Alfred stumbled out of the conference room and glared at Matthew through the glass. He had a more charming personality his ass! Mattie could sweet talk just as well as him. The boy strolled around the office keeping his eye out for any signs of the bathroom. That was their escape route.

Hopefully.

Alfred dragged his feet hopefully looking the part of a bored kid. He let his eyes skate over the walls and doors until they got caught on a dark gray sweatshirt.

It's funny the things that remind you of home. The officer was in his cubicle, probably filling out paperwork or something equally as boring, but he was wearing a gray sweatshirt that Alfred had worn hundreds of times after football practice. The sight of it made memories of cool breezes, crunchy leaves and sweat pulse behind his eyes. His heart ached with the kind of pain he got when he saw the Save The Children commercials on tv.

Alfred slunk away from the sweatshirt and down a hallway he had no intention of originally going down. The appearance of that identical sweatshirt in a place so far from home had to be a sign. He didn't know what kind of sign, but he hoped it was good. With less enthusiasm and more desperation, he continued to look for a bathroom. God, he really just wanted an alien to come and teleport him and Mattie home.

Cops brushed past him and Alfred reminded himself that he wasn't doing anything wrong. A tall, dark haired officer stopped him and asked... something. Alfred's breath caught and his heartbeat quickened. He wasn't doing anything wrong, he chanted. As long as he continued to act completely fine – which he was! – no one would think anything.

The officer's English was thicker than rice pudding and Alfred couldn't understand a word. On the man's chest was stitched 'Vidal.' Officer Vidal stared down at him expectantly so Alfred started talking.

"I feel really gross and figured I'd use the bathroom and try to get clean," Alfred mimed washing himself, "Like a sponge bath? You know..."

He would have continued rambling if the officer's chuckling hadn't stopped him.

Officer Vidal said something and Alfred smiled hoping he didn't need to reply. He put a hand on Alfred's shoulder. The memory of another meaty fist made Alfred struggle not to shrug Vidal's off. They turned around and headed back towards the area with the desks and conference rooms.

The cop pointed to a door with a stick man tacked to it. The bathroom! Alfred didn't know how he could have missed it before. The blond thanked him and went into the room.

It was a single person bathroom. White tile covered the floor, walls and ceiling. Behind the toilet was a rectangle of frosted glass. Alfred smirked and pushed the window open. The drop to the ground was only a few feet. People were walking past, cars rolled by and short stalls bookended the road.

He stared for a moment longer before whispering to himself, "This is as good as it's going to get."

The American turned on the tap and grabbed several paper towels. He wet them and scrubbed at his face. If he actually did what he said then he hadn't really lied. Cleaner than when he entered, Alfred casually headed back to the conference room.

Mattie was fidgeting with something under the table. As Alfred pushed the door open Mattie quickly stuffed a piece of paper in his pocket.

"It'll work," Alfred declared in French.

Matthew nodded, "Let's go then."

Both boys grabbed their bag and were off. In the back of his mind the Mission Impossible song played. To lighten the mood Alfred sang a few notes, pressed himself flush against the wall and dramatically looked right and left.

Mattie rolled his eyes and tugged on Alfred's arm, "Come on, Al."

He was dragged towards the bathroom. Alfred pouted. He just wanted to have a little fun.

"They're in the back conference room," the Captain said.

Both boys froze. Alfred looked over his shoulder to see the Captain's back. He was leading two men towards where Alfred and Matthew had just been.

"Thank you, Captain."

Alfred felt his lungs freeze up. He knew that voice. It was a voice wrapped in guns and knives. The American reached out and pulled his brother into the bathroom. The door slammed shut. Blindly he reached behind him and locked it.

"Go," Alfred rasped, "We need to go."

Mattie nodded and yanked open the window. His brother threw his backpack out and scrambled out. Shouting erupted behind him. Someone was banging against the bathroom door. Quickly Alfred slipped out through the window.

They ran. When the brothers reached the end of the street, officers began spilling out from the front door like enraged bees from a demolished hive.

"Wait!" An officer waved frantically, "Stop!"

Officers followed the boys on foot. Matthew pulled him down a small side street. Alfred's backpack bounced on his back. He concentrated on his brother and his breathing. They couldn't get caught.

The two raced through the city. Sometimes Alfred could hear people shouting their names. That was when Alfred wanted to look behind him to see if they were being chased. He didn't though - because it didn't matter if they were being chased by cops or not. They were still being hunted by Daniel and Joey.

Matthew led them down streets, through alleys and over fences. They sped past rotting piles of garbage and through gutted houses. Alfred didn't know when Matthew had learnt the geography of the city, but he hoped his brother knew it well enough to get them somewhere safe.

"Are we close?" Alfred asked.

Mattie nodded.

The two runaways turned a corner to see a squad car heading towards them. They stumbled back into the alleyway. Alfred held his breath as the cruiser slowly eased past them. Gravel crunched underneath the car's tires. The cruiser rolled away from them and turned a different corner. His breath rushed out.

Alfred tugged on Matthew's arm. After a moment Matthew picked up the pace. They jogged down a one way street. As they were moving Alfred scanned their road and it's cross streets in case more squad cars appeared. The streets widened as they left the main city behind them. The buildings got shorter and family houses cropped up in between the buildings.

"Where are we going?" Alfred huffed as they turned again, but Matthew didn't respond.

A group of giggling school girls blocked the sidewalk and the American boys dodged around them. The afternoon sun cut long shadows across the ground. Down the road, Alfred could see a line of trees. Under his feet the pavement stopped and thick, brown grass bordered the tree line. Alfred and Matthew slowed before the imposing wall.

"Really?"

Mattie didn't say anything. Instead he kept heading towards the forest. Before the trees could swallow him up Alfred grabbed the back of his shirt.

The boughs of the trees painted them into green shadows. Alfred did not want to go traipsing off into the forest unless he absolutely had to. Getting taken again would be hellish, but the wilderness? You don't mess with Mother Nature.

They were stuck between a rock and a hard place in Alfred's mind, but Matthew seemed perfectly content to go gallivanting off into the unknown.

"Matthew!" He exclaimed, "Talk to me! Is this really the best way?"

His brother stared at him blankly. Alfred shook his shoulder, "Mattie?"

Matthew blinked and it seemed to Alfred he was coming out of a daze. Taking a deep breath Mattie nodded, "it's the only way we know they won't be able to follow us."

Alfred looked behind him at the city. In the distance he imagined he could see red and blue lights flashing as police cars patrolled the streets. A train whistled high on the hill.

"Why not the train again?"

"They'll be patrolling now," Matthew murmured.

Alfred's mind whirled with other possibilities. They could hide in plain sight. He'd heard of some criminals who hid in New York City for decades. The boys could dye their hair black. The police couldn't scour for them every minute.

Alfred relayed his thought but it was shot down quickly, "neither of us know enough Spanish to get by without attracting attention... let alone get ourselves to an embassy."

Alfred stewed for another moment and Mattie slunk deeper into the forest's gloom. Just as Alfred was going to suggest building a giant robot to carry them home, he looked at Mattie. Not just looked - he really looked.

His older brother was different. Not just physically, although he was thinner, had greasy hair and thick, dark scabs across his skin. He was quieter. His blue eyes were shadowed like the sky had fallen down.

It was that look that made Alfred agree to follow Mattie into the jungle. Because there was nothing in the world he wouldn't do for Mattie. And if that meant following him into the wild then that's where he'd go.

"Alright," Alfred said, "into the jungle it is."

Matthew didn't respond. He just disappeared further into the trees. Alfred quickly scampered towards his brother to catch him before he disappeared completely.

The heat seemed to double under the thick ceiling of leaves. Bugs buzzed around his ears. Every time he swatted one it came back two seconds later. There was no path to follow so he kept stumbling over vines and roots. Even though they'd only been walking for an hour or two Alfred had already decided whole heartedly that Bear Grylls was a dick.

Alfred trudged behind his brother. On his show Bear had always made survival stuff seem like fun. Walk through the woods. Start a fire. Build a shelter.

No.

It friggin' blew! It sucked worse than Dad sucked at cooking. Plus they were heading deeper into the jungle with only a stupid wrinkled map for directions. Mattie seemed confident that they'd be ok, but Alfred wasn't so sure.

With nothing to distract them from walking Alfred's mind wandered to the smoky places in his mind. Before he'd lived with Mattie they'd never had these problems. The kidnappers had mentioned only needing one of the boys. What was the chance that Matthew had been the one they wanted?

Low.

Cause bad things seemed to circle Alfred like a vulture while Mattie couldn't offend a grouchy pregnant woman. Now they were struggling through the jungles of Mexico when Mattie could have been enjoying a nice family vacation in Cancun.

Alfred pushed a branch out of the way. It snapped back at him and whipped him in the arm.

"Shit!" Alfred swore, "Stupid tree."

Not even three steps later he stumbled over a tree root. His brother snorted ahead of him. Alfred didn't appreciate his brother mocking him, but he was glad to hear the sound. He responded

"Not funny!" He glared at both Mattie and the tree. He kicked the root before marching on.

The worst part was that Matthew was gliding through the foliage like it was his second home. He hadn't stumbled even once! Alfred needed to sign up for Boy Scouts as soon as he got home.

They continued their trek into the late afternoon. Matthew continued to lead. The jungle fought him for each step. Alfred was red faced and wheezing.

"I'm tired," Alfred dragged out the word, "Can't we just stop for a second?"

His brother looked back but didn't say anything. He didn't stop either. Alfred stared at his back. A howler monkey shrieked above him and Alfred ran to catch up.

They'd been walking for hours! His feet hurt. His legs hurt. Heck, even his toes hurt! There was no way they'd been followed this far into the jungle. They were the only ones crazy desperate enough to take on the jungle.

"We'll stop soon," Matthew finally called back to him.

Alfred tried not to groan. He knew logically that every step they took was getting them closer to home, but emotionally it felt like they were just wandering around in the forest. The forest that was growing darker. Alfred wanted to be safely tucked away before it got really dark.

Six near trips and one stumble later, the jungle parted. A leaning tree created a wide clearing with a sort of cave like nook. Through the gap in the canopy a red sky blazed above them. The clearing had a carpet of grasses, mushrooms and baby trees. It'd be the perfect place to stop. Before Alfred could open his mouth to say anything Mattie spoke.

"Here?"

"Yeah," Alfred smiled glad his brother was in agreement with him about the place even if he didn't know it. Of course Alfred was ready to stop hours ago and every spot looked perfect to him. By now, even his blisters had blisters.

"We should get a fire going," Mattie declared as he wandered around the clearing.

"Do you know how to make a fire without matches?" Alfred asked.

Matthew ignored his question, "Just help me find some leaves and twigs."

Staring at his brother Alfred sighed. He wasn't usually so touchy. Biting his lip, Alfred walked to the edge of the clearing. He hoped he could find what Mattie needed without having to go too far.

Brown leaves were tucked into the roots of trees. He hoped none of it was poisonous. The boy grabbed as much as he could. Occasionally he also found a few small sticks. He picked those up too.

By the time he got back Matthew was perched by a dirt pit, rubbing two sticks back and forth furiously. Alfred tried not to scoff at the intense look on his brother's face.

"Will that really work?"

"Yeah, if you can do it properly," Matthew grunted.

Alfred stared at the hunched blond. He really wanted it to work, but honestly? Alfred didn't think it would. While Mattie was furiously scrubbing at the wood Alfred cleared the area under the downed tree. It seemed like the perfect pre-made shelter. But he checked for snakes and spiders twice just to be sure.

"Matt?"

The other boy didn't look up from his sticks. He was sweating bullets and panting.

"I've almost got it."

Alfred watched warily. Darkness crept in around them. Matthew hadn't even gotten a spark yet, just lots of smoke.

His brother threw a stick across the clearing, "Damn it!"

Alfred stood up, "Hey Matt it's ok-"

"No it's not!" His brother shouted. The other boy hurled the wood in his hand. "What good is stupid Boy Scouts if I can't even light a fire when I really need it?!"

Alfred approached him slowly with his hands out.

"Hey, we're going to sleep anyway so it doesn't really matter if we've got a fire or not."

Mattie scowled at him and he looked so much like Dad for a second that Alfred's breath caught.

"Yes it does Al!" Matthew exclaimed and threw his hands in the air.

"A fire keeps away bugs and predators and helps keep us warm," Alfred wanted to cut in to say he'd had enough of being warm but Matthew kept going, "and there is the off chance that someone might see us!"

"But isn't that a bad thing?" Alfred asked softly, thinking of how they were found at the police station. Matthew was quiet for a moment before responding.

"I've gotta hope that Dad and Papa are also looking for us cause otherwise..." Mattie trailed off.

Alfred didn't say anything. He knew what Matthew meant. They stood in the darkness in silence. Frogs croaked. Alfred broke the moment by surging over to Matthew and hugging him tight. Mattie hid his face against Alfred's shoulder.

"Everything will be ok," Alfred comforted him, "We're going to be fine."

The two stayed like until Alfred pulled Matthew down to the ground. Alfred fell asleep with Matthew tucked under his chin. His throbbing feet and the sound of flies buzzing followed him into his dreams.