Because I love you guys so much I've decided to post another chapter already yay! I know the first one was short and didn't really give you much but this one is a lot longer and may occupy you for a little longer until I can update again. Hope you enjoy it :)

Disclaimer: See Prologue.

Chapter 1

"Don't worry Hal. I'll take good care of them for you." The family were standing out the front of Craig's house and even under the circumstances Craig was still in a cheerful mood. Hal didn't care though, he was just thankful for his help.

"I can't thank you enough Craig. You don't know how much this means to me." Hal grabbed Craig's shoulder and gave it a light pat.

"Aww shucks. I wasn't doing anything else anyway so it's not a problem," Craig chuckled before turning serious. "Now just so that we're clear, it's just Lois and the young one right?"

"Yes," Hal answered. "I'll be taking Reese and Malcolm with me."

"Sounds great." Hal thought he heard Craig breathe a sigh of relief but ignored it and turned to his wife.

"Hal, I know I agreed to this but I'm having second thoughts. Are you sure we shouldn't just stay together?" She asked. Hal pulled her into a hug.

"Now honey we've been over this. I don't know how dangerous this is going to get but it's safer for you and Dewey to stay with Craig. We need you both out of harm's way for this." He pulled away and Lois nodded. He gave her a reassuring smile and then turned to the three boys.

"Malcolm, Reese. Say goodbye to your brother and mother," he ordered.

"Bye Dewey." Reese said a little sadly.

"Yeah, bye Dewey," Malcolm said. "Take care of mum for us." Both boys then walked over to Lois leaving Hal to say his own goodbye to his son.

"Now, I want you boys to be good for your father," Lois started. "Do everything he says and most of all..." A sob escaped from Lois' mouth and she struggled to continue.

"I just want you to be safe," she finally got out. Lois then knelt down and pulled them both into a tight hug. Both Malcolm and Reese were startled at first but then relaxed into her shoulder and mumbled a quick "Goodbye Mum."

"Dad, why do you have to go?" Dewey asked. Hal knelt down and looked at his youngest sons face. He looked so innocent, the poor little guy probably had no idea what was going on.

"I'm sorry son but we have to. You'll understand later." When Dewey didn't respond Hal continued. "Dewey, I'm gonna need you to do something important for me."

"What's that?" Dewey asked, puzzled.

"I'm gonna need you to be brave. Brave for you, brave for your mother, brave for this family. Do you think you can do that for me?" Hal asked. There was a short pause while Dewey thought about it.

"Sure Dad," Dewey said with a smile.

"That's my boy," Hal smiled proudly. "Goodbye son." Hal pulled him into a tight embrace.

"Hal, you probably should get going now," Craig interrupted. Hal reluctantly pulled away from Dewey.

"Yes, you're right," he replied. "Come on boys."

Malcolm and Reese gingerly left their mother's side and followed their father back to the car. Before getting in they briefly looked back at Lois and Dewey, knowing that this might be the last time they ever see each other. Lois, Dewey and Craig watched as half of the Wilkerson family drove away and out of their sight.

Detective Joseph Redford and a group of flashing police cars stood outside the newly vacated Wilkerson household. Around him, lower ranked police officers moved in every direction but he could only stand in the one spot. He was too outraged to do anything else because that wretched family had escaped! He stroked his black moustache in an attempt to calm himself down.

"Detective," a voice called from behind him, bringing him back to reality.

"Yes officer," he said impatiently.

"As you know, the whole squad have been searching every inch of the house-"

"Yeah yeah. Get to the point!" Redford interrupted angrily.

"Well...ah...sir we haven't found any leads as to where they may be headed but we can confirm that they left not 2 hours ago."

"How do you confirm that?" Redford didn't even bother trying to hide the irritation in his voice.

"One of the neighbours told us sir," the officer answered matter of factly.

"Hmm, let's just hope this nosy neighbour is right then," he said with a hint of sarcasm before walking away from the intimidated officer.

"Jacobs!" he barked. "Have you run their plates yet?" The officer named Jacobs poked his head out of the open door of the car he was seated in.

"Yes sir. The system is running it through now."

"Well make it go faster," he yelled back. "I don't know about you but I certainly don't have all night to wait!"

"Yes sir," Jacobs replied back, clearly irritated.

"Honestly, sometimes I think I'm in charge of a group of school kids!" Redford muttered to no one in particular before going back to supervising the search.

"Sir!" Jacobs called out from the car. "We've got 'em!"

"What?" Redford called back angrily.

"I said we've found them!"

"Well it's about time," the detective let out impatiently while making his way over to Jacobs car.

"A car matching the description and registration as the vehicle in question has just been spotted on highway 9," Jacobs informed him.

"Excellent," Redford exclaimed gruffly. "Highway 9. There's only one way in and one way out. We've got you now!"

"Sir, orders," Jacobs was a little weirded out by his detective's lapse in concentration.

"Ah, gather everyone together and let's get going. I'm not going to let them escape a second time!"

Hal, Reese and Malcolm were standing near a lake where just minutes ago they had watched as their car had floated, sunk, and then gradually disappeared into the depths of the murky water. They had stood in silence ever since. Hal breathed in deeply before breaking breaking the silence.

"Come on boys. We need to keep going." The three of them slowly trudged their way through the thick mud and bushes back onto the open road.

"Where are we going?" Reese asked.

"I don't know Reese," Hall answered. "I was hoping I'd have an idea by now but nothing's come to me." Feeling defeated, they continued walking. Suddenly Malcolm stopped.

"Wait a minute!" he exclaimed, causing his father and brother to turn around and stare at him. "This is highway 9, right? There should be an old abandoned factory along here somewhere. We could stay there!" Hal and Reese stared at him for a moment longer while they processed this.

"Alright then," Hal finally responded. "We don't have anywhere else to go so we might as well." With spirits a little lifted they continued walking, keeping an eye out for the abandoned factory. Not much was said though, they were all to focused on their movements with the huffing and puffing that escaped their lungs not making their travels any easier. Finally, after about half an hour they found it.

"Well Malcolm. You were right," Reese managed to say between gulps of air.

"Of course I was right. I'm a genius remember?" Malcolm was equally out of breath. Hal was about to say something but he closed his mouth abruptly when he heard them.

"Sirens," Malcolm voiced. They were still 30 metres away from the factory entrance and the sirens were getting closer and louder.

"Come on boys. Run!" Hal screamed. The last 30 metres of their journey seemed like an eternity. Not only had trees overgrown over the driveway but some of their branches had completely fallen off onto it and with virtually no light to guide them they kept tripping over. From his spot behind the boys the boys Hal helplessly raced after them, partly feeling old and slow but mostly because he didn't want his sons falling behind him.

Reese was the first to reach the front door. Unfortunately, the glass door was locked.

"Who would lock an abandoned building!" he cried out of fear and panic.

"Reese, smash the glass!" he heard Malcolm call from behind him. Not wasting a second more he scrunched his right hand into a fist and punched it through. Luckily for him the glass wasn't strong and his fist flew through it with ease.

"I meant with a rock you idiot!" Malcolm exclaimed as he reached Reese's side. Quickly Malcolm pulled his brothers hand out of the hole in the glass and put his own through it to unlock the door. As Hal got closer to the two they were pulling the door open and holding it ajar for him.

"Go boys, don't worry about me!" he watched them disappear inside. 3 more strides and Hal had finally reached the door. Letting out a sigh of relief he opened the door and then stared at it in horror. In the reflection were the unmistakable flashing lights of a police car with more following. They had all just reached the driveway and would be at the door any second! Making an executive decision Hal bolted through the door and ran after the boys, finding them not too far away climbing a staircase.

"Dad, come on!" Reese called out.

"No boys. I can't." Hal's voice was calm.

"What!" Malcolm and Reese both screamed.

"They saw me. But they didn't see you. You have to go on without me."

"No!"

"Quick! You still have time to go out the back door. I'll stall them for you."

"Dad, no," Malcolm said quietly.

"It's okay son. It's up to you two now. You have to save the family. We're counting on you." Hal gave them an encouraging smile before casually walking back the way he came.

The boys waited, the only thing they could hear were the police sirens. That is until they heard gun shots.

What did you think guys? I have to say that my favourite line is "I meant with a rock you idiot!" lol. Well hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I did writing it and you are still quite welcome to review anytime you like. Thanks for reading and I will update as soon as I can :)