Hi guys! I'm back with another chapter! Things are going to get interesting in this one..

I will note however that when I wrote this chapter I was going to have a person use a gun that fires without sound. There is a gun, that was going to be used by the military in the 1940's (I think, it's been awhile since I read up on it, I wrote this month's age) but they scrapped the idea since accuracy was terrible. This was supposed to be the gun the villain used in this chapter but since then I've decided it isn't. It's just a normal gun. However, I haven't been able to change it in this chapter so please excuse this particular mistake in my writing...

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and a huge thank you to all those who have reviewed this story. In response to a review from Simon, yes, I will be expanding on Jack and Lisa's relationship and adding in storylines I feel that would suit them. The whole point of this story was Jack and Lisa, but also adding a girl into the mix (I can't say any more without giving out MAJOR spoilers) I love Jack and Lisa's characters so much, which is why they are the main characters in this story, but I also wanted to see how they would react to a young girl sort of joining the family...

Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 4

The girl crouched over the stallions neck, holding her arm as he bolted down the road back towards the high country. His hoof had torn a nice gash in her arm and even though it wasn't extremely deep, it was bleeding profusely. She needed to stop, to look after it. 'Woah boy, woah.' The stallion slowed to a trot, then halted and looked back at her with his wide brown eyes. 'Its alright boy, I'm okay. It wasn't your fault, you didn't mean it.' Lifting up the jackets and jumpers she had stolen, she ripped a strip off cloth off from the inside and tied it in a tourniquet around her left arm.

Slowly, the bleeding stopped and she bandaged up the gash with the strip of cloth. It hurt awfully, but it was nothing compared to what she had had before. It wasn't anything she couldn't bear. 'Alright, let's get moving.' Holding onto his mane with her right hand, she held her left arm up against her chest as he jumped forward into a canter then into gallop. At least she had gotten what she had come for and as they traveled further away from the town her heart slowly stopped racing.

She knew that the man and woman had only been trying to help, but she couldn't chance it. She couldn't, didn't want to be found. She would have to move again. It wasn't safe for her to be around the area any more. If those people knew the person who was after her, they could tell him that she had been in the town and it would only be a matter of time before he would find her. She just couldn't risk it. They had to move again.

The moon rose higher as the girl struggled to stay awake, the rocking motion of the stallion underneath her making her feel even sleepier but she wouldn't allow herself to go to sleep. They had to get back to the cave first. She would be safe there, for the night and then she would have to move again. She had no choice. She knew that someone had been at the cave the night before. Someone knew where she was and it was just too risky. She knew it had been too good to last, being safe all those years near Pike River but now she was running again. The only difference this time was that she had a horse to do the running for her.

The trees flashed past as she turned him off the road and back into the forest, the light from the moon casting eairy shadows on the ground but the girl wasn't afraid. She had lived in the forest nearly all her life. It was as part of her as breathing. She was one, one with nature. Nature wasn't scary, it was humans that kept her in constant fear. Nature and the wilderness were her friends, as long as she kept her wits about her. She could read the weather, could smell in the air that winter was coming. She would be safe once the first blizzards hit the high country till spring came. The person after her wouldn't be able to follow her in the blinding deep snow. She just needed to survive, and then get further away.

Leaning forward over his withers as the stallion climbed up a steep rocky hill, she shivered as she felt something watching her. Turning her eyes back, she couldn't see anything behind her but still she couldn't shake the feeling in her stomach. Her past would catch up with her in time, it was only a matter of time before that happened but until then she would do everything she could to avoid it. She was barely twelve, yet she felt like she was thirty as she glanced back again as the ground leveled out onto a plato. She was running, literally running for her life and soon there wouldnt be anywhere left to run…..

Lisa yawned as she heard the noise of people stirring, wondering why she could hear that then remembered as she opened her eyes. She was in Jack's house, on his coach and not at home like she should have been. Rubbing her face, she sat up as she heard a door open and Lou walked into the living room. 'Morning Lou.'

'Lisa!' Lou jumped in surprise as she heard the woman's voice. 'I didn't know you stayed the night.'

Lisa chuckled a little as she stood up and threw another log on the fire as Lou came over to her. It was still dark outside, barely five in the morning but she was used to being up at this time. 'Yeh, something came up while we were at dinner last night and by the time I got back I was too tired to drive home so Jack invited me to stay the night. I guess that I must have fallen asleep on the couch. Anyway-' She looked at Lou. 'How was your date in Calgary with Scott?'

'Good, and terrible at the same time.' Lou sat down beside her on the couch and rubbed her eyes. 'There was an accident on the freeway and we didn't end up getting back to Hudson until midnight.'

'Sounds like you had a big night too.'

'Something like that.' Lou chuckled, then looked at the clock. 'I better get breakfast started or the others will be up before its ready.'

'Would you like some help?'

'Sure, I'd appreciate that.' She got up and walked into the kitchen, flicking on a light switch then going over to the fridge. 'Looks like I better do some shopping today.' She groaned as she saw that the fridge was almost empty again. 'On top of everything else.'

'If you need me too, I'd be happy to grab them for you. I've got to go back to Hudson today anyway to pick up some stuff and your place is on the way home.'

'Could you?'

'Sure. I'd be happy too.' Lisa grabbed out a frypan and placed it on the stovetop as Lou started making mixture for pancakes. 'So, other then getting stuck in traffic, how was last night?'

'Good.' That was all she was going to answer, looking at her with a cheeky grin. 'And you?'

'Good.' She chuckled, knowing both of them weren't about to share what had happened on their dates, but there was something that she could share with her. 'Actually, a little weird and spooky too.'

Lou raised her eyebrows. 'How come?'

'Well, when we were coming out of the diner, there was this girl going through the bins looking for food. When Jack tried to talk to her, she took off on the horse that was with her then just disappeared.' She handed Lou the eggs, then a whisk to stir the batter. 'It was really weird. It was almost like she was a ghost they way they just disappeared but they aren't ghosts because she fell off the horse the first time she tried to jump the fence and there was blood on the ground.'

'Jump a fence? You mean the one at the end of that alleyway that's like six foot?'

'Yep. That fence.' Lisa placed the butter into the pan as it warmed up, ready for the batter. 'They cleared it with inches to spare then by the time we got out the back they were gone. It was all on camera too, Maggie gave us a copy of it. We showed it to Amy last night, wondering if maybe she knew the horse if it had been stolen by the kid but she didn't recognize it.'

'And the kid definitely wasn't from around here?' Lou poured some of the mixture into the pan then went back to the fridge.

'Yeh, I've never seen her before.' She placed the dirty measuring cups in the sink, then turned back to Lou. 'She looked so skinny Lou, I've never seen a child in her shape before and when Jack tried to talk to her I could see the fear in her eyes. She was really afraid.'

'Are you two talking about the ghost?' Mallory asked as she walked into the kitchen, then sat down at the table and helped herself to a glass of milk. 'I still say she's a ghost, if she disappeared like that.'

'Do ghosts eat Mallory?'

'Ummm.'

'Exactly.' Lou flipped over the pancakes, then looked back at her. 'So please, stop with the ghosts.'

'Alright, alright.' Mallory put her hands up in surrender. 'So, if she isn't a ghost, then who is she?'

'A kid that is probably not too well off trying to survive on her own.' Jack interrupted as he joined them in the room, having heard their chatter from his bedroom and decided to get the jump on getting his breakfast before the others got up. 'Mallory, the kid we saw last night had to have been the person who was here and who stole feed from Fairfield the other night. If she comes back, you arent to go anywhere near her-'

'Why?' She interrupted, grabbing the first pancake off the plate as Lou placed it on the table. 'Its just a kid.'

'And she has a gun. That's why I want you to stay clear of her if she shows up again. If she does, let me handle it. I don't want you or anyone else getting hurt.'

'I don't think she would intentionally hurt anyone.' Lisa added as she grabbed her pancakes and sat down with Mallory and Jack. 'But still its best to be cautious.'

'Why don't you tell the police?'

'If, and that's a very big if, if we see her again and I can't talk to her I will let the police know. At the moment though, she's not hurting anyone and the likelihood of us seeing her again is very small.' He grabbed himself his breakfast as Lou made more pancakes. 'But if she does come back here, I want you to promise me that you won't try and go near her.'

'Fine.' Mallory rolled her eyes. 'I promise.'

By the time that the girl and her horse reached the cave, the first rays of the early morning sun were peaking over the horizon. She was exhausted, utterly exhausted and her body cried for sleep. She hadn't slept for nearly twenty-six hours and she could barely keep her eyes open.

The stallion slowed to a jog as he climbed up the incline towards the cave, then slowed to a walk as he entered. Cougar rose and walked over to them as the girl slipped off his back and wearily walked over to her deerskin bed. 'Hey girl. I'm back now.' She sank down on the skin as Cougar sat beside her, rubbing and purring against her. Unwrapping the bloodied bandage, she could see the first signs of infection in the gash that she had and groaned. That was something she really didn't need. She needed to be able to hunt, but her arm was really sore and if it got badly infected she wouldn't be able to hunt for a good while.

Moaning again, she pushed Cougar away as she reached for her waterskin and began to wash away the dried blood. The wound wasn't extremely deep, but it was nasty and sore. Tearing off another piece of cloth she wrapped it around her arm then laid down. She needed sleep, then they would have to move again…

The girl vaguely became aware of something brushing against her face and she opened her eyes sleepily. It was the stallion, he was nudging her then looking towards the entrance to the cave and snorting. All at once, the girl was awake as she sat up and looked out to the surrounding forest down the slope. Something had gotten him upset, something was wrong. 'What is it boy? What's wrong?'

Standing up, she pulled out her pistol and checked to see if it was loaded then placed it back in its holster. The smell of rotting meat reached her nose and she saw that the deer had gone bad. She wouldn't be able to eat it now, it's wasn't any good other then for Cougar to eat. So now instead of needing to just find a place to hide she needed to find more food too. 'We better get moving again boy.' Patting his shoulder, she grabbed a piece of bread that she had taken from the bin last night out of the saddlebag where she had put it and quickly ate it then turned back to Cougar. 'Stay here girl. Watch my stuff. You can eat the deer too now. I can't.' The mountain lion purred again as she rubbed against he and the girl chuckled. The lion was smarter than most humans she had met and she gave her another pat. 'Good girl. Stay here.'

Pulling herself onto her horse, she headed back out of the cave and down the hill into the forest. She needed to find somewhere else to hide, and soon. Someone had been here, she was sure of it. Quickly, she urged him to go faster and he broke into a lope towards the lower country. There had been a place she had seen near the ranch she had been the other night that was secluded but still close to where she could get water and swipe stuff from the ranch. She knew that she needed to get something for her arm and could guess that they would have a first aid kit there she could swipe some supplies from. It wasn't the best hiding place, but it would do for now. She would only be there for a couple of days then she would move on again. It would suffice for now.

As they came into a clearing, the stallion went into a gallop as they bolted across the plain towards the ranch. The girl looked over her shoulder again as she felt someone or something watching her. There, on the edge of the trees on a motorbike was the man. 'Go boy! Go!' Kicking him in the flanks as the man turned on the bike he bolted towards the shelter of the trees on the other side. 'Go boy! GO! GO!'

His ears flat against his face as the motorbike got closer and closer he pounded his hooves into the ground as the girl urged him on faster. She could hear the motorbike gaining on them and as she looked back over her shoulder she kicked the horse again. They had to get away, they had to make it to the trees where she could disappear like a ghost and wait till he had gone. 'Faster boy! faster!' Again she kicked him and again the stallion responded with a burst of speed that took her breath away and made her eyes sting from the wind. The trees were closer now, but so was the motorbike.

Suddenly, she heard the bike getting closer and closer again. She had to do something, had to get away. She looked forward again, her heart pounding then she wheeled her stallion around and drew her gun. Quickly, she fired three shots towards him from her pistol. The bike stopped suddenly as a bullet went through the front tyre and the man was thrown forward over the handlebars. She might have missed the man, but he wouldn't be chasing her anytime soon with a flat tyre. It would buy her a few minutes, enough for her to get away. 'Let's go boy!'

Wheeling him around she placed her gun back in its holster, then held on tight to his mane as he bolted towards the trees. 'Go boy! Go!' She encouraged, nudging him on as she heard a small pop as a gun was fired behind her. 'GO!'

She took a glance over her shoulder as they were about to enter the trees. The man was standing now, rifle in hand aiming at her. A rush of adrenaline flooded through her as she pounded her heels into the stallions flanks. She heard another shot fired, and a bullet whizzed over her head then a sharp shooting pain wracked her body as she heard another two shots and felt the bullets rip into her back. Her vision was clouding, her grip slipping as more bullets either whizzed past her or imbedded themselves in her body. The stallion screamed under her as he almost went down, then regained his feet and kept galloping forward to the safety of the trees where they could hide.

She slumped over on the stallions back as the horse bolted into the trees, gasping from the pain and her vision going black. 'I'm sorry boy, I'm sorry.' She whispered as everything went black and her head went down against his shoulder as she laid limp on his back…

Oooooookkkkkkaaaaaaaayyyyyyy, I'll leave it right there! I know, it's a mean cliff-hanger but I'm sure that you will all survive till I upload the next chapter! Adios!