Eugene was beginning to tire, every step sending a jolt of pain through his leg, but he didn't let up. They had to get as far away from the buses as they could. The woods, at least, would get them out open, provide cover away from the screeching birds that dogged them. One came perilously close but held back for some inexplicable reason. He didn't think he would be that lucky a second time.

But his strength was flagging. He began to slow, just a little, and Rapunzel noticed. He shook his head and pulled her along, closer to an embankment. The trees were just a few feet beyond. "I can, and I will," he told her, gritting his teeth as they left the smooth, paved road in favor of the less forgiving gravel on the side of the highway. Man, that hurt. "At least until we find somewhere to hide." A cave or a tree or something away from the road and the birds who were circling ever closer.

He shot her a quick, pale grin. "Listen to Red over there if you're not going to listen to me."

Just then, he stepped on a large rock he hadn't seen in the darkness. Eugene's ankle turned, he overbalanced, and then he fell.