Only when Nora saw the sun peek above the distant mountain horizon did she understand how long she had been driving.  The orange sun shone masterfully, proving that the endless rain that had plagued them all night had finally stopped. 

A tired smile spread across her olive face as she glanced upward to her brother in the rear-view mirror, rocking out to a classic rock band, probably Van Halen, to help himself stay awake.  Feeling strangely contented, she opened the sunroof to let the daylight warm her shoulders. 

She considered the suddenly clear weather appropriate, for they were finally about to reach the campsite that would become their refuge.

It was lucky that Lucas could sense his sister's need to talk with him, or he never would have heard his cell phone ringing over the thunderously loud guitar riffs of Van Halen's 'Ice-cream Man.'

"Lucas Blaize's Mustang Flat of Rock and Roll," he shrieked into the phone, in a fair impression of Aerosmith's Steven Tyler.   "How may I disturb you?"

Nora held the phone away from her ear.  "Ugh.  Do you ever stop disturbing me?"  Lucas laughed, pleased by her response.  "The band would be proud."

"Cube Steak will always be with me in spirit," he said. 

Cube Steak, a hard rock band started by a group of teenage boys in their neighborhood, on a normal afternoon could be heard blasting their guitars from any number of local garages.  Ordinarily, Nora would have supported such a tribute to classic rock as she herself was a diehard fan.  Unfortunately, it was the worst music she had ever heard in her entire life, and the whole town agreed.  During the summer months, Nora spent her time avoiding them as often as possible.

"Hey, Luke?"

Her brother's voice returned to normal. "Yeah?"

"How long are we going to stay here?" she asked, bouncing lightly as the van tread over back roads that looked to have been perfectly designed for an SUV commercial.

"I don't know.  Three weeks, a month," he conjectured, following closely behind the Ford van.  "Just until things get quiet."

"Wow."  Nora hadn't realized.

"A small price to pay," he reminded her.  "Good thing I worked all those overtime hours at Gonda's."

Inwardly, Nora tried to imagine a month.  Thirty days, possibly more, away from their family and friends in Philly.  She bit her lip, beginning to drive on autopilot.  She wondered if they would be found.  Her parents, though not incredibly close to the twins, loved them very much.  They would keep looking.

It was as if her brother had read her mind.  "Once the search stops, we can go back to mom and dad," he said.  He kept talking when she kept silent.  "It won't ever be the same, but at least they'll know we're safe."

The thought didn't upset Nora as much as it should have.  Though they would be missed, her parents came second.  What was most important was that she still had her twin brother.

"Hey, hey, don't miss that turn!"

With a gasp, Nora skidded along the road and barely maneuvered the van around a patch of roots.  "Jesus," she breathed once aligned with the mountain path.

"That's it.  I'm calling Nascar tomorrow," he taunted in the harmless way brothers do.  "We've got ourselves a speed-racer."

"Shut up," she shot back, smirking.

"See?  It's dangerous to drive with cell phones."

Nora growled.  "This thing's got reverse, you know."

Lucas decided not to push it further and then brightened as a familiar cabin came into the view.  "There it is."

The small log cabin was an icon from Lucas and Nora's childhood memories.  A light-brown creamy exterior greeted them, designed perfectly to reflect the various yellow beams of sunlight shining down through the lush canopy above.

When the twins entered into adolescence, the small cabin had been forgotten, destined to remain just a faint memory in their minds.  But Nora and Lucas had needed a hideout, a safe house if their plan was going to work, and their old family campsite was called upon once more. 

The twins contentedly took in the picturesque scene as they exited their cars and stretched their legs, stiff from travel.  In their childhood the four-room house, hidden behind thick layers of forest, had secluded them from the outside world.  In these drastic circumstances, it would serve them one more time.

But there were so many things they hadn't prepared for.  Where would they shop for their groceries?  Was there a gas station nearby?  Could they even chance to be seen in public with their parents looking for them so feverishly?

Lucas sent a reassuring smile to his sister, which she wearily returned.  Their thoughts were in sync.  They had each other.  It would be alright.

"I'll get the bags," he told her and turned back to his Mustang.

Nora stretched her arms upward and jauntily crossed them as she continued to study the building, already trying to find ways to make it more their own.  Maybe they could hook up a stereo system outside.  The sudden thought ultimately caused Nora to frown.  Unfortunately, any backyard parties held in their campsite would never have guests. 

Sighing, she started toward the cabin.  Oh, well.  Maybe they could have rock sessions with the beavers.  Lucas would approve.

When she was halfway across the yard, she stopped in her tracks.  Her senses heightened, and she felt the distinct sensation that they were being watched.

Her skin crawled, and the hair on her arms stood on end.

"Something's wrong," she said out loud, causing her brother to pause in his steps from the car.

Then, she saw him.  A pair of beady eyes shone out through the foliage.

There was no time to prepare.  Nora took in a terrified gasp and screamed shrilly as a barrage of darts fired at her from every direction, "LUCAS!"

It was over.  They'd found them.