Around the corner came Nevada. Her thin athletic build, brunette dreadlocks filled with colorful beads, lovely mocha skin that made her golden serpentine eyes stand out even more, and her bubbly carefree personality. All these things made Mel fall more and more in love with her the more he stared. His daydreaming was quickly shattered though as Isogons said to him, "You know she is way out of your league. I mean look at you. Purple skin, horns, and a tail. Do you think you stand a chance with a girl like her? I mean the only reason you get laid at all is you pick up drunk girls at last call at bars."

"Oh no! What happened to your eye?", Nevada asked with genuine concern in her voice.

"She is only worried because you look like shit normally, and now you look worse.", Isogons quipped back.

"Oh nothing," Mel scoffed, "Just rolled out of bed while trying to get up and hit my head on the edge of the end table."

"Fucking smooth as a gravel road with that story. " Isogons mumbled mockingly.

Nevada gave a little pout, "That sucks, but I know what will make it all better. Come on, let's go on a smoke break.", she pulled a half-empty pack of cigarettes out of her pocket and gave them a little shake.

"Sure, I could always use the break.", Mel said as he stood up and walked with Nevada out the backroom and into the designated smoking area. Even though he was average height Mel still stood about a foot taller than Nevada, but this never seemed to bother her. She passed a cigarette to Mel, and put one between her lips, "Okay, light me up."

Mel snapped his fingers and a small ball of fire flashed into existence in the palm of his hand. He lowered his hand and let her light hers before he lit his cigarette. Taking a drag from it burned, and tasted foul, but he had been smoking for so long he had grown used to it. The only reason he did smoke was it brought him the macabre reassurance that his life was being shortened by it.

"So how was your weekend?", Nevada asked after exhaling through her nose.

Mel shrugged, "Oh nothing exciting, played video games, went out and drank with some friends last night. Stayed up waaaaay too late."

"Next time you go drinking give me a call. I would love to party with a devil-touched. I heard that they can be fun. Plus I know that Yours still is connected to you. What was his name again? Isosceles?"

"It is Isogons, you stupid French harlot.", Mel's demon shouted internally.

"Why French?", asked Mel without thinking.

"What?", asked Nevada as she took another drag.

"Fine then Polish. I don't care. It was the first country to come to mind.", snapped Isogons.

"Oh, uhm. Isogons was just asking me something, and he mentioned the French for some reason.", Mel quickly said before taking a drag.

" Well tell him hi for me,", Nevada took another heavy drag before blowing some smoke rings and continuing, "and like I said before we need to hang out and drink sometime. It would be fun. Maybe grab a bite beforehand."

Mel nodded and grinned ear to ear for a moment, quickly hiding it when Nevada looked up at him. She held a hand up, "Give me your phone, and I will put in your number."

"Don't do it. She will look through your pictures and see your porn!", Isogons practically shrieked as Mel dug his phone out of his pocket and handed it over. The whole time she held it internally Isogons was filling Mel's head with horrible scenarios as to why she would stop talking to him for finding something bad on his phone. Even stuff that they both knew was not on the phone in the first place. She put in her contact info and then handed him back the phone, "There feel free to message me anytime you want."

She then finished her cigarette and looked at Mel's hand, gasping, "Doesn't that hurt?" Mel looked down. The glowing cherry was nestled between his index and middle finger. Still hot and smoking.

"Nah, Isogons is a fire devil. So I am immune to any flame.", Mel said with a bit of confidence for once.

"But I have seen you burn your mouth on hot coffee before.", Nevada questioned.

"Well, that isn't really a flame.", Isogons and Mel said in unison, even though she only heard her devil-touched friend say it. With that, they went inside. Mel sat back down as his desk and pulled up a music player. He found the playlist he wanted and started listening to classical music as he started on the normal paperwork before he started patrolling the bus station, and watching the cameras from time to time.

The day went slowly. The only exciting and fun parts being a few more smoke breaks with Nevada. As the sun went down, and night fell the vampire travelers left their homes and hotels and started showing up to the bus station. Mel sighed as he knew what was coming up with the bag inspection. He wheeled a flat top cart to the front of the group boarding. The first woman in line was a vampire. Her pale skin did not give it away, nor was it her black empty eyes. It was her tee-shirt which read, Just because I am a vampire doesn't mean I will drink your blood. You aren't my type.

"This is going to be a good one.", Isogons said with excitement in his voice.

"Hello ma'am before you are allowed on the bus I must inspect your bags. Please put your bag on the cart, and tell me, do you have any firearms, knives, needles, alcohol, drugs, or anything that may be a health or safety hazard for you or anyone on the bus?", Mel said in a deadpan voice. As he opened the bag sitting in the middle of the clothing was a mason jar, sloshing with blood inside. The lid hadn't even been properly secured. Internally he sighed as the demon laughed.

"Oh no.", the woman said in a cheerful almost overly sweet voice. Two kids that had been running around the station ran up behind her. Mel stared at the jar before asking again, "Ma'am, do you have any firearms, knives, needles, alcohol, drugs, or anything that may be a health or safety hazard for you or anyone on the bus?"

The woman looked slightly offended, "Oh no, nothing at all."

"Ma'am," Mel pulled out the jar. A bit of blood dripping onto the cart, "This is not allowed. There are health issues with carrying improperly stored blood on the bus."

"Can't you just let it go this time? I can't afford the bus tickets and the proper containers.", the woman said trying to sound pitiful and pathetic.

"Ma'am. I cannot do that. Now you can either go to the help desk, or to the gift shop and buy some proper containers. I cannot let you carry blood in a mason jar. It is unsafe for other passengers."

"I bet if I was a devil-touched you would let me. Now give me back my blood young man. That is for my kids to drink on the bus ride."

Mel sighed audibly, "No ma'am I would not let anyone take blood onto the bus. You cannot bring an improperly stored item like blood onto the bus."

"This is racism! How dare you tell me what I can and cannot take on the bus I need that and, " The woman had started shouting before Mel took the jar and started to walk to the janitor's closet, "What are you doing?"

"Ma'am if you refuse to follow the same safety rules as everyone else I will have to dispose of this properly myself.", Mel said dropping the container into the medical waste can in the closet before closing the door and walking back over.

"How dare you! Your bosses will hear about this! Because of you, my children are going to starve! I will...", The woman kept on yelling at Mel as he moved on to check the next passenger's bag. He would have felt bad or a bit remorseful if this wasn't something that happened at least once a week, and always with the same type of assholes. Sure it wasn't always vampires, but someone always tried to bring something on the bus that they weren't supposed to. Some would play dumb, others would ignore the guard and try to get past them quickly, and even once someone tried to bribe Mel. However, it always ended the same. Someone yelling at Mel for not letting them break the rules. The last couple of hours went by relatively calm, and Albert came in fifteen minutes early for his shift. They exchanged the normal pleasantries again, and Mel went home.

"So what do you think, is Alexis at work, or does she have another excuse?", Mel asked Isogons as he got ready to open the door.

"Ten Thurrock potins that she is "sick." ", Isogons laughed.

"What the hell even did you just bet?"