Disclaimer: I'm honestly not sure what to put here, so... Apart from Bailey/Broken Arrow, I do not own the characters. Um... other legal stuff... If anyone has a better way to phrase this part, please let me know so I can update it.

Bailey was startled from sleep when she heard Heather scream. "We need to get to shore, now!" Uncle Wilfred said urgently. She sat up and saw a building on fire.

Smalls dug in with the oars and the boat quickly turned towards the shore. They landed just upstream of the building that was on fire.

"What's going on?" Bailey asked, concerned.

"The wolves must've gotten to Decker's Landing shortly before we did," Uncle Wilfred replied. "Stay low." They all ducked down into the boat. Bailey peeked over the edge.

"There," Heather whispered, pointing to a couple of wolves on a ridge behind Decker's Landing. "Seven."

"Yes," Uncle Wilfred agreed, nodding. "Well spotted, Heather." He motioned for quiet and pointed at some reeds near the shore.

"It's not Garlackson, is it?" Heather asked in a low whisper.

"No," Uncle Wilfred replied. "It's his wolves, under his command, but a different company. It would take Garlackson a while to get here."

"Decker?" Smalls asked.

"No sign of struggle from them," Uncle Wilfred replied, squinting. "Maybe he got out in time."

They reached the shore and Smalls quickly jumped from the boat, barely splashing. Uncle Wilfred followed and the two of them pulled the boat to shore. They brought it among the reeds and hid it as best they could. Picket was looking around and looked unsure of what to do.

"Let's go, Picket," Heather said, taking him by the arm.

"I'm not a child," Picket replied, pulling his arm away.

"Quiet," Smalls said, not looking back. Picket bristled. Smalls started to make hand signals. It looked like he was going to scout ahead while they waited behind. Smalls ran ahead across an open patch while Uncle Wilfred waited with the kids.

"Is it okay if I scout out and see if there are any other wolves that we can't see?" Bailey asked. "I can fly and they would never know I was there."

"Thanks for the offer," Uncle Wilfred replied, "but I think it would be better if we stuck together."

"Okay," Bailey replied, frowning slightly. She understood what he was saying, but she still wanted to do something important. It felt like all she did yesterday was help delay the wolves so those who could actually fight had time to get there.

"What's he doing?" Picket asked.

"He's scouting their location," Uncle Wilfred replied. "Seeing if we can slip past them unnoticed."

"He'll do anything for attention," Picket said under his breath, then quickly winced.

"That's unjust," Uncle Wilfred said, frowning, "and ungrateful. If it weren't for Smalls, Heather'd be dead, Bailey'd be dead, I'd be dead, and you would have had a time of it yourself."

Picket looked down and said something under his breath. Bailey looked over at Picket, concerned.

"Okay," Uncle Wilfred said, "he's tracking them now."

Bailey looked over towards Smalls. His hand was often on the hilt of his sword and he looked ready for anything. She glanced down at her dagger. Why hadn't she used it earlier? Smalls signaled seven with his hands and then gave a thumbs up. Uncle Wilfred returned the gesture.

"The rocky ground," Uncle Wilfred said, pointing, "over there at the forest edge." They nodded. "We're going to run for it. Soon. It's our best bet to get past these wolves."

"So we're running from them; is that it?" Picket said, shaking his head.

"Of course we are," Uncle Wilfred said, the frown returning.

"Do you really think it would be a good idea to try and fight them?" Bailey whispered, annoyance in her voice. "Last time there were only two…"

"Bailey," Uncle Wilfred said, cutting her off, "Now is not the time for this. Will you be able to run with your shoulder?"

"Yes," Bailey replied, "Actually it doesn't even hurt." She unwrapped it before Uncle Wilfred could stop her. He looked at it, amazed. Apart from the tear in her dress, you would have never known she had been bitten.

Bailey looked over at Smalls and saw his hand was flat, like he wanted them to wait. Then he bounced one finger up and down, which just confused Bailey.

"Be ready," Uncle Wilfred said, "We have to run full-out, do you understand? We cannot be seen. You have to run hard and focus on the woods. Run for the woods! We go when Smalls points to us." Almost before he finished saying it, Smalls pointed at them.

Bailey launched towards the woods. She ran low to the ground, using the grass as cover. Just two days ago, she was doing the same thing, but without any risk. Will my life ever go back to the way it was? she thought. She was only behind Heather.

Bailey made it to the woods and turned around, just in time to see Picket go sprawling. She gasped and went to help, but Uncle Wilfred held her back. Then she saw Smalls running towards him. He picked up Picket and sprinted towards the woods. Bailey let out a breath she hadn't known she had been holding once they reached the woods.

They were sprinting through the woods, everyone except Picket anyway. He was limping. Bailey knew he didn't want any help, so she didn't ask, but she did hang back. Picket shot her a glance that said he could handle himself, but Bailey just stayed where she was. She was watching and making sure that no one was following them.

"We have to hurry," Uncle Wilfred called. "If they saw us, we have almost no time." He looked at Picket and then his foot. "We're not safe yet."

They quickly made their way through the forest. Bailey had no idea where they were but was trying to pay attention just in case. She quickly gave up though. They were going on and off the path seemingly randomly. The further they went, the smaller the path got and the trees bent more towards it.

Bailey could tell that Picket’s foot hurt more than he let on. He was jumping on one foot and wincing every time he stepped on the other one. Heather started to hang back, so Bailey ran to catch up to Uncle Wilfred and Smalls. She smiled, despite the circumstances. Running through the woods was something she loved.

When Bailey had room, she took off, flying around branches, making sure to stay below the tops of the trees. She flew over Smalls, catching him by surprise. He watched her as she darted between the branches.

“You are very adept at flying in small spaces,” Smalls said.

“Thanks!” Bailey replied, flying back next to Smalls. “I used to fly around in the woods around Nick Hollow a lot.” Saying Nick Hollow reminded her of home, the home she had lost. Her smile was replaced with a frown as she landed and went back to running.

Smalls noticed it. “We’ll find your family.”

Bailey looked at him, smiling sadly. “Thanks. I wonder who my real family is though…” She rubbed the hilt of her dagger. Smalls looked curiously at it.

“If you would like, maybe we can talk about it once we get to Cloud Mountain,” Smalls suggested, knowing the feeling.

“That might help,” Bailey replied. “Wait, Cloud Mountain?” she asked, perking up. “Is it a mountain made of clouds?”

Smalls chuckled. “No, it is a mountain surrounded by clouds.”

“Oooohhhh!” Bailey exclaimed. “That makes more sense.” They cut through a clearing and into a thickly wooded valley. Bailey took off, easily gliding between trees.

“I have to stop,” Heather called from behind.

“Are you all right?” Smalls asked, spinning around and running to her.

“I’m okay,” Heather replied, “I just need a moment to rest.”

“I could use a rest too,” Smalls said after a brief pause. He sat down and let out a breath.

“I’m good,” Bailey said, gliding back towards them. “But, I could stop,” she said after a glance from Heather. She plopped down on a tree branch just above their heads. Picket was sitting with his back to them and holding a large stick.

“What’s up?” Uncle Wilfred asked. “Why are we stopping?” Heather and Smalls subtly pointed at Picket.

“Well,” Uncle Wilfred said, “I need a puff as well.” He walked over to Picket. “Let me have a look at that foot.”

Picket murmured something indistinct from where Bailey was. “Ouch!” Picket exclaimed when Uncle Wilfred touched his foot.

“Yes son, it’s clearly nothing,” Uncle Wilfred said, slight annoyance in his voice. Then he lowered his voice so only Picket could hear him. Bailey got bored and hung upside down on the branch.

Smalls glanced at her and shook his head.

"What?" Bailey said. "This isn't that weird."

Smalls just chuckled, and Heather giggled but tried to hide it.

A couple minutes later, Uncle Wilfred said, "We need to get going. We have about another hour of running, and the terrain gets rougher as we go." He picked up Picket and started jogging.

Bailey swung down from the tree, flipping midair and landing cleanly on her feet. Well, almost. After she landed, she slipped slightly and landed on her backside. She then got up, brushed herself off, and started jogging, trying to hide the blush forming on her face.

Uncle Wilfred and Picket were in the front, while Bailey, Heather and Smalls stayed farther back. Heather and Smalls were chit-chatting most of the time, with Heather sometimes glancing up at Picket. Smalls would sometimes draw his sword and glance towards the woods.

Bailey mostly stayed in the back. While she knew they didn't mean it, she kind of felt like she didn't quite fit in. Even back at Nick Hollow, she always had a feeling in the back of her mind that she didn't belong. They included her like their own child and the feeling came and went, but it was always there, whispering to her that she didn't belong.

As time wore on, Bailey switched from running to flying to give her legs a break from the steep slope. The trees grew low to the path, which made flying more difficult, but she enjoyed the challenge. It helped take her mind off what happened. She shuddered as the events replayed in her mind’s eye. I hope I made the right choice, she thought, worry on her face.

Soon, the forest grew too dense for Bailey to fly through and she returned to the ground. She felt a mist surround her, which was refreshing. But, she still was starting to feel the effects of running for so long. Wolves are made to run long distances, so she was doing better than Heather and almost as good as Uncle Wilfred and Smalls. But she could still only go so far. She hoped they got there soon because she didn’t know how much further she could go.

Sorry for the delay! I've been busy and just now finished it. I'm working on the seventh chapter right now. Hopefully, I can get it posted soon. As always, any feedback would be great and I hope you liked it!

Also, the last three paragraphs, I was listening to Recall by Brave Saint Saturn and kind of thought it fit, especially the second verse. If you want to listen, here's the link: https://youtu.be/_ewvpC9z9-o