Not quite.

The goal is to head out of town to the west far enough away to be unseen and then start heading south. So your party starts making its way in that direction. You sneak through alleys trying to keep out of sight as much as possible. It takes a while as you avoid several raiding patrols looking for stragglers out in the open, but you eventually make it to the edge of town. Without exposing yourselves you look to see what's on the horizon. To your dismay you see several riders on Pachys patrolling around the outskirts of the town. Likely looking to catch anyone escaping.

"How are we going to get past them" Annabel asks in a hushed tone.

"Fight" Yvette asks.

You roll the options through your head. If you fight the rest will quickly make it too you, and who knows how many more will come out of the town to join. You can't make a run for it as Bruce isn't fast enough to outrun those Pachys. It's going to have to be a distraction. Unfortunately only one way was coming to mind. Looking at Copper you could see his saddle was still equipped. Yvette watches you as the gears turn in your head.

"No" Yvette says taking a step toward you. She knows you a little too well already you think to yourself.

"It's the only way I can get you guys to safety" you sadly tell her.

"We can fight" her voice trembles as she holds back tears.

"If we do that we'll draw all of them to us, not to mention whoever we can't see in the city" you try to calmly state.

"What's going on" Annabel asks. Yvette looks at her and hangs her head.

"He's going to get on Copper and draw them away so we can get away" wrapping her arms around herself. Annabel looks at you and then down at the ground. You can see the wheels in her head spinning like yours were. Finally she looks up at you and you can see she is worried, but also that she knows it is the best way.

"How do we do this" she asks.

"Jane, can Bruce hold all three of you with his current gear" you ask. Jane thinks for a moment and then nods her head.

"It won't be comfortable, but we should be able to get on him to ride him, and he's trained for voice commands so I don't need reigns to control him" she says patting his side.

"Annabel, you know where the trees are right" you ask her.

"Yes...I've gone there to collect flowers for my potions" she answers.

"Then I'm going to get on Copper and draw them to the south, once you see us all disappear over that hill" you say pointing at a hill to the south "you go as fast as you can north west and get out of sight. Then travel south to the trees and wait for me there" you explain your plan. Jane runs up to you and wraps her arms around you.

"Please be careful" she whispers into your chest before reaching up to pull your head down. She plants a kiss on your lips. It's quick, but a little more intimate than what friends would do. You are a bit stunned. She backs away blushing and then climbs up Bruce to sit on his back. Annabel steps up next and kisses you. Her kiss lasts much longer and you feel your cock harden a bit in response.

"Please make it to us" she says looking you in the eyes. You nod your head in response.

You turn to look at Yvette. She is standing with her arms crossed and she is staring at the ground. You can see tears running down her cheeks. You step in front of her and lift her chin up with your hand. She looks mad and scared as her eyes lock onto yours. You put your forehead against hers and wrap your arms around her, and she wraps hers around you.

"We just found each other" she whispers with tears still falling "what if something goes wrong. I can't go on if something happened to you and I wasn't there" she says as more tears well up in her eyes.

"Shhhh..." you try to soothe her. "I've felt more love these past couple days then the entire 50 years in that other world" you tell her. "I will always be thankful for that. Should something bad happen to me here or in the future you must find the will to continue. Promise me you will" you ask her with some force behind your voice. She doesn't answer immediately.

"Promise me" you whisper.

"I...I-I promise" she agrees albeit reluctantly.

"Good girl. Where ever you go my love will be with you" you say planting a kiss on her lips. She melts into your kiss and you hold her tightly. Reluctantly you pull away from the kiss.

"This isn't goodbye, this is see you later" you say holding her at arms length. She nods her head and moves to go mount Bruce behind Jane. You hand Annabel your pack.

"This will have supplies and such to stay at the trees should I be a little late" you tell her. She nods and puts it on her back.

"50 years in that other world" she asks.

"Uh...heh" you run your fingers through your hair on the back of your head.

"I'll explain some things to you when we see each other again" you smile a little sheepishly. Searching your eyes Annabel nods her head acknowledging that is all she's getting for now.

"How long should we wait" she whispers so only you can hear.

"As long as you are comfortable waiting. Don't risk staying if you see them coming" you whisper back.

"We will head to New Eden if we are forced away. It is about a week away to the south. It is next to a big lake" she says grabbing your hands.

"I love you John, please don't make us wait" she says as a tear streaks down her cheek.

"I'll do my best my love" you reply. Her eyes snap to yours immediately and she searches your face trying to decide if she just misheard you. You just pull her into a kiss again. She almost laughs as she kisses you back.

"We'll talk about that later too" she smiles and then turns to mount behind Yvette.

You mount up on Copper and survey the best course of action. Picking your path you look back to the trio.

"Remember, wait until you can't see us and then get yourselves out of here" you tell them. With that urge Copper forward and trot out into the open.