Al had just spoken to the group leader, explaining that he had changed his mind and had spoken to his mother about returning. However, the man was persistent in persuading Al to stay on the trip.

Al decided to give the man a $500 donation as a show of good faith for their cause. Afterward, the man was grateful to be out of Al's way and happily accepted the donation.

It had only been 40 minutes, and Al had already spent thousands of dollars. Regardless, he was in a good mood. "By this point, I'll be entering college broke and fatherless." Al chuckled quietly and smiled to himself. Looking around the quiet airport, he picked up his bags and walked towards a taxi he flagged down.

Once inside the taxi, Al immediately asked the burly driver, "How much will it cost to get me to this address?" Al handed him a note with an address written on it.

The man replied in a dull tone, "From here, it'll cost you about 23 dollars."

Al gave the man the money and turned to gaze at an airplane in the sky. His mother thought he would be flying today.

His next stop was Kesha's house, where he had left his beloved Plymouth Road Runner, a car he hadn't driven since his best friend Mark had died.

He cherished the old machine his father had helped him rebuild. Once he retrieved his car, the journey to Mt. St. Helen would be smooth.

The trip to Kesha's house was quick. Al grabbed his bags and bid farewell to the taxi, standing in front of a two-story brown house.

His vehicle was parked in the driveway. Al walked up to the doorway and rang the doorbell, his eyes still fixed on his car.

The door to the house swung open, revealing a fit young lady. She stared at Al before breaking into a smile. "Here ya go, girly," she said, tossing him his keys.

She was a childhood friend he had met at a boxing gym. Though they attended different schools, they spent most of their time together during the summers.

After Mark's death, he cut all his friends off. However, she was an exception. Al had been wanting to catch up with her.

He smiled at her before saying. "Hey, by the way, thanks. I really appreciate it. Anyways, I really have to leave."

Immediately, Kesha frowned and shouted, "Hey!"

Al paused before turning around. She would have to wait before he could explain things to her.

As he walked away, Kesha shouted, "I should be the one thanking you! Seriously, Al, I hope you know there are a lot of people who care about you." She whispered the last part before changing the subject. "Anyway, we should have another gym session soon!"

Al felt his heart weighing down his breath. He liked Kesha more than friends, but she had never shown any interest in him.

This was the second time he thought about not attending the 15th Blood Ring in Mt Rainier.

He forced himself to respond, "Haha, yeah, we'll catch a workout together when I return. I should be back in a month or two." Al didn't wait for her to respond and walked toward his car, parked in front of the garage.

He opened his car's trunk, threw his bags inside, and then turned around. He couldn't forgive himself if he didn't sincerely part with Kesha. He went back and hugged her, saying goodbye and promised to stay in touch.

Al finally entered his car, enjoying his reunion with his beloved car. He leaned close to the steering wheel and whispered affectionately, "Hey baby girl, daddy's back. Did you miss me?" He planted a gentle kiss on the wheel before starting the car.

He retrieved his phone from the glove compartment and set up the GPS with the destination he had already inputted. Feeling prepared for the journey, he turned up his playlist and began driving.

"Twelve hours. I'm going to need some coffee!" he loudly said before connecting his music to the car.

As he sang along to the music, a voice spoke from the back seat, "Twelve hours? Where the fuck are you taking us?" causing Al to panic.

Al swerved, narrowly avoiding a collision with oncoming traffic, and quickly pulled over.

Filled with anger and shock, Al shouted at the figure in his backseat. "What the hell are you doing back there? You're a damn lunatic! Get out!"

Cesar burst into laughter but obediently exited the car and began pleading with Al, "Hey, Alexander, man, relax. Didn't you hear anything I said on the bus?" Al was too furious to listen.

He lunged at Cesar, catching him off guard, but Cesar displayed unexpected speed and skillfully evaded the attack.

Al's face grew serious. As he recovered his stance, he threw three consecutive jabs, which landed on empty air.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Suddenly, Al was met with a swift left kick, a move he wasn't accustomed to as a boxer. Instinctively, he raised his left leg to block, but a sharp pain shot throughout his left leg as if he had been hit with a metal bat.

Ignoring the pain, Al unleashed a powerful left jab, breaking Cesar's defense and striking his face. He quickly followed it up with an even more powerful right fist that stopped before hitting Cesar's face.

Although Al wasn't as furious as he was letting on, he felt that not teaching Cesar a lesson would only encourage this reckless behavior. Holding his bloody nose, Cesar shouted, "What's wrong with you who attacks people like that."

Al walked over to his car, grabbed a towel, and tossed it at Cesar. "You really know how to throw a crazy kick. I think you might have fractured my shin. What is that kickboxing?" Al said, ignoring Cesar's complaints.

Quieting down, Cesar pressed the towel against his nose to stop the bleeding and replied nasally, "It's actually Muay Thai. And the only reason you made me bleed was because you caught me by surprise. I didn't expect you to be some boxer after coming at me like a madman. I call that fighting dirty."

Al taunted Cesar, "The only thing dirty is that face. Hurry up and clean it up." Then, in a more serious tone, asked, "What did you do with my letters?"

Cesar, now having stopped the bleeding, shot a menacing look at Al and replied, "How often did I mention on the bus that I didn't want to go? I'd rather lose money than live with those freaks for a single night. About the letters, don't worry about it. I passed the mission down to a cranky old fellow I met there."

Al took a deep breath, trying to calm himself, and asked calmly, "What, old man? Either way, if those letters aren't sent. I'm holding you responsible. You can forget about the other half. Anyways, I'm sure you ripped me and that cranky fellow off. I might as well take you home right now."

Cesar paused and stared intently at Al before saying, "Take me with you. I have no home to go back to. This was the last straw before my dad kicked me out."

Al didn't want to drive near Cesar's house, and as his face swelled, he started to feel bad for him. "Look, Cesar, I'm sorry, but I can't take you or anyone with me. I'll drop you off wherever you want, but you can't come with me." Al firmly stated.

Cesar shook his head, refusing to accept Al's offer. He then proposed, "I'll pay you $500, and you can keep the other $1,000 you would have given me. Just let me come along."

Al paused to contemplate the offer.

"What if I told you I believe you?" Cesar softly mentioned.

Al was taken aback by Cesar's insistence on tagging along. This presented an opportunity for Al to recover some of his lost money. However, he also didn't want the responsibility of looking out for another person.

Al grew serious once again and looked directly at Cesar. "If, and I mean if, I choose to bring you along, I need you to understand something," he said solemnly. "The chances of you dying a brutal death are very real. You must truly believe that even if you don't believe the rest."

Al stood there, waiting for Cesar's response, but suddenly, Cesar turned and walked toward the car. "Well, I might as well ride shotgun since I'm obviously coming along. My bags are already in the back. I'm surprised you didn't notice me, by the way, haha."

Al felt he had made a mistake and shouted at Cesar, "Wait, where do you think you're going? I haven't even decided if you can come."

Cesar laughed and replied, "Hahaha, don't worry, I won't get between you and your baby girl."

Al's face turned bright red as he realized Cesar had seen him kiss his car. Al reluctantly got into the driver's seat and began to drive again.

Cesar asked. "What is it? A 74 Plymouth Road runner? Anyways, where exactly are we going? Can I at least know that? Also, who was that hottie you were talking to back there?"

Al buzzed from the barrage of questions. "You just asked me 4 questions, one of them you answered with another question. It's unbelievable, really." He handed Cesar his phone with the GPS showing their destination.

Cesar glanced at the screen and then looked up at the road, sensing that he had dampened Al's mood. With a shameless smile, he added, "I didn't pack any winter clothes. Mind making a pit stop?"

Al sighed and said, in a defeated voice, "I guess there is no real rush, and I can go for a coffee about now."

As they stopped at a nearby supermarket's parking lot, Al made it clear to Cesar that he would also be paying for his coffee, clothes, and gas.

They were back on the road an hour later, and Al's mood had improved. He lowered the music volume to converse with Cesar, wanting to get to know this stranger who would accompany him.

"Hey, you know why I chose to let you tag along? It's because you know how to fight." Al said in an attempt to discuss something the two shared.

Despite Al's attempt to be more polite, Cesar snickered and confidently replied, "Who do you think you are? Of course, I know how to fight! I was the Muay Thai junior Midwest Champion. As a matter of fact, you're the one who's lucky to have me here."

Al gritted his teeth. He ignored Cesar's histrionics and let the silence clear the air before changing the subject. "So, there's this medallion with a blue rock in the center. It was given to me by the man I told you about on the bus. It's in my handbag back there. Can you find it? That's our key to entering Mt. Rainier."

Cesar reached for Al's bag in the backseat, opened it, and retrieved the medallion. He stared at it, fascinated by its appearance. The combination of metal and rock and its bright colors made it seem like a priceless jewel.

Cesar turned to Al, unable to contain his curiosity. "What is this? And how is it a key? And what do you mean by 'enter a mountain'? Sorry, I'm doing it again with the questions," Cesar said, immediately checking himself.

Al smiled and patiently explained, "It's a medallion with a map and verification. As I said it was given to me by Godfrey. I show this to the 15th Blood Ring and tell them he sent me. and they'll let us in."

If you meditate with this medallion and focus your mind, you'll receive a map, just like I did. That's how I know there's a small town inside Mt. St. Helen."

Cesar felt a small panic in the pit of his stomach as he questioned Al. "Is he messing with me? Sure, I said some crazy stuff, but this is a little much."

Al noticed Cesar's uncertainty and reassured him, "If you don't believe me, just meditate with the medallion in mind and see for yourself."

Cesar's mind raced, and he realized that if what Al was saying was true, he might actually have a way to find out what happened to his brother.