6. Look before you leap.

Thankfully, no one noticed the footprints Connor left on the living room window ledge as the pair entered the house via the only open window on the ground floor. Human police were standing guard at both the front and back doors, dismissing those as possible entry or escape routes.

"He used the room next door as an office, we'll start in there." Kayla whispered, easing the door to the hall open and peaking around the wall.

The silhouette of a policeman shuffled back and forth across the frosted glass of the front door, stopping abruptly when a second shadow joined him. Kayla pulled Connor by the jacket collar down the hall and into the office, the door clicking softly as she closed it behind them. They searched the desk first, an obvious starting point, it yielded nothing but bills for timber and fixers.

Moving on to the filing cabinet, Kayla opened the top drawer with a thud as it struck Connor on the head. "Sorry," she mumbled, "Didn't see you there."

Connor grunted and continued to look through several files marked 'environmental report' and 'impact study'. He dismissed them and moved on to the bookshelf while Kayla riffled through the remaining drawer. They quickly moved from room to room, finding nothing that mentioned trolls, and after fifty minutes, they ran out of places to look.

"What now?" Connor asked, "Time's almost up, shouldn't we be getting out of here?"

"I guess," Kayla replied dejectedly, "I don't know where else to look, we've searched every room."

"Can we discuss this back at the car? We've only two minutes left." Connor pleaded, climbing onto the seat he'd positioned under the same window they entered through.

Going out head first, Connor shuffled along the ledge and reached for the trellis beside him. It broke with a snap when he put his weight on it, sending him into the mud under the window. He cursed loudly as he stood.

"Run," Kayla yelled as she landed beside him.

It took him a second to realise the police were rounding the corner, and another to notice he was no longer invisible with his mud splattered face and clothes. He cursed again and took off after Kayla into the woods.

Barely managing to evade the hand that snatched at his jacket, Connor dodged left and right. The ability to flash several feet ahead came into play now that the adrenalin of the chase had finally kicked in. They crashed through the undergrowth leaving an obvious trail for their pursuers who were lagging further and further behind.

"We need to get… to the car," Kayla puffed, "What way?"

"How. The. Fuck. Should. I know."

"Great!… have to lose… them."

"Wish it."

"I wish… we could lose… the cops chasing… us."

"Granted." Connor managed to say before he tumbled down a deep ravine that appeared from nowhere in front of them.