Briar drove carefully through the maze of side streets, as Ashley gazed out the window, watching the mid-morning traffic. "When we get out on the highway, and make it a little further out of LA, whaddya say we go through a drive-thru or something, and grab something to drink?"

      "Yeah, that sounds good, I guess," he replied, in a slightly distracted tone. Then, sitting up straigher in the seat, he said, "Do you mind if I ask you something?"

      "Go for it, dude."

      "I was just kinda wondering about something you and Cody were talking about awhile ago. Who's Ellie, and why are you paying him to hang out with her?"

      A smile crossed her face, and she gestured briefly to the manila envelope lying next to her on the seat. "Ellie's my baby," she informed him. "Go ahead, take a look."

      His eyebrows raising at the words, he rather hesitantly picked up the envelope and opened the flap, drawing out a sheaf of computer paper. Glancing at the first one, he saw a picture of Cody, astride a glossy buckskin horse, with a chocolate-brown mane and tail, and matching "socks" extending over halfway up all four legs.

       "She's a beauty," he replied sincerely, his face relaxing as he leafed through the rest of the pictures. "I didn't know you liked horses. I have one of my own, a chestnut quarterhorse. His name is Apache."

      "Ellie's a Morgan, she used to be a racehorse, but they decided to sell her because she didn't win enough races to suit them," she explained. "One of the handlers on the movie I was doing at the time knew the owners, and they called him to see if he wanted her. He wasn't in the market just then, but he knew I was thinking about getting one, and he hooked us up. The actual name on her papers is 'Electric Barbarella', so I just shortened it a bit."

      "Isn't that the name of a movie?" he inquired.

      She giggled, and said, "Yes, and no. 'Barbarella' is an old sci-fi movie, but 'Electric Barbarella' is the title of a Duran Duran song. Since she has a sister called 'Save A Prayer', and a brother named 'Rio', I'm assuming that the original owner was a fan."

      Ashley placed the pictures back into the envelope, and said, "Well, when everything finally gets back to normal, maybe we should get together sometime with Ellie and Apache, and ride some of the trails."

      "Sounds good to me," she responded, as she turned into the onramp which would take them to the freeway. Merging with the traffic, she drove down Interstate 101, carefully observing the speed limit in order to minimize the chances of a traffic stop. They continued on for several miles, until Ashley spotted a 7-11 store as they crossed into the city of Thousand Oaks.

      "Hey, Tink," he said, gesturing toward the store. "If you still wanna grab a drink, that looks like as good a place as any."

      She clicked on the turn signal and drove into the lot, easing the truck into a parking slot. As she started to open the door, they observed a group of teenagers entering the store, two of whom were wearing BVB t-shirts. Ashley settled back into his seat, saying, "Maybe I should just let you go in. No sense taking a chance on being recognized."

      Briar was gazing past him at something across the parking lot as he spoke, and then she reached into her purse, pulled out several bills, and replied. "You're probably right, but you don't have to hide in here. That hardware store over there is having a sidewalk sale, so maybe you could run over there and snag a couple of flashlights and some batteries, since we didn't think about that last night. And if you see anything else we might need, go ahead and grab that, too."

      After telling her what he wanted to drink, Ashley jogged across to the Home Depot and started checking the bins of tools and other items that had been laid out on folding tables. He quickly found the flashlights, and as he started toward the door to go inside for batteries, and to check out, something else caught his eye. He reached into the bin and pulled out one of the plastic packages to examine more closely, then gathered several more before continuing into the building.

      Once he had paid for the items, he went back to the truck, to find Briar already back behind the wheel, with the drinks situated in the cupholders, a plastic grocery sack sitting on the seat between them, and an open packet of Funyuns in her lap. "I grabbed some random food, so just dig through the bag if you want something." Then, glancing at the canvas tote he was carrying, she quirked an eyebrow, remarking, "Those must be some big-ass flashlights."

      "Yup," he responded, holding one up for inspection. He then put it back, and produced another item, saying, "But I also found these, and thought they might be useful."

      She studied the package he held, seeing that it contained several small plastic alarm devices, which were designed to be mounted to window frames or doorjambs, and to go off when they were opened. "I like the way you think," she informed him, as she placed it back into the bag and started the truck.

      "You don't think its a little... I dunno. Paranoid, I guess?"

      "So what if it is? Just because you're paranoid, that doesn't mean they're not out to get you," she retorted as she backed out of the parking place and returned to the highway. "And I thought of something when I was in line waiting to check out, too. You need to call Wiley."

      Ashley fished a granola bar out of the bag of snacks, took a sip of his Diet Coke, and set it back in the holder before asking, "Why?'

      "I was behind those kids in the band shirts, and it just kind of hit me that the guys are probably freaking out about now, wondering if you're okay. So call him and give him a way to contact one of them, or your manager, or somebody. I gave him the number to call Sanger, so there's no reason he can't do that, too."

      A wave of shame washed over him as he realized that the idea hadn't even crossed his mind, and he pulled out the phone, bringing up the contact list. "Shit, I should have thought about that myself. I'll call him now." He pulled out the phone and called Wiley, explaining what he would like for him to do, and giving him both Jinxx and CC's contact information, since the two of them were somewhat involved in the situation, and could easily share the information with the others. He also requested that Wiley ask that whoever he spoke to contact his grandparents, and let them know he was safe. The older man readily agreed to do so, and they ended the call.

      They continued on, stopping at a rest area just outside of Ventura for a bathroom break, and to allow Ashley to take Briar's place at the wheel. Once she was settled into the passenger seat, Ashley saw that she was rummaging through her purse, finally bringing out a small plastic bottle. Opening the lid, she shook a couple of pills into her hand and tossed them in to her mouth, washing them down with a swig of her Dr. Pepper, then relaxing back into the seat.

      "Headache?" he inquired, glancing over briefly before turning his eyes back to the road.

      "Nope, just feeling like somebody is punching me in the stomach," she replied.

      "You sure you're gonna be okay, Tink? Do we need to get ahold of Wiley, or his sister or somebody, and figure out a way to get to a doctor?" he inquired worriedly.

      His eyebrows shot up in surprise when she instantly responded with a fit of laughter. After several seconds it subsided, and she wiped tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry, Ash, that probably sounded totally rude," she chuckled. "I appreciate you being concerned, really I do, but I don't need a doctor. And if you're worried that I might be contagious, don't. There's no way you're gonna catch what I have." She took the bottle back out of her purse and held it in front of him, and he momentarily dropped his eyes from the window to see the word "Midol" printed on the label.

      "Oh," he muttered, flushing slightly as he refocused his attention on the road in front of him. Briar took note of the color staining his lightly stubbled cheeks, and tucked the container away again.

      "Dude, I didn't mean to embarrass you," she informed him. "I guess I just figured that you'd..."

      "Be used to that sort of thing with all the chicks I hang out with, right?" he queried. "Yeah, I am, I just didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable, because I know some women still seem to think they shouldn't talk about that stuff. Hell, I dated a girl once who wouldn't even say the word 'period'. Apparently her mom had told her it wasn't ladylike or something of that nature. She always said she was 'indisposed', whatever that was supposed to mean. I always found it kind of odd that she was so uptight about something like that, but she had no problem letting me fold her over the back of a dressing-room couch and bang her when somebody could have walked in at any time."

       "Thanks for sharing, man," she snickered. "But seriously, when you spend weeks at a time with people in the middle of nowhere doing a location shoot, having to shower under a waterfall and use an outhouse, you get over being embarrassed by stuff like that real quick. It's a fact of life, there's no reason to get weirded out over it."

      They settled into a comfortable silence for the rest of the trip, until they passed the sign indicating that they were nearing the lake. Briar took out her phone and punched in a number, engaging in a brief conversation, then turning to Ashley and announcing, "I just talked to Liz, and we need to take the second right past the campground sign. Then we drive for a few miles, and turn when you see a sign that says, "Carmella's Baby Shower". Keep following those signs, and they'll lead us to the cabin."

      "Baby shower, huh? Some sort of a code, I guess." He followed her directions, and after several miles of curving road, he spotted the first sign, turning onto the gravel road indicated by the arrow. The road ran near the edge of a steep embankment, forcing him to reduce his speed, but within a few minutes they entered a clearing which contained a small, weathered-looking building. A green Ford Escape sat in the driveway, and as Ashley pulled the truck alongside and shut off the engine, the cabin door opened.

      A tall, dark-haired man stepped out into the yard, followed by a plump, hippie-ish woman with light brown hair just starting to go gray. She hurried over as they climbed out of the truck and immediately enveloped Briar in a massive hug, saying, "We're so glad you got here safely, sweetie! Let's hurry and get your things, and get you inside, there's no sense taking chances."

      The man extended his hand, saying, "Hi there, I'm Carmine Orsini, and that's my wife, Liz. And I'm assuming that you're Ashley, right?"

      "Guilty as charged," Ashley replied, as he shook the offered hand, then moved to the back of the truck to begin unloading the bags. 

      With assistance from Briar and the Orsini's, they made short work of the task, getting everything inside in only one trip. As they stepped inside, they observed a long, wood paneled room which combined a living area and kitchen, with an overstuffed couch and recliner, television, and stereo system in the living room, and a fully equipped kitchen, which included a small chest freezer.

      "The propane tank is full, and I made sure all the vents and everything were clear," Carmine announced. "There's milk and vegetables in the fridge, and some meat in the freezer. You got your bacon, some stew beef and hamburger, couple bags of chicken breasts, and some frozen fish. I even threw in a couple of cartons of ice cream for a treat."

      "And if you run out of anything, just call, and one of us will get out here as quick as we can," Liz chimed in. "Oh, and I have something over on the coffee table for you, Briar. We were cleaning out our attic the other day, and I found something I think you might like. I was gonna give it to Wiley when I saw him, but when he called and said you were coming up here, I figured I might as well give it to you in person."

      Looking in the direction the other woman had indicated, Briar saw a cardboard box atop the table, and walked over to open it. Pulling up the flaps, she saw a pile of magazines, and lifting one to inspect it, noticed that it was an old collection of knitting and crochet patterns. As she shuffled through the pile, she saw that they were all various vintage crafting magazines, with dates ranging from the late 1960's to the early 1980's.

      "These are totally cool!" she exclaimed. "Thank you, Liz. But are you sure one of your girls won't want them?"

      "Oh, I'm sure, hon. Maggie likes to draw, but she's not into sewing and stuff, you can't get Bella or Jessie to sit still long enough, and Carmen can't do it. So they're all yours, if you want them."

       As the men listened to the conversation, Ashley inquired, "So, are we likely to see a lot of people up here wandering around?"

      "Not over here, no," Carmine responded. "The campgrounds and stuff are on the other side of the lake, all that's over here in this area is this cabin, and a couple of others two, maybe three miles further north. Now if you actually go down to the lake, you might run into some fishermen, but this place is about a mile and a half from the water, so they're not gonna wander up here by accident."

      He then turned to his wife and said, "We'd better get going, love. They need to have time to get themselves sorted out, and we need to get back to the store, so Nico can get to practice on time."

      She nodded, then hugged both Briar and Ashley, announcing, "He's right, we'll let you get settled. And whenever you get hungry, there's a chicken pasta casserole in the fridge. Just heat it for about forty minutes at three-fifty, and throw some cheese on top during the last ten minutes, and you won't have to worry about thawing anything tonight."

      They thanked the couple again, and watched as they drove out of sight into the trees. Then Briar placed a hand on Ashley's arm and said, "Since we don't have to worry about actually making dinner, whaddya say we get started putting up your noisemakers. I know we should be okay here, but to be honest, I don't think I'll be able to sleep until we've taken some precautions."

      Gazing out the door, Ashley took note of the quiet isolation of the place, which somehow managed to be comforting, yet somewhat ominous at the same time. "Me either, Tink," he informed her. "I'm ready if you are, so let's get to work."