"Michael," Sara called out, breathing heavily. "I don't think I can – go much further."

They had been trudging through the dense woods for what seemed like an eternity now and she needed a break. Michael was getting quite tired himself but he knew that it would be best if they got as far away as possible while they could still see where they were going.

"Its just a little further – then I arranged for some transportation."

Sara didn't really see how a car would manage to drive them through the woods but at that point she didn't particularly feel like contemplating it. Perhaps they were coming to the edge of the woods and there was road somewhere nearby. Sara sighed and imagined herself comfortably seated in a car with the air conditioning brining relief from the heat that they had endured both in the tunnel and as a direct result of their little trek through the 'jungle'. With new found energy she bounded after Michael, the thought of sitting in the car edging her on.

They soon reached a small clearing in the woods and Michael stopped and looked around. He smiled as his eyes locked on what he had been looking for.

"Ok – we're here."

Sara looked around but she saw no sign of a car. Instead three wild-looking horses stared directly at her from the other edge of the clearing where they were tied to three separate trees. She looked from the horses to Michael, an incredulous look on her face.

"Horses? You got us horses ?" she asked, a frantic edge present in her voice.

Michael was still smiling in the direction of the horses, clearly glad they were there. Sara was not amused.

"I got us horses," Michael confirmed with a slight nod as he started to make his way towards them.

Seeing the approaching people the horses became quite agitated and Sara swallowed hard as she watched them.

"Ah – before we go any further Michael – I feel like I should tell you that I don't really have much luck when it comes to horses. It's not like I have anything against them but – they seem to want to kill me anyway!"

Michael stopped and turned to look at Sara. As he did he caught sight of her arm. The bleeding must have been much worse than he had originally thought because she had once again bled completely through the second sleeve that he had wrapped around the wound. Sara caught him looking at her arm and looked down herself. With all the hiking they had been doing she had almost forgotten about it. A horse suddenly neighed loudly and they both turn to see what was happening. The largest horse, a proud brown stallion was thrashing his head wildly and preventing Lincoln from getting a proper hold on the reigns.

"Uh- Michael?" Lincoln called out

"Yeah?"

"I don't think these horses are people friendly."

Michael frowned and carefully walked towards his brother and the unruly horse. Eventually, they managed to get him to calm down enough so that Lincoln could mount. Michael then looked over at Sara and cupped his hands to give her a boost onto the light brown mare that she was to ride.

"Ready ?"

"As I'll ever be."

She hesitated for only a moment before getting on to the horse. When all three of them were ready and securely seated on their horses, Michael led them all through the clearing and onto a concealed path to the left of it. They continued at a much quicker pace than before and Sara was soon so mesmerised by the sound of the horses' hooves clattering along the ground that she completely forgot her initial discomfort and hardly noticed that the sun had started to set.

"Sara – you ok back there"

"Fine"

"Ok it's almost time to let the horses go."

Five minutes later, that's exactly what they did. Though she hadn't been too keen on the horses at first, Sara had to admit that they made the journey a whole lot easier and now that it was almost dark it would be much harder for them to travel on foot.

Michael sent the horses down one path leading to the left, presumably to confuse anyone who may have picked up their trail. They then climbed through a few bushes on the right and landed on another path. This one was not as well defined as the one they had been following. Trees had grown along it and at times it became quite difficult to see exactly where it was leading but Michael showed no signs of slowing down until he came to a dead stop and looked around him, a slight frown on his face. Sara and Lincoln both looked at him expectantly and he soon began to move again but Sara's confidence in him began to waver.

"Michael, are you sure you know where you're going ?"

"Don't worry – I spent months studying maps of this place – I know it like the back of my hand."

Sara paused for a moment before kicking a hollow bark out of her way and continuing after Michael.

"Why do people say that?" she asked, managing to sound perplexed and slightly agitated at the same time.

"Say what ?"

"That they know something like the back of their hand. I hardly know the back of my hand at all. I mean, if you asked me to name one thing that was different or distinguishing about the back of my hand without letting me see it – I'd have no idea what to tell you. So really – saying that you know something like the back of your hand would really mean that you hardly knew it at all – and that's something that I would find quite disturbing in this case!"

Lincoln chuckled behind her and Michael smiled as her turned to look at her.

"I never pegged you for the philosophical type."

"Well there's a lot you don't know about me Michael."

"Oh really?"

"Yes – really." Sara baited, smiling herself now.

"Like what ?"

"Well it would be way too easy if I came out and told you just like that"

Michael laughed and said,

"Fair enough."

It was then that they all saw it. A small cottage seemed to have appeared out of nowhere and was sitting right in front of them. It blended in so well with its surroundings that if they were any further away from it Sara would have sworn that is was just another clump of trees. It was made out of logs that had clearly seen better days but it was sturdy and it was shelter and they were all glad at the thought of being able to rest for the night. Lincoln walked up to the door and pushed against it. After some resistance, it finally creaked open. It was dark inside but not as dark as it had been in the boarded up house earlier that morning. Michael went into one of the rooms and rummaged around for a while before coming out with about a dozen candles and some matches. Sara found a comfortable chair in what could pass as the living room and thankfully sat down on it without bothering to brush off the layer of dust it wore as a cover. Michael came and placed a candle on the floor next to her. He looked up at her from where he had stooped down and the candlelight cast shadows that danced on his face. His eyes seemed to light up as he gazed at her and her breath caught in her throat as she looked right back.

"I found you a first aid kit doc – so you can patch that cut up."

"Thank you," Sara said, breaking eye contact with Michael and smiling at Lincoln.

"We should probably go out and get some firewood before it gets any darker Mike."

"Yeah" Michael said rising to join Lincoln. With one last glance at Sara he disappeared through the door and went after his brother.

Left alone in the little cottage Sara gazed into the candle light, captivated by its dancing flames. Now that she had a moment to breathe, a moment to stop and think about everything that had happened that day, the thoughts rushed around her head like trained thoroughbreds on a race course. She suddenly realised that she was practically a fugitive. She could have been at home – in her own bed – safe and sound but instead here she was, in the middle of the woods with two cons and every cop from here to Alaska on the lookout for them! Not to mention the thousands, if not millions of citizens who had undoubtedly seen their pictures all over the news! There was probably even some kind of reward for finding them by now and she was well aware of the fact that people would do almost anything for money. And here she was – right in the middle of it. All because she had allowed herself take Michael's hand that very morning and she'd let him lead her right into this alternate life. It had been a snap decision and she'd made it without really thinking about the consequences. She was all the way in now - whether the authorities realised it or not and she would always have to live with the choice she had made. Still, she couldn't help but feel a trill at the excitement of it all. There was no going back now – no changing her mind. She'd reached the point of no return and run right past it and she hoped to God that she'd made the right decision.

Michael and Lincoln were on their way back from picking up wood when Michael looked in the direction of the cottage and noticed that the door was half open. He hit Lincoln's arm to get his attention and they both stared at the open door. Michael slowly put down the armful of wood that he was carrying except for the largest and thickest piece. Lincoln followed suit and they approached the cottage quietly. Before they had taken more than two steps, a grey wolf stepped tentatively out of the small house and onto the porch. Michael froze, the piece of wood primed above his head, ready to launch an attack. Lincoln accidentally stepped on a twig that broke and caused the wolf to look in their direction. Both men remained as still as they could each one trying not to breathe too loudly or make any sudden movements. The wolf soon seemed to lose interest and sauntered off in the opposite direction. Michael ran up to the house his heart thundering in his chest. For a moment he feared the worst and when he got inside there was absolutely no sign of Sara. He looked around frantically before calling out,

"Sara ? Sara? Where are you?"

Sara emerged from the bathroom, a slightly perplexed look on her face. Michael breathed a sigh of relief and Lincoln smiled. Sara looked at Lincoln first and then her gaze settled on Michael for a moment before she asked,

"What's going on? I'm right here."

"Well – we saw a wolf coming out of the door and I though - "

Sara smirked and cut in,

"You thought I got eaten by a wolf? Why grandma – what a vast imagination you have!"

They all laughed and it was clear that the act itself was a therapeutic release. For a moment they forgot all their troubles and were just glad of their temporary freedom. Michael had to admit that when she put it like that, it did sound completely ridiculous. However, even though she made light of the situation, Sara was touched by Michael's concern. Still smiling, Michael moved into the kitchen and rummaged through some cupboards. He found two cans of hotdogs and luckily the date had not yet expired. Unfortunately though, there were no frying pans and the old stove that occupied one whole corner of the kitchen was clearly no longer in working order. It now had some kind of plant growing straight through it. They were just going to have to cook the old fashioned way.

Lincoln soon got a fire going and Sara had managed to patch up her arm nicely. Michael scraped the outside layer off three sticks and gave two of them to his companions while keeping the third for himself. He then proceeded to open the cans of sausages and he handed them around. Sara laughed as she tried to get her hot dog to stay on the stick and she and said,

"Wow – I haven't done this since summer camp when I was about 9!"

Michael chuckled, sitting next to her on the rug in front of the fire.

"You went to camp as a kid?"

"Yeah – didn't you?"

"No – I never really got a chance. I mean, my mom died and my dad disappeared so there was never really much time for that kind of thing. But Lincoln went – right Linc?"

"Yeah and let me tell you – you didn't miss much – strange songs and campfires and being restricted to one small area for crazy periods of time!"

"You mean like prison?" Michael asked and they all laughed again. That was how they spent their evening reliving stories of their past by the fire and generally enjoying each other's company. Until Sara finally sat back with her back against the couch and quickly fell asleep. Michael reached behind him and grabbed the blanket from the sofa. He wrapped it gently around Sara and then sat back comfortably himself. For the first time, in a long time he could truthfully say that he was content.

Miles away back at the house the fugitives had left that morning dogs were still roaming the area in search of some trace of them. Finally, a victorious dog began barking frantically and the police officers rushed to investigate. At first it was impossible to see anything at all but eventually one officer's flashlight shined on a single drop of blood. Sergeant O'Brien glanced around at his officers and said,

"Well boys, it looks like we've found ourselves a trail."

With that he turned and dialled a number on his phone.

"Bellick"

"Sergeant O'Brien here, sir"

"What news do you have?"

"Well sir, it seems the dogs have been able to pick up a trail. Seems there was a blood trail we just couldn't find it at first but it's only a matter of time now till we find them"

"Well then get the dogs on it and find me those damn cons!"

"Yes sir, we'll get right on it"

With that Sergeant O'Brien got off the phone, gave his orders and the search for the Michael, Lincoln and Sara began . . .