Part Two

The sound tuned in slowly, like a radio coming to life, coughing slightly at first. It took her a moment to make out all the different sounds from the mass of noises blended together - breathing, engine, radio, wheels, voices.

As the sounds started to sort themselves out, feeling started returning to her as well. Something was pounding away at her head, something cold gnawed into her wrists and something soft was stroking her neck.

"Tess?"

"Hmmm?"

"Tess, look at me. Please?"

Her eyelids felt so heavy she was sure a boulder rested on each and her body protest the very idea of any effort.

"Tess, please." His voice held a tone of desperation and she found herself unable to resist. At first she thought she was blind as darkness continued even as she struggled to get her eyes open. But gradually she started to make out shapes and shades of grey. Some light was streaming through little holes, but it only seemed to reinforce the darkness around.

She more felt than saw Evan, realising suddenly she was resting in his lap. A hand was stroking along her jaw line gently, mental softly clinking with metal.

Handcuffs. He was handcuffed, and the metal gnawing into her hands told her she was as well.

"What happened?" she slurred, trying to sit upright. A sharp bolt of pain stopped her short, and she fell back with a groan.

"The convicts from New South Wales that everyone was looking for, we found," Jonesy explained, a touch of humour in his voice. "One of them has been stabbed, but our arrival made them patch things up."

"Touching."

"Yeah. I'm so glad we're able to help escaped murders reconcile."

It wasn't really funny, and his laughter sounded more bitter than anything. She closed her eyes for a moment, a dreadful fear besetting her. Her child. It wasn't just her life at stake. And Evan...

"I can't watch you die," she muttered.

"Hey, no one's going to die. If they wanted to kill us, they could have. The station will know we're gone and mount a search. We'll get through this, all three of us."

She wondered if he was reassuring himself or her. For a while they said nothing, listening only to the van drive on and the muffled conversation from the front seat. She couldn't see through to the front, obviously some wall had been installed over the window. Music from the radio was also mingling with the voices, making it a strange symphony of sound. She wondered if it would be her funeral march.

Carefully, she lifted her head again, and despite wincing at the pain, managed to get herself in a sitting position. Her gun was gone, of course, and she felt a pang of longing as her fingers brushed the holster. She felt almost naked.

The pain seemed to centre at the back of her head, and she felt her way to something sticky. Blood. Her blood. It was hard to judge how deep the gash was with her hands handcuffed and movement rather restricted.

"It's not too deep," Evan answered her unanswered question. He was so close she could feel his breath tickle her skin and the heat of his body radiating against hers. She let her hands find his, cradling her own against his palms.

'Please don't die,' she wanted to say. Fragile, silly words. How many fragile, silly words had she not told him?

The van came to a screaming halt, breaks protesting the sudden abuse. Her body seemed to freeze, tension doubling the pain throbbing through her.

"Tess, if they pull over and you get a chance to run, just do it," Evan whispered urgently.

"No!"

"I'll distract them."

"Don't you dare, Constable," she hissed, not sure if she was more angry or afraid. It would be just like him to do something so silly and rash.

The door was pushed open and daylight assaulted her vision. Blinking, she could only make out a dark shape before someone yanked her arm painfully. Instinctively, she resisted, but her head nearly erupted in pain when a hand pulled at her hair.

"Hey!" she heard Evan call out, then grunt in pain. She tried to free herself so see what was happening to him, but her vision went black and she fell gasping to the ground.

"Tess!"

"Easy mate, or she gets one between the eyes," a voice snarled as she finally managed to focus her vision. Evan was on his knees some feet away, blood tickling from a cut above his brow. His eyes were dark and angry and he seemed ready to leap onto her attacker. She lightly shook her head, but his expression did not change. Damn him. If he tried anything, she was going to very slowly roast him.

The guy standing over her had a dirty bandage on his leg, spots of darkened blood on his pants. His hands seemed shaky as he clutched the gun and she managed to tilt her head to see he was sweating as well. He must have lost a lot of blood.

Evan saw it too; she could see his brow furrow as he took in the two guys, the parked van, the undergrowth and the nearby river.

"Who told you were we were?" the unhurt guy snapped. Newly bleached hair, she noted, his eyebrows didn't match. He seemed the leader of the pair from his air of command and his agitation was making the other uneasy.

'He thinks a friend has set him up,' she thought, realising this was why they were still alive. He thought he had been set up, and he wanted to know. As long as he wanted something from them, they'd be kept alive.

"We had a phone call," she said quickly. "They were still having the call traced when we left."

He eyed her, clearly for and against the reliability of her statement. His gun kept hovering near Evan's head, and she had no trouble looking afraid and willing to cooperate. If he knew she was bluffing, they'd be dead.

"We're going to make a call and find out, or your mate here gets it, understood? No tricks."

She nodded wildly, trying not to scream when she was yanked by the hair again and brought to her feet. Evan's gaze never left her face as he got slowly up to.

'Can you run?' he mouthed, clearly realising the same as her.

'Not without you,' she mouthed back. He nodded slowly, lifting his gaze from her to the river. The van couldn't cross the river, so it would have to drive around to find a crossing.

The leader turned away, reaching for a cell phone and lowering his gun. Tess didn't hesitate for a second, kicking her captor right in the bandaged area. He tumbled backwards, crashing into his buddy and both onto the ground.

She ran the moment she saw the two fall, Jonesy already overtaking her. Her legs threatened to buckle under her, but her will was stronger than her pain. Fear seemed to give her wings too, for before she knew it, cold water greeted her.

For a moment, she went under, swallowing water as she tried to breathe. Straining, she reached for the light with all the strength she had. Just as she thought there was no end to the water, she broke through the surface with a gasp. Her hands were little use with the handcuffs, but she managed to tread water. She could hear shooting, and saw Evan go under again.

She followed his example, remembering to keep her mouth closed this time and her eyes open. The water moved around her gently, until something grabbed hold of her clothes and pulled her upwards. She tried to hit out, but as she felt a cold cheek against hers, she realised it was Evan's.

He had pulled her up under a grass knoll hollowed slightly by water. Somewhere near, she could hear angry voices and steps, obviously searching.

And the water moved on, lazily and slowly, as if life was in no hurry to pass at all, but had all the days of forever.

Right now, she'd settle for a tomorrow.