monster ; it.

XXV

"What are you kids doing back in Vienna, and why are those people chasing you with guns?" Jonathan asked them. He looked directly at them in the rearview mirror but avoided looking at me. I couldn't blame him, I didn't know him either.

Jonathan looked about fifty years old. He had grey hair and slim blue eyes that made him more intimidating than he sounded.

"Long story, we'll tell you later," Penny answered.

"Right, and who's the girl?" Jonathan made eye contact with me.

I cleared my throat and looked at Penny. The silence in the car was overbearing.

"Ariana, and she's pleased to meet you," Xander answered.

I rolled my eyes at him and smacked him on the arm. He snickered and turned his head to look out the window.

"Ariana. Are you a friend of theirs?"

I nodded my head. "You could say that."

Jonathan drove us through Vienna, which was a lot more beautiful than I could have ever imagined. I couldn't help but adore the breathtaking buildings that surrounded the streets and made the city seem almost impossible not to love. I looked over to see Penny staring out the window, his jaw clenching slightly. He didn't look angry but he did look exhausted and worried.

I grabbed onto his hand and he looked at me with a soft smile on his face. I wrapped my arm around his and closed my eyes and opened them when I heard him talk. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," I assured him, shaking my head in disapproval.

"Of course there is. You could have been killed just ten minutes ago, all because of me."

"You're going too hard on yourself. You saved me, Penny. You protected me, like always." I gave him a small smile.

"I shouldn't put you in the position where I have to protect you. You shouldn't even be in this position in the first place." Penny said sternly. When he realized he was raising his voice, he looked at Xander and Jonathan to see if they had noticed his change in tone. Neither of them seemed to be listening.

"Listen to me," I told him. "I'm alright. Everything turned out okay, didn't it?"

Penny scoffed under his breath. "For now."

I backed down and looked away from him. He was right, things would get worse before anything got better. I shouldn't get my hopes up on something that might not be okay. False hope was the last thing we needed.

We were soon outside of Vienna where there were hardly any buildings. There were a few beaten-up houses here and there, but there were no other places in sight. Jonathan drove into a long driveway that connected to a small house. I assumed that he lived there.