, wait, wait. Are you talking about the monsters you hear in children's stories?" she asked, staring at RhiRhi as if she knew exactly what she was talking about.

RhiRhi was about to speak when they heard noises of ripping and growling. Wondering what it was, the four looked out the window to see a gorgon. Soon they realized what it was doing.

RhiRhi and Becca were sick to their stomachs, and Jason covered Kyle's eyes from the scene of the gorgon ripping the spine out of Becca's father's back. As Becca realized who it was, she was about to break down into tears, but Jason covered her mouth and hugged her, making sure they didn't make a noise.

The gorgon looked around but soon left. When they realized it was gone, they let out a sigh of relief. Becca sat there crying from witnessing her father being killed. Jason, who was comforting her, spoke up, "Hey, hey, calm down. How about you come with us, okay? To stay away from those things." He let go and got up to leave the room. Becca nodded, and soon the four got into the RV and left, with Becca still sad.

"I think I should change my name to Sora," RhiRhi said, trying to lighten the mood. Soon they all spoke at the same time, "Yeah, the name RhiRhi kinda sucked." Realizing they all said it at the same time, they laughed, besides Jason, who was focused on driving and ensuring they got far away from that place as possible.

Soon, the three began to get tired and decided to go to sleep while Jason drove. As they lay down, Becca knew she wouldn't be able to sleep after what she saw, so she got up and walked to the passenger seat next to Jason.

**TO BE CONTINUED**