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Despite that Hannil clearly knew how to drive a motorcycle, Noah was no-less convinced it would end in tragedy as they sped out of the city of Lausanne and into the country.

Not even as Hannil slowed his speed and his snickering became words of encouragement for Noah to open his eyes did he settle. It wasn't until Hannil fully stopped the bike and set one of his feet down that Noah unscrewed his eyes, the city had flashed by in darkened shadows behind his eyelids, his heart echoed the rhythm of the engine.

The scenery of a sloped hill of a farm met his eyes, some cows were in the distance on the green grass, the hills behind them, a house so far off it blended into the tree-line. Noah followed Hannil's eyes onto the scenery on the other side of the bike; several more farms dotted down the hill, more livestock ambled around in the morning light. The sun came over the lake that sat on the bottom, the city of Lausanne was in shades of cream and red on the distant lake.

"It's beautiful," Noah said.

"It's good to see the scenery," Hannil replied before the bike began to move forward again and Noah felt his leg move back on the bike. He had settled.

It was slow and Noah kept his eyes open as he hung onto Hannil, the lake went by them. The trees hung over the dirt road, it was hardly two lanes and Hannil stuck to the right. They went by more and more farms, some people saw them but hardly paid them any attention.

The scenery was entrancingly beautiful; there was not a spot that wasn't covered in lavish colors from blue to white to green to purple. The mountains took them higher and higher, to where the roads went from cobblestone to dirt to asphalt and back to dirt. They had to pause several times for the animals that were crossing from section to section of farmlands.

Noah became comfortable enough to sit back and kept his eyes open, watching the sky and even touching low-hanging branches when the bike slowed. They stopped only a couple of times, Hannil made a joke out of stealing fruit from a tree that hung over the road.

By the time that sun was in the center of the sky, they had come to a pause on a dirt path that came to asphalt in front of them. The bike idled loudly.

"What's wrong?" Noah asked when Hannil didn't pass the stop sign.

"Around that bend is France," Hannil replied.

Noah looked to where the road turned with a tunnel of trees, it ended abruptly into the thicket of trees.

"Can't see if there is a checkpoint or not," Noah commented.

"No," Hannil said, his tone bitter. He sighed heavily, "I never thought I'd actually be sneaking into France. Or going to France as a tourist. Or going to France in general."

"Why is this guy so aggressive toward English people?"

"Long story," Hannil replied, "I mean, England did take over half of the planet. They're friendly with France now...but, we still hate them and they hate us. A mutual distaste, if you will."

"I feel like plenty of people go in and out of France," Noah said.

"It's complicated," he sighed softly, "Like I said: long story."

To Noah's surprise, Hannil took a sharp right onto the asphalt road that ran parallel to the border.

"Where are we going now?" Noah asked.

"I don't like taking chances," Hannil replied, "If I can avoid one I don't have to take then I will."

Noah puzzled but didn't have time to voice his worries. The further they went down the road the more cars, people, houses, and livestock they saw. It was desolate compared to the city, but it was more than Noah expected.

"Several of these properties connect to the French border," Hannil said softly after they swerved around a flock of sheep. "If we can go through one and end up on the other side, that would be best."

"Isn't that trespassing?"

"Are you going to keep a list of my crimes?"

Noah chuckled nervously, "I'd prefer not to get caught."

"Yeah, me too."

Hannil continued down the road until he took a sudden turn to the left and went down a gravel driveway toward a farmhouse and barn. Noah sunk into the seat, using Hannil as a shield.

"Hannil," he whispered, "someone lives here!"

Hannil didn't answer, only turned the bike toward the barn and drove along the gravel space it sat on, several barred windows went by as the bike made its way around the barn until it stopped in the shadow of the barn.

"That's France," he pointed ahead into the field. "Their property will connect right to a French road."

"I think people will notice!" Noah whispered.

"How often have you paid attention to someone that looks like they know what they're doing?"

"What?"

"People that look like they know what they're doing don't get questioned. Almost everyone assumes the best of everyone else."

"I don't think that's true."

"It is," Hannil nodded, "for all you know I'm going to kill you in France, but you trust that I won't."

"Don't joke about that."

"It'd be real easy," Hannil continued, "No one knows where you are or where you were. You'd just disappear."

"Hannil!"

He laughed, "I'm not going to kill you, Squeak. I'd be lonely."

Noah sighed heavily.

"I'm guessing you're not ready?" Hannil asked as he tapped his leg.

"I'm not."

"Good," Hannil nodded before he revved the engine and the bike sprung forward once again.

Noah felt as though the lower he got, the less likely it was for them to be seen as Hannil followed a track made by some kind of truck through the field. Several animals ignored them as they drove by, Noah guessed that it was likely the truck that made their path was just as noisy.

Noah watched behind them as they went over the hill, the house and barn they snuck between vanished into the grassy hill.

Their path turned away toward France once again, but only a small hill hung between them and another farm along with a split-rail fence.

"Shit," Hannil muttered before he stopped the bike and whispered: "Hop off, hop off."

Noah clumsily got off of the bike, his body vibrated, his legs felt like jello. He had a smile he could not control yet his anxiety just as uncontrolled. Hannil turned off the bike and dismounted.

"Hold it upright," Hannil whispered and pointed at the seat.

"What are we doing?" Noah asked as he held onto the seat.

"We have to get through somehow."

Hannil and Noah walked the bike to the fence, the grass looked as though it had been cut recently and it left their path obscured by tracks of a different kind. A cow stood on the other side of the fence, watching them as it chewed on grass.

"France?" Noah asked as they looked the fence over.

"France," he nodded.

Hannil left the bike with Noah and grabbed onto the top rail of the fence. He shook it for a moment and seemed pleased when it rattled. Noah gripped the handlebars tighter when Hannil began to drag the top rail of the fence and his anxiety was overtaken by his surprise when the rail came out of its post and fell to the ground.

"That is heavy," Hannil muttered before he took off his helmet and handed it back to Noah.

Noah watched anxiously as Hannil pulled out the second rail and gestured for Noah to push the bike through the gap he made. Hannil had been driving it so easily, then pushing it so easily, that Noah had expected it to be lighter than it was. Instead, it was heavier and he hardly had time before he found himself on the ground when he tried to push with all of his might and Hannil laughed wholeheartedly as he kept the bike from falling on top of Noah.

"You alright?" Hannil tried to suppress his laughter but it bubbled out.

"Fine," Noah replied bashfully before he stood upright and took ahold of the handlebars again.

Hannil held onto the seat as Noah pushed the bike through into the French farm's grass that was significantly higher and the wheels depressed each blade. It gave Noah anxiety to stand on it, but he saw no other way to be. Hannil jumped to the other side and lifted the rails back into place. Noah could see the sweat on his brow as he looked back to him.

Hannil dusted off his gloves on his jeans as he looked back on the farm they came through.

"Goodbye, Switzerland," Hannil said, "I hope to only visit you once more to burn Leuthold."

Noah chuckled at his words, held the bike in place until Hannil put his helmet back on. Noah's eyes drifted to the cow when Hannil took the bike back. It was brown and white and was paying more attention to the grass than them despite that it stood only a few feet away.

"Hi," Noah said it.

The cow looked up at him and mooed in a strange way before it skittered away from him. Noah frowned but didn't have much time to think about it before he had to follow Hannil to the path made by some other large vehicle in the tall grass.

Noah and Hannil pushed the bike to the driveway of the French farmhouse before they mounted it once again. Noah still felt the engine revving in his body before Hannil started it.

The bike lurched forward but Noah was more prepared for it; he had a tight hold on Hannil as they drove onto an asphalt road. Noah took in a deep breath through his helmet, feeling his anxiety melt a bit as he saw that no one had seen them.

"Welcome to France, Noah Cooper," Hannil told him softly.

Noah chuckled, "Wasn't it too easy?"

"'Too easy'?!" Hannil replied loudly, "I was the one that had to light the massive beams and memorize a way here! You've done nothing!"

Noah grit his teeth and began to retract his hands from Hannil's shoulders.

"Teasing," Hannil shook his head, "I'm only teasing you."

"Oh," Noah breathed before he settled down.

Hannil reached down and gently patted Noah's leg, "You'll figure it out soon enough."

The trees parted on Noah's left side, bringing to his attention the large valley and how high up they were. He could see for miles, he thought as Hannil sped along. His tinted visor let him look up and around for any towering mountains, when he found none, he only looked back to the far-off cities and smaller mountains.

It became dusk by the time they entered another major city. They had driven by many vineyards and places where it was easy for them to steal fruit and get water from the Euros Hannil carelessly took out of the bank. Noah had stopped asking, he found it easier to ignore Hannil's spending than to argue with him. He only hoped his family would forgive him.

Noah's legs were numb when he got off of the bike, as if he had been on a rollercoaster for so long he forgot how to stand and nearly toppled into a car. Hannil laughed as he helped him back up and set him upright. Hannil didn't seem to have a problem; Noah frowned as he held onto the bike for support.

"I'll find us an inn, yeah?" Hannil asked as if Noah had an option. "Don't wander off, Squeaker," he said as he passed him, ruffled his hair, and managed not to get hit by the ongoing traffic.

They had stopped the bike in a side-street. The main road was one Hannil had crossed out yet it passed parallel to the direction they came. Cars were going quickly and pedestrians didn't seem to fear them. With a deep breath, Noah tried to walk around the bike to take off his helmet.

"Hey, hey, there's a bloke!" A girl's voice shouted.

Noah looked down to see a girl with box braids racing toward him, a boy with gelled, black hair came running with her. Noah held onto his helmet anxiously as they approached; he hoped he wasn't their target, but he soon realized he was.

They stopped only a few feet from him, they were his age and clearly exhausted. The girl put her hands on her knees and the man had to use the wall to support himself. They were both panting and covered in sweat.

"You speak English?" The girl asked in a heavy English accent. "Those are English plates, yeah?" She pointed at the bike.

"I'm American," Noah said softly.

"Oh, good, you're a bloody native," the girl laughed as she leaned back over to try to catch her breath.

Noah set his helmet down on the bike's seat, it was still warm from his and Hannil's body heat.

"Is something wrong?" Noah asked when they only panted.

"One minute," the man said, he had an accent of a different kind.

"Right," Noah nodded.

"We were just doing our bloody jobs," the girl said as she straightened herself out, "and everything goes to hell about twenty minutes ago! Tell me you know what happened?"

"Sorry," Noah shook his head, "I only got here about thirty minutes ago."

"God damn it," the girl leaned back over before she straightened herself out and began to fix her blue leather jacket. "That's Aneish T'runo, I'm Tipp Monrog."

"Hi," Noah waved at them, "I'm Noah Cooper."

Tipp laughed, "You hear that?" She looked back at Aneish, "He is a bloody native."

Noah chuckled, "I'm not native to France."

"Who bloody is?!" Aneish laughed before he looked down at Tipp, "Did I use that correct?"

"Yeah, it'd be 'correctly' though," Tipp nodded as she held the wall before she looked at Noah, "I hate bloody running. You got a bike at least."

"I don't—I don't drive it," Noah said.

Upon hearing footsteps, Noah turned to see Hannil jogging toward them. He looked worried, his eyes were wide until he looked at the situation and seemed to calm down.

"And who are you?" Tipp asked, "Harry Potter?"

Hannil hesitated for a long moment. "Hannil Sinclair," he finally answered.

Tipp looked surprised before she pointed between herself and Hannil. "Good to know," she said.

"Right," Hannil chuckled with a nod.

"What are the two of you doing all the way out here?" Tipp asked when she slightly regained control of her breathing.

Noah looked to Hannil, unwilling to say what came to mind and in part support for what memories the very idea of them running brought up.

"Fine, don't tell me," Tipp waved her, "Just want to know if either of you saw something weird as you came in."

"No," Hannil answered quickly.

"Nothing?" Tipp gestured behind her.

"Came in that way," Hannil pointed in the opposite direction. "Can't help you, sorry."

"Great," Tips breathed, "Thanks, anyway."

"Sorry," Noah shrugged, uncertain what else to say.

Tipp waved her hand dismissively, "No skin off your backs. Need to stop working anyway." She turned and spoke to Aneish in another language, whatever she said made Aneish cringe and Noah looked to Hannil who shrugged as if to say he didn't know what she said either.

"I got us a place to stay," Hannil said quietly to Noah, "Back this way."

"That quickly?" Noah asked.

"Have some faith!" Hannil tapped his shoulder.

"You found a place to stay?" Tipp asked before she looked back and Aneish, "We've been here all god damn day and not found a thing."

"I'm sure we can show you where it is," Noah offered.

"Oh, thank the damn native!" Tipp clasped her hands together.

Hannil did not look as certain as Noah expected. It was nearly startling how Hannil looked concerned more than anything, even confused. When he noticed Noah watching, he grabbed his shoulder and smiled kindly.

"We'll show you all the way then," Hannil said before he turned back to the bike and began to take their things out of the storage compartment.

Noah helped him roll the bike around the corner and set it in a small inn's parking spot. The inn itself was only two floors and had a faded, blue roof.

"An actual thing then?" Tipp asked.

"Yeah," Hannil nodded.

"That's some skill you've got, mate," Tipp replied.

Hannil chuckled and handed the bags to Noah.

"I'll help them check in then come back," he said as he handed Noah a key.

Noah saw the number 9 on the key tag and happily left the talkative two with Hannil. The room Noah found was nowhere near as nice as the suite Noah had woken up in. It was crowded, had two beds with white, metal frames, and a small bathroom.

He set their bags on one of the beds and began to head back to the door when he heard a small noise from the bathroom. Paranoid, Noah wanted to bolt out of the room and find Hannil wherever he was to investigate. He thought, for a moment, that he could make it by the bathroom before anyone inside the bathroom could get ahold of him. It only lasted for a moment before Noah saw a small, grey cat scurry out of the bathroom and out into the hall.

He took in a deep breath before he went to the bathroom and looked inside of it; he hadn't given it a great look when he walked by it and knew that he could have easily missed a cat being inside. He turned on the lights for a moment, from the doorframe he could see every inch of the bathroom.

Just when he went to turn it, a small glint of light caught his eye. A part of the rectangular mirror had fallen to the ground. It was only a shard and Noah picked it up. The edge of the mirror was only a bit damaged, showing a strange, metal-like backing to it. With a shrug, Noah tossed the mirror fragment into the trashcan before he turned his attention to the hall at the noise of Hannil's voice.

"Did you see that cat?" Noah asked as Hannil came into their hotel room.

"Cat?" Hannil asked.

"Yeah, it was grey and cute," Noah walked back out into the hallway and looked to both sides. He saw another black and white cat at the end of the hall, staring down the staircase.

"Must've been the owners," Hannil replied, "It's a cat-friendly place." He patted him on the back, "No mice, I promise you."

"Are you teasing me again?" Noah spun around. 

Hannil only laughed.